Ezekwesili bags University of Essex honorary degree

Obiageli Ezekwesili, co-founder of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign and former minister of Education, was unveiled on Tuesday as an honorary graduate of the University of Essex.

The honorary degree was presented during the ceremony for finance and accounting students graduating from Essex Business School.

Speaking at the ceremony, the former vice president of the World Bank Africa’s region, encouraged the graduating students to be fearless.

“Be fearless, there is nothing in this world that should scare you,” she said.

“Graduates of Essex Business School I am sure will understand that no longer does anyone care just about the extent of your skills. Ultimately it is now about your character.”

Ezekwesili told those attending that she was personally inspired by the same ideals as those celebrated in the University of Essex’s motto: “Thought the harder – heart the keener”.

She said her own father had taught her that the quality of a human being depends on the quality of their thought and that “when your mind produces thoughts, your heart must put them into action”.

“I believe that my father was an important part of what became of me, he made me feel no restraint. He told me that I could be anyone that I could be anything.

“I just had the tabula rasa to write anything I wanted to write concerning my life and he kept saying that if I would be diligent in the things I did and if I would make knowledge an important part of my life, if I would just continue to learn, I would be able to overreach my own expectations.”

Neil Kellard, a professor head of the finance group at Essex Business School, paid tribute to the 53-year old chartered accountant during his oration.

He said: “Her diligence in reform, and exposing corruption mirrors Essex’s commitment to change, justice and fairness.

“We celebrate today a woman who pushes political and ideological boundaries for education and equality. We celebrate today a woman who challenges corruption and encourages transparency.”

Holding a Masters in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Ezekwesili began her career as a qualified chartered accountant with Deloitte.

She has served as director of the Harvard-Nigeria Economic Strategy Programme in Boston and Abuja.