WE ARRIVED 1961 WE WERE HATCHED WE GREETED THE STEPS WE HATED THE BULLYING OUR TAILS WERE CUT WE BECAME FULL MEMBERS DID WE DRINK PALM WINE? BUT WE SAVOURED THE YEAST WE LOVED THE DRANPIIPE TROUSERS WE WORE THE SWANEX SHIRTS WE LOVED THE FLYING CARPETS WE CHERISHED THE SOPIDO SHOES WE DANCED WITH THE GIRLS THOUGH AT ARMS LENGHT WE WORE THE BOTTOM BELL TROUSERS WE FLOATED ON THE PLATFORMS WE DID THE CREEPINGS STRAIGHT/DIAGONALY WE DID THE RUNS AS AT WHEN DUE WE FAGGED THE BELLS WE UPROOTED THE ROOTS AT LOWER FIELD WE DID THE DETENTIONS WE BOXED WE WRESTLED WE PLAYED HIT & RUN, CRICKET, HOCKEY, FOOTBALL WE BUILT THE PAVILLION WITTH MR. MARSHAL (JACKEE) WE LOVED THE STANDARDS WE RAN AND JUMPED WE DID EVERYTHING UNDER THE EARTH WE FINALLY JOINED THE CADET...

Read More

REFLECTIONS ON “MGBOMIAN” LIFE. I have followed with great interest and excitement the very lively chatter and contributions on this mail group over the past several months and have been transported often to those times about 34 years ago when I walked the paths at Afikpo. The piece by Edozien, R; [1966 set] complete with photos of the Pavilion, was particularly evocative for me. I’ll get back to the Pavilion later. I arrived at Afikpo in the late harmattan of 1965, on January 20th to be specific. I recall I arrived 2 days later than opening day due to a bout of malaria. Of course by then the newly minted class two boys were in full “molestation” mode [Mgbomian terminology please] and could not wait to get a hold of me as soon as my dad dropped me off. I very soon learned it was “safer” for oins to travel in packs and clearly identify potential escape routes, in readiness, should the “masters of the universe” [class 2 boys] appear unannounced .To a wide eyed oin the first month or...

Read More

“GSSA Lingo of Old” OH  YES! Let’s GO- Stealing has a name—kpaitoring Ugliness has a name—-kpokpoik Garri  has a name——– oxide Lightsout reading has a name——cockroaching Favouritism has a name——– –gbojieration Academic excellence– ——tukaration Afikpo old boy ———— —–mgbomian Friendship has a name——– —-orukpo Unriped fried plantain—- ——— –hockeysticks Punishment has a name——– —-runs, detention, amasiri , creeping Gossiping— ——— ——— –telling tales Rumours  ———— ——— —radiowaves .Akabogu had a name——– ——— egbe Wilson had a name——– ——— —ekwation...

Read More

“The Wrestling Match at Izzi County Secondary School”.  Since we are all in a reflective mood before DC, I recall Jokey – Izzy.  Does anyone else remember?  It was 1967 (or was it 1966?) and the school wrestling team was quite good with very able wrestlers.  I was a member of that team and Jokey was the captain of that team.  Does anyone remember our travels to watch several wrestling matches around the villages of Afikpo?  I distinctly remember the travel to Ibii in the school lorry.  It is not the lorry that I remember most; it is the surprise I felt when we discovered that the sand-flies in Ibii were bigger and more vicious than the ones at school.  Whoever thought that was possible?Any way, the match with Izzi Boys High School is one I will never forget.  We left school early that day and arrived at the outskirts of Abakaliki at around lunch time.  After we checked...

Read More

Dr. Ojinnaka: The indigenous (Class 1 to Upper 6) GSSA students looked down on those who came from other schools to do Higher School (“Green Shirts”) and now tend to forget their names. Chuma (Dr. Obidegwu), You were right in the names you mentioned. The first name of Nwaneli is Alexander and the first name of Madubuko is Ambrose and not Mike. Most of these your classmates, you did not know well, were from other Schools (what you call Green Shirts). Secondly both of them were reading Arts subjects. My recollection (I need confirmation) is that those who started from class 1 and made it up to Upper 6, at GSSSA (the “indigenes”), wereintelligent but egotistical and shallow in mentality. These intelligent students knew the names of the colleagues (fellow “indigenes”) who started with them but not the names of other colleagues (“Green Shirts”) who came from other Schools like Madonna, CKC, DMGS and worst Okongwu. In lower 6, when WAEC...

