Eminent businessman and former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu, has commended the Old Boys Association of Government College Umuahia, his alma mater, for receiving the mandate to take over the management of the school from the government of Abia State.
Kalu made this remark while addressing members of the Association during their monthly meeting in the residence of its Abuja Chapter President, Dr. Joseph Aguolu recently.
The former governor described as novel the plan by the Government College Umuahia Old Boys Association to redeem the former citadel of learning and flagship of high schools in the east of the Niger from its present sorry state.
According to him: “This is a very novel approach in school management where alumni are taking over whole management of its alma mater to restore the fortunes of a school with unrivalled legacy.”
Government College Umuahia, it would be recalled, was one of the four leading schools in both pre and post colonial Nigeria, ranking with Kings College Lagos, Barewa College, Zaria and Government College Ibadan, but has since fallen into disrepair as a result of lack of adequate attention by the inheriting government of Abia State.
Founded in 1929, the school rose to make significant contributions in the Nigerian intellectual environment and gave it a leading array of scholars and novelists like Chinua Achebe, Chukwuemeka Ike, Christopher Okigbo, Elechi Amadi and Ken Saro Wiwa as well as great artists like Ben Enweonwu to mention but a few.
Its constellation of stars has also been evident amongst great economists like Chu Okongwu and Pius Okigbo as well as black Africa’s foremost surgeons like Prof. Chukwuedo Nwokolo, among other too numerous to mention.
Kalu offered to host the next meetings aimed at fine-tuning arrangements towards the fund raising activities aimed at raising the N10 billion layout for the restoration project.
Briefing members at the meeting, the MD/CEO, Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund, Dr. Uche Orji, also an alumni, said GCUOBA both within and outside Nigeria has mapped out a business plan amounting to N10 billion designed to rebuild the school as one of the leading high schools in the country.
The Lagos State chapter of the Association, he announced, has performed the launching in Lagos, while Abuja and other chapters in the country are expected to perform the fund raising activities in their various cities of domicile.
The Abuja fund raising function has been slated for sometime in September and is planned to attract the crème of business magnates in the country.
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