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Tag: Old boys

  • Old Boys host inaugural business summit next month

    Old Boys host inaugural business summit next month

    The 2001 Old Boys of the Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta (NNSSABK), will host its first Ex-Navy Boys Business Summit on October 19.

    Themed ‘Anchoring Success: Focusing on Building a Strong Foundation for Business Ventures’, the summit aims to empower alumni and small business owners by providing valuable tools for business success.

    The event will be held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, with both physical and virtual participation options available.

    At a news conference to announce the summit, the President, Adedunmade Onibokun, emphasised the importance of economic empowerment for ex-navy boys.

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    He said: “The Ex-Navy Boys Business Summit is a platform for networking, knowledge sharing, and fostering a culture of entrepreneurship within the ex-navy community. This initiative comes at a crucial time, as more individuals look to start their own businesses or grow existing ones amid an increasingly challenging economic landscape.

    “The summit is thus designed to equip attendees with essential skills in financial planning, risk management, and sustainable growth strategies. Attendees will also gain insight into business innovation and creative problem-solving through focused sessions.

    “There will be two key sessions – ‘Building A Business’ – which will cover financial planning, risk management, and strategies for sustainable growth, and session 2 will cover Charting a Course: Business Innovation. Here attendees will learn about innovative thinking, market trends, and creative solutions for business challenges…”

  • Old boys celebrate CMS Grammar School at 160

    The Old Grammarians Society (OGS), CMS Grammar School, Bariga, will donate projects worth tens of millions of naira to their Alma Mater as the institution begins activities meant to mark its 160th Founders’ Day Anniversary. The celebration kicked off last Sunday with the Community Hymn Singing held at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina Lagos state.

    Chairman of the Anniversary Committee, Engr. Samuel Jackson, while briefing members of the society at a meeting held on the school premises yesterday, said the events will continue on Thursday with a press conference at the OGS conference room on the school premises by 11.am. “This will be promptly followed by a flag off ceremony by 12pm at the same venue,” he said.

    The theme of the celebration is “The first and the Greatest”. According to him, “we are indeed celebrating the undisputable position of our school as the first and still the best of its kind in this country. We see it as an opportunity to also rejoice over the contributions of old CMS Grammarians to the development of the institution over the years,’ Jackson said at the meeting.

    Speaking on the anniversary, the President of OGS, Adedapo Fashanu, commended the old boys for being untiring in their support for the development of the school. He took time out to thank previous donors and encouraged other old students and class sets to continue to support the growth of the school and the society at all times.

    “The Olympic sized swimming pool in the school, a first of its kind among schools around here, was donated by three members of the society, Elderman Folarin Coker, Mr. Modupe and Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija. Come Thursday June 6, at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina Lagos, we will hold a Thanksgiving service to mark the 160th anniversary of our great school. A luncheon will hold the next day at the school hall.

    “We have produced many eminent old boys including Chief Ernest Shonekan, former President of the Interim National Government, Otunba T.O.S Benson first Minister of Information in Nigeria, Prof. T.O. Ogunlesi, first Nigerian professor of medicine, Mr Akintola Williams, the doyen of accountancy profession in Nigeria, Chief Rotimi Williams the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Ayodele Awojobi, Chief Adokiye Amiesimaka, Prof. Kenneth Iwugo, Rt. Rev. George Bako and Chief Bala Miller amongst many others,” he added.

     

  • 60th anniversary: Old Boys pledge to transform alma mater

    Old boys of Oraukwu Grammar School in Idemili North Local Government Area,Anambra State, have announced plans to restore the lost glory of their alma mater.

    The school, which has produced many distinguished personalities in various fields of human endeavour was founded in 1959 by some missionaries.

    With negligence over the years, the 60-year-old school looks very much its age.

    Speaking on preparations for the school’s diamond jubilee coming up on Saturday, April 20, National President of the association,  Barrister Vincent Ananti, said the main task before the old boys is to make the school conducive for learning for both workers and students.

    He said some of the old boys had built dormitories, classrooms, quarters for the principal and other infrastructure.

    He lamented that rural-urban migration had  reduced the school’s population.

    To address this, he said the old boys believe that with modern facilities, the school would  attract quality teachers and pupils.

