Government College, Ibadan
Government College Ibadan (founded 28 February 1929) is a boys' secondary school located on the hills of Apata Ganga in Ibadan, Nigeria.
History
The expatriate founding fathers of Government College Ibadan were Mr Selwyn MacGregor Grier. later Sir Grier, Director of Education, Southern Provinces, who conceived the idea of the school, and Mr E. R. Swanston, Inspector of Education. The school was conceived and founded in 1929. The first Principal was Revd Capt. C. E. Squire. The second Principal was Capt. H. T. C. Field. Mr V. B. V. Powell was the third Principal.
Government College was modelled on the British public boarding schools of the era, and the first set of students numbered 29. During the Second World War, the school temporarily moved to several sites before finally resettling back at its original site. The school holds an annual reunion programme in order to connect former students (popularly called Old Boys) and foster the relationship between them.
Curriculum
All students were required to complete a number of core courses in the arts and sciences. The courses were designed so that all students, no matter what their strengths were, obtained the basic skills of critical thinking, effective writing, effective oral communication, library literacy, laboratory competency, creative thinking and problem solving. The school was also known for cricket and field hockey. The school also had an Officer Cadet Corps that offered instruction camps in precision field drills, adventure training and the cadets were introduced to the principles of meritocracy.
Laurels in academics
In the period before the dissolution of the country's Western Region, the school earned the fame of being the best secondary school in Nigeria. It had well-resourced classrooms and laboratories. As the school grew in numbers of students, in reputation and in fame, its students achieved consistently high scores for exam results at O-level and A-level. In the 1960s, more than 78 distinctions were obtained by Government College students in the examinations, an unprecedented achievement in Nigeria. In the decade of the 1970s the school upheld its records in both the academic and extracurricular fields. The school has produced more than 80% of the presidents of the Nigerian Society of Engineers since its inception, and one of the only four Africans to be awarded a Nobel Prize.
School houses
- Carr House
- Field House
- Grier House
- Powell House
- Swanston House
Notable alumni
- Omo N'Oba N'Edo (1923–2016), Erediauwa, King of Benin, Nigeria
- Dr Akinola Aguda (1923–2001), first Chief Justice of Botswana
- Professor Wole Soyinka (born 1934), first African literary Nobel Laureate
- Chief Adegoke Adelabu (1915–1958), distinguished politician
- Chief Ayo Rosiji (1917–2000), industrialist, former Minister of Labour.
- Dr. Christopher Kolade (born 1932), Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom
- Dr Victor Omololu Olunloyo (born 1935), former Governor Oyo State
- Sir Abel Guobadia (1932–2011), Ambassador, former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission
- Professor Ifedayo Oladapo (1932–2010), University Vice-Chancellor
- Professor T. M. Aluko (1918–2010), eminent scholar and author
- Professor Femi Osofisan (born 1946), Professor of Theater Arts
- Cyprian Ekwensi (1921–2007), distinguished author
- Godman Akinlabi (born 1974), Lead Pastor, the Elevation Church.