Tale 14: Of Teachers, Lecturers and Professors

I am assailed by memories,
Memories of those who taught me.
Etched in my mind's eye,
the cadence of their voices,
their stance as they taught,
the terror some wielded,
with their canes and predatory nature.
And then, those who nurtured,
who truly, really loved their roles.
Custodians of knowledge,
enabling the future by facilitating learning.
Dedicated practitioners often vilified,
truly under appreciated

The good, the bad, the Ugly.
The 'inspirers', those who excelled
All I say thank you too.

Tales of more I will tell on other platforms, but these I bring to light

Of Mr. Ogunde (St. Agnes Primary School) who had six pence and a notorious ‘pankere’
This his wielded from over the top of his six foot 3 frame
Choi! Mr. Ogunde - thank you.

Of Miss Olatunji famed for her pleated skirts and puffy sleeves
for her knowledge of Maths - and attempts to instill same in me

Of afro Mrs. Onuzo, graceful
for never ever giving up on French and I

Of.Mr. Gboyega, tall and atimes lost in his own world
for enabling the Ajala in me, My love of travel thrives on

Of Mrs. Aganga a test on the Heart and my subsequent success
an affirmation that indeed I can if I put my heart and mind to it

Of Mrs. Shoda and Dr. Mrs. Onyewadume for building on the literary foundation
and for the many ear pulls, twists and eyes when I skirted the lines

Of Mr. Uwasomba, Mr. Akande and Mr. Adeoti in OAU
For living your lives the way you have and fueling the characters in my imagination
so many tales it seems yet to be told

Of the late Prof. Ekundayo who taught my mum in the 70’s and then taught me in the 90’s
Yes, same notes - it was Linguistics stylistics - so what, pray tell think you might have changed?

Of Prof. Mrs.Kolawaole from whom I first heard the term ‘Womanism’
One that captured who and what I stand for than Feminism has ever been able to

Of Dr. Chima Anyadike who till tomorrow comes, holds a special teacher place in my heart
He stands tall in my history, a positive contributor more than most - for the many referral letters

And most highly placed
My Mum, Dr. Mrs. B.A. Akinsanmi
Of many nicknames none of which I dare ‘think’ of for fear of her wise long reaching eyes
Dedicated service for a score and half years
sowing in the lives of many and unwittingly laying pathways of favour for me.

Thank you for staying through to a profession that is under appreciated.
May God replenish you. Amen.


Ps: Believe it or not I wrote the draft of this tale a week ago
It refused to leave the comfort of my turquoise notebook till today - and O, how apt it is!
Happy Teachers Day all!