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Conrad Bukenya Mulindwa, a Bachelor of Science graduate in Information Systems of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), hails from Uganda. He is the son of a former vice president of the country, Gilbert Bukenya.
Sharing his experience with BDSUNDAY on his graduation day, he said: “I am from Uganda. I joined AUN in the Spring of 2014 straight from secondary school. When I got to AUN, I had never really been out of the house; I was always been in school and back at home. But when I came to Yola, I was exposed to community service; we go out into the community and meet people from all walks of life. We met the street children, the orphans, the needy, the poor and all sorts of people, and honestly, I was humbled. That’s where I drew my inspiration.”
According to him, “Interacting with students and faculty from different cultural backgrounds has been truly enlightening. As a Ugandan, I have fallen in love with AUN, and even more so, with the people of Nigeria. Participating in international conferences such as the Model United Nations conference in New York, work study in the Writing Centre, leadership in the Student Government, community service, the Honour Society, and the lively student activities have defined the best campus experience for me. As I leave AUN, I carry forward the principles of leadership, integrity and service, and with these, I hope to make the world a better place.”
Asked if there is any relationship between his father being a former vice president of Uganda, and the leadership qualities he exhibited while in AUN; again, if his good academic performance was more of nature than nurture or vice versa, given the fact his father is a medical doctor, Conrad said: “No and yes”.
“It is nature because he is my father and nurture because there are many fathers whose children do not always meet their expectations. So, it’s a yes and no answer because, as his son, he has nurtured me right from day one to make me the man I am today. I am proud of him and of my mother too,” he explained.
The young man, a highly elated fresh graduate, told BDSUNDAY that he had an amazing feeling being in the number of those celebrating their good and worthy sojourn at AUN.
“It’s amazing,” he said, adding that “It is the greatest feeling I ever had. I am proud to be a student, a graduate and alumnus of the university. And I hope from this day onward, I will continue to represent the university and continuously embolden the qualities of leadership, service and service wherever I go”.
On his perception of the country called Nigeria, Conrad said: “I love Nigeria. It’s the first time I have been away from home for a certain period of time. It has been an amazing experience. I have made so many friends and I look forward to coming back.”
It was not all rosy for him however, as he faced some challenges from time to time while in Yola, particularly in the first year of his studies in Adamawa State.
The first challenge, according to him “was the cultural differences” he met as soon as he set his feet on campus. “My friends are from so many ethnic backgrounds; I am from Uganda- East Africa- and here is West Africa. I have had to eat a new variety of food; I have come to love eating pounded yam and vegetable soup. Initially, of course, it was a challenge because I had not seen those kinds of food before; now four years down the line, I have loved pounded yam and vegetable soup and I am honestly wondering who is going to cook it for me in Uganda,” he said.
Reminded that ordinarily, his father had the right connections and good financial stand to send him to have sent him to any university in Europe or America, wondering why did chose Nigeria, the fresh AUN alumnus said: “I cannot speak for my Dad on this, but I like to believe that he saw the future, the values in AUN. He saw that yes, there is Europe, there’s United States, and that there is also Yola. He understood that going to America or London does not equate to having a fully grown man as son. Having a son that has gone through school, and has learnt and that anybody would like to associate with, and I think he saw that in Yola. I am very grateful to him.”
As a show of his efforts while at AUN, The young Bukenya won the following awards- (to the admiration of his father who was physically present to savor the great moment)- the AIICO Pension Award for Academic Excellence; Heritage Bank Award for Leadership and President Award for Leadership.
‘My success is a combination of consistency and hard work’
Comfort Afolabi, a Bachelor of Science graduate in Finance, who went home with three awards to the admiration of her parents who were physically present at the commencement ceremony, was all smiles.
“I am really excited because I have the opportunity to thank my parents for all they have done- all the resources they deployed to bring me to AUN. I am just really happy to show them my gratitude with the awards I collected. It also shows that with hard work one can excel. I am really glad that I am able to share the good moment with my parents,” Ms. Afolabi told BDSUNDAY.
Speaking on some of the challenges she encountered while at the AUN and how she surmounted them all, she said: “Well, it’s really challenging, I won’t lie because along the way you may be asking does it worth all the stress? But one has to be consistent. You know after your second year, you may be tempted to relax, to take things easy, but you know that the work load is increasing, so you just have to be going on and on, doing all the best you can. Consistency is the word and hard work is the key. Since you have a goal you must focus on that goal. For me to be graduating after four years I have been here, it means that my commitment and all the hard work have paid off.”
She won three awards- Award for Academic Distinction- best graduating student in Finance; Award for Academic Excellence- best graduating student in School of Business & Entrepreneur, and Leadway Assurance Award for Academic Excellence.
Her father speaks
Simeon Afolabi, father of Comfort, who spoke with BDSUNDAY on behalf of the family, said: “I am elated. I don’t have enough words to capture the depth of my happiness.”
On why he choose to send Comfort to AUN and not any other university in the country or abroad, the Port Harcourt-based cleric, said: “We were looking for a place where (you know when a student is enrolled) you can plan and know when such a student will graduate. The problem we have with our public universities is that you know the date of entry but you have no idea of graduating date. So, we didn’t mind the distance and the cost because we know she’s going to get quality education. That’s out motivation.”
Speaking on what AUN represents to education in Nigeria, he said: “I think AUN represents possibility, that this can be done anywhere; that if the country Nigeria gets its acts together it can be a leading nation in the world. I told my daughter when I saw the number of foreign students in AUN; this is how our public universities used to be in those days. Students from Cameroon, from Ghana, South Africa used to come to Nigerian universities. That’s no longer the case. But I think that what is happening is a kind of revival of what we used to have in the education sector. It is a pointer to the revival of education excellence in the country.”
