Delivered By

Priscilla Essien

Chairman of the Court of Governors, President of Accra Business School, Deans of Accra Business School, Reps from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, The Registrar, Distinguished Guest Speaker, Members of Convocation, Members of Faculty, Fellow Graduates;

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I deem it a great honour and privilege to be given this glorious opportunity to present the valedictory speech at this year’s graduation ceremony witnessed by your noble selves. Today marks yet another significant milestone in the history of Accra Business School and for us graduating students, we can boldly say that indeed the journey has been worth-taking and God has been faithful.
For many of us, juggling between studies and official duties at work, coupled with family responsibilities though challenging, has rather equipped us for the future, and will enhance our skills in multitask management.
To our families, friends and loved ones, we cannot thank you enough. Your constant and unwavering support fuelled our desire to go through this programme successfully and for that, we say A BIG THANK YOU.

To the Management and Staff of the Meridian Group of Companies, I extend my heartfelt appreciation to you for the support, encouragement and wise counsel over the years.
To my honourable colleagues graduating today, I personally wish to congratulate us all for a work wonderfully well done.

THE BOLD DECISION
The bold decision to enroll in and undertake the MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION programme, alone in itself is an achievement. The MBA certificate has become a very essential goal in the career development plan of many a worker. This is in view of the tremendous benefits, both in terms of academic information one receives, as well as the practical industry experience one musters from the programme.
The choice of Accra Business School as the best destination to seek satisfaction for this career development experience is well known to all of us here and even the world at large. The flexibility of lectures, i.e. one weekend in a month, the class competence and unmatched expertise of lecturers of the school, the duration of the programme itself as well as the fee-payment structure are simply phenomenal.
The euphoria of our first lecture session, the interaction and contribution from course mates, some of whom had industry experience in the subject area, the jokes cracked, the objections and those objections that were overruled, still stand fresh in my memory.
I must say that most of the facilitators were industry players with vast experience which they graciously shared with us. The likes of Mr. Richard Ahenkorah, Mr. Ernest Appiah (Teacher Appiah), Mr. Kwasi Benyi, Mr. Dawuda Alawi and Dr. Nii Okang-Daniels, gave us better insight into the modules. Though tiring and demanding all through, it was a good journey for us.

THE CHALLENGES
For every thriving educational institution such as Accra Business School, some challenges may exist. Few of such challenges that readily come to mind at ABS include; undue delays in the release of subject results, seeming lack of urgency in addressing student concerns.
To address these challenges, we advocate for some level of inclusivity when it comes to taking decisions that involve and affect students. Hon. Chairperson, we have amongst us students with equally vast corporate experience across various industries including but not limited to banking, accounting, finance, insurance, health, marketing, Information Technology and security, who are willing and well-able to share some of their rich experiences in related issues to help improve the system.

A WORD TO FELLOW GRADUATES
To my fellow graduates, today, we are gallantly stepping out of the walls of this great institution with our heads high-lifted. We have received education, we have been equipped, prepared and motivated to go out there and drive change that will increase the corporate margins of our respective organisations. Whether you self-sponsored your MBA programme or was assisted by your organisation, the important thing is that, the knowledge acquired from ABS is first and foremost yours, then your family, and then your organisation.
We must endeavour at all times to be Great Apostles of this school, and reflect the principles and values imbibed in us as effective servant leaders with integrity, accountability and honesty.

A WORD OF APPRECIATION
At this juncture, we want to express our heartfelt and profound gratitude to you, the President of Accra Business School, Bishop Gideon Titi-Ofei. You have exhibited visionary leadership. Thank you for the opportunity given us and your immersed contribution towards the raising up of servant leaders in our nation. The nation Ghana is proud of you.
To our hardworking lecturers, non-teaching staff and people associated with this school, we say thank you. We can assure you by the word of God in the book of Corinthians, that your work in the service of God will not be in vain.
A special acknowledgment to our Programmes Manager, Mr. Saviour Nyamadie. We would not have been here if not for your hard work and dedication to duty. Saviour, your enthusiasm, love and passion towards the students of Accra Business School will always be remembered.

We say thank you!

I take this opportunity to personally single out a gentleman who has contributed greatly to my success journey.
My initial decision was to pursue a Mini MBA. Upon submission of the forms, this gentleman asked me: “Why don’t you take this opportunity to apply for the MBA programme”. I felt I was not cut out for the programme yet. It was his encouragement that led to completing and submitting the forms for the programme. In fact, he was willing to pick up the forms and submit on my behalf.
I must be honest, I encountered some great challenges along the way which almost informed a decision of dropping out of the programme but, he kept encouraging and pushing me to the limit. Throughout my one-year journey, he constantly followed up on my progress and today, here we are.
I share this glorious moment with you, Mr. David Agbo. God richly bless you

A WORD TO WOMEN
Hon. Chairperson, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, without being gender insensitive, I dare say that indeed, women are the future. I consider this great achievement of delivering the valedictory speech as a win for all women and not myself only.
I use this august opportunity to encourage women to take up challenging tasks and roles and champion the new wave of gender balance in leadership and in the governance of our dear nation.
Let this solemn occasion help rewrite the scripts and change the cliché that the woman’s place is in the home.

CONCLUDING WORDS
To my fellow graduates, I say Ayekoo once again. ‘Me tu ky3 ma mo nyinaa’.

I end with a quote by Barack Obama. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
Hon. Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for your kind attention.

Long live Accra Business School!
Long Live Ghana!