How to Break Free from Broken Systems & Reconstruct Your Future | Rev. Dr. Wati Aier

Ladies and gentlemen, may now invite Reverend Dr. Wati Aier to deliver the commencement address. >> Respected principal, Dr. Uwatse King, chairman of the college, Mr. Apollo Luoy, members of the faculty, dear family members, esteemed guests, and wider scholastic community. It is a profound honor to be in front of this vibrant scholars. I take my hats off to honor you. It is a very important milestone in the life of each individual. And not only that, it is also a wonderful event for this college, Iteso College. So, for the class of 2026, this commencement is not simply an exercise. It is not all about conclusion of your academic studies. It is, as we often say, the end of a beginning. Today's event will have an abiding significance not only in the history of this institution, but more importantly in the unfolding journey of each of you. John Masefield, a poet and a writer, in his tribute to the English universities once said this, "Therefore, if you look around the world, he says, quote, there are few earthly things more important than a university. A place where those who have ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see. This was sounded by this great man in places like Oxford, Cambridge, and so on. This is the essence of what you have experienced here. A university, a college, a learning institution is not simply a building. It is not only a curriculum. It is a living community of inquiry, a place where minds are sharpened, where questions are welcome, and where truth is perceived with courage. As you stay behind and beyond this walls of this wonderful institution. You will be You will encounter a world even in front of us within our state. You will encounter a world marked by inequality, bureaucracy, and rigid hierarchies. The sociology of Emile Durkheim coined, along with Robert Merton, anomie, a state of normlessness, where individuals feel disconnected. They feel out of place from a collective meaning. But remember, dear scholars, these structures that we see around us >> [snorts] >> are not immutable. They are not unchangeable. They are human constructs. They are our constructs. And what is constructed can be reconstructed. David Graeber, in his 2024, just 2 years ago one of the famous book in the field of anthropology and also sociology wrote the ultimate hidden truth of the world. That's the title of the book. The ultimate hidden truth of the world. In this book, Kramer reminds us that the hidden truth is this. The world is something we make and could just as easily make differently. So, the construct is our construct and the hidden truth is we can we can remake, we can reshape, we can transform. That's what it is. So, students you are not distant. You are not conditioned to be under rigid hierarchies or shaped by normlessness or formlessness. You have the capacity. Yes. You individuals, you have the capacity and the ecology. Do not think of yourself as too small. You are somebody very, very special. You can do it. Therefore, you can consciously decide how you want to be. To be or not to be. You can consciously decide what you want to be. Today, we talk about postmodernism. We live in a postmodern era of of what Peter Berger, the sociologist, called it many globalizations. Of course, that's the title of the book that he wrote with Huntington. Samuel Huntington, the one who wrote The Clash of Civilizations. They jointly wrote Many Globalizations. This plurality of words demands that we challenge institutionalized structures of corruption and dehumanization. Young people, it's in your hands. How long are we going to go in this condition, in this situation? We have added ecology in our our minds, in our right writings, in our vocabularies, as well as in our action. praxis A reflection of what you learn, putting into practice, is praxis. The praxiological dimension of your being is to challenge institutionalized structure, systemic operation, inequality, looking down on others, and corruption, and all that structures of dehumanization. And you can do it. Young people, am I right? Amen. You can. You have to walk out from here with a determination to change our settings, our condition. This is your world. So, there are so many possibilities. Political possibilities, cultural possibilities, social possibilities. Humanity has always reinvented itself. In every generation, they have reinvented themselves. And your generation, generation alpha, must look beyond the existing power structures to embrace the potential for a more equitable and a free future. Do not let social and political construct limit your outlook. Today, you are caged. You are being limited. We have limited you. The system have limited you, but do not let this political constructs, social constructs that we have given to the younger generation, limit your outlook, please. And if we have limited you, forgive us. But today, you have in your hands power. Do not allow bourgeois class or the class culture in the Naga context or in beyond the Naga context to define you as inferior. To define you as below average. Do not let them define you. The vast vista of possibilities is before you. It is there. And yet, beyond all human striving, there is a deeper source of hope. Today, great writers are writing Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point, Jitan Bukta, motivational writings. All so many are talking about changes, possibilities, a a secularized version of the Bible, a secularized version of the of the gospel of hope. Very good. But we have much more source, a source that's deeper, and this is trust and faith in the living God. Trust and have your faith in the living God is the greatest assurance that we find. It is in all the sacred books. Trust in the living God is our greatest asset, greatest assurance. It is this faith that anchors us when structures fail. When system oppresses us, when hierarchies try to silence us, and when the world seems fragmented, faith reminds us that dignity is not bestowed by society, but is inherent in each person, created, as the Bible says, in the image of God. It is this conviction that must guide you and I and enter step out from this evening into a wider possibility. So, therefore, graduates of 2026, today you commence a new beginning. Carry with you the courage to question, the humility to learn, and the faith to hope. May your lives be testimonies that the world can indeed be made more friendly, once more more humane, more free. So, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to share in this wonderful event. God bless you. >> [applause]