Reverend Robert Fisher's School - Tolu Daniel - Bog

INTRODUCTIONOn January 29 1929, Reverend Robert Fisher, acting under orders he received 2 years earlier from the British colonial government in Nigeria, opened the gates of Government College Umuahia to the very first set of students. The mandate given to Reverend Fisher, a British, Anglican priest, was to start a school where local boys would be educated following the traditions of British public-school models like Eton, Harrow and Winchester.The school, located in the south-east of Nigeria, was the first of its kind in the region and drew students from all over West Africa and the then Southern Cameroons. Over the years, some of the greatest minds and achievers from Nigeria in the last 100 years have passed through her. Her list of famous Alumni includes Chinua Achebe, Ben Enweonwu, Jaja Wachukwu, Peter Katjavivi, Elechi Amadi, Dr E.M.L. Endeley, Ken Saro Wiwa, Isaac Dagogo Erekosima, who would later become the first African Principal of the school, and many more.A few months after my 10th birthday, I was welcomed alongside over 300 boys to this great citadel of learning. To varying degrees, we were all expected to follow in the footsteps of all the great men who came before us and make our families, societies and new school proud.In this book, I try to tell the stories of my experiences, as well as I can remember, during a period that I believe had the biggest influence on my life. My hope is to bring people who read this book into the totally different world that was Government College Umuahia in my time. I hope that by sharing my experiences, people who are not Umuahians can get an idea of exactly why and how a place like this can totally change one's life for good and/or for bad. Furthermore, I hope that the current school management will see these stories as the management of a great hotel might see a customer's review of their hotel. I hope that they can make necessary changes required to make the schooling experience better and continue producing great Alumni and upholding the good traditions and values of our great school.I hope that when you're done reading this book, you will feel like you were there with me that first year, side by side, succeeding and failing together.This is the first in what will become a series of at least 4 books.