‘Building a sound mind for academic success’ – keynote address at Oyo Library Board’s readership promotion prog
Keynote Address by Mr. Femi Ogunlana, Principal of Emmanuel Agboola Baptist Grammar School, Ogbomoso, Oyo State and who is Publisher of The Insight Newspaper/ogbomosoinsightonline.com.
Readership Promotion Campaign Programme for Students of Selected Schools in Ogbomosoland
Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Venue: Anglican Grammar School, Ogbomoso.
Theme: Building a Sound Mind for Academic Success
Protocol/Introduction
The Oyo State Governor, His Excellency, Engr. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde,
Chairman, Oyo State Library Board, Hon. ’Yemi Taiwo,
The State Librarian, Mr. Samuel O. Awotona CLN,
Permanent Secretary/Inspector General of Education, Ogbomoso Zone 1, Rev’d. Dr. Dele Oyedokun,
Guests of Honour – Dr. Ademola Ogunsola (V. P. Iresapa Community High School), Dr. A. A. Arinola (Department of Library & Information Science, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso) and Dn. Abiodun Olowe (Host Principal), Dr. Ganiyu Adigun (University Librarian Federal University of Agriculture and Technology, FUNATO, Okeho),
Other distinguished guests, esteemed teachers, staff of the State Library Board, articulate students, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour and rare privilege to stand before you today as the keynote speaker for this remarkable occasion – Readership Promotion Campaign Programme for Secondary School Students in Ogbomosoland. Let me begin by extending warm greetings to the organizers, the Oyo State Library Board, for their deep perspective and resourcefulness. A programme like this at a time like this is very germane in view of the general slump in the culture of reading in our society. This is a malaise that plagues both the old and the young. People generally are averse to conscientious reading in contemporary times and when reading culture wanes, societies irreversibly face degradation, and such societies get engaged in reverse gear, their civilization process is stunted and innovation is suppressed. To have come up with such programme which “aims to foster a vibrant reading culture among students and promote academic excellence” is highly commendable. More power to your elbow.
Also laudable is the concept of appointing Students Library Ambassadors. I believe if this initiative is well articulated, pursued with intent and driven by purpose, we will be recording a significant spike in the reading culture among students especially. As a principal, I’m impressed by this model of readership promotion campaign. I used to think the Oyo State Library Board had become moribund and another redundant agency but this epoch-making programme has really changed my perception. In any way you want schools to collaborate or support, we will, or let me say, I will. I thank you once again for considering me worthy to deliver the keynote address.
I greet all the guests and students here in this gathering, it is my prayer we will have a rewarding experience and help chart a new course to bolstering reading interest among our children. Because without recommitment to reading, attaining academic excellence will be a mirage.
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For the sake of the students, who are the primary target of this auspicious occasion, let me define the key words and terms in the theme, which are MIND, SOUND, SOUND MIND and ACADEMIC SUCCESS. I will try to make it interactive and engaging as much as possible, so my dear students, you have to listen with rapt attention, I may ask any of you any question at any time.
So,
1. WHAT IS MIND? WHAT DO WE REFER TO AS MIND?
Mind is that vital recess in human beings that allows us to feel, think, perceive and reason. It is like the control centre of the body, the trigger room. But it is difficult to state its specific location in the body? This of course has ignited a lot of disagreements among scholars, whether the mind is situated in the head, in the psyche, brain or heart. Or can anyone tell me where the mind is actually located? It determines our intellectual ability, it is the haven for cogitation.
2. WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY SOMETHING IS SOUND?
We say something is sound when it exhibits logic, when it is embedded with reasoning, is analytical, is coherent, is in good health, mentally and physically, is resilient and has ability to withstand stress. When brilliant results are produced.
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3. NOW, WHEN CAN WE DECLARE AN INDIVIDUAL HAS A SOUND MIND?
Aligning the two terms, sound and mind, we say someone is imbued with a sound mind when that person’s mind or state of mental health is characterized by clarity, rational thinking and capacity to make good decisions. So, when someone possesses a sound mind, he or she is able to think clearly, and understands the consequences that may follow his/her actions or their implications. A sound mind signifies a mental state that is devoid of any impairment such as illnesses, drugs or dementia. It is a mind that is not under the influence of any drug or alcohol. It is then taken that it is such a mind that will be able to make good judgment.
4. ESSENTIALITY OF A SOUND MIND
The mind is indeed the battle ground of life. The battles we wage, the decisions we make get crystallized in the mind. The mind makes or mars a man, it is the crucible where plans are made. Whether you will win depends on what goes on in your mind. If you accept defeat in your mind, it will be difficult for you to notch victory in the physical except by luck but most times luck does not come into it. That is why the richest and one of the greatest footballers of all time Cristiano Ronaldo said at the weekend after he banged another stunning goal that “Success is not an accident.” That encapsulates his own mentality bordering on a mix of determination, discipline and self-belief – a product of a sound mind. So, success has to be diligently and dexterously worked for, and that inescapably depends on one’s state of mind – whether sound or defective.
