The Commoner

The hood

It was evening in a country at the end of The West Africa region. Crickets had started chirping loud,toads could be heard in their baritone voices from a pool which is just a stone throw away. Ola,get me those plates over there,my mom's voice jerked me back into reality. I found my way to the old plate rack amidst partial darkness. Dad was sitting comfortably in his rock chair, expecting his portion of the pounded yam and Egusi soup nicely prepared by mom. Take this to your father,mom told Victor who was my younger brother,my little sister was too young for any task,she could barely pronounce Baba(father) properly. It was a family of five,and yes,I was the first born and almost all duties lies on me,and given the fact that I'm a male,it made matters worse,as I would do the house chores and often follow my Dad to the farm on weekends. Everyone ate quietly that night, atmosphere was considerably tense,we said our prayers and we all went to bed.
     It was 6:00am in the morning; Wake up son,except you want to be late for school,and that isn't going to happen as long as you live under this roof, Mom said after forcefully pulling me out of my sweet dream. Good morning Mom, I said yawning, opening my mouth wide. I missed morning prayers already,I didn't like missing it because I always love to listen to the sweet melodious voice of my mom. Is he awake,or should I implore the use of my belt; Dad yelled from the corner of the room. I was pretty sure people in the other apartment could hear his voice in our uncompleted building we rent from Mrs Edward,the land lady. Mom said; yes,oko mi ( my husband), he's awake now,and she said facing me;go wake your brother and take his bath for him. I really didn't like taking his bath for him,he was really annoying he wouldn't want his face to be washed with soap,and anytime I forced him to comply,he cries as if stung by a scorpion,rolling on the bare ground and getting sand all over his body,I'm kinda used to that now though.
    We had nothing to take that morning,only my younger sister had access to food, which was mostly breast milk. Putting on my partly tattered uniform, Mom gave me a peck and did the same to Victor,Dad walked us to the local school not too far from our house,it was the only primary school around and of course,some of the walls had cracked, ceilings brought down by the combination of rough play and rain,but predominantly,recklessness of students. Before leaving us to go into the school Dad said to us; remember the sons of who you are,and you're the architect of your own lifes,your actions now determines your future!...well I was whispering those words after him because he has imbibed it as his tradition to say those exact words to us at our school gate before we could even understand what those words really meant.
    The headmaster made some announcement on  the assembly ground,and we marched like soldier ants to our classes. First period was Mathematics,the subject I wasn't particularly pleased with,coupled with the fact that Mr Ade was a sarcastic young man,he knows what he taught so well, but,class was always silent anytime he's around,almost everyone had the same issues in his subject. He wrote an Algebra on the blackboard which was mostly a wall covered with charcoal,he stared at me for a while and I frowned because I knew he was about to ask me to the chalkboard to solve,and no! I wasn't ready to,and I think that got his attention. Ola,would you please come to the board and solve this simple question?,he said letting out a rather mischievous smile. I shrugged and reluctantly got out my chair,I managed to drag myself to the board. I stared at the question and it looked really strange like a sort of alien language,then I gazed into Mr Ade's eyes and I concluded,if he can say this question is simple,then he must be an Alien! His voice suddenly pointed at me; Are you seriously my student?,he shook his head and drew his cane like a sword from its sheath,he raised his hands in a bid to flog me,I moved backwards, making him miss his shot. He hurriedly finished his topic that day though because he didn't get an answer to his algebra. The day was just too long,but the sound of the bell made me come to a state of ease,I picked up my younger brother from his class and started trekking home along with other students who were busy with fruits they plucked from school, of course our white top and socks were as brown as the sand,it was a sign we played roughly during the break period,no day passed by without seeing students looking dirty after school, I've witnessed a whole lot of fights which was next to impossible without occuring in a day. I couldn't help but remember a day a senior student was trashed by a primary four student who was my mate. Senior Richard was so egocentric and power drunk,he has been oppressing us for a while before this student transferred to my school. Richard entered our class to oppress again,he told everyone of us to go down on our knees,the new guy didn't know who he was so he didn't accord the usual respect he got from us to him,he challenged him and demanded for the reason he wanted to maltreat us, senior Richard was surprised anyone could stand up to him,he hit the new guy,the new guy retaliated with two punches to the face,blood tripped down his nose. They were both punished by the headmaster because fighting was prohibited and it isn't a good thing to do,but still,it happens all day,but at least we got our freedom from the tyrant. I was lost in this thoughts when I felt the pangs of hunger,I haven't eaten anything since morning and it was starting to get unbearable,I asked a senior student who lived not far from my house for mango,he reluctantly gave me one,I was happy,I thanked him as a smile unconsciously ran across my face,I peeled it hurriedly,ate half and handed over the other half to Victor,and we walked home silently.
     Mom was home already,she gave us garri(cassava flakes) to take,that was the constant afternoon food,it was as constant as the sunrise in the morning!  I hurried out to play with the kids around,trees were like play grounds as we enjoyed climbing them.  We had a lot of time to play away the hot afternoon in the sand,trousers looks foreign on anyone who puts it on during play,panties were the perfect match for the sand-work.
