BBHS @100: Let’s Preserve Its Good Heritage For Generations To Come — OBJ
Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Wednesday, said he would not have become who he is today, if not for the good virtues and values that impacted him and many products of Baptist Boys’ High School (BBHS), Abeokuta.
He said this in his speech delivered with the title “Eyin Ni Iwe Wa: You Are Our Epistle”, as part of activities marking the centennial celebration of the school, held at the OGD Hall of the school located at Saje area of Abeokuta.
“Let me congratulate all students who had passed through the portals of BBHS posthumously and those who are alive no matter whether they are products of Oke Egunya or Oke-Saje, they are the same. As Mr E. L. Akisanya would say, “We have a good heritage (A wa ni ogun rere)”.
“Let us preserve it and pass it on in perpetuity. What all these great products of BBHS have in common is the godly virtue inculcated in them by the School. That was education plus. We carry it anywhere we go as epistle written by BBHS to our families, our communities, our States, our country, and our continent of Africa and indeed our world.
” We must impact with humility, honesty, integrity, wisdom, courage, competence and fear of God – these must continue to be our characteristics and our attributes to make a change for good wherever we are. We must be different,” Obasanjo added.
The former president said the products of the school were groomed on godly virtues and are good testaments of the school that produced.
He mentioned Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the premier of the defunct Western Region; Chief D. S. Adegbenro, Minister of Land and then Minister of Local Government and later Premier of Western Region for a short period; Professor Bolaji Idowu, who was the first Nigerian President of the Methodist Church of Nigeria; Chief Duro Oluyemi, the first Principal of African Church Grammar School, Abeokuta; and his immediate successor, Prince Gbogboade.
He added, “To that list, we must add Professor Lambo, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan and the Deputy Director-General of WHO; Chief Samuel Sogbein, the Minister in the Western Region; Dr Soleye, former Minister of Finance; Prince Bola Ajibola, former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Judge of the International Court of Justice at The Hague; and Chief M. Ola Yusuf with a distinguished career at John Holt.
” Today, there are distinguished old boys in all walks of life, that is, private sector, academia, military and paramilitary, civil society, traditional rulership, etc. Such is the present President of the Old Boys Association of BBHS, Prof. Kayode Oyesiku. I believe that I must not be too forgetful to leave out yours truly, the son of Obasanjo, a modest war-victorious General and former Military Head of State and former President of Nigeria.
“Chief M.K.O. Abiola, the first communication industry millionaire in Nigeria and the acclaimed winner of the 1993 Presidential election was in a class by himself. If not for Nigerian bad belle, M.K.O. Abiola would have been President and with me as President, we would have needed one more old student of BBHS to be President for us to permanently locate it in BBHS after three times. And that is a challenge for up-and-coming generations of old boys. I must not leave out people like Chief Dada who, after working at FAO, came to work with me as Minister of State, Agriculture, and Funsho Kupolokun, who worked with me distinguishingly as Group Managing Director of NNPC. At the State level, I must not forget Gbenga Daniel as Governor of Ogun State.
” I must not leave out the traditional rulers like Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland; Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu, the late Olowu of Owu Kingdom; and Oba Olufemi Omolade, the Olubara of Ibara, my personal friend and classmate who robbed me of my cherished groundnut when we were in School.”
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