When I heard the news that WAEC had released our results, I was expecting distinctions in three subjects namely English Language, Literature in English and Biology, a credit in Bible Knowledge and an F in Mathematics. Those were the five papers I wrote. Despite the fact that I needed just a credit in English, I still wanted to pass every subject apart from mathematics which I knew never “liked me”. Man proposes, GOD disposes goes a popular cliche. With distinctions in Biology (A3) and Literature in English (A3),, and a credit in English (C4) and a pass in Bible Knowledge and a predictable F in mathematics, I was not really animated about the results, particularly with my English in which I was expecting a distinction. The credit in English didn’t let me celebrate my victory over my “Curser” with much funfare. I was happy that I passed Biology with a distinction despite my indifference towards science subjects. All thanks to Mr Abioye’s curse.
Before the results were released, I had gone to obtain the A levels form at Igbobi College, Igbobi, and I was told that I only needed a credit in English for the admission having shown them my GCE result in which I had 4 Cs and two P7s. Proudly, I want to say that apart from writing the GCE in form four, there were three things that enlivened me about it. One, all the literature textbooks we used in the 1978 GCE were completely different from what we were reading in my school. Two, there was no subject like Economics in our curriculum in Eko Boys High School. I read it on my own and made a credit in it at first attempt. I became so good in Economics that I made it one of the three subjects I was going to study at the advanced levels. Three, this result was achieved just four years after Ìyá Ibadan’s demise. When she left me in 1974, I was a hooligan trainee with practically zero-knowledge and foundation in education. In 1978 when I saw the result, I wept. I wished she was alive to witness this dramatic turn-around and that what GOD cannot do doesn’t exist. Now that I had the English language I needed for my admission, I went straight to Igbobi College to submit it for processing. They gave me a date for the interview. I was so thrilled. There was no need to obtain another form at Baptist Academy (Baptacad). I actually wanted to go to Baptist Academy because of my friend, Wale Odunayo who had an Uncle inside the school premises. Wale was operating a tutorial centre for private candidates in some of the classes and I was thinking of joining his teaching team. But the reception and assurances given to me at Igbobi College had changed the dynamics of events. My choice of Igbobi College also had to do with its reputation. Most of the people I always saw their faces on telly and in the newpapers attended the school. Just a few names will suffice. Babatunde Kweku Adadevoh, J.F. Ade-Ajayi, Subomi Balogun, Teslim Olawale Elias, G.B.A. Coker, Bolaji Akinyemi, Olorogun Michael Ibru and his two brothers, Chris Ogunbanjo, K.O Mbadiwe, Akíntúndé Aduwo and many others. Some of them were my role models.
I used to admire them anytime I saw them on telly. The school was also known for its discipline, fame, academic excellence and achievements in sports. I didn’t know why I was not thinking of going straight to the University by writing JAMB. All I wanted to do was to follow the academic path charted by my cousin Tunde Thomas aka Apa-pa, who by now, had been offered admission by the University of Ife to study Law. He told me that for one to be very “solid and hot” as a scholar, you needed to do “A levels”.
That precisely was my dream- to be very hot academically. I wanted to show my Paddington friends that I could also discuss Amoeba and Spirogyra. I remember telling Apa-pa in one of our discussions -we used to gist a lot about academics- that I would never score “F” again in any subject in my life now that Maths was out of my way. He laughed and said “Scoopy Doo” (his nickname for me), you can do it.”
I was going back home from Igbobi College when I met my friend and classmate, Dayo Onatemowo at Yaba bus stop. We were discussing our results and our next move when I told him that I was just coming from Igbobi College where I had gone to submit my English result. It was then he told me that he too was coming from Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, Ogun State where he had gone to obtain the A levels form. As a “Lagos Lizard”, I didn’t know there was any school like that nor did I know the so-called Ayetoro.
But I was mesmerized when he described the school as a beehive for children of the rich and mighty in Abeokuta in particular, and in Nigeria in general. He told me that the children of M.K.O. Abiola (the richest man in Nigeria), Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria’s military Head of State), the Dokunmus, the Adenekans, the Babalolas and so many others like that were all in that school. Dayo was my rival in History throughout our five years in secondary school. He was very good in History too. In less that ten minutes of our meeting at Yaba, he had given me some principal historical attractions about the school that made me change my mind about going to Igbobi College again. How could I resist the temptation of attending a school built by Americans, attended by children of the nouveau riche and a school that offered admission to exceptionally brilliant students. It was good I met Dayo because I didn’t even think about the uniform of Igbobi College.
As an A levels student, I couldn’t imagine myself wearing Khaki (short sleeve shirt and knickers) around Lagos when I did not belong to theTai Solarin vanguards. I also thought of the knickers. Having worn trousers from my form 3 to my form 5, it looked awkward somehow to now start wearing knickers all over the streets of Lagos with all my crushes here and there. Besides, my little bow legs are not good complementary accessories for knickers. Again, I wanted to give myself a breathing space by moving away from Senior for some time. Furthermore, I told myself that I needed to have boarding house experience for whatever it was worth. In addition, I didn’t even think of the name “Igbobi” properly before going to obtain the form.
