CHAPTER 5

Mr. Johnbosco was the Social Science teacher at the Government Secondary school, Isielu, which also served Umunze and the neighboring communities. A brilliant but funny character, he was famed for his use of high-sounding grammar and was popularly called "Mr. Mendacity" by the students behind his back. A student would be booking an appointment with his chi if he were caught calling Mr. John Bosco that. His cane, which was embedded with rings, was a source of trepidation for the students, and his flogging style - though theatrical and amusing, seemed to infuse more pain into each stroke. On his first assembly after being posted to the school, he was all warning and command:

"Let me sound it as a note of warning that, henceforth, this school shall no longer tolerate any act of mendacity from any student."

There was suppressed giggle from the crowd. The word sounded heavy to them; hence he was nicknamed "Mr. Mendacity."

Very perceptive, Mr. Johnbosco was quick to notice the growing exposure of his young students and sought to prepare them ahead of the pitfalls on the road to new knowledge. He had previously balked at this venture until the arrival of Olamide, a Youth Corper. This very handsome Yoruba graduate was posted to the government school for his national assignment in the National Youth Service Corps program. Being products of University education and western civilization, the duo quickly hit it off together, the saying, "birds of a feather, flock together," becoming a truism. It was not long before 'Corper' Olamide noticed the predicament of young girls in the school. He was barely four months at the school when two girls in their final class got pregnant, incidentally, for fellow youngsters but from a neighboring mission school. They quit school and were soon married off to some older men who had nothing to do with the pregnancy.

"Sir Bosco, what is happening?" Olamide queried his friend. "Why must Mary and Ijechi quit school? Why must they marry? Why should their future be cut short just like that? Why couldn't they give birth and come back and continue with their education? Is it not possible for their parents to help take care of their babies while they continue with their education? Why?" The confused young graduate quizzed.

Teacher John Bosco relaxed back in his chair while adjusting his tie and contoured his face to a serious demeanor.

"Olasky, my friend, it is not as simple as you think. You see, my people are on a sempiternal road of religious chokey and cultural thralldom. For them, it is an act of unquantifiable abomination that a girl should get pregnant in her father's abode before marriage rites and conjugality. That is why they parcel out such girls to anybody, including a Methuselah, willing to marry them. It is an unmitigated disaster, my dear friend."

"Then something has to be done," Olamide fumed. "They should stop getting pregnant. Must they even engage in sex at such young age? And even at that, a little sex education should help them prevent unwanted pregnancy."

And thus, the campaign; "Abstain and Protect" was born.

The campaign was basically ad hoc lectures delivered during break times and primarily centered on the need to abstain from sexual intercourse as a minor and before maturity. Olamide took it upon himself to highlight the dangerous health implications of such acts on their young bodies, which were not yet fully developed for the stress of pregnancy and rigors of childbirth. As the son of a Methodist preacher, he emphasized the Bible injunction that expressly forbade sex outside marriage.

Inevitably, the lectures later progressed to the question of the need for protection against unwanted pregnancy in the event that sexual intercourse became unavoidable. After explanations on the female monthly cycles and ovulation, they were let into the novel topic of the use of condoms and preventive pills. Expectedly, many had never heard nor seen these before, but the teachers believed that with awareness and demand, these could become available.

Unfortunately, hell was literarily let loose when parents, especially from Umunze, got wind of these lectures. As far as they were concerned, Master John Bosco, who, incidentally, was from Umuopara, was out to corrupt their children like their Umuopara counterparts. The matter was exacerbated when the parents learned the other teacher was a Yoruba man called Mr. Ola, a name which in their local language may be mischievously translated to mean one who engages in or is addicted to sex. As one elder put it, "Nwata nwoke ahu aha ya bu Ola ga alagbu umuanyi" (That boy called Ola will kill our children with sex"). Chief Nwankwo stormed the school himself to confront the "useless" teachers. Addressing John Bosco in the Local dialect, he warned;

"Nwoke'm, the hand should know that if it digs deep inside the anus, it must come out smelly. You want to tell an awkward sitting woman to close her legs; do you know where she breathes from? When a mere child embarks on a journey to unravel the course of his father's death, what killed his father would also consume him. And if a child throws his father up, he will be blinded by the father's robe. Face your work of teaching whatever nonsense the government pays you for and leave our children and culture alone. You have been sufficiently warned".

Indeed, Teacher John Bosco had been sufficiently warned, and he was ready to stand down but for the encouragement of Corper Olamide. That, though, was until they had a strong petition written against them from concerned parents of Umunze to the Education Board alleging all sorts of misdeeds, including sexual harassment of minors. In the petition, the concerned parents prayed for the dismissal of the two teachers or, at least, transferred from the school. That was when John Bosco ran to Father Jude, the Parish Priest of St. Pius Catholic Church, Umunze, for help.

"Oh, Father," He began in his usual dialectics. "I swear to you by the Supreme Beings of the celestial firmament and the inhabitants of this terra firma that nothing of such happened. We were only trying to magnify their knowledge so that their future does not get abbreviated by unwanted pregnancies." He pleaded.

"But John Bosco," Father Jude reasoned. "Don't you think teaching them how to have sex without getting pregnant would embolden them to commit more fornication? At least, the fear of pregnancy and the jeopardy it may present to their education offer some deterrent as it is."

"No, Father, we are concerned with the fate of those who have their lives ruined, their future cut short just because they got pregnant. Before our campaign, they were already engaging in sex and suffering the resultant pregnancies. Therefore, they are likely to do it again, with or without us. Why not save them then from certain doom, Father? Our people say: 'you may not be able to stop a child from climbing trees, but you can remind him to hold on tightly to the branches'. Remember, we do not overly smite ourselves with worry over where the he-goat went or spent the night; we are concerned with whether it is alive and back. Father, civilization is creeping in on us. Our young ones are getting more exposed to modern literature, both good and bad. We are more concerned that these are prevented from consuming them. They are angrier because I am from Umuopara; they accuse us of being morally decrepit. But Father, do you know that if you go to Umuopara today, you are not likely to see a single girl who is supposed to be in school out of it because of pregnancy? Nor would you see this crazy situation of small girls being married off to their grandfather's age mates. It is not fair on them, Father, and we should be concerned."

Indeed, Fr. Jude was concerned, but his hands were tied. He could not support teachings or practices that were not in consonance with the Church's guidelines. However, he helped John Bosco and Olamide escape punishment but with the firm commitment to stop henceforth from promoting safe sex. He rather encouraged them to keep preaching abstinence to the students, in line with Bible teachings, as well as highlighting to them the dangers of disobedience, such as sexually transmitted diseases. These they continued to do until Olamide finished his one-year assignment and went back to his land. Thereafter, Master John Bosco simply minded his business and concentrated on teaching students Social Science.