By Cosmas Omegoh

Thirty-seven years after leaving school, members of Washington Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha, Alumni Association, Class of 1980, recently gathered at Rockview Hotel, Festac Town, Lagos, for their reunion.

They ended the gathering with a resolve to “be one another’s keeper,” while vowing to give the school that raised them something handsome in return for helping them reach the heights they have attained today.  

It was a happy moment for the ex-students, most of whom had not seen one another since left school. They came from far and near places across the country and beyond to attend the two-day meeting. Thereafter, they elected their former senior prefect, Emmanuel Momah, a lawyer, chairman of the group.

At the interactive session during which the old students rekindled the fire of yesteryears, Momah urged his colleagues to be their brother’s keeper.

He thanked his former classmates for accepting him to serve them again, even as he apologised to those he might have offended during his time as senior prefect of the school.

He commended the convener of the forum, Cornelia Okakpu Azike, for her doggedness, persistence and commitment to the good of the group even after many decades of leaving school. He recalled the initial effort of one of them, Mr. Mike Mbakwe, to reunite the former students and expressed happiness that the move was followed up. Momah urged all members of the association to commit to ensuring that it grew from strength to strength while reminding the members that the benefit of doing that would soon be extended to various individual members’ families.  

Also speaking at the forum, Denis Egbuche of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) urged his colleagues never to underestimate their days of humble beginnings, noting that he felt great to be reunited with them once again.

“I urge us all to do everything to sustain this relationship. I also wish that we do not forget our departed classmates,” he said.

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He then asked his colleagues to observe a minute’s silence in their honour.

Chuks Onyebuchi, managing director, Union Computers, told the forum that the initiative deserved commendation. He called on members to send in the curriculum vitae of their children who might wish to pursue a career in information and communication technology for training.

A Ghanaian in the forum, Frank Nelson, who is a director at Ghana’s top football outfit, Accra Heart of Oaks, said: “What we have done here today is to rekindle the friendship we started many years ago. I urge our members not to cut the link.”   

The chairman of the reunion organising committee, Donatus Egbuna, recalled that that he had gained a lot in the service of his colleagues.  

Azike said on the occasion that she was moved to reconnect with her classmates as a way of helping one another when anyone of them was in distress.

“I started calling all classmates I could reach in order to extend my goodwill wishes to them. In doing that, I realised that we were quite a large number and together we could do something mighty as a group. So I decided to maintain the relationship, which later culminated into this gathering.

“It is quite nostalgic for me to realise that that little effort paid off. I would like to thank all the members who saw the idea as a worthy one and rose to support and key into it. How I wish that we would not relent on this brotherhood and permanent friendship we all nurtured while we were together nearly 40 years ago,” she said.

Besides Momah, who was elected president, Mr. Dennis Egbuche became the group’s vice president, Sir Kene Obi became secretary, Chief Donatus Egbuna was elected director of socials, Cele Ezeanochikwe became the legal adviser while Azike was voted as the treasurer.

Other elected executive members were Princess Ngozi Ezeuzor, who took office as media and publicity secretary, Mrs. Ngozi Okey Amalu, who became provost, and Mr. Frank Nelson Nwokolo and Mr Patrick Chuks Onyebuchi who were voted in as ex-officio members.