THE DALLIMORES – EKITI PEOPLE - CHRIST’S SCHOOL TRIAD By: Wura Ajayi Ajibade 73/214 Babamboni House

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THE DALLIMORES – EKITI PEOPLE – CHRIST’S SCHOOL TRIAD
By: Wura Ajayi Ajibade
73/214 Babamboni House

Venerable Archdeacon Henry Dallimore, the founder of Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti was born in Aughton, Lancashire, England on 5th February 1885 to simple Christian parents. He attended Ormskirk Boys’ School in South Lancashire and entered Liverpool University in 1904.

In 1910, he was in Wycliffe Hall, University College of Oxford to study Theology. He was ordained as a Deacon in 1911, and was sent to Sierra Leone in 1914 by the C.M.S. as the Principal of CMS (now The Sierra Leone) Grammar School, Freetown (founded March 25,1845). He was recalled to England in 1915.

At the cessation of the 1st World War in 1918, he was posted as the Warden of the YMCA in France. He returned to CMS Grammar School, Sierra Leone in 1919 for a couple of years before he was deployed to St. Andrew’s College, Oyo, Nigeria as the Vice Principal to Archdeacon George Burton in 1922.

It was while on this tour that he met Miss Dorothy Nash, a female C.M.S. missionary. Henry Dallimore married Dorothy in his wife’s home at Norfolk in 1924. The Nash Family were originally from Vancouver Canada, but settled in East Anglia, England.
He retired to England in 1947 and lived at Bexhill-on-Sea till he died on May 8, 1970.

Dorothy died in Canada on May 15, 1975.The urns of their ashes were interred behind the school chapel in Christ’s School Ado-Ekiti (CSAE).

THE ESSENCE OF CHRIST’S SCHOOL, ADO-EKITI

Archdeacon Dallimore made his generational impact on the Church, society, and education by his rather presumptuous posting out of Oyo to Ekiti in late 1929 as Archdeacon, Superintendent of Ekiti District Churches, and the Supervisor of Schools.

It is pertinent to state that the Ekiti District Church Council superintended by Archdeacon Dallimore included all the Churches in the present Akure Diocese (less its Idanre Archdeaconries), and all Anglican Churches in Ekiti!
CMS Grammar School, Freetown and St. Andrews taught the classic British curriculum (Latin, Greek, Music, Astronomy, English, Arithmetic etc.,) which did not really please Dallimore.

At best, the curriculum helped them to become good employees. He wanted more for the students such that they could become self-employed if no one hired them. His much agitation landed him a posting away from St. Andrews into in a distant virgin land called Ekiti to see what would become of his educational ideals and concepts.

He parted ways with the idea of “Grammar School”. He gradually positioned the new school above what was available in other schools through co-education, curriculum, crafts, diversity and ethos.
Henry and Dorothy arrived Ekiti to pursue a 3-point mission of evangelism, education, and healing.

The Archdeacon focused on pragmatic evangelism and quality education.

Dorothy stopped her teaching job to support her husband fully. She concentrated on the provision of improved health services through the founding of the “Our Saviour’s Hospital” at the present Ekiti Bishop’s Court, Oke Aremu which was later re-named as “Ile Abiye Hospital” and relocated to Irona, Ado Ekiti.

Children that died young were called “abiku”. Abikus were changed to abiyes(living) in the place she created.

Ile Abiye was therefore established by a Missionary school teacher. Dorothy also looked after the girls in Henry Dallimore’s Christ’s School which he founded on the same site on 23rd January, 1933 as Ekiti Central School – a middle school which was to provide quality all-round training for boys and girls. The School, and was formally commissioned on 30th June 1933.

The school opened with 70 boys and 7 girls.
With the attendant expansion and growth of the two institutions, the school moved into its permanent site on Agidimo Hill on 22nd June, 1936, and was christened as “CHRIST’S SCHOOL” by the visiting Governor of Nigeria, Sir Bernard Bourdillon on 10th September, 1936.

Dallimore chose the name because it would be the final and the head school of the Ekiti area.

The school was designed to lead Ekiti on to the place it should occupy in the country, a place to prepare pupils for this leadership role.

Being an astute educator, he saw that Ekiti people lacked a place for secondary school education. He stopped the gap by creating a much sought-after school.

