Opinion: 100 years of Government Secondary School, Ilorin, By Is'haq Modibbo Kawu

Date: 2014-11-14

In the past two weeks, a number of activities took place in Ilorin, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the foundin of the Government Secondary School, GSS, Ilorin. One of the grand old schools of Northern Nigeria, the school started in 1914 as a Middle School, it made a transition as a Provincial Secondary School, PSS, before it became the Government Secondary School, Ilorin. It was the school attended from my grandfather's generation; my father and mother attended the school and I was also privileged to go through it. The motto is: "MANJADA WA JADA (NO STRUGGLE, NO SUCCESS)"

And it was indeed a remarkable school in our times and there is no gainsaying the fact that character formation was central to the education that we received at GSS Ilorin.

They were some of the best years of our lives, and they reflected very much, the high levels of commitment that our country has increasingly lost over the past couple of decades.

It is part of the tragedy of our country today that parents have to spend huge sums of money to educate our children in very expensive private schools. In those years that we were at GSS Ilorin, it was only those who could not secure admission in public schools that attended private schools; and we always felt that they had an inferior education.

In our years, GSS Ilorin had superb laboratories for the sciences: physics, chemistry and biology. We even had a geography laboratory as well, not to forget that the education obliged us to learn a trade and for that we had very well-equipped wood works and metal works workshops. We also learned Technical Drawing. The sports infrastructure was excellent!

There were facilities for football (two fields), track and field, basketball, volleyball, lawn tennis, badminton, squash racket, fives, hockey and cricket. The school's elite athletes were highly respected and had a special diet, while the four houses of my times: Fulani, Gambari, Alanamu and Ajikobi, healthily competed against each other in sports and the weekly Inspections to determine the cleanest house.

Cleanest house

And the Advanced Level students had a special hostel, the White House; they dressed and carried themselves with so much grace. Science students were the stars of the school and there were really brilliant students who inspired the younger ones as role models of academic excellence.

The late Agbo Abegunde was certainly one of the most charismatic principals we had in my years; he ensured that academic standards were high while similarly placing sports at the very top of the school system.

He was the Nigerian Team Manager to the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. He wore the jacket emblazoned with the Nigerian crest proudly to the school assembly when he returned to the delight and spontaneous applause of students. It was testimony to the high standards of those years that the school's relay team (BRAVO, ALL-AFRO, ROCHESTER and AWALU ALIYU) won several invitation relays around the state and in states near and far. Awalu Aliyu was my college brother, and together with my cousin, Hameed Adio (ADIQUE), from Offa Grammar School, would run for Nigeria.

Hameed Adio was in fact the captain of Nigeria to the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.

They were all athletes from the well-structured schools' sports programme that has gradually died in our country. Young people got a good education and also combined that with an active life in sports. No more! In 2013, I took my children to visit my alma mater, GSS Ilorin.

The state of rot shocked me and I couldn't stop the tears that dropped from my eyes. My children couldn't wrap their heads around what they saw of the school I had romantically described to them so many times before their visit. Things have deteriorated badly, but GSS Ilorin remains central to the human being I became.

It is 100 years old this year.

Source

 

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Prince Sunday Fagbemi     Sola Saraki University     Valsolar Consortium     ITP     N-Power     20 Billion Bond     Babaloja-General     Tunji Folami     ER-KANG Mining Nigeria Company Limited     Aminu Adisa Logun     Dar-Al-Handasah Consultants Ltd     Oke-opin     Pius Abioje     KwaraLearn     Ayedun     Fulani     ER-KANG Mining     Quranic Recitation Competition     IEDPU     Dan Masanin     Abdulkareem Alabi     Age AbdulKareem     Musa Yeketi     Saheed Popoola     SARS     Oniwasi Agbaye     Ilorin Descendants Progressive Union     Mashood Dauda     Henry Makinwa     Hikmah AbdulKareem     Jimoh Olusola Imam     Salman Alada     Danhawa     Gbemisola Oguntimehin     Government High School (GHS), Adeta     Michael Nzekwe     Forgo Battery     Dan Iya Of Ilorin     2023 Elections     Kayode Alabi     Modibbo Kawu     International Vocational Centre     Ambassador Kayode Laro     IHS Towers     Overland     FERMA     Elekoyangan     Kunle Akogun     Kwara Apc     Lola Olabayo     Christian Association Of Nigeria     Taofik Abdulkareem     Abubakar Bature Sulu-Gambari     Adanla-Irese     Post-utme     Damilola Yusuf Adelodun     Egbejila     Tsaragi     Economic And Financial Crimes Commission     Taofeek Ibraheem     Saadatu Modibbo-Kawu     Government Girls’ Day Secondary School Pakata     Muhammad-Mustapha Suleiman     Shonga     Esinrogunjo     ITEM 7     Saliu Shola Taofeek     Erubu     Code Of Conduct Tribunal     Prince Bola Ajibola     Kwara State Health Insurance Agency     Yoruba     Crystal Corner Shops     ER-KANG     Abubakar Baba Sulaiman     GAMA     Mahe Abdulkadir    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Babaita     Prince Sunday Fagbemi     Owo Isowo     Saidu Isa     Ubandawaki     Garba Ayodele Wahab     Garba Dogo     Erin-ile     Jimoh Olusola Imam     Baba Issa Awoye     Rafiu Ibrahim     Alapado     Arinola Lawal     Abdulrazaq Aiyelabegan     Makama Of Ilorin     Rihanat Ajia     Olawuyi     Madawaki Of Ilorin     Suleiman Mora Omar     Khadijat Ayoola Yusuf     SGBN     Oba Abdulrahim     Fatimoh Lawal     Unicontinental Construction Company     QuickWin     Khairat Gwadabe     Yusuf Arowosaye     Wahab Isa     Joseph Offorjama     Stephen Fasakin     Ibrahim Mashood     C2c@kwarastate.gov.ng     Oyelere Oyinloye     Jumoke F. Ajao     Ambassador Kayode Laro     Kehinde Baale     Lasiele Alabi Yahaya     Abdulrahman Onikijipa     Ali Ahmad     Olaiya Zuberu     GAMA     Okala Baba     Habeeb Abdullahi Al-Ilory     Bukola Saraki     Sola Saraki Educational Foundation     Mumeen Lah     Bio Ibrahim     Yusuf Babatunde Abdulwahab     Tescom.kwarastate.gov.ng     Babatunde Ajeigbe     Dauda Adeniran Adeshola     Jebba     Oke-Ogun     Samuel Olusegun Adedayo     Saudat Abdulbaqi     Atiku Abubakar     Moshood Bakare     Hijab     Kwara-SAPZ Project     AbdulKareem Yusuf Danhawa     Twitter     Olabode George Towoju     Leke Ogungbe     George Funsho Adebayo     Oba Abdulkadir La\'aro     Yakubu Dogara     Ajibola Saliu Ajia     Ifelodun     Ayekale     Dogara     Oya State     Abdulrasheed Lafia     Seun Bolaji     Tinubu     Simeon Sayomi     Ajakaye     Modibo Kawu