How it all started:
It all started like a child’s (children’s) play, and it was. On the dot of 12.01 hours on 1st January 1976, the Right Reverend Ogunnusi of St. Michael’s Anglican Church, IIara-Mokin, expectedly, shouted ‘Happy New Year’ to which the congregation responded positively by shouting a thunderous ‘Happy New Year!’ Within the congregation were six young students who had earlier in the evening of December 31st made necessary arrangements to commence the celebration of the New Year immediately after the midnight service.
Having shouted Happy New Year and exchanged the New Year pleasantries, they bolted out of the Church; searched for one another in anxious anticipation of a pre-planned arrangement to enjoy themselves during the eve and therefore migrated to the venue of a party. It could be recalled that one of the prayer points of the Reverend that night was that a very mighty thing would happen in IIara-Mokin that year. Alas, his prayers were answered instantly as Klova Club Ilara-Mokin was born. The six “musketeers” only planned going to enjoy themselves and were oblivious of the facts that God was going to use them to fulfil the supplications of the Reverend gentleman.
For the records, the six who were four young men and two ladies namely:- Kayode Adedun, Biodun Saliu Faluyi (now Oluwaluyi), Oluropo Adegbenro, Aiyegbo Fakinlede, Miss Ebun Fakinlede (now Mrs. Akingbade) and Miss Bola Ajayi (now Mrs. Agboola).
Having fulfilled their expected ecstasy of eating, drinking and dancing, they all departed to their various homes at about 4:00 am.
Everybody left for school during the first week of the year but the euphoria of the gathering lingered on. On reaching schools, one member of the group of six, Ropo Adegbenro, was restless and kept on dreaming of a configuration of an association using the group of six as its base! That gathering (though informal) of the early hours of 1st January, 1976 translated into the inauguration of Klova Club aptly in fulfillment of that Reverend’s New Year supplications for Ilara-Mokin! How wonderful is our God! He hears and answers prayers this day just as in the days of the old!
‘Ropo translated his dream to reality by writing a beautiful letter to the other five members of the group and some other close friends and associates considered to be of like minds.
He single handedly picked the Protem Officers from the group of six and gave the Club its name “The Mokin Klova Klobb”. He coined the name from a leading social club at the University of Benin, where he was then an undergraduate. Surely, he might have been enthused by the sweet sound of the name and its leading role in the University campus. Further enquiries into the name later revealed that the name is that of a tree grown from a small seed found in South Africa. It grows to be a bigger tree like the biblical ‘mustard seed’. The then Protem Officers were Kayode Adedun – President, Biodun Faluyi – Secretary, Ropo Adegbenro – Social /Publicity Secretary.
Dr. Adegbenro designed a form and sent copies to all intending members to indicate their interest by completing the form and forwarding same to the Secretary, Biodun Oluwaluyi.
It is worthy of note that the initial idea was to join the Club as a ‘couple’. A boy and his girlfriend having a joint membership!
The inaugural meeting of April, 1976 jettisoned this part of the founders’ proposal. It was resolved that in as much as it was possible for a boy to join with his girlfriend, membership of the Club would only be recognized on an individual basis and not based on the joint relationship. Therefore, single boys and girls were allowed to join on their own merit. Mr. Ayodele Fadola was the chief proponent of that proposal in opposition to the idea of joint membership. But, could it be he had no girl-friend then? May be, and may be not! However, the decision to individualize membership was based on the reasoning that the Club should not be termed ‘Tokotaya’ Club. Hence, boys and girls without any relationship were allowed to join while joining on the basis of relationship was deemed dangerous and detrimental to sustenance of the Club since the end of a romantic relationship between a boy and a girl could fatally determine the existence of the Club.
Thank God for his goodness – voices of reason prevailed in those days. It happened that none of all the noticeable childhood relationships grew beyond that level. No legalized couple ensued! May be ‘Mokin Klova Klobb’ as it was known then would have died just like those relationships died prematurely! Out of about 30 boys and girls who started the Club in 1976, only the following five are still members today: Chief J. Kayode Adedun, Prof. S. A Fakinlede, Pastor Biodun Oluwaluyi, Dr. Ropo Adegbenro and Mr. Ayodele Fadola. Others had left the Club for one reason or the other. Incidentally, none had died. Klova Club Ilara-Mokin (as currently known) is certainly the handiwork of God. To Him be the glory!
The inaugural meeting of the Club was held during the Easter break of 1976. The roll call at the meeting was 18 members. One of the major events which took place at the meeting was the inauguration of the Constitution Drafting Committee of which Messrs. Ropo Adegbenro and Ayodele Fadola were Chairman and Secretary respectively. The Chairman did the drafting of the Constitution as the Committee was unable to meet due to distance of members’ locations.
It could be recalled that at that time, only Dr. Ropo Adegbenro was in the University of Benin undergoing preliminary studies in Medicine Messrs Ayodele Fadola and Solomon Fakindele were at the Schools of Basic Studies of The Polytechnic, Ibadan and the Kwara State Polytechnic, IIorin, respectively. By October, 1976, Mr . Biodun Saliu Faluyi was admitted into the Univerity of Ife to read Estate Management while Mr. Ayegbo Fakindele had a scholarship to read Architecture in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic of (USSR). The USSR had since disintegrated; broken up to become many countries including Russia, Yugoslavia, Slovenia and others.