    National Vice President of the association, Dr Anthony Chukwuka, said a meeting of some old boys, including Justice Dilibe Amechina; owner of Greenlife Pharmaceutical, Obiora Chukwuka; Anglican Arch Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Arch Bishop Godwin Okpala;,lmo State  INEC Commissioner Prof Emeka Francis Ezeonu  and the traditional  rulers of Ogidi and Oraukwu, among others, agreed  to invest in the school.

    He said one of them decided to sink a  borehole to ensure steady water supply, while others promised to fence the school.

    He said: “Individually, a lot of us took responsibilities. We want to provide a conducive environment for the teachers and students .The old boys association was formed in 1979 and we have celebrated our 10, 25 and 50 years anniversaries. But for the past five years, we have been discussing on how to make our diamond jubilee memorable. The school is among  those that former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi handed over to the church in 2013. Right now, the management of the school is in the hands  of the church while government pays the workers. But we as old boys are emotionally attached to the school because it is one of the institutions that made every one of us whatever we are today. Just as the fish cannot deny the importance of water,  we cannot deny the role  the school played in our lives. That is why we want the current students  to be more seriouas in their studies  and  contribute quota to the development of the school.

    On his part, the anniversay co-ordinator, Akachukwu Ezeobele said though schools in Anambra State have closed for the Easter break, Oraukwu Grammar School was given one week extension to enable its pupils participate in the diamond jubilee celebration.

    He said that the  event  would begin with a re-union on Friday, while on the D-day, Saturday, some of the old boys who have distinguished themselves in service to the school and humanity would be honoured with awards to encourage other members  serve  the society.

  • Old boys to hold anniversary

    As a way of giving back to its Alma mater, Stanza 789 of St Charles Grammar School, Osogbo, is seeking the support of fellow old boys across the country and in the Diaspora to execute a N15m project in the school. The project is meant to be part of the celebration of 40th anniversary of the set, which will hold its first reunion from May 10 to 12.

    Charleans 789, as they are fondly called, will rehabilitate the school’s main building, which include the dilapidated roofing sheets; replacement of the louvers windows with steel ones, carryout necessary masonry works and repaint both interior and exterior walls. The school, which was originally a Catholic school is now government-owned.

    Briefing newsmen at the Da Riggs Place, Ikeja, the Chairman of the set, Olaseinde Olusola, said: “We have been to the school to inspect their needs. We want to raise money to restore the school to its glorious old days. There are a lot of things we enjoyed which are no longer in place. So, we are using this medium to reach out to our fellow Charleans 789 Stanza to support this noble cause.”

    The set will also present awards to all living, aged and current teachers; award scholarship to deserving indigent students and payment of WAEC fees to 50 final year students.The students would be selected based on their performances in the mock examination that would be conducted in the school.

    The Co-Chairman of the 40th anniversary committee, Sina Morenigbade said the school is in a bad state with  bad roads. He said the school, which was boys only, is now co-educational and  has been divided into three  different schools since the state government took charge of the school.

    He explained that the old boys association will also invest in building students’ capacity by introducing literary debates, science club and other mentorship programmes, which the school lacks. He added that the reunion will also serve as a platform to reach out and support themselves.

  • Old boys donate to alma mater

    The 1988 set of Government College Lagos Old Boys Association (GCLOBA) has donated 100 pieces of furniture and exercise books worth N4.2 million to their alma mater.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the old boys also gave N10,000 each to three best pupils in science, art and commercial subjects.

    The set coordinator, Mayokun Oresanya, said the gesture was to support the school and give back to their alma mater 30 years after they passed out.

    “We look at things that are lacking in the school. There are no furniture for the pupils, so we decided to give the school 100 sets of furniture and 2000 copies of exercise books.

    “We gave the furniture to the pupils who are about to write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) because we discover they did not have enough furniture.

    “We are also preparing scholarship award for a pupil who is suffering from dyslexia.

    “Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding).

    “It is also called reading disability, which affects areas of the brain that process language.”

    The Head Teacher, Mrs. Teru Omolade, thanked the old students for their gesture and support for improving the school’s standard.

    Omolade said the old boys had been looking back and lending a hand whenever the need arose.

    “I am really excited about this kind gesture. I’m extremely happy that you looked back to the school after 30 years.

    “Some years ago, when our pupils wanted to write their WASSCE, there was no chair and some sets like yours provided it for us.”

  • Old boys give cash awards, books to students

    The Old Students of Abeokuta Grammar School (AGSOBA) 9602 set has given awards to deserving indigent students of the institution to spur them to greater academic exploits.

    The awards were presented at the premises of the school in Abeokuta as part of activities marking its 110th founders’ day celebration.

