DELAYED LETTER
In everything I give thanks to Jehovah the Almighty God. I got into GCI by divine intervention because of what happened to me in late 1971. I did the National Common Entrance and also did other individual schools’ examinations within Lagos and the old Western State. Strangely, we started receiving letters to attend interviews long after all of them had stopped conducting their interviews.
It all began with Baptist Academy in Lagos whose letter of interview got to my father’s pigeon-hole at the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos, long after the interview had closed. My dad drove down to the school the next day to complain and to ask that the school should conduct my own interview at the school’s convenience. The Principal apologized and checked their records and he said that there was no need for my dad to bring me back for any interview later, since I scored very high in the examination. He said for candidates like me, the interviews were mere formalities. That was how I secured my first admission letter.
Strangely, this pattern of delayed P & T mail delivery was to repeat itself in all other schools I did their examinations. But my story is about the GCI case – same apologies that they were through with admission for 1972 and the Principal told my dad there was nothing he could do. According to the Principal, the only way I could gain admission into the school was if a student failed to report to school on or before the time given to him (the time of grace) to report to the school. In all honesty, my dad had forgotten all about GCI, when one day, the phone rang and it was the Principal, asking my father if he was still interested in bringing me to GCI. My father answered in the affirmative. The Principal told him there was a vacant slot and that I could come and fill it. That was how I got into GCI – and resumed about a week or two after others reported to school.
There was a major problem of not having a relative in Ibadan – which was my mother’s main concern especially if I should fall sick, but I wanted to leave Lagos for anywhere. When my father asked me if I understood my mother’s question, I told him that God will look after me. I just said it innocently as a child. The next thing that happened was that my dad got up from his chair, and said “the boy has invoked the name of God, let that his God take care of him – he goes to Ibadan tomorrow”. And with that I went to GCI.
God really did take care of me – by providing a loving family to take care of me all through my five years at Ibadan. David Irabor was in Grier-Field Block with me in Form 1 and we were both in class 1C. During the first outing-day of the first term, he told his mother that he had a Mid-Westerner in his class whose mother was from Ishan. His mother was very happy that I would be in a position to teach David Ishan language – only if she knew I couldn’t even speak the language myself. He asked David to bring me home on our next outing day. Then something happened that was to change my story in Ibadan forever. I must have been seriously sick with malaria fever and I didn’t know as I still managed to do all activities, until I just fell down and passed out. I woke up a day later in a strange house – and David’s dad introduced himself to me. David must have gone to call his dad who came to school and carried me to their house at Felele. David’s dad called my parents that night and my mother was too happy that I was in her Ishan brother’s house.
I remain eternally grateful to Mr. & Mrs. M. A. O. Irabor for their kindness and open show of love to me. I am eternally indebted to the Irabor family especially the five children, Mike, Dave, James, Judith and John for taking me as one of the family. May the shadow of the Almighty God be their perpetual covering forever – Amen.
At GCI in January 1972, I was placed in the family of the Head of School and the Head of House of Field House. What a powerful combination and I was fortunately placed in Grier-Field Block. In Form One, I was assigned to the Head of School’s room – as a cleaner. That was a privileged house-boy job. What it meant was that no senior – from Class Two to Upper Six – could just give me any dumb task to do. I would just tell that senior that the Head of School sent me on an errand. The way GCI was constituted in 1972, no sane senior would dare go to the Head of School’s room to verify my statement if it was true or false.
I did not plan to win any award in Form One, but at the end of the 1972 session, I won the neatest boy award in Field House. My prize was a novel titled “LOVE ME NO MORE” I can’t remember the author (but it was written by a female). In my Form 4, first term (1974/75 session) I was made the first Store Boy of Field House by the Head of House. Normally, all store boys end up becoming school prefects, but I wasn’t made a school prefect. I was also the first in my class in Field House to be made Housemaster Secretary. In all, I give glory to God.
In my junior class, I was in the under 12 hockey team for Western State which was made up of the GCI junior hockey team. Our coach was Mr. Singh – an Indian. I knew Mr. Singh’s family from Lagos. Mr. Singh wanted the best from me and when the stress was getting too much, I just dropped off from the team voluntarily. I came to GCI to get better educated and I had fun in the process and I am grateful to God for all the friends that I made. I was also in the senior athletics team – hurdles – I remember that I had Banjoko and Atanda also as fellow hurdlers.
Finally, I was also put in the best class in 1972 – 1C and I stayed in “C” until I got to Class 4 when I was posted to “A”. But in all things, I give thanks to the Almighty God who has seen me through tougher challenges than GCI and He had always made sure that I overcame them all. It was this my survival at GCI that gave me that confidence in my ability to get along in anything I lay my hands to do, and I am an incorrigible optimist.
To God Be the Glory.
Culled From: Our story (1972 Set Anniversary book)
Submitted By: JOHN OMORUAN (SN 2487, Field House)