πππππ ππππ(3)
Bosede Fagbemi
Lola’s mum visited Flora’s mum as planned. After the exchange of pleasantries, she spoke on the reason for the visit.
” Ama siku orire ti Flora,’ she said. ” ‘molola told me that she has been given admission to study medicine.”
” Yes o.” Flora’s mum answered bouncing up. There was a hint of pride in her voice. “It is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our sight.”
” Glory be to his name.”
Flora’s mum raised a palm up and said, ” Infact, the kind of testimony that I will give in church on Sunday hen. God has shamed my enemies with this admission. All the people in her father’s house that thought that my children will not become something in life, they will begin to hide their faces in shame. Now, I will walk with my head held high and springs in my steps. I will produce the first medical doctor in the whole family. That was why I went to all length to ensure that this admission clicked.”
” Hen, hen.” Lola’s mum adjusted in her seat. ” What length?” She asked. ” Ore, show me the way now. Who helped you?”
Flora’s mum looked into the distance. She put her two palms together. ” Did I say somebody helped me? It is God.”
” But God will always use human mediums to help other humans. Who helped you now? Have we started hiding things from each other?”
” If I talk now, you will start preaching. You remember what you said when I hired someone to write WAEC for Flora. I knew there was no way she could pass physics and chemistry without external help. You told me that it was wrong. Had it been I listened to you, that girl will still be battling with the exam till today. It was the man that helped with her WAEC and JAMB that introduced me to one of the high ranking officers in her school of choice. We gave a substantial amount and he replaced somebody’s name with her name in the supplementary list. Case closed. Everyone is happy. My daughter is on her way to becoming a medical doctor.”
Lola’s mother breathed-in deeply. She asked. ” How much did you buy the admission?”
Flora’s mother flared up. ” Ode o. Which one is how much did you buy the admission? I did not buy, I paid for a slot.”
” How much…?”
” Two million naira, if you must know.”
” Hen?” Lola’s mother screamed. She raised two fingers up. ” Two million naira?”
” Yes! Two million. Is it too much, considering what I stand to gain. People are paying more to secure their children’s future. See! In Nigeria today, it is only few people that are getting things by merit. If you insist on staying with merit all the time, you go tey for garage.”
Lola’s mum was still in shock. She kept on repeating two million until her friend shook her out of her reverie.
” I can hook you up with the guy if you will not consider what we did as a sin.
Lola’s mum stood up abruptly. ” Who am I to condemn you?” She raised her fingers again. ” Two million. It is well. I will see you.”
—–
Several thoughts crossed her mind as she returned home. Topmost was the realization that the society is becoming more decadent on daily basis. What do you say about a parent boasting that she paid for her child to pass all her exams. Little wonder so many youths are getting complacent about hard-work.
” God help us,” she prayed.
On getting home, she called Lola to have a heart-to-heart talk with her again. She made her see the reason why they must seek God more if her desires would come to pass. Lola agreed. She was tired of insisting on her will. They went into a period of intensive prayer and fasting to further drive their request home to God. During the prayers, they told God that Lola was ready to bend to God’s will in all ways.
Another JAMB came. Lola still insisted that she was going to fill in medicine as her desired course. Now, her mum was rest assured that things would work out. Just in a period of months, her daughter had become more matured. She had grown to a point that she won’t fear to release her into an entirely different world; the University.
Lola prepared for the next JAMB like her whole life depended on it. This time around, she did not depend only on her strength rather, she continually prayed to God to make her dream come to pass.
She scored 280 in JAMB. She was expressly given admission to study medicine at the age of 20. With the passion and the diligence that she put in her study, she was always top of her class. Lola graduated as the best student. By the time she graduated, she was already engaged to a young consultant that she met at the beginning of her clinicals. They got married after her housemanship.
As at the time that Lola finished her house job, Flora was still battling with her second MBBS. She struggled a lot before she could even get to that point. The next exam would be her last chance. If she failed, she would be pushed out of medical school. That would amount to lots of wasted years and efforts.
Flora cried out to God. She confessed her past sins of manipulations that were orchestrated by her mother. She pleaded for God to help her pass.
God heard her and she graduated after spending 11 years in the medical school. By then, Lola; who had passed all her professional exams with ease, was on her way to becoming a Senior registrar.
——–
Life!
The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. It is the Lord that showeth mercy.
Commit your ways unto the Lord and he will straighten your path.
Parents, let’s stop putting untold pressure on our children. Allow them to grow. Allow them to be what God wants them to be.
Let them know that hard-work pays. There are better ways to help our children than helping them to pass exam in a crooked way.
Students! There’s no short cut to greatness. Study hard and pray hard. If you must achieve success, you must work for it. You have a future exam, start studying from now. Make a working plan and stick to it.
Seek for help from people that know more than you.
Learn to prioritize.
Spend less time on pleasure.
Engage in productive activities.
Back to the parents, let’s give our children the chance to grow and not depend solely on us. Let’s teach them to stand on their feet at every point in time. An over dependent child will always turn out as an irresponsible adult.
May God help us.
Lovely writeup