MEMBERS of the 1971-1976 set of the African Church Grammar School, Apata, Ibadan, have paid tribute to their late principal, Chief Samuel Ayoola Dada, describing him as a model of discipline, compassion and creativity.
The tributes were delivered during the third biennial memorial lecture to mark the 100th posthumous birthday of the late educationist held via Zoom.
In a lecture titled ‘Shaped by discipline, led with compassion, released into creativity’, the guest speaker, Peter Adegbie, said the late Chief Dada’s leadership style laid the moral and academic foundation that made ACGS Apata a pacesetter in Oyo State.
He described Chief Dada who would have clocked 100 years on 10th of September as a visionary who believed that education must free the mind, not cage it.
Adegbite recalled the late principal’s zero tolerance for indiscipline, but also his fatherly approach to correction.
‘Chief Dada did not just run a school. He raised a generation. He shaped us by discipline, led us with compassion, and released us into creativity.
‘He was firm, but he was kind. If you erred, he would discipline you, then call you later to pray with you. That balance is rare today.’
One of the children of the late principal, Dr Olumayowa Dada, thanked the Old Students for keeping his legacy alive through the memorial lecture.
Dr. Dada further commended the 1976 set for choosing not only to remember their former principal but also to institutionalize that remembrance.