My attending Aquinas College Akure was not a mistake and neither was it an error. I had little or no input to the decision. It was purely a decision taken by my parents and foisted on me. As it is generally believed, decisions of our parents are infallible and therefore in our best interests. I recall that my dad obtained admission forms into four other Catholic secondary schools. I sat for the examinations and was offered admission to three of the schools. The other two came after I had resumed in Aquinas. Those were times when competition for admission to schools was very fierce. I was one of the smallest in stature in school then but I was excited I was a student of one of the most famous schools in the Western Region then. That was the first time I had to leave my parents and siblings to cultivate new and perhaps eternal relationships. One thing I first noticed was the extreme attitude of some senior students towards their junior colleagues. I witnessed the case of senior students' callousness to their junior colleagues all in the name of discipline. This of course was a social phenomenon across secondary schools in our clime in those days. I witnessed a lot of it in my school days and I honestly never gave it a second thought then because I realized I was in a new environment where the practices were different. To me, that was a critical component of our "baking process" in school even when the school authorities frowned at such extreme attitudes. And somehow, I think it paid off eventually as many of us would have ended up as spoilt brats if we didn't undergo such *screening exercise*. The school developed us intellectually, spiritually and emotionally in tandem with her Anthem, urging us to:
"Aim for life's precious goal
Fulfilment without stain
In body, mind and soul..."
Physical Education was compulsory for all students and we had qualified teachers in that area. The appeal in the Anthem to "
seek future glory because success in life is won by the strong, not by the weak was not lost on us. All these must have accounted for the levels of successes achieved by our students in academics and sports. I am aware that no fewer than three old students of the school are Recipients of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award. I can easily recall Prof Sylvester Adegoke (Geo-Scientist), Prof Francis Oluwole (Nuclear physicist), Professor Oye Gureje (Neuro psychiatrist) who was my own classmate. These professors were the Trailblazers in the series of our old students in the academia. They created a Path that others have continued to follow. Of course, we also have amongst that group of Trailblazers HRM, Ambassador (Rev) Luyi Rotimi, The Olujigba of Ijigba and the Royal Scion of Ado Ekiti, Prince Julius Adewale Adelusi-Adeluyi, a Pharmacist and Legal Practitioner who is the Founder and Chairman of Juli PLC, the first Listed Indigenous Company on the Nig. Stock Exchange and a former Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There are so many other outstanding old students who delivered on the motto of our Alma mater: INTEGRITAS!!! but who time and space may not allow me to mention. We can boast of having produced a Governor, several Judges including the current President of the Alumni body, Hon Justice Adesuyi Olateru- Olagbegi, too many Legislators and government functionaries including a horde of Permanent Secretaries and a former Head of the Civil Service of Ekiti State. We have come this far because of the efforts of these avant- gardes and their commitment to excellence. Today, I pay tribute to this great institution as we celebrate seventy years of excellence. It is no longer news that the cherished values that made our school formidable in those good old days have been consciously and gradually eroded by different policies of successive governments, all of which have rendered the school vulnerable just like many other public schools. Realizing that in its present state of distress, the school may not be able to respond to the vision and mission of its founding fathers, a situation which probably led to the general clamour for return of schools to their original owners, the Alumni body has come out as often done, to rally support for the school in terms of infrastructural development and provision of science and sports equipment including instructional materials. Aquinas College, with a current students population of over 3000, remains an institution that has served public good more than any other school in Ondo State. The Alumni body has continuously intervened in so many areas of the school's needs and activities. Indeed, the body is implementing several laudable projects as give-back to the school during the 70th anniversary ceremony. As the Old students are celebrating the goodness of God in the life of the school, they are looking forward to a revitalised Aquinas College Akure, that will be properly repositioned to keep responding appropriately to our society's challenges. This is a generational burden that we have to discharge and accord with the timeless prompting of our School Anthem:
To honour our Country
Ourselves we must perfect
Our School, Our Family,
Our traditions respect..."
It is our hope that our little efforts will propel inter-generational continuum that can engender inter-generational legacies for our beloved ALMA mater.
With God on our side, we shall continue to fly the flag.
A C A I N T E G R I T A S!!!
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