It started 30 years ago, with a vision born out of deep concern for the alarmingly declining standards of education in Nigeria. Today, Trinity Group & Trinity International College, which include Trinity International College (TRICOL): Secondary school; Trinity Foundation School: Primary school (Ofada) and Trinity University (Laloko, Ogun State; City Campus in Yaba, Lagos) are inching closer to realising that vision. As part of activities marking the group’s 30 years anniversary, a delegation visited Vintage Press, the head office of The Nation Newspapers, last Thursday. The college leaders narrated how Trinity Group was established on the timeless pillars of godliness, discipline, hard work, integrity and excellence. Assistant Editor, BOLA OLAJUWON, was there.
They came together with a shared vision to provide first-class education, combined with excellent moral and spiritual upbringing. Today, 30 years down the line, a group of Christian professionals from diverse fields consisting of captains of industry, bankers, teachers, doctors, accountants, architects, pharmacists, retired military officers and education enthusiasts, who initiated what is now known as Trinity Group & Trinity International College sure has a story to tell.
Accordingly, the Board of Governors of Trinity Group, last Thursday, visitedThe Vintage Press, the head office of The Nation Newspapers to tell their inspiring story of how they nurtured the group after its formation 30 years after. The delegation, which was led by Chairman, Board of Trustees, Trinity Group, Pastor Samuel Olatunji, included Chairman, Board of Trustees, Trinity University, Deacon Adebowale Tade; and Chairman, Board of Governors, Trinity International College, Engr. Bayo Kolade.
Others included Director of Education, Trinity International College, Mrs. Oluponle Rebecca Adeyemo; Principal, Junior School, Trinity International College, Mr. Nelson Omomo; Head, Corporate Affairs, Trinity University, Mr. Michael Bamigbola; and Human Resource Manager, Trinity International College, Mr. Smith Mukoro.
The school: Journey so far
Head, Corporate Affairs, Trinity University, Mr. Michael Bamigbola, who narrated the delegation’s mission to the Vintage Press editors, said in 1995, Trinity International College opened its doors to eight pioneering students at its temporary site in the Government Reserved Area (GRA), Ikeja, Lagos.
He also narrated that three years later, the college moved to its permanent site at Trinity Hills, Ofada, where it has since grown into a thriving community of faith, learning and excellence.
According to him, through the years, this mission has become a living legacy, carried forward by a dedicated community of administrators, teachers, parents, alumni, and board members — all working in one accord to build an enduring educational institution.
Bamigbola said the anniversary commemorates three decades of dedication to academic excellence, moral discipline, and holistic development of young people. He titled the theme of their celebration as, A Legacy of Excellence: 30 Years of Learning, Leadership, and Lifelong.
Welcoming the visitor
The Editor of The Nation, Mr. Adeniyi Adesina, who represented the newspaper’s managing director, Mr. Victor Ifijeh, said he was not around because he had an appointment.
Adeniyi, who was joined by the Managing Editor (Editorial Services), Mr. Lawal Ogienagbon, said: “We were to receive you together, but our managing director just called in this morning to say that he had to go to Abuja, which he didn’t plan earlier. So, then he delegated that we should receive you.
“We are honoured to have you. Well, we didn’t know you have this large number of people coming. So, you are welcome. Briefly, I will just say one or two things about our organisation. This is the headquarters of the Vintage Press, publishers of The Nation newspaper.
“We have bureaus in Abuja, Enugu, Abuja, Ibadan, and Port Harcourt. We also have correspondents in all the states of the federation. We cover the entire country.
“This newspaper was founded on July 31, 2006. When it came into life, those who founded it felt that they wanted to cover this country simultaneously in real time. At that time, newspapers were doing what they called first and second editions. So, the publishers felt that we had reached a stage that this country would be reading the same stories.
“So, they decided that it was time for Nigeria to be in that mood. To do that, they had to buy three presses – one in Lagos, one in Port Harcourt, and another one in Abuja.
“That way, we were printing simultaneously in three places. We produced paper in Lagos, but printed simultaneously in those two other places. That way, we were able to cover the whole country.”
With that decision and within six months of publication, the editor said the newspaper became among the top three in the country. He added that the organisation also publishes Sporting Life and Gbelegbo, a Yoruba Language newspaper.
Vintage Press hailed for its remarkable feat
The leader of the delegation, Pastor Olatunji, congratulated the Vintage Press for the remarkable feat it has achieved in a short time.
“It is remarkable in many respects and of course no great surprise, the antecedents of the brains and the persons behind this great media organisation, who deliver nothing less than what we are seeing and witnessing today.
“So, on behalf of our group, we will like to commend this great initiative and the great accomplishment in the few years you have been in existence. And the innovation, the change and the impact you have made in different sectors, both in your industry and outside your industry and especially in the Nigerian community – East, West, North and South – and also in our mother language, with a newspaper like Gbelegbo. We are assured that our mother language, which is dear to many of us, will remain preserved ad infinitum.
The college’s mission
The college, according to leader of the delegation, was established as a co-educational and full boarding institution that would nurture students into godly, competent, and responsible leaders, with a mission to provide a world-class education that develops the intellectual, moral, and spiritual capacities of each learner, while nurturing leadership and responsibility towards the society.
On how the Trinity Group started, the leader of the delegation recalled that people of their ages had good education, even though not with popular access.
“It was not so affordable. Our parents were agrarian and they were poor. So, even in the same family, from the same mother, some would go to school, some would not go to school. Others would go to the farm, and all that. And that high-quality delivery waned in the course of time.
“It got watered down. Missionaries lost out. They were taken out at one time. And increasingly, professionals were declining, country was declining, curriculum was stale, character was disappearing, discipline collapsed, and it was becoming increasingly worrisome to any normal parent.
“And for us, coming from the generation of the 60s and 70s and early 80s, that had tested good world-class education, we reminded ourselves what we received, and what we believed we owed our children and generations coming behind and to make a difference, to make an impact? We came together. That was 30 years ago, in 1995.
“So, that started this experiment. We started with the secondary school. And that tiny dream, but very passionate, had flourished exceedingly so well beyond our imagination.”
He said to the glory of God, committed members of the earlier group stayed together, and remain together over these 30 years.
“Seven years ago, we got a university licence, by the grace of God, and we have three locations today. The Ofada, our dominant location, where we have three of our schools, the college, the high school, and the primary school.
“We have a permanent site, a main site for our university, a few kilometres away from that same Ofada. But the university is operating what we call the city campus, just next door to Queens College. We have those three locations to confirm that we are Trinity in truth and in deed, by the grace of God.
“Our deliverables are solid, and we have continued to defend the values that we stand for, like the missionaries of old did, to ensure that pupils are not just clever intellectually, but also good in character and in values…
“This is the news I brought to you. And we are doing what we can to ensure the vision is preserved for every generation by the grace of God. So, that is the story we are celebrating.”
Others members of delegation like Deacon Tade and Engr. Kolade also spoke on why they kept low in the past and then decided to tell their story while celebrating the anniversary.
Mrs. Adeyemo said the Trinity’s journey has been a journey of faith, excellence, consistency and growth. She also reeled the editors with the landmark laurels and awards won by the school locally and internationally.
“We are making an impact. And of course, to the glory of God, we satisfy parents with our legacy of excellence,” she said.
The Nation’s counsel
Mr. Adeniyi and Mr. Ogienagbon lauded the delegation for their tenacity and commitments.
They asked them to keep telling their stories for others to learn from them. They pledged the support of the newspaper’s management to the group.
