Now we praise great and famous men,
The fathers named in history;
And praise the Lord who now and then
Reveals in man his glory.
Praise we the wise and brave and strong,
Who graced their generation,
Who helped the right, and fought the wrong,
And made our folks a nation.
Praise we the great of heart and mind,
The Singers sweetly gifted,
Whose music like a mighty wind
The souls of men uplifted.
When Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar said the evil that men do lives after them, the good is often interred with their bones, obviously he was not thinking of Igbobi College and Reverend Angus. When Reverend Angus left it, the College in 1944, which is about 78 years ago, little did he know that students that he never taught would be honouring him. When Reverend Angus left Igbobi College 78 years ago, he would never have thought a boy born who was only two years old when he left Igbobi will be delivering a tribute to him. When he left Igbobi College 78 years ago, he did not know that the good that he did would be remembered. I am sure that you will agree with me that we have just proved Marc Anthony wrong. The good that men do live after them. We have just proved it.
Fate, has a way of changing the destiny of man or to use the old cliché, man proposes God disposes. When Reverend Angus left England to come to Nigeria he was headed for service to the Wesleyan Mission which we now call Methodist Mission in Nigeria; he had never heard of Igbobi College for the simple reason that the College did not exist.
He joined the Methodist Boys High School where he became the Principal. When the Methodist and the Anglican Missions decided to jointly establish a school for boys in Lagos, they decided on an experiment. Up onto that time schools were built on what you may call limited space experiment. When they decided to establish the high school for boys, they decided that it was going to be on an expansiveness not limited by space. They moved out of built up Lagos towards the outskirt of Lagos into an area far removed from everywhere else. By the goodness and generosity of spirit of a Nigerian called Madam Tinubu, the two missions acquired 15 hectares which Madam Tinubu was using to cultivate Kolanut called Obi in Yoruba.
I have often wondered why the generosity of this departed old lady had not been recognised by the college. I suppose one set of old boys will find a befitting acknowledgement for the generosity of this grand old lady.
To go back to our preoccupation of Reverend Angus, this is an opportunity to speak to the innate good and the universality of the spirit of man. He epitomised the unity of the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nigeria in the pursuit of progress and happiness of mankind. Over the centuries, they have in simple gestures demonstrated their love and concern for humanity.
How do we explain the life of this son of a clergyman born about 126 years ago in a village manse in Ponsanooth, Cornwall, England that spent virtually all his life for God, the good of country, mankind and the people he knew next to nothing about while growing up in the Cornish village.
The greatest and unique export of that village to Nigeria was the Reverend John Allen Angus. He attended Kingwood School in Bath, Somerset, England, the world oldest Methodist Educational Institution which parades alumnae akin to Igbobi College array of nation builders in Nigeria. He served in the First World War 1917-1918 where he walked into a pocket of mustard gas which was to have a grievous effect on his sight and health in later years. Angus later attended Handsworth College, Birmingham, where he was awarded his BA and Diploma in Education. He was then admitted into the Wesleyan Mission as a minister.
This year marks hundred years of Angus arrival in Nigeria on the staff of Wesleyan Boys High School now known as the Methodist Boys High School as vice principal of the secondary school. He later became the principal between 1927 and 1931.
When Igbobi College was founded on 2nd February 1932, Angus was appointed the first vice principal. One would have expected that he would see this as demotion having been a principal of a school for four years. But a man, who saw his mission in life as being one of service, would go wherever the spirit would send him. As I have said earlier man proposes God disposes. Within three weeks, there was a development, as Angus became the substantive principal of lgbobi College as the Reverend W. Waterton had to leave Nigeria on account of the ill health of Mrs. Waterton. In March 1932, Angus having initially been appointed acting principal, was now elevated to the substantive post of principal. For all practical purposes, Angus could be regarded as the first principal.
The laying of the foundation of the college infrastructure, academic, spiritual, ethical and social bearings of the college which we all celebrate and were vividly captured in the college anthem were laid by the thoughts and toil of Angus and his team of workers at the inception of the College.
Angus was very particular about the religious side of the school. The boarders had their own morning and evening services every day and the day scholars gathered in the old assembly hall cum chapel for morning prayers. On Friday afternoons, everybody joined in the closing services. The first subject every morning in all of the classes was Religious Knowledge. Boarders attended religious classes on Sundays, and had religious services every Sunday evening. The older boys were prepared for confirmation if they were Anglican and for recognition if they were Methodist. The boys were also led to conduct evangelistic prayer meetings in the surrounding villages of Bariga, Somolu or Abule George.
To be continued tomorrow.
• Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, CFR, Fassn, Fniia, president and fellow of the Academy of International Affairs, is former minister of External Affairs.
