Abuja, Nigeria, 8 November 2025 – Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has urged young Africans to embrace education as a vehicle for service, innovation, and nation-building, as he delivered the Commencement Address at the 12th Convocation Ceremony of Baze University in Abuja, Nigeria.
Addressing graduating students, regional dignitaries and global leaders, including Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, President Bio celebrated the transformative power of education and challenged the next generation to lead Africa’s future with integrity and purpose. “This is not your ending, it is your enlistment; a call to use your education as both a public trust and a private compass,” he told the Class of 2025.
President Bio expressed gratitude to the university for establishing the Julius Maada Bio Postgraduate School, describing the gesture as a “sacred trust” and a testament to the power of education to unite nations and shape the destiny of the continent.
He reflected on his humble beginnings in rural Sierra Leone, where he walked miles to school as a child, emphasizing his personal conviction that education changes lives and society. “When I say education transforms lives, I speak from the dust of experience, not the comfort of privilege”
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The President highlighted Sierra Leone’s bold investments in education since 2018, including the Free Quality Education programme that now supports more than 2.2 million children in schools across the country. “Ignorance has always cost nations far more than education ever will,” he said, noting that thousands of teachers have been trained and technology integrated into learning
President Bio challenged graduates to become innovators, ethical leaders, and drivers of Africa’s renewal, calling for a “New African Mind” rooted in confidence, competence, and service. “Africa’s next revolution will not be fought with arms; it will be led with ideas,” he declared
He urged the youth to lead wherever they find themselves – in science, entrepreneurship, policy, and climate resilience, reminding them that every nation rises through the contribution of educated citizens. “The future is not waiting for you, it is waiting on you”
President Bio also celebrated the historic partnership between Sierra Leone and Nigeria, recalling the role of Fourah Bay College as “the Athens of West Africa” and its contribution to West African intellectual history. “Our friendship is ancestral, written in the language of learning and sealed in the ink of shared destiny”
Ending his remarks, President Bio congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to “paint boldly, with integrity, innovation, and inclusion” as they step into leadership roles in Nigeria, ECOWAS, and the African continent.
He concluded with blessings for the graduating class and a call to build a peaceful and prosperous Africa driven by educated minds.
