On 20th January 2023, Governor Simon Bako Lalong was among classmates that visited their former school, Government Secondary School Shendam to be a part of its 5th National Convention and Awards Presentation.
It was a nostalgic gathering of former students and staff even as the present students were excited to have the state Governor in their midst as a member of their alma-mater, the Shendam Old Students Association (SOSA).
The joy of visiting his alma-mater, located in Shendam, his Local Government Area was rekindled as students of the school, clad in their uniforms accorded one of their own a rousing welcome with various displays and performances.
Governor Lalong recalled his experiences during his days as a student and was proud of how the humble institution had produced human resources and experts in various fields within and outside the country. He went to his former hostel and traced his room, bed and favourite corner, and this move made the students to giggle around him with amazement.
He dropped the cheering news that Plateau government had designated the school as center for technical training on agricultural mechanism.
The Governor, a member of ‘Set 82’, recounted fond memories of his days in school, and attributed his success in life to the educational and moral values instilled in him by the institution.
While encouraging the Old Students to always give back to their alma mater, Governor Lalong pledged his continuous support to the educational development of the school.
He also paid special tributes to Late paramount ruler of Shendam, Miskoom Mutum Shaldas Dongkwap I who was the pioneer brain behind setting up the school.
Guest Speaker and Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, Professor Garba Sharubutu of the 1st set of 1978 expressed how happy he feels to be back to his roots. He added that he is proud that the school had produced eminent personalities including the governor.
Sharubutu who read from the Bible in John 8:32 and Sura 7 of the Koran said all the verses preach on the need for people to see themselves first as humans and to give to humanity. He stressed the importance of Old Students contributing and impacting to the development of their alma mata.
To buttress the fact that he is a senior to the governor, he addressed Lalong as “This boy” and jokingly told the gathering that he has the power to make him kneel down, as his senior.
Plateau Commissioner for Secondary Education, Elizabeth Wapmuk, and outgoing National President of SOSA Emmanuel Dashe and Principal of GSS Shendam, Suzana Dadam were all excited and full of appreciation to Governor Lalong for his immense contribution to the school, describing him as an icon of educational transformation.
The nostalgic outing climaxed with the presentation of an award to Governor Lalong for his transformational qualities, as well as twelve others who distinguished themselves in various aspects of life.
Oh his part, the Governor left an unforgettable mark in the school as he presented keys of two eighteen-seater buses to his school on behalf of his set 82.
He was also impressed by the role a corps member, Clement Ominyang from Cross Rivers State who studied Electrical Engineering played while serving in the school. Ominyang did not only train the students to be entrepreneurs but distinguished himself by teaching the students to gain catering skills.
The Governor announced an offer of an automatic employment to Ominyang, promising to provide solar panels to the institution through the collaboration and expertise of the corps member.
After the encounter with his alma-mater, Lalong was host to two remarkable visits to the Plateau seat of power.
First was the visit by Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.
She visited Plateau Sunday, January 22, 2023, where she held a town hall meeting with stakeholders especially ethnic minorities and religious groups under the aegis of the Conference of Autochthonous Ethnic Communities Development Association (CONECDA) to woo their votes and assure them of her husband’s good plans for all Nigerians irrespective of affiliations, if given the mandate in the general elections.
Governor Lalong, as Director General of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council was chief host and the meeting attracted party stakeholders.
The meeting which had representatives of over 400 ethnic nationalities within the northern region including religious, traditional, business and political leaders climaxed with the presentation of a charter of demands presented to her by the representative of the groups, Prof. Yusufu Turaki for onward delivery to her husband, the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The second visit was by the Papal Nuncio to Nigeria, Most Rev. Antonio Fillipazi at Presidential Wing, Government House Little Rayfield, Jos.
Governor Lalong was happy to host Fillipazi who was in the state to commission a new building in St. Augustine Major Seminary Jos, alongside his team, Bishops of the Catholic Diocese of Jos, Bauchi, Jalingo, Pankshin, Shendam, Maiduguri and Yola, including the Bishop of the newly created Wukari Diocese. The Bishops were later treated to a dinner where the exchange of pleasantries continued.