All Anglican schools wanted their students to finish in CSAE. This local Harvard was the only school in Ekiti that took education to Standard 5 & 6 at that point. There had to be a common entrance examination in order to equitably select from the pool of candidates.

Churches would coach their pupils. The success became noticeable and candidacy could no longer be restricted to a denomination, the poor or Ekiti.

Graduates were found worthy in learning and character. The primary purpose of their education was to become founding staff of schools and churches.

These graduates were from different hometowns in Ekiti. The school gradually became a secondary school; though the students were coached to this segment unofficially from inception.

CSAE continued to produce people that became Professors which he innately carved out as a niche. CSAE cannot be pushed aside when it comes to her influence on education at all levels in Nigeria and beyond.

In church building, many of her alumni are working in the Lord’s vineyard regardless of the level of education attained. It is a way of life to become professionals in various fields.

Many Principals daily build lives in many schools in the world. Attention is paid to outcomes. She has the highest number of alumni receiving Nigeria National Order of Merit (NNOM) per school in Nigeria. [The Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) is an “Order of Dignity” and distinct from the National Honours.

It was instituted to accord proper and due recognition for outstanding intellectual and academic attainments and contributions to the general development of Nigeria.] meritawards.ng

The second phase of founding secondary schools in Ekiti were funded by communal efforts. Individual or co-operating towns built secondary schools. They proudly asked their educated sons to be the founding Principals. They were products of Christ’s School which they joyfully accepted because there was no partisan politics at this point in Ekiti history.

CSAE success at secondary and tertiary levels in providing education could not be disdained. Everyone wanted to identify with her. The Professors could not be missed and this was alluded to in Ebenezer Obey’s song: “Awon omo Ekiti won n ka’we won mura”.

Politics came and alas the school that made all glad now makes them mad. Perhaps if we took time to educate each other, we may get glad and would not have to make snide remarks like “Fayemi made Ekiti basically Christ School project”.

I do not belong to any political party. I seek to make known what Christ’s School means to the well-being and correct positioning of Ekiti in the scheme of things in Nigeria.

I will not be a thoroughbred Omo Oke Agidimo if a worthy alumnus is ill-spoken of within my sphere of influence.

This response should be able to put my alma mater in the correct perspective. And it is hoped to help us understand the school better.

John Kayode Fayemi has a respectable seat among the students that passed through the school. The kind of fierce love in our hearts towards our alma mater is unfathomable in other schools. Fayemi is unashamedly proud of the hands that brought him up.

Would it be alright if a child we raised turned around to acknowledge us in public? This he does unreservedly. What could be wrong with this?

Christ’s School became more noticeable in his administration because he was the leader. CSAE was there in the workforce before, during and after he left; you just did not notice. This is not to diminish the fact that he raised many people up and it is not limited to CSAE.

Let us reason together:
1.In one session CSAE graduates 1,500 students. Let us give 100 as the average number in most schools in Ekiti. CSAE is 15 schools in one. Ekiti people fail to understand that.

2.Christ’s School is 2 in 1. A girl was killed in 1978 from bad driving while crossing the road so this school was split along gender line in 1978. Now back as one following government release of the school to Ekiti Anglican Communion in 2019.

3 CSAE is so big that they had to create 6 schools to absorb students taken by this school annually.

4. Which other school in Ekiti provides that level of training we put into raising a student. This affects who gets tipped for positions later in life.

5. CSAE is the oldest secondary school in Ekiti. The oldest mixed school in Nigeria. Other schools were started as boys’ only or girls’ only. Our school started as mixed from inception; the other school that claimed this status is Baptist Academy, Obanikoro Lagos. They are Boys’ only school today. CSAE is 22 years older than the next secondary school in Ekiti.

6. Numerically the most, the oldest, most educated males and females, most diverse population come from this school.

7. It was the only school with HSC (higher school certificate) in Ekiti for many years. Whatever every other school in Ekiti started was finished off in our school if they stayed for that segment in Ekitiland. Ekiti Parapo College later joined the HSC bracket.

8. CSAE was founded to provide labour force for churches and schools. This is why we have the most Bishops, Principals, Professors, per school in Ekiti. Many Ekiti Principals turned around to send their children to CSAE. Fagbeyiro, Adejuwon, Adeoya, Akomolafe, Aşebiomo, Olajide to name a few.

