Lisabi Grammar School

Lisabi Grammar School, Idi- Aba, Abeokuta.
Address
Lisabi Road, Idi-Aba Abeokuta , Ogun State Nigeria
Coordinates	7°08′27″N 3°22′13″E / 7.1409°N 3.3704°E / 7.1409; 3.3704
Information
Type	Day school & boarding school
Motto	Labor et Patientia
Established	25 September 1943 (81 years ago) (1943-09-25)
Founder	Julius Olusesan Popoola
Status	Open
Principal	Mrs. Odutayo (Senior), Mrs. Joseph (Junior)
Gender	Mixed
Campus type	Urban
Website	https://lisabialumni.org/

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Lisabi Grammar School (LGS) is a coeducational public high school in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. It was founded in September 1943, as Lisabi Commercial College at Ijoko. It became a grammar school (Lisabi Grammar School) in 1961. Currently, it is located at its permanent site in Idi-Aba, Abeokuta.

The school began functioning in 1943 and is one of the oldest schools in Ogun State.^[1][2][3]

The 1940s were the start of educational history in Abeokuta. Before the establishment of Lisabi Grammar School^[4] there were just two secondary schools in the whole of what was then regarded as Egba Division, comprising Abeokuta, Ifo Area, Egba Owode, and Egba Odeda.

The condition for establishing a secondary school in the colonial era was organized such that only missionary organizations had the material to establish such institutions. Earlier schools therefore, tended to be Religious in nature. Abeokuta Grammar School and Baptist Boys' High School, which were established by the Anglican and Baptist missions respectively, were examples local to Lisabi Grammar. The desire for education was increasing and the number of students seeking admission into secondary schools equally swelled; with too many of them being unable to gain admission into existing ones.

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It was with the foregoing background that the then Lisabi Commercial College had its conception in 1942, when the founder, Mr. Julius Olusesan Popoola proposed the idea to his wife Chief (Mrs.) Victoria Adesola Popoola of establishing a school. This idea enjoyed the support of the wife as both of them were trained professional teachers. While this idea was being nurtured, the wife was a teacher at Sagamu Girls College while the husband was a highly rated French and Latin teacher at Abeokuta Grammar School, Abeokuta.

From inception, the visions of the founding partners were clear. The husband identified the following goals for the school:

• It must be a commercial school with the intention of producing students who will be academically good and equally able to use their hands in the areas of typing, shorthand, etc.

• The products of the school must be able to be independent after graduating from the school; that is, be self-employed based on sound knowledge of typing, shorthand, and other commercial subjects.

While the above were the desires of the husband, the wife was nursing the hope of a school where she would be able to impact the students' vocational skills like food and nutrition, home management, fine arts, tailoring, and hand-craft. The successful matching of both sets of objectives formed the initial propelling force that got the school started.

The school started in September 1943, in Ijoko, Abeokuta with an enrollment of 15 students, but three months after in December 1943, it had grown to a record-breaking enrollment of 250 students. A few factors contributed to this spontaneous growth of the school at the onset:

• The philanthropic and charitable nature of Mr. and Mrs. Popoola drew a lot of people to them. Many needy, but promising students were granted admission and awarded scholarships.
• The unparalleled attribute of genuine hard work of the co-founders since their employment days which was carried over to the newly established school engendered people’s confidence in them.
• Provision of boarding facilities to cater for students from distant places.
• The existence of complementary primary school to tender pupils prospecting to enter the college but were a bit below the required standard.

In February 1954, Mr. Julius Olusesan Popoola died. The situation looked like what could spell disaster for the nascent school. However, Chief (Mrs.) Victoria Adesola Popoola rose to the challenge. Today what stands as Lisabi Grammar School survived because of her.

Right from inception, Lisabi Commercial College had complements of good administrators and staff. While other schools of the same status were finding their feet, the school had started enjoying popularity and fame. In just barely a decade after the commencement of the school, the following abstract from records showed how well-rated the school was during its early life:

7 December 1955 – "I came here on an invitation to be chairman of the end-of-session activities. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. I wished I stayed longer." Mr. Oki- Govt. Dental Surgeon, Abeokuta.

31 January 1956- "Much effort to improve general conditions has been made. The general atmosphere is good. Pupils are well-trained and polite. Both the principal and staff appear interested in the welfare of the school." – Miss Miller (Briton) – Ministry of Education, Ibadan.

The growth and development became steady; thus expansion was imminent. A search for a permanent home of the school became inevitable under the circumstances. Providence smiled at the school and brought it to the present location that had become its permanent site since early 1963.

In December 2022, the Lisabi Grammar School Old Students Association completed and inaugurated a multi-purpose lawn tennis court for the school as part of events celebrating the 40th anniversary of their graduation. The association's president, Oloye Muhyi-deen Kazeem, explained that the project was chosen to empower students in various ways—morally, economically, physically, and mentally. He added that the project was divided into three phases: the first phase involved the reconstruction of the old, deteriorating lawn courts; the second phase included the installation of a wire fence around the courts; and the third phase saw the construction of a spectator seating area.^[5]

In the mid-sixties, the former Western Region Government started the gradual elevation of commercial schools to comprehensive [Arts / Commercial /Science] schools. Lisabi Commercial College was converted under this arrangement to Lisabi Grammar School in 1961, and the first set of science students passed out in 1971.

Another milestone was reached in the history of the school in 1975, when the government of the former Western Region made a complete takeover of all available secondary schools. This policy changed the status of the school to a full-fledged public school.

The school has over the years turned out numerous students that can be found all over the world working at the highest levels in various professions and organizations. The school has produced many distinguished accountants, academicians, lawyers, judges, politicians, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, artists, and captains of industry.

LIGSOSA is the association of old students (boys and girls) of Lisabi Grammar School. Led by a global body known as the Global Executive Council with its headquarters in Abeokuta, the association operates through sets and branches all over Nigeria and across the globe.

The national body of Lisabi Grammar School Old Students Association (LIGSOSA) was established by the founding fathers from the existing Abeokuta and Lagos branches. The Lagos and Abeokuta branches merged to set up the Constitution Drafting Committee in December 1985. On the conclusion of the Committee’s assignment, Protem National Officers were constituted on October 26, 1986.^[6]

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