₦airaland Forum

Later on, she came to carry Joshua inside the room. I know she wouldn't ask me to help her. Its very difficult trying to carry someone who can't walk at all, especially if he/she is big enough to be a father.

I didn't know what to do.
Should i go and help her? Or should i just look away?
My heart couldn't contain the later. She carried Joshua off the chair and they limped as they went, step after step. My heart was beating east. Should i go and assist?

Then the cry of my cousin Joshua tore across my heart as he whispered my name to our hearing. He was calling of to come and assist him.

"Shedy ...."

I sprang up immediately. My emotions couldn't take it.
I held one of his hands as his mother was holding the other.

"Please, please, go away"

"Let me help, you, let me help ..."

"No! I said go away"

She replied as she pushed me away with her free hand, clutching my cousin tightly with the other hand.

I went away and sat down.

As they got to the room, Joshua cried, like a baby, and his she consoled him.

I was shaken.

I put my head on the table and cried too.
He might be crying for the pains in his body or for the fact that his mum won't let me help, but i was crying for the pains of emotions, i felt bad deep within me , seeing mother and son limping as they struggled on. I was so moved and filled with fresh surges of emotions of brotherly love.


I opened this book, my diary, and poured out my burden in black and white.


By tomorrow morning i'll be leaving.
By tomorrow around this time i'ld be in my home, among my family, among my friends, among my loved ones!


25-June-2015 12.17am

Joshua! Get well soon! - Sir Mescopaul





Thanks for reading.
Feel free to comment, like and share.


For more inspiring stories, quotes, and articles visit
www.mvjafrica..com

JUNE 24 2015 11.17pm


[size=4pt] Upper Mission, Opp New Era School, Benin City, Edo state [/size]


Its so funny that I remember you diary today. From the last time i wrote on you till today, its exactly 136 days. Its also funny that I remember you mostly when i'm emotionally tensed up, and it seems i always happen to be in a new place and environment. Whatever be the case , i'll write on you today no matter what. Whether i'll continue tomorrow or not is storY for another time.


Its now 11.23pm and my host (my aunt and cousin) are fast asleep or maybe they aren't. The talk about my relations pisses me off. I just have a very unfortunate family relations. Alright, I found myself in the city of Benin a week and two days from today. My cousin is sick and i was asked - or should I say begged - to come "stay around" him as my aunt would be off to work every morning. Benin is cool. There's light, and what's more my aspiring university is there! So I thought, "It'll be a fantastic time!". Though a small goods prodding nudged me from time to time, kinda saying ,


"You're going to live with your aunt? Aunt?? Have you forgotten so soon the kind of aunts you have? ".


I tried to shove them aside but they were so intransigent, so i defended myself with ,

"Well. This one in Benin is not like the others, and moreover i'm a BIG boy now, and i'm not gonna take pooh!".


My inner proddings was somehow satisfied , but in a deep corner of my heart, it kept alerting me from time to time like the beeping lights of a Blackberry curve one.

It kept saying,

"THEY are all the same".

I left Happy Home Ibusa Delta State to Upper Mission Benin city Edo state in this state of emotional instability. The first sight of my sick cousin sent shivers down my spine. My heart was immediately broken. I wept within me. I still vividly remember the sight of him and i dont wish to pen it down, perhaps someone else might be reading this now, and i don't want to break my heart further by exposing his conditions in words to an "outsider".

I didnt know what i was in for at first, but after i've changed my clothings and settled down, it didnt't take minutes before it dawned on me that i've just escaped being update and addressed like a "houseboy" by just a pinch of salt. By the rest of the days my chores ranged from sweeping, washing clothes, plates, cooking, watch-guarding my cousin, running endless errands etc. Apart from these, the chores had its own individual doses of insults, Mockery, shouting, rebuking, laughing and ingratitude attached to them, (Though gratitude came in occassionally, but they had no sooner arrived than they're washed away and wiped off by complains and rebukes)

lol noo
..
the thing be say to type for andriod na war. after i buy my nokia java i go continue..meanwhile read more on my blog
www.mvjafrica..com

thanks

handmaid:
@ op..I saw the invite laat night, thanks. Would be back to read.

