Fegor Obuwoma: Convocation Speech 2022

What a blessing to be here, alive, and present. I’m somewhat of a poet, so I had to convince myself not to make this into a long poem.

I’m extremely humbled to give this short speech. I’d like to start by acknowledging that we are currently on the unceded and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations, and I’m sure this land knows itself more than I ever can. But there is a gratitude I have towards the land. For the things it has allowed me to see, the people I have met, and the haven from home it has provided. As an immigrant from a place whose lands have been colonized and continue to be exploited, I understand the violence of imperialism and acknowledge the ongoing violence of colonialism and white supremacy, and the impact it has on Indigenous people and communities. This acknowledgement is to remind us all to keep learning and to do better for the Indigenous communities whose lands we currently live on and benefit from.

I’d like to further say thank you to the Honorable Chancellor, President, staff members, fellow graduands, families, and friends, and all those who are witnessing us now in a multitude of capacities. And because I am a collection of all the people I have ever met and who have loved me, I say a big thank you to my family and friends, to those I was fortunate to meet here, and to those who took a chance on me.

My family has greatly supported me, so I’d like to pass on my extreme gratitude for the life you’ve afforded me. I believe I am a storyteller because my mum has spent my whole life telling me stories and sharing great wisdom with me – it is because of her that I am an artist. My parents are people who have let me dare to be myself, and that’s how you find me here today. So, thank you, dear parents.

And thank you to my friends that have stood by me and are here cheering me on! For a lot of us who have journeyed here for an education, you understand the importance of friends and a support group, so I hope you go home and hug your friends as I will.

Now it's time to move away from thanks a bit and speak about my journey at SFU. SFU has been challenging for me. I’m sure all of us. And I’d say surprising, in a sense, because I struggled a lot with school until the pandemic hit and introduced a different way of learning, which I think highlights the need for SFU to actively provide and prioritize accessible learning. This gift of re-evaluating learning practices was really the most memorable part of university for me. It proved to me that there is always something about yourself you don’t know, and that there are many ways to access potential.

When I left Nigeria to study in Canada in 2017, I honestly didn’t know what to expect, except that the weather was better in BC (that’s why I picked SFU). But for a lot of us, SFU has been as pleasurable as it’s been perilous. We are living through a global pandemic, and even in that, we have grown to unimaginable heights. SFU has presented a place where we have been able to challenge what it means to be ourselves, and to learn to be people that our communities can be proud of, that we can be proud of. The feeling of graduating makes me feel like such a hatchling, and yet an eagle. I suppose these are the kind of feelings we get when we move from one stage of life to another, so let me say good luck to all of us. We will need it.

I’m personally grateful for the Black communities on campus that have held and inspired me.

The movements and moments I have been fortunate enough to be a part of and witness have prepared me for a future that is as soft as it is fierce, and as infinitely possible as I can dare to dream. I hope we can all still leave this institution with this sense of wonderment. A career in the arts is very uncertain, as you know, so I will tackle it as it comes, and hopefully make work I can be proud of. I hope as I move on to an interdisciplinary career in the arts, I can impact the future with imagination and affirm the tangibility of dreams.

I pray that we carry the impact we have received to the furthest reaches. And to SFU that has created a space to nurture us, I say thank you and ask for SFU to move forward, too. You have impacted us, and now we hope our presence here has impacted this institution.

I urge SFU to stand for justice, support students, and give back, not only take. To enrichen our collective futures in the midst of mass upheaval and extinction. Please take a chance on the student groups and those who are seeking equity and justice from this institution and wider systems of power. Give voice to those who are here to envision just futures and make efforts to respect this land. As an institution that is inherently colonial by its existence, do a better job of serving marginalized communities and start a process of accountability that acknowledges an intersectional and decolonial practice in every choice you make.

To my fellow graduands, who am I to give you advice of a future that is so uncertain? I have no knowledge that you do not in a sense already possess, but I will extend what I do believe. Which is: please dare to dream impossible worlds into existence, because you’ve done it so many times already. We collectively imagined what it meant to get an education amid a global pandemic. I hope you see this means there is much more you can do.

Next, see all you have done and will do as infinite. There is something freeing about knowing that your impact in this world and community will outlive you. When we look at the important things that have changed over time at SFU, we also see the legacy of previous students that advocated and did the work and dreamt a better SFU for us. How amazing.

So today, I dedicate this speech to acts of freedom and justice that, as we enter the world, we might have the power to dismantle, envision, and do what is right.

Thank you so much everyone for witnessing us, and affirming we are alive and that we were here.

Biography

Ogheneofegor Obuwoma is a Nigerian filmmaker, storyteller, cultural critic, and artist. At SFU she majored in film production and minored in communication, and her films encompass the themes of Black agency, Black spirituality, intersectional feminism, and African futurism. Her work has been showcased in both gallery spaces and independent film festivals and has received acclaim from both peers and professionals in the art field. She recently earned SFU’s Archambault Memorial Award in Film, recognizing independent spirit and innovation. Fegor had a keen interest in social justice and community development: she serves campus organizations that share her core values, including the Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group (SFPIRG) and SFU Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry (SOCA). Fegor comes from a long line of amazing people who have dreamt unimaginable futures into existence. As she furthers her studies, Fegor hopes to pursue an interdisciplinary career in the arts that centres the stories of people, community, and self.