TEN THINGS GCI TAUGHT ME

Initially, I was contemplating writing about my Government College Ibadan (GCI) experience, which would have started from the first time I heard about her at the age of six when an uncle living with us at the time was admitted into the school right up to the time I passed out of the school at the age of 16. Yes, I passed out but never really left GCI because the school would always remain a part of me for as long as I live. But then it occurred to me that many of my classmates may want to write about their GCI experiences too, so I thought I should do something different. After much thought I came up with the topic of this article, “Ten things GCI taught me”. I entered GCI at the age of 11 years going on to 12 and passed out at the age of 16 and without any doubt this period was a significant part of my adolescent and formative years when boys could be boys while thinking they were men.
Now at 60 years plus, looking back at my life I can say unequivocally that the values I hold today were planted in me by my dear parents and the environment under which I grew up. These values were tested, nurtured, and validated in GCI where one began to confront peer pressures and the complications of life away from the protective cover of home and caring parents. GCI affirmed and reinforced these values at a time when I was most impressionable and somewhat rebellious as most teenagers can be. Leaving the four walls of GCI into A-Levels, the university, and then beginning my work life, marrying and growing my family, starting my own business and now as I approach the retirement phase of my life, I look back with humility, thanking God for my life. For what it is worth I want to share ten of the values I developed and affirmed in GCI that have served me well in the journey of life with the hope that they will be of value to the younger generation that may be confused by the absence or corruption of ennobling values in our great country.
Yes, I say again, absence of values consistent with the morals and teachings of our culture and our religious persuasions.

1.By Order, Justice and Fair Play Ruled:
This particular phrase is in the second line of our school song, “School of our Pride, built on the rock”. The boarding house of GCI was all about order and following orders. The daily time table and the organization of daily activities for students ensured that order and discipline was a survival requirement. Senior boys were in abundance to maintain order and ensure you complied with the order(s) though not always fair. Prefects would always intervene to promote and enforce fair play while the teachers and the school system, ensured justice for all.

2.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy:
Equal and adequate attention must be paid to academics, sports, hobbies, socials, and other recreational activities. We went for our classes and nurtured our intellect. We all engaged in one sport or the other and competed fairly. We were encouraged to join social clubs to hone our hobbies and other interests and such clubs included literary and debating society, science club, choir, drama society, religious societies etc. And by the time you become a senior boy you were allowed to go to parties where you will meet young ladies from Queen’s School, Saint Anne’s, Saint Theresa, Saint Louis and a few others, ask them for a dance politely, engage in light and sometimes deep conversations, and if you are lucky, you will get to dance the blues. We were taught to work hard and also play hard. All these experiences groomed us to be balanced and well-rounded gentlemen.

3.Give honour to whom honour is due:
In GCI, you must respect your seniors and all constituted authorities or else...!! We knew the true meaning of “Honourable” and not as a mere title. Your word must be your bond because it defines you. We learnt to respect our elders and also our juniors. We were taught to compete fairly in academics, in sports and other competitive engagements and in this we learnt to win graciously, to lose honourably and in all things to give honour to whom honour is due.

4.No Person was ever honoured for what he received, Honour has been the reward for what he gave:
Giving is always better than receiving. We remember with fond memories those who gave of themselves, of their time, of their possession, of their energy and of their empathy long after the act of giving. We honoured them on the wooden boards that we called “Honours Board” and these were preserved from generation to generation of students. Those who take and take and take, sooner, rather than later lose value and become persons to be avoided. Those we remember and those we honour are those who gave and gave. In our alumni, GCI old boy’s association, we continue to remember and honour those who gave.

5.True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of Yourself less:
In GCI, we learnt that true humility is not about self-esteem but rather about wanting for others what you want for yourself. The Holy Bible teaches us to do unto others as we would like done unto us. This is the real meaning of humility and it is about service to others. The second verse of our school song says it all “Service to others, not to self. Consideration for our nation first. By our example and not by precept, show honest labour dignity”. Humility is the bedrock of good character.

