Prof. Peter Okebukola.

Uchechukwu Nnaike

The management of King’s College, Lagos, will today formally inaugurate the management board of the college, which would be chaired by former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Peter Okebukola.

The event is part of the week-long activities to mark the 103rd anniversary of the college, expected to climax on September 23, 2012 with the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA).

The Principal, Mr. Dele Olapeju, who briefed newsmen in company of some members of the association, said the board would have two other professors, who are also old boys as members, as well as other stakeholders.

He said the school would also inaugurate the School-based Management Committee (SBMC) and the Student Representative Council (SRC).

He said activities for the KCOBA Kings week commenced on Monday, September 17 with a general school sanitation exercise, while a symposium titled ‘Vision 20 2020: Which Way Forward’, held yesterday.

Other activities according to the principal include the Founders’ Day lecture, scheduled for September 20; the anniversary Jumat service, novelty match between staff of the college and those of Queen’s College and the college cultural night would all hold on September 21.

He said the KCOBA 103rd founder’s day dinner would hold on September 22, while the anniversary thanksgiving service would hold on September 22.

Vice-President of KCOBA, Dr. Leke Oshunniyi, who described the college as a hero, which should be celebrated, said it is associated with a lot of firsts, as many past heroes of the country were old students of the school.

Fafunwa Educational Organisation Plans Annual Lecture

The Fafunwa Educational Foundation has concluded plans to organise this year’s edition of its annual lecture and best PhD thesis awards on September 25, 2012 at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs Victoria Island, Lagos.

Chairman of the Academic Committee of the foundation, Prof. Kayode Alao, who disclosed this at a media session recently, said the keynote address would be delivered Prof. Pat Utomi.

“Building on the success recorded the previous years is as important as remembering the legacies of the founder and former minister of education, the late Prof. Babatunde Fafunwa. He sacrificed a lot as an individual for the development of the education sector. He set up this foundation as another avenue to add value to the sector.

“As a passionate Nigerian, who understood the value of preserving our indigenous languages, he conceptualised the Fafunwa indigenous language award, which is aimed at rewarding an outstanding book written in any Nigerian language. He also started the annual award for PhD students with the best thesis drawn from the six geographical regions of the country. Both events are now a very integral part of the annual Fafunwa Educational Foundation lecture.”

Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, Dr. Pat Akumabor, who announced the prizes for winners of the PhD thesis award said: “The first prize winner will get N250,000; the first runner-up will get N150,000,, while the second runner-up will go home with 100,000.

“This represents a significant improvement in the cash reward from the previous editions and a reflection of the partnership that the foundation enjoys with Resourcery over the years. This sponsorship is also a call to ensure that the legacies of Fafunwa do not die.

This means that as parents, we must always ensure we speak our indigenous language to our children, among other things.”

On her part, Mrs. Doris Fafunwa, said the devotion of her late husband to the development of education is evident even after his demise two years ago.

She expressed concern that children of some couples who hail from the same local area or village cannot communicate in their mother tongue. “While it is very heart-warming that the prize money for the indigenous language award has been increased to N500,000 with the support of Macmillan as its sponsor, there will however be no winner for that star prize this year. This is because none of the works presented met the standard set by the award. The late call for nominations was also a factor because not many entries were received.

“Going forward, the call for nominations for the indigenous language award shall be made way ahead of time in order to enable the submission of quality entries from all regions of the country. This does not affect the three awards for the best PhD thesis as earlier enumerated.”