The monarch made the pledge on Sunday at a fundraising ceremony and thanksgiving service organised to mark the 50th anniversary of the school’s 1972–1976 old students’ set. The event took place in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Owoade praised the alumni for investing in their former school, stressing that the responsibility for improving educational institutions should not be left entirely to the government.
The Alaafin said, “I want to appreciate you for the good works that you are doing by giving back to the school that made you who you are today. You are building on the good legacies of the founding fathers and the various principals who had presided over the affairs of the school in the past.
“I am assuring you of my support for every one of your programmes that are aimed at raising the standard of education in the school. Let me also pledge my support to the various programmes of schools across Oyo town.”
Also speaking at the event, Chief Wale Babalakin called on different generations of the school’s alumni to collaborate in achieving its development objectives.
Addressing the 1972–1976 set’s proposal to take over the school’s management, Babalakin argued that its administration should not be left exclusively to the government or the mission.
He said, “The Mission will be doing commerce with the running of the school. This will not augur well for its all-round development.”
Earlier, the president of the 1972–1976 set, Adeoye Mapederun, said the association was determined to support government efforts to restore the school to its former standard.
Speaking during the unveiling of renovated classrooms at the school in Oyo, Mapederun disclosed that the alumni had spent slightly less than N10m to rehabilitate a block containing three classrooms.
He said, “We found that this particular block was totally in disrepair. There was no roof, no windows, no blackboard, nothing. So, we decided to start with these three classrooms to ensure that we brought them up to standard.”
Mapederun added that the renovation included installing ceiling fans and providing other facilities to create a more comfortable learning environment for students.
He described the project as the first phase of the set’s planned interventions, revealing that another classroom block on the school premises also required urgent rehabilitation.
The president explained that the initiative was being carried out alongside projects by the national body of the old students’ association, with members committed to improving the school’s infrastructure.
He said the decision to intervene was driven by a desire to repay the institution for the quality of education and facilities they enjoyed as students.
“When we came to this school about 50 years ago, everything was working. We had the best of education and the best environment. Everything you could talk about was in place,” he said.
Mapederun expressed concern over the deterioration of the school’s facilities, noting that government efforts alone might not be sufficient to resolve all its challenges.
He further revealed that the national body of the Olivet old students’ association was considering taking over the school’s administration, provided it could raise enough funds to sustain the arrangement.
I can also make this more concise for an online newspaper, with a stronger focus on the Alaafin’s pledge and the nearly N10m renovation project.