Ques: What are your earliest memories of Command Jos? Ans: My eldest brother/father figure (Maj. A. A. Eniang, rtd) with my late cousin Mr. Effiong O. Eniang a.k.a 'The Great' (RIP), both traveled with me from Ikeja cantonment via Nigerian Airways from Lagos to Kaduna and then we boarded another flight from Kaduna to Jos. An airport taxi brought us to Command Jos where we were received at the Admin block and the elders went in to greet the Principal. After a while I was invited to come in too. He asked me why I chose Command Jos instead of Command Lagos. I answered that I was told that Jos is very cold and I love cold weather. He then thank them for bringing me and the meeting was over. As we walked out of the office to the varender, Maj. Eniang beckoned on the driver to bring out my Iron school box from the car. He gave me the box and I was asked to take it to the classroom block where I will meet my house master. I hurriedly carried the box and getting to the classroom area, I saw students lined up for school closing formalities. I became confused because all the male students were wearing trousers. I then assumed I was at the wrong place so decided to go back to the Admin block and ask my "parents" to help me find out from the Principal's office. On getting there, I did not see the car that brought us. I started panicking, dropped my box and ran towards the gate but no sign of car or my "parents". I started crying and felt so bad not knowing where to go. Honestly I had enjoyed the flights so much and all the confidence I came with fizzled out of me. Two men walked up to me and asked why I was crying and I told them I was looking for my parents. They told me to carry my box and go to the assembly ground. I obeyed but just after passing the school clinic, a young boy about my age wearing trousers approached me and ordered me to move but I ignored him. He pushed me and with my bitterness and tears, I threw my ironbox on the ground and fought the guy. He did not realize I was like a wounded lion. I wrestled him to the ground and other students arrived the scene and separated us. I later got to know his name, (Omotayo). I was escorted to the boys hotel where some seniors asked me to kneel down at the quadrangle in front of the table tennis room. I knelt there for a long time and decided to get up the moment I saw the same boy that fought with me laughing at me. I rebuked him sternly and his friend by name Chuks who joined him to abuse me and another fight ensued since I could not bear it again. They were two against me; I knew I didn't stand a chance, so, as a Baracks boy, I rushed to my iron box opened it and quickly pulled out my pen knife and attacked them. I charged at them and some students playing tennis rushed out and one of them (Asuquo) held my hand from behind and they successfully got the knife from me. That was the begining of my real punishment (angle 90, pumping tyre, etc) until night. Murphy Murtala Mustapha (RIP) came and rescued me and gave me a place in his wardrobe to keep my box and a place to sleep in the (then) Independence House. My very first day in Command Jos was more than a welcome party. Ques. I remember you as a very serious student back in Command, even though a bit saucy sometimes. True? Na lie o, I appeared serious because when I came to Command I was just begining to learn how to speak English. So I didn't like talking lest people will discover my weakness. So, I foraged all the new books I was given religiously to learn. That is why I loved our then English Teacher (one tall Yoruba man). He taught us to read: "Was it a new school, the school was a new school." "Who invited the elders of the villages?" "The missionaries invited the elders of the villages". "Was it a new school....? He will keep repeating the sentence and walking around the class with his cane watching out for any student who was not repeating after him. That is why I learnt to make gestures, smiles etc instead of speaking out. Ques: Who do you remember as your two closest friends back then and how did you get so close? Ans: Ada Agada was my closest friend from Form 1 because she had such a fine handwriting. Each time we were given our piles of new books, I will hand over all my books to her to help me write my name on them and she always did it freely for me. That is why any day of action in the dinning hall, if I get extra egg, I will bring to Ada, likewise after orchard moves. My other best friend was Prosper Kofi Bonsi (a.k.a 'the crime buster'). We became so close because he was very good in Karate, Taikwando and Judo. He had a pair of Bruce Lee's Dragon sticks and was very good at using it. I got close to him so that he would teach me because there was a senior in my Republic House who always dealt with me especially when Murphy was not around, and I really longed to give him a fight. So, while guys were sleeping Prosper will be teaching me Karate. That senior today happens to be more than a friend; he is now a senior brother. I will not mention his name. Ques: Which of these did you participate in back in Command - 'action'; sneaking for film watching in town; orchard adventures? Ans: All of the above! I was master of the orchards; master of sneaking to go sleep in Unijos Students Village so that I could eat in their refectory courtesy of my Cousin Joyce Eniang who was a student there and always gave me bundles of meal tickets that I used to eat anytime I went there. Ques: Can you remember two of your favourite and two of your most unfavourite teachers, and why? Ans: My two favourite teachers were 1; our French teacher, l ate Mr. Okon Effiong Usanga, because he used to take me to his house in the staff quarters and I will enjoy the company of other teachers Mr. Akpakama, Mr. Mamman and Mr. Akpusu. 2; Mr. Jerry Idaewo our Agric teacher. He scored me 29/30 in one impromptu class test; after that I worked extra hard to maintain my lead in that subject. My unfavorite teachers were 'Cumbersome' and Mr. Oyeniyi. Ques: What happened to you immediately afterCommand Jos? Ans: I did everything humanly possible to go to NDA Kaduna but never did. I had no desire to go to university and of course there was no guaranteed sponsorship for me. I was taken to a workshop in Calabar as an apprentice mechanic but one morning the master caught me sleeping under a car when I was asked to losen the bottom plate. I had watched 'Man from Atlantis' till late the previous night and fell asleep on duty. The master sacked me telling my sponsor, "This boy does not belong here; before a car will fall on him one day and the family will arrest me". So I lost the whole of 1985 and part of 1986. But a lady friend of my elder brother Etim Eniang bought me a JAMB form and pleaded with me to write the Exam and forget about the Army and NDA. That is how my fortune changed. Ques: How did you develop interest in rare species of reptiles? Ans: It is from my years of hunting in the village at Itu as a little boy, even before coming to Command Jos and learnt more skills while foraging in the Orchards of Command and Maigona estates through which I used to sneak to Students Village and Naraguta campus of Unijos. I came in close contact with all manners of reptiles, birds, rodents and hedgehogs, but they never hurt me. I became used to foraging in the forests. Ques: Given personal experience what is your advice to young ones just leaving school? Ans: Be truthful to yourself, know your passion, cherish it and hold it firmly with determination. Seek out and have your role model and mentor. Shun all vices and flee from cheating and corrupt practices. Ques: If you had a choice, would you still choose Command Jos? Ans: Yes, Command Jos of our days was great. Ques: What's your greatest regret, if any, in life? Ans: Failure to join NDA and become an Army officer in Nigeria. Ques: ...and your positive turning point in life? Ans: When Akwa Ibom state Government awarded me a scholarship in 1988 and it covered my university education for 4 academic years. Ques: What are your expectations at the 50th reunion? Ans: I'm really looking forward to meeting good old friends and our former teachers again.

Posted: 2days ago

Author: Editor in Chief

Current date: 14 August 2026