The NAS leader said the platinum anniversary, themed '70 Years of Service to Humanity' is a reflective encapsulation of their modest contribution to humanity.
The National Association of Seadogs (NAS) has unveiled its 70th-anniversary logo as the group officially kicks off celebrations to mark its diamond jubilee.
Abiola Owoaje, the leader of the group, told journalists at the official unveiling on Friday that many activities have been lined up to showcase the organisation's nobility, ethos, and continued quest to create a just Nigerian society.
"As we celebrate, we shall also use the period, especially as we inch closer to the 2023 elections to continue our push for a just society where no one would be a victim of colour, gender, or creed," said Mr Owoaje, who is known as the NAS Cap'n.
"We shall through our celebrations join Nigerians to demand for free, fair, and credible elections in 2023. This would be the most fitting climax of the celebration of our 70th anniversary."
Last month, the group, also known as The Pyrates Confraternity, hugged news headlines after a viral video on social media showed its members chanting a song about a presidential candidate whose "hands and feet are shaking, yet he is saying 'it is my turn.'"
The video, which was apparently referring to the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, drew instant condemnation from Wole Soyinka, one of the founders of NAS.
The group quickly distanced itself from the video, maintaining that it had remained apolitical since it was founded in 1952.
'Service to humanity'
At Friday's official unveiling, Mr Owoaje recalled that the group was founded by "seven passionate young and patriotic Nigerian undergraduates" Mr Wole Soyinka, Ralph Opara, Nathaniel Oyelola, Pius Oleghe, Olumuyiwa Awe, Ikpehare Aig-Imoukhuede and Slyvanus Egbuche, at the University College Ibadan, now the University of Ibadan.
He said the founders "took a giant revolutionary leap towards greatness and etched their names in the sands of time by standing up to obnoxious conventions to form the Pyrates Confraternity.
"In 1952, when the Pyrates Confraternity was formed, its fundamental ethos was not just limited to fighting for the oppressed, speaking for the deprived, and resolving myriad injustices in the march towards the attainment of a just and egalitarian society," said Mr Owoaje.
"Certainly, it was a trailblazing initiative by these seven undergraduates, which restored dignity, confidence, and an enduring sense of worth and justice to a large segment of Nigeria's population in those heady days of colonial subjugation.
"Over the years, from one deck in Ibadan, Pyrates Confraternity has grown to 60 decks spread across five continents and many countries including South Africa, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and across Europe.
"It is, therefore, fitting that the theme of our platinum anniversary: '70 Years of Service to Humanity' is a reflective encapsulation of our modest contribution to humanity."
National development
Mr Owoaje said the confraternity has contributed to national development in Nigeria by words and deeds.
"It was our organisation in 1986 through a painstaking investigation wholly undertaken by our members that uncovered the pervasive corruption that had bedevilled operations at the Lagos/Ibadan expressway tollgate," he said.
"One of the recommendations of that investigation was the privatisation of the toll gates but this was not implemented until many years later."
He also highlighted the role played by the organisation when the Nigerian government established the Federal Road Safety Corps in 1988 and appointed Mr Soyinka as the Corps Marshall.
"They laid a veritable foundation for discipline, firmness, integrity, and an enviable commitment to humanitarian service turning it into a formidable paramilitary agency," he said.
"Indeed Nigerians would attest to the fact that the FRSC in its heyday was devoid of the corruption and the underhand shenanigans associated with its sister agencies. The FRSC of those days drastically brought down the level of carnage on our roads and highways and instilled attitudinal change in motorists."
Mr Owoaje noted that the founding members of Pyrates Confraternity benefitted immensely from the good quality education on offer in Nigeria at the time.
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"Many of our members who have gone on to excel in their chosen careers and made the country proud both home and abroad had their university education in Nigeria," he said.
"We are, however, saddened by the sorry state of education in our tertiary institutions, especially Nigerian universities. It is scandalous that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would have to embark on a strike to prevent a total collapse of the public university system."
Mr Owoaje said successive governments in Nigeria have habitually treated education with the same rankling levity that we are all witnessing today.
"This unfortunate state of affairs imperils the very future of an entire generation of young people. It beggars belief that a government can be so indifferent to what becomes of a largely youthful demography that is the most populous in the continent.
"The Federal Government that has not been able to stop the massive leakage of funds meant for development and which does not blink an eyelid while funding the profligate lifestyle of its officials, now finds it difficult to devote funds to run public universities."
