“My Command Secondary School Jos: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow”
Command Secondary School, my beloved school, my home, my alma mater, my most
cherished and admired institute of learning, how can I ever do without you or even forget you. I
believe thou in the field of learning, there are only two schools that can effectively give what has to be
given and that is Command Secondary School and others.
It was established in the year 1977 on the 29th day of September. It was first headed by Mr EE
Okwubunka who likes in blessed memory now. He was the first civilian that headed this great
institution. He handed over the mantle of leader ship to Mr MB. Ligali in 1981 and since then, the
school has been headed by high ranking civilians until the year 1984 when the civilians finally handed
over the leadership to the Nigerian Army. It had Lt.E.E Ayola as its first Commandant in the year
1984 and now Lt.Col. Ap Oguntola a man of discipline and dedication, as its 19th Commandant.
The school is located on the outskirts of Jos North Plateau State. A gate at its entrance with a
very short fence serving as defense and boundary. Its Administrative block is at the right hand side and
there, was the talk shop beside the Administrative block now moved to the hostels and class room
areas. Along the road side leading to the school premises are beautifully arranged white stones with
lovely green bushes as flowers to beautify the school environment.
The school was established for the children of military personnel. With only very few civilian
children that could withstand the administration of the school. It started with only a few student
approximately 67 students that graduated in the year 1982 as its first set. The school had Ese Fregene
as it first head boy, Betty Uye as its first head girl. The school had a teaching staff and few nonteaching staff who worked either as cleaners, gardeners, drivers or cooks. The discipline of the
students was very high and impressive, with teachers who were always ready and willing to work for
the success of their students.
The activities and timing of the school were duly followed as scheduled and the activities well
performed.
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The school also has basic facilities like the generator which provided power supply when ever
the school is in darkness and the students needed to make use of the light. The generator also provided
power supply the staff quarters where members of staff both teaching and non-teaching reside. It had a
tractor that helped in clearing the school environment. It also had a school bus and V.W Kombi bus
which took care of the movement of the teachers and students.
The school has hostels meant for the students of the school this is divided into the girls’ and
boys’. The girl’s hostel has a high fence for protection with a very big gate
to ensure the safety of the
students. The hostel had good water facilities with strong and reliable building structures. It also had
trees around hostel which has been cut down with only a few still standing. The roofs built of strong
cement sheets. The toilets were functioning properly and the students also maintained the facilities too.
The school has its dinning hall very close to the girl’s hostel. Students used to line up to collect their
food and then go into the dinning hall itself to eat the well prepared and nutrition meals. They were
very organized then. The food prefect made sure that the meals were properly prepared. He also made
sure that the food was evenly distributed to students. The meals were so sufficient that most a times,
the students are unable to finish their food.
The school has a health centre which takes care of the students. It had a permanent health
worker to take care of the students’ health with other nurses who came in from outside the school
compound. How ever students, who sick, were taken to the dispensary to be treated properly. The
school hard laboratories which are still functioning in other to carry out practical aspects of the
subjects like chemistry and physics. It has a school hall, which still exists just behind the dining hall
which was commissioned by Maj. Gen. T.B Ogundeko. It was being used when ever there was a
program to be held for the school.
The sporting activities, the school had a very big field that is divided into parts. The football
field, the race lanes, the volley ball court and the basket ball court. It has teams made up of students
that participated and are still participating in these sport activities. It had various houses which are also
called colours to which each student belonged it still has its colours with the addition of one the army
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garrison which is black and red. The houses then where Octopus house (red/now Rhino house) Tiger
house (Yellow), Palm house (green), Flying horse house (Blue) and Dragon house (Purple). The
students then also stayed according to their houses in the hostels. When ever there was any
competition or sporting event, the students would be seen beautifully dressed in the sport wears.
Spectators from far and near to witness the great events because no one wanted to be told the story,
they all watch and hear the event taking place for his/her self.
The school had other officers that helped in the management of the school like the
Administrative officer who was and is in charge of handling the school affairs academically and other
wise. The bursar that works for the bursary department that makes sure the fees of each student is paid
at the right time. It also had other soldiers that helped to maintain the discipline of the students. Each
time an offence is committed, they make sure that the appropriate punishment is given to the
offenders. The school has various heads of department each time there was a cases of absenteeism, the
teachers were reported to their various heads of department. The school had school prefects that are
still being placed that aided in maintaining the standard of the school. It had a school bell which was
hung at the middle of the school compound which is still being rang when there is any thing to be done
at that time and the students knew exactly what each bell was meant for.
All students were always properly dressed with the right uniform at the right time. They all had
pair of white uniform to be worn on Sunday, a pair of sports wear, to be worn for sporting activities, a
pair of uniform that was to be worn for classes and they also had a pair of compound wears which was
sewn in the various houses of the students. It was to be worn when the other uniforms were not in use.
The students all looked smart in their outfits that made them admired and respected by all outsiders.
The students always behaved in their best attitude. The activities were performed at the right
time; they performed very well in their academics. It had clubs and societies that were compulsorily
belonged to. A member of staff was placed in charge of the club. There were different clubs like the
JET club, Press clubs and so many others. The meetings were fixed once in a week and the attendance
by students was very good and impressive.
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The school administration by then was very impressive, as a new school that had only a few
students attending it. I wish I were here myself to experience all that the school possessed.
My Command Secondary School Jos of today, has changed a lot. If I say it hasn’t, I would be
the greatest liar of my time. The school has produced citizens that are highly placed in the society like
Brig. Gen. Bonu, Navy Officers, Pilots, Professional Medical doctors, lawyers, bankers, engineers,
professors and it will continue to produce and have future leaders. It also has association within and
outside the country like the COJOSA – North America association. They have done well, they have
done so many great things for the school and for the world and they will still do more.
