THE BLIND’S MONEY CHAPTER 11
THE BLIND’S MONEY
CHAPTER11
For School Two students, they leave home, get to school but never enter their classrooms and attend lessons. What do they do? They roam about the school compound from morning till closing time. The students of School Three Ieave home as normal students but they never get to school. They are the ones found roaning about the streets, thinking that they are enjoying themselves. To put a stop to this, i have employed the services of a paramilitary body known as Civil Disciplinary Squad (c.o.s.). l have talked .with the authority of this body and they have agreed to give me some of their members. This group will be authorised to arrest any student found lottering on the school compound or contravening any of the school rules and regulations.
’Any student arrested and brought to my office by the squad will be severely deal with. The squad will also be mandated to undertake occasional raids outside and arrest those of you who belong to School Three. If you’ re in the categories of Schools Two and Three and you’ re fortunate to be here now, i advise you to stop the bad habit forth with. For those who have friends among the School Three students who are not here now, I want you to call them and tell them that it won‘t be long before i get them arrested. A word, they say, IS enough for the wise. ‘Now, to the cssue of school hygiene…‘ As the Principal now shifted to another topic Mr Yusuf who was standing in front of the schoot saw some late-comers coming up and he bellowed: ‘Stop’ The late.comers all stopped abruptly. They were panting, having sprinted from the school gate to the place. Drop your bags!‘ Mr. Yusuf ordered They all complied. They dropped their schoolbags on the same sport until it formed a heap. Of all the penalties available for lateness; the late-comers who were now awaiting further instruction from Mr. Yusuf were all scared of flogging. They prayed silently that their punishment be any of the mild ones like picking up the litters in’ the surrounding’s, scrubbing the toilets, cutting the grasses and other forms of manual laboun Mr. Yusuf, himself, was not interested in flogging any student this morning. He saw a school prefect passing by and he beckoned him. Tunde was the school I prefecta ‘ Organise them and make them pick the litters in the surroundings,‘ Mr. Yusuf told Tunde and immediately went away. The late-comers all heaves a sigh of relief. Tunde divided the late-comers and into groups and assigned each group the area to pick.
The morning devotion had ended and the students were now matching to their various classes. Soon, the late comers were through with the picking and were now returning to pick their schoolbags. A drama ensued when a junior student came up to . pick his bag and found it missing. He searched frantically for his bag but it wasn’t there. He quickly went to report to Tunde. “Excuse me, senior,‘ the boy said respectfully. ‘Yes.’responded Tunde. ‘My bag, please. l can’t find it. ‘ ‘Your bag?‘ Tunde asked, squirmed. Yes, please. °
‘ ‘What happened to it? Tunde questioned impatiently. ‘I put it at that piace when we were going to pick but when I got there now it is not there, he explained painfully.
Tunde look a distant look at the place where the latecomers dropped their bags. He saw a few bags waiting to be picked.
Their owners had probably not returned from the picking exercise.What is your name?’ Tunde asked the junior student.‘ ‘Chris‘ replied the boy. Tunde and Chris moved to the grassless, open Fields where all the Iate-comers drapped their bags.
They pleaded ignorance of the theft.
‘I say follow me!‘ Tunde said sternly.
The late’comers All picked their bags and followed Tunde to the Principai’s office. They had not gone too far when one of the Iate-comers a, student, signified to see Tunde in privacy. Understandably, Tunde welcomed the boy’s request and the two moved a few metres away from the late comers. ‘I know when the bag was taken, senior,’ the boy disclosed. ‘i don’t want to know when it was taken, ‘ boy. Everybody knows when the thieves steal. Tell me who took it’ , . ‘It’ s senior Fola the boy said confidently. ‘ ‘Are you su re?‘’Yes, please.’
‘Why haven’t you said this all this while?’ .
I beg you, senior, please don’t tell senior Fola know… ‘Is that the answer to my‘ question?‘ Tunde questioned irritably. ‘I said why didn’t you open your stinking mouth before this time’. ‘i’m sorry, please,‘
Tunde feared keeping the late-comers waiting for too long as any teacher who saw them might accuse living of high-handedness. But that Fola had been accused of stealing the bag, he became more interested in the matter. He wanted to get to the root of the case. It musn’t get to the Principal or any of the members of staff.
