Education as a tool builds, Shapes, Equips humanity – Anyaso
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FROM CLASSROOM TO BOARDROOM – THE POWER OF EDUCATION IN SHAPING DESTINY
A Distinguished Alumni Lecture Delivered by Dr. Chimaobi Desmond Anyaso Ebonyi State University, July 2025
PROTOCOLS
His Excellency the executive Governor of Ebonyi State,
The Pro Chancellor Ebonyi State University,
The Vice Chancellor of Ebonyi State University,
Professor Michael Ugota Awoke,
Members of the Governing Council,
Deans of Faculties—especially my beloved Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities,
Distinguished members of Senate and Academic Staff,
My fellow alumni, My dear students, friends, family, and esteemed guests, Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.
INTRODUCTION: A HOMECOMING OF HOPE
Today is not just a lecture, it is a homecoming.
It is deeply emotional and symbolic for me, because I don’t stand before you as a perfect man, but as a living testimony, a story of transformation from uncertainty in the classroom to responsibility in the boardroom.
This university gave me more than an education. It gave me belief. It gave me the courage to dream. And today, it gives me the honour of delivering the first-ever Distinguished Alumni Lecture.
PART I: THIS IS MY STORY- A JOURNEY OF GRACE AND GROWTH
I would like to begin from a personal place, because the most powerful truths are born from real experiences.
I was born and raised in the lively, and ever bustling city of Aba. I am proudly from Abia State, and even more proudly, an alumnus of Ebonyi State University.
I walked the same paths many of you walk now. I sat in those lecture halls. I faced academic pressure. I wrestled with self-doubt. I even questioned whether my dreams would survive outside these gates.
When I graduated in 2003 in English and Literature, with a degree that didn’t reflect my potential, many people quietly wrote me off. Some thought my story had ended before it truly began.
But let me tell you: your result is not your reality.
I refused to let one grade define the rest of my life. I wore that degree as a badge—not of shame, but of determination. Greatness is not always born from accolades; it is forged in attitude.
I chose growth. I devoured books. I asked questions. I sought mentors. I failed. I learned. I rose. And I kept going.
Today, by God’s grace, I lead a group of companies under The CAADES Group, with investments in oil and gas, real estate, hospitality, construction, and healthcare. We have created jobs, generated over $1 billion in oil and gas revenues, and worked with global giants like Vitol, Total, and Mobil.
But beyond the figures and boardrooms, I found something deeper: Purpose.
PART II: DEAR FRIENDS, EDUCATION SHOULD NOT BE SEEN AS AN ORNAMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT, BUT AS A FUNCTIONAL INSTRUMENT FOR PERSONAL GROWTH AND SOCIETAL CHANGE
Let’s be clear: education is not a certificate. It’s not a title. It’s not a grade.
Education is a tool. A tool that builds you. Shapes you. Equips you.
True education begins after graduation. It lives in the risks you take, the failures you survive, the reinventions you master, and the wisdom you gain.
That’s what led me back to school. To earn a master’s in management from the University of Lagos, and an executive certificate from St. John’s University in New York, not for prestige, but for perspective.
That’s the same belief that led me to establish the Ahuoma Anyaso Education Foundation—a tuition-free nursery and primary school for underprivileged children. Because no child’s dream should be buried by poverty.
PART III: LET ME EMPHASIZE THAT THE CLASSROOM IS A SEED, NOT A SHELTER
Let me speak directly to the students here today: your classroom is not a shelter. It is a seedbed. Your degree is not your destiny—it is only your starting point.
Life outside these walls won’t hand you multiple-choice questions. It will hand you pressure, setbacks, and opportunities disguised as problems. The world will not ask for your certificate—it will ask for your competence, your creativity, and your contribution.
So, I urge you: don’t just study to pass. Study to understand. Study to build. Study to lead. Read beyond your curriculum. Collaborate beyond your department. Experiment beyond your fears.
Start now. Build something now. You cannot make impact if you don’t overcome fear. You need vision, consistency, and courage.
