Esther Oluku
The 1981/1982 alumni class of Eko Boys High School have handed over a fully completed toilet block to the Junior Secondary School section of their alma mater as part of activities to mark their 44th graduation anniversary and reunion.
The reunion, which was the first public meeting of the group in the last 44 years, brought together over 50 Old Boys in a celebration of life, success and comradeship lasting two days and hosting students and Old Boys to a symposium and Gala respectively.
President, Eko Old Boys Association (EKOBA) 81/82, Johnson Folayan, speaking during the symposium added that in furtherance to the commitment of EKOBA 81/82 to support the institution towards meet the demands of modern education, it is opening a cash reward for the best graduating students for each class.
The best graduating students from senior secondary school three will get a cash reward of N100,000; best graduating students from senior secondary school one and two will get N75,000 each while best graduating students from junior secondary school one, two and three will get N50,000 each.
Since its establishment as a social service club in 1996, EKOBA 81/82 has supported the school with a multi-million naira Basket ball court, 13 computers, two table tennis set, and a million naira donation towards the construction of the Rev. Benjamin W. Euba Memorial hall amongst others. Folayan explained that the group had chosen the renovation of the toilet project for this reunion to improve the hygiene level of the students.
“When we got there, we realised that there was no toilet. As a matter of fact, the hygiene level was very, very bad. I couldn’t have entered into the toillet to use it. And these are supposed to be our children growing up,” he said.
In his remark, EKOBA National President, Tito Nurudeen, explained that while the toilet in one in the series of projects the EKOBA 81/82 Service Club has undertaken since its inception, the toilet project alone is valued at over six million naira.
He added that as part of plans to sustain the facility, the alumni body has also hired dedicated staffs to ensure that the toilet is always kept clean.
Speaking at the official unveiling, member, EKOBA Board of Trustees, Otunba Funso Owoyemi, prayed that God replenishes the members who have committed their resources to delivering the project.
“Impacting society is not only intervention in a critical situation but also in a minor level like this, you are impacting lives. When students graduate from a decent environment, it lives with them forever,” he said.