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From left: Sunday Tanimowo, Training Manager, CG-Eko LLP; Sola Afolayan, Head CG-Eko LLP; and Cyril Dcruz, National Parts Manager, Coscharis Motors Plc; at the Convocation ceremony for Auto Technicians from CG – Eko Training Academy facilitated by Coscharis Group recently in Lagos
Some members of the Management Executive Team of Coscharis Group with 2014 – 2016 batch of graduands at the Convocation Ceremony
Some members of the Management Executive Team of Coscharis Group with the 2015 – 2017 batch of graduands at the Convocation Ceremony
(By Emmanuel Oluwatobi) The first joint convocation of CG-Eko LLP Training Academy may have come and gone, but the thrills and frills of the ceremony will continue to linger for some time to come.
Recall that on Friday, August 4, 2017, 41 auto technicians graduated at the maiden convocation ceremony of the Training Academy, which is a joint project of Coscharis Motors Plc and the Lagos State Government.
The ceremony which held at the school’s premises in Ikeja, Lagos saw the graduands, who have successfully gone through a two-year automobile training at the Academy. The graduands are from the first set of 2013 – 2015 year, the second batch of 2014 – 2016 and the third batch of 2015 – 2017 set. They were all honoured and sent forth at the joint convocation attended by top officials of Coscharis Group, parents and friends of the graduands.
Delivering an emotion-laden speech at the occasion, the Most Outstanding Graduand, Ukandu Chukwudi, who also came first in the class of the first batch, really went philosophical as he expressed the gratitude of the trainees to everybody that made the occasion possible.
“We are here to celebrate the graduation of an outstanding class of 2015, a distinguished class of 2016 and a formidable class of 2017. All graduands are brimming not only with knowledge and skill but with compassion, desire and ambition. At this point, I would like to tell you in brief who we are;
We are Coscharis Technicians,
We are professionals,
We fix it right first time every time.
Thank you, and welcome to our graduation!”
Chukwudi continued: ” To think that our sojourn in the training academy is being celebrated is remarkable and fills each and every one of us graduands with a deep sense of gratitude. When we take a moment to think about our journey, we realise that it has been one exciting unforgettable experience full of twists and turns and marked by countless challenges to overcome, whether they were academic or personal.
“Today is a day of celebrating laudable achievements for each of us who have made it here and I am proud to share this moment with all of you. We have made it here not on our own efforts alone. On behalf of graduating class of 2015, 2016 and 2017, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge those who have helped get us to where we are today because the truth be told, none of us could have made it here without them.
“Dr. Cosmas Maduka, President of Coscharis Group, truly understands the words of Sydney J. Harris who said that; “the whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” By birthing the idea and finally establishing this training academy in partnership with the Lagos state government, Dr. Cosmas Maduka has indeed thrown open the windows of opportunity by enlightening the minds of youth and equipping them with the skills with which they can harness the numerous possibilities that abound in the ever evolving automobile industry. Sir, we are truly grateful for all you have done, and still to do, in sharing with us the Coscharis tradition to be diligent and honest in all our business dealings at all times without fear or favour. It is our collective prayer that our Heavenly Father’s fountain of inspiration would never elude you.
“Sir, we are truly grateful for all you have done, and still to do, in sharing with us the Coscharis tradition to be diligent and honest in all our business dealings at all times without fear or favour. It is our collective prayer that our Heavenly Father’s fountain of inspiration would never elude you.
“Our instructors are here too. When I say instructors, most people who are familiar with the training academy immediately will think I refer to just Mr. Sunday Tanimowo (Training manager), Mr. Babatunde Abraham (Training Coordinator) and Mr. Timothy Agana. True these men were in the fore front and had more stellar time in grooming us and giving us the fundamentals of automotive science and technology. And I must confess they did a fine work even though there were moments some of us felt we were just being punished for a crime we know nothing about.
“Like gold, we passed through the cleansing furnace in the hands of these ethical and technically sound men who made sure they gave us their best that we may become better than they are. If we cast our minds a bit, we would recollect that after the impurities are taken away from the raw black gold by fire it becomes the shiny gold we all know.
““Now, the shiny gold has to be put through another round of fire and then beaten into shapes to suit a purpose. It is at this point that the other unofficial official instructors played their part. These individuals helped us learn the ropes, they gave us encouragement to practise all we learnt at the academy, they shared freely their wealth of experience and generally molded us gently but firmly to be at par with the best in the automotive industry. These instructors are the workshop technicians to whom we were attached to during our IT periods, the service advisors, part advisors, workshop managers, service managers and Aftersales Managers. We are all indebted to you all one way or the other.
“Our parents are here today to support us, as they always have. It was and has been two years of selfless sacrifice on their part. It is not easy to keep fending for able bodied young men and women who are capable of taking up paying jobs to cater for themselves especially in this recessive economy we have found ourselves. Our parents gave their support because like the elders they are, they have been blessed with the intuition that their efforts and sacrifices would be worth it.
“Dear parents, though I know we do not often show it, and many of you probably cannot wait for us to start earning and leave your house, and you cannot also wait for those single to get married etc, we are truly grateful for all you have done for us and are delighted that you are here to share in this joyous occasion.
“For the graduands, this is an exciting day in our lives and it is all about all of us. Today, we celebrate our many unique characteristics that we have discovered during our time at the training academy. We have been tutored on leadership and academic skills which each of us have and will continue to nurture and develop over time. However, the greatest gift we would leave CG-EKO LLP Training Academy with is the gift of our skilled education. It is a gift that Dr.Cosmas Maduka, our instructors, staff of Coscharis group and our parents have given to us. It is my humble supplication that we would understand much of what that means every day we draw breath and that we may develop an even greater appreciation for this gift more than we have shown today.
“It is a gift that Dr.Cosmas Maduka, our instructors, the staff of Coscharis group and our parents have given to us. It is my humble supplication that we would understand much of what that means every day we draw breath and that we may develop an even greater appreciation for this gift more than we have shown today.
“The class of 2015 graduated 17 students and 15 were employed by Coscharis group. These students have in their individual ways distinguished themselves in the various departments they have been assigned. Fourteen students graduated in 2016 and four were employed by the company. They too are becoming indispensable players in the Aftersales department where they were assigned.
“The class of 2017 is graduating 10 students. It is my humble prayer that the management of Coscharis group do consider the exploits and impacts of those earlier employed from the academy and employ these dynamic class of 2017. Our amiable chairman, Dr.Cosmas Maduka is known for his big heart and accommodating nature and i plead that he stretches it a bit more to accommodate these promising young talented and skilled graduands. To borrow the words of the late Nelson Mandela, “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”’
In the first batch, Ukandu Chukwudl (who is also the Most Outstanding, overall graduand, came first, Ofagbe Friday came second while the third position went to Bello Abiodun.
For the second batch, Paul Joseph came first, Atuluku Arome came second and Okunola Oluwaseyi came third. The first position in the third batch went to Egho Blessing, Yusuf Richard came second as Muraina Kazeem took the third position. They were all honoured at the ceremony.
