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First Principal Mr. E.O. DADA
It is interesting to recollect how the idea of founding Remo Secondary School was muted. A letter from a parent to the President of the Anglican Old Pupils Association (O.P.A.) started the ball rolling. The parent observed that after completing primary school education there were no facilities in the Remo locality to cater for the Secondary School aspirations of the boys and girls of the area.
The O.P.A. President, the late Mr.J.S. Ogunlesi took this letter to the 1936 Christmas Conference of his Association.
The Conference proposed to sponsor the project in collaboration with the Methodist Old Boys Union (O.B.U.). The O.P.A. president was mandated to arrange a meeting with O.B.U. members on New Year Day, January 1. 1937. The O.B.U. President, the late Chief E. A. Sokoya agreed to join O.P.A. in the project but suggested that it should be a collective project of all Remo sons and daughters. This led to a mass rally at Tom Jones Hall in Lagos sometime in March 1937. There was enthusiastic support for the idea. Many eminent people were present, among whom was Revd. W. F. Mellor who was Chairman of the occasion. Many people promised generous donations. Also, a Continuation Committee was appointed to handle the project to realization. Mr. J. S. Ogunlesi was appointed Secretary of the Continuation Committee while Mr. Ben Oluwole was appointed Treasurer. An early meeting of the Continuation Committee took place at the home of the Treasurer when it was decided that the first business was to determine the site for the project.
The Committee promptly got deadlocked over disagreement on site. Two sites were suggested, peru and Sagamu.
The people who favour Iperu thought it was ideal because of its central location. Sagamu, however, was thought ideal by the other group because of the availability of amenities such as Post Office, the CMS-Bookshop, a Dispensary all of which Iperu lacked. Thereafter, no progress was made towards the realization of the objective of establishing a Secondary School in Remo. Even people who had made promises of donations failed to live up to their promises Between 1937 and 1942 numerous meetings were called but Committee members failed to show up except Revd., Mellor, Mr. Ben Oluwole and Mr. J. S. Ogunlesi who had the difficult task of organising and unwilling committee. In 1942, after six years of futile effort, it was decided to dissolve the Committee and pass on its “goodwil” to the Anglican Church council in Remo and the ljebu Methodist Circuit Committee.
With Revd. Canon Falode and Revd. Mellor as the Chairman and Superintendent respectively, of their Church Committee the idea of a secondary school in Remo received a new lease of life. In 1943 they stunned a post-primary class which started early in 1944, It was thought that the post-primary class could eventually acquire a Grammar School status. But before the end of the year, it became clear that the government would not allow the students to be promoted to any higher class. The class had to be disbanded at the end of the year.
In 1945; the Remo District (Anglican) Church Council and the jebu, Methodist Circuit applied for permission to open Remo Secondary School. They were granted approval subject to the usual conditions of the availability of suitably qualified staff; etc. A letter informing me of the approval was received from Canon Falode who expressed the wishes of both Revd. Mellor and himself that I should be one of the staff of the new school. He requested me to send my Curriculum Vitae along with my letter of consent. After consultation with my wife, I accepted the invitation. Towards the end of the year, I received another letter from Canon Falode informing me that my name had been sent to the Mission authorities requesting my transfer from C.M.S. Grammar School Lagos to ljebu Remo. On receiving this letter, I went to my Principal at the C.M.S. Grammar School, Revd. Canon S. I. Kale to inform him of the development. 1 returned to Sagamu in December 1945 after the close of school for Christmas. I reported to Canon Falode at the Vicarage the following day. During conversation, asked him when the Principal was expected to arrive and to my surprise, he pointed his finger at me with the Biblical quotation “Thou Art the man”. Canon Falode then requested that we should see Reva. Nelor in his office immediately. At the office, Revd. Mellor opened the drawers of his desk and brought out a number of publications which included a pamphlet fitted” BEDALES-An experiment in co-education”.
This he handed to me with the comment to the effect that he had recently found co-educational schools work in other African countries and had recommended to the two church committees to try the system with the new school at Remo. After reading the pamphlet, I was highly impressed with the argument for co-education and thought it a sure way to kill two birds with one stone. He also handed me an exercise book containing the entrance examination results of the school. Two senior headmasters had been chosen to conduct the examination. Thirty candidates had been offered admission and were to report at the temporary site at Oko when schools re-opened in January 1946.
Revd. Mellor, Canon Falode, and myself went to inspect the temporary school building that afternoon. we also agreed on a date for the first meeting of the R.S.S. Committee. Revd. Mellor expressed his regrets that the Methodist staff member was not yet available as the man he wanted had recently resigned.
