St Finbarr’s College At 70: Akinwale Tasks Alumni On Nigeria’s Rebuilding

As St Finbarr’s College, Akoka, Lagos, marks its 70th anniversary, a Dominican priest, Rev. Fr. Anthony A. Akinwale, OP, has urged past and present students of the institution to draw from its history and contribute to building a Nigeria where every citizen has the opportunity to flourish.

Akinwale gave the charge yesterday during a thanksgiving Mass held to commemorate seven decades of the college, founded in 1956 by an Irish missionary, Rev. Fr. Denis Joseph Slattery of the Society of African Missions.

Reflecting on the significance of the anniversary, Akinwale described the occasion as a meeting point between the past, present and future, urging members of the St Finbarr’s community to remember the institution’s history while remaining committed to shaping its future.

He said the founding of the college, four years before Nigeria’s independence, came at a period of considerable optimism about the country’s future.

According to him, the institution represented Slattery’s contribution to producing people who would contribute to the development of Nigeria.

“The foundation of this school was Fr Slattery’s contribution towards building persons who would build Nigeria,” he said.

Akinwale, however, noted that the institution’s history had also been marked by setbacks, recalling that the school was “illegitimately confiscated” by the military government, leaving its work in ruins for decades.

He said the process of rebuilding the institution should therefore be understood as more than the restoration of a school, describing it as an effort to rekindle the hope and ideals upon which it was founded.

“But here we are rekindling hope by rebuilding, here we are rebuilding by rekindling hope,” he said.

The priest also connected the anniversary to Nigeria’s broader political and social experience, saying the country must learn from its past in order to address the challenges confronting it.

He observed that Nigeria’s first military coup in 1966 marked the beginning of a period that eventually brought needless bloodshed, stressing the need for citizens to learn from the country’s history.

Akinwale further expressed concern over the level of incivility witnessed during electioneering campaigns, saying it was a reminder that Nigeria remained in need of healing.

“Our land Nigeria is in dire need of healing,” he said.

He charged the St Finbarr’s community to play its part in closing the gap between Nigeria’s experience and its aspirations, particularly by creating a society in which citizens are not denied opportunities to realise their potential.

“We must constantly cooperate with the grace of God to fill the gap between experience and expectation,” he said.

The cleric also paid tribute to Slattery, the school’s patron saint, St Finbar, as well as generations of teachers and students who contributed to the development of the institution.

He acknowledged the achievements of former and current students in academics, sports, politics, religion and various professional fields, describing their accomplishments as part of the legacy of the 70-year-old institution.

Founded in 1956, St Finbarr’s College has remained part of Nigeria’s educational history, with generations of students passing through its classrooms.

As the institution marks seven decades, Akinwale urged its alumni and current students to see the anniversary not only as an occasion for thanksgiving, but also as a renewed call to responsibility and service to the country.

He prayed that the grace of God, through the intercession of St Finbar, would enable the St Finbarr’s community to fulfil the task of contributing to the “integral development” of Nigeria.