MIILLENNIUM CLUB MAYOR’S SPEECH ON THE OCCASION OF THE CLUB’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION DELIVERED 27TH DECEMBER, 2025.
It is my distinct honour and pleasure to welcome you all to this momentous occasion as we gather to celebrate an extraordinary milestone: a quarter-century of dedication, growth, and shared success of Millennium Club.
Before I begin, I want to take you back 25 years, to a time when we all were not sure of the fate of the world because of the incoming MILLENNIUM year 2000 marking end of the 19th century! In that world amidst the uncertainty and the anxiety of the time (how many of you here sold your property at the time thinking the world was coming to an end?). The most buzzing word of that moment “MILLENNIUM” resonated with us and the club was so christened and adopted its motto “striving towards intellectual and social advancement”.
You all will agree me that not many associations began with a handful of TEENAGERS meeting in the usually small classroom like that of St Andrews Primary school, Kabba and the item 7 served for refreshment during meeting was Cabin biscuits, and sometimes when the Baba Olode (the gateman) of the school was no where to be found to give us key to the class, we gathered under the Big iroko tree that used to be within the premises of St Andrews Primary school. The mother of one of us (Dr Kunle Aledare) was the school headmistress at the time and she gave us express approval to use the class anytime because she believed in our purpose and future as friends, here we are, 25 years later, stronger than ever.
So how did it all start? What gives the Millennium Club its enduring strength? How did we get here?
Ladies and gentlemen, it all started quietly. No launch ceremony, no media buzz, just a few teenagers in Kabba, fresh out of secondary school in 1998, sitting together and daring to imagine a better future. We had no money, no formal backing, only a shared conviction that young people could be more than spectators in their own communities.
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By the year 2000, that conviction had taken shape. We called it the Millennium Youth Club. The name was ambitious, almost prophetic. Over time, it evolved into the Millennium Club, but the spirit remained unchanged: a commitment to progress, compassion, and community. From the first set of exco led by the then young Peter Oniemola who is now not just a barrister at law but also an associate Professor with the University of Ibadan, then came the leadership of the then lanky Mike Owolagba who is now a highly experienced and versatile Canadian in policy and development strategy, then to the leadership of the spirited Engr Mike Bertola Ibitomihi popularly called e-mike amongst Millenites, an astute, vast oil and gas expatriate, who handed over to the current leadership led by my humble self, Paul Duile, who is currently an international banker. With the charismatic corporation of members, the Millennium club have indeed evolved into a venerable institution, a senior citizen amongst clubs in our environs, quietly shaping minds and hearts.
Structurally, the club currently operates through a flexible zonal system that is based on current locations of its members consisting of Kogi, Abuja(North), Lagos, Portharcourt and Diaspora zones. These zones have enhanced the club’s integration drive and provided room for bonding despite the scattered locations of members
Intentional relationship building based on mutual respect and motivation exist within the club. We encourage one another to aim higher, to dream bigger, and to act with integrity. The club stands above clannish and the other primordial sentiments that often plagued our locality, choosing instead to build bridges of friendship and shared ambition.
In our early days, the mentorship of Rainbow Club provided us shoulders to lean on and minds to learn from. We remember the memories of our late Patrons and Matrons (Olori Olobayo and Mrs Baiyegunhi). May God bless their beautiful souls. We thank God for the live of Engr Emmanuel Elefin who is here with us today, our only surviving Patron and was a Rainbow club member as well as Late Sir Sam Jones Mofolurnsho (a Patron), who was Rainbow’s secretary. Rainbow Club members were models of excellence, discipline, and purpose. Their guidance was not rooted in financial sponsorship, but in the powerful paradigm of modelling; showing us what was possible through example, not just instruction. They inspired us to lead with character, to serve with humility, and to grow through intentional living.
In Millennium Club, we exemplified a philosophy that still guides us today: you don’t grow big to manage well, you manage well to grow big. And you don’t get rich to give, you give to get rich. We believe everyone has something to offer. No one is too poor to give, and no one is too rich to receive. This mindset has shaped our culture of service and generosity, where giving is not a luxury but a responsibility.
The club was built on the platform of friendship, peopled by men and women of vision, focus, perseverance, and diligence. It was nurtured on the pillars of collaboration, motivation, mentorship, and discipline. These values have transformed Millennium Club from a gathering of hopeful youth into a global network of professionals—assets to society rather than liabilities.
PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES OVERVIEW
In its earliest years, we used our own pocket money to fund test of knowledge exams amongst primary schools, quiz and debates competitions in secondary schools, as well as awareness campaigns and workshops against drug abuse, HIV/AIDS and other social vices. These events were held during university breaks, driven by a belief that youth could lead change, not just inherit it.
As the club matured, so did its members. We became doctors, barristers, engineers, entrepreneurs, journalists, policy strategists, scientists and even the very noble profession of a Priest. Some members stayed close to home; others spread across four continents of the world. But the bond held. And the mission deepened.
One of the club’s most enduring beliefs is that transformation begins in the mind. “Mindset is the skin of success,” they often say. That philosophy found expression in the club’s annual symposium, co-hosted with the Kabba Student Union. Each year, students, professionals, and thought leaders gather to engage in intellectually stimulating dialogue, challenging assumptions and expanding horizons.
It is a space where young minds are not just informed but ignited. This ignition will be sustained and guided in the club’s succession planning strategies to bequeath its legacy to the next generation. The symposium for this year was held on the 23rd of December, 2025 where Dr Raphael Arokoyo who is also a Millenite gave the keynote address. The Kabba Student Union Amity Magazine was launched during the symposium. Don’t forget to get a copy of the magazine before you travel back to your respective base.
In 2005, as members graduated from university, time became scarce. To sustain its humanitarian mission, the Club launched its Students Assessment and Mentorship Scheme (SAMS) offering scholarships and long-term guidance to brilliant but financially constrained secondary school students. This was for a longtime our flagship program. We began this scheme by selecting two SS1 students per school, paying their tuition fees, providing exercise books, and building mentoring relationships. By 2008, SAMS had expanded to six students in each secondary school in Kabba and environs, ensuring that education remained accessible to the brightest minds regardless of financial hardship. This has been maintained for the last 20 years. SAMS 2025 edition was recently concluded with scholarship given to students from St Augustines, St Barnabas, St Monicas, Government Science School, Kakun Community high school, and Local Government Secondary School secondary, Otu egunbe.
Over time, SAMS grew beyond secondary education. The Club provided emergency scholarships for tertiary students in dire need, preventing dropouts and keeping educational dreams alive. Special cases were also embraced: a visually impaired child still receives ongoing financial support, while another student was gifted crutches after being spotted struggling during a SAMS presentation. These acts of compassion highlight the Club’s commitment to inclusivity and dignity.
Today, SAMS boasts of alumni who have graduated with first-class and strong second-class upper degrees, many of whom are not just gainfully employed but now walk highly in the same professional paths as their mentors. For the Millennium Club, these achievements are proof that poverty need not extinguish educational aspirations when collective effort intervenes. Some representations of the SAMS beneficiaries are here with us today while others sent in their testimonial video message, to be displayed later during the programme today.
As the Club celebrates 25 years of service and 20 years of SAMS, the club express gratitude to all Millennium Club members who contributed their time, treasure, and talent. Special recognition goes to Mr. Kayode Lewu and Elder Mike Segun Toluhi of Millennium Club, hailed for their tireless mentoring and dedication to its beneficiaries, and ensuring the program is executed annually.
Our contact teachers in the 6 schools are worthy of commendation especially Mr Sedemogun of Science school and Mrs Sedemogun of St Augustines because for all these 20years they have been constantly helping us with a thorough selection process that has over the years shown to be unbiased and purely merited by the beneficiaries.
Beyond ideas and education, the club built tangible economic structures. It’s a cooperative society, once a modest experiment, that now boasts an asset base in the millions of naira. It offers low-interest loans and financial support to both members and non-members, helping individuals launch businesses, pay school fees, or simply stay afloat in turbulent times. It’s not charity. It’s empowerment with dignity. Commendation goes to the management team of the Millennium cooperative anchored by 4 Millenites, they are seasoned bankers, chartered accountant and an astute entrepreneur. As a matter of fact, one of the non member beneficiaries of “Millennium Cooperative” is today helping us with media services and livestreaming this event to the world. With the support of the Millennium cooperative, the first ever drone in Kabba was bought, owned and flown in Kabba to photograph the aerial image of the town. WOG Studio sent his pictural goodwill testimonial message to the club, to be shown later.
