Follow Us on Google
By Johnson Adebowale
It was a momentous occasion recently as students of the 1979 graduating class of Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School (MCSS), Ikeja, Lagos, from alumni chapters around the world converged on Lagos for a reunion and celebration of 45 years of graduating from the school and half a century since they enrolled in MCSS.
At the gathering, which comprised eminent personalities, including many of the old students who have moved up the ladder in their various professions, students of MCSS were taken through a career talk, counselling and mentoring, and they received various gifts from the alumni.
The old students’ association gave the school and deserving students scholarships, computers, and a sewing laboratory, to the amazement of the students and teachers.
They also went down memory lane to their time at MCSS to inspire pupils on the positive values inculcated in them as students, which they said contributed to their immense success in life.
The celebration, which began in the United States, moved to the United Kingdom and finally came home to Lagos. first at the institution, where a personality development expert, Mr. Adeniyi Ronti, spoke to the students about leadership, with the topic “Leadership and Personal Development, Defining Success on Your Own Terms.”
In his presentation, Ronti looked at leadership, personal development, success and values. He spent more time on success because, as he said, today, many young people think being successful is all about having money, possessions and wealth. Ronti emphasised that they could have all of that but must have values by which they live before they can attain true success.
He encouraged the pupils to prepare themselves to be self-employed and not allow peer pressure to lead them into destruction, as many have fallen victim.
Ronti also expressed optimism that the students of MCSS would be better than most out there, based on their reception. According to him, “I am surprised because I have spoken to young people before but these ones are cultured, they are not shy, they are very interactive, and I see them becoming successful in their endearvours in future.”
President of the association, Olutayo Ayodeji Phillips, regarding the event and the association generally, said, “We have remained close to the school since the inception of the association in 2019. Apart from the contributions to the school mentioned earlier, during COVID-19, we were here to support the school. Some of the safety equipment that they were using were presented by us. Anytime the school is holding their annual convocation, we support them, but this is a milestone celebration for us, marking 50 years of our enrollment here as students and 45 years of leaving the school. Interestingly, it’s a twin celebration for us.”
On giving back, Phillips continued, “We are also able to support each other and give back to the society, like around the COVID-19 period; also, we had to visit an old people’s home at Onike, where we donated some provisions to them, part of the things we will do this time too.
“The important thing is, the school has done so much for us. We started when discipline was something very essential in Nigeria and, trust Catholic schools, when it comes to values, they are there. This has helped us in the various places we have found ourselves and that is why we are trusted with positions wherever we find ourselves and we have not disappointed the school.”
Phillip pledged the alumni would continue to “contribute the little we can to help the school produce the future leaders of this country. If everybody has the fear of God, if we have integrity in our approach to life, the country will be better for it because that’s the foundation we had here.”
The association also looks out for their members who are not at par with the rest. Phillips explained this, saying, “Just like all fingers are not equal, we have training and empowerment programmes for our members that have gone on retirement so that life after retirement can be better. When a member has a health challenge, we come to them. When we are together like this, we don’t know who is a chartered accountant or anything for that matter. We see ourselves as the children we were 50 years ago.”
The group held a gala, where members and guests partook in fun activities over dinner. Chairman of the 45th anniversary celebration committee, Olayemi Onigbode, at the dinner, reminded the members that, in addition to reminiscing about the past, “tonight is about rekindling old friendships and perhaps forming new ones. It is about bridging the gap between generations of alumni and weaving new threads into the fabric of our shared history. Let this evening be a reminder of our common roots and our collective responsibility towards nurturing the future of our school.”
The four-day event, which included a picnic at La Campagne Tropicana, ended at Bales Orphanage, where food items and cash donations were presented to the home.
President of the association, Phillips, simply said, “Our donation to the home is one of the pillars of mercy we were taught, giving to the underprivileged, and we are only demonstrating it.”
In appreciation of the provisions, owner of the Bales of Mercy Home, Pastor Mrs. Ngozi Igbokwe, said, “I am overwhelmed. We love it when people visit us. It tells us that people still care about us. We are grateful, this will go a long way.”
Igbokwe, who began the orphanage out of compassion for the underprivileged, expressed regret that the home did not have a permanent place of their own and the frequent change of environment could affect the kids negatively.
She also said, “We need an 18-seater bus. The children are over 20, apart from the staff. So, having to enter a Sienna bus is not easy. It doesn’t spell safety and comfort. We have been trusting God for somebody who would provide us that, even if they have to brand it with their names, and a permanent place of our own.”
