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…As Nigeria’s longest serving principal 83-yr-old Irish priest, Rev Fr. O’Connell, bows out after 50 years
From JOHN ADAMS, Minna
Minna, the Niger State capital, recently stood still during a send off ceremony in honour of Rev. Fr. Jeremiah Dermot O’Connell, reputed to be the longest serving principal of a public school in Nigeria.
Aged 83, the Irish national is returning home after a 55-year stay in Nigeria, 50 of which he spent as the Principal of Government Secondary School, Minna. His sojourn here began in 1962 in Calabar, the Cross River capital, one year after his ordination into Catholic priesthood. He arrived as a missionary of the Order of St. Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland.
After working at the Calabar and Ikot Ekpene Dioceses for five years, O’Connell was deployed to Niger State, and went straight into education in 1967, where he started as a supervisor of schools owned by the Catholic mission, then known as the Catholic Prefecture of Minna, before being appointed Principal of Fatima Co-education, now Government Secondary School, Minna. He served as principal of the school for a period of 50 years, unarguably becoming the longest serving principal of a public school in the country.
Expectedly, men and women, the old and young from all walks of life converged on the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre, Minna, venue of the send off ceremony to bid goodbye to a man, described as “the last man standing” among his contemporaries who came to Nigeria 55 years ago.
Nicknamed, ‘Jack of all trades and master of all’, by his former students due to his penchant for walking into any classroom without a teacher and taking students on any subject including Islamic Religious Studies (IRS), he was said to be the most respected principal of public schools in the state.
As a show of appreciation for his contribution to the educational development of the state, the Emir of Minna, Alhaji (Dr) Umar Farouk Bahago, conferred on him the traditional title of Jagaban Ilimin Minna, meaning, the custodian of knowledge of Minna, when O’Connell paid the Emir a farewell visit in his palace.
His story is that of a man who left the comfort of an affluent home to begin an ascetic life in Nigeria, teaching and grooming his students and all others who encountered him to become useful, God fearing and productive persons.
For 50 years, he was consumed by an unwavering determination to uplift the school he nurtured and headed, to an enviable height. And until his exit, he ensured the maintenance of set standards. This was evident in his ability to help his students discover and attain their full potentials irrespective of their socio-economic background. For him, poverty shouldn’t be a barrier to the educational ambition of a child.
Based on his conviction, he oftentimes took on the responsibility of paying tuition fees of less privileged students in his school, and in other instances, waived payment of fees for some indigent students in his capacity as principal. In other cases, he created opportunities for willing students to engage in vacation jobs so as to earn money to cater for their needs.
Those who attested to his commitment and love for humanity said he regularly purchased and distributed essential commodities to needy students, and never went late to the school assembly in the morning. At the close of academic activities for the day, he would be back to school by 4pm to supervise sporting activities and prep, and by 8pm, would return for inspection of the hostels to ensure that some male students did not ‘play with fire’, a euphemism he used for cigarette smoking.
It was learnt that his passion for selfless service informed his decision to establish an integrated unit in the school for the visually impaired, to cater for those challenged in the society. The centre was supported by the Irish government, and was accessed free of charge by blind students with potential to acquire secondary education. Dozens of blind students were said to have graduated through the centre.
His efforts garnered for him several awards, such as the ‘Best Principal of the Best Secondary School in North Western State’ in 1974; ‘Best Principal in Niger State’ in 1999, and the ‘Most Outstanding Performance/Productivity Award’ conferred on him twice, by the Niger State Government, in 1992 and 2008.
He is also a recipient of one of Nigeria’s national honours, Member of the Federal Republic (MFR), conferred on him by the Federal Government in 2003; Fellow of Nigerian Academy of Education, and the ‘Most Distinguished Principal in Nigeria’, awarded him by the National Association of Nigerian Student (NANS), among others
“We shall miss a father indeed, though without biological children, was a father in the real sense of the word. We shall miss a lover of the underprivileged, who never allowed pecuniary challenges to truncate the education of the indigents; we shall miss the founder of the Father O’Connell Educational Foundation, established to provide indigent students scholarship to pursue higher education”, said Godwin Ashituabe, National President of the Father O’Connell Old Students Association.
Encomiums poured on Fr Rev O’Connell in torrents at the send off ceremony, as Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Ketso, renamed Government Secondary School, Minna, the school O’Connell superintended over for 50 years, after him. It is now to be known as Father O’Connell College. Ironically, the governor noted that after 50 years of sacrifice and selfless service, O’Connell, could not boast of either a house of his own or a car, but only engineers, medical doctors, professors and teachers, he had produced over the years.
Yusuf Detti, a former registrar, Federal University of Technology, Minna, who passed through Father O’Connell’s tutelage in 1974 said this about his former principal: “We have come here in large numbers as distinguished guests, friends and colleagues, as lovers of education or as ex-students, to honour and bid farewell to our Iroko tree, who has given his all for the benefit of Nigerlites, Nigerians and humanity at large. In all walks of life locally, nationally and internationally, you would find the fruits of the tree nurtured by him. This is Father O’Connel leaving for home just as he came: no personal house, no car, no property or huge bank accounts. Rather he invested in human beings and that why is he stands tall as a personification of integrity, and for us a reason to celebrate him.”
