Enugu – The 2023 Reunion of the College of the Immaculate Conception(CIC), Uwani, Enugu, Old Boys Association (CICOBA), Enugu Branch held on 10th December, 2023 at the college’s Multi Purpose Building (MPB) shall go down in the chronicles of the boys of ‘St. Mary’s College’ as unforgettable.
The camaraderie between old boys across various generations, their wives and families was ‘electric’.
While speaking to our correspondent, after the event, the host of this year’s Reunion, Ogbuefi Ihekweaba Engr Stan Ude was appreciative of the old boys, who turned up for the occasion with their spouses and children.
“Honestly, I really appreciate all the old boys who turned up for the occasion, especially those who came with their spouses and children.
“We are just here to share love and to thank God for his mercies, especially in this 2023, that is drawing to an end.
“CIC is a great school and one thing we have learnt from the older old boys is to value our brotherhood and be our brothers’ keepers. That is why as Chairman of the branch welfare committee, we have made it a point of duty to visit and celebrate our elderly old boys on their birthdays
“In fact, if given the opportunity, I would want to host CICOBA again and again. I thank the Chairman, CICOBA, Enugu Branch, Dr Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo and other members for giving me this privilege”
Earlier in his opening speech, the Chairman, CICOBA Enugu Branch and General Manager, Enugu State Investment Authority, Dr Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo welcomed all present. In a special way, he commended the oldest old boy present, Engr Ben Ngwuocha;
“While appreciating all the old boys in attendance, especially the older old boys, I must commend the oldest old, our own Engr Ben Ngwuocha.
“He attends all CIC functions, punctually and he is here with his lovely wife. He was also the first person to arrive today.
“I recall those days when I used to visit his house when we were in CIC, his son was my classmate”.
Highlight of the occasion was the Reunion lecture delivered by Dr. (Ichie) Hilary Okechukwu Agbo;MB.BS, FCAI,IDipGDM.
Dr Agbo, an accomplished old boy(class of 1974) and a medical doctor did justice to the lecture whose topic was – The Role of fathers in maintaining good family atmosphere; the effect of good mental health.
According to him;
“The head of the family,especially in the African setting, is the man – THE FATHER of the home. It is thus essential that every male who undertakes to set up his own home, or who is already running his own lolhome, understands what knowledge he requires to be at his fingers tips on the importance of a healthy family and his role in building that family. It is the bringing together of various individual families that make up what we refer to as society or community.
“WHY YOU ACT THE WAY YOU DO, while I act the way I do,are based on reasons.Temperament influences everything you do – from sleep habits, to study habits, to eating style and the way you get along with others. When you understand these, you would be able to analyze your strengths and weaknesses, discover how God can use your gifts, improve your relationships with others and forge ahead creditably in your careers.These are the ingredients wise people seek to examine when looking for or studying partners for marriage – call it COMPATIBILITY TESTS OR APPLICATIONS.
“A father of a child can either be by deliberate process or by accident. When an adult male takes upon himself the task to seek a hand in marriage of a female, with a prepared mindset to procreate, that fatherhood can be said to be deliberate. When however, a fertile adult male happens to cause the undesired pregnancy of a fertile female,and that pregnancy gestates to a delivery of any child, that fatherhood can be described as accidental. Most times, the union of a man and a woman to marriage produce different family outcomes. depending on the onset or the background of the arrival of their child(ren).
“The right advice is that for families to run on the basis of good mental health, first and foremost, the union should be a deliberate one and every child from that union should NOT be accidental. When a family is deliberately procured, there is a greater tendency for the marriage to be compatible, so that when the challenges of family, which must definitely come, arrive,they would be handled with equipped mindset of prepared tools, and the tendency for such families developing incidents of poor mental health, would be more remote, than obviously, or abundantly. While both the man and the woman should be responsible for decisions that lead to either of the outcomes, the FATHER of the house is the one to hold himself accountable, because the buck passing of each stable family ought to stop at the man’s table. It is the wisdom and maturity of the father that would be able to allow a family run with the derived maximum potentials existing in
the woman or mother, and life is navigated each time towards safe harbors, no matter the fact that life must happen,with attendant different twists and turns.
“To achieve this most critical role, man must know himself well. MAN,
KNOW THYSELF, so as to regulate, care for and control yourself. Whenever
any stream or river fouls from the head, that flowing water hardly gets
remedied.”
He then went on to state that “the society determines the state of any family through the conduct of their off springs”
:
“SIGNS OF A MENTALLY HEALTHY ATMOSPHERE IN A FAMILY:The most
outstanding stamp on which any society determines the state of any family is
the conduct of their off springs. There are strong correlations between how a
child feels about him/herself and how they act. Children from good
familiesgrow to be people with confidence, good self-image andgood social
skills which make them perform exceptionally well. In such families, they
exhibit good conflict resolutions skills. A healthy and deliberate father must
instill the right qualities in the off springs through every bit of their growing
stages, so that such children play the expected roles of good children from
onset.
In conclusion, Dr Agbo said,’ Marriage is a serious business. Poor mental health is increasing in our environment due to increasing failures of organs of State, and families. The father of the house ought to ensure that he predisposes himself to sustained good mental health, so as to be equipped with the incontrovertible role of
maintaining good mental health in his family. Where majority of families in
every environment sustain this balanced mental health atmosphere, the society
is healthier, safer and most productive.”
Some of the dignitaries in attendance were Engr Ben Ngwuocha, Chairman, Benmose Engineering Ltd (class of 1952), Igwe (AIG) Alloy Okorie, Rtd (Class of 1971), Engr O.C. Akamnonu, Former COO, PHCN, Enugu & Ikeja Discos(Class of 1971), Prof T.F.I. Nwanne (Class of 1971),etc.
The old boys had a good time dancing to melodious tunes from the evergreen Tension Live Band.
