Kegites Club begins activities to mark 50th anniversary

The Kegites Club of Nigeria (KCN) has commenced activities to mark the 50th anniversary of the socio-cultural club, which was founded in 1971.

Speaking to newsmen on Thursday, the head of the club, Omotunde Peter, said the event which was supposed to have begun in December 2021, started late due to some challenges that faced the club.

He however thanked God that despite all the challenges, the programmes finally started last weekend with an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the club on Saturday, followed by a World Press Conference on Sunday, December 4, 2022.

Peter said the media chat was to intimate the public of many activities to mark the club’s 50th anniversary while disproving the misconceptions about the club being for unserious people.

He stated that members of the club graduated with first-class degrees, stressing that the members are at the top hierarchy of all professions in Nigeria and beyond.

He said: “We must celebrate how far we have come in the club. The Kegites Club clocked 50 since December last year but we couldn’t celebrate it because we were in the process of registering the club.

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“Surviving for half of a century is not what every organisation can boast of. It is half a century of producing great minds in all strata of the society while promoting African Culture.”

On his part, the chairman of the club’s 50th Anniversary Planning Committee, Patron Lekan Osiade, said the postponement of the event was due to the process of renaming and registering the club.

While speaking on the political affiliation of the club, the chairman said it is a socio-cultural club and is adhering strictly to its ethos of non-political and non-religious affiliation.

Osiade, who is also the Special Assistant on Information to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, said though members are allowed to belong to political and religious organisations individually, the Kegites Club as a body, remains neutral.

He, however, urged Nigerians of voting age to collect their Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC) and vote the candidates of their choice.

He said: “I can only advise you to ensure that you get your PVC and exercise your franchise. In the Kegites Club, we work in tandem with any government in power, we don’t canvass votes for any political party. In our club, we don’t discuss political parties or religion but we discuss good governance.

“Go and get your PVC so that you can vote for candidates of your choice as any decision taken at the polls will also affect you. The Kegites Club was founded to maintain African culture, tradition and values of Africa and this is necessary to correct the erroneous belief that Kegites is a cult group.”

Osiade further revealed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a former President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, are members of the club, having joined in November 1976 during the year’s convocation ceremony of the University of Ibadan.

The Star