The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Alumni

  • AOCOED Alumni hold maiden homecoming today

    AOCOED Alumni hold maiden homecoming today

    Alumni body of the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) Oto/Ijanikin, will today hold its dinner/homecoming at the Banquet Event Centre, Lateef Jakande Road Agidingbi, Lagos.

    The dinner, first of its kind in the association’s history, is to reunite old alumni, have fun and seek ways to further enhance the development of the 57 year-old institution.

    The event will also feature presentation of awards to distinguished alumni who are making giant strides in their various chosen fields. It will also award those that have contributed to the development of the college and assisted members in one way or the other.

    In a chat with The Nation, the association’s national president,  Comrade Adeyemi Adesanya, revealed the inspiration behind the event.

    He said: “We discovered that the college is very old, about 57 years, while the alumni organisation is about 30 years. So, we felt there was need to call our old graduates all over the world for a reunion. We want to use this opportunity to appreciate ourselves, the college and Lagos State.”

    Adesanya recalled that when his executive committee came on board in November 2012, the first task before it was to have a database of all past graduates of the oldest institution in the state.

    Adesanya confessed that the journey has not been smooth, nonetheless, he was happy that the alumni building has been  completed

    “When we came on board, we started putting together a database of all our students. Today, I’m happy to tell you that there is no graduate whose particulars are not with us, whether such one has collected his or her certificates or not.

    “I recall the first national executive meeting we had, I told my executive members that whoever was not ready to contribute meaningfully would not be accommodated. Today, I’m quite grateful to them because they all worked with me wholeheartedly.”

    He continued: “The first challenge was how to have our alumni building because we did not have any place to stay and there was no money. So, we taxed ourselves. We also reached out to some distinguished Lagosians and alumni with which we raised some funds to lay the foundation.”

    According to Adesanya, the choice of where to site the building as well as conforming to professional standard, were another set of headaches the alumni body had to tackle.

    “The foundation alone cost us a lot of money. Initially, we were looking at it like the normal way we cut cost when building our own houses; but when the supervising engineers came, look at the drawing and discovered it would be a storey building, their recommendations were too professional from foundation up, which made the cost of the building expensive.  We did not have a choice than to comply. Today we are grateful because the building is ready,” he said.

    Adesanya thanked Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as well as the state SUBEB for providing employment opportunities to a large number of AOCOED graduates during its last recruitment exercise.

    According to him, Ambode would be the chairman of the day, while former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be the special guest of honour. An alumnus and Provost of Micheal Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED) Prof Olu Akeusola will deliver the keynorte address.

  • 35 years after, alumni reunite

    Oshodi Comprehensive High School, Lagos State (OCHS), has celebrated its first reunion 35 years after the school’s establishment.

    Alumni Association President, Mr Hamzat Ganiyu of the 1998 set, said contacting many members of the association had been difficult. He began this move since 2011, which finally yielded desired results.

    He said alumni associations were important in the growth and development of every institution, especially public schools.

    Ganiyu said: “This is our first-ever reunion. It was very tasking and challenging to get this done. Kudos to the ’88 and ’89 sets. It was when one of the ex-teachers, Mrs Odunlami, died that we all converged for her burial and one of our ex-teachers Mr Tela encouraged us to come together as a group so that we would not only meet at such gatherings. The school needs us, and even other members of the association need us. Some don’t have jobs, among other problems. This platform would help us come to their aid.

    “The school is made up of individuals who trained us. I can’t forget Mr Oyebade, who inculcated in us discipline. We realised that these people moulded and made us; and having been to higher institutions, we now understand that we were privileged to have been tutored by them. When we saw some who could not afford tuition fees, among others in higher institution, we thought back to secondary school and imagined how difficult it may be for some to afford tuition fees and other examination fees. So, we decided to help government in the management of the school that produced us, despite the tremendous efforts government is making in its schools.”

    Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District IV, Alhaja Amidat  Anifowose, urged the alumni to help their alma mater in any little way they can.

    “You are a very important stakeholder of the school. The government cannot do it alone. You need to give back to your community. Remember, this is your home. Public schools have many indigent students, come and do something in common for them. You don’t have to have too much money to lend a helping hand,” she appealed.

    An alumnus, Mr Olumide Renner of the ’96 set said: “It is very wonderful to reunite with people you never thought you would see again, especially since we had no means of contacting them. We are proud of the school that made us so we thought it appropriate to give back to appreciate the school. The school made us so it was only appropriate that we do things for our foundation and the people that made us.”

    Meanwhile, cultural dance and red carpet sessions formed parts of activities during the event.

     

  • 35 years after, alumni reunite

    Oshodi Comprehensive High School, Lagos State (OCHS), has celebrated its first reunion 35 years after the school’s establishment.

