First Lecture…

A Sojourner's Return

First Lecture…

Obad quickly got acquainted and close to a few lecturers.  There was Bamiye also a recent returnee from Australia, a quirky eccentric who possessed charms at the amiable level but it was cloaked by his volcanic temper, the eruption could be turned on and off like a switch. His expertise was in Medical Law, which he acquired from his first training as a medical doctor in the University of Australia.  He possessed a Doctorate in Law but had not been called to the bar, to practice as a lawyer. He straddled two faculties, that of Law and Medicine.  There was Dr. Amezie, a young petite lady, who wore beauty up her sleeves effortlessly and her brilliance was always on display like jewelry.  Her face was angular, her high brows distinct, lips thin but nicely shaped, her complexion very light and of moderate height.  She loved to bear braid of the intricate variety on her head with beads of varying colours to make her distinctive.  She was married to a British gentleman but became close to Obad on account of her perception that he was a man of integrity and fidelity.  There was the greying Professor, a ladies man, quite advanced in age but seemingly very spry, he always had a twinkle in his eye when a bevy of ladies were in view. It was rumoured that he engaged in numerous escapades with staff members but none was ever proven.  It was this context that defined and shaped Obad’s first lecture in the faculty. 

Obad was usually deep in thought and has he prepared for his debut as a lecturer he thought that in his short period of existence, he had pleaded before judges, campaigned in the presence of thousands of people, through BBC faced the world on the airwaves, preached in countless of Churches and found himself influencing numerous audiences. The experience and knowledge of all these encounters had boosted his pride, inflated his ego and sated him in unspeakable arrogance.  It was with these he ventured into the lecture theatre to meet the students. But nothing within all that range prepared him to face a class of students at the University on that fateful day.

The first lecture was delivered under the auspices of the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, a borrowed course, Media Law. He was wracked with anxiety. He needed a crouch to deliver him from his sudden inadequacies. Questions flew across his mind in a flash. How would he disseminate knowledge of Media Law, its intricacies, its nuances and its overall objectives.  He pondered whether the students would appreciate him or would they grasp his words or he would become a quavering of a man who simply could not hack it?

He approached the lecture theartre populated with rows and rows of students, presenting a riot of colours of all shapes and sizes with a nod and wink to the corporate dress sense. He flashed his brand new slim, sliver coloured Apple mac-computer for functionality, for it contained all his notes.  Without much more of a glance in their direction, he ushered himself to the wooden University branded rostrum neatly placed in the front of the theatre.  

In what seemed like a long silence, descended upon lecture theatre, and the tension became palpable. He could have sworn his imagination conveyed from outside, the howling of winds, flapping sounds of the wings of bats flying back from their insect hunting, interrupting him as his maiden lecture was about to commence.

To be Contd.