By Dave Iyam
The Aggrey Memorial College Arochukwu Alumni
Association has completed a major formal reunion of its alumni in a
Homecoming/Galanite jamboree that was generally billed as a “gathering of the
eagles.”
For two days, a
generational representation of men and women who called Aggrey Memorial College
(AGMECO) home, renewed old acquaintances, searched for names in long-forgotten
faces, recounted tales of youthful adventures, and paraded well-worn paths that
nurtured the dusty childhood feet that brought them back to these
beginnings.
It is customary in the Christmas season for the
streets of Arochukwu to be garlanded with colorful features that honor the
festive spirit of the community. It is a time when the Aro arrive back home
from far and nearby lands, children enjoy the company of peers returned from
distant places, parents relax household rules for children to experience the
gaiety of Christmas, adults relish the successes of the concluding year over pints
of beer and local drinks, and fierce masquerades tolerate occasional whimsical
associations with mere mortals.
It is a time when parents and grandparents dig deep into sturdy suitcases that have served several generations and happily emerge with family heirlooms that will be worn both as a testimony to the season and as an honor to the wealth that has always been standard for the Aro. It is a time when little squabbles pale into cheerful banter, enemies become friends, and a passionate ambience of blissfulness defines the parameters of conviviality.
Men and women, young
and old, the firm and infirm, all merge into a homogenous unit of the admired
and the admirers. If these fundamentals of Christmas were all there was in
Arochukwu during the Christmas season of 2018, December 28 and 29 would simply
have disappeared into the column of past calendric markers.
Fortunately for these two ordinary days, a
stroke of providence had chosen them to be the markers of Aro history; a
history recast in the love of community, a dedication to academic excellence,
an honor for the Aro, and a remembrance of Dr. Alvan Azinna Ikoku, a determined
son whose unparalleled resolve and unbridled determination gave birth to the
eagles that soared so gracefully around the world but gathered in the name of
the Aggrey Memorial College Arochukwu Alumni
Association.
Following the conclusion of the reunion events,
several participants have written or posted photos to memorialize the event.
Indeed, with the only prompting being the individual desire to capture the
glory of the occasion, many alumni became non-commissioned broadcasters,
on-the-scene reporters, and photo editors. Just about everyone made the time to
capture the events in lenses that conveyed stories of love, hilarity, and deep
satisfaction with how the reunion unfolded.
From the general
comments posted on the AGMECO Alumni Telegram Discussion Platform, it is
evident that the over 400 photos taken by Princess Angelic Igna and posted as a
running commentary of the events in Aro, brought to life the cherished moments
that even some of the participants may have missed. For many who missed the
photos, including the multitude of other photos posted by other alumni, it is
the hope that they would enjoy an eventual pictorial essay that will hopefully
emerge from the laudable work of this alumna. We also learn from her reports
that the Alumni train which “moved through the 19 villages…made a 10 minute
stop over at Amuvi to pay last rest respect to Elder Jonathan Orji…a former principal
of Aggrey.
She reported 30 minutes later of the “Unveiling
of the New Aggrey Memorial College logo.” We commend everyone who worked to
design the new logo of the college. Specifically we should all express our
gratitude to Dr. Henry Fagbola who proposed on December 3 on the AGMECO
Telegram platform that “we find a way to accommodate the Aggrey DOB in the
logo.
Put differently, 1932 should be part of the
modern day Aggrey Logo i.e FOUNDED IN 1932.” To
be continued