The Old Students Association of Federal Government College, Ilorin, held a Valedictory Assembly on Monday in honour of the late pioneer principal of the school, Chief Amos Olaniyan.

Paying tribute to the deceased at the event held in the school auditorium, the Principal, Dr Geoffrey Agbo, said Olaniyan laid a solid foundation for the college.

He said Olaniyan's name would continue to be written in gold, as the excellence he upheld had produced outstanding individuals across the country.

"Here, we are celebrating a special leader under whom the school thrived because he was an excellent and exquisite leader," Agbo said.

Also speaking, Mr Opeyemi Dele, Chairman of the Ilorin chapter of the Old Students Association, lavished praise on Olaniyan for the discipline he instilled in students.

"The foundation he laid is what principals who came after him built upon," Dele said. "Although we didn't meet him as principal, it is the excellence and discipline that he instilled as the bedrock of the school that we enjoyed when we came and still enjoy today.

"He isn't just a legend or an icon for FGC, but for Nigeria as a whole, because he was appointed as a member of UNESCO at a particular time."

"Also, he was one of those who ensured that the 6-3-3-4 system of education we are using now became reality.

" So, he has written his name in the sands of time and deserves to be celebrated even in death," he said.

The second child of the deceased, Dr Tosin Elemide, who spoke on behalf of the family, said the forum meant a lot to the family.

According to her, the assembly was an indication that the school he sacrificed so much to build appreciated him.

"You know sometimes you do so much and you are not appreciated.

" All five of us attended the school and I was the one in school when he left as the principal.

" He was a father to all and it is obvious in the way everyone here talked about him," she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Olaniyan, born on May 17, 1935, died on Aug. 30, aged 94

NAN also reports that the college was established in 1973, with Olaniyan as pioneer principal.

(NAN)