My Years At Government College Ibadan
MY YEARS AT GOVERNMENT COLLEGE IBADAN
Boye Sofoluwe, who is Sofiguy or simply Sofi, to his mates from GCI was in the Nigerian Air Force for 23 years before he was suddenly retired at the rank of a Squadron Leader during the junta of Abacha.
Though the excuse given was that he had failed a promotion examination three times, this was strange to this brilliant product of one of Nigeria�s premier institutions, Government College, Ibadan (GCI).
Sofiguy, an accomplished sportsman in ..... Read More
My Life at Government College Ibadan
With all the effort concentrated on us, only Rufai Gbadamosi gained admission to St. Gregory's College through the entrance examination which was taken whilst the rest of us went quietly to our homes. But luck smiled on me, as I was persuaded to go to Ibadan Boys High School in 1943, from where I also gained entrance admission into Government College Ibadan (G.C.I).
It was good luck on my part, as I met Mr. Ogunlela in the short tenure at Boys High School, who took special interest in me. Mr ..... Read More
Akinkugbe, The Man
I am truly delighted to be here today, to join in celebrating the transition of Dr. Ladipo Akinkugbe from Professor of Medicine to Professor r-t-d., otherwise often called Professor Emeritus. I must say a special �thank you� to Professor Osotimehin and his colleagues who seemed determined, from the first, that I should participate in this event, even if Ladipo himself occasionally had second thoughts, not knowing what I might be tempted to reveal� Let me hasten to assure our Man of Honour that ..... Read More
I Developed Style In GCI
Kolawole Olatunbosun eventually became a favorite of his school mates, who nicknamed him, �Omo Eledan� because of his panache for orderliness in all that he did. This is what was popularly accepted as �style�, and today could be likened to �swagger�. He had the advantage of beginning to learn from a father, who was an old boy and even the Head of school and the Athletics Prefect in 1943, what GCI taught and made of its students. Nevertheless, as a typical GCI product his father refused to ..... Read More
GCI Tradition of Naming Places as Memorials
Government College Ibadan is a place of culture and traditions.
The Houses were named after individuals who played roles in the education system.
Swanston House after Mr E R Swanston - The Inspector of Education.
Grier House after Sir S. M. Grier - Director of Education.
Field House after Captain H T C Field the second Principal of GCI.
Carr House after Henry Carr - the first African Director of Education, a mathematician, philosopher and musicologist.
Powell House after Mr V ..... Read More
Major Akinloye Akinyemi (1954 - 2012): A Man of Courage and Transparency
All through my over forty years of keeping in contact with Akin, he was always truthful, dutiful and compassionate. My first encounter with him was towards the end of the 1960s. This was during a military training bush camp in Igbo Ora.
Then a slightly built teenager, Akin had attended the camp from Government College, Ibadan (GCI) where he was a secondary school army cadet.
The happenstance of Akinloye and I first meeting must have come about because of a bridge builder who then ..... Read More
Reflections Upon A Sound Colonial Education
REFLECTIONS UPON A SOUND COLONIAL EDUCATION
I was not a very large young man - which is to say I was quite slight, miniature with my collarbones sticking out from under a neck which was constantly craned to survey my breathtaking new surroundings; the neck on top of which was attached a substantial skull, with bulbous eyes in it for gawking at the gargantuan edifices which constituted but a moderate part of GCI and environs, and which accommodated the College's strapping, striding ..... Read More
Femi Ojo-Ade (1941-2019): Lessons from a People's Professor
Students and colleagues knew him for student-centred teaching, even before the theory or principle became infectious across continents.
On March 19, Professor Femi Ojo-Ade, University of Ife�s first professor of French (and Nigeria�s second after Abiola Irele) and first Professor Emeritus of French and Francophone Studies at St. Mary�s College in USA, died. On June 7, family members, friends and colleagues, former students, and members of the community of writers will assemble ..... Read More
Soccer Team of 1973/74
Arise, Arose, Arisen....the complete team list of the All Conquering GCI 1973/74 Session Soccer team - as narrated by the Goal Keeper Awe, 1969, Powell House
I hope the curator of the GCI Museum is taking notes. Pls put this team list in the museum and kindly interview members of that squad for posterity. We were in Form 1 in September 1973, the exploits of that team in the Principal Cup, allowed us to travel to various locations as the team progressed from preliminaries to the ..... Read More
To the matter [of the TBS showdown]
To the matter [of the TBS showdown] - Salami II (75 Powell)
The 73-set players started arriving and I am sure I felt a lump in my throat after seeing how fit some of them looked. Being a very sharp small-boy at GCI, I thought that our set should start praying but I saw that they also had Pastors on their side. Okay, maybe pray for rain�but the Sun shone even brighter. I then proceeded to �dobale� to Ojay [Ojo, T.], Otegbeye and Slow [Akande, I.] thinking that that would appease them and ..... Read More