A Sojourners Return

Didactic Intervention…..

After a busy week of trundle, of lectures and other research oriented activities, he glanced at an opportunity to take some recess from the ivory tower and venture into the town. A lecture had been put up to celebrate the birthday of a past President.  Students were invited to participate in a debate to grace the occasion and members of staff were required as a complement. The debate was to dwell on security and terrorism, twin issues that had ravaged the landscape. Obad thought it was his opportunity to re-acquaint himself with the grand old man and perhaps a feature in the spotlight may occur.  He angled for an invitation and was chosen as one of the lecturers to travel with the students.

The arrival at the edge of the historic town after a two-hour journey in the University coach led them to a complex of buildings called the Presidential Library. He observed that the Library mimicked the tradition of former American Presidents. It was a tradition, which allowed them to cement their legacies and to stand their achievements as a monument to their impact.  However, Obad saw through it all and ruminated in wide space of his mind, thinking the edifices masquerading as Libraries were more of a nod and wink to ego building.  However, in this case, this Library extended as far as providing luxury accommodation, a themed park and other tourist related facilities. It rested on an impressive extent of land with a complex of buildings, which blended seamlessly into one another and complemented the landscape. Its impressive shadow harboured an elevated hilltop, laid out on the heights where the Presidential residence was placed with a cast of a knowing glance at all the activities undertaken within the large and unending plains before the complex.

Later on in the day, after Obad had tucked into a sumptuous selection of breakfast with cups of tea to wet his palate, ensuring a nice slithering effect down the throat, he proceeded to the auditorium.  He sank into the well of the auditorium with the pulsing sounds of the air conditioners in the background whirling away, cooling all the participants.  After a while he got impatient and felt discomfort as the showman part of his character got the better of him. He was weary of playing audience to a number of discussants and debaters and needed to be centre stage.  Obad manically raised his hands and when no notice was taken, contrived with the ushers to send a note to the compere of the event. The contents of the note were simple, he touted his past experience of the subject matter as an ex-student union radical who had encountered the militant vavolent tendencies of the police and was now reformed, that he alone could shed more practical light on the topic for the day.  The gambit worked, and in a jiffy, he was invited to the lectern to speak for two minutes.

At the lectern with his head affecting a tilt for effect, he grabbed the lectern and gazed intently into the eyes of the President and strayed fleetingly to other VIPs. He launched into his contribution, identified the curious co-incidence of having been classmates to the children of the two distinguished men in the audience and then dipped into the substance of his comments. He recalled that he was a child of experience, an ex revolutionary, one who strayed into vavolent radicalism to accomplish his perceived aims.  He added that his unique experience provided him the credence to be on that stage.

He proffered a solution to the crises of the youths, and how to avoid cultic related activities.  He was quite certain that it was the mentoring of University Professors that led him out of the cul de sac of mindless Aluta into where he was today. He argued that the setting in place effective mentoring in universities is certainly a way forward to address prevailing concerns.  All these were captured in precisely the two minutes allotted. As dramatically as he started he ended to an explosion of applause as he collapsed into the plushness of his seat.  In his concluding remarks, the President requested Obad rise up to another round of applause and praised his contributions with suggesting it be adopted. That sent him into the stratosphere, cloud 9, to which it took days to recover."