Posted by By Mary Ekah on
It was a period for the students to celebrate the passage of six years of hard work, endurance and excellence as the prestigious King's College, Lagos held its 2004/2005 valedictory ceremony at the weekend during which over four hundred students graduated.
It was a period for the students to celebrate the passage of six years of hard work, endurance and excellence as the prestigious King's College, Lagos held its 2004/2005 valedictory ceremony at the weekend during which over four hundred students graduated.
The event, which was held at the school's Victoria Island compound Annex was graced by parents and well wishers as well as personalities from all works of life.
The Principal, Mr. Sylvester Onoja in the valedictory speech said that the students' graduation was not just from the school but also into adulthood. He noted that King's College, as a foremost institution in Nigeria, was established in 1909 by the colonial masters to train gentlemen who would be leaders.
'In the tradition of King's College, therefore, I make bold to say that you have received the best training to be all you want to be to face the next phase of life.
'We have taught you how to set your goals, organise your life and establish your values. All these coupled with the fear of God and a life of prayer serves as solid foundation on which you can build your future endeavours", the Principal stressed.
He advised the students that the King's College character imbibed in them was very important as the school's emphases has been on character and learning.
'We have trained them and they have the character of the King's College old boys and definitely they would succeed in life just like those before them have succeeded," he added.
For the parents, Onoja said it was an opportunity to be associated with King's College in any form, adding, 'We provide quality education and so for a school established before the existence of Nigeria to still be in existence, is wonderful.
'But let me quickly add that it is not yet over with these boys. The assurance however, is that with implicit faith in God who has been with them throughout the major phase of life, they are bound to succeed in the subsequent phases", Onoja said further.
Present also at the occasion was the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Alhaji Nu'uman Barau Danbatta, who was also the guest of honour. He said that occasions like that was usually symbolic in the life of both the graduating students and the entire community as it was usually used as another occasion to encourage diligence, hard work and good behaviour among both the graduating students and the yet-to-graduate students.
The occasion, the Danbatta said also offered the opportunity to give students useful advice that would guide them through their life journey.
Danbatta expressed the hope that the entire Nigerian society would benefit from the education the graduating students have acquired, especially the knowledge acquired, as a source of power to contribute their individual and collective quotas to the upliftment of the nation.
The President, King's College Old Boys Association, Mr. Kayode Sofola (SAN) said the association was a continuation of values and traditions that had be imbibed into students at King's College adding, 'without the association to continue as an extension of values and tradition we got, those values are lost. So we keep the association as a moving phenomenal so that these values can be continuously internalised".
He said that as long as the students were produced via the college, the Old Boys Association was also there to continue to mentor them, adding however that, with the kind of education they have got, they could stand on their own.
'I believe that any old boy of King's College has a bright future. I have never met any King's College Boy who is a failure and I do not think that there would be one in my lifetime, because we give them the best training and when they get into the world, they interact with the top people in the society who are also old boys of King's College. The environment of their success is already there the very day they were admitted into King's College", Sofola said.
His advice to the graduating students was simple: 'we brought them to King's College to teach them positive values, the values that we think would stand them in good side throughout life. So they stick to the training they have been given and part of the training we have given is to be a gentleman and the hallmark of a gentleman is to be honest, committed and to serve humanity with your entire mind and without the hope of any reward. If they keep this golden rule, they would also make a success in life".