Oga Emeka Nzewunwah - It was 13 years ago, but now I am saying 'Thank you'!

It was that time again, SS3 boys had finished SSCE, their last exam in AFMS, and they were preparing for their Passing Out Parade (POP). SS2 boys were the new LORDS in school and they were patching for appointment, as expected they were spitting fire all over AFMS, acting appointment holders had been selected from amongst them and they were making AFMS a living hell for everybody hanging anything less than 5 bars. I was an SS1 boy, so I was hanging only 4 bars, but as a lance corporal (an SS1 appointment holder) who was also patching to remain an appointment holder in SS2 and be made an SS2 corporal, I was exempted from most of the fire being spat all over because I was also dishing mine out to all those hanging less than 4 bars.

On this fateful night after night prep, everybody was doubling (jogging) to the tattoo ground for night tattoo, as SS1 boys, we were walking, our immediate seniors were the LORDS so we were entitled to a little shai (peace), I was walking and chatting with my friend and coursemate Desmond James, the SS2 acting Junior RSM (headboy), Ahmed Abdullahi, was on his way to tattoo ground and he decided to single out Desmond and I of all the SS1 boys.

JRSM: "Why are you baggars walking to tattoo ground, both of you double infront of me straight to the guardroom"

So, we started doubling infront of him till we got to the guardroom door, somehow, something silly just got into my head... "All other SS1 boys were walking, why is he picking on us", "I am even a lance corporal so I shouldn't be doubling with junior boys", so... I decided not to enter into the guardroom. I turned back and told him I wasn't going in, Desmond had peacefully gone in.

Well, in AFMS, what I just did is tantamount to suicide, I had just sold my peace probably for the next one year. If you disobey the JRSM's orders, you have basically disrespected his whole set, like really nobody does that, you have just signed your peace and freedom away. Not that I did not know the implications, but I am just like that, I like trouble... lol.

He could not believe his eyes, I could read total disbelief all over his face, He had to go and lead the tattoo so he handed me over to the Acting Provost Marshal (PM) Ahmed Kabir, in AFMS you don't dare try the PM, that is an abomination, like you guessed, I still refused to go into the guardroom, by this time Desmond was likely already battling the mosquitoes in the guardroom and trying to find the softest part of the floor to sleep on, like there is ever a part of a floor softer than the other.

Within a few minutes, about 20 SS2 boys had descended on me, I couldn't even make out who was saying or doing what, all I knew was I was feeling kicks, knocks, slaps, sticks, wood, shoes, hands, everything landing on different parts of my body at the same time, and I could hear the chorus of voices:

"You bastard you can't enter guardroom", "you think because you are hanging lance corporal", "all these bastard SS1 boys are assuming too much" "you are sparking for the JRSM"... phew... if only I had peacefully entered the guardroom.

Then I heard a voice "take him to green squadron senior school"... Whattttt???? Green squadron what??????????? That block (hostel) housed the JRSM, PM, Labour Junior NCO (labour prefect), and it was extremely far from the officer's lounge so no officer or airman will even hear your cries and come to your rescue. I knew my life would never remain the same again if I got into that block that night, so as they dragged me down, with the constant kicks and slaps still ongoing, I timed a gutter, and as they were about to drag me across the gutter I pushed myself down into it, and kept struggling to remain inside as they struggled to pull me out, after a while I could not bear the pain from the kicks, sticks and wooden planks landing on my body in the gutter, I summoned all my strength, and I sprang up suddenly from the gutter with all my strength, this took them by surprise so they all scattered a bit, and I started running away as fast as I could.

I knew my sin was unforgivable, the only solution was to run away from school, at least by the time I come back the next day I will go and face my sorrows in stages and not the whole set after me at once, so I headed for the fence behind SS2 and 3 classes where I could scale the fence out of school. By this time I believe there were at least 40 SS2 boys running after me. There is a small grass field between blue squadron junior school and SS2/3 classes, and as I ran into that open field almost reaching my destination to jump the school fence, lo and behold, infront of me were about 20 SS2 boys. Obviously they had read my intentions because of the direction in which I was running and they had followed a different route (I should have known we all had military training and they will be reading my moves... phew), so suddenly I had approximately 20 SS2 boys infront of me, and another 20 behind me.

You know that time of your life when you just give up? When you KNOW, you are VERY SURE, there is no way forward? That was it for me. I just stopped, stood in the open field, breathing deeply, exhausted and tired, with my swollen head, swollen face, black eye, and swollen body, surrounded by VERY ANGRY SS2 boys... only AFMS boys will understand this kind of situation I am talking about, believe me you don't ever want to be in this kind of situation, you disrespected the JRSM, PM, his coursemates, then you made them run again... like for real... that was a death sentence literally.

You want to know why I am thanking Oga Emeka Nzewunwah? Then wait for part two of this unforgettable experience in my life.