34 Questions Every Nigerian Ex-Primary School Student Should Ask
It was children's day last weekend! I don't know about you, but it brought back memories for me; childhood memories! Parties, puffy pigtails, amusement parks, Fanta, and of course, school! I wouldn't trade my memories of attending a Nigerian primary school for the world. It was so much fun and full of peculiar events and traditions. Very peculiar. We actually did somethings that our contemporaries in other parts of the world could probably identify with and somethings they'd never understand. Even I wonder sometimes. As a child-turned-adult, here are 34 peculiar questions I still wonder about. Try answering each question. Let me know how many reasons you could come up with. I couldn't find an answer for #7 and #11 though. Lol!
34 Questions Every Nigerian Ex-Primary School Student Should Ask
1. Why did we wrap our exercise books with sheets of calendars?
2. Why did school-bought food have so much dodo? And beans! Blink.
3. Who loved the smell of those moderately translucent neon colored erasers? Who chewed them (side eye)?
4. Who chewed chalk (covering face)?
5. Who in the world stayed back in those gross toilets to write "Segun loves Dolapo"? Eww
6. Why did everyone smell of old house on cultural dance day?
7. Why did my primary 2 seat partner try to erase with an eraser and saliva and end up tearing his notebook four pages deep?
8. Why was SOP so important?
9. Why did someone steal my pink recorder?
10. Why couldn’t anyone decide on whether to call it a recorder or a flute?
11. Why did my seat partner spit into his recorder so that the spit drooled down the flute opening?
12. Why did he and his friends find it amusing?
13. Why did we make sweater babies? Lay sweater flat. Fold both arms across the chest. Roll from the neck, tuck formed tube into the open hem. Where did this knowledge come from?
14. Who taught me to make paper planes, boats, jets, fans?
15. Why was transitioning from pencils to pens such a big deal?
16. Buttermint. Tom Tom. Malta sweet. Dandy. Robot. Eclairs. Goody Goody. Sweet alagbon. Biscuit alata. Marie. Shortcake. Round okin. Eleganza. Bic. Yellow pencil. Yellow wooden ruler. Onward. 2A notebook. 2B pencil. Why do I miss these?
17. Why did the school bell bring me joy?! Were we psychologically conditioned by school bells?
18. Why was using the word "Love" such a big deal?
19. Why was forgetting my locker keys at home such a disaster?
Why did I sit on see-saws with strangers and have fun doing it?
20. Why did our writing notes have multi colored lines?
21. Why did one teacher teach all the subjects?
22. Did we really have to swing our arms to marching songs?
23. Why did I always play the Angel during Christmas plays? Ok, not always.
24. Those rulers with pictures that changed with direction to light! Why did that excite me so?
25. Round pencil sharpeners with mirrors on the back. Who was the genius inventor of this?
26. Name, Animal, Place, Thing. Why was alphabet "X" saved for last?
27. Why were some play songs banned from the playground?
28. Was primary school the time I got all these bruises on my legs?
29. Why was home time so beautiful?
30. Why did mum bring me a snack when she picked me from school?
31. Why was school excursion day so cool?
32. Why was being a brownie even cooler?
33. Stand up. Close your eyes. Raise up your hands. Why did I listen when my seat mate told me to put my raised hands down. The teacher had stepped out, he said.
34. Where is my seat mate these days?
What was your favorite primary school memory? Which one of your answers to the questions amused you the most?
Here We Go Again!
Hey, you! You came back! You came back! Welcome. Happy New Blog year! I know you are expecting me to tell you what I did during my time off in September- about my somber reflection, my cyber-muteness and how I've obtained inner strength for the next blogging year. So I will tell you.
~pause~
I played a lot of PS4, ate too much and crashed our friends' honeymoon and did everything else in between; still I got to reflect and get many things in perspective.
I missed being here, missed you guys. PGI turned one last month, I couldn't have pulled that off without you. Thank you for reading and for all your support.
I think this new year I might bring a little more playfulness to the blog. Just a little more. Think we could fit some more in? Pressed-down-shaken-together rascality. Lol. I know, just when you thought there wasn't anymore space! Looking forward to it! I also hope you like the new look. PGI is constantly trying to make this platform easy to use and easy for you to poke around.
By the way, Happy Independence Day, Nigeria. 5&6 is a really big deal.
A few more things I did in September: umm...oh, yeah, I high-fived the coolest homeless guy and I quit the gym.
Then I un-quit the gym.
How have you been? Glad to be back? What was September like? Did you crash anyone's honeymoon? 'Cause you really should.
OMS- I Laugh At These Skinny Girls
Off my shelf (OMS), today, is Tolu Akinyemi's exquisitely crafted poetry collection, "I Laugh At These Skinny Girls." Poetry for People Who Hate Poetry.
He literally just made poetry accessible to those of us that zoned-out and nodded our way through Ulysses in Literature class. Wait....did we read Ulysses? I can't even remember but we read a bunch of JP Clarks, I think.
I can assure you, if Tolu's book was a literature book in SS2, my arm would be permanently raised in Literature class.....instead of the eye-dodging professional I became with my Lit. teacher. The fiction selection was a bit zone-out-friendly too...
Teacher: Have you all read chapter 1 to 3 of Anthills of the Savannah?
Students (chorus of lies): Yesssssss!
Teacher: Ike, mention 5 themes from Anthills of the Savannah.
Me: *Zoned out already, thinking about Britney Spears new song* Errrrr.......Ants?
*Blink*
Rough times.
Anyway, if you love poetry, you'll love it and if you hate poetry, so would you! If you like being amused, it's packed with wit, while touching on significant and current issues in our society, so get a copy here or there!
This is not a sponsored post. I just read like a nerd.
Fear Hack: Post Paris-Mali Attacks
I don't run alone
The plan is to remain active all winter long. God and I are aiming for 20 miles/week. We will be indoors, of course; at the gym, no point testing the elements, when just one of us is immortal.
The other day we were out for a run and imagined that if we, dad and daughter, were out for a run, chances were that we had angels running with us, like a security attaché thing. They probably had on jog pants and trainers and ran in stride, with sunglasses, ear pieces and guns gold swords....I guess.
After the Paris and Mali attacks, I guess it's only natural that we all find ways to deal with the fear that creeps into our minds as we walk briskly past crowded places and avoided sustained glares. For me, I've chosen the Father. I've chosen to believe the fact that he walks (and runs) with me and the unseen fact that he has set his security attaché over us.
Don't be spooked.
We do not walk alone.
xx