Bepo wishes to resolve a legal tussle between the families of two of his
pupils that has been going on for three years before relocating to the UK.
The school had conducted an election for a new set of prefects. The
contestants bought forms depending on the positions they wished to contest
for. Forms for the position of Head Boy and Head Girl was N50,000, N40,000
for the deputies and N25,000 for all other positions.
After purchasing the forms, they would be screened by a panel constituted by the management. The screening ensured that participants were above average academically and that they had a good moral history, especially in the school. The students read out their Expression of Interest letter to the panel and their power of communication was gauged. When they scaled through, the successful candidates were revealed to the students so that they could get familiar with them and raise any objections through letters to the panel. The names were pasted on the notice board for two weeks after which the candidates would address the students on the “much anticipated Speech Day.” The election was then held the next day.
On Speech Day, however, something terrible happened: Banky, an SSS2 student vying for the post of Social Prefect, during her speech says: “Instead of voting for the son of an ex-convict, cast your vote for me. You will never regret it.” He said this about her key opponent, Tosh who is also in SSS2. Before the principal could disapprove of these words, Tosh walked out of the hall. Banky and Tosh have always had a rivalry since they were in JSS3. Their parents have also joined in on this rivalry. They filed a lawsuit against Tosh.
Tosh’s father, Chief Ogba, was not an ex-convict but he had spent 36 months in detention as a faced trial for alleged misappropriation of N2.5 billion government contract sum. The case dragged on for five years but he was released and was ordered to refund the sum. Chief Ogba insisted that Banky and his parents write letters of apology to himself and his son and that the letters be published in the school magazine but Banky's parents declined to do this.
Bepo is hoping that he could get the warring parties to settle out of court before he relocated. He is also upset that he would miss the Invention Club, especially the Breath Project – the club that made phones out of recycled panels and chips. The project had attracted media and government interest. He fears that if he left Nigeria, the project could derail. He promised he would do everything he could to fly in from the UK to be part of the launch.
