. PROFESSOR AJIBADE


A SHORT STORY

BY

OLUSANYA OLALEYE(WalkingMind)



He is one educated unenlightened professor of hypocrisy, and you can always know him with his beer extended stomach. Unnaturally tall and quite huge, he's got an hippopotamus head on his polar bear neck. He is extensively brilliant, and he is such a man you will call a genius. He comes to classes with his marker all smiles and cheerful howbeit with a bitter soul.



He was supposed to take the class BCH202, a course code for Introduction to Cell Biology. The course was a general course and so all the life sciences were offering it with exception being students from zoology department. The class was unusually full that morning, owning to the inconspicuousness of the lecture theatre. The news of the fierceness of the course had reached ashore so students had to settle their buttocks for the walkway, even the fashionistas. Those who couldn't sit stood, and those who couldn't stand sat. Everyone was waiting for Prof. Ajibade to come.




"Today," Prof. Ajibade was saying five minutes later, "we shall continue from where we stopped last week..."




Prof. Ajibade spoke with annoying patience, unhurried, as though time was his to control and command. His voice was unstrained but his eyes astringent. He explained the topic of discussion painstakingly and then dictated some notes for the class. He was a young man, but he dictated like father Abraham.




"Like I said, this class is going to have an extra one hour. A compulsory obligated one hour. If you like you can leave, but if you love yourself you will wait. Because if you don't, I am going to take the attendance. And when I do, and your name is not found on it, I can very much well assure you you will take this course next year. You can dare me, and you will see what principle means."




There were no voice of aspersions on the professor's announcement. Professors in that department are taken to be gods of men, capable of doing and undoing so no one was ready to play the scape goat even if it meant a violation of rights and privileges. John was there, but he never spoke until it was Eleven O'clock, when the class was supposed to be originally over.



"Excuse me please, I will need to pass." John said to his seatmates who were staring at him.



"Hey! Gentleman, why are you disturbing the peace of the class?" Prof. Ajibola voiced his concerns.



"I'm not disturbing the peace of the class sir. I am taking my leave." John answered like he never spoke.



Prof. Ajibola allowed him.



"What's your name boy?" He asked after him at the door.



"John sir."



"Alright John. Do yourself a favour. Be sure to register this course again next session. I will make sure you score a 10F in this course."



John response threw the whole class into confusion. He laughed hysterically.



"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said. "But if you insist, Sir," he said with alter disrespect, "you can inform your family of your obituary. Because I can assure you as well you are having less than an hour to live."



The class was thrown into disbelief at the words of John. They couldn't believe what he just said. None of them could stand up either to run after him to persuade him to retract his words. Everyone was afraid of the unmoved Prof. Ajibade. John left the class without much of a looking back, and Prof. Ajibade continued his lecturing.



"Which department is that boy?" Prof. Ajibade asked with masked atavistic concerns two minutes to the promised time.



"Microbiology." The whole class chorused.



"Oh, I see. It can only be microbiology. Because in Biochemistry we don't nurture nuisance. Anyway, for those... for those..."



The news was soon all over the campus. WhatsApp pages would have headlines as "Hale And Hearty Professor Slumped Dead After Dead Threat By Student." National Dailies had their shares, as did The Tribune. The Professor's death became a hot topic of discussion in the media. A lot was USAID and discussed. Emphasis were laid on the tyranny of most professors and lecturers in tertiary institutions. Their tyranny and sadism damming the hope and future of many undergraduates. Much was said but nothing was done to John. There was no evidence to the effect.



John wrote his examinations and passed excellently, as did his friends. Contrary to expectations, the sadistic colleagues of deceased Prof. Ajibade in the department never showed their face. The death of Prof. Ajibade somehow marked the end of sadism in the department of Biochemistry, and other departments soon followed suit till sadism and academic tyranny became history in the history of All Hardwork University, AHU.



"No one can deny me success after sleepless nights of hard work. God will strike such a person down. Prof. Ajibade sadly was a good start." John told The Sun Newspaper.



THE END


Copyright©Olusanya Olaleye, 2017.