Life in GCI - a blast!

Attending Government College, Ibadan was a dream come true, following a family tradition whereby two of my brothers had already attended and passed out of GCI. I resumed first year in January 1966 with 17 other mates from Ebenezer Primary School, Oke Ado, Ibadan. We constituted the largest cohort of students from the same primary school in the history of the college.

I was fortunate to be awarded a full scholarship because I came first overall in the admission process to the college. I expected and was ʻrightly' allocated to Swanston House, keeping up with the tradition of my family.

To do justice to my crowded and exciting life in GCI, I would need to write an encyclopedia. Hence I will focus on some few highlights of my seven years in GCI, recognising that other areas would have been covered by other contributors.

Swanston House (The House)
Within the first week in the house, each Form 1 boy was allocated a mentor (alias Tior/house teacher), usually a 4" form student who was to guide his "boy" to understand the house culture, rules and traditions and helped you to settle into the house routine. One became a member of a 'family', the ties of which would last a lifetime.

A house test was conducted to see how much one had learnt.
Each junior student was also allocated house chores which could include sweeping the dormitories and the house paths or cleaning the toilets. One was also allocated responsibility for a rectangular portion of the house lawns which one was expected to mow with a cutlass regularly.

Following the House Test, the next highlight was preparation for the Inter-house Athletics Competition when boys were allocated into either Junior B, Junior A or Senior category, depending on stature. Each student was expected to compete for 3 standard points before proceeding to heats and finals of the competition.

We also used to have socials on most Saturday nights - Treasure Hunt; Quiz competition; Chair dance; House Supper.

Life as a Sportsman

Government College has a very strong sporting heritage, from which I benefited. I had a very crowded and exciting sporting life. I started competitive participation in sports from my 2nd year and carried on till my final year. I played hockey and cricket for the Colts (mosquito), Second and First teams and was Hockey Captain in my final year. I also represented the House Teams in different sports which meant my name went onto the "Honours Boards" (which I understand have disappeared)

Being a sportsman certainly had its privileges - special diets, sponsored camps while on holidays, opportunities to travel to other states for competitions, participating in National Sports Festivals and making friends especially with the opposite sex. I met my wife (a tennis player) during one of such camps in preparation for one of the Sports Festivals.

I was also fortunate to play for the State Hockey and Cricket Teams while in school, and the National Hockey team following the footsteps of my friend - Sylvester Biyibi who played in our Lower Sixth Form. I used to be called 'kekere' by my national team-mates then. I also later played cricket for the National Team.

In my final year, 1972, I remember the hockey team going to play a friendly competition with Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro. We won and organised a 'victory party' with 'Compro girls' in one of the Staff Quarters. Unfortunately this didn't go down well with our male counterparts from the host school. A report got back to our Principal. Unfortunately it was not viewed lightly and I was held accountable as the captain and 'punished'. In the spirit of comradeship, which we enjoyed as mates throughout our life in GCI, the Principal received a delegation from my fellow prefects (as I was also a school prefect) who came to intercede on my behalf.


HSC Years

A highlight of life in the 6th form was the amalgamation of both GCI and Queens School as one HSC class. That meant girls in Lower Sixth Form started attending lectures with us in GCI, and were regarded as GCI students. Of course, this brought about some distraction, excitement and perhaps discomfort across the different players - boys, girls and staff alike. A road (tarred) was also constructed between the two campuses. This provided enhanced 'communication' in different forms and different levels and intensity between the two schools and as one might expect, brought about some 'mischief from both camps!

Change of Principals

In our third year, we lost our dear principal, Mr. D. J. Bullock who was transferred to Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro while Chief J. B. O. Ojo (an old boy of GCI) was transferred from Comprehensive High School to GCI. GCI boys were very unhappy about this exchange and 'rioted. In some sections of the news media, it was reported that GCI students went on strike because there was no milk for their tea (popularly referred to as "cocoa')!

One of the impacts of this exchange was that our long-standing relationship with St Anne's School dwindled with a resulting stronger relationship building with Queen's School.

Some others

The privilege of attending GCI sank home on one of our sporting trips to the Defence Academy, Kaduna and Military School, Zaria when we had our first meal and realised what we had been taking for granted.

I even went to watch James Brown's concert at Liberty Stadium, and had to walk back to school in the thick of the night with other boys.

And what about bolting to Scala to watch films? I remember the film 'Woodstock' which was so
popular that a lot of boys went to watch and some were caught and punished.

There was always a strong, consistent effort to impose discipline. For example, 3 school punishments or spells of detention resulted in an appointment for caning in Principal's office after a good Dodo meal on Sunday night.

In a nutshell, I had a wonderful experience in GCI. It was a blast and I have no regrets at all. If there is another life, I will go to GCI again. We had a privileged education although we did not fully appreciate it at the time. It was certainly a far better experience than what current students get. And nothing can beat the enduring friendships that have continued amongst us over the years.


Culled from "Looking Back and Looking Forward"

By: SANGOWAWA Tokunbo O