The Chairman Board of Trustees of Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA), Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, led members of the board and other alumnus to eulogies and bid the association’s pioneer President-General, late Albert Okumagba, a farewell.

Muhammed-Oyebode and other members described Okumagba, who passed on at age 56, as a detribalized Nigerian and that he was passionate about education development across the country.

Other members of the Board of trustees were Garba Tetengi (San) , Joseph Tegbe Partner KPMG, Chuks Anagbogu, Uyi Akpata partner PWC, Harriet Ateke, Abdulrahman Shuaibu, Ezinwa Okoroafor and Deborah Usman.

While describing the deceased as a true USOSAN, who would be greatly missed for his wealth of experience, they stressed that his contributions to the association was unquantifiable.

Okumagba, an economist, capital market operator and financial expert from Delta State, was the former group managing director of BGL Group, a leading investment and financial services group, passed on November 19th, 2020.

The chairman of the board, in a statement made available to newsmen after the Pioneer President was laid to rest on Friday, stated that USOSA has lost an extraordinary Nigerian.

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“Albert was a Nation builder and as pioneer President General of USOSA, he worked assiduously to birth and grow the body, spending his time and resources in those early days to give life to a community network of alumni, which comprises graduates of the 104 Federal Government Colleges in Nigeria, known as Unity Schools.”

She added that his passion for education and for the unity of Nigeria knew no bounds, declaring, “the Unity Schools, – the country as a whole – especially its education sector, will no doubt miss him.”

Muhammed-Oyebode, in the statement titled ‘USOSA bids Pioneer President farewell, explained that Okumagba pioneered the association, bringing together dozens of alumnus from different schools and aided the association to become a formidable brand.

According to her, it was Okumagba’s vision to grow what was initially an informal coming together of a few former students of various unity schools, and turn it into the formidable network of leaders that it is today. USOSA owes him a debt of gratitude which can be offset if his legacy is safeguarded.

The chairman emphasized that the late pioneer president embraced and upheld the vision of Nigeria’s founding fathers before his death.

“Okumagba was a de-tribalised Nation builder who worked to leave his mark on the country, as envisioned by the founding fathers of Nigeria and the Unity schools; whose tenets are to advance the objectives of national unity, national development and nation building through quality and equitable access to education in Nigeria,” she added.

The chairman and other members, meanwhile, unanimously called other members of the alumni “to ensure that they leave the association a little stronger, build their networks a little better, and do their best to strengthen the education sector and serve the Nigerian child so that our country will live up to the very lofty ideals that Albert affirmed”.

Vanguard News Nigeria