All protocols duly observed.
It is with great honour and sense of responsibility that I am taking up the challenge of leading our great Association for the next four years. I wish to use this opportunity to thank God for the grace of life, and also thank the entire members of the Association both at home and abroad for the implicit confidence you all have in me.
May Allah honour you all.
Undoubtedly, this is a call to service, and I am prepared through the grace of God to serve the Association to the best of my ability with a view to rewriting the story of our school that has impacted so much on us as individuals and collectively. This is a task that must be accomplished.
I want to recognize the contribution of various individuals who had served in one capacity or the other before to make the Association what it is today. I cannot but applaud the giant strides of the outgoing Executive Committee under the leadership of General Lawrence O. Jokotola (Rtd).
No doubt, our collective efforts have prepared a rock-solid foundation. We must therefore not relent in our efforts to break the glass ceiling in our quest for all round development of our School.
The process of the election has been thorough and a lot of efforts have been put in by the Electoral Committee, led by our indefatigable Prince ‘Dire Arimoro. You are all appreciated.
On the part of the newly elected officers, it is important to remark that you have demonstrated your readiness and determination to serve, based the various aspirational manifestos presented at various times as parameters.
I wish to state unequivocally that we shall work to the best of our abilities to ensure that our school and the Association get the best in the years ahead.
Like I have mentioned in one of my reactions on the platform, all critical pillars of support will be engaged to get the best which we deserve.
Let me use this opportunity to state that in the implementation of our various programs, we are going to make use of age, position, location, influence, gender, experience, talents and all other available resources which abound within the Association.
The following critical areas will receive immediate attention of the Executive; upgrading the standard of education of the school, addressing
infrastructural decay, staff development, promotion of love, and building a stronger tie among the old students.
I need not over-emphasize the fact that our peaceful co-existence will go a long way in building a better and viable Association.
I will be advocating that all elected officers, Branch and Set Chairmen and Secretaries resident in Nigeria be prepared to participate in a RETREAT to harmonise our manifestos and develop a PLAN OF ACTION WITH TIMED DELIVERABLES.
Our colleagues in Diaspora will also join virtually so that we take full advantage of our collective endowments.
Ladies and gentlemen, I enjoin you all to please co-operate with us so that we can serve you and the school to the best of our abilities. Our school is SECOND-TO-NONE and we must reflect this in our performances.
We are determined to reinforce all current efforts to bring back the glory of the school.
In the process, we must be willing to sacrifice, show a lot of difference and demonstrate to the whole world that we have what it takes to make the system works. Sacrificing what we call the 3 Ts in Rotary (i.e., Time, Treasure and Talent) is the barest minimum that we can do to achieve our lofty objectives.
As I have always maintained, whatever we do to improve the standard of our school is an act of “Ibaadat” (worship) for which we will enjoy “zadakat ul Jahiliya” (reward till day of judgement), long after we would have left planet earth. As believers, is this reward not worth the effort?
We will strive to be inclusive in all our programs by ensuring that all strata of our Association is carried along.
“Owo omode ko to pepe, ti agbalagba ko wo akengbe”, “omode gbon, agba gbon l’afi da Ile Ife”.
These are time tested proverbs of our elders which underscore our resolve to run inclusive programs.
Once again, I reaffirm my determination to be the Chief Servant of this noble Association.
I say thank you for the opportunity given me to serve and pray for guidance, will and ability to perform.
May God help us all.
Lateef Akande Bakare , FCA, FBR
May 8, 2023.