•What Their Class Chairman WALE FAYEMI Said
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this historic gathering where we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of our unique class set, the Remo Secondary School Class of ’82. We indeed have every reason to give glory to the Almighty for keeping us till this day, more than 40 years after we all passed out of that great institution, the first co-educational secondary school in West Africa. Our hearts are full of appreciation to our Maker for His love and protection over us as well as ourfamilies.”
“While we shower praises to Him for preservation, we also remember today some of our classmates that had joined the St Triumphant and answered the call to glory. May I at this point ask us to be on ourfeetto observe a minute silence in honour of ourfallen friends. May their souls continue to rest in perfect peace and may the Lord continue to be with the families that they left behind.”
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to go down memory lane to refresh our memories on how this very formidable Association came into existence. Some of us will remember that hot but blessed Sunday afternoon in Sagamu where eleven of us gathered for the very first time to herald the beginning of our mission to give back to our alma mater. Since that day, we have increased in number, we have grown as an association and we have made our impact felt in the development of our dear alma mater. I also wish to recall with great pride and joy that on that historic day when we gathered for the first time, we had in attendance the then National President of the National body who fortuitously is here to celebrate with us today but in a different capacity. We are highly honoured to have with us HRM Oba (Dr) Babatunde Adewale Ajayi Bsc, LLM, FClB, MFR, Torungbuwa II, Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remo. Kabiyesi. We thank you for your love for our Association as your royal presence tonight again has shown your bond with us. We are highly delighted that you have been with us all the way. E seun. A o ma ri yin ba sir.
Dear compatriots and ou r special guests, I wish to inform this august gathering that since the birth of our Association in 2011, we have made modest and meaningful contributions to the development of our alma mater. We have made useful and critical interventions. We started our intervention by providing 100 sets of chairs and desks for the school in 2011. Our intervention in this area was critical as we learnt then that the school was going to be prevented from presenting students for the WASCE exams of that year due to lack of desks and chairs for the students. In the following year, we added another set of 100 desks and chairs. We are delighted that God used us to save the future of many students.
In line with our progressive agenda, we have continued to make our impact felt in the school. To date, we have made the following contributions to the school: •Renovation of Admin Block and construction of staff toilet-2013. •Renovation and provision of equipmentforthe Junior School staff room-2014
•Renovation of the biggest classroom block, including changing the roof to long span aluminium, in the school in commemoration ofthe 70th Founder’s Day anniversary Changed the roof of the administrative block from corrugated iron sheets to long span aluminium roof and repainted the building in commemoration of school’s 70th Founder’s Day anniversary Provision of another set of 100 desks and chairs in 2021.
As part of our 40th anniversary celebrations, we have just completed the total renovation of the Chemistry Laboratory – the commissioning of which took place earlier today – equipping it with requisite apparatus to ensure an elevated standard of learning for students and instructions for teachers as well. We have also committed to donating a block of 6 classrooms to the school, the foundation/turning of sord which took place earlier today as well. Our distinguished guests, we wish to inform you that our efforts at developing our alma mater has not gone unnoticed. During the 70th anniversary of the school in 2016, our Association clinched the Bronze medal for our efforts. Our aim is to get the Gold medal and we are poised to achieve this.
In recognition of the fact that we needed to render support to some of our members, a Welfare Fund was set up in the year 2021 in other to provide succor to such members. The Fund is currently being managed by a Welfare Committee that is made up of some eminent members. I am happy to report to you that this initiative, which has received the overwhelming support of our members is running very well and fulfilling it’s mandate.
So far, some of our members had benefitted from it. We therefore, enjoin our members to continue to support this laudable project for we know that with more funds, more members would be able to benefit and overcome some of their challenges. I therefore, seize this opportunity to express appreciation to members that have supported the Fund with their resources while I believe others will join the train by answering the clarion call.
While we were in school way back then, we were nurtured and mentored by great men and women who took it upon themselves to ensure that we became responsible citizens. They toiled daily to show us direction and guide us unto the path of success. We are indeed very grateful to these teachers for their labour of love and we cannot forget their gestures in a hurry. In appreciation of their selfless service to our Set, we have today deemed it necessary to return the favour by specially recognizing and honouring a few of these heroes and heroines. Our dear teachers, we are grateful and we pray that God will continue to keep you and divinely protect you and your household.
As I round up my address, I wish to appreciate my fellow classmates for trusting me with the leadership of this great Association over 10 years ago. I must sincerely thank members of my team for the commitment and sacrifices for our modest achievements. My profound appreciation goes to all our members both home and abroad for their commitment to the cause and for the sacrifices they have made to ensure a better future for RSS students. I can only urge us not to relent in our mission to continue to lift up the school. As this administration prepares to pass the baton, we are confident that the new set of leaders will continue from where we stopped and even surpass the achievements of the outgoing executive.
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