Dr John Mahama, Vice President, Republic of Ghana Speech Of Acceptance For Honorary Doctorate From Ekiti State University.

1. SPEECH OF ACCEPTANCE FOR HONORARY DOCTORATE FROM
EKITI STATE UNIVERSITY
[Greetings]
H.E. Gov. of Ekiti and his lovely wife
H.E. wife of the VP of Ghana
Chancellor of the University
Vice Chancellor, Academic Staff, students of EKSU
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen.
I am extremely grateful to be here today at Ekiti State University. It is
indeed a privilege to have this Honorary Doctorate of Public Administration
degree conferred upon me by your esteemed institution. I would like to first thank
the Governing Council of the university for this great honour done me. I would
also wish to extend my best wishes to H.E. Gov. Kayode Fayemi and the people of
Ekiti state for the warm welcome you have accorded myself and my delegation
since our arrival.
Additionally, I would like to extend my congratulations to Ambassador
Bamidele Olumilua on being named Chancellor of the University; Dr. Kandeh
Yumkella and Professor Tamuna, upon whom Doctorate of Science and Doctorate
of Letters degree were conferred, respectively. I would also like to congratulate all
of the graduates of Ekiti State—those who are being celebrated during this 17th

2. convocation ceremony, as well as all those whose lives have been enriched in the
lecture halls and rooms of this university during its 30 years of existence.
This is my first doctorate degree, honorary or otherwise. I think it’s especially
symbolic—both personally and professionally—for me to be receiving it here in
Nigeria. I’ll begin by sharing with you the personal relevance.
As I am sure many of you are aware, our two countries, Ghana and Nigeria, have
always had a symbiotic relationship. There are so many commonalities between
us—from the fact that each is Anglophone and shares borders with Francophone
countries to the fact that we share, within our own individual borders, the same
physical geography and seasonal climatic patterns, and similar food and customs.
Where else in the West African subregion can you go—but Ghana if you’re
Nigerian or Nigeria if you’re Ghanaian—and eat food that will make you feel as
though you’ve never left home? Fufu, egusi, gari, garden egg stew.
But more than any of that is the history that we share; it is a history that has
brought us together as one in much more than food and clothing and customs. It
has brought us together in art and entertainment, and it has brought us together in
our bloodlines. Like a number of Ghanaians, in addition to having friends and
former schoolmates who are Nigerian, I also have relatives; my sister is Nigerian.

3. In the first few decades of independence, as our two nations were struggling to
find their feet as constitutional democracies, during times of difficulty in Nigeria,
many citizens sought refuge in Ghana; likewise, during times of difficulty in
Ghana, many of citizens sought refuge in Nigeria. I was among the one million or
more Ghanaians who came to Nigeria during the early part of the 1980s.
My father, who had fled Ghana into exile, lived for some time in Nigeria as a
political refugee. I was a young man at the time. I had completed my first degree
in History and was looking to earn a second degree. In order to be close to my
dad, I joined him in Nigeria and set my sights on attending a post-graduate
programme here. I remember how, as I was waiting for the application season to
come around, I used to walk around the campuses of various universities
envisioning myself sitting in their lecture halls and then, hopefully one day,
receiving my postgraduate degree and taking part in a convocation ceremony much
like this one today.
As it turns out, destiny pulled me in a different direction and I was never able to
fulfil the dreams I once had of graduating from a university in Nigeria. 28 years
later, here I am with such a scroll in my hands. You can see then why today holds
such significance for me on a personal level.

4. I’ve heard people refer to degrees as nothing more than simple sheets of paper. Of
course, we all know they are so much more than that. These seemingly simple
sheets of paper represent the richness of the experiences we’ve had; they document
the depth of the knowledge we’ve acquired. Today I am also reminded that these
sheets of paper that we hold, that we will frame and hang on our walls, and that we
will reference on our CVs; these sheets of paper carry within them the hopes and
dreams of a past, as well as the hopes and dreams for a future.
This leads me to the second reason why this honour and why being here with you
today is both significant and symbolic—and that is from the professional
perspective. So I speak now, not only as an individual, but as a politician, one
who has spent my entire life, in one way or another, traversing the political
landscape of this West African subregion.
My father was a politician. He served as a minister of state and as a member of the
first parliament of the first republic of Ghana, under our first president, Osagyefo
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. And from this vantage point, as the child of a politician who
also came to find my calling as a politician, I would like to speak for a moment on

