Fred Swaniker and two Nigerian graduates on impact of ALU in Rwanda

On Friday, June 7, 2024, African Leadership University in Rwanda was a beehive of academic activity as its Rwandan campus hosted and witnessed a historic moment as circa four hundred undergraduate students from the African Leadership University graduated with honours. The graduation was ALU’s largest cohort of graduates, who received bachelor’s degrees in International Business and Trade, computer science, global challenges; and Entrepreneurial Leadership. This propitious occasion was graced by the presence of numerous notable dignitaries who have been pivotal in shaping the future of education in Africa such as Fred Swaniker, the Founder and Board Chairman of the African Leadership Group; Acha Leke, the senior partner and chairman of McKinsey Africa, and the co-founder of the African Leadership Academy, the African Leadership University.

Other dignitaries in attendance were Rwanda’s Minister of Education, Minister Gaspard Twagirayezu; Director General of the Higher Education Council, Dr. Rose Mukankomeje; ALU CEO, Mr. Veda Sunnassee, amongst others. In his welcome address, CEO Veda Sunnassee discussed the importance of legacy, highlighting ALU’s growth as one of his proudest achievements. He announced that Mrs Elizabeth Tolu Ojo, a former African Leadership University student, will take over as the new Dean of the undergraduate programme.

Presidential Prologue.
During his speech, the special guest of honour, President Paul Kagame who also attended the African Leadership University, Rwanda conferment ceremony in his speech stated; “I am very happy to join you on this special occasion. To begin, allow me to thank the African Leadership University for this award. To all the graduates, congratulations. Today, you reap the rewards of all your hard work. Be proud of everything you have accomplished. You deserve it. To all the families and friends present, thank you for supporting your loved ones. Success is never the result of individual effort alone. Equally important, is having a good support system. And of course, we would not be standing here, without the leadership of Fred Swaniker. In Rwanda, we are very proud to host ALU. I also want to add that you have a very beautiful campus. We are even more privileged to welcome a large number of students from all over our continent. You are welcome here, and you will always have a second home in Rwanda.”

President Kagame continued thus: “This one-of-a-kind institution is a reminder to all of us, that in Africa, we have the means to solve our problems. The uncomfortable truth is that we rely too much on others to tell us what to do, and more often than not, we pay a hefty price as a consequence. We need to take responsibility for what belongs to us and have a sense of urgency in doing so. It all begins with how we teach our children and shape their mindsets and sense of ownership for Africa’s future. ALU is a trailblazer because it has invested in building a new generation of critical thinkers and innovators, here on our continent. Graduates, the baton is now in your hands. Run with it as fast as you can, until you cross the finish line. No matter your career path, the journey will be long, and full of unexpected twists and turns. My advice to you is not to let life’s obstacles change who you are or cause you to give up. Never give up. Be kind, and always treat others with respect, the way you wish them to treat you.”

In conclusion, the President of the East African country posited that; “Here, in Rwanda, we had to learn the hard way. There was no case study on how to recover from genocide. We had to take matters into our own hands. The results did not come immediately. And in fact, they never do. For those of you who aspire to become entrepreneurs, this is something to remember. We kept trying, and we found solutions that worked for our country. Always try and fail, but never fail to try. You always have to be ready to adapt and to innovate. What matters, at the end of the day, is that you believe in yourself, and be consistent. With perseverance and hard work, you will achieve whatever you want to in life. As we say here, I’m sure most of you have probably heard that, ibyiza biri imbere: The best lies ahead.”

Fred Swaniker’s Vision.
Fred Swaniker is a Ghanaian serial entrepreneur and leadership development expert on a mission to help the world’s most extraordinary talent fulfil its potential. Fred Swaniker is deeply passionate about Africa and believes that the missing ingredient on the continent is good leadership. In line with this, Fred is the founder of the African Leadership Group (which comprises African Leadership University) which aims to catalyse a new generation of ethical, entrepreneurial African leaders.

Informing Dolapo Aina of his thoughts on the just concluded graduation of over 400 students from ALU, the founder stated; “This year’s graduation was remarkable. We had ALU’s largest graduating cohort to date. It was also absolutely thrilling that for the first time, we had the ceremony on our magnificent campus, which we built in seven months in the middle of the pandemic. His Excellency President Kagame’s presence as our guest of honour was also special. His celebration of the graduates, his words, and his unwavering support for education and leadership in Africa were inspiring. President Kagame’s vision and commitment to empowering the youth are commendable. His presence at our graduation ceremony highlighted the importance of education and reinforced our mission to develop the next generation of African leaders. Another stand-out moment was honouring President Kagame with an award of merit for exemplary entrepreneurial leadership, which he has shown over the years.

The founder of ALU stated; “This year’s graduation was unique for a few reasons. As I mentioned earlier, we had the ceremony on our magnificent campus! The campus is a symbol of doing hard things. We built it in 7 months in the middle of the pandemic and it turned out to be functional, beautiful, climate-friendly, and award-winning (it won an award from the Wall Street Journal for design). Secondly, we had the largest graduating cohort to date. Finally, President Kagame’s presence and merit award added to the uniqueness of the ceremony. His support means a great deal to us, and we don’t take it for granted.”

