JOURNEY TO THE BSc (Blog Series EP16).

Darker clouds came and with it, a raging storm…

I couldn’t hold back my frustration! All these courses that were brought up again where the same ones that were supposedly cleared?! Like, I couldn’t quite figure it all out. Was this the god of the repeated five that was now trailing me? I didn’t understand. But I was definitely going to get to the bottom of this.

I went to school again, met with exams and records and they brought the courses. I mentioned to them that I had already cleared them but they said I should bring the proof by meeting the lecturers and bringing a photocopy.

Among the five courses, where two that immediately stood out for me; one of them, my lecturer actually submitted it herself and it was approved and the other was a project course that didn’t require an exam.

I went to the lecturer that had the project work for my result. I went to his office and immediately demanded my result. He asked for my registration number and when he searched, he told me he didn’t have me on his records. Not again! He then pushed by asking if I paid and I said yes.

Now, professor Konkwo was a Masscomm lecturer that handled only final year students. With him came money that had to be paid. This money was not to guarantee success in the subject but so that you will be registered to sit and write his course. On this faithful, I had already paid for my 3k book by him and for the defense; I had prepared and was ready to destroy that project for all it was worth. I had dressed from head to toe in my purple and black ensemble even with a bag to go with it. This was unlike me. Even when I stepped in for the defense, my course mates couldn’t believe their eyes. I wanted to ace that course by all means and I meant it.

When I was called to present my topic and defend it, everyone stopped and listened. I was very eloquent, very articulate and when I was asked questions by the lecturer I threw it back to him. Even he was impressed. I knew that didn’t mean a thing if I didn’t pay up the remaining 6k that followed the defense. Making it a total of 10k that had to be paid for one of his courses and he handled four for both semesters.  After the defense was over, I was outside his office, with the rest waiting to pay up. I walked in and paid mine in 100naira mint, so that he can remember me.

Now for him to be asking me this stupid question of if I paid, was just ridiculous. I had to take his mind back to the time that I paid him 6k in 100naira notes. He immediately said he remembers but there was nothing he could do about it.

I almost died! I went to the father of fathers in the department to help plead with him. Prof John Kamen was a name that was well known in the department of social sciences and I was glad I knew him. I went and explained to him concerning my issue. He was very bitter about it all and called him and demanded he fixed it.

While that was going on, I had to fish for the remaining of the results If I was ever going to graduate.