By Perpetua Egesimba
The inaugural Christmas carol of Nigerian Turkish (Tulip) International College (NTIC), Isheri, Ogun State, provided an atmosphere of fun and excitement.
For students, parents and friends of the school, it was a day to remember. A former student of the school, Damilola Afolabi, also known as LAX, thrilled the audience.
The event, which held at the school premises, started with the processional hymn, “Joy to the world.” It featured nine lessons, carol, Nativity play, dance and musical renditions by the students.
Principal of the school, Mr. Ercan Yilmaz, said the Christmas carol provided another platform for people of various faiths to come together to celebrate the great blessing from God.
He told the audience that the school was committed to showing understanding, tolerance and mutual respect for everyone.
“If we, from time to time, reach out to one another in a friendly and respectful manner like this, hatred would be eliminated. The world would be a beautiful place to live in. So, we believe Christmas, Salah and similar festive occasions provide opportunities to show this principle,” he said.
Yilmaz stated that the school was also using the occasion to encourage students, parents and family members and the host community to feel at home, because the school was happy to see the parents in particular, who came to grace the occasion.
“We are also using this occasion to thank God for a successful 2017. We are happy to come to the end of the year and I encourage all our students and their families to have a healthy time,” he said.
The principal noted that NTIC, a month before, got two gold medals in Thailand during an international mathematics competition, where countries like China, the United States and others presented strong contingents.
According to him, about 134 teams from different countries participated in the competition that featured over 1,000 students.
He said, “All 10 of our students – five boys and five girls – did very well. Two of them got gold medals, four silver medals and the rest bronze medals.
“Apart from this, at the American Mathematics Competition, which held recently, one of our students came first in Nigeria. Another four were in top 10. Six of them got gold medals, four got silver medals, while one got a bronze medal.
“At the science fair we organised last month, our students did very well. We saw more talents discovered. Damilola Afolabi (LAX), who performed here today, is a product of this school. His presence here today will encourage some of our students to be like him in the future. We are happy to be here with all our families.”
In his Christmas message on the topic “Jesus the reason for the season,” the chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, Apostle Alex Bamigboye, who was represented by Bishop Charles Olu-Odus of Goodnews Miracle Bible Church, expressed appreciation to NTIC for all its achievements and prayed for success in the coming year.
“What NTIC is doing is a great encouragement to us Nigerians. We have a lot to learn from the management because what it is doing is awesome.
“Six years ago, I was in Turkey; I visited so many places. While there, I learnt a lot. I saw what we call religious tolerance. It is quite perfect there; no hatred existed between Muslims and Christians,” he said.
He expressed happiness that NTIC was encouraging religious tolerance and urged the audience to go through all the nine lessons read to them.
To the students, he said: “My message is that you should imbibe what I call the ‘Five P’s, perfect, preparation, prevent, poor and performances.’ Put together, you have, perfect preparation prevents poor performances.
“You are in a place of learning, so you must prepare always, especially when you are about to face your exams. Always prepare yourself perfectly. It is good for you to leave this school and go back home with good results that will make your parents to laugh and be encouraged.”
Maryam Halilu, an SS1 student, expressed happiness with the programme: “This is wonderful. I got to see my parents, friends and virtually everyone. I like this concept. We got to see dance, drama and everything. It was very interesting.”
A parent, who identified herself as Mrs. Agunbiade, described the occasion as innovative, adding that she was happy to be with her child. She commended the school for its initiative.