Congratulation Sir to Your Honorary Degree, You deserve it,worth it and worked for it.PMSAA Congratulate in Advance Sir.

His Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar discloses how his father was
jailed for not allowing him attend school
Posted By TheScoop on June 30, 2013
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by Stanley Azuakola

Nigeria's former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, was in Geneva,
Switzerland last weekend, where he was conferred with an honorary
doctorate degree by the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International
Relations.

When he gave his acceptance speech at the event, Abubakar made some
revelations which seemed inspiring now in retrospect but must have
been a tough experience at the time.

He told his audience that as a young lad, his father needed help in
tending to the livestock and herding them, hence he refused to allow
the young Atiku attend school in his hometown of Jada, Adamawa State.
His father however was forced to change his ways when he was locked up
by the local authorities.

According to Abubakar, "When my father was put in jail by local
authorities because he needed my assistance with herding the
livestock, it seemed like a harsh punishment, but were he to be alive
to witness this day (Saturday) and the last 30 or so years of my life
I am sure that he would exclaim 'wow! Education pays after all.'"

Atiku used the occasion to emphasise the central role which education
played in pulling him up to his current position in life.

"Education is what brought me in contact with members of the United
States of America's Peace Corps when I was still a little boy; a
contact and interaction that would have profound impact on my life,
especially my love for education and service," he said.

He said that the modest achievement he has made in his life so far and
his contributions to politics and business are down to education.
Atiku stressed that education is what has informed his determination
to give back to society, especially through education.

He urged policy makers to always seek to improve access to education,
and quality of same.

Abubakar also charged parents to allow kids discover their own path in
life and avoid foisting their will on them.

"A young friend of mine, who heads the human resources department of
an organization in Nigeria, called me up one night about seven months
ago and said he came across an application for employment by one of my
children and wondered whether I consented to my child applying to work
in that organization.

"I asked why he needed to clear that with me first and he said he
thought that I would prefer that my child works in one of my
establishments. I then told him that I do not choose careers for my
children. I owe them good education; I support them to acquire good
education. What they do thereafter is up to them as adults," Atiku
said.

Others who received honorary doctorate degrees from the same
institution are His Excellency (Dr.) Oguz Demiralp, Ambassador of the
Republic of Turkey and His Excellency (Dr.) Kassym-Jomart Tokayev,
Director General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) and
Honorary Dean of the Geneva School of Diplomacy