The spark that will ignite a flame
(An address to the Executive Committee of GSSAAA Sunday January 31, 2009)

Dr. Adibe please, Dr. Oboka please, Dr. Obidegwu please, gentlemen of GSSA: Given how much is amiss in our country, it is easy to surrender to despair and the belief that things will never get better. But rather than merely curse the darkness, all of you have chosen to light a candle. You have chosen to do something about the state of our nation by doing something about the deplorable state of GSSA. I say to you tonight that the work you are doing is extremely important work for at least two reasons. Your selfless effort is evidence that there is still something right about our nation because all said and done, we are all Nigerians. So our activities should reflect well on our nation. To paraphrase President Bill Clinton, “there is nothing wrong with our country that can’t be fixed by what is right with our country.” But beyond that, this work might just be the spark needed to ignite a roaring flame. As Dr. Obidegwu has pointed out, our example is likely to catch on and before you know it all manner of people will begin to rebuild educational institutions that have long been neglected. Before long even the errant politicians are bound to notice. Maybe – just maybe – they will begin to change their ways and begin to do what is right for our people.

Our program has entered a new phase. We have begun to commit resources towards the actual restoration of buildings at GSSA. I am delighted to tell you tonight that actual work of restoration has begun. Just last week, workers began to take down the dilapidated roof, ceiling and the old wooden windows of the GSSA WAEC Hall. I know this because I got the pictures this morning from the contractor and I will share it with our general membership tomorrow (see the attachedpictures). The tempo of our program of reconstruction and restoration is likely to quicken. God willing, in 3 to 5 years our dream of a completely restored GSSA will become reality.

The eminent anthropologist Margaret Mead once said that you must “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world” especially because that is the only thing that has ever changed the world. Examples abound. Think Obama and a small band of believers whose activities vaulted an obscure figure in American politics into the Presidency of the US. Think the American civil rights movement which began in 1955 as a local protest movement led reluctantly by a 26 year old pastor whose exertions improbably led to the outlawing of segregation and discrimination a full century after emancipation should have ended such evil practices. Think of the abolitionists who against seemingly insurmountable odds fought for and won for humanity the end of slavery; the suffragists who won the vote for women; and the small band of patriots who agitated for and won independence for Nigeria. In each case the outcome of the struggle was never preordained. But in all cases the outcome showed that, when passion is wedded to purpose, with persistence, the product is pure magic – the power to move mountains and accomplish what previously seemed outside the realm of possibility.

And so let us persist with passion in this labor of love – the restoration of GSSA. Although only a few of us are truly committed today, we are a powerful force. But I have no doubt that many more alumni sitting on the sidelines today will join us in due course. And with this effort I can see a new day dawning for GSSA – heralding a new era of rebirth and renewal. Her best days are still ahead. As Dr. Mkparu has reminded us: “Our purple shade shall never fade.”

Long live GSSA. And may God bless and preserve her for countless future generations.

Obi N. Nwasokwa, M.D., Ph.D., FACC
Chairman, BOT, GSSAAA
School Captain, GSSA, 1967-1970