BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
Since I joined the school system I have never witnessed a situation where someone will write his own report card. The only exception was when I witnessed s group of high school boys who did not do well in the finals, and out of fear of the consequences decided to rewrite their report cards themselves. The teachers always have to write the report cards for the students.
In the same way, on the social level, someone cannot start saying I am a very good person. Many people would take exception to that narrative because it is left for the public to say. If someone is moving around town saying I have done well, I have achieved a lot, I am the best, our people said that you cannot share a booty and be the first one to take a portion (madu ada-ekesi bulukwa uzo ralu).
The APC government would not even allow the governed to say how they are being governed and how they feel about the government. The midterm report card by the people is saying something else, and the APC attacking machines were saying something totally out of touch. When you see that altered report card, when you get home and show it to your parents, they know your quality already, so if you bring in a report contrary to your capacity, tomorrow they are taking you back to the principal to certify the abracadabra.
I was in fourth grade when Mr. and Mrs. Nwamma came back to the school with their son Ebuka. My mother was the principal and Ebuka was in fifth grade. The only problem was that they had canceled the “NOT” in front of “promoted” and wanted to convince the parents that it was done by the teacher. The indices in Ebuka’s report cards did not support the conclusion that states promoted. Looking at Ebuka’s report card he came 40 out of 40 in the class (obulu klas na-isi). Of all the eleven subjects the highest mark was Igbo 20%. Everything was written in red and the total score was 97 out of 1100. How can it be possible that Ebuka would be promoted? The parents knew their son and could not be deceived. The parents were satisfied with my mother’s simple explanation and took Ebuka back home. The consequences of his actions with the parents I do not know, but if you grew up in Onitsha in the 80s and 90s your guess is as good as mine when you come home with a bad report card.
APC’s midterm report card has been written, and they are trying to rewrite it by all means possible. Let us look at one of the report cards of the APC government. In the inception of the government, they awarded 750 kilometers of coastal highway. They told us that the road would be finished in 8 years. I am not Chike Obi the mathematician, but if you have a 750-kilometer road to do in 8 years between 50 and 100 kilometers a year will show a sign of seriousness. I was surprised when the government said that they had completed 70% of the road. Many people were wondering where 70% of the road was located only for the government to come and say that they have completed 30 kilometers of the road in two years. What would be the percentage of 70% of 750 kilometers (Google said 525)? I am sure it is not 30 kilometers. Meanwhile, I consulted Google to ask what would be the percentage of 30 over 750 and it says 4%. Where in the world did APC get 70%? How can APC finish this 750 kilometers in 8 years at this rate? Is it this leg that the cow will use to get to Umuahia (Obu ukwua ka nama ga eji rue Umuahia)?
All the indices in this midterm report card of APC do not support what Dave Umahi is telling us. They wanted to delete the “NOT” in front of the promoted. The amount they spent to celebrate the 30 kilometers could build another 100 kilometers of that road. It was a clear case of total failure, but the Ebuka effect would not work since a road is what everyone can see and feel. I do not want to go into NNPC because that would be another case of the more you look the less you see. I do not think that anything good would come out of the APC government when they are not open to an honest report card that would help them to know where to work hard and where to concentrate. We were told that the subsidy had been removed on May 29th, 2023; we celebrated it with a little worry. Today the worry is no longer little because the government wanted to borrow $21 billion to cushion the effect of subsidy removal. People are asking what kind of joke is this, but I know it is not a joke or prank, it is a real-life situation when it comes to APC and the government. If you are not open to constructive criticism you are bound to make mistakes and failure is assured.
Finally, the report card JAMB (Joint Admission and Matriculation Board) gave us last time was faulty. Many people thought it was a mistake and a glitch in the system. I know it is not because the corporation kept quiet until there was an outcry from the people of the southeast. The true report card does not lie. If you change your score, your parents or classmates will know. If the teachers wanted to marginalize you because you are from one part of the country the people would know because they have seen your performance throughout the year. The cry on television by the professor in charge of JAMB does not faze me because I know their tricks. Remember that someone died for this JAMB shenanigan called a glitch. If the professor resigns and calls out the company that organized the exam, we can have another discussion on the issue, but the way things are now, nothing has changed and they know their stock in trade which is to marginalize the southeastern part of Nigeria. We are looking at the report card of the Nigerian government and we are trying hard to give them a good leader who would at least correct all the errors of the past go
