SMS Class of 1998, Ogun State University marks 20yrs/Reunion with pomp

President Adekunle  Adebambo, (middle) cutting the anniversary cake with him are Mr Soji Kolawole,Dr Sade Ayoola, Tunde Odetola, Isaac Majolaybe,  Bukky Fakeye, Oluwatoyin Balogun, and other members during the 20^th Anniversary and Reunion of Class of 1998 Faculty of Social and Management Sciences Ogun State University Ago –Iwoye held at  Colonades Hotels and Resorts Limited in Lagos on 22/12/2018. 

It was pomp and pageantry when on December 22, 2018 at Colanade Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, members, Class of 1998, Faculty of Social &Management Sciences (SMS) of Ogun State University now Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago Iwoyi, Ogun State gathered to mark the 20^th Anniversary of their graduation from the esteemed institution. SUCCESS DAMIAN reports.

With an array of members exceedingly doing well in their chosen fields of human endeavor, members of Faculty of Social & Management Sciences comprising seven departments, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Sociology, Business Administration, Economics, Political Science, Geography and Regional Planning departments, decided to come together to collaborate, empower and build a mutual relationship among themselves.

Kunle Adebanbo, a Chartered Accountant and a Banker who graduated from the Economics Department, is also the Coordinator of the group. He said the meeting which was the maiden edition, was designed to bring together SMS 1998 set both in Nigeria and in the Diaspora.

“This is a global reunion of all of us from that university in 1998, as I speak to you many of us came from different parts of the globe,” Adebanbo said.

Speaking on the reasons for formation of the group he said “There is need to assist ourselves, how can we have positive impact on the school, how can we have impact in the society. To do all this we make sure we network among ourselves, with networking we can bring something from area where there is surplus to where there is need,” Adebanbo stated.

Speaking further he said “We have a responsibility to our school, we can organize lectures, symposia on matters of contemporary interest to the school, we are even planning scholarship for people that finished from the school and want to do their masters broad. The meeting also helps us to be able to meet periodically. It will equally foster legitimate and creative business relationship among our members. More so it brings unity and bonding.

Adebanbo who stated that Technology and social media have contributed a lot in bringing their members together, disclosed that the reunion was intended to be beneficial even to their future generations “We believe this relationship will extend to our children and great-grandchildren, so that they can benefit from this relationship, and also to the society, to provide support to the less-privileged in the society. We also intend to raise fund and have impact on this economy.”

He said education standard is falling, and added that it was part of the reason for the formation of the association in order to add value and improve education standard of their alma-Mata.

Dele Bolade, a graduated of Banking and Finance Department of the institution, and co-coordinator of the association, maintained that many members of their set has grown carrier-wise and reasoned that there is need for collaboration,

According to him “This is the first reunion after graduation in 1998, part of the reason for coming together is that some of our colleagues have been able to grow in their chosen professions, and we realize that in this age there is need for us to bond and to network, nobody is an island. We also realized that many people far from us are the ones benefitting from our mates, so we decided to create a platform in order to add value to ourselves and also impact our society.”

He also stated that the group is working on endowment because that was the only way to bring relief to the school and the undergraduates.