PART IV: LEARN, BUILD AND PREPARE FOR LEADERSHIP
If a person who has never engaged in enterprise or managed a business is elected to public office, public funds inevitably become their first business experience—and Nigeria cannot afford such costly apprenticeships. Some may argue that governance is about more than managing public resources. But let’s be honest: it’s not less than that. To secure the nation, you need funding. To close budget deficits, you need fiscal discipline. To build infrastructure, you need capital allocation. The thread tying all these together is one word: money—how it’s raised, how it’s spent, and how it’s accounted for. Governance is ultimately the management of collective wealth for collective progress.
Now ask yourself, would you hand over the operating theatre to a man who’s never held a scalpel, simply because he claims to care about health? Of course not. Yet many are quick to hand over public coffers to individuals who have never even balanced a small ledger or navigated the discipline of payroll in business. You don’t learn financial management with public money—because when you fail, the people bleed.
In this emerging Africa, where the median age is 19 but the leadership age hovers near retirement, we must redefine leadership not as a reward for loyalty, but as a continuation of service. And in this redefinition, private enterprise becomes the ideal training ground—the proving ground where ideas are tested, discipline is built, and failure teaches faster than theory.
For today’s students, the call is clear: Build something. Manage risk. Solve problems. Create value. When you’ve mastered that in the marketplace, then—and only then—can you competently scale those principles to national challenges. From boardrooms where balance sheets matter to ministries where budgets determine futures, the same rule applies. You can’t give what you’ve never had the discipline to earn.
The goal is not to discourage political ambition, but to elevate it. To show that entrepreneurship isn’t just a career path—it’s leadership school. It is here that you’ll find your rhythm, refine your principles, and build the kind of legacy that will someday give you the moral authority and economic wisdom to influence policies, shift paradigms, and rewrite the history of this nation.
PART V: SIX NUGGETS THAT TOOK ME FROM CLASSROOM TO BOARDROOM
Let me share six lessons that transformed my journey:
Start Where You Are – Don’t wait for ideal conditions. Add value from where you stand.
Turn Knowledge into Value – Solve problems. That’s how I launched Ceecon Energy.
Never Stop Learning – Formally or informally, keep growing.
Build People, Not Just Profits – Your team is your real asset.
Give Back as You Grow – If your success doesn’t lift others, it’s incomplete.
Lead With Purpose, Not Just Position – I joined politics to serve—not to be served.
PART VI: NOW, I TURN MY WORDS TO THE INSTITUTION THAT NURTURED MY GROWTH, CHALLENGED MY POTENTIAL, AND MOULDED ME INTO THE INDIVIDUAL STANDING BEFORE YOU TODAY.
If we truly want to shape destinies, our institutions must evolve.
Let’s redesign the curriculum to emphasize leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Let’s integrate soft skills and digital literacy into every course.
Let’s establish innovation labs and student venture funds.
Let’s make it mandatory for final-year students to pitch real-world projects before graduating.
Let EBSU become known not just for producing graduates—but for producing game-changers.
PART VII: TO MY FELLOW ALUMNI – IT’S TIME TO GIVE BACK
To my fellow alumni: we are more than past students—we are stakeholders.
Let us mentor. Let us fund scholarships. Let us upgrade infrastructure. Let us open doors for others.
If this university sowed seeds in us, now is the time to return as rainmakers—to water the dreams of the next generation.
PART VIII: TO THE STUDENTS – OWN YOUR STORY
Dear students,
Your future is not written in your grade. It is written in your grit.
Some of the most successful people on earth started from failure. From rejection. From nothing.
Use your setbacks as stepping stones. Turn your delays into discoveries.
Start that blog. Learn that trade. Build that app. Volunteer. Stay consistent.
You are not too young to lead. Not too small to matter. Not defined by your result—but by your resilience.
CLOSING REFLECTION: SAY TO YOURSELF, I AM POSSIBLE
As I close, remember this:
I am not a product of perfect conditions. I am a product of grace, grit, and growth.
If a young man from Igbere, with a Third-Class degree, can build successful businesses, influence policy, and stand before you today—then you can, too.
Your story is still being written.
Make it a story of courage. Of creativity. Of conviction.
Let us redefine education—not as a destination, but as a journey.
From classroom to boardroom.
From theory to impact.
From dream to destiny.
Let’s rise—and shape the future.
Thank you.
God bless you.
God bless Ebonyi State University.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.