The Alumni Association of Federal Polytechnic Oko is to establish the Rtd. General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida International Museum at the Oko campus of the institution.
The association has also instituted the Rtd General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida GCFR Annual Public Lecture series during its Annual Award Ceremony to be held at the Polytechnic Auditorium in Oko.
The inaugural series with the Theme “The ingenuity of Rtd General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and the making of Federal Polytechnic Oko” slated for 15th of December, 2023 is to be delivered by Professor Eugene Nwadialor, Vice Chancellor Tansian University Umunnya Anambra state, who was a former Rector of the Polytechnic.
According to a press release made available to the media by the Association’s National President, Nze Henry Chukwuka Nnebe, the Polytechnic has metamorphosed, through different stages, from its inception in 1979 into what it is today- Citadel of Learning, the Polytechnic of the Moment.
The statement revealed that the caliber of graduates and notable people in the society that the institution has made gives credence to its educational and formative capabilities.
“The institution has witnessed great landmarks but the most notable is, its transformation from “Anambra State Polytechnic Oko” to “Federal Polytechnic Oko” during Rtd General Babangida’s tenure as President and Commander in Chief Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1992.
“During his visit to Oko, the Federal government donated generously to the institution which resulted in the equipping of the Mass Communication Department with state-of-the-art facilities as well as upgrading the institution’s infrastructure”.
“The trajectory of growth and development by Federal Polytechnic Oko becoming one of the best Polytechnics in Nigeria is something that needs to be averred so that General Ibrahim Babangida’s ingenuity and belief in one Nigeria can once more reminisce to the younger generation to rekindle his message of making sure that federal presence is felt in all the states of the federation.
“Rear Admiral Alison Madueke, the Sole Administrator of the then Anambra State saw the college formalized as the Anambra State Polytechnic, Oko through Edict No. 12 of 1985, published as a supplement to the Anambra State of Nigeria Gazette No. 24, volume 10 of June 27, 1984.
“His administration lured Prof. Ezeilo, a professor of Mathematics to become the first Rector of the Polytechnic and he laid a solid foundation for the Polytechnic.
“In 1993, the Anambra State Polytechnic, Oko with many other institutions across the country were taken over by the Federal Government of Nigeria under the able and proactive leadership of Rtd General Babangida, to reflect the federal character and the institution was renamed Federal Polytechnic, Oko,” it stated.
The Alumni President said the turnaround of his alma mater from 1993 when the institution was finally taken over and funded by the Federal Government cannot be jettisoned, maintaining that the challenge of infrastructure and poor funding that made the Polytechnic look like a glorified secondary school fizzled out after this.
Nnebe said that the history of this journey of growth and development of Federal Polytechnic Oko is something that needs to be retold and brought to bear so that its relevance to the institution is rekindled among the staff, students, and indeed the community.
He explained that the Alumni Association wants to use the Annual Public Lecture to mirror the activities of the polytechnic, share experiences that provide context and insight, and ponder on ways to make it better and greater through research and learning.
“This inaugural Annual Public Lecture occasion will witness the establishment of Rtd. General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida International Museum in Federal Polytechnic Oko.
“The Museum will document relics of the Nigeria Polytechnics and Monotechnics, chronicle Federal Polytechnic Oko and its events, house an Exhibition Hall, Hall of fame for the Polytechnic, Library, Study Center and will be a reference Museum for Science and Technology in Nigeria”, said Nnebe.
