Furah Bay Campus, Freetown, Sierra Leone | Friday, April 14, 2023 | Your Excellency, Brig. (Rtd.) Dr. Julius Maada Bio, Visitor of the University of Sierra Leone, and President of the Republic of Sierra Leone,

Her Excellency Madam Fatima Maada Bio, First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone,

Dr. James Sanpha Koroma, Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone and members of the Court and Senate of the University of Sierra Leone,

Brig. General Professor Dr. Foday Sahr, esteemed Vice Chancellor, and Principal of the University of Sierra Leone,

Deputy Vice Chancellors, Professors, Deans and Senior Administrators of USL,

The Honorable Minister of Technical and Higher Education.

Chairperson of the Tertiary Education Commission,

Other officials of Government present,

Faculty members (Professors, Associate and Assistant Professors, Lecturers, Administrative Staff and Students,

Visiting Chancellors, Vice Chancellors, and members of delegation from other institutions of higher learning,

Parents, guardians, sponsors, supporters, well-wishers,

Officers and members of the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) and the School of Post-Graduate Studies (SPS),

Members of the Fourth Estate,

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen:

I greet you with Shalom or Peace and bring you warm greetings of solidarity and partnership from the Visitor of the University of Liberia and President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency Dr. George Manneh Weah; the Chairman and Members of our Board of Trustees, the University of Liberia family, especially so the delegation that accompanied me to this historic occasion.

We are indeed happy and honored to be a part of this memorable occasion. It is a significant part of the educational sojourn of these graduates. We thank God that as educational institutions, we can together impact the minds and lives of these graduates and future generation.

The delegation from the University of Liberia is here celebrating with you today at your congregation for the School of Post-Graduate Studies and the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences. This did not just happen as an afterthought or through an invitation. It is the result of the interest and hard work of H.E. Dr. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone. You served as our Keynote and Guest Speaker in 2019 at the Centennial Graduation of the University of Liberia. At that time, Your Excellency, you stressed continuously the need for self-determination through South-South partnership and sharing of resources available within our sub-region and region.

You personally presided over the MoU signing ceremony between the University of Sierra Leone and the University of Liberia at the State House in Freetown in September 2021.

Your message has resonated with us so strongly in the educational sector that we now have Memoranda of Understanding with three Institutions of Higher Learning in the Republic of Sierra Leone:

• University of Sierra Leone
• Njala University
• Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology

These MoU’s are alive, and their impacts are already being felt directly and indirectly by administrators, lecturers, staff, and students from partnering institutions and universities across our two countries. This is a significant testimony to south-south cooperation, collaboration, and partnership that you emphasized few years ago.

Your Excellency, thank you very much for your transformational and inspirational leadership over the years for the educational sector in our sub-region in this 21^st Century click-click age.

Today, we celebrate the incredible achievements of our graduates/graduands and recognize their dedication, commitment, and hard work. I extend heartfelt congratulations to all the School of Post-Graduate Studies and Colleges of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences graduates who have successfully completed their studies and achieved their academic goals and objectives. You have worked hard, overcome obstacles, and demonstrated a great deal of dedication and perseverance to reach this milestone.

I also acknowledge the support and guidance of the professors and lecturers who have played instrumental roles in shaping the minds of these graduates. Your passion for teaching, learning, research, and commitment to academic excellence has inspired these graduates to pursue their dreams and make positive impact in Sierra Leone and the whole inhabited Earth.

Let me express gratitude to the family and friends of our wonderful SPS and COMAHS graduates. They provided unwavering support and encouragement throughout their academic journey I am convinced and persuaded that your love for them and investment in them have been very critical to the success stories of each graduate today. They have gone through the fire. They have been tried and tested. They have been molded and reshaped. They are now ready and prepared to take on the helm of leadership in their various disciplines and areas of this beautiful country—Saleone. I know that they are well trained and well equipped academically, professionally, emotionally and in every possible aspect of readiness, to deliver efficiently and effectively and make the difference in our world today.

Finally, today is special not just for Sierra Leone but for the entire sub-region. Considering what the sub-region has experienced, from the Ebola Health Crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conferring of degrees on more than 800 young people most of whom will enter the health sector means much more to all of us. The Citizens-to-Health-Practitioners ratio has shifted in the right and positive direction.

Once again, congratulations to the School of Post-Graduate Studies and the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences graduating class of 2021/2022. You have worked to get here, and your perseverance has paid off very well. We wish you all the best as you embarked on the next chapter of your lives.

Thanks to Professor Dr. Foday Sahr and team of this great institution of higher learning of our time in West Africa.

Long live the University of Sierra Leone and the University of Liberia partnership.

Long live the Government and peoples of Liberia and Sierra Leone.

To God be the Glory.

Congratulations