    The President General of the Abeokuta Grammar School Old Boys (AGSOBA), Lanre Laoshe, who was represented by chairman of the 110th founder’s day celebration, Seun Fasheun, admonished the students to always strive for excellence.

    Fasheun said: “You students are privileged to attend a school of this magnitude and my advice is that you should continue to strive to be the best always”.

    The President of AGSOBA 9602, Tosin Adesile, noted the prize -giving day was added to the annual essay competition which is in its second edition.

    He said books worth thousands will be presented to the best students in JSS1, JSS2, SS1 and SS2 with an additional cash prize of N50, 000.

    He admonished parents to continue encouraging their children to be the best.

    A motivational lecture titled what you do today determines your future was delivered by Barr. Habeeb Whyte and Mr. Goke Sorinola.

    They advised the students to use the present to read and expect bountiful harvests later

     

  • ECOBA Lagos honours old boys

    ECOBA Lagos honours old boys

    The Edo College Old Boys Association (ECOBA), Lagos Chapter hashonoured retired Air-Vice Marshal Joe Ehigie with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his meritorious service to the country and contributions towards the development and progress of Edo College Benin City.

    The annual dinner held recently at the Metropolitan Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos was attended by eminent personalities including Mr. Victor Odozi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) who was the Chairman of the occasion, Ambassador Vincent Okobi, Chief Dr. Amechi Obiora, Joint Medical Director of Eko Hospital, Chief Lawson Omokhodion, former Managing Director of Liberty Bank among others.

    Other award recipients were Mr. Aigbe Olotu; Group CFO of Sahara Power Group Limited,  Mr. Charles Isa; Senior Vice President and Head Operations Control for Sub Saharan Africa at Citibank and Mr. Tom Iluobe, a technology entrepreneur and educational philanthropist who was recently ranked as the most influential black person in Britain by the annual Powerlist 2017, were honored with the Distinguished Old Boy of the Year Award while Mr. AhuoseAkhigbe was presented with Ecobite of the Year Award in recognition of his dedication and hard work towards the progress of the association.

    Chairman, ECOBA, Lagos Chapter, Mr. Godwin Ize Iyamu stated that the dinner creates an avenue for members of the association to bond with their families and associate with other families. He added that the event also presents the association with an opportunity to work with the national association, to give back to their alma-mater in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

    He added that as a tradition, awards are bestowed on deserving old boys who have made exceptional life time contributions to a profession, industry, government, arts, sciences, business or any vocation, and by doing so have brought honour to Edo College.

    According to him, all the recipients deserve their awards as they have worked relentlessly to ensure advancement in both the public and private sector.

    AVM Ehigie who served in the military for over 30 years, commended the association for the recognition and promised to continue to do his best for Nigeria and ECOBA.

    Ehigie joined the Air Force in 1964 and was commissioned a Pilot Officer in December 1966. He had experiences in the field of Communication – Electronics Engineering and Projects Management.

    He attended the Royal Air Force No 2 Technical College, United Kingdom; United States Air Force Communications Electronic Staff College, USA; Air University, Alabama, USA and the University of Mandras, Mandras, India.

    He was at various times, Aide De Camp to the Military Governor of Mid-West State (1967-1968); Squadron Communications Officer, Nigerian Air Force, Enugu, Makurdi and Kaduna; Staff Officer Communications, Nigerian Air Force Headquarters; Commander Nigerian Air Force Communications Services; Director of Communications Electronics and Director of Plans and Intelligence at the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters; Director of Defence Communications at the Defence Headquarters; Director of Commercial Law at the Federal Ministry of Trade; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Nigerian Airport Authority and Principal General Staff Officer in the Office of the Chief of General Staff at the Presidency. He retired voluntarily from the Nigerian Air Force on 30th December, 1994.

  • Old Boys inaugurate multimillion naira projects in alma mater

     

    The Alumni Association of Government College Ibadan, Government College Old Boys’ Association (GCIOBA), yesterday inaugurated multimillion naira infrastructures to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the establishment of the institution.

    The inauguration which peaked the 2017 annual reunion event also saw the conferment of the association’s national Merit Awards on some ‘Old Boys’ for their contributions to various fields of human endeavours.

    The projects included rehabilitation of the physics and chemistry laboratories facilitated by the 67-71/73 set in commemoration of their 50th anniversary of entry into GCI. The project cost the set about N18 million naira.