5. the matter of our shared destiny, on the matter of the hopes and dreams of our
collective past, as well as the hopes and dreams for our collective future.
Through the years, I have seen the promise and potential that Ghana and Nigeria
hold. And I have seen both countries struggle to overcome tremendous obstacles
in order to live up to that promise and potential. Often when people talk about our
countries, as well as other African countries, they choose to focus solely on the
struggle, the challenges, on the tremendous obstacles; they choose to overlook,
minimize or entirely dismiss the fact that we have overcome, and that we continue
to overcome. It is true that there is still much work to be done. We have daily
battles that sometimes seem insurmountable; but we also have daily victories that
are worthy of celebration. The majority of African countries are today under
constitutional rule and governed by principles of democracy and the rule of law.
This year alone more than 20 African nations are holding elections. Six out of ten
countries with the highest GDP growth rates this year were African.
With 150 million residents, Nigeria—by way of population—is by far the largest
country in the West African subregion. But the position Nigeria holds at the
forefront of our subregion is not simply because of the numbers of people it can
boast. Nigeria’s GDP constitutes more than 50% of the West African subregion’s

6. economy. Nigeria’s film industry is the third highest grossing in the world after
Hollywood and Bollywood. Nigerian authors, musicians, journalists, doctors,
engineers and businessmen are some of the most skilled, successful and revered in
the world.
You have a great country. Blessed with some of the best human material and
natural resources. It is said "the grass often looks greener on the other side". The
grass is green here too. You can make Nigeria one of the greatest nations of the
world only if you learn to appreciate who you are and what you have. Rome was
not built in a day. Recognize your successes in build on them.
Nigeria’s tenacity and its successes are due in large part to the investment that this
country makes in its most important natural resource, its human resource. And
when it comes down to it, that—more than anything else, including money—is
what a nation’s development is dependent upon, its human resource.
When I was informed that I was to receive an honorary degree from Ekiti State
university, several of them immediately asked "where is Ekiti". They must have
assumed I was awaiting an honorary degree from an Oxford, or Cambridge or
some such centuries old university. I am proud to be receiving this degree from
EKSU. Because the hope of moving Africa forward is not the Oxfords or

7. Cambridges of this world, but the little incubators of innovation and learning
dotted across Africa such as EKSU. I am proud to be associated with your great
institution.
Resources and money alone do not make a university. It is human determination,
innovation dedication and creativity that makes a successful learning experience.
We’ve seen what can be done when a nation empowers its citizens by making high
quality, reasonably priced education available to its citizens. Cuba is one example.
Look at what that country has been able to do for its citizens, and for its own
survival, despite having been effectively shunned by most of the global
community.
Recently Pres. Goodluck Jonathan was honoured with a honorary doctorate degree
by the GIMPA. Today here I stand at EKSU receiving honor and recognition for
service to country. This probably is symbolic of the closeness and uselessness of
the borders that separate our nations.
Fela show invitation
I spoke earlier of the hopes and dreams of the past, as well as the hopes and
dreams for the future. Each and every one of us—you, me, all of the people
standing beside us and around us—is here today because of somebody’s hopes,
dreams and prayers—be that person a friend, a parent, an elder, or an ancestor that
has passed on. Institutions such as Ekiti State University enable us to continue

8. hoping, dreaming and praying, not only for the improvement of our individual
lives or the lives of our children, but for the improvement of the conditions in the
communities, the countries, and the world at large that we each call home.
Institutions such as Ekiti State University allow us to move past the stage of
hoping and dreaming and praying and to start doing the work that is necessary in
nation-building. These degrees that we leave Ekiti State University holding are a
call to action.
It is, for me, a powerful reminder of all the reasons why I felt called into a
life of public service, namely the fact that I believed and continue to believe in the
limitless possibilities of this great continent of ours. I am deeply grateful and
humbled by the recognition and wholeheartedly accept the responsibilities with
which it comes. I thank you for this. (I’ll hold up docotoral degree)
Dedication
to the partnership of our two countries Ghana and Nigeria
To my parents
To the people of Ghana
To President J.J. Rawlings
To President John Evans Atta Mills
To my Wife. The domestic C in C (invite Lordina)

9. and finally to the almighty God for blessing, protecting and preserving me to
date.
May God continue to bless our two countries, Ghana and Nigeria, sisters in
their daily struggles and their daily victories, and may God continue to bless
Africa. Thank you.