The old students pose with the principal, Mrs. K Y Obidake in black shawl and the Mr. Legbati in green attire inside the ICT room with the donated equipment.
Story by Dili Utomi.
In the spirit of giving back to society and with clear intention to make better the place that helped mould them to become what they are today, the 1985 graduating set of the Mafoluku Senior Grammar School, (the then Mafoluku Grammar School) Mafoluku Oshodi, Lagos State has donated many items that will help to aid learning and improve understanding in their alma mater.
At a ceremony 10 units of all-in-one desktop computers, 2 units of laptop computers, 1 printing machine, 11 chairs, 11 tables and 6 electrical junction boxes plus the coating of the information and communications technology room were commissioned this morning, the president of the set of old Students Association, Engineer Opeolu Oyewole made some salient remarks.
Eng. Oyewole who was unavoidably absent was ably represented by the secretary of the 1985 set of the Association, Mr. Dili Utomi who started with a quote from Robert Browning that says “Love, hope, fear, faith -these make humanity; These are its sign and note and character”. Utomi echoing his president’s thought said “Ladies and gentlemen, I had to single out this quote in order to bring out certain elements that characterise the human person. These characters over centuries have hardly changed inspite of advancement in science and technology. In fact these advancements have merely further exposed these characters in the human persons as people who must continue to seek to advance collective interests and aspirations through coordinated efforts”.
“As little children, I have fond memories of the pristine nature of this compound with bushes and household wastes sharing spaces and the sourounding areas having just patches of modernity until the then most practical governor that Nigeria has ever known in the person of Alhaji Lateef Jakande declared a kind of emergency on education, clearing the space and building this school that we came to know as the Mafoluku Grammar School, Mafoluku Oshodi in 1980”.
Mr. Legbati thanking the old students for the gesture.
The speech further read indicates that “We are the pioneer graduating set and the first of the old students association and we feel honoured to contribute a bit in our effort to make our school better. We were taught as children that it is always good to give back because the kindness that you show finds it’s way back to you, but then again, this school helped to mould us into what anyone of us may have be right now”.
The old students indicate that the purpose of donating these ICT equipment which have also been configured with the latest software applications is for relevant knowledge aquisition to meet modern needs.
The elated principal of the Mafoluku Grammar School, Mrs. Kehinde Y. Obidake in her appreciation speech said that “Your commitment to the betterment of our school is truly commendable. Your generosity not only enriches our educational environment but also strengthens the bond between our current students and the alumni community. We are proud to have alumni like you who continue to exemplify the spirit of giving back to their alma mater. Your support is a testament to the enduring legacy of our school and the commitment of our alumni to its continued success”.
The staff, old students and current students after the commissioning.
Mr. Paul Legbati is the Director of Co-curicular Activities, Science and Technology of the District vi, Oshodi of the Lagos State Ministry of Education who also represented the Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary of the District. In his speech at the occassion, he said that “this is a great gesture that should be emulated by everyone in the society. The students should endeavour to make the best use of the advantages presented by the donation of these ICT equipment and the teachers should also kindly do everything to make sure that the equipment are always in good condition”. He went on to formally commission the donated equipment.
Some of the old students at the event.
The old Students commended the efforts of the pioneer principal, Mrs. O. O. Onabolu and her then teachers who helped to mould them to become what they are today as they also praise the current principal, Mrs K Y Obidake and her teachers for the support in making the day a reality. They also passed a message to “every Nigerian that the country needs our collective goodwill and efforts in order to move away from this seeming retrogression to a more properous time and leave a better legacy for prosterity”.
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