The Assoville Progressive Club’s 2024 End-of-Year party was held at Grace Garden, Lekki Lagos on December 1.
The event, which was a joyous occasion filled with laughter, networking and friendship, was aimed at creating a fun and memorable experience for the members and guests, fostering a sense of community and well-being.
Chairman of the occasion, Barrister Briggs Amajuoyi (Onwa Nkwere), urged the club to build strong institution to strengthen it, adding: “If Nigeria had built strong institution, we wouldn’t have had the type of leadership we have produced as a nation”.
“Clubs are so vital because they are the ultimate in experiential learning for people, giving them the leadership and power to make their own decisions and watch how those decisions affect their life and the lives of others.
“The social club at its best creates a society of personalities with a community sense, which is the essence of good citizenship. We are not concerned with the making of ‘good club members’ but with a much wider issue, the making of good citizens. This can only be done in a society where each member is important, where each one is given a chance to contribute something to the life of the group, the leader no more and no less than the member. It is for this reason that self-government is so important in club work”.
President of the Club and of CEO, DewPoint Hotels, High Chief Moses Iwuoha, called on social clubs in Nigeria to make a paradigm shift by paying more attention towards being role models in helping the less privileged in the society.
Iwuoha said social clubs should be seen as a place to network, unite and promote development of society.
“We want all other social clubs to strongly consider themselves as a platform through which many less privileged people can be empowered to earn some living. Social clubs should see themselves as real role models not in the sense of misconduct but ensuring that people, both members and non-members are assisted”, Iwuoha further said.
Giving a historical background of the Club, Iwuoha said the body was originally founded by group of friends but incorporated in 2021 with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) with the main objective of fostering good and cordial relationship among members and serve as platform for socio-economic interaction and networking with a view to bettering the lives and interest of members.
He added that membership of the club was open to all well-meaning Nigerians citizens irrespective of tribe or religion.
However, he stressed the fact that some intending members of non-Igbo extraction should join the club and not misunderstood it to be a club for only people of the South-East ostensibly due to the fact that the founding members hailed from the South-East.
He used the opportunity to invite non-Igbo to belong to the club, “as some of our members are from the North and other tribe that has identified with us”.
Iwuoha, who described the end-of-year party as quite overwhelming and exciting, explained that the Vision of the founding members of the club was to make the club the foremost among social clubs in Nigeria with a focus on transforming lives and building an enduring nation.
He stated that the mission of the club was to galvanize members of the club through social, cultural networking with a view to creating bonding and affinities to engender love, growth and excellence.
Expressing gratitude to the Almighty God for helping the club to realize its principal objective of fostering oneness among members, High Chief Iwuoha, said: One of the happiest days of this Club is today. I do not think we have had a better day than today. We have about 97 per cent attendance and everyone has been in high spirit, celebrating the end of year. The joy cannot be over-emphasized”.
Speaking on the milestones of the Club in recent time, members of the club did much by pulling resources together to provide for those who needed palliative.
“The club did great in sharing food items to motherless village. We have been contributing individually and collectively to assist the less-privileged quite often”, he explained.
Appreciating new members, he encouraged them to live up to expectation with a prayer that God should enrich every member.
With no pretence on his philanthropic nature, the DewPoint boss pleaded with women not to be obstacle to their husbands’ generous intentions of helping the less-privileged whenever the needs arise, stating: “It is good to give and make people happy”.
Speaking in the same vein, High Chief Kenneth Opara said that the club was grateful for its members who worked hard to advance humanity.
“The club also expressed optimism that the 2025 club year would witness more activities in human capacity development and welfare of her members.
“Since I joined the Club, my life has changed in many ways. I got inspiration from members who are always willing to connect me to those who would do business with me. I am also inspired by the benevolence of members to themselves and even to non-members who need assistance particularly in getting business connection. They do not discriminate against non-members when it comes to assistance”, High Chief Opara said.
He expressed optimism that the Club was going to do more empowerment in education, and skill acquisition next year,adding: “We are happy with our achievements and engagements in year 2024. This year’s end-of-the year is unique because we engaged in a lot of charitable works”.
He encouraged Nigerians not to relent and keep hope alive, assuring that “amid the difficulties, things would get better by God’s grace”.
For a better society
