Lao Tzu, the great Chinese philosopher rightly said, "the journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step". Ours is surely a journey of little beginning that has evolved over time.
The conception of this amazing journey that birthed this great alumni began on May 1st 2012, during Mrs Odunlami’s burial. Many teachers and students were in attendance and the thought of bringing all the sets together as an umbrella body came up. Quite a number of alumni members of various sets like Tunde Gbadamosi ’88, Sunday Adewale ’88, Omolara Abiola ’88, Bunmi Handu ’92, Onuobia Emmanuel ’89, Ajulo Tosin ’89, Adekunle Lanre ’88, and many others, decided to meet at a place to have a short meeting about setting up a national body that will comprise all the sets that have finished from the great citadel of learning, OCHS. At that short meeting, they slated another meeting for 29th May 2012, being a public holiday. The meeting was held inside the school premises, unfortunately, not most of us that made the suggestions/ decisions were present but we had a good reasonable number in attendance, where we all agreed to be meeting at intervals. The May 29th meeting was great and fantastic as Mr. Sunday Adewale of '88 set provided food and drinks to all of us present on that blissful day, thank you so much sir.
We started working on getting the body registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The constitution was drafted and more members of other sets came on board. Ganiyu Hamzat and some other members were nominated to work on the constitution, which was read and ratified by the general house present at the meeting. Therefore, members of the Board of Trustees (BoTs) were nominated and ratified. They included Mr. Koleosho Oladimeji ’91, Mr. Onuobia Emmanuel ’89. Mrs. Yinka Ayorinde ’88 and Mr. Ayo Majaro Ayodeji of 1993 sets. At this point, we needed a leader to oversee the affairs of the body, there Ganiyu Hamzat was nominated to pioneer the affairs of things pending when a proper election was conducted. This decision was taken because many of us were very busy and we knew he was capable and could lead us to the promise land.
Along the line, it became worrisome and discouraging because the attendance of people suddenly dwindled but Aarode Ayodele Nee Adekanmbi never deterred. During one of our meetings, she encouraged us not to allow the number of people left dampen our spirits, that with God's help we would surely get there. In the course of event, Mr. Bello Olanrewaju and Afolabi Muyiwa of ‘99 set came on board. Surprisingly, they were actively involved mobilizing and encouraging other sets to join us in the progress of things and in achieving a common goal.
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts" - Winston Churchill. At this juncture, I can boldly say that, God has been our help and strength and by His grace we were able to successfully celebrate our Alma Mater’s 35th anniversary in 2016. The Alumni Body (NATIONAL) was further strengthened during Pa. Ajulo’s burial, the foremost Principal of the school, where the national body executives were duly represented and played a vital role; gifts were also given to the family and children. Indeed, we have made progress over the years, yet not at the point we want this Alumni to be - a reputable and enviable association.
I will not end this narrative without an overwhelming gratitude to Almighty God for thus far He has led us. Also to some other members who have been so magnanimous, your unflinching support and cooperation financially, morally and even spiritually from onset till date is immensely acknowledged and appreciated. Together, we will continue to lift the name of OCHS very high.
GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, GOD BLESS OCHS NATIONAL ALUMNI.