   Evening came quickly,Dad just got back from farm,I got carried away by the ancient traditional "ruske" game where you have a leg up,moving from a bracket to another without falling out. We really didn't play by the game rules if there were any at all,just that anyone who looses will be teased by others till another game was hosted beside the signifant guava tree just beside the pool. Brother Ola,Mom and Dad are calling you,Victor came to call me when it was almost my turn to continue my game. I got home and I greeted him,he answered in a low voice,I could study his countenance,he was so weak and tired,he has been in the farm since morning. He sat inside his chair as he displayed the tubers of yam and garden egg he brought from the farm,Mom immediately got to work,she started preparing the yam and she had me grind the pepper and onions. I dare not be found wandering around if Mom's in the kitchen,it would result into either being insulted or me loosing dinner. We were done eating,Mom and Victor were in the room with my younger sister,but I was with Dad outside,it was lit with an improvised kerosene lamp,he was sitting and he asked me nearer. How are you doing son?; he asked,I'm fine sir;I answered,still wondering why he wanted to talk to me privately. How are you faring in school?; Well, I guess I'm moving along with the tide,I said. Are you supposed to move along the tide,or are you meant to be the tide?; he retorted. I was starting to have my suspicions the D-Day was here,because I knew he doesn't take our education lightly. Go and bring your books,he said. I started to shake visibly because I knew if he sees my recent scores,that would mean another round of punishment for me. I stumbled my way into the room and carried all my books,mom knew it was judgment day and all she could do was stare at my face as I made my way out of the room. Here they are sir;I said. He started from the last time he checked,and that was two weeks ago,and I can't remember the last time I escaped the punishment of not doing so well in class. He checked all, Maths was the last he checked,then he said; get down on your knees! If you asked me,of course I was expecting that,so I did almost immediately,he was silent for a while then he said to me;Go and get the stool over there. I was wondering what that was for,but I did as he instructed. Sit down son,I want to tell you a story tonight;he said. I quickly forgot about my punishment,I was eager to listen to the story he wanted to tell me...
    There was a child,a son to be precise,his childhood was as dark as the spaces between the stars,surrounded by absolute wickedness! He lost his Father when he was just four years old,his mother was chased away from the family house,after being accused she killed her husband. She insisted on taking her child with her,they objected and called her a witch,saying she wanted to kill the son too,they hovered around her like Hawks until she was finally pushed out of the gates of the mud compound which was built for the family by her husband. At first,little love was showered on this little boy,but gradually the rain turned into dew,and finally into drought! Nobody cared to show affection aside from that of hate and bitterness of heart. He was turned into an object of mockery in the compound,no child was ready to associate with him in the compound because they said he was cursed and they have been instructed by their parents not to try to move close. Other inhabitants of the compound were living on the wealth his dead father acquired after years of toil,all the yam in his barn was distributed accordingly and his coins divided by age,even his age mates got their share. He was too young to understand what was really happening,but he could figure out no one likes him,so he grew up that way with that mentality and mind set. He didn't have access to school or books,he follows an old man just in the next compound to the farm everyday because he wants to stay away from the callousness of his compound. He learnt to plant a few things,and he started his own farm,he was sent packing out by his family members too,when they noticed he was already doing something with his life. He never had the chance you have now to learn and be somebody greater in the nearest possible future. That child is me, son! As he said this,tears rolled down my eyes,I looked into his and it was filled with tears too,but probably he was manly enough to hold it back. I did not have this opportunity I'm giving you Ola,he continued,I didn't! I'm trying my whole best to make you a real man who can provide sufficiently for his family and teach other children that their background doesn't really matter,but the determination,will and spirit are the wheels that keeps them moving! Now,he couldn't hold it anymore,he burst into tears, compassionately sobbing; Your level of knowledge is exactly where you work on it to be, I'm offering you a chance to beat ignorance in it's own game! See my son,birds fly and gather their foods,predators hunts,the sun shines during the day,and moon takes over during the night,they all do what they are meant to do,now ask yourself honestly,are you doing what you're meant to do?,he asked with a stress. My face was down now, listening to every bit of words coming out of his mouth,and all were bombshells, dropping and blasting,taking me down the memory lane and making me think if I really have been fulfilling my filial duties as a student.
His words hit my ears again,are you busy looking for the best?, don't look far,because it's all circled up around you. Do you know why metals clang so loud when they hit each other?  Even though they might not be made up of exactly the same constituents,they have something that unifies them,they are sonorous! If you roll with someone who doesn't have the same goal and mind set as you,you may loose your sound and focus! Bottom line is, nobody is dumb or dull,as long as you're ready to study and gear yourself up, you'll take the lead, your will and drive is your power! Hmmn,he sighed,you escape punishment tonight,but don't let these words elude your critical thinking and pondering,and trust me my son,I may not even have to look at your books again! Thank you Babaa,I said amidst tears,he said,come here son,he hugged me to tenderly,and I felt his care and love,mom was listening all along and joined the hug. Okay Ola,how about we prepare a time table for your study tonight? Mom said,I was glad to hear that,as I was determined to study hard, remembering the humiliation I've gone through in past years,this was a chance to maneuver and take over a top position in school. We plotted out the time table,said our prayers,and went to bed all happy!