A memoir of life and times at College of Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu
By
Osy Ekwueme
Although I realize the uncertainty of the human memory when dealing with incidents more than half a century in the past. To think back over the many incidents and experiences that crowded my life in the Red Brick House at the College of Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu (the preeminent Catholic boarding school at the time) located at Southeast Nigeria, could be divided into distinct periods.
The first period enriched by new friendships and the second was an interval of getting serious with studies. The third was working enthusiastically to be trained as one of the Mass Servers and getting selected into the soccer team. I lived in the Bishop Shanahan House at the dormitory upstairs, above the classrooms. It may therefore be said that I had no other life than school-life.
In retrospect, the first period was the most important of the three, and the one in which I stood in most danger of being “spoiled” because of my chatty nature. During these years, the yearning for friendship and human companion was clearly dominant in absolute defiance of the authorities. But it was the companionship of women rather than of men that we particularly craved at that time. Hence some dating palaver ensued between some senior boys and girls from Agangwu, a neighboring farm settlement, whenever some of them walked across to CIC, to fetch tap water. The girls did not refuse the patronage of the senior students. Indeed, at times they sought it, eagerly and openly. Fortunately, I was in the leadership position throughout my stay in CIC…as assistant prefect, prefect and once as both class and dormitory prefect. Hence, I escaped this fate. The testimony is unanimous and conclusive that I not only kept myself clear of the relatively innocuous stain of womanizing even though some may disagree. I never made the mistake of spurring my imaginations beyond its power. I understood my limitations, and the nature of the subjects with which I was instructed and qualified to deal and report to the authorities. Hence, I was not content to write off the superficialities of the life which I observed. They were the very stuff of human life. Despite this, I remained in close touch with the soil of common experience, seeing life as my friends, classmates saw it, and finding it always fascinating, though at times somewhat bewildering. And never did I seek an escape from life through the imaginative creation of a dream world. I was not given to thinking things over, or to attempting a synthesis of human experience. I just took a keen delight in the varied spectacle unrolled before my eyes. I was content to see, to enjoy, and to reproduce in my verse such elements of this spectacle as had given me most pleasure.
All in all, the years in CIC was just like in a family, where life begins, and love continues. The attached pictures show some of us, our story, and our “home”. Looking at the pictures, you could see the young Osy in the front with a cap and another picture, same day, with a black jacket. At the time, we had all that a young man needed to have. The rest was left for us to acquire all the accomplishments necessary to complete and adorn our character. I enjoyed the splendor of CIC and delighted in the doors which it opened to me.
Yes, CIC widened my horizon, enriched my life in many ways and made me know my potentials as I had never been before. We were taught to see life accurately, and understood both its facts, values, and vicissitudes. Additionally, I imbibed the belief in God and in the immortality of the soul – the two potent cardinal points in Catholic religious faith. Through enriched faith, I found genuine comfort and satisfaction. I got involved with mass serving and later became one of the sacristans. Since I advanced the fastest in learning the Latin texts and Mass process, I became one of the sacristans and was instructed to tutor aspiring mass servers. I never begrudged the time necessary for tutoring them on the process and making sure they know the things necessary for worship. I was selected as assistant Captain of our CIC Colts soccer team as the goalkeeper. Our iconic soccer team was one of the longest Colts team winning streaks of all time in CIC soccer history with the eminent coach Bro. Norbert (Mecha) who was also our physics tutor. We had two Marist Brothers novitiate in our team too…Brother John and Brother Bernard.
Upon a reflection on my life in the boarding school, I could see the principal’s house a few yards away, from the Shanahan’s house. Like every student living in the dormitory, under the constant supervision of the school authorities, I recall a sense of mental revolt among the students. Boys being lovers of freedom, doubted whether that kind of life was worth living. Life implies freedom of movement and cannot be applied to a state of existence in which one is constantly under control. We have to rise at 5am whether we liked it or not, and we must go to bed at 10pm whether we felt sleepy or not. We were always reminded of the maxim “early to bed, and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. Early rising is a good habit; but any habit that is enforced becomes irksome. Complete absence of freedom makes life in a dormitory mechanical. Nevertheless, we improved in health and strength, for the Rev. Brothers were very fond of physical culture and particular about early rising, exercise, and bathing. Talking about early rising… (late) Gregory Ugwueze and I used to rise sometimes much earlier to walk to Holy Rosary College (HRC), Enugu – a girl’s high school – to serve at the morning mass.
