Some members of St Pauls College Old Boys Association (SPOBA) Nigeria met in the United Kingdom recently to strategise on facilitating the formal launch of the UK branch of the association.
The meeting offered the opportunity to reminiscence on "those great days of harmony, peace and progressive co-existence" while at school in Wusasa (formerly Wusa-Wusa) village, Zaria town in northern Nigeria.
Old students: Gambo Ato - Chair, Lanre Ajayi, Kehinde Agbaniyaka, and Michael Haruna supported by their spouses, are currently on a search for other old students to join the association.
St Paul's College Old Boys Association, Wusasa, Zaria meet in the UK
St Paul's College Old Boys Association, Wusasa, Zaria meets in the UK
The association also plans to facilitate the development of an educational building project in Abuja - Nigeria's Federal Capital city, that will encourage and cater for the young population interested in further targeted disciplines in education that can recapture 'The Spirit of Zaria.' The Spirit of Zaria reflected a more unified Nigeria.
Over a number of decades, St Paul’s College (now Kufena College) attracted students from all parts of Nigeria. Muslim students were excused from Christian worship.
Zaria was home to other secondary school including St Bartholomew’s School, the famous Government (now Barewa) College, and the Provincial Secondary School. Zaria which was also home to the Nigerian Military School. All four schools competed regularly in sport.
Also in this axis were: the School of Pharmacy, the Institute of Administration, and the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, later Ahmadu Bello University. There was also the School of Agriculture, St Peter’s College, St Enda’s College, and the Advanced Teachers College; joined later by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Training Centre.
Christian missionaries were very active in Zaria with numerous denominations running schools that received grants from the Regional Government in Kaduna for the education and training of young men and women. The only manufacturing plant in town, the cigarettes factory of the Nigerian Tobacco Company, provided direct and indirect employment to a host of residents. The railway station was a hub for passenger and freight transportation.
SPOBA hopes to recapture and relive this spirit of unity and harmony - which Elder Statesman General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma refers to as the Spirit of Zaria.