    Alumni Association President, Mr Hamzat Ganiyu of the 1998 set, said contacting many members of the association had been difficult. He began this move since 2011, which finally yielded desired results.

    He said alumni associations were important in the growth and development of every institution, especially public schools.

    Ganiyu said: “This is our first-ever reunion. It was very tasking and challenging to get this done. Kudos to the ’88 and ’89 sets. It was when one of the ex-teachers, Mrs Odunlami, died that we all converged for her burial and one of our ex-teachers Mr Tela encouraged us to come together as a group so that we would not only meet at such gatherings. The school needs us, and even other members of the association need us. Some don’t have jobs, among other problems. This platform would help us come to their aid.

    “The school is made up of individuals who trained us. I can’t forget Mr Oyebade, who inculcated in us discipline. We realised that these people moulded and made us; and having been to higher institutions, we now understand that we were privileged to have been tutored by them. When we saw some who could not afford tuition fees, among others in higher institution, we thought back to secondary school and imagined how difficult it may be for some to afford tuition fees and other examination fees. So, we decided to help government in the management of the school that produced us, despite the tremendous efforts government is making in its schools.”

    Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District IV, Alhaja Amidat  Anifowose, urged the alumni to help their alma mater in any little way they can.

    “You are a very important stakeholder of the school. The government cannot do it alone. You need to give back to your community. Remember, this is your home. Public schools have many indigent students, come and do something in common for them. You don’t have to have too much money to lend a helping hand,” she appealed.

    An alumnus, Mr Olumide Renner of the ’96 set said: “It is very wonderful to reunite with people you never thought you would see again, especially since we had no means of contacting them. We are proud of the school that made us so we thought it appropriate to give back to appreciate the school. The school made us so it was only appropriate that we do things for our foundation and the people that made us.”

    Meanwhile, cultural dance and red carpet sessions formed parts of activities during the event.

  • Alumni reunion for school’s 35th anniversary

    Oshodi Comprehensive High School (OCHS) Alumni Association will on Saturday, hold its first national reunion as part of events to celebrate the school’s 35th anniversary.

    Old boys and girls of the institution in Nigeria and the Diaspora have expressed interest to attend the event, which holds inside the White House Hall in Oshodi.

    The event would serve as a platform for members to refurbish major infrastructure and raise fund for the maintenance of projects, OCHS Alumni, President, Ganiyu Hamzat, said.

    Hamzat said 10  members of staff would be honoured for their services to the school and their contributions to the community. Past students of the school would also receive recognition for their achievements in and outside Nigeria, he added.

    He said Lagos State Education District VI Permanent Secretary/Tutor-General,  Alhaja Amidat A. Anifowose, would be the special guest of honour, while Dean, Faculty of Political Science, Edo State University Prof Stephen Omodia, would be the Keynote Speaker.

    According to him, the event with the theme: Many paths, one spirit would be an opportunity for the alumni to give back their God-given resources to their alma-mater.

  • FGGC Benin alumni to build toilets, baths

    The ’96 Set of the Federal Government Girls’ College (FGGC) Benin City is set to construct a block of eight toilets and open-space bathroom to commemorate 20 years of graduating from the school.

    Two representatives of the set, Mrs Omoefe Siapkere and Ms Kofoworola Belo-Osagie, visited the school last Monday with a team of engineers from Mc Laurel Engineering Services, and Mr Abayomi Adeyeri, Member, Board of Trustees, Dr Florence Bola Ala Foundation.

    They were received by the Principal, Mrs Patience Erhahon, who took them on tour of some of the facilities of the 43-year-old college.

    She informed the old girls of plans by the Federal Government to do a major rehabilitation of facilities in the school, advising them to meet other needs like completing an abandoned hostel, rehabilitating the JSS3 block, or constructing more toilets and bathrooms to ease the pressure on existing ones.

    The representatives of the set decided to build toilets and bathrooms because of the initial plans of the set to upgrade toilets in the hostels.

    The ladies chose to start with Moremi House (formerly called Annex House) because it is the closest to the academic area as a reward to members of the house for keeping it neat.

    Mrs Siakpere said the motive behind the project, which would cost N5,850,000, was to give back to the institution that contributed to moulding the old girls to be successful.

    “We are doing the project basically to give back to our alma mater.  We spent our formative years here and the school contributed to our success in life,” she said.

    Mr Adeyeri, who joined the tour on the invitation of Mrs Saikpere, said the foundation would support the old girls in implementing the project because it is in line with its vision.

    “The project is a laudable one and it is an initiative that even other sets should emulate as much as possible.  From our end at the Florence Bola Ala Foundation, we are particular about helping educational institutions because Dr Florence Bola Ala (in whose memory the foundation was set up) was a professor in early child education and she funded and assisted many people to access education.  We will part of the initiative in our little to support Mrs Saipkere, with whom we have a work relationship,” said Adeyeri, who is also the Chief Marketing Officer for Flobal Trust, the firm that runs the foundation.

