Memories From Boarding School: The Manyderful Brothers of 2005/2006

Another memory from boarding school. It talks about jest and how it lightened up a church arena and lubricated its atmosphere.

Memories From Boarding School: The Manyderful Brothers of 2005/2006

The road leading to the school gate from the junction where the school sign post is erected in town is as long as Obafemi Awolowo Univesity, Ile-Ife road one. It is broken by a railway crossing en route the gate and we sometimes heard a passing train blare back in the days. From the main gate to the administrative block is a trekkable distance road flanked by the car park to the right and the school field to the left, on a higher ground from the road. Overlooking the park is the administrative block which is adjacent the two dining halls with kitchen behind. The staff block is opposite the field, “a Lagos setback” from road two; that is the road separating the two and at a square angle to the road from the gate. Along road two is the church chapel on the left side. The “All Souls Interdenominational Church” building, so named in an artwork gifted to the church at the close of tenure by the female chapel prefect came alive with short demonstrations by the Manyderful Brothers of Dazzling Damola and Dr. Tobi who on its shilly-shallying stage “divided the word” in an atmosphere of goose, infusing doses of exuberance and spiritual agility through jokes.

Dazzling Damola showed up with water in his hands and had begun washing his body parts when Dr. Tobi found him quoting Hebrews 10:26 “…and having our bodies washed with pure water”. He on an enlightenment campaign counselled him over and over trying hard to explain scriptures to light hearted, free spirited Damola who I ran into in Access Bank, OAU, Ile-Ife ten years after; still reeks of that jovial air as he responded “I crack jokes for a living” with an enchanted smile on his face. I afterwards couldn’t help reminiscing my experience of the Manyderful Brothers of 2005/2006 which for me is a reasonable datum to the unjust anti-climax that threatened the FGCIK 05/06 set on the fourth of July: the day Mr Shuaib deboarded all Senior Secondary School III students with two or three NECO exams to go.