Hope Waddell: Big plans at 119 years

“There are many dilapidated buildings here which are in very bad shape. The school is being threatened by erosion, and there are major issues to be confronted.” Dr Deborah Edide, an old student of Hope Waddell Institution, Calabar says that the institution is facing a number of challenges. She adds that the old students of […]

“There are many dilapidated buildings here which are in very bad shape. The school is being threatened by erosion, and there are major issues to be confronted.” Dr Deborah Edide, an old student of Hope Waddell Institution, Calabar says that the institution is facing a number of challenges. She adds that the old students of the school in the USA together with those in Nigeria, are trying to remodel the school, to improve its  environment and  to  raise  the school  to international standard. According to her “The old students aim at restructuring the school, and  to accommodate the needs of the teeming number of expatriates in Nigeria.”
She speaks about her period at   the school amidst laughter “I came in from an all girls school to a new environment, that is, to an all boys school. This made me mature immediately I came in. I developed a thick skin, and later I found I am more comfortable staying with men, because of the experience I had here. Then  there were about 9 females in the midst of about 700 boys.”
She explains that during her time as a student the female students were all day pupils, and boarding was solely meant for the male population. In the midst of the fact that a lot needs to be done, to raise the profile of the school to what it was, she salutes the founders of the school in the following words “The school gave us a good foundation. In all the spheres of manpower development in the country, we have old students doing well there. It’s one of the oldest existing secondary schools in the country, and most of those in the upper echelons of power  passed through this school, at one time or the other.” The school has paid its dues in a manner of speaking, and has produced one president of Nigeria. It has also seen to the emergence of  politicians at various levels of governance.
One of these is  Dr.Patrick Ene Okon, Chairman, Akpabuyo Local Government, Cross River State, who gives a perspective on some of the values he picked up at the school, which has clearly seen better  days. He says that the orientation he received at the school actually prepared him for a role in politics. His words “I began as a member of the editorial board of the Howard star, a magazine that  started in the schooI. I then developed interest in journalism, and went on to study Mass Communications and majored in Print Journalism.”  
He left the school with many values.On this he says “I was taught at Hope Waddell to be punctual, self disciplined, and to love the Almighty.” In the school he became a prefect, and this was a useful   moment in his development.  
According to him “At a point I was made a prefect, which gave me the opportunity to lead others, and I have continued in life by drawing upon the leadership  traits I picked up here. This has helped me in the different offices I have occupied, either in the government ,or in the private sector. This school has produced great leaders whom we continually look up to for inspiration. Wherever you find a graduate of Hope Waddell, you automatically find a high level of diligence, discipline, hard work and service delivery from such a person.” Dr Patrick Okon has been a councillor in his local government, member of the Cross River State House of Assembly, as well as a member of the House of Representatives representing Calabar South, Akpabuyo and Bakassi federal constituency. His years at the school have served him well. But old students of Dr Okon’s generation also have a plan to remodel the school.
 David Edem is the National secretary of the Hope Waddell Old Students Association and he  opens up on the plan to remodel the institution which gave him and countless graduates, a rare preparation for life. His words “the old students association in Nigeria, as well as the branch in north America, have come up with a plan to remodel the entire school. We already have a survey  of the entire school ready.”

He says that the plan involves retaining those buildings “that are of historic importance to the school. Others  that do not fit into the plan  will be demolished.” He adds that the group of old students will levy themselves to fund the project, and adds that the Synod of the Presbyterian Church has given an interim approval for the remodeling effort to commence. When the remodeling exercise starts, the school calendar will not be disrupted, he tells Daily Trust, stressing that the land upon which the school sits “is one of the best situated lands in Calabar.The police headquarters  shares a fence with it, the Governors office sits opposite the school gate, while on one side is the Eastern Naval command.” He says that when the remodeling exercise is over, the school would return to having both male and female students.His words “The remodeling will be in phases, and  we cannot project right now how long it will take to be completed.”
Many other beautiful projects are in the works, which will trigger great changes at  the school. Mr Edet Inyang, Principal of the  Institution, tells Daily Trust that there is a plan to return the HSC or A level programme to the school, and this was actually a feature of its curriculum at one time. His words “we intend to return the school to the era of the HSC, so that the school will once more become a globally accepted institution. We were once a magnet for scholars across West Africa, and we are also looking at the Cambridge London GCE, TOEFL, SAT. In the past these used to feature here quite a lot.”

