This Queens College debacle

My daughter Koko is in Primary School and is on the lookout for a competent secondary school. The mother, a very beautiful damsel from Imo state has been very persistent in her desire to have her only daughter attend any of these high flying schools.

She has been so adamant that maybe out of fear Koko has simply been failing common entrance into the ‘lowly’ schools while passing with flying colours exams into schools with fees screaming in excess of N1m per term. You see women.

Well, two schools have been on my radar. The International School, University of Lagos and the Queens College Yaba. I
have been favourable to these schools because of their pedigree and my strong believe that they still have very high quality of education while maintaining the level of discipline that is required to nurture a very beautiful lass in this internet age.

A visit to ISL Unilag more than convinced me that I was taking a very positive step. I met with two of the teaching staff and they did not mince words as to the need for me to favour their school instead of all these other ‘plastic’ schools that were just profit centers.

I jumped and called Koko and her mum and gave them the last warning. I immediately promulgated a decree that cannot
be contested stating very clearly that she was attending ISL and that I will not brook any opposition.

But while speaking to my close friend J, she told me that this was not a wise decision. That the fact that the school was located within the precinct of a larger campus made the girl student very vulnerable to the lecherous and amorous acts of the undergraduate students. Kai, I ran o. Who would want to expose his innocent daughter to the madness that is an undergraduate, brimming with no self confidence to face his mates after being dislocated by the activities of sugar daddies and seeing the young and innocent secondary school child as easy conquest, he jumps in.

Kai, I repelled the decree and faced Queens College. Now this was supposed to be one of the most prestigious girls’ schools in the country. With a distinguished crop of alumni, a long and desirable pedigree and an image that was long earned through meritorious service delivery in the sector.

But just as I was about to jump in, this scandal broke out. Where is the girl child safe, if she cannot be safe in an all girl school. Look all sides have spoken, but I tell you there is no smoke without fire and except we are willing to continue to play the ostrich games we have a crisis of monumental proportion in our hands.

The teacher might be innocent in this one instance but that does not mean that there are no cases in the school and from a past horrible experience in another school, the authorities usually come out very powerfully to defend not only the school but the accused for very obvious reason. Leaving the victim hapless and cowering in the dark with
damaged reputation like it is in this case.

Read also: Tinubu spits fire

Today the mother and daughter have gone quiet, the noise has been too much, the damage to the poor girls psyche cannot be measured but her position needs to be heard to get a conviction if at all and the way it is now I really doubt she would even come out to say anything. We always handle these things like motor park touts, forgetting just how sensitive these things can be. All the hullabaloo has made us lose sight of the real facts in this matter.

Why did the accuser pick out this particular teacher, is he the only male teacher in the school, why does every new principal get the same report about the same person, the fact that he has won awards in the past does not exonerate him from this and why is the school fighting so hard to defend him despite all the noise.

My position is that he should be asked to go even if he is innocent. He is too deep into this to escape unscathed. This is very far from a hatchet job simply because he is a good teacher. If you ask me, he is guilty, just did not cover his track well this time and has been exposed by a victim who will now not be able to come out to defend herself.

This is a classic in these kinds of cases. So much hoopla is made that the victim retreats out of shame and the case will fall into pieces.Well for me and Koko we have pulled back, now if it were my daughter no be placard matter we for dey talk now.

We will look for a high paying school that will allow me put a tracker in her bag, cameras in her sweater and small CIA like microphones on her skirt so that I can monitor her at all times.

God help us.

By Joseph Edgar

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now