Our Big Bad Boys
The civil was lasted for about five years, during which schools were closed. The aftereffects of that closure reverberated as soon as the schools reopened for academic work.
One outstanding issue was that those in a particular class had a very wide range of age difference. Many who were not of school age at the start of war had outgrown starting from class one at the end of war, using age as a yardstick. This posed a big challenge to education authorities, and to break the deadlock, everyone was asked to join any class of his or her choice, so long as such a one felt capable of coping. And so, certificates were given little or no consideration in admission.
This was how we found a strange mixture of ages in our secondary school class one which was supposed to be for those in the bracket of 10 to 12 years. And so, because of that waiver, you find those in the range of 15 to 17 in class one. You could see students in class five as old as 20 to 25. In fact, some students were enlisted in the army that fought bitter battles in the frontlines.
Those overaged boys earned the tag BBB, meaning Big Bad Boys, and they were proud it. Many of them made life difficult for ordinary students. They could send you on any errand, ranging from washing their plates to buying things for them. Really, they constituted a terror gang, not only within the school, but outside, especially when we go on inter-school competitions.
It may be because of the acquired military mentality that made them not to believe in losing in competitions. Theirs was to win by hook or crook means; whatever it takes to win, that's where they belong.
We had a football match with Udeala Comprehensive Secondary School (UCSS) who beat us one goal to nothing right in our school. Our BBB's did not seem to take that match seriously, probably due to the presence of the principal. But, they promised the UCSS boys hell during the return leg.
And so, on the appointed date for the second leg, we were two goals down at the end of first half. As soon as the second leg kicked off, our BBB's took control and sent in one of their own by name, Soki. We all knew Soki wasn't a good footballer. He was sent in, not to play any good soccer, but to eliminate "System" and "Striker", two star players of UCSS.
"System" was the first to fall victim. Both him and Soki jumped to head the ball in the air, before you knew it, System was flat on the turf, writhing in pain. Soki had kicked him with his elbow, and the referee, either did not get the picture well, or wanted to give Soki a second chance, only blew the whistle for a free kick against us. But, System did not play again due to the pain he felt. He was replaced, but before that was effected, we had scored a goal.
Soki now plotted against "Striker". It didn't take long before the two met face to face. Soki tackled him so hard that he crashed heavily on the field. Pronto, the referee issued a red card to Soki. But, Striker was so annoyed at Soki that he pushed him. This made Soki to attack him, causing the two to pose for a fight.
The referee then extended the red card to Striker also. As the two left the field, the balance tilted in our favour because Soki wasn't a player in the real sense of it.
The referee was about to blow the final whistle when a UCSS boy send a powerful shot that violently shook our net. Our goalkeeper appeared not to have even seen the ball pass him. It was the thunderous ovation from the spectators and the vibrating net that brought reality to his senses.
In a fit of rage, our BBB's trooped into the field and all over the UCSS compound, and started beating everyone at sight. The referee escaped lynching by whiskers. The UCSS boys ran heterskelter to safety. Still, not satisfied, the BBB's uprooted the sighpost of UCSS and took it to our school.
But, as we came back to our school, we knew we had bitten more than we could chew. The police had mobilized and were at our back. Inside the dormitory, everyone started packing his belongings and leaving, knowing the police would soon arrive. No one needed to be told that danger was in the air. We had committed a school sin.
The first set to reach the gate on its way to escape shouted, and ran back because the police were already at the gate to make arrest. Confusion was all over! Many that managed to escape climbed the fence. The parents of those that were arrested had to go and bail them after signing a bond of good behaviour. The school authority had no option than to close the school indefinitely.
When the school resumed after five weeks, most of our BBB's were rusticated, and the school began to look like one, rather than a jungle where anything goes.