After the first meeting of the R.S.S. Committee which approved the date for the formal opening of the school, I went to Igbobi College, Yaba in accordance with the arrangements made by Revds Mellor and Falode. The Principal of the College, one Mr. Murby, I think, was to assist in the preparation of a five-year course syllabus for R.S.S. and was also to help with the supply of text books. Igbobi College was just returning from Ibadan where they had been relocated during the war but the Principal attend to me cheerfully during the two days that I was there. He also permitted surplus textbooks from their stock to be sold to us! The C.M.S. bookshop and other bookshops had stopped stocking of textbooks during the war.
On resumption day, we assembled at our temporary school site, distributed whatever books we had, collected fees, cleaned the surrounding and rehearsed the programme for the opening ceremony which was to take place the following week.
Thus was Remo Secondary School born on the 4th of February, 1946 under the auspices of the Anglican and Methodist Missionary Societies. Their local representatives, the Revd. W. F. Mellor and the Revd. Canon B.A. Falode were its co-managers. The co-managers dealt with matters of routine urgency but other cases were handled by a committee composed of:
- The Akarigo of ljebu Remo
- The Alaperu of Iperu (representing ljebu Remo Education Committee)
- The Odemo of Isara (representing ljebu Remo Native Authority)
- The District Officer (The D.O.)
- The Provincial Education Officer (P.E.O.)
- Alhaji R. Ogunjimi (representing the Muslim Community)
- The Principal of Sagamu Girls School
- Mr. F. O. D… Sotunbo (representing Methodist Old Boys Union)
- Mr. Z.A. Oyedele (representing Anglican Old Pupils Association)
- Eight representatives of Remo Anglican District Church Council (in the persons of Messrs E. I. Banjo, Soriyan, T. Adekunbi, O. Oremade, Rev. S. O. Erinle and three others)
- Eight representatives of the Methodist ljebu Circuit (in the persons of Messrs S. O. Akande, E. A Sokoya, I.A.
Olusola, S. Osinloye, Z. I. Bammeke, R. Allen and M. Okusanya).
On February 4th, 1946, there was a big religious ceremony on the playground of Wesley School, Oko. The ceremony was attended by eminent personalities including the Akarigbo, Oba Wiliam Adedoyin, The Ewusi, and The Alaperu.
After the service, students marched back to their classrooms for the beginning of formal classes. Visitors remained on the playground to give donations. Revd. Mellor and Canon Falode brought two exercise books which were labelled “LOG BOOK” and “VISITORS BOOK”.
The “LogBook” had an entry in the writing of Revd. Mellor describing the ceremony in detail and declaring Mr. E. O. Dada, registered number A4358, Principal. Mr. Dada was to be assisted by Miss. Ada Poole and Miss. Dona Skipsey.
These ladies were normally teachers at Methodist Girls High School in Lagos who were assigned for temporary service at Sagamu Girls School while Miss. Layzell and Miss. Davies were away on leave. Miss Skipsey came to R.S.S. to teach History while the R.S.S. girls, went to Miss. Poole at Sagamu Girls School for Domestic Science. On Miss. Davis’s return from leave, she took over Miss. Skipsey’s classes at R.S.S. The late Mr. T. A. Aina joined us in April 1946 on transfer from St. James’ School, Iperu and Miss. Davies stopped coming.
In May 1946, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ogunlesi of broad way Chemists paid us a visit and promised us books worth three pounds and three shillings for the school library. They quickly fulfilled their promise. This served as an example to other visitors to the school. The school authorities also provided an additional fifty-five pounds worth of library books.
The first weekend of August 1946 was designated R.S.S. Day. We collected over five hundred pounds (£500) as the seed money of R.S.S. Building fund. Through the years, school children and church members all over Remo had contributed one hundred and seventy-one pounds (£171) towards the building fund. The Remo Native Authority had agreed to underwrite any deficit in the running expenses of the school.
The Muslim Community had always identified itself with contributions for the upkeep of the school.
In 1947, two classes of thirty students each were admitted. Two new teachers, Mr. J. O. Adenowo and Mr. E. A. Onaeko were provided for the school by their respective missions. It will be noted that the number of girls in succeeding classes increased as more parents showed more confidence in the co-educational system. The pione:. girls had carried themselves creditably during their first year.
In 1948, the school had attained a height of Form Four. Because R.S.S. had a non-graduate principal, the Education Department warned that it would not approve the school to go beyond this level. They however provided S.75 Certificate forms to the school. The R.S.S. Committee intensified its search tor a graduate principal. Fortunately, the Rev. CanonE. A. Odusanwo, M.A., DTh., Dip. Ed., accepted the call to come to Remo Secondary School from Ibadan. Canon Odusanwo arrived in July 1948. At his first staff meeting, he announced that his first priority was the training of staff. He therefore invited any teachers with requisite qualification for admission into any University to come forward and that the school would sponsor them. Two masters, Mr. Adenowo and Mr. Aina had already qualified for admission into universities while I had two supplementary papers to take in September. He assured a three of us of sponsorship along with another undergraduate whom he had picked up at Ibadan for Science.