I imagined a fine girl asking me for the name of my school and I said Igbobi. Assuming she mistook it for the hospital called ” Igbobi” what would have happened? I reflected on all these sudden developments and new awareness and I finally decided on the spot to travel to Ayetoro to obtain the form. Dayo was so kind to have volunteered to follow me to Ayetoro so that I wouldn’t miss my way.
The journey to Ayetoro was rough and bothering. First, I didn’t tell Senior that I was traveling (I didn’t normally tell him about my trips outside Lagos). I often fixed my trips based on his shifts. He had three shifts. One was 3am to 12 noon. I didn’t like that for anything. It was too short for escapades. The second shift was 12 noon to 10 pm. Fantastic shift. Good for short and long adventures. The third shift was 10pm to 7am. Oh my GOD, the best time for disco parties and night clubbing. My siblings and I rocked town with our limited liberty. We exploited Senior’s shifts for our maximum enjoyment. As far as Senior was concerned, his children were only attending “Happy birthday to you” parties. For where? There was no single disco party within our locality that did not have our signature. As my rock ‘n’ roll sister, Feyi would say, “Broda Dapo, talo ni “omo get inside?” For real, Senior almost turned us to “Ọmọ get inside”. My step-mother was the best. Just make sure you tell her your movements and she would defend you. Life was good in Lagos. Security was good with no check-points. Senior’s shifts showed that transport operations were 24/7. So many jobs like that that made Lagos tick. People walked freely midnight as if it was noon. Hot rice spots existed everywhere till cock-crow. The air was clean and life was sweet.
Finally, we arrived Ayetoro. It was a long journey. The roads were good but the driving was crude. At a point, the only song I was singing was “JESU ni Balogun ọkọ, e ma se je ká foya….” The honest truth was that for a better part of the journey, “mo foya” meaning I was scared. On getting to the school, as soon as we entered the school gate, what I saw before me was a sprawling beautiful Campus that could be mistaken for a University. It was a comprehensive complex with some captivating aesthetics that typified the ambience of an alien architectural masterpiece I looked for a place to lie flat on the ground to pray.
I said: “GOD, if this is the only favour I will get for the rest of the year, please let me be given admission into this school.” Dayo was just laughing. I didn’t know he had a bombshell for me: “Let me tell you the truth Dapo, the form has closed but……” I didn’t know how to react. He left me for some minutes, possibly to let me digest his joke. Yes, I believed he was joking because there was no reasonable explanation for what was happening.
Why should he follow me to the school all the way from Lagos when he knew the form had closed? I was still thinking of so many things when he came back to meet me where he left me. He continued from where he stopped: “Really, I should have told you that the form had closed but I knew you wouldn’t have followed me here on faith if I had told you. I actually came to submit my form after filling it and to also submit all my credentials.” I was about to insult him when I saw a man he later introduced to me as his uncle walk up to us. He was a maths teacher in the school. The man told me to follow him. On our way to the administration block where we would obtain the form, he told me that if anyone should ask me about our relationship, I should tell them that he was my uncle. Eventually, they sold the form for me and I was extremely electrified . I filled it there and submitted it there as Dayo had told me all the documents to bring along before leaving Lagos.
While waiting for the school to communicate the date of the interview, the 1979 Presidential election had taken place on August 11 and a controversy had developed around it. Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) had been declared winner by the Michael Ani-led Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO). He was said to have polled a popular vote of 5,688,857 and won 12 out of the 19 states. His major rival, Chief Obafemi Awolowo of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN ) was declared the runners up with a popular vote of 4,916,551 and won only 5 states out of the 19 states. Chief Awolowo challenged Shehu Shagari’s victory at the Supreme Court on the ground that Shagari did not win the required 13 states, which according to him, was two-thirds of 19 states.
Chief Awolowo, through his Counsel, Chief G.O.K. Àjàyí submitted that, under the 1979 constitution, in order to be the President on the first ballot, a candidate needed to receive both the most votes nationwide and at least 25 percent of the votes in two-thirds of the 19 states of the federation. During the hearing of the case, the major spectacle was Professor Ayodele Awojobi aka “Dead Easy”, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Lagos, Akoka. Awojobi who was also called “Akoka Giant” approached the court with a special request to prove to the Justices, in hundreds of ways, that mathematically, two-thirds of 19 is 13 and not 12.66. His request was granted. With a big blackboard which he mounted in the court, Prof. Awojobi dazzled the Justices with his brilliance while applying so many formulas to convince them that 13 was the answer. After about 3 hours of mathematical entertainment, one of the Justices simply asked Professor Awojobi: “Prof, is it not ridiculous to fractionalize a geographical and physical entity like a state? Thank you Prof. We have enjoyed your demonstration.”
On the day of the interview at Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, by the time I got to the school and saw the crowd, I said to myself “o dojú e” meaning this is serious. One of the teachers who came to address us at intervals had hinted us that they were only going to admit 75 candidates for the Arts class and 75 students for the Science class making 150 of us on the whole. I couldn’t count the number of people that had come for the interview because it was indeed a throng but I quickly checked the number on my form. I screamed when I saw it: 4040.