Our Principal, Bro. Aloysius (aka Onyisi) with that intimidating persona seemed to be in control of everything. He was a genial, religious gentleman and moved with consummate ease. He was the assured master of virtually everything that he attempted. I recall that he single-handedly counted the number of blocks needed to build our new school chapel at the time. Bro. Mark, the vice-principal, told me that. Though this needs corroborating testimony to be believed. The exigencies of elaborate stuff never perplexed Bro. Aloysius. He was at the same time one of our English literature teachers, together with one Mrs. T. Asuquo. So large and flexible was his vocabulary and so sure his skill in selecting words, that he became playful in his versifying.
As regards our studies….it was very competitive. Think about this: thousands will apply from all over the country to take the entrance examination (I still recall my entrance exams # 1567 and I lived in Enugu) but only 200 to 300 students will be called for oral interview and after that, about 70 will be accepted for the incoming first year. Thereafter, only 60 progressed to the second year and finish from the school. Every tutor is more anxious about finishing the prescribed course as well as in seeing that we understood what was taught.
Thus, in CIC, our progress, though considerable in quantity was of very good quality. We were taught such things as will enable us not only to earn a living but also to become worthy citizens. God has endowed man with three kinds of faculties…physical, mental, and moral. It is the duty of young people to cultivate and develop all three. It is the duty of every student to make personal efforts for self-development, and for this, he should have confidence in the tutor and fit into the discipline of the school. Sometimes the work and the training are not to the taste or liking of the learner. We used will-power and attempt those very studies with more devotion (ijoyi). That helped us develop the will and self-control.
CIC is the foundation of my happiness in life today. CIC was highly respected academically and regarded in the whole region. Hence it was the only High school selected to nominate 3 teenage students for the 1966 NY Camp Fire boys under the auspices of United States Information Service (USIS) located then on Ogui Road by the State Library. It was to be an amazing summer full of engaging leadership sessions and exciting trips. Myself, Donatus Muoneke, and Godwin Okolo were nominated by the Principal, Bro. Aloysius. The rest is history!
I may mention that we watched movies in the premises every fortnight. It was the only form of recreation that I loved other than soccer games. There were several cinemas in Enugu, which I frequented with Dr. Adol Anekwe and David Isong, and I have seen such films as Dicken’s ‘David Copperfield” and Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Julius Caesar” , “Othello”, “Macbeth” These gave me the greatest pleasure and hoped more pictures of this kind will be shown. I assure you that this pastime helped my studies. The power to combine words in such patterns that other people, reading what I have written, shall see what I have seen and feel…in some measure at least… what I have felt. Yes, the power of expression. I recall, when I wrote my first article and submitted to Renaissance Newspaper at Enugu, the News Editor (late Mike Iwenofu) was just amazed and couldn’t believe that’s from a secondary school boy. He called on Mr. Muokwogwu, the father of one of my classmates (Law Muokwogwu) to check it out. They impressed on me into pursuing Journalism in future on a scholarship. Needless to say, I got paid for the column. But I preserved my own intellectual integrity, and remained my own throughout the entire experience. Just as I accepted little advice concerning methods of “improving” my writings, so I refused to permit anyone else to shape the future course of my life for me. Neither did I allow myself to be deluded into thinking that the dazzling popularity which came to me during those years in CIC would continue indefinitely. After I left CIC for medical school in Europe, my metrical skill was almost uncanny. It helped me to be vividly aware of what was happening in the ever more and more fascinating arena of
national and international politics.
Semper Fidelis
Chief, Sir, Dr. Osy Ekwueme is a semi-retired medical professional and policy analyst writes from
WI. USA
