Baptist Boys’ High School’s Centenary Journey
Baptist Boys’ High School is a great and the best secondary school in Africa situated at Abeokuta, Ogun State, southwest Nigeria. It was founded by a foreign missionary baptist, the American southern Baptist convention, the journey was led by Rev. Thomas J. Bowen to Abeokuta on the 5th of August, 1850 whose mission to Nigeria is to preach the gospel, provided schools, hospitals, teacher training, and theological colleges. In 1851, Rev. Bowen settled at Ijaiye and assembled the Baptist mission headquarters at Ijaiye to found Baptist Boys High School in the 20th century but in 1862 there was an intra-ethnic war between Ijaiye and Ibadan, at the end of the battle the Ijaiye town was destroyed, this includes baptist missionary property. During this visit of Rev. Bowen, he studied the Yoruba language intensively and published a book in 1858, a book titled Grammar and vocabulary of the Yoruba language, and he was in full support of the Egbas against the invades of Dahomey.
The missionary established three primary schools at Ago-Owu, Ago-Ijaye, and Oke-Saje and after a rapid growth of the school to about 150 students, Rev. Samuel G. Pinnock was directed by the Mission to set up a post-primary school to educate children from the three feeder primary schools. In 1916 Rev. Pinnock identified and chose Egunya Hill, and he negotiated to propose the purchase of the land but the building of the school was delayed because of the effect of World War I on the cost of building materials then.
However, in early 1922 Rev. Pinnock oversaw the construction of the Principal’s Quarters, which also doubled as Abeokuta Mission House; a block of five classrooms, a chapel, and a dormitory for boys, and after the construction Rev. Pinnock selected a group of advanced students from the three feeder primary schools at Ago-Owu, Ago-Ijaye, and Oke-Saje, and these formed the school’s first class. Rev. Pinnock opened Baptist Boys’ High School on January 23, 1923, with 75 students and four teachers (including his wife, Madora Pinnock) the event was attended by many valuable quests, the following year, 1924 was the set of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a hero that led free education Nigeria are benefiting.
BBHS was set up as, and remains, a boys-only school, although it became a mixed school very briefly in 1969 and 1970 following the introduction of the Higher School Certificate by the school board of governors and in 1946 the school student volume grew to 400 and the school remained at Egunya Hill until 1969, at which time it was moved to Oke-Saje on acres of lands that could contain many needful constructions, this includes a library, hostels for boarding students’ accommodation.
School inter-house, Students have grouped into four houses appropriately for ‘inter-house’ sports competitions. Bowen House is named after Reverend Thomas Jefferson Bowen, a pioneer American Southern Baptist missionary to Nigeria, Pinnock House is named after the founding principal of BBHS, the Reverend Samuel Gorge Pinnock, Agboola House is named after the Reverend Emmanuel Oladele Agboola; he was the chairman of the board of governors of BBHS (1958–1971) and a Baptist preacher. Aloba House was named after a former BBHS teacher. I belong to Pinnock house while I was in school and I am part of literary, quiz, and debate groups to represent the school in related competitions.
In the area of football, the school is second to none and has many competition awards, I could remember vividly during my time in school, the school won a Shell cup competition of all secondary in Nigeria back in the year 2004 and this happened during the tenure of Chief A. D Jibowo as the school principal.
The Great School Notable Alumni include,
Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo 1924 sets
Late Chief M.K.O Abiola 1956 sets
Prince Bola Ajibola SAN, 1955 Set
Chief Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo 1957 sets
and lots more.
Over the years, BBHS has undergone several expansions and renovations. New buildings and facilities have been added to the campus, including science laboratories, a library, and sports facilities. These improvements have allowed the school to offer a wider range of educational and extracurricular opportunities to its students.
Today, BBHS is recognized as one of the top secondary schools in Nigeria. It has a large and diverse student body, and it is known for its commitment to academic excellence and values-based education. The school continues to be guided by its founding principles of providing students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the world.
In conclusion, Baptist Boys High School is a fantastic educational institution that is dedicated to helping its students succeed academically, personally, and socially. If you are a student or parent looking for a high-quality education in Abeokuta, Nigeria, BBHS is definitely worth considering. So, it is a good school for education.
NULLI SECONDUS!!!
UP School!!!
Reference: The School history book
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