The new Principal found early opportunities to address the ljebu-Remo District Church Council, Methodist je Circuit and The jebu Remo Native Authority. He appealed to them for co-operation in the task ahead. The respon he got was evident in the success he achieved in three short years. He was able to move the school from temporary site at Oko to its permanent home beyond the Roundabout where six classroom blocks with an Assemb Hall had been erected with a grant from the Education Department. By December 1952, the number of graduate teachers had increased from one to five with the return of some of those sponsored. Two women were also entering the University College Ibadan on the sponsorship of the school.
Then the unexpected happened. The Farmers Bank went into voluntary liquidation in December 1952 and there was a school account in the bank. A meeting of the Board of Governors was called at the request of its Chairman. At that meeting, the Deputy Director of Education came to represent his Department instead of its usual representative, the Provincial Education Officer. The Principal, presenting the case, explained that when the Farmers Bank opened its branch in Sagamu in early 1952, he thought this was a blessing since previous bank transactions took everyone 21 miles away to ljebu-Ode. He consulted with the Chairman of the-Board of Governors as well as two other members of
the Board. They then took the decision to open an account for the school at Farmers Bank. In response to a question by the Deputy Director of Education, he admitted that no formal resolution to open an account at Farmers Bank was taken by the Board of Governors as required by the Constitution. The Chairman of the Board admitted to being consulted and that he did give his consent. But the Deputy Director of Education intimated that his department took a serious view of the Principal’s action in ignoring constitutional provisions to obtain a formal resolution of the Board before opening a bank account in the name of the school. He granted that his department had no authority to remove voluntary agency teachers from their posts, only their employers could do that. But the department was in control of special grants and they were not expected to keep putting government funds in the hands of any “irresponsible” Principal. He warned that as long as the Principal remained at R.S.S., the Board should not expect any more special grants for the school. With that ultimatum the Deputy Director left the meeting. The Board then resolved to ask the Diocesan Education Secretary-General to intercede with the Deputy Director of Education and plead for clemency on account of the good work previously done by the Principal. A report on the outcome of the meeting between the two was to be forwarded to the Chairman of the Board of Governors through the principal. Evidently, the Deputy Director of Education could not be persuaded to change his mind. So, when the principal took the report of the meeting to the Board Chairman he accompanied it with his letter of resignation.
An emergency meeting of the Board was convened. The letter of resignation was read and accepted and. was appointed Principal with effect from February 1, 1953. Mr. B. M. Haggis was appointed Vice-Principal. At the instance of Canon Odusanwo, I had been attending Board meetings to help with note taking, Thus, for the second time I was given the opportunity to serve R.S.S. as its Principal, this time, for ten years (February 1953-December 1962).
Then another unexpected incident happened. After the resignation of Revd. Odusanwo became known, the staff appointed a send-off Committee consisting of both staff and representatives of the students. The Committee levied each category of staff and student body. This proposal by the Committee was approved at another staff meeting. The new Principal was to send circulars to parents for co-operation. A few days after the circular, the Provincial Education Officer came and asked on what authority levies were being raised among students. He advised that no levies should be raised among students without prior approval of the Education Department. Under the circumstances, he said, he could not approve any levy on students but the students could be involved in services connected with the send-off provided they were exempted from financial obligations.
An emergency staff meeting was called that afternoon to inform them of the objections of the provincial Education Officer. I suggested that the staff could increase its levy slightly to offset the levy on the students. Almost before I had finished, a graduate teacher got up with cries of “this is persecution”. He said Canon Odusanwo had done nothing to deserve persecution and that after the long hours spent on the proposals they had approved, he was not going to pay a penny more than the approved levy nor would he participate in the send-off if the programme was altered. It was clear that he was only echoing the feelings of the majority of staff.
It was impossible for the new principal to defy the order against levy on students which would be the case if the programme was not to be altered. Hence, there was no other alternative than to shelve the entire programme.
In spite of the cloud under which Rev. Canon Odusanwo left Remo Secondary School he will forever be remembered for his selfless service to the school both as a pioneer and as one who was devoted in all he did to the welfare of his staff and students. Until his death he remained my mentor and friend.
BY MR. E.O. DADA
First Principal 1946 – 1948 and Principal 1953 – 1962
