The School Series — Decay & Revival

 Editor's Note


This week, CampusDialog brings you two schools, two stories, and one urgent truth.

Ekulu Primary School, Enugu : Founded in 1956, it was once a colonial-era model where commissioners’ children and drivers’ children learned side by side. At 70, its alumni called it what it is: “a metaphor for Nigeria itself.” The buildings decayed. Standards dropped. The warning is clear.

Annunciation Catholic College, Irrua : Founded in 1955 by the Catholic Mission, it once ran like clockwork under the leadership of a Rev. Father. Then came the public takeover, and ACCI followed the same path of decline.

But ACCI’s story does not end there.

Its Old Boys Association, ACCIOBA, chose a different ending. Hostels were rebuilt. A medical center and ambulance were provided. Roads were constructed. An ultra-modern examination hall and a Computer-Based Examination (CBE) center were established. Today, ACCI is once again a destination school, and the Edo State Government has taken notice, recognizing its achievements with awards.

Ekulu asks the hard question: What happens when we abandon our institutions?

ACCI provides the hard answer: Alumni refuse to let them die.

The School Series: Decay & Revival will continue to hold up that mirror. We will document public schools that have fallen into decline and the communities that have helped lift them back up. Because government alone is overwhelmed. But alumni, NGOs, old students, and citizens who remember what excellence looked like are not.

One school at a time, Nigeria’s future can be rebuilt.

Read Ekulu @ 70 here →
Read ACCI @ 71: The Alumni Blueprint here →
CampusDialog.blogspot.com

If your alma mater has a story of decay or revival, tell us. CampusDialog is listening.

—

Ambrose Odiase, FIPMA, MANUPA, MAUA (UK)
Founding Editor/Publisher, CampusDialog.blogspot.com

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