The atmosphere went back fifty years as the hall was filled with boys and girls who exited Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School, Lagos in 1975. They refer to themselves as Landers. I landed at Zen Garden Chinese Restaurant, Ikeja GRA, with this class.

The 1975 set was celebrating 50 years of Great Reunion. I was invited by Captain Emmanuel  Sawyerr who landed from the United States. These Landers, they almost broke my ribs with anecdotes. Claudia Binitie, Antonia Amadi – Emina, Benedict Adigun. Full house, it was.

Sawyerr, a great footballer, aborted his dream of registering at Ahmadiya College, Agege when a Molue window side view of Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School forced him to alight and head straight to the office of school principal, Mr. Tony Omoera.

That bold move was all Omoera needed to give the gate crasher an unwritten test. Straight to the football pitch, the end justified the means. From that trip in 1973, Sawyerr became an integral part of the soccer team. The school also produced other prominent sports people like the sprinters Chucks Olisah, Tony Odiachi and Vivian Jacks.

Claudia Binitie did not forget to remind her English teacher and Vice Principal, Mrs Asenuga of the love she radiated. When the teacher learnt that the student lost her mother at five years, both established a bond that healed pains.

Mrs Asenuga was there live, with her husband. The old man enjoyed every bit of the night and all eyes turned on him when he removed his glasses to show that all movements and jibes, did not go unnoticed. The husband of a  vice is also a principal, so it appeared. I am glad I got a card gift from her. Boldly written on it is, ‘Be Kind, Compassionate to One Another.’

By the way, Binitie showed she could twist better than Chubby Checker, on a night the girls had to ask for old tunes from the Gen Zee compere. And they got Ofege. The hall was animated. Melvin Ukachi and Paul Alade had competition, if we went down memory lane.

You can imagine being denied the opportunity to travel to Jos, by your loving parents. It happened to Sylvia Abdalla. She wanted to shine like Vivian Jacks, Yetunde Vaughan, Belema Briggs, Kunbi Johnson and Mercy Bassey. Her family stopped her from representing Lagos State at the All Nigeria Secondary Schools Sports Championships.

Abdalla had a way of recording things. She described Binitie’s dad, Mr Jones, as a very handsome man. What stood out the sports loving principal, Omoera, was that ‘you could smell his cigarette smoke a hundred yards away and this kept the naughty ones in check. He always carried a cane ready to whip erring students”.

I met Omoera, a nice looking disciplinarian, in 1991. He led the Nigerian delegation to Zambia for BCC Lion’s African Winners Cup defence against Power Dynamos. How he arranged a classroom clinic with the Nigerian High Commissioner in Lusaka, Ambassador Lawrence Agubuzu, I would not know. The next thing, the players were at the High Commission located in the Long Acres area, not very far from their Intercontinental Hotel abode. Agubuzu warned the Cement Boys that Zambians would fight till the end. Omoera described him as a Technical Ambassador. Power Dynamos rose from an own goal in the first half to dethrone BCC Lion’s 3-1.

Sawyerr did not meet BCC Lions before landing in America in the late 1970s. He does not forget the grand finale of the Lagos State Principal’s Cup when the Landers nearly defeated the all conquering Adokiye Amiesimaka powered CMS Grammar School. The Bariga Bombers ran away with a 5-4 victory during overtime.

“I was one of the stars of that game. MCSS lost a match we had in the bag, 4-5. Some of my colleagues and I were called to the Lagos State Academicals thereafter,” Sawyerr told me.

Like Segun Odegbami, he was at the Ibadan Polytechnic but arrived as Mathematical was leaving. “In 1977, we played in the NIPOGA final against Kaduna Polytechnic but lost because I fell sick. However, after the game, five of us – Martins Eyo, Emmanuel Sawyerr, Taiwo and Kehinde Odubunmi and Kayode Asebiomo – were invited to join the Green Eagles.”

He added : “I had an interesting run with football, from 1974 to 1979 when I got an Academic/Football Scholarship to Alabama A and M University. I played for Atilla Rovers,1974, Nigeria Airways, 1975, Julius Berger,1976 to 1979, Ibadan Poly, 1977 to 1978, sponsored by Berger, as Student and Sports Secretary. I had a wonderful journey with two Green Eagles invitations, 1977 and 1978.

“Atilla Rovers, was owned by an Army officer and managed by Coach Guy Ohenlen, a soldier, who has now retired to Irrua, in Esan land. Atilla was not a cohesive team, by any standard. It was just a collection of talented Ajegunle players. We never trained together but defeated most division one teams and featured prominently in Lagos football”.

I knew Austin Onwualu as a member of the NFA board. There is an Austin Onwualu of this Landers 1975 set. He was unavoidably absent after doing well with the planning of the Great Reunion. I guess, the NFA man was his father.

It was a night of fun. I got to know the Landers through Tunde Ogunnoiki, journalist, politician, bilinguist. We met, face to face, for the first time, no fixed odds, at the Reunion. It was also my first meeting with Sawyerr. By the way, at 70, he looked fit to play for the under performing Flying Eagles.

Guest Speaker, Prof. Oluyole Familoni, urged everyone to be closer to old school mates. I saw Benedict Adigun, the first Senior Prefect. President of the 1975 set, Alfred Ayeni, promised to send me a form. I pray it is not an INEC document.

I forgot to say bye to Lander Dapo Sonibare. He wore sky blue agbada when I arrived but my eyes saw navy blue agbada on my way out. Something tells me to find out why Sawyerr flew to Alabama instead of Maryland. Fine, I will ask the Lander Brothers.