Founding staff of Domegrams and EkPaCo were largely old students of CSAE (Fagbeyiro, Baba Aşe-Ajayi, Asebiomo, Iyiola, Adetunmbi, Onisile etc. were old boys to name a few).

What about all those Professors? Name any field in Nigeria.

9. Do those CSAE students graduated in thousands not occupy offices in Ekiti? Should they dry out when Fayemi came into office? Did he hire them all? should he have fired them? Should he have demoted them? These little details are missed by Ekiti people if I understand the Christ’s School Project under Fayemi in the way a cynic posited it. It was noticeable because he was a known alumnus.

10.Fayoše administration was loaded with CSAE alumni, this was missed because he was not our alumnus. Like a horse and a carriage you cannot have one without the other. You cannot have Ekiti without CSAE. Ekiti should proudly embrace her as they did before politics. She was founded for all.

11. Western Region/State had a great school inspection system. CSAE was clearly the best. They brought their own children and noised her abroad in unsolicited recommendations

12. Most textbooks for your school work were written in CSAE. The students did not test to pass. Won mo iwe yęn t’inu t’ęyin ni (they understand the subject matter inside out). It is a place every student brought something to table aside from book work. You are trained to lead. Your head for knowledge, heart for God and Hands for skills.

13. There are times they try to fill a seat and the people doing it have their criteria. Done. Ooops this is on old student of CSAE. What will you do now? Start a feud? When D-Gov Adunni Olayinka died. They wanted the next person to be an Ado woman as well. Ewi has a Professor niece. Prof. Adelabu. Great, she is married to Ijero man omo Doherty. Yaaay! One stop, two Obas would be delighted. What could be better!!! Wait o omo Christ’s School ni. Do you know any Governor that wants to fan such trouble by trying not to put omo Christ’s School? On the surface people would take it as CSAE marginalizing others. Poor Fayemi.

Current Olojudo of Ido is our old boy, sitting Chairman of Ekiti Council of Obas. Governor Oyebanji BAO chose an Oba, oops omo Christ’s School ni. Ogun State Governor, omo CSAE ni. Should we start witch-hunting CSAE?

14. I interviewed many old students. Why did they come to CSAE? Most of them decided based on what school owners and Inspectors of Education told them. Some parents influenced others. People like Ooni Adesoji Aderemi, Pa Lawrence Omole were able to compare the children they sent to various schools. Big school owners sent their own children to CSAE. We are always in a class of our own. Parents are happy with their children.

15. Archdeacon Henry Dallimore the Christ’s School founder was the former Vice Principal of St. Andrew’s College, Oyo. With that solid contact he was able to get qualified teachers. He steered us away from Grammar School system and put us solidly in the path of the professions. Instead of being upset with CSAE other schools should strive to have students from every town in Ekiti like we do. Harvard tries to train people from every country. Diversity is an unfailing trick. Encourage the State to sponsor students from every town into CSAE. They will take positive influence back to their communities.

16. Alumni of this school band together for their lifetime. We give back to help each other and the school. We put in our weight behind the next generation. Our Alumni currently has 34 students on full sponsorship from JS1 to SS3. These make the differences that you see.

17. Ogun State Governor – Dapo Abiodun
Minister Solid Minerals- Dele Alake
Comptroller General of Immigration- Wuraola Akinrinsola Adepoju ( just retired)
Lagos State Secretary to the State Government- Bimbo Salu-Hundeyin are currently on high level seats. To name a few.

Are these people Fayemi projects? We look forward to producing the Nigeria President in the near future.

You can only love Christ’s School Ado-Ekiti.

Let us not bite the hands that fed us.

Attacking CSAE is like a Northerner attacking Barewa College, Zaria. They do everything to protect her, let us adopt that disposition in Ekiti.

Encourage each hometown in Ekiti to send a male and a female to the school each academic session, diversity will help your people.

Everybody in a town should not school in the same neighbourhood, growth will be scant and tardy.

We extend our hands of fellowship.

Come to table, dine with us.
We embrace all.

Wuraola Ajayi-Ajibade writes from the United States.