He adds that there is   a plan to establish a solid relationship with the alumni and friends of the school  ‘in order to win their benevolence.’ Staff  welfare will also be looked into. “We can also help the teachers  to enjoy and continue to teach the boys, so  that we achieve all that we set out to achieve.”
He adds that it is important to draw governments attention to the fact that Hope Waddell existed long before Nigeria came into being. He therefore wants to encourage the government to improve facilities at the institution, which would attract people to send their children from both within and outside the country to the school. There are other issues of attitude which will affect developments at the school, if a cosmopolitan environment comes in to being there, as  envisaged.
 This is the  huge matter of  pressure  from the parents who do not like the idea of corporal punishment. His words “Some parents do not like corporal punishment  being meted out to their children. They don’t like the idea of pupils using the cutlass to cut grass, the mopping of floors and the scrubbing of the gutters.”
He then says that most of the infrasture have  decayed. According to him “infrastructural decay is a big problem here. Some of the buildings which go back to the year 1894 are still being used. Generally, our infrastructure has really run down,and it needs replacement. Nigeria is 100 now, but we are 119 years old, and  the students of today are using structures that Nnamdi Azikiwe and his mates used in their  time. Our laboratories which were in use a long time ago, are now obsolete. So, we need new equipment and laboratories too. “A challenge is also coming from an unlikely quarter too. The church itself is  a challenge  at the school. The principal says “With the emergence of the church in the school compound, boys  go to the church to see their parents. They do that in the guise of worship,and so the idea of the visiting day has therefore been bastardised. Parents are supposed to visit their wards every last Saturday of the month,but now they come every Sunday and see their wards at the same time.This is a problem and it needs to be tackled as the school braces for the future.” Next, is the  issue of the poor attitude of the boys in the way they  wear  their uniforms. According to the principal “Society influences the mode of dressing. This is seen where  our boys wear sagging trousers,and this is the culture that is  in vogue now.” But there was a time when discipline was the watchword at the school. Dr Patrick Okon says “Even in dressing we were taught to be neat. Up till now I cannot fly my shirt.”
But the culture of reading which also drove this  disciplined attitude  and sense of purpose as outlined above, has dropped somewhat today. Mr Edet Inyang comments on this “We are  struggling  to sustain the reading culture among the boys.Some students have the idea that they can make it through malpractices, so they have dropped  the reading culture altogether.Reading has become a taboo to them, and some parents are not helping matters, because they aid and abet malpractices. However, our  old students in North America have  helped to equip our library with books. We are  also organising seminars for the students to guide them away from malpractices.” Then there are the school dormitories, which were sufficient in the past,but which are now grossly inadequate for the number of boys today.The principal adds “We need to decongest the dormitories to meet the standard of the modern dormitory.Gone are the days of 20 boys living in a room.Now, we should be thinking of a minimum of  5 or 10, depending on the size of the room.”

Matthias Effiong Okon was a student at Hope Waddell between the years 1963-1969. He recalls with nostalgia the discipline around the hostels in the school where he grew up. His words “The discipline starts as soon as you wake up in the morning. By 6:00 am you get your bed dressed,and it was mandatory. You had to know how to make your bed.Then you go and have a bath, and be ready to go for breakfast at the refectory. After breakfast, there is an inspection by the principal, who goes through all the dormitories, to   have a look at the beds which must be sparkling white.”
On the schools achievements, he adds that  Hope Waddell  was the first secondary school east of the Niger. He enthuses “Pupils from this area were educated here,and passed out in flying colours.The school had a technical section,and it also had the first printing press on the continent.” He speaks proudly of some famous old boys of Hope Waddell. His words “Nnamdi Azikiwe, Akanu Ibiam, Dennis Osadebay are some of the famous old boys of this school, who made us all very proud.”
There is the erratic power supply which has been a big problem at the school, and  the Calabar branch of the old boys association has provided  a large generator  for the school. Mr. Inyang says “This generator can provide power to the entire compound. When there is no water, we also pump the water for the students to make use of.” There is also need to improve the kitchen and  dining  hall sections of the school. He says that the branch of old students in North America, has  equipped the school  kitchen with modern facilities. The school has also won the support of oil companies in the area, who now provide scholarships to a few of the boys annually. The principal says “They give scholarships to the best 10 students at our school every year. They have sponsored 30 students so far since 2011,and we hope they will continue doing this.” But the school needs a lot more. Hope Waddell, which hosted the first game of football on the continent  and made history by  owning the first printing press in Africa, while also producing  an eminent crop of scholars across West Africa, is clearly  getting set to renew itself.