By Peter Ajayi Dada
Advisory reflections delivered by Mr Peter Ajayi Dada during the graduation of the pioneer students of Topclass Comprehensive College, Papa Ibafo, Ogun State, on July 28 2025.
The Proprietor/ Principal,
The Management and Staff,
Parents and Guardians of the graduating students and other students here present,
The 2024/2025 graduating set,
Invited Guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.
APPRECIATION: I appreciate the Proprietor/Director of Topclass Comprehensive College, Mr Anthony Ojo and his amiable wife for extending this invite to me to share some advisory reflections with the outgoing students of Topclass College in particular, the other students , the parents of our celebrators, and the staff of the college in general. May God almighty in His infinite mercies, love, peace and favour continue to abide with this school, the PTA and all of us. Amen.
CONGRATULATIONS: I congratulate the Proprietor, the graduating students,their parents and the teachers on this epochal event in the annals of this school. Thumbs up to you all for contributing your quotas to the development of our country from this corner of the country. May God reward you all with worthy rewards both here on earth and in heaven. Amen.
ADVICE TO OUR GRADUANDS: My dear graduands, you are now free from what you would have termed the harassment, punishment and maltreatment meted out to you by your teachers in the course of ensuring and insisting that you did the right thing as students of this school under their supervisions. They did that because they possess the experiences required since i experience is regarded by all and sundry as the best teacher. Your teachers were in the best position to guide and guard you on the right path to success. Anything short of insisting that you did the right thing would have amounted to they failing in their duties then. May all of you come out in flying colours after the examination bodies would have released your results. Amen.
Do not regard your teachers as your enemies because of how harsh they were while you were their students. After now, go and appreciate them for their efforts towards moulding you into youths and adults that Nigeria will be proud of tomorrow (future).
My dear children, as you are going into the society, regard this hurdle that your had just scaled as the foundation to your journey towards becoming great and noble in life. Therefore, make humility, honesty, perseverance and tolerance as your watchword. Also, always be ready to make sacrifices by letting things go without counting the costs as your progress in life. It may be painful, but at the end of the day, you will be better off because nothing in life lasts forever except change.
Please, submit to the advice, suggestions and admonitions from your parents because they are more experienced than you are in matters relating to life. Do not regard their advice to you as amounting to excessive control. You may conclude that after now, you are free to associate with peer groups and social inflencers but do that with caution. Many had gone missing or became objects of ritual killings in the past by their associations with friends they met through Facebook or elsewhere. Always remember that evil communications corrupt good manners. Show me your friend and I shall tell you the kind of person you are.
Let me also advice you the graduating students, that you need to keep in touch with your classmates after leaving school to monitor and be encouraged by their academic progress or the vocational skills acquired by them since you all will not end up in the academics.That should be done by creating a general WhatsApp platform for your set where you should be sharing and exchanging ideas on how each and everyone of you is progressing.
Similarly, I enjoin you all to always create time for God by putting before Him any venture(s ) you want to embark upon through prayers because with God all things are possible. Never be over ambitious but be guided by the saying : slow and steady win the race. Also, let the motto of this school: ‘DREAM IT, BELIEVE IT, ACHIEVE IT’ be your guiding principles in whereever you find yourselves or in whatever you want to do in life.
You, the graduating students, have passed through Topclass Comprehensive College, Papa-Ibafo, by your attendance as well as by drinking from the wealth of experiences of your committed, devoted and hardworking teachers that eventually culminated in your writing the WASCE and NECO exams. Now allow the school to pass through you by living out the qualities and leadership the school had impacted in you as its ambassadors as you go into the larger society.
While awaiting the release of your results by the Examination bodies or processing your admissions into tertiary institutions of your choices, you should endeavour to identify the several opportunities and potentialities in and around your environments that require minimal costs and time such as: fashion designing, tiling, aluminium fabrication, catering, event planning, barbing saloon/ hair dressing, manicure / pedicure, auto mechanics, electrician that you can engage in. Remember the saying that no knowledge is lost.
Many of you will, either like to pursue further studies in tertiary institutions or acquire vocational skills in reputable skill acquisition centres, depending on your performances in your examinations. There is keen competition outside especially for admission seekers. Most of the brilliant ones among you will definitely gain admissions into either the universities, polytechnics or colleges of education in the 2025/2026 academic session all things being equal (ceteris paribus).
While in the tertiary institutions, there will be good and bad influences and influencers you will come across. Shine your eyes and pray very well that God should lead you aright so that you will not fall into or join bad groups.
