Highlights of Keynote Address at the African Leadership College Graduation Ceremony, February 28, 2023
Theme: Life is a Mauritian Roundabout
The image of a roundabout with many possible exits might be overwhelming to some, unlike the fork in the road with just two or three options. But given that Mauritius is literally made of a thousand roundabouts, each with a dozen exits, I think you all can all relate.
As you graduate today, you might be wondering; Go to grad school or work for a bank.
Become a soldier or teach.
Start a company or enter public service.
Go back home or travel the world?
Please allow me to share parts of my story for you to use as an analogy for yours. It’s not a life manual but these are perspectives that you might find useful.
There are five (5) principles I need you to remember at the end of today and I will quiz you on them at the end.
(i) Whatever you decide to do, be really good at it. Master it so you can apply it now and in the future. If you choose to take the exit at the roundabout that reads “The North” after this graduation, you have to follow it through for a while.
(ii) There’s hardly a wrong move. It’s just a move that you’ll learn from. If you are unsure what your exit at the roundabout is, drive slowly and check out the other exit signs ahead because you can always loop back around. Be curious and comfortable with exploration.
(iii) Be authentically your full selves. It sounds hard in a world full of prejudice but if the goal is to reach your fullest human potential, then that won’t happen if you can’t be yourselves. People always give me a second look when they hear I am the Minister in charge of education, a sector that takes 22% of our nation’s budget in Sierra Leone.
(iv) Our best people must Do Politics and do Public service. Not many “good” young people aspire to be in public service. I don’t know why but there are not many ways to drive impact than in the public sector. Today in Sierra Leone, everyone knows the expression Radical Inclusion. My first book, out in May this year is named; Radical Inclusion: Seven Steps to Help You Create a More Just Workplace, Home, and World.
(v) And for the fifth lesson today; there’s no way to do the hard stuff without going through the hard stuff. If you believe in religious diversity, equal pay for men and women, girls education, human rights, or whatever social cause you stand for, you have to do the hard work to get it done. No one changed the world by just complaining without marching, fighting, voting and serving. The hard stuff is hard. I won’t lie to you but it has to get done. I get all kinds of abuse, threats, sleepless nights, loss of family time, etc because of my work. I know I said I had 5 things for you to remember.
- Be really good at whatever you decide to do
- There’s no wrong exit, you can learn from everything
- Be authentically your full selves
- Do Politics, do public service
- And Do the hard stuff.
But really if you must remember one thing today, it’s something I only learned myself last week. When I joined the government, I was told I didn’t have the right credentials for it. I was too young. I wouldn’t be able to manage the education sector. I didn’t know Politics.
Then last week, I won the Best Minister Award at the World Government Summit… and those same people only dug their heels deeper in their beliefs.
Augustine Sankoh
Strategic Communications Analyst MBSSE
asankoh@education.gov.sl
