City walk… like a carnival

Once a year old students of Hope Waddell Training Institution, Calabar come together for the annual city walk.This is not surprising since the school has a long tradition of engaging with sports, and the old students are doing their best to keep the culture alive. The city walk for last year held on the Saturday […]

Once a year old students of Hope Waddell Training Institution, Calabar come together for the annual city walk.This is not surprising since the school has a long tradition of engaging with sports, and the old students are doing their best to keep the culture alive. The city walk for last year held on the Saturday just before Christmas, and it is a moment when the old students unite, compare notes, make plans to advance the cause of their school, and enlighten the public about their famous school. Daily Trust is told that the idea of a city walk by the old students began in 2012, and it was started by the Calabar chapter of the Hope Waddell old students association. In December every year, most old students return to Calabar with their families, for the popular Calabar Carnival. It was felt that this would be a good time for  all of them to come together, and take part in a city walk,which will inevitably draw attention to the school. As early as 7.00 am the old students had started to mass within their old school, and they gathered very near the bust of Hope Waddell, the towering  Scottish missionary, after whom the school is named. Any onlooker would think that Hope Waddell himself had just blessed the walk that morning, what with the friendly gaze he permanently wears.The bust looks towards the spot where they had just  gathered. They wore sportswear, which bore the name of the school. Soon they were set to go, and the entire walk covered a distance of some 5 kilometres. The group turned right after exiting the school gates. It also passed through the ‘Hausa quarters’, went  by  many well populated sections of the city, and wended its way back to the school. The banner of the school went before the large moving crowd made up of men and women. During the walk a small truck came along, upon which was mounted some musical equipment. It is easy to imagine that this provided some music for the group, and inspired them to walk some more. The music of Davido, PSQUARE, and many other Nigerian greats rent the air, resulting in a noticeable liveliness among the old students. At a point the music stopped, then it came on again after a brief interval. Insight into life and times at Hope Waddell was gained by the fact that one of the old boys carried a bin to collect empty bottles of water. This gave perspective on the  special focus on health and hygiene which every student imbibes  while at the school. Not a single empty bottle was allowed to  litter the streets of the city. The agility expressed by some of the group, as we walked, revealed that they might have been involved in sports as students, or that they might have risen to the post of Sports Prefect. This was implied on a number of occasions during the walk. Also, there were a few comics present, who helped to create much fun, as well as sustain the carnival mood, during the walk. Of course, these were old students of the school. There was Spider man who, surprisingly, arrived on a power bike, rather than from a web, as we would see in the comics. Then some others who wore head gears  suggestive of characters from some popular children’s cartoon series, came along, and danced with the group, which impressed not a few children along the streets of Calabar. Very soon, the group returned to the school, and sat down to a light meal and to reminisce. They sat in circles according to their years of graduation, with the earliest set present, sitting  within the innermost part of the circle. Next December, the old students of Hope Waddell or Howadians,as they refer to themselves, will gather at the same spot and traverse the same route as they did in a very colourful way, last December.