For those that might not be so fortunate, try the pre-degree courses in the tertiary institutions if your parents or guardians can afford the fees because half bread is better than none. If you are serious with your studies in your pre-degree year , your chances of gaining admissions to such university to study your preferred course of study are very bright in the subsequent academic session. Hence, make hay when the sun shines.If you insist on pursuing higher education at all cost, study hard and do not look for miracle centres .The longer you idle away at home the harder your chances of securing admissions becomes slimmer. Frustration may set in which may lead one into joining bad companions.
For others, remember that fingers are not equal; don’t give up the struggle because when there is life there’s hope and the downfall of a man is not the end of his life.Put your hands, minds and brains into other good things of life that will be beneficial to yourselves, your families and the society at large in future because a lazy man’s brain is the devil’s workshop. Be courageous because it is through several trials that you can surmount your challenges and don’t forget that it is not life that matters but the courage you bring into it. The Yoruba will say he who does not stop persevering wins the heart of his suitor ( Okunrin ti ko ba je ki obinrin simi ni obinrin naa maa ngba fun lati fe).
For those going into vocational or skill acquisition, ponder on the following: The values of the place . Does the place promote discipline, honesty and integrity and respect? Or do they engage in shoddy acts that encourage cutting corners, nonsense talks, and ignore character building?
Who are the kind of people around there? Are they apprentices worthy of emulation, decent, good manners or rough and street- smart or social miscreants or uncontrolled peers?
What are the attitudes of children in such a centre toward life ? What sort of clients patronise the place? Are they people you will want to identify with publicly, decent, not used to foul or indecent (gutter) languages . The type of clients youths meet frequently can impact their lives on a gradual basis.
To you the female students here, be wary of sugar-coated-mouth boys that might want to lure you into amorous relationships during this period of your self proclaimed ‘freedom’. You may end up carrying unwanted pregnancies which may mar your life if you are not careful and focused.
My dear students, say no to drugs, alcoholism, no to swagging because this school which is your alma matter insisted on discipline, decent dressings, Do-It-Yourself ( D-I-Y) policy while you were there as students. As ambassadors of your families and our nation , strive hard at all times to protect their cherished values that had taken them years to build. Let hard work and not work smart be your mission statement. He who embraces hard work embraces dignity , respect and integrity from the society while he that goes for work smart ends up in landmines.
As you are all aware, the social media is a very brilliant innovation, unfortunately, it is eroding the very foundation of humanity hence I encourage you to employ its good and positive aspects for your self developments and the good of the society. Its negative side leads to destruction of man. Do not engage in cybercrime, quick-money-making syndrome, cyberbullying, blackmailing for extortion, cultism, etc , etc because the end results of such shoddy deals are usually in perdition. I wish you all, all that I wish myself in life. Amen.
ADVICE TO PARENTS: Congratulations to you my loving and caring parents and guardians for all you have done and you will still do for our children. May the good Lord continue to bless you all, replenish your pockets, enlarge your coasts and grant you long life to reap the fruits of your labour in good health of mind and body. Amen. This is not the end of the race because it is not over until it is over. May God give you all the strength and the grace to train your children to where they desire in life. Amen.
I implore you parents to be more involved in the training and mentoring of your children so that they will give you rest in your old ages because as you lay your bed, so you shall lay on it. As you pursue your careers as professionals , do not abandon your parental role of monitoring and nurturing your children because they are your future pride that will give you returns on your investments when you are old.
OUR TEACHERS: I appreciate all the teachers for your perseverance, tolerance and patience in relating and interacting with these students, (both outgoing and stale). He who feels it knows it because I have always been part of this noble profession either directly or indirectly since 1982. May the good Lord continue to bless you all and your homes, grant you your hearts’ desires through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Kindly find places in your large hearts to forgive those that might have offended you while they were your students. May God reward you all according to His glory and riches. Amen.
THE PROPRIETOR: The father of the masqueraders leaves the groove last. I rejoice with the Proprietor of this school and his amiable wife for this wonderful achievement made possible by God. He who has started this good thing in your life and that of your wife/ family will sustain it to higher levels. Amen. This is the testimonial of perseverance, resilience and loyalty spanning over 15 years of your serving and understudying someone elsewhere. May here that serves as your school be your zion of greater achievements in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. May God grant to you, your family, the PTA, the students and all of us gathered here celebrating with you the blessings of the Biblical Father
Abraham in all our endeavours. Amen. Thank you all.
July 28 2025
Dada is a Retired Deputy Editor-in-Chief, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
