Empowering alumni as a pathway to supporting our alma mater remains my focus - ECOBA president

The Worldwide President of the Edo College Old Boys Association (ECOBA), Greg Ogbeifun, has said his administration remains focused on empowering alumni to support the alma mater.

He cited examples such as sourcing skills and services from within the ECOBA network, from architects to entrepreneurs, to create mutual benefit among members.

He spoke in a sideline interview during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, held at the Golden Tulip, Ibadan, over the weekend.

Noting that the National Executive Council will focus not only on the alma mater, the President said the group will also do more for alumni themselves, adding that the goal is to empower former students. students through a symbiotic network.

He gave examples such as an entrepreneur hiring skilled ECOBAs or someone needing an architect turning to the ECOBA community first, saying that by helping members support each other, they also build stronger backing for the school itself.

He described Ibadan as one of ECOBA’s most important branches because of the city’s historical reputation and its ties to major tertiary institutions, such as the University of Ibadan and the teaching hospital.

He said many Edo College alumni passed through Ibadan, and a core group there has kept the branch alive and connected to the national body.

He explained that the current administration wants to make all branches more inclusive, starting with Ibadan, by holding the NEC committee meeting there.

According to him, the Ibadan branch remains one of the association’s most important chapters because of the city’s academic heritage and the caliber of old boys who passed through its institutions.

He explained that the NEC decided to hold its meeting in Ibadan to demonstrate solidarity with the branch and to motivate members. Since arriving in the city, he said, he had already reunited with two classmates he had not seen in 52 years, including an emeritus professor of pediatric cardiology at the University of Ibadan College of Medicine. 

Ogbeifun disclosed that the Kigali retreat produced a mobilization plan that is already yielding results, with 520 former students re-registering with the association within three weeks, including one who joined from France.

Plans, he said, are underway to establish new branches in northern Nigeria, Europe, and the Middle East to reach members in those regions. 

Addressing concerns about government involvement, Ogbeifun said ECOBA would engage authorities only as partners, making it clear that the association is offering support rather than making demands.

He noted that many old boys already serve across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, but cautioned that their roles should not be seen as favoring the association. Instead, he called on members to be guided by nostalgia and a personal commitment to improving the school they once attended. 

The president also announced a new initiative to prepare current SS1 students at Edo College for international university admissions and scholarships by providing specialized training for exams such as the SAT, TOEFL, and IELTS.

The pilot scheme, he said, aims to give indigent but bright students the same opportunities he observed in a Lagos school, where multiple graduates secured foreign scholarships. He expressed hope that old boys would step in to support successful candidates, including funding travel where necessary. 

Ogbeifun appealed to old boys still on the sidelines to reflect on the foundation the school gave them and consider contributing to its revival.

He said the government could best harness alumni potential by recognizing and replicating what associations like ECOBA are doing, adding that the goal is to reach a point where parents can once again proudly send their children to Edo College because of the quality it offers.

Speaking in the same vein, the Chairman of the Ibadan branch, Mr Clifford Enobun, a member of the class of 1974, described the gathering as the first major engagement since the association’s strategic retreat in Kigali, Rwanda, where a 10-year plan spanning 2026 to 2035 was adopted.

Enobun said the choice of Ibadan was deliberate, noting that the branch serves as a nucleus of intellectuals drawn from the University of Ibadan, the University College Hospital, and key public and private institutions.

He pointed to the depth of the branch’s membership, which he said includes professors, specialist doctors, architects, and heads of government agencies, among them the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs.

The branch, he added, has proven valuable to the new ECOBA leadership, which is looking to leverage data and human development indices to guide its programs. 

The high point of the meeting was the presidential ball and dinner for members and spouses, which Enobun said the national president fully funded as a gesture of appreciation for the branch’s support of the strategic plan.

He stressed the importance of alumni involvement in education and health, describing both as “soft infrastructure” that government alone cannot fund. He urged closer cooperation between alumni groups and government, adding that spouses also need to understand and support the association’s initiatives for them to succeed.