Rhema University Nigeria (RUN), Aba, Abia State, has graduated 342 students from five sets at its combined convocation ceremony for the ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th batches.

A major highlight of the ceremony was the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees on the former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Professor Nnenna Oti, and Sister Chi-Emma Okorie, Administrator of Living Word Ministries and wife of the university’s Chancellor.

Oti, who served as the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Returning Officer in the 2023 Abia State governorship election, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree, while Chi-Emma Okorie was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Management degree.

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, who attended the ceremony, commended the university’s founder and Chancellor, Bro Emma Okorie, for his vision and commitment to establishing the institution, describing it as a significant contribution to education and human capacity development.

Otti said Abia State had abundant intellectual resources but stressed that the government’s responsibility was to create an enabling environment for people to excel in their respective fields.

He also praised the decision to honour Oti, saying God had used her to change the story of Abia State through her role in the 2023 governorship election.

In his address, the Chancellor and President of Living Word Ministries International, Aba, Bro Emma Okorie, said Rhema University was established to equip humanity for excellence through knowledge, sound character and spiritual transformation.

He maintained that quality education must incorporate the knowledge of God and His transforming power, adding that the institution would sustain its commitment to producing graduates equipped to make meaningful contributions to society.

According to him, education should go beyond the acquisition of academic qualifications to embrace moral development, integrity and the values required for responsible leadership.

Okorie commended Professor Oti for her decision to uphold what was right during the 2023 governorship election in Abia State, describing her conduct as an example of integrity and principled leadership.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ogbonnaya Onwudike, congratulated the graduating students and disclosed that 49 of the 342 graduands received postgraduate degrees.

They comprised three PhD graduates, 20 master’s degree recipients and 26 postgraduate diploma (PGD) graduates.

Among the undergraduate graduands, 12 obtained First Class degrees, 123 earned Second Class Upper Division, 130 received Second Class Lower Division, while 12 graduated with Third Class degrees.

Onwudike also disclosed that six of the 16 graduates of Medicine and Surgery earned distinctions in Community Medicine, while one obtained a distinction in Surgery. He clarified that the graduate who earned a distinction in Surgery was also among those who received distinctions in Community Medicine.

The Vice-Chancellor renewed his call for private universities in Nigeria to benefit from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), arguing for their inclusion in the funding scheme.

He urged the graduands to apply the knowledge, values and standards acquired at the institution to the service of their country and humanity.

“The whole university celebrates you, and as you are now empowered to seek out new opportunities, you must remember that there is much more to do as you face the realities of life,” he said.

He added that the university had received encouraging reports about its alumni from employers and institutions where former students had pursued postgraduate studies.

The Pro-Chancellor, Professor Ogwo Ekeoma Ogwo, reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to its mantra of “Equipping Humanity for Excellence”, saying it would continue to promote an educational approach that connects intellectual development with character formation.

He urged the graduates to use their training to make a positive impact on society.

“We are glad that you, our graduates, have made it thus far, and we are equally confident that, having been properly equipped for excellence, you will impact the world positively. So, go in this your might and create the change you expect to see,” he said.

The convocation began with a lecture titled “From Degree to Destiny: Creating Value, Generating Opportunity and Transforming Society,” delivered by the Abia State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Professor Uche Eme Uche.

In her lecture, Uche argued that Nigeria’s development would depend not merely on academic certificates but on graduates capable of strengthening institutions, solving problems and serving society with integrity.

She challenged the graduands to create opportunities rather than wait for them, urging them to improve the communities and institutions they would join.

“Do not wait for opportunity to come, but create it. Do not merely enter society, but improve it. Let excellence be your habit, courage your compass, service your purpose, and integrity your unbreakable covenant,” she said.

Uche outlined seven principles to guide the graduates as they transition into the workplace and wider society.

She advised them to commit to lifelong learning, read widely beyond their disciplines and adopt a producer’s mindset rather than remain consumers. She also urged them to identify problems that needed solutions instead of focusing solely on available vacancies.

According to her, graduates who establish themselves as problem-solvers would create opportunities for themselves in an increasingly competitive economy.

She further stressed the importance of building character before reputation, noting that while reputation could secure opportunities, character determined whether people retained them.

“Integrity is among the very few possessions that appreciate the longer you hold them,” she said.

The commissioner also encouraged the graduates not to despise small beginnings, warning that unanswered applications and failed ventures should not be mistaken for permanent defeat.

She described resilience as the refusal to surrender in the face of difficulty, urging them to build meaningful relationships rather than merely accumulate professional contacts.

She advised them to extend courtesy even to people who could offer them no immediate benefit, saying such interactions often revealed the true measure of character.

Uche’s sixth principle was for graduates to master the tools of their professions without becoming overly dependent on them. She warned that technological and workplace changes would challenge graduates whose skills were limited to memorisation.

Her seventh recommendation was that they pursue significance rather than success alone, arguing that success measured personal achievements while significance reflected the difference made in the lives of others.

She urged them to pursue excellence while remaining committed to service and social impact.

Concluding, Uche said the value of the graduates’ education would ultimately be measured by what they achieved in the decades after leaving the university.

She cited labour-market challenges, including the prevalence of informal employment and changing workplace skills, to argue that academic qualifications alone were insufficient to guarantee prosperity.

“What closes that gap is not another qualification. It is the disposition to create value where none existed, to generate opportunity for people who did not earn it, and to repair the portion of the wall that stands within reach,” she said.