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By Sunday Ani
On Thursday, August 17, 2023, Phidel College, Isheri-Idimu, in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, rolled out the drums at its ninth graduation ceremony for the 2022/2023 academic session.
It was also an occasion to celebrate and fete 48 outstanding ‘Class of 2023’ students for breaking academic records and bringing pride and honour to the school. The students smashed the academic ceiling in various internal, external and international examinations like the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Intermediate General Certificate for Senior Education (IGCSE), and International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exams, among others.
As early as 10 am, the students were all assembled in the school, beaming with smiles and elegantly dressed to be celebrated by the school’s management, staff, students, family and friends. The males neatly appeared in uniformed designer suits while the ladies were equally flamboyantly angelically dressed in unformed gowns made of lace material in different designs and styles.
Guests from far and wide graced the event to bid the students goodbye from the college they had so much attachment to and to give them one or two tips on how to navigate through life outside the college.
First to fire a shot was the school’s principal, Olalekan Olowolaiyemo, who noted that he had no fear that the students would excel in the university, as Phidel prepared them for that, but appealed to them to always remember all they have been taught and make the right choices at every turn in their lives.
He urged them to shun laziness, bad friends and pride, but rather embrace hard work, diligence and the fear of God, even as he reminded them that they had become ambassadors of Phidel College and as such must endeavour to make the school proud all the way.
In her exhortation, Pastor Oluwaseyin Aiyedun advised the students to be acquainted with the word of God as that was the only thing that would give them direction as they leave Phidel College.
“Without God, everything is zero; but with God, everything will work in your favour. You must pray. Your parents have prayed enough for you; now is the time for you to pray,” she said.
She also urged them to be diligent and hardworking, warning them not to rest on their oars. She emphasised the place of good relationships with others and reiterated the place of God in their lives, saying, “Be of good character. Have good relationships with people. Anywhere you go, God will raise men to make a way for you. Seek God because you are getting into difficult territory (the university). Allow God to be your watchword and He will not let you down.”
Also in his address, the chairman of the occasion, who incidentally is equally the chairman of the Board of Governors of Phidel College, Assistant Comptroller General of Customs (retd), Kayode Olusemire, commended the founder of Phidel College, Pastor Philip Adelusi, whose doggedness, vision and ideas made the event possible.
Addressing the graduating students, he urged them to be disciplined, bearing in mind that the ceremony marked the beginning of greater height and new things in their lives. “Today marks the beginning of new challenges as you prepare to enter a higher institution, where you will be alone to make decisions. I pray that God will grant you the knowledge, wisdom, capacity and capability to make the right decisions. Be disciplined and ascetic; denying yourselves of pleasures,” he advised.
He further urged them to have a dream, believe in it and stand by it, and it would definitely come to pass. “Show yourself as a disciplined person. Be cognitive, that is reading at all times. You should read more than you pray. It is when you work and pray about what you have done that God will bless you. I wish you the best. You shall be celebrated,” he submitted.
He also commended the teachers whose dedication to duties have made the College a centre of academic excellence as the students’ performances could attest to, even as he promised the parents that the school would always take care of their children’s overall excellent development. “We shall never disappoint you; advertise us because we want to take the school to the highest height in the world. Thank you for allowing us to handle your children,” he said.
On his part, Pastor Adelusi was all praises to God, without whom he could not have actualized his dreams. He stressed that the college would clock 10 years by September, and within the period, results from their students scattered across universities in the world showed that no less than 10 students had made first class degrees both home and abroad.
To the graduating students, he also said: “You have a journey and you have started well. You are in the middle of the journey and you are moving forward. You should not lose focus. You have a target and that is greatness and you can only achieve that by being serious with what you do. Academics is no longer the only key but one of the many keys to success.
“There will be challenges. You will meet people from different backgrounds and orientations but remember where you are coming from. You have a mountain in front and you will get to the top. So, it is not an easy job.
“God will give you knowledge, understanding and wisdom. You will be captains of industries. You will not be politicians. Through you, there will be solutions to the country’s problems. Don’t forget Phidel College; God will not forget you.”
He also commended the teachers for their dedication, hard work and steadfastness, assuring them that their rewards would be here on earth and not in heaven. “You have impacted greatly on these children and your own children will also be blessed by God. I appreciate all of you starting from the director, to the principal as well as all the tutorial and non tutorial staff,” he said.
The keynote speaker, Professor Babajide Gboyega of the Lagos State University equally harped on the need to be humble at all times, even as he reminded the students that henceforth, they had become ambassadors of Phidel College
To underscore the role of humility, he said: “Generally speaking, the best of the best don’t do well because of pride. When you see yourself as being superior to others, then you don’t have any sense of humility. Then you have failed yourself. No matter how brilliant you are, you must be humble. Don’t celebrate yourself; people will celebrate you.”
In choosing a career, he advised them to do self-examination and know their capability. He also advised parents not to force them to study any course against their will but to allow them to decide whichever course they want to pursue in life.
However, it was also a harvest of awards as those who distinguished themselves in all the 23 subjects being offered in the school proudly filed out to receive their awards.
Leading the pack in the subject award category was Obende Onoyimi, who carted away awards in six subjects, where she was adjudged as the best. The subjects included Economics, Literature-in-English, Data Processing, Sociology, Civic Education and Christian Religious Studies.
Following her was Austin Flourish, who clinched four awards in four subjects as the best student. The subjects were Geography, Physics, Chemistry and Photography. The likes of Bello Farida, Bolumole Tomisona and Dunmoye Demilade took two awards in two subjects each. While Farida received awards as the best student in Government and Islamic Religious Studies; and Tomisona was adjudged the best in Commerce and Accounting, Demilade was the best in Mathematics and Additional Mathematics.
Others were Afegbua Victor -best in Technical Drawing; Nwuzu Precious – best in Agriculture; Emoghware Eseoghene – best in Catering, and Taiwo Faheezal – best in Biology.
Also, the Best Art Student went to Obende Onoyimi, with Bolumole Tomisona taking the Best Commercial Student, while the Best Science Student went to Austin Flourish. There were awards for the Best Student in WAEC, the Best Student in IGCSE, Best Student in JAMB, Best Student in IELTS and Best Graduating Student. The best student in WAEC went to Bolumole Tomisona with 8A1 and C, while the best student in IGCSE, JAMB and IELTS all went to Taiwo Faheezal. She got 2A stars and 2As in IGCSE, 8 points out of 9 points in IELTS and 316 in JAMB.
Each of the 48 graduating students received a certificate of completion of six years academic study and a gift of a bag from the school.
However, the overall best graduating student award went to Obende Onoyimi. The award had a prize of N100, 000, which was presented to her in a cheque at the occasion.
Indeed, the event was full of fun as the school orchestra was on ground to colour the occasion with its scintillating, danceable and melodious tunes, which eventually forced the graduating students to hit the dancing floor. They danced menacingly to the admiration of all the guests as they celebrated their record-breaking performances.
