BEGIN A RESCUE MISSION

I believe we all share a common hope for a better Nigeria: a Nigeria where people are trusted because truth or honesty prevails as a common virtue; a Nigeria where each person holds the other accountable since all know their responsibility as adults in building and maintaining a decent society; a Nigeria where elected leaders understand the rules of public trust and will prefer death than tarnish their name; a Nigeria where social utilities are not luxuries but basic necessities that define a functional society; a Nigeria where everyone is safe to practice his/her faith, do his business, or just live anywhere one prefers, aspire to any office, without any form of discrimination or harassment; a Nigeria where every able hand is engaged in work that edifies, everyone participates in building a future we will all be proud to leave for our children/grandchildren, and future generations.

This Nigeria of our dreams must be constantly visualized as an idea, first to ourselves, and then to our children. But even after this, it can only be realized if, and only if, the necessary moral virtues for building and maintaining such a decent society are inculcated among citizens. If we work hard at both, it is certain that someday such a “Dream-Nigeria” will emerge as a socio-political reality as more citizens take responsible actions. Hence, it is true that we become what we think, for “ideas rule the world.” It is equally true that our actions shape who or what we become. Therefore, both the conceptualization of a better society and inculcating of the virtues that build such a society are part of the essence of good education. Unfortunately, today, education is often seen as concerned merely with acquisition of knowledge or skills at the detriment of values that build good character and without which building a good and strong society or nation is an illusion.

The idea of a Dominican University was born in response to a tripartite problem: 1) The fast receding quality-line of our education; 2) The crisis of moral decadence in our citadels of higher learning; 3) The endemic nature of corruption in our socio-political life. One simple example suffices to underscore the above: parents no longer have a clue as to what their children will learn or become once they enter most Nigerian Universities. They are horrified not just by the specter of “graduating-empty-heads,” but more petrified by losing their loved ones to either the cults, drugs, to the insidious tertiary “prostitution” cartels, to low level lecturers that must be “sort” by students or be marked down; or simply to the inevitable malformation that results from spending years in an institution that runs without a functional moral code or orientation necessary for a holistic formation of young adults. To tackle these ills, we distilled certain core values that will drive our educational objectives. For example, excellence is one of such “core values,” but we seek excellence not just in academics but in moral character as well.