    Mr Lawrence Egere, the Team leader for Mc Laurel Engineering Services, said the project, which would included eight toilets, open space bathroom that can accommodate over 20 girls at once, water facilities, and an external area with six taps, could be completed in 25 days once funds is made available.

    He said the firm has taken into consideration the category of users and would use durable materials to ensure the facility lasts.

    “We are constructing eight toilets and eight bathrooms.  The interior will have tile finishing with shower and bath facilities.  We have considered durability and will not use materials that will need to be repaired tomorrow.  For water, we are looking at providing two tanks; and we have in mind to install six taps outside.  For the building, we will do PVC filling, which is in line with modern trend; while we will use long span aluminium sheets for the roof,” he said.

    The Principal was glad that the project coming as she prepares to bow out of service this month.  She called on another set to take up the rehabilitation of the JSS3 block.

    She also said the school had thrived under her watch, noting that the school recorded the best performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) among the 104 unity schools in the three years she was in the saddle.

    “I am glad this is being taken care of as I leave.  For three and a half years that I have been here, we have been coming first among all the unity schools.  My teachers are hard working; the vice principals are hardworking and the students themselves are willing to learn,” she said.

    The Grassroots Support Network Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, is also supporting the old girls to implement the project.

  • Alumni groups pertinent in child’s development

    President, Baptist Academy Old Students Associations (BAOSA), Mr Lanre Idowu has heralded the importance of alumni associations to the overall development of a child.

    Speaking during the graduation of 119 SS3 boys from the 161-year-old Baptist Academy, Lagos State, his message was for the graduands to embrace their alumni and remember their alma mater to be successful in life.

    Eighty-five JSS3 pupils also graduated at the event.

    Mr Idowu said: “Schools shape the character,  foundation, outlook of students along with the home. The friends you make in school, over the years, become family. Some are closer to you than even your biological relatives. When we leave a place that has touched our lives, there is that natural instinct that you want the best for that place. So forming alumni associations is a way of maintaining that link and strengthening the bond you built in school.

    “Alumni associations help you strengthen the values you learnt while in school. They help you navigate the challenges of the future, help you compare notes about challenges of life, issues that confront us and they give us an opportunity to mentor the younger ones. So through the alumni, we have a platform to give back to the school, grow alongside those with similar training, values, background. And these values are felt in all aspects of the society.”

    Delivering a lecture titled: “Mission schools as agents of positive change in educational development,” Medical Director of Optima Specialist Hospitals, Surulere, Ugochukwu Chukwunenye charged the graduands to make their alma mater proud and not destroy the legacy built by BAOSA.

    He stressed the need for religion to be maintained in schools, so that the pupils can imbibe good morals.

    Dr Chukwunenye said: “. If religion can be defined as a way of life, you cannot separate religion from education, because education is also moulding the character of individuals, just like religion does.”

    Principal of the school, Rev Bosede Ladoba was grateful to God for the pupils’ good behaviour, which stemmed from the discipline the school instilled in them.

    Counselling them, she said: “The children have been wonderful, cooperative, obedient and ready to learn at all times. They did not disappoint us in anyway. My charge is for them to be steadfast in the lord first and always remember the children of whom they are. They should also remember their alma mater and the values we have impacted into their lives, spirituality, morally, academically and every way. They should not disappoint God by mingling with people of questionable character when they leave this place. They should be good ambassadors on this nation as a whole.”

  • AOCOED alumni to train security staff

    AOCOED alumni to train security staff

    Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education Alumni Association has made a request to the management to train security guards in the college on ethical conduct.

    The group made the request when it visited the Provost, Dr Omolola Aina Ladele, last Tuesday.

    The national president, Adeyemi Adesanya visited with the vice president, Adedunni Funmilayo, general secretary, Wale Okugbesan, and PRO, Johnson Olufemi.  They were received by Dr Ladele, the deputy provost, Mr Wole Ajose, Ag. Registrar Shehu Muhideen and PRO, Adebowale Odunayo.

    The meeting provided a forum for Dr Ladele, who was appointed in February as the first woman Provost of the nearly 60 year-old institution, to interact with the alumni on the college’s development.

    Leading the talk, Adesanya said the alumni has organised many programmes, including seminars for SUG Executives. He added that the alumni secretariat, begun about three years ago, is now expected to be completed before the year runs out.

    On the proposed training of security, Adesanya said it is aimed at rebranding the unit in line with 21st century orientation.

    Adesanya said: “Some of them (security officials) do not know the difference between being corporately dressed and not. Some of them need to cultivate or improve their culture of courtesy, especially with relation to students and visitors. This is what we have noted and intend to address if given the opportunity.”

