Alumni associations, key to nation-building, says ex-minister
Former Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, has said alumni associations can play a critical role in nation-building.
He said they can do this by contributing to the country’s educational advancement through their alma mater.
He spoke as the special guest of honour at the Lagos reunion of the 1987 Law Class of the Bendel State University (BENSU), now Ambrose Alli University (AAU).
The theme was: “Developing Alumni Connections: Challenges and Prospects.”
Agba, a member of the first graduate class of BENSU, stressed that building great educational institutions begins with successful alumni organisations that have entrenched connections.
He said: “Alumni associations in Nigeria should, therefore, participate actively in the development of their various institutions like their counterparts in developed countries by looking beyond providing infrastructure to the administration and academic situation of our universities to know truly if we are producing the right kind of students for the society.”
President of the BENSU Law Class of ’87, Mr. Sylva Ogwemoh (SAN), said the Class had concluded plans to donate law books worth over N10 million to the AAU Faculty of Law.
The SAN stated that the major aim of the Association is to improve the welfare of members and support AAU, particularly the Faculty of Law of the university, in areas of need.
He said the Class of ‘87 boasts of an array of judges, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, a professor of law, magistrates, directors in public service, seasoned politicians, and successful businessmen and women.
“In my view, our coming together as a class association should provide us the opportunity to help each other in areas of need,” Ogwemoh said.
He also stated that it was important for the BENSU Law Class of ’87 to act as a united body that will ultimately assist the university in re-engaging its diverse alumni for academic and infrastructural development in the institution.
Mr. Ogwemoh paid tribute to the late Ambrose Folorunsho Alli, a professor of morbid anatomy and the first governor of Old Bendel State (now Edo State), who established the university.
The three-day event, which began with a cocktail on August 3, 2023, included a class meeting, a health talk, and a dinner.
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