Two Kids - A Reminiscence Of GCI
(from the novel A Conference in Ennui by Rotimi Ogunjobi , 2012)
It was an old school, about forty years old. Their dormitory, one of the nine in the house, seemed just as old with un-tiled concrete floor and creosote blackened window frames and roof trusses. A wider adventure around the school grounds would later reveal about a million acres of lawns and sport fields, miles and miles of planted Casuarina hedges, or so it appeared to the little kids. The school grounds also had within it a ..... Read More
The Provincial Athletics Championships: An Event I'd Rather Not Remember
It was some sometime in April 1971 at the Provincial Athletics Championships competition at the Liberty Stadium in Ibadan.
The competition was coming to an end and as usual, it was time for the relay race, which is always the highlight of the championships. The GCI team comprised Eniola Sanu (1967) - the first leg, Tunde Bamgbelu (1968) - second leg, my good self - third leg and Yato Adeyemi, the anchor.
The race started very well with fantastic and beautiful baton exchanges from the ..... Read More
SI - Nurturing Music Stars From GCI & An Excursion To Early Fame
If music be the food of love, play on, that surfeiting, the appetite may sicken and so die - William Shakespeare (Twelve Night)
Stardom is exhilarating. Early exposure to it is even more so. In 1967, some of the greatest moments for new entrants into Government College
Ibadan, were the times that the school band, Sound Incorporation (SI) performed on stage.
Members of the band were considered the real superstars in school, and non-members in a manner of speaking, practically ..... Read More
My Elementary Law 001 Lesson In GCI
One personal but very memorable incident which I will always recall in my days in Government College Ibadan was an expensive indiscretion, for which I paid with six good strokes of the cane on my backside.
It was early evening sometime in 1967 or thereabout. As a young boy just leaving home for the first time to live in the boarding house, I was getting hungry and I wanted to eat something, because at home, I had become used to eating whenever I desired. Unfortunately, I was broke, having ..... Read More
I Am Proud To Wear The GCI Badge
Government College Ibadan (GCI) gave me the best time of my life. I got to meet a lot of people who, today, I still consider my friends, even if I have not seen some of them in more than 30 years. However, cultivating these friendships is not what made being at GCI special. What was important was the context within which the institution enabled young people to interact and figure out who and where they were in the world at an important period of their self-discovery.
In the first case, the ..... Read More
Memories Of Government College Ibadan (GCI)
My memories of interesting occurrences at Government College Ibadan (GCI) are plentiful and evergreen. Due to constraints of space, I will highlight only a few.
In 1963, Cassius Clay fought Sonny Liston for the heavy-weight 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 bet with Adedeji of Form 3 on the outcome of the fight. Adedeji bet on Cassius Clay. What was at stake ..... Read More
The Death of A Chicken
It was sometime in June or July 1968, our School Certificate year, and we were busy preparing for that most important first external examination which one and all approached with determination. Back then by tradition, GCI WAEC candidates studied hard without being prompted. I recall that a particular Carr House classmate who is now a medical doctor and a participant in the story that is about to unfold, refused to take a shower for the duration of our WASCE papers. I am not mentioning names. ..... Read More
GCI And Great Expectations
Let us go to the model college
Let us go to the model college built on the rock
Let us visit the Rock
Let us visit Government College Ibadan
Government College Ibadan, I salute you
A college with imagination and vision
A college with a tradition and mission
A college that does its students proud
Your products serve to confirm the claim
I salute the rock
I salute the spring board to world fame
I salute Government College Ibadan
Government College Ibadan
Don't we all ..... Read More
Thank You, Chief J.B.O. Ojo, Our Dear Principal!
I remembered Chief J.B.O Ojo (1940, Swanston House), GCI Principal (1968 - 1974), recently, and I decided to do a short tribute to him. But, before I go on, please permit me to state that this effort is not intended to draw attention to myself in any way.
It�s simply intended to honour Chief J.B.O Ojo, a perfect gentleman, a foremost educationist, renowned sportsman, astute administrator, and an ardent lover of people, who I owe a debt of gratitude, for making it possible for me to attend ..... Read More
Farewell 'Abod'
Farewell Gbadebowale Wayne Aboderin;
Farewell 'Abod'
I speak with a pained heart on behalf of we the former classmates of Gbadebowale Wayne Aboderin, at Government College Ibadan during the period 1970 -1974. We're extremely saddened and gutted by our loss. Our hearts go out to Titilayo (his wife), Cherelle and Nicole (his two daughters). Abod as we fondly call him, was a positive non-conformist as well as an epitome of humility, honesty and generosity. He was a cheerful giver per ..... Read More