Osinbajo, Late Tai Solarin, Wife To Be Honoured At Mayflowers 70th Anniversary

Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the late educationist, Dr Tai Solarin and his late wife, Sheila, are among dignitaries to be honoured at the week-long  70th Founder’s Day anniversary of Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State.

At a press briefing in Lagos, the national president, Mayflower Old Students Association (MOSA), organisers of the anniversary, said the school, founded in May 1956 by the late Solarin and his wife, was established out of the desire of the couple to pursue their dream of creating a liberal educational system and building a school that will be distinct from others.

He said while Tai Solarin and Sheila would be awarded with Posthumous Special Recognition and conferment of MOSA’s highest award, Grand Commander of the Order of MOSA (GCOM), other past five MOSA presidents, former students and friends of the association would be awarded with MOSA Merit Award (MMA) and Special Recognition award.

“When Tai Solarin in 1955 sat down and drafted the letter to the Ministry of Education, asking for permission to open a new school at Ikenne, little did he and Sheila know that the school would one day be one of the best school in the country, a school that would produce engineers, doctors, accountants, bankers and respected people in the society,” Wale said.

He extolled the founders’ virtues and praised them for making the school the envy of others, adding that celebrating the school’s 70th anniversary is a way to honour its founders.

The national president mentioned other activities lined up, including the sounding of the 70th anniversary bell, which was sounded 70 times immediately after the briefing to mark the years being celebrated.

Also, 70th-anniversary-branded notebooks were distributed to all students at the school, totalling 2,700. Senior students will receive 3 pieces of 60-leaf notebooks, and junior students will receive 3 pieces of 40-leaf notebooks.

According to him, other activities include sporting events, the presentation of prizes to students who excel in their academic pursuits and exhibit high moral standards, the commissioning of the main school entrance ‘school emblem’, and activities wrapped up with the 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM).

One of the children of late Tai Solarin, Corin Solarin, while speaking on behalf of the Solarin family, described the school as unique with its tradition.

She praised her father for establishing the school and inculcating discipline, especially for introducing skills-based learning for students before they finished school.