Welcome my handmaid

Do i still have an audience

********

Our maths teacher, a man alwayss with his glassses, was a "terrible" man. He had his own method and pattern of punishment, and it was hilarious and dangerous. He had no time for play or non-sense, nether did he have time for flogging or shouting. I don't really know he knew the subject very well, because I vividly remembered him trying to solve a question in the aptitude test booklet he which he always uses while teaching. He actually solved and resolved a particular question, still he got the wrong answer. He solved it again, and again, and again. He paused staired blankly at the blackboard, then he wiped the board clean, and started all over again, and at this junction we all burst out laughing. He hardly noticed our laughter, he simply said,
"I'll check this question again, and try it later. Good day."

With that he walked away as we laughed on. He cared less about our laughter, but he hates it when we disobey his instructions. Normally he would come to our class, and instead of teaching us separately (A & B), he would always combine us together in one class, and it was our class that has to go over to join the other class, they never come over to join us, and we were all tired of going over to the other class to recieve our maths lectures. We complained, but it seemed as if we were talking to the air. So he came on a particular day.

"Sir we have maths"
"Yes, join the other class here"
"Sir, let them come over , let them join us here, let them .....we are the only...."

As if he didn't hear what we were saying he repeated absent mindedly.

"Join the other class for mathematics"
Then he went over to the other class and started teaching immediately. Some of us lingered about, while others totally decided not to join the other class, because we have to start carrying our seats, and oh! we were tired of that ...
We lingered on, still grumbling and complaining, as the lessons went on in the next class. Then slowly our complainings turned into jokes, and laughter began erupting, and the noise of voices grew steadily. We totally forgot that we were supposed to be in the next class learning Mathematics. Then suddenly without warning Mr Maths dashed in from the door leading to the next class were he was teaching. He said nothing, rather he moved to the nearest wooden stool, picked it up and hurled it at us, picked another, and again hurled it at us. Pandemonium broke out. Students ran in different angles as Mr Maths' misseles flew round the class, he was hurling at us items ranging from wooden stools, plastic stools, planks, logs of broken wood and other hard weapon he could find in the class. Those that tried to run past him through the door, Mr Maths targeted his misseles at them, and i'm sure he must have gotten many or some of them, i really don't know because the rest of us located the nearest window, and like cats we leapt over the windows, and guess what we were doing : laughing!

When the class was deserted , Mr Maths went back to the other class and continued his teaching as if he was not the one hurling wooden stools at us a few minutes ago. One after the other we took our books and sneaked into his class, ready to learn. This was Mr Maths' method of punishment, and it was hilarious and very dangerous. My sister in the senior class told me of how this same Mr Maths took up heavy wooden stools and hurled them at her and her classmates when they came late for his lectures. So much from Mr Maths...

Sorry guys for the delay, i was out of the social world for reasons beyond my control ...
So were did i stop ??

Our government teacher Mr Anere claimed to be a tough man for us in the school. We were somehow afraid of him, but we also had this inkling that he was also afraid of us but was suppressing it being a man he was, but normally as to his personality, we were slightly afraid of him and no one had ever mocked or jeered him or laugh at his presence. We kept our distance whenever we saw him and whenever he taught us we were extremely quiet, no one wanted to be a scapegoat in the hands of our government teacher. Apart from his strict personality, he was also a good teacher but not a good joker. Kudos to him for the knowledge I have today in government!
Consequently a day came when we threw caution to the wind and defied his instruction.

It was a march past practice for the May 24th children's day, and Omg! we hated march past so much, I inclusive. Infact I loathed it. My class boys said that march past were for the girls, and the girls said the boys must participate too, and so while the junior students (who had no option) took to the field under the blazing sun marching and sweating, we stood on the balcony of our class overlooking the field, leaned on the railings and watched the junior students practicing on the field, while we chatted and discussed happily and gracefully. Happy that the senior students didn't disturb us about the march past that day, but Mr Anere would hear none of it. He sighted us from the field were he was, stopped what he was doing and started walking towards the school building. We knew immediately that trouble was looming because we were determined not to engage in the march past. Mr Anere finally got to near the building, looked up and pointed his cane at us and ordered,

"All of you should get down before I get up there!"
"Oburo di mmu k'ona gwakwa oo"
"M m'ejero marching obula "
"Ife g'eme ya mee tata"
.......
Our wings grew over night. We became annoyed instantly.

