₦airaland Forum

Monday


Back in class today and everything flowed effortlessly. That experience only a corper truly understands. When students resume school, suddenly your days have a kind of structure and it is regimented. It felt good to be back again.

I took a short Christmas break, stepped away from the same routine, rested well, ate properly, and yes, added a little flesh in the right places 🤣🤣🤣🤣. No complaints there. Sometimes, resting is not laziness, it is a necessary maintenance. Life has a way of rewarding you when you pause long enough to breathe.

There is something deeply fulfilling about returning refreshed, with a clearer mind.

Sometimes, you really do need to take your head off certain things, reset, and come back better.


Tuesday

Earlier today went for my CDS as usual. CDS is meant to be free time, a breather, nothing intense. But as is my personal tradition, I still decided to teach. Not because anyone asked me to, but because knowledge should not be switched off simply because the timetable says so. Not everyone can do that, and I say that without arrogance, just honesty.

We had our CDS meeting, new EXCOs were selected, the usual formalities. I returned and went straight into class mode. Somewhere in the middle of teaching, it hit me again, if I were not studying my current course, I would have chosen history without hesitation. History opens the mind in a way few disciplines do. It gives clarity, context, and perspective. It helps you understand that today did not just appear, it was built by yesterday.

While teaching, I explained Nigeria’s military regimes and how they systematically stifled fundamental human rights. I referenced cases like Ken Saro-Wiwa, spoke about journalists who were executed for doing their jobs, and traced how military governments changed over time. The similarities, the differences, the patterns of power, fear, and control. Then I moved seamlessly into the next subject. And then another. And another.

Four subjects in one day.

In a CDS setting.

Anyone who understands how distracting and disjointed CDS environments can be will understand why this matters. It was not easy, but it was fulfilling. By the end of it, I felt genuine joy. The kind that comes from knowing you gave more than was required and used your time well.

Today deserves applause.




Wednesday

This morning, while teaching my students/pupils about food fraud, a memory I had buried resurfaced. It is a story my mother told me years ago, one I still find unsettling each time I remember it.

It is about a woman popularly known as Iya Seki, who ran a buka somewhere around the Jakande, Lekki area in the 1990s. I was not born then, but the way the story was told made it feel vivid, almost present. I grew up in Igbara, or Gbara as we call it, and stories like this were told with fear, not exaggeration.

Iya Seki was not an ordinary food seller. She sold everything, rice, beans, ewedu, amala, egusi, all neatly arranged with tempting assortments. Her customers came in swarms. Within a short time, other food vendors around closed their shops permanently. She had become the centre of attention. In one day, she sold no fewer than six coolers of rice alone. Customers queued endlessly at her entrance. Married women trusted her food so much they packed it into their children’s lunch boxes. Ironically, behind the scenes, she treated her workers with extreme cruelty.

There is a saying, every day for the thief, one day for the owner.

Iya Seki had a strange habit. She bathed very early, before 4am. On one such morning, an elderly man, reportedly a Muslim traveller from Ikate, one of those unusually tall Niger men often called Godogodo, happened to pass by. What he saw stopped him cold.

According to my mother, the woman was bathing naked outside, around Orita Meta, the main junction. As she scooped water to pour on her body, she washed her private parts and emptied the contents into a large pot, the same pot she used for cooking. Very disgusting!!!!

The man raised an alarm immediately.

Within minutes, the entire community was awake. People came out with cutlasses, knives, tyres, petrol. Mob justice followed, brutal and uncontrolled. Before she was killed, she was tortured until she confessed.

Her confession was worse than the accusation.

She admitted to using mortuary water, the water used to bathe corpses, in cooking her food. She confessed to several ritual practices over the years, including killing her daughters. She spared the last one because she was married, but according to her, that daughter had suffered repeated miscarriages because she spiritually used the foetuses for rituals.

Whether every detail is true or not, one thing is certain, the fear that story planted in people’s minds never left.

Many people have lost more than money. Some lost health, peace, and destinies, simply because they never asked questions.

Be careful what you consume. Be careful who you trust. Some lessons are too expensive to relearn.




Thursday

I don’t joke with my students(pupils), and I never joke with their learning. One thing people who know me understand very well is that I care deeply about how much my students actually retain, not just what I rush to teach.

Today was one of those days. I was extremely busy, mentally and physically drained even attending to other classes, and the heat in Umuahia North was something else. Very hot.

Over time in this teaching profession, I have come to a very clear realization. Some subjects demand serious concentration and deliberate attention. Subjects like Mathematics and English are not to be handled casually. They require fresh minds, alert brains, and a calm learning environment. That is why I prefer taking those subjects in the morning, when students are more attentive and responsive. The lighter subjects can come later in the afternoon when energy levels begin to drop. This balance is important.

Teaching is not just about standing in front of a class and talking. It is about ensuring that attention is fixed, understanding is built, and learning actually happens. If the students are not mentally present, the lesson is wasted, no matter how well prepared you are.

Today’s classes were intense, demanding, and honestly exhausting, but they were worth it. This is a small photo dump of what we covered in class today. It was quite an experience, even though I am very tired.

Still, we go again tomorrow. As usual.


