The advice of every parents to their kids is to go to school and not look for trouble. What do you do when trouble comes looking for you?
I lived in one of the newest halls of residence in the campus community called Abapawa. My hall was named Omoluwabi Chambers out of which my cognomen emanated. The house fine, no be small but trouble makers plenty die there.
The first trouble maker in Omoluwabi was Abbey. This lady can shout and curse anyone at any slight provocation. If you greet her and you are not audible enough, na yabbing. If you didn't greet her by mistake or oversight, just remain in your lane if you don't want to be cursed.
When you see girls that are very short, my brother, don't attempt to have problem with them. This Abbey girl abused guys that toasted her. That's how she cursed the number 3 of cultist group in the neighbourhood.
Brethren, those guys matched into our house to cause mayhem. It took the intervention of some indigenes to save us the mess that day. I would have single handedly dealt with them but I was not at home that day.
Another surutu of a lady is called Damilola. If you see any lady bearing that name, run. Dammys are troublesome. They are bathed with trouble waters.
This girl go knack mopol chest say her parents be confirm soldiers. When they came looking for her. I locked my door and disappeared in the speed of light. Koju ma ribi, gbogbo ara loogun e
Anuoluwapo was another notable trouble queen. The most annoying part is her shouting and ranting attitude. And painfully, her room was the first in the hall.
I saw hell when she asked me to help her rob her injured thigh and she was leaning on me all in the pretence of groaning in pains. To the extent that her wrapper fell off her body in the process and she insisted that we continue. I remembered Joseph and I ran for my dear life.
Another personified trouble incubator was Olufunmi. A Yoruba girl that can not speak Yoruba at all. This lady gave all the guys tough time in the hall including the hall President, Dave.
She sabi tear craze well well. What's my own? I don't have time for iregbe. If I should grab my book and face the route out of the hall like this, Awo lo niyen. The rest is in the evening.
There was a time we were told about community leadership and the need to have representative from our hall being one of the most popular in the neighbourhood in the political positions created.
Being a social icon and opinionated individual, people didn't think twice before nominating me to lead the hall. But what was I to contest for? I didnt know, so the permutations and consultation commenced.
I was told that the slot meant for 100 level was AGS and Librarian II. A whole me? I succumbed to being AGS while a friend of mine from another hall chose to contest for Librarian II.
But on getting to the election ground, we realised that other candidates were not credible and were contesting unopposed for most major positions. Na dere my surutu girls begin solidarity craze for them on my behalf.
In their words, "we can't bring our Prof here to come and contest for AGS". So the girls bundled me out of the election atmosphere to our hall in serious and noisy protest.
But because the association will need dues from my hall residents coupled with the threat to disrupt further political activities involving us, they came to me in the midnight for a reconciliation meeting.
As soon as my surutu bodyguards (Adeola, Tumminu, Olufunmi, Nike, Anuoluwapo and others) noticed their presence, they went for planks and cutlasses and wouldn't listen to anyone until I asked to give peace a chance.
That was how they insisted that I must be the Vice President or nothing. Those guys told them outrightly that it was against the constitutional provision.
But who born monkey wey im dey talk say e no wan chop banana? They agreed to give the VP slot to me without election and my friend Bayo was made the General Secretary. That was how surutu girls saved me from being politically cheated and elevated my career as a campus politician
Morals: Nobody is too useless to be condemned. Everyone has got a good deed and a good time if you give them the chance.
Also, don't condemn people too easily. Allow them to make mistakes and express themselves. Life is a phase.
Let's do this next week. Follow me on Twitter via @prof_Luwabi and I will follow back instantly. @GraceOdanibe
Completing the service year and getting back home wasn't so easy. I came from a home where neighbours are SEE FINISH. So it wasn't a matter of negotiation for me to know that I wasn't returning home to my parents after Ajuwaya
Not like I didn't try to. I did but got my fingers burnt. Young chaps in the streets were often referred to see me for their difficult home works. One young girl nearly rubbished my degree when she brought WORD PROBLEM mathematics assignment. It was really a problem.
It was my batch of NYSC that was deployed to conduct voter's registration and the eventual elections of 2011. It didn't come so easily.
We were asked to converge at the Awka South local government office in Amawbia for briefing. I was to arrive earlier than others to set the public address system as soon as I got to the venue and was alighting from the motorcycle, my NYSC trouser tore disgracefully.
St John of God Sec School, Awka is girls school. I was asked to teach Literature in English, a whole Sociology graduate. Sebi it's NYSC. Mo ya gba kamu.
My lecture days were Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Wednesdays and Thursdays were my other PPAs and CDS. I also taught in the Prisons as Government, Commerce and Literature tutor.
Staying in the NCCF family house was a product of garnished programmes and varieties as well as the interdenominational acceptance of Christians across the country.
Sebi you remembered that I said cooking almost landed me in trouble in the previous episode, it wasn't funny at all.
Despite having some issues with my documentation at the NYSC office which would mean that I wouldn't get my 9,775 for two months, I still felt like leaving the NCCF state house because of strict rules or else...
Won ti keran mero (they have parked incompartible entities together). I set out to look for an apartment because I had about 20k in my account plus my first allawee, transport and bicycle allowances given on camp. I was good to go.