Like a joke, what started like a mere dream of a concerned heart, Mrs Cornelia Azike nee Okakpu on 15th July 2017 finally came true on 30th September, 2017.
Leaving secondary school in June, 1980 when owning a telephone line was the luxury of the rich we did not make out what the next year will turn out to be and if ever we will get to see each other again. How wrong our thoughts really were for in 1987 at a far away NYSC Orientation Camp, Ede in the then Oyo state I met the Senior Prefect of our set in Washington Memorial Grammar School Onitsha Emmanuel Momoh now a graduate of the Nigerian Law School Lagos and I a graduate of Mass Communication of the Institute of Management and Technology Enugu. This meeting became a turning point in my life as I started seeing life in a different perspective; loving and forgiving people no matter the offence as I was humbled by the quantum of love Emma Momoh showered on me. I never saw him nor heard from him again until the reality of the gathering of the Eagles. Other mates I saw since leaving school include Bridget Ofunne (nee Okafor) who I saw shortly after we left, Eugenia Okoye (nee Onyeyili) last in 1982, Dorathy Tabansi( nee Obi) who I saw a little more often and Samuel Iyiogwe.
Then came the good news of the social media and people started connecting through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Our own Felicia Obika(nee Ofoma) saw the vision and opened a Washington Memorial Grammar School Facebook page which members were not active in and it made achievement of goals very difficult.
Sometime in May 2015, I got an early morning from a strange number who turned out to be Cornelia Okakpu(Azike) who I can't remember exactly how she got my number. We did a lot of catch-ups before it was 6amthat day! We kept talking and the networking started. People were getting connected through the facebook and other social media platforms and there was still a disconnect. This issue of disconnection bothered Cornelia so much that on 15th July, 2017 I got what I may be tempted to describe as a distress call from her where she told me of her desire for our classmates to come together, but was already getting frustrated because of the lack of interest by our mates on the already existing facebook page. Looking at how she sounded, I told her it wasn't a problem and quickly offered to help her achieve her dream. I told her that we only needed to open a WhatsApp platform using the phone numbers already in our contacts and the "MAGIC" will come while I quickly got back to work since I was anchoring a very important programme that took me away from my office in Enugu.
In less than an hour the "Washington'80" WhatsApp platform was up and running and I was added. Cornelia called me again with that excitement the people she has added were very happy. It was a very exciting moment and experience for us, as my first post I still remember was "Wow! So quick".
We started networking and in two weeks our nominal roll rose up to twenty-two(22). Our excitement could only be experienced than imagined! This development led to Bonny Nnajiofor suggesting a class Reunion as soon possible. The suggestion was a welcome idea and "the feeling is mutual" became a slang for us. We finally agreed on the need for a Réunion regardless of our number and yours sincerely was assigned the difficult co-ordination of planning a Reunion for people who had not met in thirty-seven(37) years and had also become very different with the passage of time. Faith and resolve were my only weapons! We the respect Cornelia and I had for each other we would always talk at night and lean on each other for advice.
The first problem to be solved was the problem of the Reunion venue. We placed it on the table and it was agreed that the state with the highest number of classmates will get the hosting right. From the introduction which was done as soon as anybody was added it was easy to identify where every classmate was resident. Lagos mates topped the list with 10classmates. The remaining 12classmates were scattered in Abuja, Enugu, Onitsha and diaspora. With the outcome of the analysis which was done on our WhatsApp platform, Lagos got the right to host the Reunion's Inaugural meeting.
With the first huddle scaled, the next was the issue of possible date. As Reunion Co-ordinator, I quickly suggested two dates of 23rd September and 30th September 2017.
Since failure was not an alternative, mates regrets for 23rd September were considered and we had to settle for 30th September 2017 which turned out great! I suggested that a planning committee of all members residing in Lagos to be set up to organise the details(venue, programme, etc) of the Reunion and it was adopted. They quickly came together and set the ball rolling by appointing Chief Donatus Egbuna as their Chairman, Sir Kenechukwu as Secretary and Mrs Cornelia Azike(Okakpu) as Treasurer. Other members included Barr. Celestine Ezeanochikwa, Mr Patrick Nwokolo and Mr Eric Onuoha. Their first meeting as committee members was so fruitful that they raised well over 1million naira in pledge as free will donation from members towards the hosting of the inaugural meeting of the Eagles of Washington80 which they proposed to be all expenses paid on arrival(Accommodation and Feeding) from arrival date of 29th September to departure date of 1st October 2017. Mates were communicated through our WhatsApp platform on the developments.
And finally the day came and the "Eagles" of Washington80 gathered on 29th September 2017 the arrival day at Rockview Hotel Festac Lagos, the venue of Reunion's Inaugural meeting. It was a free flow of excitement full of emotions and reliving of our teenage experiences at Washington Memorial Grammar School Onitsha where we left in June, 1980.
Then came the Big Day of 30th Septe 017. The day was ushered in with a joint class breakfast.
The Reunion started at about 11am with a Praise and Worship session thanking God for having led us thus far and singing the school's popular hymns using the Ancient and Modern Hymn Book after which we reintroduced ourselves and what we have been up to in the last 37years of our lives. A very emotional moment it was for every one whether you have been successful or not. Listening to one another talk about life after school was quite humbling as we had to know ourselves better and feel more for each other because we now know better!
This remarkable event eventually produced an Interim government for the Washington Memorial Grammar School Onitsha Set of 1980 aka Eagles of Washington'80 with the election of the following mates; Barr.Emmanuel Momoh(rtd Col)and Senior Prefect of the set as the National President, Mr Dennis Egbuche as National Vice-President, Sir Kenechukwu Obi as National Secretary, Mrs Cornelia Azike (nee Okakpu) as Treasurer. Others are Barr. Celestine Ezeanochikwa as Legal Adviser, Princess Ngozi Ezeuzo as Public Relations Officer, Chief Donatus Egbuna as Director of Socials, Mrs Ngozi-Okey Amalu(nee Mgbemena) as Provost. Mr Frank- Nelson Nwokolo and Mr Patrick Chuks Onyebuchi were also elected as Ex-Officio members.
The Eagles dispersed on 1st October 2017 and have been operating behind the scene through our very effective WhatsApp platform with over forty (40) active mates while other communication links are open to over ten other mates that are not WhatsApp as the search and networking continues.
