Saheed Aderemi Adewale Yussuf
By Saheed Aderemi Adewale Yussuf
HOW IT ALL STARTED
In those days, when men were younger boys in our preteens. When youth exuberance was clearly evidence in our relationship with our tutors and peers, .When Our tutors were called different kinds of nickname to better illustrate their characteristics in school. For Instance, Our Mathmatics teacher was nicknamed MR PLAZ (Plus) because of his Ghana accent’. Another teacher referred to as Mr Esophagus………….Even our Principal was not left out as was he was nicknamed ILABE (an old version of Jeun soke…..)
Funny enough, our Tutors were aware of their names and some were proudly respondents.
HOW I LANDED MYSELF IN TROUBLE
In the early hours of that Monday morning, English Language was meant to be the first period……..Our English Teacher- Mr Opokufofue was a very handsome man,fair and with a bleached skin, Jerry curled hair…..walked briskly and smartly to the classroom. Mr Opokufofue, although, a stammer, knew his Onion, very good at what he does, no atom of doubt……..
As he walked briskly to the classroom,adorned in eye glasses. Our eyes met, at a cursory glance. I was armed with a very controversial questionbased on the issue of the moment,which I stumbled over in the daily newspaper of that morning….. Mr Opokufofue with an unsuspectingcountenances responded to our greetings and wrote on the board…,,,…………….. English Language and date.
I stood up and raised up my hands to asked if he had acquainted himself with the day’s tabloid .At first, Mr Opokufofue thought my question was cognate. The rhetoric question was a catastrophe and was a like “‘BOMB SHELL” that caught the whole class unawered, perturbed and dumbfounded. Ofcourse, Mr Opokufofue and other Ghanian tutors must have read the Breaking News on “GHANA MUST GO “phrase.
Mr Opokufofue became shocked, unstable,confused, perplexed, flustered and his lips were trembling being a stammer. Although, on my own part, I grasped the enormity of my offensive vituperation but not regrettable or depicted any sign of remorseful, it was an attempt to cast aspersion on their supposedly ingenuity and pass a message across the board. I was Severely purnished by Mr Paseda but highly comfortable I had obeyed my conscious mind.
My Question was not based on hatred or nudity of ignorance or emptiness of thought but a clear illustration of delinquencies of our expatriate teachers whose irresponsible acts had a negative effect on some of us; for Instance, some of the female students were deflowered at their prime age. Their male counterparts were both smokers and drunks simply because they emulated such bad altitude from their teachers who were meant to be role models. I seemingly became a victim of that menace and started smocking as a teenager. So, at that point, I was already reflecting on my past; as to what led an innocent student like me to that kind of life style, though later outgrown it. There was a particular incident when our Mathematics Teacher had to flog the whole classes A and B because of his girlfriend molestation ……name withheld. My classmates went on reprisal mission by writing unprintable words on the main roads that led to our school premises early that morning.
In our early days at School, there was a debate competition in which some students were meant to support or opposed the motion that “FARMERS ARE BETTER THAN TEACHERS’ Emmanuel Odigili stole the show by making Mr. John Nkansah- an English teacher andn one of the coordinators of the debate as a reference point. ‘’Mr. Nkansah was ‘’a chain smoker” Some of our classmates could still remember this nostalgia vividly as they stumbled over this write-up. Emmanuel Odigil later left our school for another school but the debate episode and the shame that visited Mr. Nkansah had continue to linger in our refreshed memories……….
The topic was comparison between Teachers and Farmers? Odigili and his co debaters (Femi Giwa and Gbenga Popoola or Kayode Obileye) opposed the motion that Teachers are better Than Farmers and they won convincingly based Ogigili’s reference point to Mr Nkansah. Myself, Giwa Taibat and Akintayo Abiodun lost gallantly.
Subsequent the ‘’GHANA MUST GO’’ Bruhahas and Mr Opokufofue’s direct Onslaught , my classmates became scary, many could not really comprehend my motive which i never shared with anyone up till this moment. Their understanding was narrowed down to the economic policy of the President Sheu Shagari’s government that posited , GHANIANS must leave the shore of Nigeria for their Country. Actual, my motives goes beyond just that; Its was a nostalgia from ill feelings we have passed through in the hands of our Tutors.
There is no gainsaying that Ghanaian Teachers contributed positively to the growth of our Education sector and our Economy at large, but also, that is not to exonerate the fact that they equally contributed some pockets of menace to the Juvenile delinquencies of our Students.
Many of us could still remember how we were tutored, Monitored, trained by our erswhile and first Principal-Mr. Sofolu(Onward Stationeries Director’s Sibling). My first love for literary works and thespians started from how we were taught how to act and present the book ‘’ RALIA THE SUGAR GIRL’’ Mr Sofolu took everyone out on the Sunny football field to CRY, DANCE and SCREAMED like Ralia the Sugar girl or the old witch woman. This perhaps, is a feat that cannot be easily erased in our memories during the growing periods at Pobo Community Grammar school.
Whatever some of us, had grown to become in all spheres of life today,I want believe we owe Mr. Sofolu a lot of credits for such special foundation.
To balance the argument……..many of us who are Professors, Accountants, Historians, Lawyers and Business Administrators and Engineenians today are products of that system.
CONCLUSION.
For every action, there is always consequences. The punitive measures were so enormous for me. It goes beyond weeding of grasses on the School farm but gravitated towards undue hatred from the Ghanian Teachers who had once been my school fathers. I was voted against being one of the school prefects, amid the fact that our Senior Prefect- Agbaje Taiwo was removed publicly on assembly for altering my Literature figure to maintain his first position in class and place me and Benedicta Phillip in second and third position respectively, thanks to Mr Ben Kwateng that saw the anormallies and suddenly called the Principal’s attention.
Also, as if that was not enough, Mr Opokufofue on our valedictory day, robbed me of my Best in English Language Prize and subsequently, WAEC turned out to be the final Judge. Professor Doyin Hassan- an Academician, a veteran thespian came out as the best mathematics stundent and I was awarded the best English Student.
Finally, do not allow anyone to undermine your potentials in life by( Professor Ola Rotimi) Life will always throw everything at you, it is your choice to choose what you want from life.
Thank God, we later reminiscent and to the glory of God became responsible adult amid those challenges head on, availed ourselves of greater opportunities in advanced studies. We have witnessed total rebirth as a good citizen, through grace, a true believer of Jesus Christ and a child of the most high!!!!
By: Saheed Aderemi Adrwale Yussuf
A Script I planned to present in any of our Old Student Day.
