When old students rallied to save CSS

COMMAND Secondary School, (CSS) Bode Igbo, Ibadan, upon its establishment in 1977 quickly became the first choice secondary school, not only in Ibadan but throughout Nigeria.

The school carved a niche for itself because of the high teaching standards and discipline derived from its military roots. CSS sits on a hill and has all the facilities that make it the choice of every parent. Admission into Form 1 as it was known in those days was oversubscribed.

The Nigerian Army, back then provided everything to make the school first among equals. With a mixture of civilian teachers and Army personnel headed by a commandant, it quickly became a centre of excellence and discipline.

Well furnished classrooms, hostels, standard sports facilities and recreation centres, all on a beautiful landscape was a source of pride for all Commandos as its students are known. Sadly the CSS has lost all its panache and now lives on its past glory

A tour of the once envied secondary school shows that it is in a total state of disrepair occasioned by total neglect, paucity of funds and incompetence of successive administrators

But for the intervention of the old students association, the once envied secondary school would pass for just another secondary school in Ibadan.

The old students association had dug 13 boreholes at different spots in the school, but only four are currently functional.

Apart from this, they renovated the boys hostel, donated furnitures at different times, renovated the sick bay and procured a new transformer for the school which has not been installed because of the huge electricity bill the school had incurred and is yet to pay.

According to Mrs Folashade Braimoh, member of the 1983 set of the school who is based in the UK: “In the hierarchy of secondary schools in Nigeria, Command Secondary School, Ibadan, used to be top among schools like the Federal Government colleges. While the latter schools have managed to retain their glory amidst competition from new private schools, our school is sliding into oblivion.

“The Parents and Teachers Association has also contributed in no small measure to arrest the decay of infrastructure in the school. It has among other things, built an hostel for the school.

“The Nigerian Army should not fold its arms and watch Command Secondary School become just another school in Ibadan, it should as a matter of urgency arrest the decay of the school. If it refuses to do that it should in the next 40 years not expect esteemed members of the Nigerian society such as we are witnessing today to attend the 80th anniversary.”

According to her, once state-of-the-art modern infrastructure including the kitchen, dining hall, with tea dispensers, hostels, classrooms, science laboratories and probably the first of its kind language laboratory are now in a most saddening state of disrepair probably due to mismanagement.

“Not the next 40 years, but 5 or 10 years, will send high signal of the state of things. We are saying all these to give the military authorities the passion to descend on the school and challenge the status quo,” she said.

The old students have implemented a lot of projects running into millions of naira both nationally and by specific alumni sets. The PTA has also chipped in some support. While this has helped and provided a beacon of hope that there can be improvements but should the maintenance and upkeep of the school be borne by the old students?

The present situation calls for questions. One: Are the military authorities aware that the school, borne out of a clear vision to showcase the military’s passion for improved education for their wards is in a sorry state? Have they abdicated responsibility for the school? Is the vision that birthed the school still in place or relevant in the minds of the concerned authorities?