Mr Anere threatened us again and this time we ignored him, passed some silly comments in reply and averted our gaze from his unsmiling face. After throwing the threat for the 3rd time, he climbed up the stairs and headed towards our class. He lashed out with his cane at anyone he found on his way up and ordered them to the field. Then he got to our class.

"Oya what are all of you doing here?"
And before we could say anything he's hand had already gone up bringing it down hard on the students nearest to him. Then the "run around " began.
Our class was totally surrounded by balcony. So as Mr Anere chased us this side, we ran to the other side, yelling and laughing in excitement as we ran. He chased us round and round untill he got tired and left off pursuing us. He went downstairs towards the staff quarters. We enjoyed every minute of the run around as we talked about it, cracked more jokes and our bodies shook with laughter. We resumed our former position on the balcony leaning on the railings watching the march past, smiling and feeling gay , boys , girls and all!

* * * * * * * * * *

Mr Okoye our principal was far fro6 being a disciplinarian. Students made fun of him at his back, and RIGHT IN HIS PRESENCE!
He had this fearful character. A boy misbehaved during the assembly and Mr Okoye happen to be around, so he called the boy. The boy ignored the call and was headed for the gate. Mr Okoye was angry. He walked towards the boy, one sluggish step after the other, as if he were trying to placate the ground.

"I said come back here !"
Mr Okoye yelled.

"Bia kam nukwa ife diko!" The boy replied as he walked majestically towards the gate, his white and white uniform sparkled in the morning light.


"If i get you , i'll deal with you, who's there? Where is the SP?"

Mr Okoye's feet were glued to one spot on the ground as he spoke. He only managed to wave his cane in the air as he shouted once more.

"I said come back here! Don't cross that gate!"

The boy totally ignored him.

"Emm ....emm..," As he turned to us still queued up for the assembly. Laughter played simultaneously on our faces. We were really enjoying the drama going on and wished it will continue, we were not ready to spoil the fun.

"Emm ... I said somebody should get him, get that boy for me !" He ordered.

Story for the gods. We stayed put, trying as much as possible to suppress the stubborn laughter that rocked our body.
A giggle swept through the students untill the boy got to the gate, looked back at the cursing principal and stylishly walked out leaving Mr Okoye staring after him in saddness , both feet still rooted to one spot. That was Mr Okoye, my, our principal!

Apart from his weakness, another thing that dented Mr Okoye's personality was his excessive love for money. All the students knew this, and consequently we lost all the respect we had for him. You dare owe him a dime and you're in for it.

A time came when principal came to my class to talk about those still owing the school fees. As he came along , word had already gone round that the principal was coming and the chanting , taunting and jeering began. Students started hailing him like they would a student who had beaten up a teacher.
The shouts of

"Mr Okoye!" rent the air.

"Okoye for principal!"
"Okoye for Pm!!"

He came into our class, and I can't remember we greeting him. We managed to hear him out amidst the throwing of one or two words from different angles of the class. If any of the words thrown was funny enough, we would totally ignore the talking principal and have a dose of laughter after which we would grow quiet again waiting for one of us to throwing the next ribcracking joke. We hardly paid attention to what our principal was saying. When he finished, he turned his back like a robot started walking away with his characteristic one foot after the other. As marched away, the class roared after him

"Mr Okoye!" "Mr Okoye!!"
"Okoye for principal!!"
"Okoye for Pm!"
"A mam if'okwu!" - Do i know what he's saying?
"Okoye!!"

The students got the "Okoye for principal" phrase from what he always wrote at the 'Principal's Remark and Sign spaces in our result sheets.

fhunn:
hehehe....another legend?

its a "Lane" this time around

* * * * * * * * * *

We had so many fracas with the students in "power" at that time. We demanded respect being in SS1 and they in SS2 , but they deprived up completely of boy respect. One of the fracas, I had earlier penned, and yet another is this.

It was a thursday. Thursdays were days of fellowship which was held in the school hall across the main school building overlooking the school field. We had returned from the fellowship and were in our class when Pascal, a senior prefect came in with some of his gang. They called one of my closest friends, Christian and said something to him, then they went away.

