My journey to Ibadan Grammar School started very early in life. My father, being a close friend of Pa Emmanuel O. Alayande (the then Principal) and my mother, the matron of a private hospital patronized by Ibadan’s elite families, including Pa Alayande’s family and hence, Pa Alayande’s family nurse, my fate was sealed early as to my choice of Secondary School education. My Senior Brother, Olufunmi Osinbowale (Set of 1958, Irefin House) had earlier traversed the same path due to the same reasons as mine. My other brother, Bola Osinbowale, also came for Higher School (HSC, 1963-64, Irefin House) after graduating from Kings College, Lagos.
I did the entrance examination, passed the examination and was placed in Form I as a prepubescent boy. I was in class with a few prepubescent boys like me but we had some adolescent boys in the class who were quite street smart and taught the rest of us a few lessons that made us smarter in navigating life’s journey as we grew older like how to whistle to get a girl’s attention! Our set was the last set of boys only in Ibadan Grammar School because the following year, girls were admitted to Ibadan Grammar School and Ibadan Grammar School became a coeducational institution. One girl joined our Class Set in Form 3 because Pa Alayande wanted her to join!! The HSC Class was already coeducational and students came to Ibadan Grammar School from virtually every where in Nigeria and Cameroon because Ibadan Grammar School had one of the best (if not the best) HSC programs in Nigeria at that time. Although I was small at that time, I was not the smallest in my class and I had a way of getting along with the older and bigger boys in my Class and Set because my mom had taught me survival skills when dealing with older and bigger kids. It also helped quite a bit that I was helpful to my colleagues in most of the subjects (Science and Arts) so I was always protected by the big boys.
I was placed in Olubadan House (Blue House) which was not too far from the classrooms. Only Olubi House (Red House) was closest to the classrooms than the other Houses. The other students from Irefin and Akinyele Houses had to trek three quarter block to a block to get to their classrooms. Olubadan House was also quite close to the Dining Room so we always got the best of Obu Baba Raji at the ringing of the bell for dining.
We had very nice and competent teachers who were all graduates and a lot of them were expatriates from England, Ireland, United States, Canada and South Africa who had been recruited by Pa Alayande to teach in Ibadan Grammar School. I remember the pranks played on our female teachers by the adolescent boys in my class and how some of them paid dearly for those pranks. The teachers were also street smart and teaching a set of rascally boys made them even more street smart. Some of them were very good at using the ruler in knocking some sense into the head of the rascally boys by hitting them on their bare knuckles (Ouch!).
The rudiments of sound education were laid in my early classes in IGS due to effective teaching of my great teachers like Pa Agunbiade-Bamishe (Elementary Mathematics and Trigonometry), Ms. Bullock who later became Mrs. Aigbokhai ( English Language, Literature, French, Latin), Mr. Aigbokhai (Geography), Mr. Adepeju (Geography and our best teacher on South America), Mrs. Fletcher (French), Rev. Fletcher (Biology and Chemistry), Mr. Fajembola (Biology), Reverend (Dr.) and Mrs. Samuel (Mathematics and Religious Studies), Ms. Jackson (English Language, Literature, Latin), Mr. Adenuga (Chemistry), Mr. Saka Bamidele and Mr. Adekanmbi (Physics), Mr. Bode Alalade (English Language, Literature, Classics), Mr. Dapo Adelugba (English Language, Literature, Drama and Theater Arts), Ms. Langa (Latin, English Language). We also had one teacher who came from South Africa and taught us about freedom fighting, revolution, human rights and went through that classic novel “Cry the Beloved Country” as a detailed account of the difficult life and struggle under the then apartheid system in South Africa, Mr. Ogunsola who later became the MD/CEO of National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NICON) was a fresh Mathematics graduate from University of Ibadan and he expanded my passion and love for Algebra and Calculus before Messrs. Babalola and Akinyele (later both became Professors of Mathematics at the University of Ibadan) took us to a higher level by perfecting our abilities to solve problems involving permutation and combination, probability theorems, statistical methods, mathematical solutions using deductive reasoning and conclusions.
Life in the Boarding House was quite interesting. We had some very nice Seniors who treated us like younger brothers and we had mean ones who wanted to be served as feudal lords. I soon got smart enough to appease the feudal ones by sharing my supply of “school provisions” like powdered milk, sugar, milo, crackers) so they can be nice to me. I also made sure I did not cross their path. The good ones were my buddies and I still have a good relationship with some of them today. Inter House sports, cultural activities, literary and debating society were extra curricular activities that picked the interest of all of us and I had my share of developing my literary and debating skills from these extra curricular activities and events. The School’s Prize giving day was special to me and from Form I to Form V, I made sure I got prizes in both Arts and Science subjects as well as the Overall Best Student Award starting from Form I. I remember in our final year in 1968 (Form V) , the Principal reminded me not to sit down because i may be coming back for more prizes the way the day was going.
The glue for the strong bond of friendship between my closest friends today were formed in Ibadan Grammar School among my classmates and I will not trade that for anything else in life. Pa Alayande and the teachers not only gave us quality education but the discipline that goes with nurturing preadolescent and adolescent kids. Going through that boot camp made me a very strong and determined individual who believes very strongly in the clarity of purpose in whatever I set my mind on and would execute it to the logical conclusion despite and in spite of any and all obstacles. IGS taught me to set goals and to take calculated risks in life without compromising my standards or giving up. When I left IGS in 1968 upon completion of Secondary School, I was ready to take on the next stage of life. I decided I was not going to complete Higher School (HSC) but will proceed to Preliminary Course in Medicine (Premed). I went to another School briefly for about eight to nine months, prepared for the competitive entrance examination to Premed into the premier University in Nigeria (University of Ibadan) in 1969. I passed the examination with top honors and in flying colors which earned me a National Scholarship Award for the whole of my program (Premed and Medical School) at the University of Ibadan. After I finished at the University of Ibadan Medical School and completed internship and National Youth Service Corps program, the same IGS determination in me propelled me to decide against doing postgraduate studies in Nigeria. I decided to practice for a few years prior to deciding to pursue postgraduate studies in the United States of America which is the only country I was interested in pursuing postgraduate studies in. Today, as a practicing physician nearing the sunset of my professional life, I am happy at my station in life and I feel fulfilled. I thank IGS , my teachers, my seniors, my classmates and others I have interacted with and who contributed personally to my growth at IGS and of course, my parents, for making the choice of Ibadan Grammar School for me at such a tender age. I have benefited tremendously from their wise decision. Finally, I thank the Almighty God for His enduring tender mercies and grace.
DEO ET PATRIAE!!
Dr. Gboyega Osinbowale