The Wooing Ultimatum
My first big scare in GCI happened in Form One when we were barely six months old in the school. There was a drama presentation to which pupils from some girls schools, including Queen�s School, St. Theresa�s College and Yejide Girls� Grammar School were invited. On the D-Day, the Form Five students in my room, called the Form One students � three of us - and issued us an ultimatum to get ourselves girlfriends or face a sanction.
I summarise the ultimatum as best as I can as follows: ..... Read More
Providential Escape From Tanning
This incident happened in my second year. The convention was that for every three school punishment, you qualified for one detention. Both school punishment and detention involved manual labour to be done by the offender. For school punishment, you were free after undertaking the manual labour meted by the school authority.
For detention, after carrying out the manual labour, you were detained (not locked up) at the school office until 6.00pm in the evening. If you got three detentions, you ..... Read More
First Night In GCI
Our first night in GCI witnessed a most dramatic event - as aforementioned, our warm and welcome reception and quick settling down. We were instructed to assemble in the prep room of each House for our first assignment, a Dictation test. At the appointed time of 9.00pm in Grier House, we all dutifully assembled, starry-eyed.
Like a bolt of lightning, a man suddenly jumped into the prep room through the window and immediately �opened fire�. The dictation had begun!!! Woe betide the ..... Read More
Rebellion Against Punishment
Rebellion Against Punishment: Turning The Tables!
Nothing quite prepared me for the harrowing experience I encountered in my first year at GCI. Before this time, I had lived a relatively sheltered and pampered life in Lagos. Now, if the endless punishment from the senior boys was somewhat manageable, not the severe Apata-Ganga cold that we all had to wake up to very early in the morning for road work, House work, or worse still, grass-cutting.
I did some self-introspection and I ..... Read More
My Life At Government College Ibadan
When I was at the School, life was generally quite secure. The only financial obligation was three pounds per annum which in 1945 was raised to four pounds per annum for students.
The first year was always a difficult one in a boarding house. In Grier House, the Head of House was Ogunbanwo, while I was the privileged �fag� of the boss of the dormitory. My bed was next to his. This esteemed bed was located at the corner of a large open dormitory with a population of thirty boys. Other ..... Read More
The Scala Misadventure
The film �Ben Hur� starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was showing at Scala Cinema in
Mokola Ibadan and the whole school was given permission to go and see it. The film was captivating and the lead actor and actress fascinating.
Filing out at the end of the movie, my attention was caught by a poster of another film �Who�s Afraid of Virginia Wolf� starring the same Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton who had just wowed one. This was a certificate �A� rated film, which I later ..... Read More
The Near Drowning Incident
I will never forget an incident when Bode Oyewole saved the life of one of our mates when we were in Form Four.
This was soon after we were taught about fish and body parts in the Biology class. The teacher then took us in two batches to a natural fish pond at Eleyele area for practical lessons. As soon as the teacher left to fetch the second batch, the eight of us in the first batch jumped into a canoe anchored at the pond.
As each boy jumped inside, the canoe moved farther away. I ..... Read More
The 1971 Swimming Championships
The 1971 Swimming Championships: Looking Back Made Me Lose Vital Race
One memorable experience which I recall was at the Western State Amateur Swimming Championships that was held at the Lafia Hotel, Apata on 29th October 1971.
Participants came from secondary schools and this competition had contestants from the International School of the University of Ibadan, St. Gregory�s College and Kings College both in Lagos, as well as some other colleges with swimming teams.
It was the ..... Read More
Why I Don't Gamble
My memories of interesting occurrences at Government College Ibadan (GCI) are plentiful and evergreen. I will highlight only a few.
In 1963, Cassius Clay fought Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship of the world. I was a huge fan of the champion Sonny Liston who I believed was invincible.
So confident was I that Liston would annihilate Clay that I had a bet with Adedeji of Form 3 on the outcome of the fight. Adedeji bet on Cassius Clay. At stake were two plates of dodo (fried ..... Read More
Corporal Punishment In GCI
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN GCI
(Excerpts from �Before My Obituary� by Olaleye Falore)
The use of corporal punishment for correcting erring boys was restricted to only six members of staff the Principal, the Vice Principal and the four Housemasters. No other person in the school was given the power to �flog� any student, no matter the gravity of his offence.
Caning in GCI was, more often than not, carried out in a ceremonial way, be it on the house grounds by the Housemaster or ..... Read More