Later they came back, and before we knew it, a big fight had started, this time between Pascal and Christian. Pascal delivered a calculated punch on Christian's left cheek and before we could blink our eyes, the cheek had swollen like a big ball. Next was action. All our boys sprang up to defend our own, but Pascal was a tough and powerful boy (The strongest in the school at that time), even our BIG ONE was no match for him. He beat Christian with resounding punches as my class boys ran to save Christian from further blows. Pascal asked the boys to move away, but no one paid him attention. Pascal had a very hot and bad temper. He left us and went away as we whisked Christian away.

Then as usual we started planning a revenge. We were still on it when Pascal heard of our plan and became enraged and declared war on Christian alone. Shirts were pulled and thrown aside, sandals were were mercilessly discarded and blows rained. Of course i stood and watched all the time. The fight escalated into an intra-school war. Upstairs was too small to fight anymore. Christian ran downstairs into the open field, and Pascal was like

"Na me you dey run go field for?"

He came down too and the biggest fight i've ever seen played out right in front of me. The whole of my class went downstairs, boys, girls and all. The whole of Pascal's class , mainly the boys came down too, and as Pascal and Christian soughted it out with their fists, every one of my class boys looked out for the nearest boy from Pascal's class and started a fight with him too. So it was no more Pascal and Christian, but my class and the senior students. The school was in disarray. Lectures went on hold. The whole was filled with fighting students. The girls clapped and shouted in joy!

Mr Okoye, the principal came down. The teachers came down too, but they could do visibly nothing. At last our CRS teacher saved the day.

She went out boldly into the midst of fighting students, located Pascal and pulled him. She led him out of the throng of students and tried to pacify him.

"Let nobody talk to me! Let nobody hold me!!"
Yelled Pascal as he pulled out of the teacher's hand and angrily went upstairs to his class. Then the other fightings stopped simultaneously. We were all asked to go inside. Later i got to know what ignited the biggest fight in Community Secondary School.

Christian had carried a chair to the fellowship that morning, unknowingly to him the chair belonged to Pascal's cousin, a little girl from the JSS class. She had trailed her chair up to the school hall and had demanded it from Christian who in turn asked her to in and get another one for him or remain standing. The girl had allegedly thought another chair and sat with it. Then after the fellowship Christian left the chair at the school hall thinking the girl would take it back, but the girl later came to Christian and demanded the chair from him. Christian told her to get the chair from the school hall and instead of doing so , she went and reported Christian to her "brother" Pascal, who in turn sent across a message that Christian should go get the chair from the school hall by himself or else ......

So much from that incident ...

To cut it short, Christian sent one of the girls from our class, who went and brought the chair. Later on, Pascal ordered the girl from our class to return the chair back and that he wants Christian to get the chair himself. Christian bluntly refused and blows started raining and ......

...................


There were also times when our school students fought with the corpers. A particular corper, a young man came along the scene , and he had this "no-nonsense" air that trailed him, but who cared anyway?

He didn't and never taught any of our subjects, but he always patronised our class, looking for who to punish one way or the other. My classmates visibly hated him. Most times he dared and challenged anyone to a combat, he gave instructions and we would gladly break them. A day came when he entered my class.

"I don't want to see anybody outside,"

Silence.

"If i do, i'll punish the whole class,"

Silence.

"Am I clear!"

Silence.

Then he walked away. He had barely gotten to the stairs when the corridor was flooded with boys and girls. Some chatting noisily, others laughing and some breathing hard, waiting for the so-called "no nonsence" corper.
Then like a flash, he came with a long lanky cane, and
"swoosh!" "Taa taa taaa!" he flogged the students mercilessly. Many ran inside the class, others ran round the balcony.
A particular boy, Chinedu challenged him.
The corper followed him inside the class, whipping and flogging. The boy kept dodging and the corper kept missing.

Chinedu jumped to his seat, and
"oh i've got him"
the corper thought, but Chinedu was a prankster. Initially he had tied a chain from the window bars to the other window bar that was at an angle of 90 degrees , and his locker was just behind the chain at the end of the blocks of the class, so the chain acted like a shield over his locker and chair.
The angry corper rushed towards Chinedu and ............

The scene is still very vivid in my mind's eye. At long last the corper left and laughter erupted throughtout the class. The strokes of the cane barely touched Chinedu, as the chain helped fend them off.


