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From JOHN ADAMS, Minna
Minna, the Niger State capital, recently stood still during a send-forth for Rev. Fr. Jeremiah Dermot O’Connel, arguably, the longest serving principal of a public secondary 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 began in 1962 in Calabar, Cross River State, one year after his ordination as a Catholic priest. He arrived as a missionary of the Order of St. Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland.
After working at the Calabar and Ikot Ekpene Diocese for five years, O’Connel was deployed to Niger State. He went straight into education in 1967, starting as a supervisor of schools owned by the Catholic Mission, known as the Catholic Prefecture of Minna. He was appointed principal of Fatima Co-Education, now Government Secondary School, Minna.
Expectedly, men and women, the old, young from all walks of converged on the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre, Minna, to bid goodbye to a man, described as “the last man standing.”
Nicknamed, “Jack of all trade 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, 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’Connel paid him 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 students and others who encountered him to become useful, God fearing and productive.
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 students discover and attain their full potentials irrespective of their socio-economic background. For him, poverty should not be a barrier to the educational ambition of a child.
Based on his conviction, he oftentimes, took the responsibility of paying tuition fees for less privileged students. In other instances, he waived payment of fees for some indigent students. He even 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. By 8pm, he returned for inspection of the hostels to ensure that some male students did not “play with fire,” a euphemism he used for cigarette smoking.
His passion for selfless service informed his decision to establish an integrated unit for the visually impaired to carter for those challenged in the society. The center 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 from the centre.
His efforts garnered for him, several awards, such as the Best Principal of the Best Secondary School in North Western State, 1974; Best Principal in Niger State, 1999 and the Most Outstanding Performance/ Productivity Award conferred on him twice by the state government in 1992 and 2008.
He is also a recipient of 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).
Godwin Ashituabe, National President, Father O’Connel Old Students Association, said: “We shall miss a Father indeed, who 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’Connel Educational Foundation, established to provide indigent students scholarship to pursue higher education.”
Encomiums were poured on him in torrents as Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Ketso, renamed the Government Secondary School, Minna, after him. It is now known as Father O’Connel College. Ironically, the governor noted that after 50 years of sacrifice and selfless service, O’Connel, 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.
In the words of Yusuf Detti, a former registrar, Federal University of Technology, Minna, who passed through Father O’Connel’s tutelage in 1974: “We have come here in large numbers as distinguished guests, friends and colleagues, as of 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.”