    Also, the renovation of the SS1 Block which was to the tune of three million naira was done by the ’82 set to commemorate their 35th anniversary.

    Additionally, the 1977 class renovated the Class 5 block.

    Distinguished Old Boys who bagged special honours included the Chairman, Governing Council of Lead City University, Ibadan, Prof. Jide Owoeye; Mr. Adeniyi Owolade; Dr. John Oshinyimika and Dr. Thomas Obanya.

    The Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela, while inaugurating the facilities commended the passion of the Old Boys in contributing to the progress of their alma mater, calling on other alumni members of other schools to emulate such virtue.

    The national president, GCIOBA, Mr. Biodun Jolaoso, said the association embarked on the renovation as its own way of reviving the lost virtue of the institution.

     

  • Catholic seminary old boys celebrate school’s centenary

    Old boys of St Theresa Major Seminary popularly called ‘Oke Are Seminary’ have celebrated the institution’s 100-year anniversary at the school premises in Oke Are, Ibadan, Oyo State.

    It was an event where old boys drawn from between 1950 till 2015, reminisced on the exciting moments of their schooldays, and deliberated on how to move their alma mater forward. The event, which also featured  their annual general meeting (AGM), had the boys reflecting on memories of over 40 years.

    St Theresa Major Seminary is Nigeria’s oldest Catholic institution with a mandate to mould young boys into priesthood.

    The National President of the St Theresa’s Old Boys Association, Mr Segun Ogunade, described the moment as ‘exciting’.

    “This is quite an exciting moment. Seeing your classmate after 40 years of leaving school gives sweet memories of childhood friends and classmates.”

    In a chat with The Nation, an old boy, Mr Greg Akinlawo recalled the glowing days of his alma mater, saying a lot of things have changed over the years.

    “I remember in our time, water used to be scarce  and we had to walk a long distance to get water, although the hardship then was part of the training as to make us responsible. Today, the school provides everything for the students and one of the things we are doing here is to give back to our alma mater as it clocks 100 years.”

    In a statement earlier made available to our reporter, the alumni promised more projects would spring up in the institution this year.

    The high point of the event was the novelty match between 1978 and 1985 sets.

    The oldest surviving student of the institution and former teacher of the school, Mr Matthew Adekoya said he would forever remain grateful to his alma mater for making him who he is.

     

  • Old Boys reward pupils in Owerri

    Old Boys reward pupils in Owerri

    To the Old Boys, it simply is not enough to be fond of your alma mater, or to rehabilitate some of its failing infrastructure; you also should motivate and inspire younger pupils to excel.

    That is exactly what the 1996 set of  the Government College Owerri is doing. Their association has invested their time, energy and resources in  their alma mater, helping it to keep abreast of the times. But they have also instituted an annual competition in Mathematics, with winners taking home handsome rewards.

    This year’s edition of the completion which is the fifth in the series, according to the President, Mr Uche Nwogu, an engineer, was divided into two segments of junior and senior categories.

    He said that the initiative, supported by all the members of the 1996 set, especially those in the Diaspora, USA and UK, was a way of giving back to the very school that moulded them into responsible citizens and also to encourage learning among the students and reward hard work.

    The president who was accompanied to the presentation of award to winners of this year’s edition by the Secretary, Emeka Udeogu and other members of the group including Mr. Nnadozie Njoku, Amara Njemanze, an architect, among others, advised the students to keep faith and work hard and become successful Nigerians, adding that “there is no short cut to hard work.”

    He said, “We chose to organise the mathematics competition to encourage the students to work hard. They should avoid paying to pass exams but take their studies seriously. Apart from that, this is one of the ways we are giving back to our alma mater”.

    The president advised that entrepreneurial studies should be included in secondary school curriculum to give the students skill acquisitions that will make them self-reliant.

    Corroborating the president’s statement, Njemanze added that the group is also involved in career mentoring.

    “We also mentor the students on how to choose their careers and also carry out social outreach where we assist the teachers in several ways,” he said.

    He particularly commended members of the group in UK and USA for their contributions towards the success of this year’s edition of the Mathematics completion.

    Meanwhile, winners of the both category, got N50, 000.00 cash reward, while the first and second runner up got N30, 000.00 and N20, 000.00 respectively.

    Addressing the students at the Assembly ground, where the prizes were presented to the winners, the Principal of the College, Mr. Obiyo Richard, admonished the students that greatness comes from hard work mere wishes.