"Interesting way to get betrayed!" I said.
It was our final year in school and expectations were high. We had less than a year to be free of the school's environment and it's stress and finally about to become degree holders. It was a great feeling and a pleasant atmosphere indeed!
Everyone was putting in their best both academically and financially so that nothing goes wrong. During lectures we paid an unrivalled attention to the lecturers and when we sit to have a chat during our free times, our discussions revolved around prom night celebration which will hold on the last day of our second semester exams, our National Youth Service which we will be eligible to partake in within a year time and finally we will miss each other. This part of our discussions always carry with it an emotional atmosphere for we have been course mates and friends for about five years now. But alas! Little did we know that our plans and dreams will remain unrealized for up to two years! And that the circumstances leading to this will come from our own college mates of Forestry and Fisheries! Our friends!
Few weeks before the commencement of the first semester exams, the Vice Chancellor passed a decree that whoever fails to pay up his or her school fees up to the day of exams commencement will be barred from writing the exams and therefore will forfeit the semester. It was a hard and strict decree, one which has never been enacted within our entire five years in the University. With just about three weeks to go, many students were having a difficult time to come to terms with the new law, especially the final year students, like it's said "one cannot start learning to be left-handed at old age".
"I might as well just go back home and wait for next session" Casmir said. "I can't stress myself to read and come for lectures then get barred from writing exams. It will hurt more than a ten year relationship break up with my girlfriend". We all laughed. Casmir was one of the 'I don't care students' who always spend their fees and only pay up shortly before exams, sometimes two or three days before the first day of exams.
"But Casmir is right". Eunice said after the laughs and murmuring had died down. "It will be a tragedy to be served such a bitter pill. So we all have to try our best".
"We will try but the school management will need to consider the students especially final year Students". I said. A student who paid His or her fees from first year to fourth year should be considered during the last year if he or she fails to pay within the stipulated time.Some students work and pay for themselves so it won't be easy to combine lectures, final year projects and working to pay for their fees and feeding. So, let the school be more lenient". I added.
Everyone aired their views and shortly afterwards we all moved to the forestry lab for our midday lecture.
Two this before d commencement of exams, the Vice Chancellor was yet to reverse the decree and most students were still yet pay up. In my department, of the fifty three students, only were yet to pay while in the other sister department which are Wildlife and range management, forest production and product and fisheries and aquaculture, 20, 14 and 18 students respectively were yet to pay.
The night before our first paper, a meeting was called by three students; Currency, Augustine and Zuma. It was called so that we could find s solution on how our colleagues who were yet to pay for their fees to sit for the exams. After much deliberations, Currency brought up a proposal. He stood up and after hailing the Students, he proceeded to present his view. "It will be very unfortunate that after spending five years in this school, one will be forced to spend another year passing through all this stress due to a shortcoming which is not the person's fault. "We all have been through all these struggles for the past four years and we are finally in our last year. Some of our mates have not been able to meet up with the vice chancellor's deadline of paying the school fees before exams but we cannot just sit and watch while our mate are made to repeat another extra year. We need to do something. So I'm suggesting that when we get to our respective examination halls tomorrow we will go in and sit down and if the invigilators prevent our colleagues from going in to the halls, we that have already paid ours will leave the halls in solidarity with our colleagues, by so doing, the school management will be forced to listen to our conditions. Great Nigerian students!" He then sat down.
We all agreed to go by this method. The next day was a Monday, the beginning of the end. Everyone was in high-spirit, every heart was filled with anxiety. The sun rose from the east with beautiful crimson color, it was a day that held promise. We all went to our respective examination halls. Shortly before my department went in we had noises coming from the direction of the hall allocated to the department of fisheries and aquaculture, we then knew that the revolution has started. If any of us had any doubt about involvement In the upcoming protest the noise coming from the department of fisheries had cleared it up. Shortly afterwards the invigilators came and unfortunately, it was the dreaded fisheries professor, professors Solomon who was known to be a no nonsense. We queued up and presented our examination pass one after the other. After we all who have paid were all seated, the invigilators prevented our mates who have not paid and who were not with their examination pass from going in. At first we were scared and no one was willing to stand up and go out since no one wants to be viewed as the protest leader but after John made sound of disappointments, we all stood up as if guided by one heart and started going out. The professor called us back but we told him that our three colleagues were prevented from coming in so we will not sit for the exam. He gave a mirthless laugh and then proceeded to retrieve the answer sheets already given to us. We went out and were still gathered in front of our examination hall when one of our colleagues who was coming from the direction of the examination halls of the department of wildlife and range management and also the department of forests production and products shouted over to us that we should hasten up and come over that both departments were already seated and writing the exams. We all rushed to the halls and true to his words, both departments were already in and the exam was well underway. Our lecturers heard the commotion and rushed to the venue on hearing our own side of the story they tried to interrupt the exam but other lecturers would have none of it. Before any concrete decision concerning our plight could be reached, the exam had already come to an end. We had missed it! We had been betrayed.
We pleaded that the exam be rescheduled for use even for just thirty minutes but it all fell on deaf ears as it had already been related to the vice-chancellor and he had made it clear that we should not be given the departments to write. All hell was let loose as we could not take the betrayal from our sister department. All kind of mean words were exchanged between college mates also known to be friends. I just stood at a corner laughing and shedding some drops of tears at the same time. "Wow; So this is how I just won myself an extra year for free?" I thought.
We sat down for the remaining exams without any more troubles but deep down, we were troubled. After about two months of deliberation the school management decided to let us write the exam the following year without any other punishment on us but it was ordered that we would pay for that semester, a doubled payment! The first semester was done, our mates in other departments celebrated it but me and my course mates all moved about with dark clouds hanging on our heads. The second semester came and the exams went without a hitch. After our graduation, we had to wait behind for another year to write the boycotted exam but from that day, we promised ourselves never to have anything to do with anyone from the other to sister departments that betrayed us. I promised myself never to get myself involved in any form of protest ever again! never ever.
