The Federal Government of Nigeria has said it is proud of the 12 Chibok girls, who are among the 236 graduating students of the Class of 2026 at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, Adamawa state.
The government assured them apart from sponsoring them through the university, more was yet to come their way as part of government support to enable them achieve their great potentials.
Vice President Kashim Shettima gave this assurance on Saturday during the 17th Commencement event of AUN in Yola, where the 12 graduands, from the 106 Chibok girls being sponsored by the federal government, received their Degree certificates.
In 2014, more than 200 teenage were abducted from their school in Chibok town, Borno state. More than a hundred have been rescued since then leave others still in captivity, more than 12 years later.
‘Your country sees you. Your country is proud of you. Your country has not finished its obligations towards you,’ Shettima who was represented by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Abdullahi Ribadu, said.
He commended the leadership of the university for opening the academic community to the Chibok girls, surrounding them with academic rigor and human care, and holding them to the highest standards.
He said,’ This is more than an educational effort; it is a declaration that no young woman’s life should be permanently defined by the violence or hardship of her past.’
To the graduating class, he said, graduating at this point in Nigeria’s history is both a privilege and a responsibility. ‘Your families made sacrifices to support your education. Your country has invested resources, time, and hope in your future. That investment must be repaid through service, innovation, leadership, and commitment to national progress,’ he said.
‘Nigeria needs graduates who are willing to engage with the country’s challenges honestly and courageously, in technology, agriculture, research, policy, and development. Your country needs you.’
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of AUN, DeWayne Frazier, described the graduating students as ‘difference makers, time changers, market disruptors,’ and ‘people with a mission and a motive to improve the country by their leadership.’
He said, for the 12 Chibok girls who walked across the commencement stage, ‘this graduation is far more than the completion of a degree. It is a sacred moment of triumph over fear, resilience over trauma, and hope over everything that once tried to silence their future.’
He added that ‘when they cross that stage, they will carry with them not only their own dreams, but the prayers of families, communities, Nigeria, and people around the world who believed that their story must not end in captivity, pain, or loss.’
‘Their graduation is a living testimony that education is still one of the most powerful forces on earth which says to every young girl that her life has value, her mind has power, and her future can still be reclaimed,’ Frazier said.
The VC, who expressed deep emotions, said the graduation of the girls is not simply a university ceremony; it is a moment of humanity, healing, courage, and grace.
‘To see them stand tall, receive their degrees, and step into the world as graduates of the American University of Nigeria will remind all of us why we do this work. Their courage will bless that stage, and their achievement will forever be part of AUN’s story. For many years, our cry was ‘Bring Back Our Girls,’ but today, we sent our ‘girls’ forward.’
In her remarks, the Commencement Speaker, Stephanie Busari, also urged the girls to carry their certificates as a form of power that belongs entirely to them and not a burden.
She said: ‘To the 12 other girls, you were taken from your hostel in the middle of the night by men who believed that your education was a threat worth eliminating. They understood that education has power. What they failed to understand is that once that power takes root, in the present, it cannot be removed by force.’
Busari, an award-winning journalist and founder of SBB Media, was the journalist whose exclusive 2015 proof of life interview with the Chibok schoolgirls was vital in pushing the federal government in negotiations that led to the release of over 100 of the abducted girls.
She further said, ‘You are not merely survivors of a story. You are authors of what comes next, and what you do from here will matter. Not only for yourselves, but for other young girls who are watching to see what is possible.’
‘Among the 12 young women who were told that their story was over, sitting here, alongside every one of you who made your own quiet decision to keep going. Class of 2026, that part belongs to you now. Go ahead and live it forward.
Busari, who expressed satisfaction with the quality of students graduating from the institution, said, ‘Every person in this room today has had to push through something. The circumstances may be different, but the effort is real.’
To all the graduands, she said, ‘Your journeys may not be the same, but you made the same decision. To stay and push through and to finish, more importantly. You shared a way of thinking and of approaching difficulty.’