6.Nobody owes you anything except what you lend them:
In GCI, no one dared to have a sense of entitlement. Whether your father was the richest and most powerful man in the country or was the son of the school driver, you were treated exactly the same. No extra privilege was offered and none was taken without being fairly earned. We were taught at an early age that the society does not owe us anything but what we earn from our hard work and diligence. Rather, we owe the society to give our best and help to make the world a better place. In the immortal words of US President J. F. Kennedy. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”.

7.The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step:
GCI taught me that if I really want to achieve anything, I must start the process required to achieve my objectives without dilly dallying. No procrastination! No grumbling! I remember one fine day when I wanted to go home so desperately on an exeat Saturday. Exeat time commences around 9.00am after inspection and you are expected back in school by 6.00 pm and not a minute after. Calculating travel time and time needed to accomplish my mission at home, I realized I had to get out of school by 12 noon or else there will be no point going again. Unfortunately for me, I had gotten into some kind of trouble and had to serve my punishment after the inspection, which was to cut the grass on a sizable portion of a lawn that looked so daunting at the time. There were two of us being punished and while I spent the first few minutes grumbling and feeling badly done in, my co-offender got to work immediately completing the job with enough time to take a bath and leave the school in time. I, on the other hand who wasted so much time grumbling and feeling sorry for myself, had barely gotten half way when I saw him dressed up and whistling as he went off on exeat well before 12.00 noon. I felt even sorrier for myself as I realized this could easily have been me if I had hastened to take that first step. Needless to say, I missed my exeat.

8.Walk alone, walk fast: walk together, walk far:
One great thing about team sports is that it teaches the importance of team work and team spirit. In GCI, there were many sports which included football, cricket, hockey, basketball, athletics, swimming, lawn tennis and table tennis. When you are part of a team you learn the virtues of individual and collective responsibilities, leadership, strategy, selfless service, goal setting, competitiveness, planning and sportsmanship. These are important qualities in the socializing and civilizing process. They make one appreciate the importance of others in one’s life, the true meaning of friendship and the wisdom that people are the most valuable asset in one’s life. I learnt very quickly that we need each other in a co-dependent manner which makes whatever journey you take in life more pleasant and impactful.

9.Let the beauty of nature remind you of the goodness of God:
GCI occupied and still occupies a large expanse of land. From the school gate you drive past the wood workshop, past old Swanston house, after which to the right is a road leading to the Lawn Tennis Court, the old chapel and the principal’s house. Continuing from old Swanston house, you drive past Carr house, Swanston house, with the colonial quarters of some of our teachers to the right. Next to the left again is Mr. Oloko’s quarters and then Powell house. The three houses in this area are in the “Main Region”. Then we have the dining hall on the right and the extensive school area with all the classrooms, lecture theatres, laboratories, assembly hall, staff room, principal’s office and the administrative block facing the hockey pitch. Leaving the school area, you will notice the famous black tank where we fetch water, then Field house and finally Grier house. These two houses constitute the “Other Region”. The road actually continues and completes a circle that we call the Big “O”. From the school area through a long winding footpath we access the Main Field with its pavilion where we play football, cricket and athletics. And of course, there is the famed lover’s lane which links GCI to our sister school Queen’s School or QSI. In all of these you have to walk relatively long distances every day through fields, open spaces, thickets and greenery whether it is from the house grounds to the dining hall or to the school grounds to the main field. In all of this you cannot but admire the wonders of life, the beauty of nature, and the awesomeness of God.

10.Above all to thine own self be true:
By the time I was leaving GCI in 1976, I had come to terms with, and appreciated the fact that I am a unique being. There is absolutely no one else like me. I cannot be anybody else and no one else can be me. Therefore, I learnt that I must be comfortable with myself with all my strengths and weaknesses, my opportunities and challenges. I must always accept what life throws at me both the good, the bad and sometimes the ugly rising to each occasion giving the best I have to offer, learning new lessons and building my character consistent with who I am. I learnt that I must always be able to tell myself the truth no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient that may be. And I decided that when I pass on to the great beyond, I would like my friends, family and those who know me to be able to say I lived my life in my own way, I stood for something, not perfect but always striving to be better.

Culled From:Our story (1972 Set Anniversary book)
Submitted By:OLUSEUN MABOGUNJE (SN 2462, Swanston House)