How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly Before they're forever banned?
Now if you went to Aquinas, the next lines of the song above will be ringing in your head. It is ingrained.
Blowin’ in the Wind, recorded in 1962 by the legendary Bob Dylan was a popular rallying song back in the day in Aquinas. As we sang it, mostly as teenagers, the song and the message became more and more poignant over time as we watched Aquinas and the country change.
We witnessed many changes over the course of our six year stay in Aquinas. One that I found quite strange was the relocation of the old library to the school hall. The old library was sandwiched between the Bursar’s office and was it the Physics laboratory? Or perhaps there was another small office just before the Physics lab? The old library was one of my favourite hangouts. It was cosy, quiet and had books (lots of them!) that you wouldn’t readily come across in every day life. The books came in different sizes, shapes and shades and in true Aquinas tradition were adorned discretely on the inside with nicknames and naughty drawings by current and former students. My favourite book in the library (next to the Guinness book of records) was about some simple but mind-blowing science experiments that you could try at home. I would read and then hide the book in different shelves where you would normally not expect to find it. If the book was not in the shelf where I had hidden it at my next visit, then either the conscientious librarian must have found and placed it back in the rightful shelf or another sleuth had stumbled on it and placed it somewhere else. Of course, it would have just been easier to lend the book instead of the relentless game of hide and seek but what was the fun in that for a teenager?
Evidently, some of us saw the inside of the old library more than others. None more so than Obey Krakra. He was an ever-present feature in the library and would often be found in and around the Cosmology or Astrology shelf. A shelf that should normally be beyond the interest or understanding of teenage boys. He would sit quietly taking down notes in his jotter which he guarded jealously. I often wondered what the future would hold for him as he was an intriguing character.
Well, everything with a beginning ultimately ends, one way or another. The end of the old library came when Chief ERA decided to move it across to the school hall. I cannot recollect any reason that was provided to justify this change. Perhaps the old library was getting too small? Perhaps space was at a premium and the old library had to be put to good use? Anyway, the decision had been taken and it was swiftly executed. Can anyone remember what took the place of the old library? Was it another staff room or new Bursar’s office? This act would be the prelude to the later attempt to change the school uniform from yellow over green to the ceremonial white which was resisted successfully during our time. The term change for change’s sake comes readily to mind.
Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist Before it is washed to the sea?
And how many years can some people exist Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn't see?*
Yes, change is constant but in this ever-changing world, we had different categories of teachers that supported us on our journey. We had teachers for whom teaching was not just a profession but also a calling. The Olunloyos, Adeniranyes, Adeosuns, Ajayis, Ajibabis, Alobas and some others fall in this category. We also had a category of premiership level disciplinarians where you will find the ERA Babalolas, Klutzes, Adeniranyes (again) and others. Then we had people who considered teaching as a stop gap on their way to conquering the world. This was largely dominated by the younger crowd and here you will find The King of Boys and the Kokoro jobijobis of this world. Lastly, there was another category of people who had no business teaching. It was neither a calling nor a profession …so what the heck was it for them? Top of this category was our gap-toothed English teacher. He seemed to lose the will to teach by the day that towards the end of our time in Aquinas, we all had to resort to self-help. He regularly missed classes and with his attitude, he turned something as mundane as a student having a conversation with a teacher into a life and death experience. Not even the class captains wanted to be the ones to walk into the staff room to remind the teacher that his subject was next on the timetable. It was a task no one wanted, akin to going into the lion’s den or who’s going to bell the cat? The interaction (if you can call it that) almost often ended some way and similar to below:
“Sir, we… have English now”, the unlucky student would choke, quaking in his boots.
“Yes, go and have it!” Always came back the curt reply and this would be followed by a tongue lashing as the humiliated student hurriedly made his way back to the class with his tail between his legs!
There was never a dull moment as you can see and I have to say all these categories of teachers we had, have contributed in some ways to us becoming the men we are today and for that, we will be eternally grateful.
We felt safe back then. In and out of school. The level of insecurity today was just not something we could have contemplated back then. We also as teenagers did not have the now pervasive feeling that life was passing us by or that the future or our country was drifting irreversibly away from us. There was still some sense of pride and dignity in work and of course as Wole Soyinka had recently won the Nobel prize for literature, the possibilities seemed limitless to then young minds.
But even back then, it was not lost on some of us that the dark clouds had started gathering. Slowly, but surely. The locusts were organizing and would soon be on the march to destroy harvest. Alas, here we are today. The day has cometh. So, what doth we doeth now?
Yes, and how many times must a man look up Before he can see the sky?
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows That too many people have died?
All together now…
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind.
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