‘Be Resilient & Steadfast’ -AfDB CM Tells CU Graduates: ‘Make Innovation Your Mantra’

MONROVIA – The Country Manager of the Africa Development Bank office in Liberia has admonished 2024 graduates of the Cuttington University to believe in themselves, be resilient and steadfast as they step into their various professional lives towards making Liberia great.

The University this year graduated 761 students – 80 from the Junior College, 312 from the undergraduate Programs and 42 from the school of Professional Studies. About 327 students obtained Post Graduate degrees.

Guest-speaking at the 62^nd Convocation of the 135-year-old institution, Benedict Sorie Kanu, a 1990 University of Arizona’s Masters of Agricultural Economics product called the CU graduates.

To believe in themselves, look around the world, step forward and each time remain resilient and steadfast.

“I also encourage you to move on without fear because your future will be brilliant,” he petted the graduates. “Learn from your mistakes: ‘Sometimes life will hit you in the head with a brick, but don’t lose faith’. Don’t be afraid to face the adversity: ‘It is the hard days, the days that challenge you to the very core that will determine who you are.’”

The AfDB Country Manager further admonished the graduates: “Make innovation your mantra. Understand what Liberia needs, learn how to do what Liberia needs, and let your deeds make Liberia a better country.

“Provide innovative solutions that will propel Liberia to the top of the world. Innovate for a stronger Liberia. Finally, all other things being equal, only you can generate the power to decide what to do with your life.’”

Mr. Kanu told his audience told his CU 62^nd Convocation audience that  a University is like a square where one can meet various types of people, including fellow students and professors, extending the scope of thoughts, acquiring inspirations, learning world standard theories in various fields and acquiring the skills of compromise and coordination.

“Moreover, a university is a platform on which to form valuable social networks encompassing many people,” he noted. “Let me underscore that a university is also a place where international cooperation, large and small, emerges so naturally and so often and a place where students learn how to cooperate smoothly across cultures.”

According to him, good education could offer countless benefits, primarily regarding the quality of an individual’s life and the ease of fulfillment of personal ambitions. Let me recall a few specific pointers.

“An educated person has a potentially better understanding of 4 society. Studying hard is likely to lead to a more successful career. Education improves self-confidence. Schooling helps develop critical thinking,” the noted international agricultural economist further asserted.

Liberia and AfDB Relations

The continental bank manager used the moment to reflect on the relationship between the African Development Bank and Liberia where he serves as the Country Manager.

Acknowledging that the Republic of Liberia has had a long and growing cooperation with the African Development Bank, Mr. Kanu reflected that the establishment of the Bank began at the four-day Tubman-Nkrumah-Touré Conference, named after the Presidents of Liberia, Ghana and Guinea, held in Saniquelle, Liberia in 1958.

In 1960, the idea of creating an African Development Bank was formally proposed at the All-African People’s Conference in Tunis, Tunisia, he recalled, adding that subsequently in 1962, Hon. Romeo Alexander Horton of Liberia (1923–2005), chaired the first conference of a think tank dubbed the ‘Committee of Nine’ made up of financial experts and economists from nine African countries to prepare for the creation of the African Development Bank.

“Some of you may recall that the late Hon. Romeo Alexander Horton was founder and President of the Bank of Liberia, Economic Advisor to former Liberian President William Tubman, Secretary of Commerce, Industry and Labor of Liberia, and Managing Director of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),” Mr. Kanu asserted.

The year 1964 witnessed the Birth of the African Development Bank, with 26 member states including Liberia.

The Bank’s mandate is to further economic development and social progress of African countries, individually and collectively.

“So, Liberia did not only play a leading role in the creation of the African Development Bank, but was also, one of its founding members,” he said. “Today, the Bank is owned not by 26, but instead, 54 African countries and 26 non-African countries, totaling 80 member countries.

“Please join me in paying a fitting tribute to Hon. Romeo Alexander Horton, a demonstrated pan-Africanist, a selfless son of the soil of Liberia and an accomplished professional and politician.

I am honoured to report that the African Development Bank has made significant contributions towards the road transport and power sectors in Liberia over the past 10 years.”

He said that progress is in addition to helping build human and institutional capital in agriculture, and facilitating public finance management reforms, among other vital support.

Thanking Faculty, Staff

AfDB Liberia office boss thanked the faculty and other staff of the University for what he called “their relentless efforts” over the years, without which it would not have been possible to produce more and more qualified and knowledgeable Liberian professionals in different specialized studies so relevant to facilitate national development.

“The parents and other relatives of graduating students merit unreserved recognition for all their countless financial and non-financial sacrifices and repeated counsel,” he said. “To the graduating students, I say congratulations, congratulations, congratulations on this big day in your diverse and perhaps often challenging professional journeys. Your hard work during your years of intensive study on campus has started to pay off.”