Oxford, Cambridge Alumni hold May Ball, Set to Raise Funds for Scholarships

It was pomp and pageantry in Lagos recently as members of The Oxford and Cambridge Club of Nigeria, the alumni association of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in Nigeria, held their 2021 May Ball at the prestigious Oriental Hotel.

Anchored by the humorous Lepacious Bose and Hakeem Onasanya, the event was also graced by Ben Llewellyn-Jones, British Deputy High Commissioner and his wife, Laura Llewellyn-Jones.

In his welcome address, Lanre Fatimilehin, President of the Club, stated that it was wonderful to meet after more than two years. He disclosed that the Covid-19 pandemic had been challenging for the Club but added that the overwhelming feeling was the need to keep the membership engaged and do so in a safe way.

According to him, despite the challenges, the leadership and members of the club care deeply, stressing that earlier this year, the members continued the drive to raise funds for students in need of sponsorship for post-graduate degrees at both universities.

Ben Llewellyn-Jones, who was the Guest of Honour, said he was proud to be associated with the Club. According to him, what I love about Nigeria is Nigerians and this is our second time in Nigeria. In fact, our second child was born here in Nigeria.

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While proposing the toast, Fubara Anga (SAN), Past President urged members to be courageous. Sharing his experience, he said one of the first people he ran into at Cambridge were, late Abba Kyari, former Chief of Staff to President Buhari and Bolu Akin-Olugbade.

He said Akin-Olugbade was also his mate at Kings College and he was instrumental to the birth of the Club. He told the members that one person can make a difference and all could make the change if they wanted to. According to him, all of us here have the tools to be the change that we want to see. We can’t be depressed, discouraged, or dissuaded. We need the courage to confront the challenges we are facing in this country today.

In an interview with BusinessDay, one of the sponsors of the event, IK Oragwu advised the alumni to continue making efforts to be at the forefront of Nigeria’s business and community development activities as stakeholders for economic and social growth.

Oragwu, who is also the founder/ CEO of Liquiditti Platforms & Solutions Limited noted that this is not their first sponsorship but said they engage in community focused projects, which forms a big part of their community agenda.

May Balls are held by Colleges of the University of Cambridge at the end of the academic year. Colleges at the University of Oxford have Oxford Balls as the equivalent. In Nigeria, the first May Ball was held by the Oxford and Cambridge Club in 1987 at Eko Hotel when the first Chief Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court, Sir Adetokunbo Ademola was the Club’s first President.