He went further to state how equipped the graduates are to face the realities of the world stating that; “I am proud to say that ALU graduates are incredibly well-equipped to face the realities of the world. Our innovative educational approaches, such as hands-on learning, real-world internships, and collaborative connections with industry professionals, have prepared them to be agile and impactful leaders. Additionally, ALU was born to create ethical and entrepreneurial leaders for Africa. Why ‘entrepreneurial’? Entrepreneurs solve big problems in creative ways, using limited resources. This is the story of Africa whether in government, the private sector, start-ups, or the non-profit sector. We have big problems and limited resources and need creativity to unlock solutions. A particular line from President Kagame’s speech reiterated this and struck a profound chord with me: ALU is concrete proof that Africa has the means to solve its biggest problems. This strengthens my belief that the graduates will create meaningful change and drive positive progress in whatever fields they choose to pursue. I can’t wait to witness the incredible impact and solutions they catalyse across our continent.

African Leadership University’s founder revealed that four hundred and thirty-one (431) brilliant young minds from thirty-two (32) African nations graduated. Nine students were given special awards in some categories namely: Top Achiever in Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Trade: Oreoluwa Ayanfe Ayo-Fisher from Nigeria. Top Achiever in Bachelor of Arts of Global Challenges: Emmanuel Christopher Samwel from Tanzania. Top Achiever in Bachelor of Arts in Entrepreneurship: Nar Lo Dia from Senegal. Top Achiever in Bachelor of Science in Computer Science: Ednah Neema Akoth from Kenya. Africa’s Opportunities Award: Fatmata Allie from Sierra Leone. Ethical Entrepreneur Award went to Mahamadou Oury Diallo from Guinea and Gisele Teta from Rwanda. Leadership Award: Abraham Deng from South Sudan. Intellectual Excellence Award: Damilare Oyedele from Nigeria.

Damilare Oyedele’s Dream
Damilare Oyedele, a Nigerian student who was awarded the Intellectual Excellence Award at the African Leadership University graduation posted on his Twitter (now known as X) handle about his journey to ALU in Rwanda. According to him; “In 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, I received my full scholarship offer as a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at African Leadership University. I could not hold back my tears as I cried with joy in my heart. Why? In 2016, I dropped out of the university in Nigeria because I could not pay my school fees. A very tough decision, I was forced to make during my early twenties, scared and unsure of what the future holds for an out-of-school youth. Four years later, I got a full scholarship to study outside my country. Right there, I knew I had commenced one of the greatest journeys of my life, a journey that would chart my path to greater endeavours and connect me with some of Africa’s youngest, most excellent, and brightest minds.”

He went further stating; “So, what was I doing during the four years I was an out-of-school youth? It was challenging, but I found courage through the support systems around me to chart my path towards empowering myself. I founded Library Aid Africa and got a full scholarship to continue my education. This mission I have firmly pursued over the past four years has undoubtedly transformed my passion for libraries and my chosen career path as a Librarypreneur through Library Aid Africa. Through applying my academic learnings to my mission, we have expanded the reach of our work with in-country library partners in nine African countries, with our impact across twenty-four African countries and expansion of our office to Rwanda, which will serve as our East Africa Hub.”
Continuing his post; “As we say and act at African Leadership University; “missions not majors”, and “Do Hard Things” have guided and guarded my path on my mission for libraries, and I am excited to have been awarded the Intellectual Excellence Award at the ALU graduation. This refinement and the progress of my mission for libraries and going back to education as an out-of-school youth could not have been made possible without the unwavering opportunity to study alongside Africa’s brightest minds at the African Leadership University as a Mastercard Foundation Scholar.”

I reached out to Damilare Oyedele on his thoughts on the award he bagged and what his plans for his project were. He informed me that; “My plan is to continuously improve on our work at Library Aid Africa working closely with in-country library partners to harness digital technology and community engagement approaches to transform libraries into vibrant spaces that foster innovation co-creation. To achieve this, we will be leveraging partnerships and collaboration with key stakeholders and development partners in education, technology and youth development. Over the past four years, we have worked with in-library partners across about nine African countries, with our impact across twenty-four African countries and expansion of our office to Rwanda, which will serve as our East Africa Hub. Our impact has been achieved through some of our programs such as The Young African Library Leaders Fellowship, Community Library Center Project, mini-library projects through the library selfie series and Library Tracker. The goal has always been to transform libraries into vibrant community spaces, this is a mission I will continue to pursue strategically.”

On the question of how he envisioned himself making an impact in the education cum library global space; Damilare stated that; “The impact is going to be the continuation of our existing interventions at Library Aid Africa majorly scaling up our work on capacity development through the Young African Library Leaders Fellowship, and LibraryXAfrica; technology solutions to improve library visibility and access, such as the Library Tracker; supporting in-country library partners to understand library policy ecosystem through the Library Policy Fellowship; and more importantly, is library sets in communities and schools. The top priority here is to transform libraries into vibrant community hubs, we will explore more innovative ways to achieve this.”

Oreoluwa Ayanfe Ayo-Fisher’s Prayer
The top achiever in Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Trade, Oreoluwa Ayanfe Ayo-fisher informed Dolapo Aina that; “I was not expecting the top achiever award but I was grateful. I had prayed about it two years before being the best graduating student in my set and finally, it came to pass.” She concludes that the impacts at ALU have been enormous. In her own words; “The relationships I gained and the exposure to new experiences were my biggest highlights at ALU. They gave me lifelong friends and connections as well as a new mindset about my potential and where I could go in life.”