Zainab Suntai, the daughter of late former Taraba State Governor, Danbaba Suntai, has penned a moving dedication of her doctorate degree to her father and the entire Suntai village.
The 24-year-old daughter of the former governor recently bagged a PhD from the University of Alabama, United States in Palliative and End of Life Care.
Her work may have been inspired by her father’s traumatic experience after a Cessna 208 plane he was flying crashed in the state capital, Jalingo, in October 2012.
He died five years later in June 2017 in an American hospital.
In her May 5, 2022 dedication, Zainab recalled her childhood fascination with teaching and gushed at the final realsation of her dream.
It reads: “24 years on earth and each one has led to this moment. My time as a student has come to an end, and now I begin a lifelong career of guiding students to chase their dreams. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher; as a child, I spent a lot of time outside the house, writing with chalk on a blackboard, and animatedly teaching to an invisible class of students. People thought I was weird, but they didn’t realize that I was practicing for a time when my childhood plays will turn into a rewarding job. Hard work is a valid construct, but so much more of life depends on opportunity and luck.
I have always worked hard to make sure I could get to this moment, but so many other people around the world work harder, but did not have the opportunity. I am grateful, and so incredibly lucky to have had the means to pursue my education up to this point. And it’s because I realize that it is all about opportunity that I was drawn to social work as a career.
The core value of social workers is the treatment of all persons with equity, an eternal fight to make sure that everyone has the same chance to have education, health, love, happiness, peace, and all the things that are our simple human rights. I hope to be able to contribute in making this change, and I hope to provide opportunities for others along the way. Daddy, I hope you are proud of me. To the entire village of Suntai, this one is for all of us.”
Source: Facebook
