Why old students must support their Alma mater — ECOBA

Edo College still remains one of the cherished schools in Nigeria and this old generation school has churned great men for Nigeria. However, some former students of the school, who left the school 50 years ago have decided to return to their old school to contribute their quota and the coordinator of this initiative, Dr. Osarieme Bazuaye told journalists that it is high time that former students returned to their alma mater and make meaningful impact. Excerpts Why is the group organizing the programme? It has become an acceptable norm or phenomenon that attaining 50 years in any sphere of life, as our event suggests, is a landmark that needs some degree of celebration. The idea of putting this event together came about on August 21, 2013 at the residence of Dr. Tajudeen Lawal in Benin City. It was there we initiated the programme for the celebration of 50 years of leaving Edo College. For us, 50 years after leaving the school has been worthwhile because it was at Edo College, we were taught most of the things that helped to shape our lives. Also it affords us the opportunity to thank God for keeping us alive through God’s mercy. For us it is a landmark celebration which we want to celebrate and also impact the school as well as the students. Most of us are in our 60s and we feel it is necessary we remember our school and also go back and do something to better the lot of the school for the present generation. Can you relive the memory of the group at Edo College? Osarieme Bazuaye I can recollect that 25 boys from different parts of Nigeria, namely the old Western, Eastern Regions and Lagos arrived Benin City and proceeded to the original Iyaro campus of Edo College on January 19, 1960. We were still under the British colonial rule and at that time admission to Government Colleges was strictly on academic merit. On arrival at the campus, we were distributed to four houses, namely Eweka, Ozolua, Esigie and Speer. I could also recall that Edo College joined the elite Government Colleges on February 1937 and in that league we had the likes of Government College, Ibadan (GCI); Government College Ughelli in Western region and along with others in other parts of Nigeria. Edo College is the premier secondary school in the old Mid-Western region and during our time in school, the college was endowed financially. We had excellent educational amenities coupled with first class teachers and with non-academic staff to the envy of other schools. Sporting activity was compulsory for all students and this provided a lot of camaraderie, fun and excitement among the student community. The cricket game was most thrilling peculiarity in Edo College because it was played mostly by the elite government colleges. In terms of academic excellence, there was a strong culture of meritocracy because of high quality teaching in the school. There was sense of friendly competition that pervaded the academic life in the campus. Students came from all parts of the country and English was the official language in the school. Most of the teachers were alumni from the famous and prestigious universities in Great Britain, Cambridge, Oxford and University of London. What should be the role of old students to their Alma matter? The role of old students to their alma mater is in two folds. They must exhibit to current students, as champions of the old school tradition, values and leadership characters. Also they must support the material needs of the school based on the requirements of the school authorities. It is now obvious that government can no longer provide the necessary funds to adequately run the school unlike in our days when government provided the amenities and everything was in place. Also, former students who are doing well in their chosen fields should create time to return to their Alma matter to inspire and motivate the young ones to take a cue from them. This can complement the efforts of the school management in churning out well-rounded students. We are most delighted to be celebrating this occasion and the camaraderie we developed while in school and maintained for five decades. We quite believe that the school experience was the greatest legacy for us and we also remember our colleagues who have since passed on and pray for good health among the rest of us. We also want to use this platform to support the school especially in terms of the welfare, while we urge otherold boysto likewise remember their alma mater.