The late Phillip Howard Davis: A Quintessential College Administrator

As activities marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of Federal Government College, Warri (FGCW) switch into top gear this week, one individual that will always be remembered positively in the annals of FGCW history is Mr Phillip Howard Davis (PH Davis for short). PH Davis was college principal at FGCW between 1968 and 1980. Mr Davis’ period as principal could rightly be described as the golden era of FGCW history.
A lot has already been written about the academic excellence of FGCW in the 70s and early 80s and the large number of excellent products from that institution in both public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy as well as in the Diaspora bears eloquent testimony to this assertion. Indeed in 1974, FGCW produced the best result in West Africa at the West African School Certificate examinations; a record which has not been beaten till date. But the credit of this extraordinary performance lies in the leadership provided by this British-born retired soldier-cum-school administrator.
The discipline, determination and commitment exhibited by Mr PH Davis during those days are hard to find these days. Here was a man who breathed, ate and slept FGCW. He had no fixed working hours and you would see him at the hostel inspections by 7.00am, at the assembly by 8.00am, in his office during classes, taking very sick students from the schools sick bay to Warri General hospital by 12.00 noon and see him even after lights-out by 10.00 pm making sure that the students were not breaking any of his 42 school rules and regulations.
The first thing that shocked every new student entering FGCW in those days was the way Mr Davis will call out your name the very first time you are meeting him in his spacious office. Most new students were shocked that this old Englishman knew their names. We later realised that Mr Davis had the passport photograph of each and every student pasted on the notice board in his office. This shows the level of commitment and interest he had in his students. And the fact of the matter was that after that initial encounter you immediately began to feel welcome and comfortable in the strange and far away environment (especially those of us coming from the farthest parts of Northern Nigeria).
There were 42 school rules and regulations during the time of Mr Davis. And Mr Davis personally conducted his civics class for all the new students during the first term of the new session so that everyone understands properly the rules and regulations. There were rules on all aspects of school and dormitory life ranging from serious laws banning smoking, drinking of alcoholic drinks and absenteeism from classes to the simplest ones about observing an hour’s siesta every afternoon. But of all the school rules the most ingenious one was school rule No 1 which states that “a breach of common sense or good manners is a breach of school rules”.
When asked to elaborate on that rule Mr Davis said anything that breaches common sense or good manners breaches the school rules. In other words whether something is stated in the school rules or not, once it breaches common sense, it becomes a punishable offence. That is why you could get punished for not buttoning up your shirt’s last but one button or not buckling up your sandals even though they were not stated in the school rules. Today when I see someone jumping the queue in a public place, I remember Mr Davis School rule No 1 because it breaches good manners and is a punishable offence even if it is not stated in the Nigerian constitution.
Punctuality is another watchword of our late principal. From the time the rising bell goes by 5.45am, you are expected to not only participate in all the schools activities but also to be punctual. That is why for instance if you are not in the dining hall for breakfast 20 minutes after the bell has been rung you stand the chance of forfeiting it. The wisdom behind this being that if you are eating your breakfast late you will also be late for assembly, classes and so on.
But by far the most important attribute of Mr PH Davis is his level of transparency and accountability in the conduct of government business. I recall when we started experiencing water scarcity in the school around 1974/75. Mr Davis went to the Federal Ministry of Education in Lagos to consult with the ministry officials on the matter. On his return from Lagos he announced at the school assembly hall that the contract for drilling a borehole in the school had been awarded to a company called Balakani Borehole Experts. Shortly after, the company came and did the work and water scarcity in the school became history.
Saturday evenings were for school dance, film shows, variety nights and traditional dances. The school also boasted of a school band called the MELBEATS that produced music that could compare with those played by OFEGE, the popular band of St Gregory’s College, Lagos in the 70s.
May the soul of Papa Davis continue to rest in perfect peace.
Abubakar Wachiko Abdulrahman [email protected]