Friday

Way back when we were kids, we used to arrange ourselves on stage for little performances. There were props, simple scripts, mostly Christian drama scripts, and everyone had a role to play. I remember acting different characters back then, at liberty church Idado which is close to Igbo-efon. It was really exciting.

Life moved on, of course. That part of me grew into other things. But today, standing in front of a class and teaching theatre, I realised it never really left.

We talked about the basics. What a script is. What acts and scenes mean. How a story is structured on stage. I gave examples, and as always, I drew on the board. I am a visual person, and when I teach, I teach with pictures, sketches, and imagination. Not because it looks fancy, but because it helps people understand. That matters to me.

We spoke about the stage, the lighting, the props, the actors, male or female depending on the level, and the audience. The audience, the silent witnesses, the ones who watch and interpret everything happening on stage. Theatre is never complete without them.

At some point, I asked them to draw freely, to imagine, to create.

Funny how a simple drawing can open old doors and remind you why you do what you do.

And honestly, thank God it’s Friday.

This particular topic was based on drama that is a play that is acted on stage. I'm a very visual kind of a tutor so I draw to show my students/pupils examples.

Mehn, for you to even do those drawings on the board. You really dey enjoy this teaching profession 😁. KUDOS Corper Shon.

Okay. Teach them well o and don’t have any relationship with your students. God help you

The skull sign on the third photo would tell the students so much about ur uni days.

Na fine arts you dey teach?

wow that's excellent.

Anyway, Agriculture is life

As a former teacher, I can tell you those drawings are pure comedy in kids' notebooks. You’ll see all sorts of things and honestly wonder if they were even looking at the same board as you.

Teaching would easily be the most fulfilling career—there's nothing like the feeling of actually getting through to a student—if it weren't for the poor management, the stress from proprietors, and the drama from parents.

i taught economics during my time that 16year ago, impacting knowledge in teens is very difficult.

Where is that summerizer

Your name nah odey, no wonder you be odeh

Nah joke o

Super kudos honourable corper. You are a credit to the nation and to the entire 3rd planet that travels around the ☀️🌞.

Kundus to you abi how una dey talk am

Good Job! Nice read and thanks for your love of teaching and sharing knowledge

With this your talent and time dedicated to your PPA, let the quota system boiz not take your position.

The quota system has caused more damage to this country than corruption, ignorance and poverty join together.

So make I read am then become wise like one of your students??

WTF.

God forbid

As a teacher who once taught in a private school, you need grit, patient and tolerance to withstand the nitty gritty of teaching your students.

Moreover, if the salary does not compliment efforts, it becomes frustrating. Teaching is fun if effort is rewarded.

Well written article OP.

Stephen0mozzy:
Mehn, for you to even do those drawings on the board. You really dey enjoy this teaching profession 😁. KUDOS Corper Shon.

Those drawings are good
He’s doing well!

Great one OP ! More power to those elbows 😅

Great one OP ! More power to those elbows as I admit I don’t have the patience for teaching 😅

body need rest
body no be firewood
u no gat gf??

And they're talking of abolishing NYSC. Fulish people - one of the few good things Nigeria invented

Well done OP.

My only concern is that the time taken to do all these drawings on the board would have consumed the allotted time for your lesson. Isn't it better to refer to the Textbooks instead? Afterall, you're not in an art class. I know pictorial representation helps children in assimilation.

Heffalump:
Well done OP.

My only concern is that the time taken to do all these drawings on the board would have consumed the allotted time for your lesson. Isn't it better to refer to the Textbooks instead? Afterall, you're not in an art class. I know pictorial representation helps children in assimilation.

some people are actually gifted.. my small sister can sketch or draw anything for you in less than 3 minutes...

The graphical visualisations would definitely accord a wholesome experience to the pupils. Welldone Op. 👏🙌

Share the Ai generated Images of Iya Seki story with your learners.
A good story.
Keep it up.

Op you deserve all the accolades. 👍🫡🫡🫡

Teaching can be very adventurous, but the renumeration is turning a lot of bright minds away from the profession. Like this brilliant op now, he's unlikely to consider the profession again after the youth service. No one would pick a meagre salary ahead of high paying job.

I think teachers should be among the highest paying professionals. It will encourage the best of brains to dominate the profession. And the results on our children will be mind-blowing

Nice one OP.👍

I remember my days as Youth Corper in Benue State.
Most of the students liked Farming than education.

Sometimes, I used to punish them by telling them to bring one Yam if they fail my Test.

As a Delta man, Then I used to eat Ukodo Peppersoup like madt.

Teaching is one of the most interesting profession in the world. In Nigeria however, the pay is very low. Imagine a secondary school teacher receiving 45k per month (1,500 naira per day).

Private schools have started employing O'level holders

Skull and Crossbones is a universal symbol for danger and poison. It doesn't always carry the connotation of cultism that most Nigerians associate with it.

hoygift:
The skull sign on the third photo would tell the students so much about ur uni days.

I am sorry i couldnt finish it up. Too much.

Just two points i picked during my skimming.

First, you mentioned the Military regime bastardized human rights during their reign. that is good. but you must also let the students know that the military institutionalized CORRUPTION in this country. That is very important.

second, you said you added flesh in the right place,, I assume you are a lady if not pls, delete that portion

You tried, i really like your type. please keep it up.

before i forget, try using Ruler to rule on the blackboard.