In the year 2007, it produced the best WASSCE result in West Africa Shaka Hafeez who is
presently on scholarship at the Edo state university.
The school recently attended the NAOWA annual competition and came second. They came
back with a very beautiful trophy.
I am happy to be alive in this great institution to witness all that happened in the past few
years.
Let me first start with the discipline of the students. In the past the school, the students were
well behaved, properly organized and morally brought up. I can say that as the years has passed by;
the level of discipline has decreased. The ratee at which students now bring in contra-band and sneak
out of the school has become something else. Students now absent them selves from activities. It has
even gotten to an extent that students now no longer attend classes and some teachers in turn do not
even turn up for their lessons. The students have now become lazy that they no longer ever do well in
their class activities. The performance of most students is nothing compared to what this school used
to have before now. It has now become a situation whereby students want to pass examinations
without reading. I wonder how possible this is. when you ask them, they tell you they want to become
medical doctors, lawyers, bankers or even engineers. This never possible and it can never be a miracle
when they don’t want to read their books. They have seasoned, capable and willing teachers to teach
them but are not willing to learn.
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The buildings have become so old that they are no longer attractive the hostel environment has
become eye saw. The roofs and ceilings are now leading; in some hostels we also have open ceilings
and roofs. That toilet that used to be very good having now become bad that they are no longer even
functioning in the girls’ hostel to be precise, girls now defecate around the hostel which is not good for
their health. Recently, was an out break of cholera in the girls hostel. We even thought most of the
victims would die but thank God they didn’t. We thank God for the present commandant in
collaboration with the PTA that has helped to drill a new bore hole in the girls hostel, which has
helped to reduce the problem of water scarcity in the hostels.
In the last few years, the population of school has increased drastically. A school that began
with only a few students now has so many students to about a population of 1,500 students. The
facilities have also become inadequate that you now see up to 7o students in a single class with only
one teacher. In the past, the students in a class were not up to 30 and the teacher was able to pass the
message to each student. But now, with a population so large, the teachers are unable to pass the
knowledge to all the students in a class, with the noise the students make, the teacher’s shouts and
shouts infect, he almost shouts his throat out and he or she ends up leaning the class with a headache.
The dinning and feeding cannot be kept out in this matter. Gone are the days when students eat
to their satisfaction. Now, students sit in tens on wooden or metal tables and a representative from
each table goes into the kitchen already served in bowls. The food is being dished in plates which are
being for the students while checking into the school at the beginning of a new term or session. After
each meal, you can see junior students struggling for extra food, this is because the food that are now
given to the students of these days are insufficient, there is no one that wants to toy with his stomach
that is why they are seen struggling for extra food. At times, when students are seated in their classes,
you find some of them sleeping and when they are asked why, they either tell you they didn’t get
enough sleep or they are hungry.
In addition to the food collected from the dinning hall, you find students around the “mami”
market where fried foods like yam, potatoes or bean cake “akara” is being prepared. They buy things
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from the market in other to supplement what they have eaten from the dinning hall. You also find
students at the famous co-operative shop of the talk shops. It might be the Igbo”, Yoruba or hausa”
talk shops as tagged by the students because of tribes their shop owners. The things brought from these
shop also supplement the feeding of the students.
Back to the buildings, the school building are dated one of such building is the Home
Economics laboratory some part of the roof has fallen into the main building destroying the cooking
facilities used for the benefit of the students. The home economics laboratory has only a very few of
cooking gases used by the students during their practical. With a school that has about 120 foods and
nutrition students with only 6 cooking gases, how are the students expected to enjoy their practices?
In the year 2008/2009 when Col Augie was the commandant of the school, a dinning hall was
constructed for the junior students, when it was newly constructed; it was an answered prayer for the
junior students because it saved them from the hands of the senior students. But today, the building
has collapsed. One faithful day, we all came out of our hostels to find the roof inside the building
itself.
When the school was headed by Lt. Col Ogidi, the students stayed according to their houses
irrespective of their classes. Then, the junior students were being bullied and forced to hand their
provisions forcefully to the senior ones. You can imagine at the middle of the night a senior student
waking you up to go and fetch her/his water you can also imagine a senior student flogging a junior
student with a plank you can imagine what this school has turn into.
The school’s clubs and societies are still functioning. But they are not taken seriously, the
meeting days used to be on Thursdays but it was shifted to Fridays and still they are not taken and held
seriously. I can remember in the past when the press clubs used to read the daily news to the hearing
of the students on Mondays and Fridays during the morning assembly but today, where has the club
and it members gone to?
The school is still being invited for competitions and thank God we are unbeatable in sports
and socials. Recently, the annual NAOWA competition was held and the school came 2 nd with a
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trophy. For the sporting activities, the annual inter house sports competition is still held, the school
also receives invitation to other schools for competitions and it has maintained its position as being the
first.
A few years back, in the year 2007 to be precise, the school produced a student Shaka Afeez
who had the best WASSCE result and he was honored for his performance. He is now on scholarship
at a university in Benin.
My Command Secondary School Jos of tomorrow, will be a school that I want to see regain its
reputation in the society. I want to see high discipline restored, the school building looking good again
and its hostel facilities put back in place. The population of the school is what I want to see evenly
distributed. I want to see a command that will have a low population and more resources that will
carter for its students. I want to see its education standards brought back to normal.
With this, I will not say I passed through Command Secondary School Jos, but it passed
through me. One thing I can never forget is the school’s anthem lines “I’m proud of you Command
Secondary School Jos”. Thank you for making me what I am today. At least, where ever I find myself,
I know I will survive, what is called “the survival of the fittest”. Kudos to you my dearly beloved
school and keep the flag flying.
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