In the olden days, Africans believed in God as the owner of the universe and heaven but felt that He could only be reached through consultation of deities and idol worshipping. The Ijebu people were not any different, hence they call God ‘OLODUMARE’.
In the mid nineteenth century, Ijebu traders interacted with Lagos where western education had been embraced through Christianity. The high expectations of those traders were realised after the Imagbon war of 1892, which paved way for the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S), now Anglican Church, to spread the good news of evangelisation to the nooks and crannies of Ijebu land. By 1893, Christianity reached Ijebu Imusin with a thatched shed at Esure for divine worship by the Anglican Mission, and Rev. R. A. Coker as the Vicar in charge.
Alongside evangelisation and winning of souls, the missionary introduced western education and the church was used as a school. The first school, St. Mary’s Anglican School, was completed and dedicated by Rt. Rev. Oluwole in 1903, and Mr. Sofoluwe became the head teacher. However, with the steady growth of the church, there arose a controversy in April 1903 which led to the church being moved to its present site, a more central location, in Ijebu Imusin.
Some people who did not want to move out of Esure, brought the Catholic Church to Esure in November1903. This led to the simultaneous emergence of St. Claver’s Catholic School, Esure. Consequently, the Anglican and Catholic Missions, in order to win more adherents, established several primary schools in the various communities; some of which now bear the tag of local government schools when government’s take-over policy of schools commenced. The schools involved include St. Andrew’s Anglican, Imuwen; St. Peter’s (now Ajebo) United Primary School, Ikala; LG Primary School, Igbaga; Community Primary School, Idomodu; and L. G. Primary School, Kokunnesere.
It should be noted that the community, because of its quest for qualitative education, now has as many as eight each of public and private schools. It is also to be noted with pride that up to 40 pupils came from Ijebu-Ode, Owu/Ikija, Ijebu-Ife, and Imomo to complete their Standard Six education in Ijebu Imusin, as most schools then ended in Standard Four.
It is also worthy of note that Muslim Primary School, Ijebu Imusin, took off in 1946 with a unique feature of being a full school (Infant 1 to Standard 6). This affected the two existing schools as the muslim pupils withdrew from there to attend the school of their own.
St. Andrew’s Grammar School, Esure, Ijebu Imusin, established by the Catholic Mission, was the first Grammar School in the present Ijebu East and Ogun Waterside Local Governments. It took off on 19th December 1954, with the first intake commencing lectures in February 1955. With a new education policy by the then Western Region Government, St. Martin’s Catholic Modern School came into existence in 1957, while Muslim Secondary Modern School, and L.A. Secondary Modern School (present site of Federal Government Science and Technical College) took of later. Ijebu Imusin Comprehensive High School came up in September 1980, while the defunct Ehinade Comprehensive High School took off in September 1981.
It is a credit to Ijebu-Imusin that it was the only community which built a Domestic Science Centre which was attended by all her primary schools. Its site is now shared by Sapida Microfinance Bank, Ijebu-Imusin, and the new public library, the CPA-CLI Ijebu Imusin Community E-Library. A portion of the house of Canon S. O. Osiyale (of blessed memory) has been used as a community library for decades, even till now that the building is going through reconstruction.
For reference purposes, the Ijebu-Imusin Annual Rally which dates back to 1944, was started not only for the oneness of the community, but equally for the burning desire to attain first class education for the citizens of the community. One (if not the very first) of Ijebu-Imusin early graduates, who was then the secretary of the Ijebu-Ode branch of Ijebu Imusin Progressive Society (IPS), Mr. (later Canon) D. Ade Odutayo of blessed memory, encouraged the IPS to introduce competitive examinations for pupils. This was after he had paid a visit to St. Peters (now Ajebo United Primary School, Ikala) in April 1944 and found that the pupils had little or no knowledge of the community. Thus, the first examination took place in December 1944. What happened thereafter is now history. It is a pride that the 70th edition of the Rally took place in the same year an e-library was founded in the community.