Reverend Father O'Connell dies at 85 after retiring as the longest serving school principal in Nigeria

The longest serving school principal in Nigeria, Reverend Father Jeremiah Dermot O'Connell has passed away in his country home in the Republic of Ireland at 85. He returned to the Republic of Ireland after his retirement in 2017.

- Reverend Father Jeremiah Dermot O'Connell, the longest serving school principal in Nigeria, has died

- Father O'Connell died in his country home in the Republic of Ireland at the age of 85

- He returned to the Republic of Ireland in 2017 after a long sojourn in Nigeria for over 50 years

The longest serving school principal in Nigeria, Reverend Father Jeremiah Dermot O'Connell has passed away in his country home in the Republic of Ireland.

The veteran school principal, teacher and catholic priest had returned to the Republic of Ireland after his long sojourn in Nigeria for over five decades as a school principal, Wuzup Naija reports.

NAIJ.com notes that reports from Ireland confirmed that he died in the early hours of Wednesday, March 14, 2018.

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The veteran principal was 85 years and was the longest-serving school principal in Niger state and Nigeria before he retired from the services of Niger state government and returned home in 2017.

In 1967, he arrived Nigeria as a missionary and first worked as catholic priest in Calabar before relocating to Niger state where he became a school principal at the Government Secondary School, Minna.

The Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Farouk Bahago bestowed and conferred Father O'Connell with the traditional title of Jagaban Illimin Minnna by the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Farouk Bahago

Father O'Connell who was still teaching and administering the school with strength at 84, was known for his high intelligence, retentive memory and a good grasp of the local language, including Hausa, Gbagyi and Nupe.

Upon his death, the school management ordered the immediate suspension of the finals of the school’s sports festival.

For his meritorious services and contributions to the Nigerian education sector and humanity, the late principal had received National Honours award of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) from the federal government. He was also a recipient of several national and international awards.

At the farewell reception organised for him in March 2017, the Niger state government honoured and immortalised him by renaming the Government Secondary School after him as Father O'Connell College, Minna.

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that Niger state Governor, Abubakar Bello said that 60 percent of primary and secondary school teachers in public schools in the state used fake and invalid certificates to obtain teaching jobs.

It was reported that Bello made the statement when he received members of the board of directors of Bida Emirate Education Forum, led by its Chairman, Prof Jonathan Ndagi, in Minna.

He said that the attention of the state government had been drawn to the fact that most primary and secondary school teachers used fake certificates to get employment.

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Source: Naija.ng