MY dear friend, Oyinkan Ade-Ajayi, has produced a wonderful book about the Old School schools that provided so many Nigerians with top-class educations. I interviewed her about her magnum opus.

By Donu Kogbara

  Why did you decide to do a book about Nigerian Heritage schools? Did you go to one yourself?

  I didn’t go to a ‘heritage school’ but I have always been interested in their history. I grew up listening to stories that the older generation including my father and uncle told about their school days and the camaraderie they enjoyed that lasted a lifetime.

  My first degree was in education and as well as the practical aspects of teaching, I became interested in the history of education in Nigeria. I was intrigued by the ambitious scope and the quality of education that was delivered in those earlier decades, even with limited resources. I was also fascinated to uncover stories of principals and teachers who were proud of their own culture and sought to bring up children who understood the value of their own heritage. Reverend Kuti at Abeokuta Grammar School is an interesting example.

  How did you select schools for inclusion? Would you say you included most or only a small percentage of schools that might fit into this category?

  I included a good number of the most well known schools. There are some schools that were left out, either because I didn’t have enough material on them or because I could only include a limited number in one volume. Of the old schools, I did try to get a spread of missionary, government and community schools from across the country.

  I decided to include schools only up to1945 and so left out the Federal Government Colleges and other interesting schools like Comprehensive High School Aiyetoro, or the International School in Ibadan for example, both relatively more modern schools.

  How, considering that you live in London, did you manage to get information and photographs from schools all over the Federation?

  The internet was a great resource and I also had a lot of help from the alumni of the various schools. Libraries in the UK – The British Library, SOAS, Cambridge, Birmingham, Oxford have great archives of the CMS and Methodist. The National Archives at Kew has material on the colonial government, including photographs. The Baptist archives I consulted were in America and I contacted them by email. In Nigeria, the archives at the University of Ibadan were a gold mine of interesting material.

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  Did you do any travelling yourself? Did you have a research assistant?

  I didn’t have the luxury of a research assistant. I did a lot of the research online, and travelled to Lagos, Ibadan, Ondo but the photographer, Angus Thompson, covered all the other schools except Barewa College, where the Barewa Old Boys Association was invaluable in providing photographs.

  Some of the schools no longer exist, so how did you source archive material in a country that is notoriously weak when it comes to preservation of historical documents?

  All the schools we covered do still exist, but most are a shadow of their former selves. You would not believe the number of schools who said their records had been destroyed by fire, or termites or just poor storage. It is so sad, as these records are irreplaceable.

  Thankfully the alumni are making great strides in restoring not only the schools, but also the historical documents. CMS Grammar School had good records that require digitising, GCI have an online library and other alumni associations are beginning to gather these valuable resources and digitising them. Online forums like the Nigeria Nostalgia Group are also doing wonderful work in creating an online archive. Some families have also kept records intact and were generous enough to share them with me.

  Has any of the information you used been digitised or was it a case of having to go through dusty old files?

  Some of the photographs had been digitized, but most had not. At the National Archives in Ibadan, it was a case of going through files that literally crumbled as you turned the pages. In the UK the records were much better stored, in temperature-controlled environments, and you had to wear gloves to handle the photographs. It was thrilling to physically see these artefacts like the handwritten notes by Thomas Babington Macaulay in Birmingham archives, still in pristine condition.

  How long did the prep and writing take?

  I did the work over several years. Whilst I was doing the research, I was also trying to figure out the best way to present the material. I knew I wanted it to be very visual, so that we could actually see what people or buildings looked like. For example, I had always wondered what David and Anna Hinderer, the first missionaries in Ibadan looked like. Now we know!

  How much did it cost to put this project together?

  Much more than I ever imagined when starting out! Apart from the cost of photography and archive photos from libraries, there is the cost of travel, printing, shipping and distribution. Someone has called it a labour of love and I would definitely agree with that statement!

  Have you received much interest from people who went to or taught at these legacy schools?

  The people who went to the schools are the primary readership and I have had a great response from them. I have also found that parents in my generation want to show their children what an excellent education was being delivered in Nigeria in their day. Anyone interested in history or seeing Nigeria beautifully presented will also enjoy reading the book. It is intended to inspire us to restore and revive the best of what we have in Nigeria.

  Your father had a publishing company. Is that where you got the publishing bug from?

  My father did own a publishing company called Spectrum Books in the late 70s and 80s. Joop Berkhout was the MD. I worked there for a couple of years after my youth corps, as an editor. I have always loved reading and writing, but working in publishing actually showed me the business side and certainly helped me appreciate what it takes to get a book to market.

  Do you have any other book projects in the pipeline?

  I do have other projects I am thinking of. Watch this space!

Heritage Schools Nigeria: An Illustrated History by Oyinkan Ade-Ajayi,

Full colour 280 pages

Available in the UK on Amazon or  www.heritageschoolsnigeria.com

In Nigeria, at good bookshops including Booksellers  www.booksellers.ng    Laterna  www.laternabooks.com    Quintessence  www.quintessenceltd.com  and Roving Heights  www.rhbooks.com.ng