The school has come to terms with Mr Bepo’s leaving and has prepared a Farewell celebration for him. He has to delay his flight plan to be able to attend the farewell. The airline charged him a $100 fine for cancellation which the school was glad to pay on his behalf.
The farewell begins on a Wednesday with a hilarious match between the staff and students. With the help of Mr Ibe, the games master, the staff win fraudulently with a score of 3-2. On Thursday, a debate is held in his honour. The topic was: The arts have contributed more to the development of the country than the sciences. At the end of the debate, he is enamoured by the brilliance and candour of his students and he remembers the old Yoruba adage which translates as: even if Onirese, the master carver, eventually bows out of the trade, the carvings he had bequeathed to the world will live on.
Friday is the grand finale of the Send-off. There were a lot of performances including song presentations, comedic performances where they mimicked the teachers and a string of dances from the drama club. As the drama club presents a dance about their experience in Badagry, Mr Bepo becomes emotional as is taken back to the Heritage Slavery Museum. He does not realise when he yells out: “Noooo!”. The performance stops and everyone begins to stir at him. He immediately comports himself and saves face by retorting: “I mean no school could have done the Canoe dance better. None! None at all!” (pg. 56). The audience applauds.
In the end, the MD offers a heartfelt speech narrating how Mr Bepo, who is now referred to by his full name – Adewale Adebepo – was hired by her father who knew he would be a valuable addition to the school. She showers a lot of praise on him and eventually offers him a farewell gift in an envelope. The MD reveals that it contains a cheque of $10,000 – the highest Stardom had ever presented to a disengaging member of staff.
Then, Mr Bepo is given the microphone to offer his speech. He does this amidst sobbing which the audience understood.