The club’s “We Care” outreach has become a quiet tradition for over 10years now. Every December, food and support reached widows, the elderly, and orphanages in Kabba and surrounding communities. This year, just yesterday, the 26th of December 2025, we did a special and massive outreach of the Silver Jubilee edition of Millennium Club Annual Wecare Welfare worth millions of naira for the Aged, reaching 17 distribution centers across Ikowa Opa, Kabba, and Ogidi. The outpouring of heartfelt prayers received from the beneficiaries remain our motivation to continue to do more.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, while the world paused, the club accelerated. Relief materials were distributed. A webinar on emerging business opportunities was hosted, featuring Dr. Henrietta of Lagos Business School—an African faculty member at Yale. The message was clear: crisis doesn’t cancel possibility.
Among the club’s most impactful initiatives was its health insurance sponsorship program, which provided about 100 individuals with access to affordable healthcare. The program was recently reviewed, and the club upgraded its partnership from a community-based health insurance to the state health insurance. The legacy lives on in the lives it continues to touch and the dignity it restored.
Equally memorable was the Millennium Club Reflection Moment (MCRM), a fortnightly publication that offered more than updates. It was a window into lived experience. Millenites shared tapestry of lessons, failures, and triumphs. It was social engineering through storytelling. Though the publication has concluded and has now been documented in a magazine, its influence will remain etched in the minds of readers who found inspiration in its pages and those who are about to now read this magazine. It is my utmost pleasure to inform you all that we shall be launching this rich magazine compendium today and the hardcopies remaining after the launching shall be shared free of charge to the libraries of all secondary schools in Kabba and environs. Kudos to the editorial team led by Engr Mike Ibitomihi for working assiduously to ensure that the magazine production is successfully completely.
And then there’s the love. Three couples, six Millenites, met through the club and have celebrated over a decade of marriage. Proof that shared purpose can blossom into a lifelong partnership. The club doesn’t just build programs, it builds people.
IN CONCLUSION
Now, as the Millennium Club marks 25 years, it didn’t only throw a party for itself. It threw open its arms to the next generation. Since September 2025, the Silver Jubilee celebration began with football competitions among selected secondary schools in Kabba and Ikowo opa, an energetic nod to youth, teamwork, and community spirit. The final of the football competition between St Augustines and St Barnabas was played yesterday 26th December 2025 at the Kabba township stadium where St Barnabas won by 2goals to 1. The spirited emotions and enthusiasm that ensued during the competition and above all the passionate calls from school stakeholders to the club towards the dying sport culture in schools got the attention of the millennium club, and we are seriously considering making the competition an annual event in line with fostering the social advancement component of the Millennium club’s motto.
A Silver Jubilee Legacy Project was also unveiled and commissioned today; it is a Solar powered motorised borehole carefully sited at a location with perennial lack of access to clean water. The cry of joy and expression of gratitude from the residents is a testament that the project will have a lasting impact on the community. Permit me to use this opportunity to thank the anniversary committee chairman Freeman Kayode and Mike Toluhi for providing awesome supervision of the project and most especially the entire millennium club members for your enormous financial contribution towards the success of this state-of-the-art borehole project.
As we mark this Silver Jubilee, we do so with pride and gratitude. The journey continues, and the legacy grows. This isn’t just a club. It’s a quiet revolution. One that began with teenagers meeting under trees and inside St Andrews No1 primary school classrooms in Kabba and it continues, wherever Millenites are located, in the palaces of greatness in five of the six habitable world continents.
On a sombre note, may I ask for a minute silence in memory of Lieutenant Colonel Segun Teidi,who is the only Millenite we lost sadly, to the cold hands of death in this 25years.
May the soul of Chazzy continue to rest in the bossom of the lord.
Once again distinguish guests, ladies and gentlemen, you all are warmly welcome to the celebration of a quarter of century of growth, giving and purpose. Please endeavour to wait till the end we have got interesting and inspiring events lined up for you.
The journey continues and so does the mission. To give. To grow. To guide.
Thank you for listening
Paul Duile
Millennium Club Mayor
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, JANUARY 2ND 2026)
