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Written by
Dr. Ogbemi O. Omatete, SC58, HSC60
(Knoxville, TN - September 2002 )
Late
in 1994, I received a phone call from Chief (now Senator) Fred A.
Brume, SC60, from Germany. He explained that Government College
Ughelli (GCU) old boys were planning a comprehensive celebration
for the 50th anniversary - The Golden Jubilee - of the founding
of GCU in 1995. Consequently, branches of old boys' associations
were being established not only in various states in Nigeria but
also abroad. One already existed in the United Kingdom. He requested
that I assist in initiating one in the USA. I gladly accepted that
assignment knowing what GCU did for me. However, I insisted that
he send me the details of the activities being planned.
I called Dr. Awipi (SC59,
HSC61) who lives in nearby Nashville and we reached Gregs Thomopulos
(SC60). Soon we had two very active younger old boys, Bestman Efejuku
(SC73) and Enemute Oduaran (SC74) join us. Through Mr. Efejuku,
we got in touch with a very active cell of old boys in the Rochester,
NY area and Mr. Oduaran gave us the names of several old boys. At
this time, I had received detailed information about the Golden
Jubilee celebration. Below is how I described it in my January 1995
communications to the old boys in the USA:
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anniversary is significant not only because GCU has survived
50 years in the turbulence of Nigeria's educational system
and produced all these outstanding alumni but also because
of the memorable actions of its first principal. Mr. V.
B. V. Powell, that famous Englishman who was associated
with many other government colleges and such bodies as
the Nigerian Olympic Committee, the Nigerian Amateur Athletic
Association, etc. in his last will and testament
deposed that his remains be interned at Government College,
Ughelli. What an honour to GCU!! The attached sheet summarizes
the Golden Jubilee activities: Alumni Directory, Roll
of Honour, Endowment Fund, Internment of Mr. V. B. V.
Powell's remains, etc. |
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The Golden Jubilee Committee
proposed a N100 million Endowment Fund for GCU and planned to raise
at least N10 million at the Golden Jubilee celebrations. The GCU
Old Boys' branch in the USA was expected to raise the equivalent
of $3,000 to $5,000 at that time. To formally establish the branch,
we had to have a legal instrument so that it can have tax-exempt
status. Dr. Awipi helped in the drafting of the Articles of association.
It was simple:
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Name:
Government College Old Boys' Association in the Americas
(GCU-OBA-AMERICAS).
Motto: Keep the Ship Sailing.
Officers: President, Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer (elected).
Regional Coordinators appointed by President with the
consent of the elected officers.
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To learn more, you may
download the Articles of Association from the website.
Nominations were sought
for the various positions from the nearly three-dozen old boys that
we had contacted. Ballot forms were sent out that were to be returned
by July 1995 with two initiatives: a) approve or disapprove of the
Articles of Association and, b) vote for the officers. Those who
took the time to return the ballots approved the Articles of Association
and voted 100% for the slate of officers presented. Consequently,
on August 18, 1995, Government College Old Boys' Association in
the Americas (GCU-OBA-AMERICAS) was formally chartered as a non-profit
corporation in the Tennessee with tax-exempt status. The officers
were:
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President:
Ogbemi O. Omatete, SC58, HSC60
Vice-President: Gregs Thomopulos, SC60
Treasurer: Mebinin Awipi, SC59, HSC61
Secretary: Bestman Efejuku, SC73
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The elected officers
nominated regional coordinators as follows: Professor Felix
Okoye, SC56, HSC58, Enemute Oduaran, SC74, and Ruks Bazunu, SC70.
It was already August
and the launching of the Endowment Fund was in November, so we had
to begin raising money immediately. A bank account was opened and
we sent appeals to all the old boys that we could contact. A monthly
newsletter that we had initiated was used to disseminate
the activities of the Golden Jubilee Committee in Nigeria and our
activities in the USA. Because of time limitations, we set our goals
at the lower limit of $3,000. We did raise close to our target before
November 1995. However, we decided not to send the money to Nigeria
until, we knew how it was going to be spent.
In October 1995, I visited
Nigeria and took the opportunity to represent GCU-OBA-AMERICAS as
its president during several of the Jubilee activities in Lagos
and in Warri. I was at Government College, Ughelli for all the planned
activities. The detailed report of the Jubilee activities that I
participated in is our Newsletter No. 5 of December 1995. Unfortunately,
the Endowment Fund was not launched and the money we collected was
not sent to Nigeria. The money we collected has actually accumulated
interest in the bank and is actually just over $3,000 now.
Additional information
on the GCU Endowment Fund is reported in the Newsletter No. 6 of
September 1996. The impetus that drove us to forming the association
lost its momentum as the GCU Endowment Fund was never launched.
The last information that I received from Nigeria is that the Endowment
Fund will be launched at the Diamond Jubilee (2005) of the founding
of GCU. Meanwhile in 1996, my employer sent me from Knoxville, TN
on a two-year assignment to Los Angeles, CA until the end of 1998.
As a result the activities of GCU-OBA-AMERICAS ceased, primarily
because there was no news emanating from Nigeria about GCU to report
in the newsletter.
Following up on a suggestion
by Gregs Thomopulos that a website might rekindle the spirit of
GCU-OBA-AMERICAS, we have since created this website (as a gateway)
for all GCU old boys' associations worldwide; it became functional
in 2001. Send your GCU - related activities (with old and new pictures)
to the webmaster. This is a way to keep the history of this great
secondary school alive. KEEP THE SHIP SAILING!!
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