2Baba, Ycee, thrill as Stella Maris Schools turns 20

Award-winning afro-pop artiste, 2Baba along with Ycee thrilled students, parents, alumni and guests of Stella Maris Schools, Abuja, when it celebrated its 20th anniversary penultimate Friday. At the gala night which took place at the International Conference Centre which also coincided with the National Children’s Day celebration, pupils and students of the school rolled out […]

Award-winning afro-pop artiste, 2Baba along with Ycee thrilled students, parents, alumni and guests of Stella Maris Schools, Abuja, when it celebrated its 20th anniversary penultimate Friday.
At the gala night which took place at the International Conference Centre which also coincided with the National Children’s Day celebration, pupils and students of the school rolled out cultural displays one after the other in costumes, dances, music and sketches representative of Nigeria’s cultural diversity.
They displayed their creative prowess starting the event with a rendition of the National Anthem. They followed through with a medley of songs, choreography, acrobatics, dance drama, poetry, and other performances which the audience received with several applauses and standing ovations.
Creating some mix and tonic in between the performances, ‘Jagaban’ crooner, Ycee aka Oludemilade Martin Alejo lit up the stage as he took the entertainment to a whole new level. The reaction was simultaneous as old and young were on their feet clapping, dancing and singing along. The Tinny Entertainment rapper/songwriter urged them on as he reeled out some of his hit songs.
Although the school has been rated 3rd best in Abuja, and also listed among Nigeria’s Top 50 WASC result in 2015, the students showed that they excelled beyond academics.
They took over the stage with even more energetic dance performances laced with acrobatic steps, to the rhythm of famous songs from some of Nigeria’s musicians. It was a delight for many guests to see them perform even though several of the songs were from ages ago before most of the children were born.
It was an intense climax when the organisers proved that they had indeed saved the best for last as 2Baba took over the stage with his signature line – ‘Nothing dey happen.’
The response was instantaneous as children ‘broke’ the rules and crowded the stage each one stretching their hands out for celebrity handshake.
He sang songs like ‘See me so’ from his ‘Grass-to-grace’ as the auditorium echoed back the children singing along and dancing wherever they were.
The gala ended the week-long anniversary activities of the school along with a thanksgiving service on Sunday May 29, 2016 at the Life-Camp branch of the school.
Earlier in the week the students had held a club day, cultural day, alumni cocktail, alumni friendly match, inter-house sport among other events.
Chairman of the school, Mrs. Afoma Onyeanusi said the activities were a reflection of the values the school ensured it inculcated in the students as an institution of leaning.
She said: “We are from different backgrounds, which affect our dressing, greeting, feeding, marriage, dancing and other aspects of life,” she said, adding that “culture has formed part of our class activities, as it is reflected positively in our teaching and learning processes.”
Onyeanusi also said: “Culture is important, because it can bring people together and you can learn how other people in different cultures live their lives. Teach them your dialect for easy communication at home and identification, anywhere and anytime. Allow them to mingle with people from different cultures to make them complete Nigerians. Endeavour to inculcate values into these children to make them useful ambassadors of our fatherland.”
Managing Director of the school, Mr. Chukwuemeka Anyaene said there are plans to establish a standard university.
He said: “Having contributed immensely over the years to the education sector, it is important to consider extending the good work to a university. We have actually grown from grass-to- grace. It’s been 20 years of different challenges, opinions and structure but we thank God today that the school has been upgraded from the way it was when our late mother left to the way it is now.
“So 20 years from now, the school might grow into a higher institution. We are very prudent people and we are a bit conservative. At the moment, we have five schools and one more coming up which will bring us close to about 4, 000 students,” he said.
Although the school started with 17 children with about 13 teachers including him, principal of the College, Mr. Jacob Dawodu said it now has about 2,000.