Valentine’s day is a day in 365/366 days set aside to share love amongst lovers, friends maybe foes too. Am sure if you took a survey, almost everyone has something memorable to think of.
Either the boyfriend who never turned up, or the girlfriend who had many lovers at her doorstep and didn’t know who to follow, or the heart that got broken, or the Knight who took his Lady to paradise on Val’s day.
The author doesn’t have many Val tales to share but remember the date that didn’t work out after meeting Tomiwa. Tomiwa was in Faculty of Law and usually comes to my department looking for her friend Busola. Busola was a coursemate of mine and we were in our third year.
I spoke to Busola about her friend and she tried to fix us. The date was February 14, 2006. There was money to throw around because it was class assignment season. I’d written enough to sell to coursemates who never had time for assignment. I knew my customers and they paid handsomely because they got good result.
Tomiwa and I took a cab from UNILAG second gate because she was staying at a hostel near MFM area and drove to Alagomeji. After eating out and gisting, there were clear signs we were perfectly opposite of each other. The magnetism wasn’t there.
Till we graduated, anytime we bumped into ourselves, it took our brains hours to decide whether to say hello or not.
Fast forward to February 14, 2007. First semester exams final year was meant to commence that day luckily there was One-week ASUU warning strike. Prior to that, i’d gone to the faculty office to submit my semester registration, when I saw my name on the faculty board to appear before the Senate committee on exam misconduct. I almost ran mad, suddenly became unconscious and trekked from Faculty of Arts to first gate before I gained some sanity.
I was meant to appear before panel on Val’s day. See devil! Of all days, na Val’s day dem choose. I needed to prepare my defence because I was caught after my last paper in year 3 for coming into the exam hall with a written question.
Devil always has plans. Plan one was to try to convince me not attend as my mind had passed a guilty judgement. Not attending, you get two semesters as punishment before facing the real music.
Plan two, it was exams day. Going to the panel and not writing my first exam would automatically lead to extra semester. Don’t forget i was in my final year. Writing my first exam and not going to the panel was automatic extra year after which I’ll face the panel for exam misconduct charge. The date and time clashed and it was a battle of which to honour first.
Like I said, devil has plans but GOD has super plans. Guess GOD spoilt devil’s equation by bringing in ASUU strike. By so doing, my death was saved by some days or weeks. Devil won’t give up still. I didn’t because of ASUU strike fail to make plans for my defence because my studentship was at stake here. Ka mari ibi, make dem pursue me for school for final year.
On Val’s day, on my way to the panel, Val’s glitz had commenced inside UNILAG and guys had started delivering cakes to their babes. As I stepped out of Sodehinde hall, I saw two coursemates of mine (Gbenle and Pepe) who were dating and were on their way out to commence Val.
I was walking to the venue crying inside, saying prayers and thinking of the worst verdict. I still thought because of the strike the panel won’t sit. Alas, I got to the venue-Faculty of Social Sciences building on have-sex road: Access road I meant and discovered truly it was judgement day.
The first three guys from other departments like Sociology, Psychology and Political Science went in and came out with a ‘not so good’ report of the rigorous and brain-twisting questions. That brought fear into me. I stepped aside from negative reports and stayed in my corner praying for survival.
Was I guilty? Was I innocent? Would I get a fair-hearing? Would I be acquitted? Would I lose my studentship? Would I get some semesters? In the event I was expelled, what would become of me? How would my life turn out? How would my parents take the news? Would life be worth living? Would I get a quick passage by whatever means to the next life? Would I still be friends with my close buddies?
‘Saheed Olanrewaju Osho, Department of Mass Communication’, that brought me back to reality after waiting from 10am till 4pm before I was called in.
My father had told me all will be well and all I needed was to be calm and respond intelligently. I got in there and the questioning began. After the first round of questions that lasted about 25minutes, I was excused and later called in for round two of questioning. It was a matter of life and death anyways. Losing or regaining what i’ve laboured for.
The only thing I remember till date is ‘are you saying those questions found on you is coincidental?’ I replied yes. ‘how come the questions found on you and that of the lecturer are the same?’ intuition I said. Then the killer question ‘Gentleman define coincidence?’ As if I never heard that word before, honestly it took me about seven minutes to reply.
By 5pm I was asked to take my leave. New Hall was bubbling with Valentine activities and I didn’t just blend in. I walked into my hall, spoke with a few friends who wanted to know how it went, packed my bag and went home.
Eventually I was acquitted with no extra hour as punishment. It’s one Valentine i’ll never forget. The Valentine’s day I went through hell without a burn on my dry skin.
Peace out!
oshman1881 