REMARKS OF THE VICE CHANCELLOR OF THE CO-OPERATIVE UNIVERSITY OF KENYA PROF. KAMAU NGAMAU ON THE OCCASION OF THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE INDUCTION WORKSHOP OF CUK’S STUDENTS’ LEADERS AT DON BOSCO YOUTH EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, KAREN ON 22ND SEPTEMBER, 2017 AT 3.25PM
Ladies and Gentlemen
This afternoon marks the end of your three-day training here at Don Bosco Youth Education services and it is my hope you have had a good interactive and education session. Allow me to start by thanking the organizers of this induction workshop for you as students’ leaders; the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs through The Office of The Dean of Students’ and her staff and also extend my thanks to you for being here and enduring the chilly weather over the last three days.
Allow me to start by congratulating you on your election to various positions of students’ leadership in last academic year’s students’ elections. Sometimes political campaigns can be gruesome at the University but I hope you have gotten over it. The students entrusted you with the leadership perhaps because of the issues you articulated during your campaigns but most likely because of the potential they saw in your individual selves. They believed in you. You should not let them down by not believing in yourselves and delivering quality leadership.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I challenge you to be critical thinkers and take your leadership style to a higher level. Approach issues with solutions and not with troubles. A University must produce leaders for a Nation who can guide the populace across the Globe. The Management of the University is convinced that by holding this workshop of students’ leaders, we are going to have a greater good for the entire students’ body.
Further, I call upon you to now get to work. Work as team, move together. Talk to one another. Have round table discussions. Listen to each other. You will disagree, but do not be divided on a good course. If you do that, we are certain that petty issues of ethnicity, insecurity, probable radicalization of University students, miscommunication, and fights will be a thing of the past.
I urge you, as you enjoy the privileges of being a student leader and great cultural diversities of a University life, strike a considerably healthy balance with the academic life. At CUK we need to build you as a whole person and not just one side.
At the end of your tenure as a leader, you need to sit back and look at what you did, listen to criticism and perhaps once another opportunity arises in future you do better. If you fail this test, that will be a tragedy of enormous scopes.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I will remind you the story of the United States Navy Admiral William M. H., the commander of the forces that organized a raid to kill Osama Bin Laden; While addressing Graduates at the University of Texas, he once said, “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day; it will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”
Young Men and Women,
You are not leaders to be irresponsible citizens and students. You are to show the way. I am certain you are aware of a number of university policies. It is your duty and moral obligation to come to us as we do to you once you realize things are moving in a manner not prescribed. We have an open door policy and students, you are our priority; call on us anytime.
Lastly, I trust you remain good ambassadors of The Co-operative University of Kenya as before and fly high our flag as an internationally reputed University. We trust that our research and teaching as a University build you to come out of the University as the others have, as an intellectual per excellence.
I wish you a fruitful stay at the University and success in your academia,
Ladies and gentlemen, with these few remarks, I now wish to declare this induction workshop officially closed.

GOD BLESS YOU.