    Responding, Dr Ladele called on the group to do more to attract many former students of the college.

    “Much as I appreciate what the alumni are doing in terms of reaching out, I also believe there is the need to do more, especially for our people in the Diaspora.  Lots of our former students are outside the country and making impact in their various callings. Some of them would have loved to plough their God-given resources back to their alma mater if they were aware that the alumni exists and is functional. I believe their contributions would have helped in addressing some of the challenges we have in the college,” she added.

  • OAU crisis: Alumni hail Fed Govt’s intervention

    The national leadership of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Alumni Association has hailed the Federal Government for the quick resolution of the crisis occasioned by the appointment of a new vice chancellor for the institution.

    Addressing reporters after the association’s National Executive Council meeting at Timsed Holiday Resorts, Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, its National President, Mr. Segun Oke, said the intervention came at the appropriate time to restore sanity to the university.

    He described the appointment of Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Anthony Adebolu Elujoba, as perfect.

    Oke, who expressed satisfaction on the choice of Prof. Elujoba, maintained that the intervention has brought the 54-year-old institution on the track of progress.

     

  • Alumni donate 50 sets of classroom furniture

    Infrastructural transformation has begun at Ilupeju Senior Grammar School, Lagos State, thanks to the school’s newly established old students’ association.

    Pupils of the school, numbering  1022, along with their teachers were full of gratitude to the former  students for donating 50 sets of dual furniture for their learning comfort.

    The Principal, Mrs Elizabeth Akinola, said the association has helped solve a major challenge of the school.

    She said: “The government is doing a lot, but government cannot do it all. I give glory to God for the gesture of the alumni. We know it is not easy, it is because they put their alma mater as a priority that this is possible. We only just started meeting the alumni in March, which was the 1988 set and they immediately donated 20 sets of furniture. Now that the old students have come together as a national body, they have brought another 50 sets. This is just the beginning.”

    President of the association, Mr Idowu Oyebanjo, of the 1992 set, who was represented by the General Secretary, Mr Gbenga Odesanya of 1995 set, said the junior and secondary arms of the school needed about 800 pieces of furniture that will seat 2,400 pupils at three pupils per seat.

    He said: “We have had different sets doing one thing or the other for the school, but with the establishment of the national alumni, we will be able to leverage on the potentials of the individual set to form a synergy that will produce better results as we see today. We had the inaugural meeting of the association in March with the aim of instituting the association, but seeing the state of infrastructure in the school broke our hearts and we quickly consulted the school authority for their needs in order of priority. The furniture came top on that list among other things.”

    He noted that with the full function of the association, there are plans to seek the Corporate Social Responsibility support of companies within and outside Ilupeju as well as government and the old students to deliver the outstanding 750 pieces of furniture by their October 19 deadline, which is the school’s founder’s day. The project is expected to cost over N5 million.

    The school’s Head boy, Paul Akinlosotu, thanked the association on behalf of the school, noting that before now, the pupils had to sit on stools and tyres, while others stood in class to receive lessons.

    Oyebanjo, however, charged the school authority to open a register to keep record of students given the furniture to make them accountable and teach them maintenance culture.

     

  • Alumni donate equipment, cash to alma mater

    Alumni of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science have donated equipment to the faculty to promote excellent research.

    They donated the equipment during an event tagged: “Home-coming”, which brought students of the 1976 Class back to the campus. The alumni created endowment fund, which must be contributed to by past and present students to restore infrastructure in the faculty.

    The event started with a courtesy visit to the Vice-Chancellor. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic, Prof James Ogbonna said management was delighted to receive the equipment. He praised the alumni for their gesture. He said management would not relent in providing the faculties with academic equipment to improve excellence and standards.

    Dean, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Prof Emmanuel Ibezim, appreciated the alumni’s intervention and urged the students to embark on quality research with the equipment.

    Prof Ibezim urged the students to  continue to work and study in groups for better understanding.

    Prof Amechi Attama, a lecturer, said the faculty, in the last three years, has experienced positive changes in terms of infrastructure and academic. He said the alumni’s gesture would challenge the faculty’s staff to maintain the culture of excellence.

    Dr Nkechi Anyawu, an alumnus and president of African International Pharmaceutical said: “After years I left the school, I am happy to return to my alma mater. Coming back to the school for this home-coming event shows we don’t have bad memory of this faculty. That is why we turned out en mass to attend this event.”

    Another alumnus, Mr Ige Adewumi, said the faculty taught him hard work and resilience. Recalling his undergraduate days, he said: “I am very happy to see my friends of those days, both the stubborn ones and the gentle ones at that time. If it is possible for me to come back to this world, I would choose UNN to study pharmacy again.”

    Some of the items donated to the faculty include computers, projectors and undisclosed amount of cash.