The Greatest Mistake You Can Make Is To Think Character Does Not Matter

Convocation Lecture at Kola-Daisi University in Ibadan, Oyo State On The 4th Of November, 2021

"When a few months ago I received the request from the Chancellor of this University Chief Kola Daisi, to give this convocation lecture, it was clear to me that it was an order, not a request. Where I come from, when your father makes a request, that is an order. Chief Kola Daisi is a man for whom I and many in my generation have always had tremendous respect and admiration. And in many ways, the Kola Daisi University is a unique place of learning and inquiry because of its foundations.

The founder and visioner of this University, Chief Kola Daisi, represents in Nigeria and around the world, a unique Nigerian brand, a man whose professional career as a lawyer, pioneer executive of several Chambers of Commerce and co-founder of the British Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and later a businessman, tells a story of how the pursuit of success must not just be for self and family, but for the good of others and society.

Every step of the way, especially through the Kola Daisi Foundation, he has designed ways of putting his resources to the use of his community and those who need help. This university is a culmination of that life of sacrifice. An institution that will offer world-class university education not as a commercial venture but as a service. Sir, it is a high form of enlightenment to recognize in one’s lifetime that what endures after we are gone is how much of ourselves, our ideas and our resources benefit the coming generation when we are gone. Congratulations sir on your preferment for the Chancellorship of the university.

I must also commend the academic and administrative staff of the university, for keeping faith in the vision and mission of this university. Indeed, you have the enormous duty of nurturing the men and women who will shape the destiny of the largest number of black people gathered anywhere in the world and Africa’s largest economy. Well done so far.

And to the parents, friends and family of the graduates, what a joyful and proud moment. Congratulations!

As you sit here today, glad that at last, you have a degree and proud of your achievement, you are probably anxious about the future. After youth service, you wonder whether you will find a job, whether even if you find a job, you will be paid enough to rent decent accommodation, get married and bring up children, or travel on holidays or take a post-graduate degree. Your parents also worry about how long they may need to support you while you are searching for a job.

In short, what does the future hold and how should you approach it?

I will mention a few important facts that I would like you to remember merely as a guide in the coming years.

The first is that you must believe that you have all that it takes to succeed and that you will succeed.

Do not accept or believe the story that you will not succeed or that the years gone by are better than yours. In fact, always be suspicious of those who are always talking about the “good old days” they probably have a bad memory. Every generation has its bright spots and its troubles.

The second is that you are graduating at the most advanced moment in human history. The smartphone you have in your hand today has 100 times more computing power than the computer in the Apollo spacecraft that took men to the moon in July of 1969.

I have in this device, my iPad and many of your smartphones, the space, and memory for 1000 times more books and materials than all the law books that were in the Elias Law Library at the University of Lagos, where I studied Law.

The third point is that success means continuous learning and self-development.

The fourth point is that collaboration and partnerships are important for businesses today especially tech-related businesses.

The fifth thing is that the greatest mistake you can make is to think that character does not matter. It does. Integrity, and self-discipline in particular.

Now let me assure you that there is plenty of hope, and there are many opportunities. The world you are living in is changing. In my days, it was believed that you needed to be either a lawyer, a doctor, an accountant to be successful, today there are many different options.

There are more avenues for success now than ever before. There is a whole new world of opportunities that have opened up, especially with the internet and digital technology.


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Oluyemi Oluleke “Yemi” Osinbajo is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who is the current Vice President of Nigeria, in office since 29 May 2015.

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