Engr Wole Agbaje is the Chairman of the Ibadan branch of Government College, Ibadan Old Boys High School (GCIOBA). The association recently held the 2021 edition of its annual luncheon with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare delivering the luncheon lecture titled: Digital Literacy, A Panacea to Reduce Youth Unemployment”. Rulers World spoke with Engr Agbaje on the significance of the event.
Q: How will you describe today’s event?
Well, let me be sincere with you and just comment fairly. This is not the first time we are having this event. This is the eleventh reunion activity for the branch. Naturally, we do have this kind of event yearly which we titled, “The Reunion of the Branch”. At the national level, we do have national events as well. And so the national event will be coming up in October. But naturally, this is a reflection of what you find at the national level because every branch has autonomous power to organise an event that will allow them to invite their friends, wives, family, etc. It is just like a get-together event. So today’s event is okay but it could be better.
Q: What are the strategies put in place by the association to ensure the popularization of the union?
Well, the association is almost 93 years old, and as I said in my introduction, Government College Ibadan Old Boys Association (GCIOBA) is the oldest secondary school association in Nigeria. The school started in 1929, the association itself began in 1933 and so we have been like this for the past 92 years. We are going to be celebrating our 92nd anniversary of the school this year. So, we have been growing. But you see this year event we are hampered by the economic situation in the country and the COVID-19 issue. It used to be bigger than this but because, like I told the Minister of Youth and Sports, you see a lot of people you are seeing now we call the “Modernities” or “Feeding Bottle Old Boys” because the old people who should be here are running away from COVID-19. After all, we have many of them, those who were in the school in the ’30s and ’40s. Some of them are now nonagenarians including the former governor of old Oyo State, Dr Victor Omololu Olunloyo. He couldn’t come. Naturally, he doesn’t miss this kind of historic event. But you can see many of them have to stay safe from the Delta variant of COVID-19.
Q: Aside from COVID-19, what is your association doing to ensure that members of your association who are in the diaspora are carried along?
Well, to start with, this programme is broadcasted live via Facebook, Instagram and Zoom. However, we have branches in Europe, America, etc. They independently celebrate their Reunion Luncheon. We reunite every year and discuss issues that bother the school and how we can positively affect the school. Having been in existence, we drive the school in terms of infrastructural development. The last we spent close to N5million on GCI, and if you go to GCI today it’s like any private school. So we spend money every time and we are talking to the government to release the school to us for hundred per cent management. While we are not going to limit the government from doing its normal governmental functions, but we are willing and ready now to take over the school and fund it, we don’t need a kobo from the government. And this is because the association is united, all the branches are united and all the class sets from 1933 to date are united. So, all we are just doing now is just to create awareness. But every year, even before I left the school, we knew that the association exist and we try to allow the younger people to join because if there are no younger people, the school will die.
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