A call to Umuahians

Lets save our alma Mata. Now I understand why the Old Boyz always complained when they came on home comings. Then I was always annoyed with them, how they tried to enforce what we didn’t know of the school traditions on us. They always wanted us to preserve that, which Umuahians are known for and what the school, Government College Umuahia stands for. The school that has produced great personalities is almost a ridicule of its old self especially in terms of her traditions. I was there recently and have a lot of things I will like to share with fellow Umuahian who have not been there for a long time now. What I saw was not encouraging at all. The population is so much that on any school day you pass through the Umudike road you will always see student going and coming, and you now wonder were that fear to be seen on your school-uniform outside the school premises during school hours has gone to. The kind of noise during school hours is very disturbing, you wonder whether the Umuahian spirit still passes at all and I don’t think perambulation is an offence anymore because I couldn’t differentiate break-period and school-period. There are several changes structurally of which some are good to some extent and others mainly due to the ever increasing number of students. Talking about changes; you can imagine the quadrangle which noboby just trespass is now has a mast and some oil palm trees on it, the gate being used now is the second gate. The buildings that were normally for one class can’t be used such as a lot of joining is witnessed. The former Junior-section of the school when I was there is now the Senior-section that is to say that you can’t just say this building is for J.S.S.1 because you will have some J.S.S.2 students there, is like that till S.S.S.3. At least there is a computer lab now and also a new building for French studies but another bad thing is that the music room is now a second staff room (junior staff room). There are still good ones though in terms of renovation of dilapidated houses like the old Nile building the two of them but the confusion now is that you will fine two different Houses staying in one building like Cozens house and Fisher house. My House (Extension/School House) which was turned into ‘Maka’ house has been renovated but they shifted base too. For a school am most proud of, it is the traditions that are dying that is the most painful aspect. Imagine, there is no more school-prayers every Wednesday night the present students don’t even know that it existed. I could remember my first night in school, the woozing and the shouts of ‘bundle your buckets!’ that greeted me the next morning was terrible but it taught me to wake up very early and to be alert always. That morning was terrible I think it was around 3 a.m or earlier that we started the water-fetching and still we had to run to the school-stream where the next command will be ‘the last person to come out from the stream!’ God help you if you are the last person. We don’t even mind the scro-scra (germ/dirt) inside the stream you just take every thing. By the last round when u must be pouring your water inside the tank at AP, the bell (Ngbirimgba ukpo) will be ringing for food (no time to bath) and you will pass your plate unless you can afford to starve. This made many people to resort to rub-and-shine. From pantry is straight to assembly hall you just have to devise a means that will work for you to achieve that. What crazies me is how you will be pursued to do every thing, the process will just make you to be up and doing. The next experience I had in the school was when we filed back from the assembly to our class and one smallish boy came into our class, everybody kept quiet. The next thing we heard was ‘the whole class should kneel down!’ Imagine! When we now saw reinforcement we had to comply, it was a J.S 2 expecting us to shout ‘uuuuuuuuuuuppp!’ for him. We where trained to imbibe that spirit of discipline from the onset. The school-Prefects, where reverend and the school-captain was seen as a god. Refreshing your memory will not be complete without mentioning the inspection and parade. My first wasn’t funny, all my inspection attire was brand new so my house captain appointed me to ‘mount’ I had to shout whenever any prefect is coming. You remember like- school-house watch it! Watch it and for the last time! School-house Attention! Attention! I nearly lost my voice after that inspection. The several Umuahian-run with cadets pursuing you just because the School Captain has passed his verdict- ‘the whole school is dirty!’ before then your IKPAKPA and PHALANGES must have been examined. Will I forget the several bundling due to defaulting, the morning P.E or the cross country or the NGBARATU, the manual-labour, school work, house work it will never finish if we continue. That I can rugged many conditions in life now is a credit to be given to this great citadel of learning (not only book). Just remembering the school can ginger me all day. Great Umuahians! We have to rebuild our Alma Mata to a befitting standard. Now that the Federal Government is implementing policies in the education sector, I don’t know what will happen to the school, they may decide to sell it or change the name. I think we already are contented with the change from FISHER HIGH SCHOOL to GOVERNMENT COLLEGE UMUAHIA. If the decide the sell it though, then I suggest we buy it as a body.