Traveling is regarded as one of known medium of education and learning, thus the more you travel and see things, the more your mind is expected to open to variant ideas.
While we all agree on above statement, Nigerian education system from igba isedale (olden days) have stylishly entered into silent covenant to limit (and if possible nullify) travelings and field trips by students (especially at formative classes).....thus, I can only remember two official field trips we undertook in our 6 years at ACA (not talking of those stolen trips for social and sports o!!). What a world!!!!!!!!
The one I want to talk about is the trip to the then great University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University)....this was in 1990 while we were in SS3....I belief the trip happened during the holidays (in the course of those extension periods forced on us by the Principal, Chief ERA Babalola (late)).......earlier in the year, an alumnus of ACA, Professor Adegoke of the Geology Department at Ife had been inducted into the National Merit Awards based on his strides in discovering Bitumen at Agbabu.....thus, the Ife journey was appropriately selected and it was a bragging right that our set will be the first to interact with a national award winner.....you get it.......
On the said day, Ologba himself led the preaching of words of wisdom to us on why we should learn from the trip and get motivated....the other teachers resonated same....by 8am, the journey commenced with Baba Driver on the wheel of the legendary ACA Coaster Bus (hope the carcass of that bus was able to find its way to a museum in the school).....on the trip were people like myself, Tope Omojayogbe, Late Ayodeji Elebe, Aro Babatunde (I belief), Seyi Ajayi, Ola Ogundipe etc .....I need to confirm the list though.......
The trip was smooth and dominated by Akoti and songs to ginger the swagger......but of note was when we got to Osu and we all insisted on buying Akara Osu (bean cake)....someone wanted to play a fast one on one of the women selling the Akara by claiming that the Akara was smelling....the woman replied that e se Akara le run, omi ewa li I run meaning, it’s not the bean cake that was smelling, rather it’s the sieved water from the peeled beans.....
We got to University of Ife and visited the Geology Department, where we were shown different rocks and stones (ki ni itumo Oruko abami ti awon eleyi n pe okuta?) .....afterwards, the great Prof Adegoke addressed us and in the course of it, made us to know there is another award winner in Justice Olatawura (we decided to visit him too).....later, we were taken to the Ife Museum where we saw a lot of archival items....we were also shown the library building (Oluwa o, this can’t be compared to our own library in school) Guys will not allow the visit to end without a bit of drama, thus rumour went round that we would be taken to the zoo to see lions......see guys refusing to leave Ife until they see lions o!!!!meanwhile, lots of us were already feeling hungry and desire for food (lecturers no dey do give away now)......by around 4 in the evening, when it became apparent that the zoo visit was a mirage, we decided to count our gains and return home.....we got back to school around 6 before our parents start reporting at the police station for missing school children.....
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