Disadvantaged
He grew up determined to get an education
The problem was, he was born in a village far away from “civilization”
There was a primary and secondary school built in his village ages ago
Teachers just didn’t show up
The journey from their village to the main city was about two hours
The roads were terrible and the students were sparse
The only incentives they have to offer teachers were palm wine and palm oil
The school couldn’t afford Parent Teachers Association teachers because the parents were poor and couldn’t raise the money
He was very hard working and dedicated
But you only know what you are taught
For almost a year they didn’t have a principal
And then they got a new principal
The principal was a young man who joined the teaching service early
The principal took the school like his personal mission
He wanted to fix things
But he was met with full resistance by the teachers
The teachers like him were employed by the state’s board of education
They were civil servants
They had a fixed salary regardless of whether they do their jobs or not
He couldn’t hire or sack teachers
He could only hire PTA teachers which the school could not afford
Every day, the principal looked at the students and felt sorry for them
The teachers had a pre-arranged working condition with the previous principal
They came in twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays to teach the syllabus for the whole week
They arrived at noon and leave at 3pm claiming the roads were horrible
That was the student's reality
One day he went to see the principal, he wanted to know how much he would pay for his WAEC examination
The Principal broke the news to him
"You were the Head boy and the one the students here consider the most brilliant
But you cannot pass WAEC and you cannot proceed to a tertiary institution"
Why?
"You can neither speak nor write a correct sentence of English
This also affects your other subjects’
You are good in mathematics, physic, further mathematics, some aspects of Chemistry and (Some aspects of) Biology
You cannot move on without at least a credit in English
You need to consider your options"
He took it like a man
He had met students from secondary schools in the city and knew he didn’t measure up
What do I do sir?
The principal asked him if he would like to live with him and his five children
We live in a modest flat
My two boys have a room and my three girls have a room
You can move into the boys room
I will enroll you in a secondary school in town
You will start from senior secondary class 1
It would be a huge sacrifice of time but in three years, you will be ready to write WAEC
He told his parents
His parents agreed
He told his best friend
His best friend told his own parents too
His best friend’s parents agreed
The two of them went to the principal
He accepted them
Their parents loaded the principal’s station wagon with food stuff
The principal took them to his house
They were enrolled in a high school in the city
They faced their studies
The principal instructed that communication with them should only be in English language
Before long the whole house caught the fever
They struggled at first but within a year they caught on
They wrote WAEC twice
Both of them gained admission
He studied engineering, his best friend studied anatomy
He was an outstanding student
But his command of the English language was very poor
He could write better than he could speak
He met this lady while he was in 300L
She was absolutely beautiful
Many guys wanted to be with her
He also wanted to be with her
But he wouldn’t dare speak his local dialect to her
He had also learnt from experience that his spoken English was a turn off for every lady he had ever tried to talk to
He started going to her house with a friend
They somehow grew close
He would go to her house and help her fetch water, do her house chores
He didn’t mind that other guys would come around and assume he was her brother or relative
She called him “brother so and so”
She waited for him to speak up
He didn’t
Other admirers kept coming
She kept entertaining them
Eventually one kissed her while he was bringing in a bucket of water
The sight hit him like a sucker punch
He left
She became restless
He was a good man
He paid attention to her
He didn’t mind that they were in the university and people laughed at him for being so unmanly
He would fetch water for her every day, buy provisions, cook, see that all her needs were met
He was also her teacher
She was studying mathematics and he was a genius
She had grown to love and depend on him
She didn’t like how he left abruptly
She dressed up and went to his house
He welcomed her
She asked him what the problem was, “Why did you leave like that?”
He said it was nothing
He just didn’t want to come in between her and her kisser
She felt offended
She didn’t ask the guy to kiss her, the guy just did
And here she is in his house and his tone sounded as if she did something to offend him
They were not dating!
He didn’t ask her out
He didn’t profess his love
Was she supposed to just assume?
He still didn’t say a word
She left after an hour
They finished their final examinations
She went home
Her mother called her and asked her about her man
“Time and tide waits for no one”
You have graduated, it is time to marry!
She told her mother about him and what happened between them
Her mother was a highly urbanized woman
A socialite
She expected her mother to laugh it off and tell her to find a guy who was in her class
This guy was essentially a thorough village breed
Her mother watched her in awe
He fetched water, cook, ran errands, saw to your needs and didn’t mind what people were saying? And you let him go?
Do you think love is English?
Do you know how educated your father was?
Do you ever see him doting on me and being all romantic?
That guy is your man
How do we get him?
She told her mother his address
The next day, her mother went to meet his mother in his village
She said her daughter told her the role “Brother so and so” played in her survival in school and she felt compelled to come to the village and say thank you
“He was in the forest felling trees for firewood, that was what he sold to sponsor himself through school” said his mother
Her mother was even more encouraged
A dirt poor village boy sold firewood and used the money to take care of her rich city daughter!
Wow!
They went to get him
Her mother told him to come to their house next Sunday, she wanted to organize a small party in his honour
He didn’t understand it
His entire family and the family of his best friend were invited
They went
The families wined and dined
Her mother told him in front of everybody, “My daughter loves you”
He looked at her
She looked at him
She nodded
He opened his arms
She ran into his embrace
Everybody cheered
They went for NYSC
He got a job as an engineer with a food processing company
She got a job as a teacher
One year later
They got married
PS: this event happened in 2005/2006
The marriage is now ten years
The man turned out to be a genius indeed and had been richly rewarded financially for his abilities
He consults for many factories and engineering companies
They have four children
She said she didn’t expect her mother to approve of him, even though she loved him, her mother’s approval and role in bringing them together gave her the full confidence to marry him
He said he wouldn’t have been able to speak up because he really didn’t know if she would accept him or not. They had been very close and she still had the room to entertain someone else. This confused him
She said it was the best marriage ever! He loved her and had stayed faithful to her since they were in 300L
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