Tuesday 4th November 2014 will be a day to remember and it was my 46th birthday, I was bored and reside on the outskirts of Lagos and couldn't let the day just go by, called some friends to have drinks & dinner with, Bayo Adekunle (Baba Eto) in his usual manner had called a few friends we all attended the same secondary school to meet up at the Yellow Chili restaurant.

Present on that day were Adebayo Adekunle, Wale Shogaolu, George Obiakpani, Peter Ehimhen, Cynthia Enagbare (Colleague at Access Bank at that time) Yemi Odusanya & Henry Shofowora .

The gathering that evening brought back a lot of fond memories of our growing up years and the eventful years we spent in secondary school, this led to some serious discussions about the fact that we were not getting any younger, to assist one another at that time, some of our friends were in need and seek assistance, so as such we may need to meet often, hence the decision to create a platform to interact.

After dinner I had the task of keeping the contacts of classmates that graced the dinner, as at that time a friend's & classmates wife was in dire need of medical assistance, I got home at almost midnight that night and couldn't sleep so I kept thinking about how to go about keeping the group and making it interactive, friendly and to assist each other.! The thought about young boys running around on the streets of Lagos island Many decades ago and some are now sitting on the board of corporations and managing businesses and on top of their game, kept running through my mind and got me thinking, suddenly the idea dropped to call it Eko Boys that are now men .. , which is how the name Eko Boys To Men was birthed that night, surfed the internet and with the help of google saw the first image we used, which was later upgraded to what it is today.

On November 6th 2014, two days after that meeting/ birthday celebration a WhatsApp group was created by myself with about 15 friends listed then, first major assignment was to assist one of our childhood friends, whose wife is now late and we came together and collectively mobilized members to make monetary contributions to support our friends family. We subsequently met at Lagos Lawn Tennis Club with a view to put a more sustainable welfare program in place for its members.

Thereafter, during the well-attended wedding ceremony of one of us, J eleel Elias in December 2017, the inclusion of many other friends both in Nigeria and diaspora who we all grew up on Lagos Island were deliberated, this added to the expansion of the group. Based on common consensus, the charismatic and gregarious Bayo Adekunle had to nexus all the new names on the platform, leading to the first wider meeting in Victoria Island, where the decision to formalize and register the association was agreed.

The driving force behind the convergence was the common knack to improve our neighborhood, give back to the society and showcase the positive things that could be associated with Lagos Island, a place where we all grew up and are determined to excel.

Ekoboys2men is duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission with a duly effective Board of Trustees.

it's been a most rewarding experience being the progenitor for this initiative.

Eko Boys to Men Association.

"Together for Ever"

H.O. Shofowora.