Chapter 7

Parents/ Teachers Meeting Turned Sour

All the rooms in the dormitories were for four boys each, two seniors, two juniors. Also in the rooms were a bunk each, having two double-steps beds each. Because the rooms were crappy, the bunks were kept two foot apart from each other. The lower beds were more comfortable and were for the seniors, while the upper ones were for the juniors. There was also in each room, a locally-made spacious wooden wardrobe for all the four boys’ clothes. Besides the wardrobe were two cane chairs and two tables, serving as their study and dinning.

The white paint of the wall of Adrian’s room had changed colour. Without closer looks, someone would take it for brown. Different kinds of pencils, chalks and pens abbreviated engravings were displayed on the upper wall by former occupants.

On the upper ceiling were evidently new cobwebs, a sign that the school has been on vacation. And perhaps, Mr. Cowtail hasn’t been around lately. If the housemaster had not gone for his matrimonial leaf, no student would dare leave the littlest type of dirty around his room or dormitory. The ceiling, though initially painted white, had turned somehow dark due to the dripping of rain from the leakages on the roof. Even the college structures were crying for renovation. The classroom buildings windows and louvers had been pluck off by angry wind or stubborn students. This gave the buildings the looks of an opened mouth of a toothless aged person. Even the white and green paints on the buildings have turned shadow of themselves. They are peeling off from years of heavy rains, revealing the cement blocks underneath. Many times, the students had complained of leakages from the roofs of their classrooms and dormitories. And as usual, nothing was done about them.

In a Parent and Teachers Association meeting, most of the parents and teachers discussed how the inadequate social amenities in the school were affecting them and how to solve them. But after the meeting, no tangible solutions were found. The government they relied on would not do the needful. They would just promise and promise without fulfilling them.

"The money meant to make all these amenities available in this college and other schools, had been stolen by some few people in power and hidden in foreign banks. So, what do you expect from them other than fake promises?’’ Dr. Abalaka, Richard’s father had said when it was his turn to speak, laughing mockingly. There was a dead silence after his speech, as if the meeting thought he was asking nonsense question which everybody already knew the reply or they were enjoying him, and wished he should speak more. He has a mischievous looks on the tail of his eyes as he spoke. His shot was towards a prominent person in the meeting.

Dr. Abalaka was a moderately tall, dark and plump man, dressed in grey French suit, despite the hellish heat in the hall. The sweat has created wrinkles on his nostril, indicating that he was baking inside the suit but struggling to endure. There were no functional fans or air-conditioners in the hall. Even if they were available, there was no power supply to power them. Laughter or smiles would appear on Dr. Abalaka's dark face at will. This made Adrian, after meeting him through Richard had concluded in his mind that his father would laugh at anything, funny or not. "My boy, why do you look so lean? I guess this college had been feeding you with only dry cassava flakes and roasted groundnuts." He had once told Adrian after Richard introduced him to him as his roommate and friend. And before Adrian could reply, he had burst out laughing. He thought he just cracked a joke but to Adrian, it was not. Beside the striking resemblance between them, Richard frequent joviality he had taken after his father. Anyone who meet him and know he is a medical doctor would think he could break news of a dead patient to the patient’s relatives with laughter.

"And when they were seeking for our votes,’’ Dr. Abalaka continued talking, seeing that nobody replied him. He wanted to say something that would make someone infuriate or applaud him, "they promised to keep our money safe and use it to develop the country. They are all empty promise makers, liars and thieves!’’

"But Doctor, this is not a laughing issue at all,’’ Another man defended, his voice husk and deep. His eyes very red and face wrinkled in anger. He was tall and huge, wearing an expensive lace clothing material, sewn into flowing apparel locally called "Agbada". Like pregnant woman, his protruded belly pushed out inside his extra large apparel. It was if his belly had refused to be concealed under the apparel after serious tries. He was the richest and most influential person in the meeting. He was Chief Adekola, the chairman of the Government Boys' College, Iddo's Parents Association, and Martin’s father. "Do you blame the sins of the fathers on the sons? No, that is a wrong and unfair blame. I’m a politician and everybody in this meeting, including you knows that. I’m part of the current government, I won’t deny that. So, I’m telling you this in case you don’t know: the bad situation of this country doesn’t start yesterday. It didn’t start with our regime. It was a long time thing. In their many years of coups and counter coups, the military juntas had turned the country upside down before we civilians recently came into power. The economy, education, mineral resources, social amenities...everything was mismanaged, not available or neglected. So, the blame is not on us. We have been trying to put things in other. But Governance is not like eating pounded yam and melon seed soup the way you masses think. It is very difficult to repair what has been spoilt. It is hard to govern the large population."

"Chief, I heard you but I don’t agree with you." Dr. Abalaka’s words were accompanied by a tiny laughter which struggled to brighten his dark face. "But why do you politicians keep on fighting for the posts if they’re not juicy or delicious? Why you didn’t politicians fulfilled all your promises of putting the country in the right shape after ruling for years? Why making the promises you knew you wouldn’t be able to fulfill?’’

"Yes, you see, Doctor,’’ Chief Adekola said in a defeated and calm voice. The creasing lines on his brows indicated that he was angry and fed up of Dr. Abalaka’s obstinacy, "the time you masses had given us through you voting was not enough to fulfill all the promises we have made during manifestoes. So, that's why we seek for more tenure. Perhaps, you should know we're not magicians, and shouldn’t suppose to expect us to fulfill all those huge promises in just four years. It’s like when you expect a student to complete his secondary school education in four years because he had promised to do so. Won’t he find it very difficult to pass and graduate?’’

"But a brilliant student would pass and graduate effortlessly. We need such people in government, not the thieves and liars we have now. Not the dull-brains we have as leaders who couldn’t think and come out with good initiative that could bring speedy developments to the country,’’ Dr. Abalaka said, bursting out laughing again. "When a child failed his exams he says he wasn’t given enough time."

"Dr. Abalaka or what do yourself?’’ Chief Adekola rose up in anger, moving towards the stubborn man aggressively. His little patience had evaporated with Dr. Abalaka’s mocking laughter. Dr. Abalaka’s words nay his laughter were like a poison to his mind. He thought them very annoying and embarrassing to his esteemed personality. "You have to control your speeches now or be arrested and sued for defamation of character and libel! Look, I won’t say we are member of the same association. I will arrest and sue you now if you think you can continue dragging the names of we politicians in the mud. When, how did u know we are stealing the country’s money? What are your evidences?’’

"The evidences are clear for all eyes see!’’ Dr. Abalaka jumped to his feet too, moving towards Chief Adekola, pointing his index finger towards his eyes. His laughing face has suddenly changed into angry face that you would think he had not laughed for years. "You can’t do me anything! Call your lawyers, call your policemen! The evidences of your incompetence are boldly writing of the wall for all to see. The country’s bad condition remained unchanged despite the oil boom in the country! I’m entitled to my opinion! This democracy, not military government! You can’t put a key through my lips not to speak up! I have freedom of speech!’’

Adrian and some students were eavesdropping on the parents but disappeared when the meeting turned sour. They were afraid or thought it was shameful to watch their parents exchanging blows. But would they eventually exchange blows?