“I wish my school days could have dragged on a little longer or that I could go back and do it later in life.”-a graduate from Delta state Polytechnic. Are you wondering why he said so? I do not know.
Ideally what should be said to every child repeatedly throughout his or her school life is something like this:
“You are in the process of being indoctrinated. We have not yet evolved a system of education that is not indoctrinating. We are sorry, but it is the best we can do. What you are being taught here is an amalgam of current prejudices and choice of a particular culture. The slightest look at history will show how important these must be. You are being taught by people who have been able accommodate themselves to a regime of thoughts laid down by their predecessors. It is a self perpetuating system. Those of you who are more robust and individual than others will be encouraged to leave and find ways of educating yourselves- educating your own judgments. Those that stay must remember, always and all the time, that they are being molded and patterned to fit into the narrow and particular needs of this particular society”.
Hey stop!!!! You are reading too seriously. You are thinking I am a writer? No, I am not; that depends on your definition of who a writer is. Let’s go a lighter a little bit.
Reminisce a little, fast track backwards……..to that resumption day. My bags, goods and luggage well packed at the back of the ‘molue’ { they call it bus but I prefer calling it molue}. We drove all the way from the expressway to the Polytechnic, so I envisaged. As soon as the ‘Molue’ got to Delta State University Teaching hospital, Oghara I asked the driver to stop with the thought that that was The Polytechnic. “Oh my gois”, I exclaimed inside me. I was just smiling sheepishly; yes, you can say unnecessarily. The structure simply took my breath away. “This is school men!!” I was just too excited only to find out that I was at the wrong place. It felt as if my heart fell out of my chest breaking through the rib cage. My eyes bulged out of its cavity and almost fell on the floor { if you are a fan of the cartoon series “Tom and Jerry”, you will capture the picture}. “ You mean this is not The Polytechnic?” , I asked with utmost shock and disbelief mixed with disappointment. I was sweating profusely like Hussein Bolt after a 100m sprint. You know that moment when you thought Paris was Nigeria only to find out you were far from the truth. A young dude gave me directions on how to go about getting to Otefe. So without hesitation I jumped on a motor bike, and off to The Polytechnic he rode at an agreed price of #100. Through the road that seemed like a path in Sambisa forest we drove. My heart was discombobulated. “We no dey reach the school”, I asked myself while constantly pinging Baba God’s blackberry.
Until we finally got to the polytechnic. “At last!!”, I exclaimed and breathed a sigh of relief. I gave the “Okadaman” {name given to a rider of a motor bike in Oghara} #200 and even appreciated him for the help, { inside me I was like this place is far o. I don cheat that “Okadaman”}. Yeah! I have arrived. Went home to drop my luggage and decided to take a look at the Polytechnic. My expectations were high. As soon as I got to the school gate, I thought maybe this was the Central Mosque in Oghara. Little did I know that that was The Polytechnic. Come and see these structures. Some secondary schools are even better structured. “Ogbeni, wetin be dis one”, I asked in vernacular. It was like my body was dragged to school but my spirit refused to go. “ This is a glorified secondary school”, I said to myself. After seeing the magnificent structures built at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, I assumed The Polytechnic would be of same standard.
PAUSE!!!!!
Did you have similar experiences?
Or was your experience different?
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