Protocols.
Happy new month to all Buddies. Please join me in thanking God for His grace that has brought us this far and we praise Him for this grace.
Distinguished Buddies, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to all of you for the massive support we are receiving from you for the development of our school. Despite the present situation in the country, you have not shown any fatigue in responding to our regular calls for support and participation in several activities going on in the school. This reflects the reality of life that it involves several moving parts which all require attention. Can we eat without drinking water? No! Can we address our economic and social needs without caring about our spirituality? Our God is awesome in His ways. This is really the spirit of ATAKUNMOSA!
The executive Council, which I happen to lead, is very grateful for your untiring support which has kept us moving. May God richly bless all our families. As the school will soon proceed on holidays, the Education Committee is set for the Holiday Coaching Classes for the SS2 and SS3 students. This is in preparation for the final School Certificate examinations. We are determined to improve the academic performances of the students in the next examinations. The exercise which was planned to run for three weeks commencing from 5th August 2024 has been postponed to August 12th 2024 to allow for any social dislocations arising from the orchestrated Hunger/Bad Governance Protests to subside. We cannot take chances! I want to appreciate our good-natured brother, Prince ‘Dokun Agunlejika and his ever-ready team in the Education Committee for the great job they are doing for us. The commitment is unparalleled. They are the real “Ko ni afarawe” indeed! May God bless our collective efforts as we prepare a great future for the upcoming generation.
I am delighted to announce that so much progress has been made at our Digital Centre. The test run was successfully carried out as planned and I paid an inspection visit to the site on Friday, July 26th, 2024. It is a beauty to behold! We all have made this possible. We appreciate your support. We have surpassed our initial plan of 20 computer sets by providing an additional 10, making a total 30 computer sets. My appeal for “LAST MILE FUND RAISING” to complete the Digital Centre Project was well received and I am quite pleased with the responses so far. Of course, we still need more funds to meet our needs as proposed. By the grace of God, the Centre will be officially commissioned on 23rd September 2024. The details of the programme will be made public in due course by the Project Committee under the leadership of our indefatigable Chairperson, Mrs. Kofoworola Ajelabi nee Ogunbiyi. Without prejudice to my speech at the Commissioning event, I want to place our appreciation on record for what this Committee has put together for us.
Let me use this opportunity once again to inform you that we have started a groundwork activity with our desire to launch Vocational and Agricultural activities in the school. During my recent visits to the school in the company of some Buddies, we identified several assets that are being wasted and which we hope to turn to productive use in due course. Our resolve is that we should lead Osun State, as a starting point, in the direction of a change in Secondary Schools Education.
Next, I would not fail in my usual appeal to you all that we should try to pay attention to our health as individuals and as a family.
Please let us endeavour to be our brother’s keeper.
I have said it several times that our relationship as Old Students is beyond the level of School Mates. We have become family members. I am happy that this has been variously demonstrated amongst sets and friends. Please let the good relationship continue. Try to check and assist one another as much as we can. Please call a Buddy you have not heard from in two weeks!
In retrospect, I see the great value of our time at AHSO and how it shaped our lives and kept us together. I hereby seize this opportunity to rejoice with those buddies who marked their birthdays during the course of the month. My prayer is that the Lord will keep all of us safe wherever we are and give us a good health to enjoy the fruits of our labour.
Let me specially thank those buddies who were physically present in Lagos on 6th July 2024 to honour Engineer Olusegun James Okebiorun and his family at the event marking his 70th birthday. I pray that God Almighty will give him long life in good health and prosperity. As we also gear up for a few more Septuagenarian Birthdays, I pray that God will keep the dates for us. Amen
May I use this opportunity to pay a glowing tribute to our late sister, Mrs. Racheal Komolafe, a very productive and articulate member of Ilesa Chapter, who died on 5th July 2024. She was always there for us. It has been observed that the value of life is not based on how long we live, but how much we contribute to others in society. We miss our dear sister for her contributions to the growth of the National Association. May God forgive her sins, grant her eternal rest and give the children, the family and indeed, all of us, the fortitude to bear this great loss.
In conclusion, i wish to thank you all for your support and unrelenting efforts to ensure that we all succeed. Our school is inimitable, and our relationship is exceptional. I pray that the Association will continue to grow from strength to strength. May Allah, the most merciful and the most beneficent, bless us more than our expectations in the months ahead.
Thank you all.
Lateef A. Bakare, FCA, FBR
August 1, 2024