After a three-month clash, students of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko (Oko Poly), Anambra State and their host-community have reconciled on the footbal pitch.
Though the host community defeated the polytechnic by 2-1, the match restored their relationship.
Last year, students clashed with residents of the community during Oko’s masquerade festival. The incident led to the closure of the polytechnic for about three months.
Speaking before the friendly match, the Rector, Prof Godwin Onu, said the community and the institution were brought together by divine will, adding that nothing could separate what God has joined together.
While congratulating the Oko youths for winning the match, Onu said: “This is the type of spirit and unity we want in this community.”
Apart from engendering peace, the Rector said, the match was imperative to the polytechnic to prepare students for the upcoming All Polytechnics Games.
He said: “I want to thank the youths of Oko community for organising this football match and I assure them that the spirit of unity will continue. We shall continue to work together until we make the polytechnic the best in Africa.
“The polytechnic is one of the higher institutions in the country where students move around without intimidation and molestation. We have been declared cult-free. Our matriculation was joyful and no bad story. Internal mechanism has been put in place to track down all forms of crime. Again, I thank the Oko community for accommodating our students.”
In demonstration of the management’s resolution to secure off-campus students and their property, the Rector donated a vehicle to the security outfit in the community to patrol the area. He said: “As an institution, we have a great sense of responsibility. We plead for co-operation among the security operatives and that of the polytechnic. The security outfits should work hand in hand to achieve maximum security especially with our students living around the community.
“To the students, we urge you to be of good behaviour. Don’t provoke any crisis no matter the level of provocation. The masquerade festival is around the corner, so comport yourselves to avoid violence and realise that you are living with people that have culture, which they will not throw away because you are living with them. Our mission here is to make the polytechnic the first in Africa.”
The President-General of Oko Progressive Union, Mr Cyprian Nwamuo, in a short speech after the match, praised the youths of the community for the innovation, which he said would foster peace and restore lasting peace in the community.
“Today, we have gathered here to witness a friendly football match between the students of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko and the youths of Oko community. This event is very special and important at this time we are on the reconciliatory path after the sad event of last year,” he said.
He urged any member of the polytechnic community, who had issues with any member of the community not to hesitate to report at the town’s civic centre or to the polytechnic security outfit, promising that such reports would be addressed.
Nwamuo praised Onu for transforming the polytechnic, which he said had improved the rating of the community and urged him never to relent in his efforts to make the institution best among its peers.
The youth leader of the community, Barrister Duke Ezeonwuka, described the match as historic, praising the management for being supportive to youth associations in the community.
He reassured the polytechnic’s staff and students of their security in the community and pledged the support of the youths to Onu’s administration. He said students had been part and parcel of the community, adding that the community could not exist without the polytechnic.
Presenting the vehicle to the community, Onu said the gesture would encourage unity among the community and the institution.
Nwamuo, who received the vehicle on behalf of the community, thanked management for the gift, describing Onu as a Rector with a difference. He pledged the support of the host community to the progress of the polytechnic.
