Okene Secondary School Old Students Association (OSSOSA) has kicked against the planned conversion of the school by Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to military barrack.
The association said that any attempt to acquire the school for the military was tantamount to obliterating the credentials products of the school hold.
Established in 1974 as a teacher’s college, the old students said the school had produced some of the brightest brains in the country.
Speaking during a reunion party, Chairman, 1981Set, Prince Ekundayo Asaju said: “This is one period that we need to devote everything for the sake of that school. The school as we speak is endangered. This is not a school that one administration of government can just cancel out.
“It is bad for the system and a very big blow on whatever credentials these brains and the people that have passed through that institution are holding. We are against the scrapping of the school. We have been pleading with Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to give us a listening ear. We are ready to intervene on behalf of the school.
“The national body of OSSSA had already made commitment to be part and parcel of the running of the school. We are ready for any kind of negotiation just for the sake of the school.
“From available information, Governor Bello’s administration is about converting the school to military barracks. It has been handed over to the military, though the military is yet to move into the premises.
“Our association sent a letter to the governor last year and we followed that up with an open letter in some national dailies appealing to him to grant us audience. We are yet to hear from the governor, but there has not been a formal takeover of the school.
“If AbdulAzeez Attah Memorial Secondary School, Government Secondary School (GSS), Ilorin is still there, if Titcombe College Egbe are still there standing, OSS should not be an exemption. The Okene Secondary School has excelled in all spheres of life.
“OSSOSA should be likened to the like of Barewa College. The school has turned out scores of brightest brains in Nigeria and it is still working. We are ready to make contributions for the rediscovery and regeneration of the school.
“We are against the implementation of the acquisition of the school by the state government. The survival of the school will be the main focus of my administration.”