Read More

THE GSSA STUDENT BODY We have all been modest that we regretfully leave out one important component of GSSA success; the student body. With the best principal, best teachers, best facilities, and the worst student body, you cannot boast of paragon. GSSA was successful because of all the right elements necessary for young minds to succeed. Afikpo environment was perfect for education. We were not distracted during the school days. We did not have noise pollution that plagued bigger cities, and sanitary condition at that time was near perfect. Discipline was enforced and was embraced by all. Every student respected hierarchy. We still embrace it after decades of leaving GSSA. We had healthy competition in academics and sports. We had true friendships with each other. Some friendships were close to brotherhood. Of course, good principals and teachers molded us in many ways, but we were also inspired by our school mates. We sought fellow students with similar interests to form alliances. I...

Read More

My Lamentations & reflections Afikpo GSS we held thee ever bright and prominent. The desires of youths whoseek eminence with their talents, the dream of outsiders who meet those thatfrom thee went.My yes pleases! Fellow mates and Oins. I have followed postings in this forum with admiration and I will like to say that my set of 80 – 85 was the last set that enjoyed the school with all its infrastructure, academic standard and discipline. We cut the last tail of freshmen; it was in our set that a lot of traditions were changed. School Captains, House Captains and School prefects were no longer by academic and behavioral merit. Houses were no longer in their individual sites rather Akabogu, Okpara, School, & Mboto were in different sections in Okpara House while the rest were housed in Ibiam House.  I was taken from Akabogu House and made the House Captain of Niger House for administrative purposes. Discipline was in decline after one of the greatest principal...

Read More

Seniors (please), My Mates and Oins, Your postings on the Forum invoke so much nostalgia of the GSSA ‘yester-years’. Postings on the celebration of America’s Memorial Day and the Declaration of Biafra are reminiscent of the GSSA Cadets.  In my mind’s eyes; I can see the cadets hurrying from the dormitories to the the main field for their late afternoon (evening) parade.  I can see the dark skinned ‘Hydra Finger’ towering over the cadets. Some junior students gather in clusters along the Ibiam House flower hedges to watch the parade in admiration. The Cadet Corp was a superb extra-curricula activity. When genocide was unleashed, cadets from Military School Zaria came to GSSA. The merger of the GSSA and Zaria cadets heralded a new dimension in  the cadet formation and training. With this new impetus, Cadet parades became much more interesting. In my mind’s eye; I...

Read More

JUST LIKE YESTERDAY Yes, GSSA is still like yesterday to me. I would like to expand the memory. There were many of GSSA old boys us in architecture and believe it, we were feared in Graphics (Advanced Technical Drawing). Do you remember these quotable quotes: Mr Umeham in history class when asked about the meaning of renaissance; His response: “the critical intellectual awakening of the questioning spirit that took the place of passive obedience in England during the middle ages” He would also ask: “who can tell me why Roman empire fell in 40 BC? He would point at us and say Yooou, yooou, chimpanzee , barbarous! Remember 007 who said to some body in C class: You stupid boys can’t make use of your stupid senses you hearrr  rhat. I ron know your mother , I ron know your father, you got nought and I gave you nought! Here comes Egbe in the assembly: ”...

Read More

SPORTS IN THE LATE 80s Before the August gathering in Chicago, just want to chip in some info on sporting activities at GSSA in the late 80s.Sport took center stage at GSSA during this period, albeit, mostly Football, Athletics and handball. Skeletal cricket was played beyond 1985 – I think Itiri Egwu (Please) captained the cricket team. We heard that they even defeated Govtcolleges Umuahia and Owerri and went on to represent Imo State at the National sport festival Kwara 85 (not too sure about this info, but the stories were floated around that time.In football we were indomitable around Afikpo LGA then. We defeated just about any school that came our way and it was always glorious watching the boys tap leather in those days. We had great players like Akimbo (please), Iremity(Please), Chinasa Uga (Ugarius), Cyril Anugwo (with a very lethal shot), Alaohuru, The Omusukus, Paul Irabor(Rumpus),...

Read More