REPUBLIC
OF LIBERIA
MINISTRY
OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MONROVIA,
LIBERIA
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Foreign Min. Ngafuan Urges National Interest Above Personal Interest
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Min.
Ngafuan speaks to Tubman University students in Harper, Maryland Co.
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Addressing
hundreds of students as the keynote speaker
at Tubman University’s first
Career Day Fair Friday, February 21, 2014 in Harper, Maryland County, the
Foreign Minister noted that it is not wrong for any Liberian to have an
individual dream or ambition or objective, but stressed that it is important
for Liberians not to lose sight of the fact that they all live in a country
called Liberia; and that if the ambition, or dream or vision of Liberia is not
achieved, it will be difficult for anyone to achieve his or her private
ambitions or visions.
“So
we should never pursue our personal ambition or objectives to the detriment of
the national ambition. We should make our dreams and our visions to be en sync
with the national vision-a vision for national development and prosperity, a
vision for unity and reconciliation, a vision for peace and security within our
border and sub-region and in our one world”, he concluded.
Additionally, Minister
Ngafuan urged the students most of whom are hoping to cultivate a career to
develop the attitude of success, prepare for uncertainties, and to be true
patriots.
Labeling time as the
most valuable asset for young people, Foreign Minister Ngafuan urged the young
students to utilize time wisely in achieving their dreams.
“Time is the most
valuable asset you can have. Do not squander it”, the Foreign Minister told
students of the Southeastern University.
He reminded the
students that one of the advantages of being young is that their future was
still ahead of them: “You have what many old people crave for--time. The old
crave for the opportunity to reverse the hands of the clock so that they will
go back in time and have the opportunity to correct some of the strategic
mistakes they made while young, mistakes that might have led to some depressing
outcomes that they cannot easily disentangle themselves from…Whether you end up
in the Whitehouse or in the Dog House, whether you end up as a beggar or as
giver, whether you end up as a success story or a sob story, [time] is still
largely in your hands”.
Minister Ngafuan,
himself a former student leader, defined success to the young student body as
the product of “hard work plus grace of God” which he said is the formula that
he knows, because it has worked for him, and has worked for mankind since the
days of Creation though others would give highfaluting, mysterious,
subterranean, and dangerous formulae for success.
“Maintain your focus
and keep your eyes steady on your objective”, he said amidst huge applause from
the students. Referencing the popular Biblical story of Peter who walked on water
while his eyes were fixed on Jesus, the keynote speaker said the moral of the
story is that no matter one’s circumstances, no matter the difficulty of today
or tomorrow, one should keep his or her eyes on his or her dream.
“If your dream is to be
a medical doctor, or a pilot, or a Minister of Foreign Affairs, or the Governor
of a the Central Bank, or a future President of Tubman University, keep focused
on that dream regardless whether you are going to bed today with an empty
stomach”, he stated.
Earlier,
former Information Minister Laurence K. Bropleh who served as a speaker at the
career fair urged the students to consider “contextual relevance” in the
selection of their respective careers. He noted that job opportunities in the
Liberia of today and tomorrow are opening up more in the technical areas, so
students who take the emerging trend in the job market into consideration will
be giving themselves a significant advantage in the job market.
Now the only university
in Liberia’s southeastern region, the Tubman University (TU), formerly called Tubman
College (TC) during pre-war days, was changed from a Technical College to a
full university in 2009 three years into President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s
first term.
The Dr. Elizabeth
Davis-Russell led University now has five degree granting colleges which has
attracted top-notch faculty and staff both from across Liberia and abroad, with
a student enrollment of nearly 1,000; almost 800 more from its initial
enrollment of 200 when it first re-opened about five years ago. The University
now braces for its first set of graduates in June of this year.
Signed:Hon. Horatio Bobby Willie
Assistant Minister / Public Affairs