In Ondo State, one of the popular clubs renowned for it is invaluable corporate responsibility activities and in fact, on its people is the prestigious Club 66. A club founded in 1980 by a few youngmen from Idanre, Ondo State, the club was formed basically to cater for the developmental needs and concerns of Idanre indigenes. And they have done incredibly well in that regard. Ask any Idanre indigene the name of the most popular club in Idanre and they’ll certainly tell you it’s club 66. This is because the club has impacted positively on the lives of the indigenes and they can’t but be grateful for it.
Two weeks ago, at the 70th birthday celebration of veteran journalist, Chief Eric Teniola, City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL, spoke with the president of the club, Mr Adeyinka Olumide Fisika (SAN) and he told us a whole lot about the club.
Give us a brief background of Club 66. When and how was it formed?
Club666 was formed about the year, 1980 by a few friends who are from Idanre in Ondo State. They were all classmates, the set of 1966 in one of the foremost secondary schools in Idanre. The club was formed as a social, cultural and charity club dedicated and devoted to the advancement of the interests of Idanre, and citizens or indigenes of Idanre. The club is involved mainly in charity work in Idanre and attending to issues affecting Idanre. Community issues, developmental issues, and how to advance the developmental interests such as educational advancements of indigenes of Idanre are the focus of the club. That’s what we do basically.
Do you still have many of those who were pioneer members of the club still with you at present?
Yes, there are so many of them that are still members of the club. I think maybe we’ve lost just one or two pioneer members but most of them are still around. The celebrant of today, Chief Eric Teniola, is one of the founders and he’s still with us.
Most social clubs are set up to create a platform where people of like minds come together to relax, unwind and only pay little attention to social responsibilities but Club 66 is different. What brought about the concept?
Well, when you say people of like minds, the like-mindedness in this instance is the advancement of Idanre Community. That’s why they’re concentrated on Education, Health, issues of community development where you have any indigene of Idanre struggling in any respect and we see that he or she is likely to impact on society, we come out and support such individual by putting our resources together. That is the like-mindedness that brought us together. But it doesn’t mean that we also don’t socialize, we do, but that’s not the main focus. The main focus is the advancement of Idanre Community and the citizens of Idanre.
How has it been, carrying on this noble cause considering the fact that things are no longer as rosy as they were in Nigeria back in those days?
I will say that I have found it very fulfilling doing it. I’ve been a member of the club for a while now. You also need to understand that some of the things we do we may have been doing them individually before now, but we always believe that when you work together you achieve more. The greatest contributor to the Bill Gates foundation is a billionaire in America. He could’ve founded one in his own name and make a success of it. So, we’re not about self-aggrandizement, people in the club do not even want to be known for the things they do. All they want to do is bring their resources together with others and impact on society, and the society in this case, where they originated from is Idanre. They would’ve loved to do more, but at least, you can start small from where you are. You can make a better impact starting from that small community. If we are able to expand it, we will certainly do so anonymously using the name of the club and not the name of individuals.
As the president, how would you evaluate the gratitude of the people of Idanre to your modest contributions?
Well, you know there are so many clubs in Idanre, but if you ask about clubs generally, the one that will come to their minds, the one they’ll mention first is Club 66. Many people take it that the club has been largely associated with the town. If there are issues in the community and they needed to reach out to any club, it’s Club 66 they will remember first and reach out to. And it’s because most of the people you call the elites of the town are members of the club so that basically explains it. Like I said, it was formed by classmates in 1966, and that was the year I was born, so you can see that members of the club are not about how old you are, what they are interested in is, are you from Idanre and are you willing to contribute to the progress of the club. It doesn’t matter how old you are. I happen to be one of the youngest in the club as at now. By the time I became the president of the club, I was the youngest. We relate not in terms of age but in terms of that like-mindedness. As we speak, we’re bringing into the club younger elements who are going to continue with what the club is about, which is addressing the concerns of Idanre.
You’ve been president for how many years now?
This will be my 4th year. It’s a term of 2 years renewable, so I hope to end my tenure this year and hopefully, a younger element will take up the leadership of the club.
What has the experience being like for you as the president of the club?
I’ve been happy serving. I’ve found it fulfilling. Enjoyable. Exhilarating. So, I’m happy doing it.
