TheCable

Hadiza Bala Usman, managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has urged young girls to embrace positivity and hard work.

Usman said this on Friday while delivering a keynote address at the 2018 valedictory and graduation ceremony of Vivian Fowler Memorial Girls College,  Lagos.

Speaking on the topic, ‘Becoming a Woman of Significance’, Usman urged the graduands never to lose focus.

“One of the very essential things to build on your natural endowments is the business that brought you to this college – education. But you must have been told that this is just the beginning,” she said.

“You must aspire to be the most knowledgeable in whatever career you choose for yourself. This is to say that no human being who desires significance should ever stop learning.

“As a child, I was brought up to know everything my brothers knew. I learnt to wash, drive and change the tires of cars. All of these are of tremendous use to me today.

“So develop a can do spirit, show that you are skillful and with the right temperament and then wait for the opportunity to present itself.

“I also want to advise that you cultivate the capacity for hard work. Diligence, commitment and a painstaking attitude to seeing things through are like fragrances and they will endear you to people and draw good things.

“History has a place for you young ladies and I pray that you find the grace and courage to step into that place.”