One of our friends once lamented that he and his buddies were so unfortunate that most places
they touched, their ‘hosts’ said, “eeyaa, eyin omo mi, ko si sibi” (sorry my children, no spoon). That

was when one of our buddies with great skills in 400 level laughed at his inexperience. He had learnt
a hard lesson years back when he returned to the room hungry as a result of “ko si sibi”. So, he never
started operations without his spoon in his pocket!
Another guy told us his freebies spanned like 7 different locations, gobbling it all down. When we
asked how he was able to achieve that feat, his strategy was unique. He not only had an
inexhaustible supply of sachets of Andrews Liver Salt (a potent laxative in those days), he was armed
with tetracycline capsules that incinerated the food in his digestive system within a few hours. At
least so he said!
Yet another guy who effortlessly broke barriers told us how he achieved it. He was indeed sweet-
tongued. Gifted with a mastery and fluency of the Yoruba language, he would usually pray for the
graduand’s mum (mummies again). “E Ku aseye oni, Omo yin a s’oriire!  Ko ni ku mo yin l’oju. E’e
jeun omo, isu omo a jinnna fun yin je.” By the time he downloaded deep, powerful eulogies, he
broke through even the stony-hearted and was usually generously rewarded.
The one that thoroughly beat us all was the guy who never went out without his knapsack. Once he
had his fill, he would move to another spot and ask for take-away, and he was often lucky. How
confidence and guts can break barriers! Ironically, the guys who were too decent and ‘touche’ to go
out usually queued by his bedside to have a share of his booty!
My niece has a very good sense of humour. She laughs so heartily her laughter is often contagious. I
told her only a fraction of the story and could literally hear her rolling on the floor with laughter. So I
promised her I would tell her more.
Don’t blame our ‘ajebota’ children. This is why for my niece and her generation – our Generation Z
children – when we tell them some of the things we went through, or even did to survive, they ask
with a puzzle, “dad you don’t mean….??? We have paid a huge prize for the comfort they now enjoy
and sometimes, we need to show them the sweat that produced the sweets they enjoy today. By
doing so, we would be teaching them the virtues of charity and empathy. For a child that lacks
empathy is an uncharitable bequeath to the world.

#ParentingonmyMind

#NostalgicMemories