By Sumaila Ogbaje
The Alumni members of Command Secondary School in Kaduna, have commended the military for the efforts so far in tackling security challenges confronting the nation.
They gave the commendation at the 20th Anniversary Reunion Dinner of the 2002 Set of the school on Saturday in Abuja.
Arc. Enyi Ben-Eboh, President, Nigerian Institute of Architects, said it was unfortunate that Nigeria found itself in insecurity, saying it was a product of several years of neglect of the security sector.
Ben-Eboh, who is also an alumnus of Command school, said there was need for continuous investment in security since security equipment were not off-the-shelf materials.
He also called for adequate motivation for the troops of Nigerian military who were sacrificing their lives for the peace of the nation by acknowledging and thanking them for their efforts so far.
He also urged Nigerians to see security as everyones business, saying that something as simple as divulging information about people of dubious characters would help the authorities to to fish them out and take appropriate actions.
According to him, if as a community you keep quiet and think it doesnt affect you, someday it will and that is where we are now as a country.
He urged government to take urgent steps to address the economic challenges as well as making conscious efforts to engage the young people.
Ben-Eboh commended the class of 2002 for being able to hold themselves together amongst the various sets in Command secondary school, and urged them to keep the unity going.
A former History Teacher at the school, Mr Kehinde Degele, said the Command secondary schools all over the federation were known for discipline and academic excellence as an admixture of military discipline and quality academics.
Degele expressed excitement that the children he taught over the years had become successful adults in various fields of endaevour.
On insecurity, he said it was a passing phase that the nation would overcome with concerted and refocused efforts.
He urged Nigerians to shun blame game and see the problem as an challenge for all that required collective effort to tackle by exposing bad ones amongst them.
The Chairman of the set, Maj. Gbenga Adetunji, said the reunion had afforded them the opportunity to reminisce on their days as little boys and girls who entered into the school without knowing what they really wanted.
Adetunji said the 20th anniversary celebration was organised to build unity and oneness as well as giving back to the society and the school that had shaped them.
He said that most of them eventually joined the military because of their basic background from the command secondary school while those in other fields had also made their marks too.
He said the standard of Command schools had not dropped, saying that societal changes like emergence of technology like introduction of mobile or smart phones had changed the school system considerably.
According to him, there are changes in the world entirely due to the introduction of new technologies and so you cannot say the standard has dropped.
This is because what we had then when we relate with our parents is through letters but now the students have phones, they can just call, send text messages or send e-mail to their parents.
So I think they are still maintaining the standard, but I think more needs to be done to keep the standard, he said.
On the security challenges, he said the nation was being confronted by contemporary security challenges that were dynamic, adding that they required collective efforts to tackle.
According to him, the military has done its best so far to curtail the security challenges but more still needs to be done.
This is a trying time for the country and as such, Nigerians need to put heads together to support the military, share information, provide intelligence so that this crisis can be stopped once and for all, he said.
A member of the set, Mr Kelly Hyetson, said the set of 2002 had maintained contact and giving back to the society and the school.
He said the 20th anniversary was a milestone in their journey of life, adding that they had made efforts to support their mates in different ways. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Chioma Ugboma
Source: NAN News