The outdoor stadium of the College of the immaculate conception (CIC) Enugu, is made up of three pavilions, with over 4,000 sitting capacity. It contains a six-lane track with a 45×100 meters soccer field that is a FIFA standard. It has flood lights for night events. Under the covered pavilions are two changing rooms with wardrobes, toilets and bathroom facilities. There is also the office of the manager of the sports facility. The Indoor facility has 1,500 capacity indoor sports hall. Basketball and other sports take place there.
The indoor sports arena is fitted with a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, HVAC system. There is also a sound or communication system in the Olympic standard facility, housing table Tennis boards. It also has different toilet facilities for men and women, same as changing rooms and shower cubicles and toilets for a swimming pool.
The facility provides for car parking lot from where the entrance to the sporting facility is detached from the entrance into the school premises to avoid disturbance of students.
Then, both block and iron gauze fences are made to ensure security of the facility. Welcome to the College of Immaculate Conception, CIC Enugu Alumni Foundation Multi-Purpose Sports Complex located inside the college premises, in Uwani-Enugu. The sports facility worth over N1.5 billion was commissioned in August 2023 by the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Ifeanyi Ossai and has since then hosted several sports events.
The give-back-to-school initiatives of the college old boys association are responsible for tremendous infrastructure upgrade of the college, making it one of the most highly sought secondary schools in Enugu and perhaps in the south east. The old boys had done a lot of projects in the college such as the auditorium, 540-bed hostel with solar powered electricity, the sports complex and the proposed staff quarters that are being planned.
Speaking on the motivation of the old boys for the legacies, one of the old boys, a Philanthropist and Grand Patron of ex-Rangers International football players, who participated actively in the CIC inter house competitions, Benson MVP Ejindu said that it came to a point when Rangers football club did not have a stadium and had to relocate to Awka Anambra state, which he said affected the players.
“So we decided to be an example in Nigeria, that you do not wait for the government to do something before you can help yourself. We decided to bring sports to Enugu and there is no other place that is that unique for sports in Enugu. We looked around and said let’s bring sports back to the eastern region and we decided to build a FIFA-rated sports complex and it’s not just an ordinary stadium. Apart from the Enugu Stadium there is no other alternative in the area.
“One of the major concerns is security. It’s located within the college but will not distract the students. The Catholic Church which is the owner of the school will also be using it for its activities. We didn’t build the facility to pose any disturbance to the students,” Ejindu said. He disclosed that the cost of the sports arena was over a billion naira, noting that by the time the old boys finish with their plans for the facilities in both the outdoor and indoor arenas of the sports complex, it will be worth about N1.5 billion.
“It’s remarkable to note that not a penny of any government fund was used in these facilities, just the contribution of the old Boys and a few other donors. Out of the four Governors that CIC has produced, only Sullivan Chime made a contribution to it. Personally, I made a huge contribution. Our next project is the construction of staff quarters for the school teachers and we have made a financial proposal for that. We want to prove that people can come together and do something big, just the ordinary people,” Ejindu said. Former Captain of Rangers International who is also an old boy of the college, I k e c h u k w u Ofoje said that on a personal level, the sports and other facilities provided in the college by the alumni is nostalgic.
“It’s a positive idea and I’m particularly honoured to be part of it all, the field, the track, the indoor sports hall, the hostel, the auditorium and all that. I captained Rangers FC after Aloysius Atuegbu and so for me it’s like a dream come true, being born and raised in Enugu, to wear the Rangers shirt and captained the club, it was a dream come true.” Ofoje disclosed that with the inauguration of the stadium, community football teams, “Ball Ogbe,” have been formed and the stadium hosts their competitions including Rangers FC and other clubs in the South east that have rented the stadium for their training.
“Now, it will raise football and its associated activities in Enugu and its environ, it’s like no other in the region. We have also raised money for other facilities. We have never had an accountability problem unlike Nigeria and I hope that this will filter in the larger society because we need to have the right people in the right places. Followership has been incredible. We believe in building a better future for the younger generation.
Chairman of CIC Enugu Old Boys Alumni, Enugu home branch, Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo, confirmed that they have built a 540-bed hostel with solar light, and starting construction of modern staff quarters for the teachers in addition to other things. He disclosed that in funding the projects, “We raise funds among ourselves, the people in Diaspora and people at home. We have a multi-tier organizational structure such as the city branches such as in Enugu which is the mother branch of the alumni, where it started back in the 60’s and we have old boys such as the late Dr Chike Akunyili and many other notables.
In the spirit of giving back to the school, the old boys who have moved to Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt have very strong branches, but most importantly we have very strong international branches in America and in the UK. Everybody collaborates and there are set structures such as the 1981 set, 82, 79 sets and all that. The 2014 set is about to celebrate their 10th year anniversary. So the various sets have their groups and they are very strong. The major cities such as Enugu, Abuja, Lagos, have strong branches and the sets, depending on where they reside. “We raise a lot of funds from the old Boys that live abroad.
We are very stringent in finance management; our money is drawn by professionals who are old boys. Once we decide on a project we will raise money through different ways. Individuals are also ranked according to their contributions. One can be Diamond, Gold or Silver, depending on the amount. For instance, Diamond is $5,000 or more or approximately N5m. “One’s name could appear on a marble depending on the amount donated in a particular project. At the ultra Alumni center, for instance you see a whole lot of old boys that donated money including myself, it’s the same in the hostel and other projects. What has helped us is that the management of the fund has been very transparent.
“The Stadium is strictly for internal use but it could still be used for other competitions such as schools or events, but you know it’s a school and the students do not need to be distracted. We didn’t build it as a commercial venture but it’s a sports complex with indoor facilities, track and event, indoor basket court, badminton. There are more indoor events than in the open field. You can set up a boxing ring and other indoor sports arenas,” Ogbu-Nwobodo said.
Former Chairman of Sports Writers Association Nigeria, SWAN, in Enugu and former Chairman of National Grammar School Nike Old Boys Association, Dr. Daniel Ikpechukwu commended the CIC old boys initiatives and charged the government to see the developments in CIC as a challenge to improve on the welfare of citizens. Ikpechukwu noted that for them at Nike Boys, the Old Boys have also done incredibly well in uplifting the infrastructural facilities in the public school and asked for collaborations by other alumni groups to help raise the standard of Education in Nigeria. Former Principal of CIC, who supervised most of the interventions done by the old boys, Rev Fr. Chinedu Mgbodile also made good remarks on the alumni.
By Dennis Agbo
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
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