What A Glorious Time
The days of our youth are commonly referred to as the glorious times of our lives. This is not without reason, Latter years would see us recalling the times we were as free as birds; the times we could explore and experiment, and the times we could laugh our heads off/ For my generation, our time in GCI captured all of the above even with 'extra- extra'.
My earlier days were spent in Ondo Boys High School before I joined the guys I can now confidently refer to as soul mates in Higher School. ..... Read More
Howz T?
Boys' cricket was cricket at its best. For many, indeed most, GCI provided their first encounter with cricket. It could hardly be said that parents sent their boys to GCI just to learn cricket, so they hid the fact and would rather loftily say that they were sent to receive an education. In truth, I swear, they were sent to learn cricket.
We were told to turn out in whites. Cleanliness was next to Godliness. It may sound funny, but there was glamour in turning out in immaculate white ..... Read More
A Sojourn So Bitter, So Sweet: Snippets from My GCI Days
We He would often sit on the lawns of the expansive premises of Aresha High School after school hours to sort out our Maths and English assignments before proceeding home. Jide Elemide (now a Pharmacist), Ayo Arowojolu (now a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology), Taiwo Onashile (also a Pharmacist) and I. We used the almighty Durrell for the Maths and First Aid in English for the English assignments. We were all co sufferers at the notorious Ebenezer African Church Primary School, Oke Ado, ..... Read More
The Wind of Change
The first military coup in Nigeria took place just I five days before the official resumption date of our class set at Government College, Ibadan (GCI). My letter of admission stated that new form one boys should arrive in the school before 6pm on Thursday 20th January 1966. The military coup, which had a direct or indirect effect on GCI, was staged on 15th January 1966.
I remember that beverages were served every morning in GCI with breakfast, but on Saturdays, we had water. We were told by ..... Read More
A Crowded School Life
I remember arriving at Government College, Ibadan in January 1966, quite excited about the prospect of attending the premier institution in the then Western Region of Nigeria. I was also slightly apprehensive as I was the only student from my old primary school who gained admission. I would have to make new friends.
I knew that there were several students from Ebenezer Primary School, Oke Ado, which was located opposite my old school, Baptist Day School, Oke Ado. I knew a few of the students, ..... Read More
Field House
The events of January 15, 1966, rattled us a bit, but we resumed first year in GCI on the 20th of January, 1966.
Seventeen boys were allocated to Field House. Only one of us, the late Thompson O. Ogunyinka, was a day student. Our Head of House was A. Osibo (1960 set) while the Senior Prefect was B. Somade (1960 set). The House Master was Mr A. A. Badmus, a Mathematics teacher. The House Tutor was Mr. M. A. Ogunyemi, a Geography teacher.
We learnt that sometime in 1965, there was a feud ..... Read More
Life in GCI - a blast!
Attending Government College, Ibadan was a dream come true, following a family tradition whereby two of my brothers had already attended and passed out of GCI. I resumed first year in January 1966 with 17 other mates from Ebenezer Primary School, Oke Ado, Ibadan. We constituted the largest cohort of students from the same primary school in the history of the college.
I was fortunate to be awarded a full scholarship because I came first overall in the admission process to the college. I ..... Read More
Just 'One Minute' Away From Infamy!
Just one minute! That was all it took to save me from falling from my lofty height as a model student of Government College Ibadan to infamy as a student who would have been suspended indefinitely. In our days, that statement was like going to hell. What actually happened?
All my years in GCI, I lived up to my nickname "Dynamite" as I really thought of myself as dynamic. I was quite a lively student known for my warmth and jokes. While in Form 5, I left school (bolted) for Scala Cinema in ..... Read More
SANCTIONS AND DISCIPLINE IN GCI
"Boys must be boys, and a little chastisement does them no harm..."
So went the line as the fictional Sweeney Todd, spoke dismissively of his harsh treatment of Tobias Rag in the December 1967 school play production "Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." Living in London today, where children run riot as a matter of course, it feels like GCI was many light years ahead, in its disciplinary regime.
I vividly remember one of our teachers, Mr. Adelaja ("young Ade") tell one of our ..... Read More
Bomb Blast
On One Memorable Night...
I particularly remember this incident which happened in August 1967. It was approaching the end of the second term of our first year in school. We were told that a number of our seniors had not returned to school, but had gone to the Eastern Region as advised by the secessionist government. The civil war had broken out with Eastern Region of Nigeria declaring itself the Republic of Biafra, and the Federal Government of Nigeria declaring "police action against it. ..... Read More