* FEGOCOWOSA marks 50th Anniversary
The need to revive the vision of the founding fathers of federal government colleges, also known as unity schools has been stressed.

Members of the Federal Government College Warri Old Students Association (FEGOCOWOSA), made this known at a recent briefing to announce series of activities lined up for the 50th anniversary of the group, which has as its theme “Rekindling the Vision of the Founding Fathers.”

Activities for the ceremony, which began last Monday, will culminate in the special homecoming and Golden Reunion Weekend in Warri, tomorrow, February 26. It ends on Sunday February 28 with a thanksgiving service.

The old students in their respective remarks stressed that the time is apt for managers of the colleges to bring to the fore, the reason for which the colleges were established.

National Vice President of the association, Maureen Akpofure-Awobokun, a lawyer, said the celebration was a period of reflection for the group and contemplations on the plight of unity schools in the country.

According to her, “The Nigeria project was born with a lot of difficulties, much of this traced to this lack of a common vision of what a country should be, which itself can be traced to the inherent cultural differences. This difficulty, to a large extent also contributed to the civil war between 1967 and 1970. With the unity schools, government provided a platform to inculcate the spirit of a single indivisible Nigeria in young people.

“The idea was that when you live with someone from another part of the country for about six years, it is very likely that shared ideals and cultural similarities will dissolve all the differences. However, over the years, these unity schools have paled into insignificance, compared to the lofty vision the founders had in creating them. These citadels of learning are now nothing like we knew them to be.

She continued, “As products of unity schools, we have a role to play in ensuring more focused funding, a more contemporary curriculum and an effective and efficient management to ensure they play the role they were created to play in the Nigerian society. We are willing to work with the government and key stakeholders to achieve this.”