Teachers' Day

  Dedicated to my Late Dad, my best Teacher.

  And to his Nobel companion who has taking over my Dad's role as my teacher,  guardian, father, mentor and protector. May you live long to enjoy the Labour of your fruits sir.

   "A good teacher is like a candle- it consumes itself to light the way for others" -Mustapha Kemal 

  The world has dedicated a special day to celebrating teachers. It is an interesting festival. Our teachers build the society. That is why all academic institutions from the primary to the tertiary should really be held sacrosanct. No amount of pressure and indiscipline should make us allow hard politics and corruption to ambush and eradicate our moral values.

   Whenever I read articles, post or hear my friends eulogize their teachers, it frequently reminds me of my inglorious and shabby teacher right when I was in secondary school. 

  My story is rather different; I have very few teachers to eulogize, that is because I couldn't erase the awkward memory my peculiar experience as someone going to SS1 back in the days.

  Immediately after my primary schools education, my late father, May his gentle soul rest in peace, took me to Government Secondary School Naibawa at Kumbosto LGA. There, I spent three years from Jss1 to Jss3. I wrote my junior WAEC there. Good enough I started my SS1 in the same school as a science student, SS1 A I could recall. 

  Given the inefficiency in their modus operandi, my late Dad, May his gentle soul continue to rest in peace,  finally decided it is time to evacuate me from the school to Fedral Government College Kano. There his mind will be at ease. 

  When he went for me JSCE results, our then examination officer brought out a pen and a result that looks like an empty form waiting for someone to fill it. It had 10 columns ment for all the subjects I wrote. 

  Confidently, he went ahead and give me F9 in mathematics and English language, and then looked my dad, the tall, giant man with black hair and brown eyes,  straight into his eyes and asked him if he will pay some tokens for him to correct the delibrate sabotage of my results or in other words deficiency! My Dad politely declined to offer him a dime. He went ahead and demanded he give me what I got. 

 He continued with the two F9s, which are paramount to studying a science course I had like to do then, he gave me D7 in Introtech and Intergrated science, and credit the rest.

  So sad wih the humiliation, I don't know what to tell the lovely man who chooses to send me to one of the most expensive primary schools at that time. I went to Beninin International School in the same state. That was where I started my schooling in the state.

  Well, the little boy had no choice. Had to beg my way through. 

Well,  an attentive reader will be asking, why do I choose to narrate this long story? To tell you the implication of what the examinations officer did.

  When my name was among the list of students that were successfully given admission in FGC  Kano, I wanted to continue with my science classes, already I knew the first twenty (20) elements of Chemistry offhand. I knew the Laws of Mation by Newton. I am becoming familiar with phenomena like friction and grativity in Physics, and then all of a sudden the person screening my results told us politely that I cannot study sciences. I had to be in a commercial class! This time my step-mom, Who is a staff there, pleaded on my behalf to no avail. I was finally admitted into SS1 O. O class we call it then.

  We had a copper who teaches us Commerce then, told us that the reason we are admitted to O' class is because O stands for "Olodo". It really hurts myself esteem, because as a kid and I understand that in my mother language, "Olodo" means someone that knows nothing.

  I find it hard to cope truly as a commercial student, I was repeated twice in the school, I couldn't just make it to SS1. 

When I finally found out the course I loved most since I don't have choice, it was Economics. As a secondary school student, I had never failed Economics, maybe because my Late Dad, May his gentle soul rest in peace, was a banker. And my first primary school was very close to his office then, we leave home together, and return together. After closing hours, my then primary school teacher will take me to his office. 

  That was, perhaps, how I loved Economics, I studied it well in school, I passed all the examinations on Economics. I wrote two unsuccessful JAMBs, and in the two, I applied to study Economics in two different institutions, all were in  vain.

  Finally, when the time came I wrote another JAMB applying for the same Economics into one of the most prestigious universities in the country, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. 

  Happily I was given the course of May choice. I'm happy studying Economics and today the President of the momentum Department. 

  Everything that happened in the past built me for this task. 

My fellow friends who are teachers and aspiring to be teachers, I urge you to be good memories to your pupil, don't be a bad one. Be one who inspires and motivate children to study and follow thier passions.

My father is my best teacher, he taught me not to compromise my ability when he denied to offer the bride 16 years ago. When I was repeated twice he paid the fees again and tell me I should keep trying.

 

  I learnt everything about the outside world from him. He even taught me how to drive a car, bicycle and buy me football kits as a kid.

  Keep on resting legend, May your gentle soul rest in peace sir. You're the best Teacher I know. Happy Teachers' Day.