Little citizen Success as a point of contact

Amidst the seemingly unending run of heart-rending events of the previous days which included the violent and blood-spilling dimension the recent elections took in some states took, the ceasless internecine killings in Southern Kaduna and the fiendish gun attack on innocent worshipers inside a mosque in faraway Christchurch, new Zealand, Nigerian netizens were, some days […]

Amidst the seemingly unending run of heart-rending events of the previous days which included the violent and blood-spilling dimension the recent elections took in some states took, the ceasless internecine killings in Southern Kaduna and the fiendish gun attack on innocent worshipers inside a mosque in faraway Christchurch, new Zealand, Nigerian netizens were, some days ago,  treated to a video clip in which a little girl, later to be known as Success, was protesting her being sent away from school; on ground of  failure of her parents to pay her fees.

In the video, baby Success, with matadorial boldness and the fury of a bruised viper, was not equivocal in condemning the decision of authorities of her school to deny her the right to acquire knowledge. Speaking in impeccable pidgin English typical of inhabitants of the Niger Delta region of the country and with an eloquence enough to make disciples of Demosthenes, the legendary Greek orator go green with envy, Success could not just understand why she should be sent out of school when, at the end of the day, she would still pay the fee. Such was the desperation of Success to remain in school that she was ready to be flogged to no end by her school minders instead of sending her out.

At first view, Success came off as a baby actress, perhaps being prodded by an adult to act a script. After all, there are so many of such kid thespians these days partnering with adults and churning out a motley of online skits. That probably accounts for the initial feeling of amusement with which the video was received by many, yours sincerely inclusive. But the video has done more than evoking amusement. Much more than that, it has also succeeded in once again, drawing our attention to the rueful deprivations and denial of opportunities that many of our compatriots battle with every day. It has unwittingly brought to the fore, the near total failure of government in this clime to provide citizens with basic needs that elsewhere come as a matter of course.

A follow-up video to Success’ outburst has shown that the school from which she was sent out is a government owned school, Okotie Eboh primary School,  in no other state than the oil-rich Delta, supposedly one of the richest states in the country. Incidentally the school was named after the late first republic Finance Minister, Chief Okotie Eboh, reported to be a lover and promoter of education in his lifetime. To say the least, the school could easily have passed for one in a war-ravaged zone. According to one of the teachers in the school, pupils are usually forced to move to one corner of the classroom to escape being drenched whenever it rains as the entire classroom becomes a veritable swimming pool with water dripping from all conceivable angles.  On account of poor illumination in the classroom, an albino who needs a brighter environment to see well has been permanently condemned to a better illuminated part of the class for him to be able to write while in the class.  In her own account, the Head Teacher of the school said vital documents in the staff room had in the past been destroyed by water dripping from leaking roof. Yet this is the same school from which fuming Success was sent out for defaulting in fees payment.  Shouldn’t we now understand why little Success was livid with (holy) anger? Pray, tell me, where do fees being paid go to and what are they used for?  That a school in that serious state of decrepitude could exist in Delta state and Nigeria of 2019, speaks volumes about the long, long way we still need to go in the journey towards attainment of minimum threshold of human development.

 

Ademola Crownson Adegoke, Lagos.