* * * * * * * * * *

Two tall lanky and handsome male corpers came to our school in those days. These two were an epitome of pride. They bounced as they walked, chatted stylishly and spoke fluently. We gave one a name "Who will train my children".

Who-will-train-my-children was always fond of giving advice upon advice at the assembly ground. On one occasion of his many advice, he intoned that statement with all seriousness and passion, but the students were not moved by the fervor with which he spoke, rather the statement stuck on him as his name.

We were having our Inter house sports and it was time for the inter house football match for the finals.
Who-will-train-my-children was asked to be the referree of the match. As the sun scorched the earth and the players came out in their beautiful jersies, who-will-train-my-children came out with a small towel across his neck, a whistle in hand and a stylish step graced his neat clothes. The students laughed at him. At least a referree is supposed to be sharp, quick and should be at a point proximal to where the ball is.
Who-will-train-my-children walked about the field majestically. He would stand afar off and blow the whistle, and of course many of his assertions were wrong and this got the players really angry. The students booed and mocked him.

"Nekwa ka nwoke ma n'eme guy na field"
(See how this my man is "doing guy" on the field)

"Ochena anyi bia ebe a igwu egwu?" (He thought we came here to play?)

It was evident that who-will-train-my-children didn't deliver his best for during the 2nd half of the game we saw a differetnt referree who knew his work well enough..

Thx Pretty!
Noted Logo, thnx, i rilly appreciate, as 4 d spacing, typing n spacing with my phone isn't all dat easy, esp when it isn't the qwerty type, buh i'll see wof 'can do..

Later that day while we were in class Edith asked me if I didn't have brown sandals, to which i said no, then she advised me not to wear either ran slippers or black sandals next time, that I should buy a brown sandal!
That was four years ago, when I came newly to the school, now in SS2, I didn't think Edith was still a student because I hardly see her in school.

* * * * * * * * * *

My classmates were very funny and silly. When lessons were not going on, all sorts of jokes are cracked live in the class with the rest of us laughing heartily. During those days, new teachers were brought and of course they were Core members. These youth corpers mostly were not Igbo oriented, they don't understand and they don't speak Igbo and that was a great advantage for my naughty classmates. I personally do really pity for those young corpers that are normally brought to my school. The barricature meted out on them by my classmates were hilarious and downgrading. I remember a particular Hausa corper that was brought to teach .....oops i can't remember the subject ...,

**smacks head roughly**

This young Hausa corper was so skinny and lean that my classmates nicknamed him "Okporoko" meaning "Stock fish"
Undermining his stature and body build, this young Hausa corper paraded himself round the school as if he wasn't aware of the laughter that his presence evoked in the students or perhaps he didn't care.
As he would back the class writing on the blackboard, my classmates would throw all sorts of mockery at him in Igbo, and what could he do?
Nothing of course. My classmates were very cold and ill-mannered, courtesy was strange to them.
A day came when one of the corpers was teaching and the whole class was buzzing with noise. The young man would shout at us, quietness would temporarily return and before he could speak three to four words again, the whole place was noisy again. It continued for long until the corper got annoyed and burst out angrily on one of the boys throwing a chalk furiously at him and yelled,
"Would you sit the hell down and shut up!!"
The boy mockingly shouted back in reply
"Biko, ozugo mak'igbum di anyi", ("Please, its okay, don't kill me friend!" and the class burst out laughing, this was just how my classmates treated the youth corpers.

Another notable and hilarious event that i would never forget easily happened with another youth corper in my school.
He (or is it she?) came new and decided to introduce himself. He took a piece of chalk and wrote his name on the board and thereafter proceeded to know our names too.
Remember there coppers were daft when it comes to Igbo language. The class made fun of him that day. I held my stomach amidst laughter. The copper went from seat to seat asking,
"So what's your name?"
and you can guess the replies.
Nobody gave their real names except me of course and some few that had a good conscience.
My classmates gave names like
"Maazi ota orji" (Elder that eats kola)
"Ibu ewu" - You're a goat.
"Mkpi" - Male goat.
"Ibu noo anuofia" - You're just a bush animal, and so on.

Actually they were raining abuses and curses on him , and the poor man who was so simple minded as to raise an eyebrow to the incessant laughter that shook the class whenever anyone said his was busy grining widely, a broad smile on his face, taking in everything. He swallowd all the curses and abuses without even knowing it! Terrible!