Dr Kasanita Nayasi speaking at the Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna week-long celebration last week.

As future teachers, scientists, policymakers, artists, and community leaders, let us be inspired by Ratu Sukuna’s balance of humility and ambition.

These were the sentiments echoed by Assistant Professor in Education at the Fiji National University’s (FNU) College of Humanities, Education and Law (CHEL), Dr Kasanita Nayasi, while officiating as the guest of honor at the Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna week-long celebration at FNU’s Natabua Campus last week.

Students entertaining the crowd at the Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna week-long celebration last week.

The celebration featured students and staff participating in activities such as displaying traditional artifacts, attire presentation, coconut husking and scraping, weaving of baskets using coconut leaves and even a dance and singing competition performed by the students in their different confederacies.

In her opening remarks, Dr Nayasi encouraged the students to become visionary leaders.

“A visionary student sees beyond the lecture room. They see knowledge not as information to be memorised, but as wisdom to be lived. They question, they explore, and most importantly, they care — about people, about culture, and about the kind of society we are building,” she said.

“Let us carry forward the flame of his vision — not only in grand speeches, but in how we teach, how we serve, and how we live. Let our work, like his, protect what is sacred, and at the same time, prepare for what is new.”

She also spoke on how her recent achievement in attaining her Ph.D from the FNU reflected the values of Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna.

“My own Ph.D dissertation powerfully echoes and expands upon the visionary leadership of Ratu Sukuna. My work honours indigenous knowledge systems, particularly Vanua pedagogies, not just as valid, but as vital. It offers a model of education that uplifts, rather than erases, identity. It asks: How can we create learning spaces where iTaukei students excel academically — not by leaving their culture at the door, but by bringing it with them, proudly, as a source of strength?” she added.

FNU stands proud of its students and staff for continuing to celebrate the legacy of Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, educating others about his visionary leadership and the good work he did in bringing Fiji to where it is today.