It was celebration galore as Crowns Heights College (CHC), Ibadan, proudly celebrated a remarkable milestone in its journey of educational excellence.
The celebration of the 27th anniversary of the CHC, witnessed the influx of special dignitaries; the high and the might, cream de la cream in the society into the school campus on Saturday, July 27 while, celebrating 27 years of nurturing young minds, fostering academic excellence and shaping the future of generations.
The visioneer, Prince Gbadebo Adeyeye, a trailblazer indeed, stepped into the extensive estate-like school campus, surrounded by vast facilities, shining like a sun-kissed diamond and beaming with a feeling of gratitude and content as well as savouring the sweetness of his accomplishments as a seasoned educationist on the graceful day.
The prince of Ise Ekiti, Ekiti State, South West Nigeria, having received his special guests of honour in a warm reception at his office, led the company of friends and well-wishers to the tape cutting and dedication of the Oba David Opeyemi Adeyeye Hall, as one of the activities marking the 27th anniversary celebration and the 2024 Valedictory Serviceof the illustrious college’s Class of 2024.
Prince Adeyeye in his calm demeanour having seen it all locally and globally described the dedication of the hall as a peanut in immortalising and appreciating his late king-father, His Royal Majesty Oba David Opeyemi Adeyeye, Agunsoye II, the Arinjaleof Ise-Ekiti, who reigned for 32 years between 1932-1976.
The new hall, which inauguration was performed by the former Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation and former Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Honourale Labaran Maku, was a cynosure, which later turned out to be the very venue the all-important and well attended event was electrified with musical renditions by the school choir to appreciate God on behalf of the graduating students, alongside other presentations such as barley dance and cultural dances in Yoruba and Itsekiri to entertain the august visitors, parents/guardians of the graduands and the entire staff of the school, which all endeared everyone to the richness of education being offered in the school.
The emotion-laden performances by the junior students no doubt left the graduating students emotional as they intermittently filed in to hug, shake hands and dance with their juniors. “We will miss you,” some of the junior students were heard telling their out-goingseniors. It was such a beautiful sight to behold.
Prince Adeyeye, who held the audience spellbound in his well- crafted welcome speech harped on the delivery of quality education, saying that “at a time like this, nothing is more important in our nation than to provide quality education for the young population.”
Quoting James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, that, “a popular government without popular information or a means of achieving it is a tragedy, “he stressed that “knowledge will forever govern ignorance and people who want to be their own governors must arm themselves with power that knowledge has.
This, according to him, “is the reason why Crown Heights College remains committed to its founding mission since 1997 to provide our young men and women in the society a conducive environment where they can be well educated without any compromise and without fabrication.”
Concluding his address, in a rapturous applause from the audience, he said: “Ladies and gentlemen, as we gathered here this afternoon to celebrate our Class of 2024 and rejoice with their parents and guardians, there is no better moment than this to remind them that no matter what the situation is in Nigeria today, the future is bright. So, do not lose hope. The bright future does not belong to the Yahoo-Yahoo boys, it belongs to you. I charge you to take up the challenge today. May the Lord continue to guide you in your journey in life.
Fielding questions from journalists earlier in an interview about what prompted him to move from marketing and advertising to becoming an educationist, he said: “Such move is not really strange in this present age, such a step as has been taken by many.
He listed names of great people in the world who were not educationists, but became partakers in the sector, adding that, “All I care about is contributing to the future of the younger population in the society, which is very important and nothing is more important than that.”
Reflecting on the countless memories, achievements and moments that have made the Crown Heights College a beacon of knowledge and a symbol of hope for the Arulogun community, its environ and the nation at large, in the last 27 years he said, “Money making is not the only achievement that I envisage, personally, that is not my motivation. The motivation for me is to see the students do well all round in every sense of it. So, our major achievement so far as a school is in the products that we have released into the society; many of them have become doctors, lawyers, engineers, among others. Each time I see them, I feel fulfilled and accomplished, it’s worth more that millions of naira in my bank account.
