A former military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has expressed excitement over what he described as the success of Federal Government Colleges, referred to as unity schools, in the country.
In the foreword to Coral Beads, a new book published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Federal Government Girls’ College, Benin City, Gowon wrote that the schools had promoted friendship among young people nationwide.
“The establishment of 12 additional unity schools in 1973 started when Gowon visited one of the first three Federal Government Colleges in Sokoto in 1970, soon after the end of the Civil War. At that time, only three unity schools existed,” a statement said on Sunday, adding that “He (Gowon) described that visit as momentous and life-changing.”
The statement quoted Gowon to have stated that, “I keenly observed the sense of unity and camaraderie among the students; how they related with one another in such a joyful and cordial way regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds immediately so soon after the Civil War as though nothing so traumatic had happened.
“I salute the courage of those young returnees and the warm welcome of their other colleagues. It taught me a long-life lesson of reconciliation. My personal experience and encounter from that particular visit was what inspired the establishment of more unity schools across the then remaining 12 States of the Federation.”
A statement signed on behalf of the publishers of the book, FGGC Benin Old Girls’ Association, by Enuma Chigbo, said the 400-page book is a compilation of rich stories from first experiences to academics, arts and culture, fun times, milestones and a whole lot more.
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