A Stroll Through LAUTECH (Episode 3)

Read Episode 1 HERE, Episode 2 HERE

“You stopped using condom?”

“She slept with another guy.”

“In school?”

“At Lagos,” Dayo said with resignation like for a lost soul. “She went home six months ago and she is now four months pregnant.”

“Oh,” I said. “Sorry.” I could not think of a better word to say.

“No,” he said waving at me. “Things like that are bound to happen in situations like these.”

“Have you had problems with her before?”

“No,” he said. “Maybe a bit. She had been complaining about some things.”

“Like?”

“That I didn’t call her enough. That I didn’t stay with her enough.”

“So what did you do?”

“What will I do?” he said showing his palms. “I have been learning quantity survey. I don’t have time like before.”

“So what do you do after learning quantity survey?”

“You mean after leaving my boss’s office?” I nodded.

“I go home and rest.”

“Do you invite her to your place?”

“She won’t allow me to rest.”

“That’s the point,” I said. “How was your relationship before you started learning quantity survey?”

“It was good.”

“You called her a lot and you stayed with her many times?”

“Yes.”

“And you suddenly stopped?”

“There was a reason I stopped,” he said. “She had to understand there was a reason I stopped.”

“No,” I said. He looked at me.

“Maybe you wanted out of the relationship.”

“But I didn’t,” he protested finding it difficult to belief that I wasn’t on his side bashing the girl for leaving him.

“Your actions said the opposite to her.”

“But she had to make a compromise.”

“You had to too,” I said. “The only way two people on two opposite extreme ends can reach a mid-point is for both of them to move. What if she had moved and you didn’t move? How can you reach a compromise? The only thing you are telling her is that you are not interested enough to reach a compromise. She probably felt if you loved her, you should have at least taken part in what she loves.

“Like every other thing in life, love also requires work. The work doesn’t stop after she agrees to be your girlfriend. Whatever made you love her and whatever made her love you are what constitute the life of the relationship. If you stop doing those things, then the relationship starts dying. If I have to make any conclusion from what you told me, your girlfriend probably loves it when you listen to her and stay with her. Maybe that was what you did to make her fall in love with you. Then you stopped doing it. And she probably found someone in Lagos who was doing it. She’s only human.”

“But you can’t keep a permanent girlfriend too,” he said. I smiled.

“Yes. You know, no one is perfect. Maybe my problem is the opposite of yours. I love girls. Too much. I do whatever it takes to satisfy a lady I want. I love them too much to stick with one. I left many of them and some left me. The reason some left me was not because I stopped doing what made them love me but they probably met someone they felt would love them better than I did. It was never my fault. Well, maybe it was few times, when they caught me with another girl. But you get the gist. Someone had to take an action, or inaction that led to the dissolution. For those that I left, I stopped doing what made them love me.”

Horse thinks he's faster than the government. True?

There was silence for about five minutes with both of us doting on our smartphones as if they were our best friends.

“How has this strike been?” I said.

“Well,” he said. “Pretty bad as you would expect. You know how it feels.”

“I don’t,” I said. “I hate what is going on here because I was once a student of this school and because it is wrong. But I can’t have a feeling close to yours because it is disrupting your lives.”

“Yes,” he said. I could see no emotion on his face but pain in his eyes. “It is really disrupting our lives. I should have been in service now. But I am stuck in 500 level. This government has wasted at least a year of my life. That is the time that can never be regained. Loss of productivity that may never be regained.

“Over thirty thousand students, added to lecturers, wasted a whole year and still counting. That is over thirty thousand years of loss of productivity. For two governments that are wise and responsible, that is probably more loss than the eight billion naira that the two governments are trying every means not to pay.

“I hate the governor of Oyo State. One of the traits of being a good leader is knowing the right thing to say and the right time to say it. He fails woefully at both. He is even worse at taking the right actions.”

“But what of the other governor?” I said. “I heard his state owe much more than Oyo State.”

“I have no feeling for the other governor,” he said. “If it was left to him, he would probably bring big padlocks to the school gates, lock them and throw the keys into the ocean. You know, this situation is really revealing.”

“How?”

“A school owned by two states that are being controlled by APC and whose chancellor is the national leader of APC. You want to know APC’s plan for education? Just look at Lautech. No matter what they tell you, just look at Lautech for the clear picture.”

“I agree,” I said.

“It’s a depressing situation,” he said and the hall became silent again. We were not looking at our phones this time. I was thinking about what he said, his face gave nothing away. I found myself in agreement with all that he said. It felt as if his words were ringing in the hall.

He started scrolling through his phone some minutes later.

“Doctor,” he said. “Good afternoon sir. Are you at your office?”

“Okay sir,” he said. “I’ll be right there.”

“That was my H. O. D. Dr Badejo,” he said to me. “He’s at his office. Let’s meet him there.”

“Okay,” I said as we stood up and left the hall through one of the front doors.

As we walked towards chemistry department, I could see a gigantic uncompleted building to our right and weeds growing in unexpected places. Few minutes later, we were in his office and Dayo did the introductions.

“How has the strike been?” I said.

“Bad,” he said, “as you can see.”

“I read a news recently in which the government of Osun State said the lecturers were against the audit of the school account and thereby impeding progress.” The man put down the pen in between his fingers. Even behind his big desk, I could see his frustrated look and a reaction had clearly been drawn from what I said.

“Let me say this,” he said like someone about to give a lecture. “There is nothing wrong in the audit of the school account. But it is wrong from every other angle you look at it. The two state governments appointed an accounting firm to audit the school accounts. These are two governments that have a reputation for never playing fair with workers.

“Do you think that accounting firm will come in and say the school’s account is clean and there is nothing hidden?” he said.

“Are you saying all the lecturers are clean?” I said.

To be continued...  
Read Episode 1 HERE, Episode 2 HERE

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