24.01.2022: Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria: The American University of Nigeria is utterly committed to the health and safety of its community. Anything less would be unthinkable. In a time of the pandemic, this health and safety can best be achieved through universal vaccination, so that we neither become ill nor spread the illness to others.
We do this because here at AUN we respect facts and science, not superstitious scare-mongering. We do this because here at AUN we care about the health and wellbeing of ourselves, of our families and of each other. We do this because here at AUN we care about the common good.
Over 350,000,000 people have contracted Covid-19 world-wide. In a triumph of medical science, safe and effective vaccines have been developed very rapidly in several different countries. This is something for which we should all be boundlessly grateful. These are proven vaccines that can either prevent the disease or diminish its severity. Vaccines that save lives.
This is no different from the vaccines that saved us from smallpox and from polio. In the 20th century, 300 million people died of smallpox. Three hundred million. No one dies of smallpox today--because of the success of vaccines.
We have students, faculty and staff, international diplomats and academics from around the world on our campus. Our goal is to keep everyone safe and secure. The evidence is very clear: getting vaccinated is the best way to accomplish this.
You will be grateful to know that we now will have enough vaccines to freely distribute it to all members of the AUN community, the better to protect us, all of us. We expect everyone to participate, because we expect everyone at AUN to be concerned not just about themselves but about the wellness of others, of their neighbours and friends, of their fellow members of our community. That is who we are. As Africa’s Development university, our focus is educating students to understand and work for the common good.
Margee M. Ensign, PhD
President/Vice-Chancellor
The American University of Nigeria