Responding to if he is worried about the state of education in Nigeria, he said, “If I say I am not worried, I am just deceiving you or myself. Everyone is worried; especially those who have enjoyed good and quality education in the past. Sincerely, any progressive soul should be worried. The country is not where it’s supposed to be, not only in terms of education, but in other aspects. Since the focus is on education, I would say we need to wake up as a nation to do what is right for our people and our great country.”
The guest speaker, former Minister of Information of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Labaran Maku, speaking to the graduating students on the topic entitled; ‘The Future is Great, Do not Be Afraid, Only Believe,’ having claimed to have set aside so many things to come to Ibadan to grace the occasion said, “For me, it is better to engage the future than to be invited to address political rallies or attend other occasions. This is engaging the future of the Yoruba race, Nigeria and Africa at large.
Maku, who spoke from his wealth of experience, cautioned the graduating students to shift their gaze from the negativities surrounding and encumbering the nation, but to rather concentrate on the positive side, saying “90 percent of what you read in the newspapers about the country is negative, and I am worried for children that are growing up like you. When you see some of these things in social media, even as adults, you are despair about the future of this country. You feel some kind of discouragement that young people feel about this country.
“We also see on social media young Africans trying to cross the sea to Europe. A thousand of them have died trying to cross over; human trafficking is still ongoing. A few months ago, the British Parliament came up with a law that they would transfer those Africans to Rwanda. When I read about those things, I feel bad on the inside.”
He, therefore, posited that “no condition is permanent, the pressures that we see today is a pointer to the fact that the future is bright.”
He tasked them to look into the future with hope, saying “the future is great, don’t be afraid, only believe. The challenges that you see today are opportunities for better things to happen in the future. Dare to be heroes and solution bearers. Ponder on how to proffer solutions to some of these challenges.”
While noting that a great future comes with a responsibility, he enjoined them to build sound character, saying “education alone cannot take you anywhere. Dream big dreams to change society, there is no wealth without service. Look on to God and listen to him first in everything.
The chairman of Nigeria Port Authority(NPA), Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, in his charge at the ceremony described education as extremely important to human life, saying that “education is a leveller; it can lift you out of poverty and can catapult you to the highest levels.”
Senator Adeyeye, who is one of the founding fathers of CHC, said he was glad to be part of CHC’s history, noting that “I feel extremely happy being one of the founding fathers of this great citadel of learning. When we came here, this place was a thick bush, but see what it has grown to be. A lot of people have graduated from this school and they are doing well in their various professions.”
He further charged the graduating students to be focused and disciplined, not depending on their certificates alone to make it in life.
Admonishing the students to look inward and discover their talents he said:”We place too much emphasis on degrees in this part of the world. You don’t have to say at all cost; I must go to university. If it is at the level of a secondary school certificate you have discovered a great talent in you, and you have the passion, go ahead and pursue it.
“Bill Gates discovered an innovation as a student and he said if I stay in the university pursuing it, another person may discover it. So, he quickly dropped out of school and he patented it. If he didn’t do that, he would not have become a millionaire today. Today he is worth 150 billion dollars; richer than some nations of the world.
“The great musician, King Sunny Ade, as a secondary school certificate holder, is a professor in many universities today. Albert Ogunde was a policeman; he might not even have completed his primary school education. In his lifetime, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree, just to mention a few; ditto with Ebenezer Obey. These are great men. My emphasis is, discover something you can do to impact the society, pursuit it diligently and you will be great in life,” he said
Speaking about the current state of education in public school, he said: “I am worried but I’m not too worried because I went to public schools, but today I am confident and can stand up to speak anywhere.
He posited that “public schools are still doing well but, things can be a lot better; we can improve. I’m confident that with the present administration, particularly considering its effort on giving access to higher institutions by way of students’ loan, things can improve.”
Among the special dignitaries who graced the occasion were the school principal, Mrs Ayodele Olubunmi; Mr Seyi Falomo, Pastor (Mrs) Justina Joseph; renowned author of the Economics and Government Text Books (by O.A. Lawal) Dr Olayiwola AdejareLawal; Secretary General of South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) and former Member House of Representatives representing Irepo/Orelope/OlorunsogoFederal Constituency, Oyo State, Honourable Bosun Oladele, Director of Operations, African Dotcom Media Limited, Dr OlabisiDeji-Folutile, among others.
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