Uchechukwu Nnaike
Concerned about the spate of insecurity and disunity in the country, old boys of King’s College, Lagos, have harped on the continued existence of unity schools as they present the best chance for Nigeria.
They also called for a public-private partnership to effectively run the schools and support the federal government in funding the 110 unity schools.
Speaking at the 2021/2022 graduation and valedictory service of King’s College, Lagos, an old boy, who is the Consul of Namibia in Nigeria, Ambassador Chuma Anosike, stated, “Let these schools thrive because I think the unity schools present the best chance for Nigeria because when you get young people from that age living together, forging bonds of friendship, it’s a lot easier to deal with things later on in life.”
Anosike, the guest speaker at the event with the theme ‘Dream versus realities: Life after college’, tasked the graduands to be hardworking and disciplined.
The President of the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA), Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim Imam, said the members of the board of trustees and old students of the college have proposed to the government the need to hand over the running of the school on a PPP basis to the old boys.
“As far as the old boys are concerned, we are very ready to fund it. Over the years, we have been doing that. For our centenary, the old boys spent N1 billion renovating the facilities. Some of the facilities are more than 100 years old and require routine maintenance,” Imam explained.
He added, “The schools will still remain the property of the federal government, but the government should allow old boys to manage the schools, I think we will do it better, and I also believe we will achieve more.”
The Chairman of the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC), Jani Ibrahim, said, at inception, the school was founded to provide leadership, emphasising leadership as one of its core values.
He said the college had maintained excellence in academics, discipline and sports. Unfortunately, along the line, there was an overpopulation of the college with limited resources available.
In his remarks, the principal, Mr Andrew Agada, thanked the parents for their support and for trusting the school to groom their children and urged the graduands to imbibe the spirit of hard work and struggle to actualise their dreams.
He said they had gained the basic knowledge, skills and wisdom they need in life and urged them to keep their eyes on the prize and always walk with God.
The event’s high point was the presentation of a cash prize of N750,000 to one of the graduating students, Olaoluwa Lawal, for scoring 355 in this year’s JAMB UTME. Prizes were also presented to outstanding students in various subjects. The graduands were also inducted into the old boys association.
