INDELIBLE MERIT
(II)
As a result of
the incident, the school couldn’t make it to the venue. Therein, the interest
of the school’s management headed by Mr. J.O. Dare, the headmaster was shifted
to the hospital and morgue where Mr. T.A. Ayo and the deceased pupils were
respectively conveyed to.
“What
about Amanda and Kola?” Mr. Ayo asked the headmaster as he lay in the hospital
bed.
Mr. Dare who was flanked by four other
staff of the school couldn’t utter a word in response to the question.
“Sir,” Mr. Dare reiterated. “I said, what
of Kola and Chiamanda?”
“We
lost them.” the assistant headmaster, Mr. Adegoke frankly disclosed.
“How?” Mr. Ayo verified. “What did you
mean?”
“I mean, they are dead.” Mr. Adegoke
clarified never minded the repercussions.
“What…?” Mr. Ayo screamed, attempted to
jump out of the bed, ignoring that he was under drip.
“Calm down, calm down.” the five
sympathizers chorused, as Mr. Adegoke whom was closer to him held him firmly to
the bed. “Do you want to kill yourself?” Mr. Dare added.
“I saw no need hiding it from you,” Mr.
Adegoke chipped in. “That’s why I told you.” he said, paused. “You have to be a
man.” He concluded.
“But this was not the right time to disclose
such news.” The headmaster frowned, facing Mr. Adegoke.
“I am sorry, sir.” Mr. Adegoke apologized.
At
the venue of the event, everyone was impatiently awaiting the arrival of the
prospective participants from Bojeri Grammar School till 1pm, all to no avail. The
competition was scheduled to commence at 12.00 noon.
A
few minutes later, the organizers of the occasion got the news of the
unimagined incident. Everyone was instantly trapped to the ground, especially
the management of the event’s sponsor, one of the prominent manufacturers of
beverages in Nigeria.
There was no how they could continue with
the competition without the presence of the bereaved school. It was the final
round of the competition, thus only Bojeri Grammar School, Lagos State and one
adversary – a private primary school from the North – were meant to slug it out
towards determining the overall best. In view of this, the event was outrightly
postponed till further notice.
Consequently, the bereaved families as
well as Mr. Ayo were duly compensated by the manufacturing company, although
the vacuum created remained a loss they would live to mourn.
One
month on, the new date for the competition was fixed by the organizers; hence,
the bereaved school was conscientized to renew their vigour for the race. By
this time, Mr. Ayo, the Mathematics tutor had totally recuperated. The school
was definitely left with no option than to gather their acts and move on.
“Mr. Ayo,” the headmaster, Mr. Dare
called as the former walked into his office. “Good to see you again.”
That was the first day Mr. Ayo would be in
school after the accident.
“Thank
you, sir.”
“Please,
sit down.”
Mr. Ayo got seated, remained calm.
“So,
how do you feel now?”
“I
am very strong now, sir.”
“We
really thank God for your life, but…”
“I
know,” Mr. Ayo interrupted. “You mean, Amanda and Kola?”
“Yes,”
Mr. Dare replied. “Those kids died in active service.” he lamented, paused.
“When we needed them most.”
“It’s
okay, sir.” Mr. Ayo consoled. “God knows why it happened that way.”
“Well,” Mr. Dare succumbed. “Who are we
to query him?”
Mr. Ayo nodded, though looked soured.
“So, are you willing to continue with
the task?” Mr. Dare inquired hesitantly.
“Yes, of course.”
Mr.
Dare nodded in appreciation. “Hope you are aware of the new date?”
The new date indicated that the competition
would take place in the next three weeks.
Mr. Ayo nodded. “Yes sir.” He added.
“Alright,” quoth Mr. Dare. “So, go and
get the kids ready.”
“No problem, sir.” Mr. Ayo responded,
calmly stood up and left for his office.
The following week, he returned to Mr.
Dare’s office with the names of the two pupils expected to participate in the
event. They were Tobi and Bisi; the latter was the female pupil whom was
initially dropped due to gender-imbalance. The headmaster assented to the list,
thus enjoined Mr. Ayo to continue with the finishing touches.
Two weeks later, the rescheduled D-day
came knocking. On that fateful day being Saturday, the entire staff and pupils
of Bojeri Grammar School were deeply perturbed, filled with fear of the
unknown. They embarked on the journey in a single bus contrary to the previous
arrangement where they moved in two vehicles. While on their way to Akure, the
capital city of Ondo State, they prayed, sang praises as well as worship songs
to keep heart, body and soul together.
Finally, at 10am, they arrived at the
venue. The organizers were very impressed to have their presence despite all
the tribulations encountered thus far. Owing to that singular effort, the
school’s headmaster, Mr. J.O. Dare was therein recognized by the sponsor of the
event as the ‘Best headmaster of the Year’.
At eleven O’clock, the competition
commenced as planned. Bisi and his male colleague, Tobi were damn prepared for
the show. Taking a glance at their respective countenances, one would be
convinced that they could not wait to depart from the venue with the awaited
feat. Although their counterparts from the private school situated in the
Northern part of the country were equally ready to grab the five million naira,
Tobi and Bisi appeared to be the best going by their previous performances
since the commencement of the competition six months back.
“I want to remind us once more,” the chairman
of the event announced as he stood on the podium. “That the overall winner of
this quiz competition would be going home with five million naira.”
The
observers applauded the announcement whilst the intending participants became
more motivated and jittery.
“So, I urge the participants to do their
best to ensure that they emerge victorious.”
Everyone smiled simultaneously.
“However,” he continued. “The second
runner of the competition would be entitled to one million naira cash.” He
landed.
There
and behold, in two hours time the competition was over, thus the panel of
judges was asked to decide the winner. Unfortunately, the workaholic Bojeri Grammar
School couldn’t make it to the peak of the ladder; its counterpart was
announced as the overall best.
Considering the performance of the pupils of
the defeated school, the spectators of the event were disappointed in the
panel’s judgement. They were strongly of the view that the aforesaid school was
robbed of their victory ‘well deserved’. The development generated a lot of
mixed feelings and ripples among the participants as they depart for their
various destinations.
The
following two days, Mr. J.O. Dare was sensitized to write the appropriate
quarters over the perceived maltreatment, and he immediately complied with the
request.
Three weeks on, it was discovered that
the school was truly cheated. It was learnt that the purported winner of the
competition bribed the judges prior to the day of the event. To this end, the
school was shut down indefinitely by the concerned authority, and the
management alongside the judges was charged to court for corruption and
conspiracy.
Thereafter, Bojeri Grammar School was
handsomely rewarded by the event’s sponsor with ten million naira in addition
to other goodies, for a job well done in spite of the inconveniences that
befell them.
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