So, my dear students it is an imperative that you habour a sound mind. It is essential.
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5. KEY COMPONENTS OF/HOW TO HAVE A SOUND MIND
– Self-control and self-discipline
– Lack of fear
– Mental capacity to understand one’s surrounding and taking good decisions
– Ability to make good decisions
– Rationality
– Filled with love, empathy, encouragement
– Courage
– Determination
– Boldness
– Motivation and enthusiasm
– Free of confusion
– Stable and healthy
– Positivity: A whole book is written on positive thinking, titled, “The Power of Positive Thinking,” by Norman Vincent Peale, and that tells you the essentiality of being positive in outlook and it starts from the mind. So, always engulf your mind with positivity. Do not allow impossibility to take a root or thrive in your mind. Everything is possible, you only need a sound mind. A former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Therefore, everything is possible, fill your mind with such a mindset. The thought of impossibility is a mere psychological barrier that must be rooted out with alacrity.
– Reading. A common saying is that “readers are leaders.” if you aspire to become an (effective and efficient) leader, you must cultivate the habit of reading. When you read you have an edge ever your colleagues who don’t read, and this shouldn’t be restricted to only your school notes, but a whole spectrum of books. Read novels, history books, newspapers, any written material, read, read and read, it widens your horizon and builds your vocabulary. Make libraries your friend. When you develop your reading habit, you develop a sound mind.
– Dream. Dreamers they say rule the world. And they also say the future belongs to dreamers. The beauty of it is that dreams are birthed in the mind, in a sound mind.
– Peaceful
Note this that a sound mind is grounded in truth and not shaped by cultural and peer pressure
6. OBSTACLES TO A SOUND MIND
– Fear
– Anxiety
– Worldly influences
– Peer pressure
– Illnesses
– Addiction, to phone, to films etc
– Negativity etc.
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7. ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND PLACE OF A SOUND MIND IN ACHIEVING IT
The crux of this programme is attainment of academic success. What is academic success? We can define academic success in a number of ways. We can look at it as the realization of an individual’s educational goal. Parameters that can be used to measure academic success include earning good grades, completing school programmes and courses, knowledge and skills acquisition, developing abilities like critical thinking and problem solving etc. It is when, as students, you achieve your goals of attending school, that you can bask in the euphoria of having attained academic success. Anything other than that is academic failure. Now, have you ever asked yourself the question, “Why am I attending school?”
As students, you must set goals and objectives, short– and long–term goals. Such goals you can set include I want to proceed to an institution of higher learning after secondary school to study so, so, so and so course. That is one objective of attending primary and secondary schools, now, you need to work assiduously to achieve that goal. Towards this, you need to progressively improve your academic performance, consistently gain knowledge and skills, and attain personal growth and so on.
This is where a sound mind comes in, a sound mind will plug the gap between a goal and its achievement.
Let me tell you an anecdote reflecting the story of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a former World Body Building Champion, movie star and ex-governor in the United States of America. Arnold was born in Austria, Europe in 1947 (still alive). The life designed for him by his parents was to become a farmer or factory worker but his dream was beyond that. When he was eleven years old he saw a picture of America and was fascinated by the country’s beauty, the skyscrapers, high rise buildings, and he knew that was where he wanted to be. He eventually relocated there. In the USA, he saw a magazine with picture of a body building champion in the cover page. He got inspired by the photograph of the champion, consequently, his vision was formed – he would become a body building champion. He began diligent work to achieve the goal, spending five to six hours a day in the gym, practicing, and by the time he was 21, he emerged world body building champion. Another passion that caught his fancy was to become a movie star. Shortly after, he was the main cast in Conan the Barbarian, which attained worldwide acclaim. The Terminator film he also produced launched him as a legendary actor. But that was not all. He dreamt of becoming a governor, the governor of California, the fifth largest state in the USA and fifth largest economy in the world. He also realised that ambition. He said he would have gunned for the Presidency but because he was not born in the US.
That is the power of a sound mind, the magic it can wrought. Arnold dreamed, formed visions, pursued each with a positive mind devoid of negativity and with passion. His life is a demonstration of a sound mind in achieving success. You need similar mentality to achieve academic success and successes in other endeavours.
(Note: For time factor meanwhile, this anecdote about Arnold Schwarzenegger was skipped).
8. CONCLUSION
As I conclude, I charge you, my very dear students, build a sound mind through the strategies highlighted above and you will achieve fulfillment on the basis of academic excellence. You have great potentials embedded in you, but only with a sound mind can you realize them. You must strive to make your mind an asset.
Thank you. God bless.
Femi Ogunlana
Principal, Emmanuel Agboola Baptist Grammar School Ogbomoso & Publisher/Editor -in -Chief of The Insight Newspaper/ogbomosoinsightonline.com
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