Bullying was a more common practice in schools between 1970's and 1980's. It has reduced a little in recent times due to the evil emanating from it which has been widely condemned by many people.
There are still pockets of bullying these days, some minor, some deadly. For instance, there was an extreme case where a secondary school student lost his life due to bullying from his mates, not quite long in Lagos. It led to the closure of that school by the government.
Apart from direct beating and flogging, bullying could be in the form of corporal punishment. Teachers, prefects and "big boys" were mostly involved. In those days, schools nearly resembled military camps. You either obey orders or be dealt with. Majority of the victims however, were actually stubborn students.
It affected me somehow in spite of the fact that I was an obedient student. It happened one day that our school tap ran dry, and we the junior students were asked to go and fetch water from the stream to be used in cooking our food.
Immediately the school closed, I rushed to fetch a bucket of water to be presented to the kitchen. I went down the stream the second time to wash my clothes. That was when most students were just going for the first time to fetch their water.
A prefect aspirant confronted me, asking why I came to wash instead of fetching water. (He was in Class 3 while I was in Class 1). My explanation that I had already fetched the water for the kitchen fell on deaf ears as he thought I was lying. Before you knew it, he landed several strokes of the cane on me.
I felt very bad due to this injustice. The anger from that kept boiling inside me. After that session l changed school. Coincidentally and unfortunately for that bully he came to my new school's inter house sports.
There was a notorious bully in my new school who was very friendly with me. I can't remember what led to our friendship. Once I sighted that bully from my former school, I went to tell my friend. He promised to teach him a bitter lesson.
True to his promise, as the sports were rounding off, and people started going home, he approached the bully, and asked him whether he knew me. That one said yes. Instantly, he slapped him. It wasn't a joke. He slapped him again and again, and kicked his legs which made him to crash on the ground.
"Get up. Kneel down." He shouted at him.
The bully was in such a sorry sight that I started begging my friend to leave him.
As my former oppressor was there, kneeling down, my friend asked him to beg me for forgiveness. That was a simple thing for him. He quickly said he was sorry for how he flogged me, and pleaded for forgiveness.
I accepted, and my friend warned him never to dream of beating me anywhere. Over 30 years now since we left school, I've neither seen my bully nor my friend. It appears we shall never meet again.
