My other half Kamus and I were inseparable back then. We were fortunate to find ourselves not only in the same boarding house but also in the same room, specifically sharing the same bed. “Masroor” was the name of the house. In senior high school, it was the case that aside from the usual general assemblies held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the various houses held assemblies on the other weekdays of which Masroor house was not an exception.
Students briskly walked down the stairs for the early morning gathering on one cold Thursday morning. The unscrupulous ones had just finished taking their baths and were still fighting one another over the only electric iron available. The housemasters had arrived at the assembly grounds and so had the house prefects – who had already paraded their house members for the day’s message. As a status quo, members were lined up vertically according to room numbers and horizontally according to class levels.
As part of the leadership development plan of the house, bright lads were usually identified and invited up the podium to admonish their colleagues. Understandably, Mr. Khalid; popularly referred to as Ro-zay, granted Don Spiritual (an SHS 3 student) a few minutes to inspire the young ones. My senior presented an inspiring message which revolved around the essence of education and how relevant it was for us all to closely stick to our goals and work hard towards achieving them. Without a shadow of doubt, all present were awed and moved by the gentleman’s message.
Right after his touching delivery, the power behind the applauds was as equally impactful as the content of his message. I unsurprisingly took inspiration from him as he was again my “school father’s” best friend.Fast forward into the afternoon, Don Spiritual’s morning inspiration still lingered through my mind as Madam Sala bored the whole class with Biology and Agric terminologies. An unusual noise; which was neither the usual reaction of students when the break time siren rang nor was it another class’ Physical Education (PE) period, fast became more intense.
Curiously, I sought permission from Madam to go out to the washroom though I knew deep down within that I was just going out to witness the cause of this intense noise. Funny enough, Kamus had the same thoughts as mine and joined me to accomplish this investigative mission. Astoundingly, my hero was the center of attraction and students had gathered around Don Spiritual just in front of the school Imam’s house. School father’s best friend had been caught red-handed by Obosom (the second gate security man) for a reason that he skipped the wall into the school. It was some few minutes to the second break so students had already started trooping towards the dining hall in masses.
The fear I had for Don Spiritual was in the fact that not only will some of his level-mates witness this unfortunate happening but his juniors as well will. He was subsequently sent to the administration block; which housed the staff common room, to be punished after breaking such a sacred rule in T.I.Ahmadiyya SHS – Kumasi (AMASS). I could not believe my eyes. I was left speechless by what I was witnessing. I kept asking myself.
Is this not the gentle motivator who admonished all members of Masroor’s house, just a few moments ago? Is this not the role model, whose inspirational talk continued to run through my mind since morn? Is this not the one who received massive applauds amid hundreds of his colleagues?
Sadly, Don Spiritual was severely punished right in front of our faces. I only came back to the dormitory after the day’s lessons had ended only to realize my hero, who is now a villain, had already packed his luggage and left for the house. I was left dispirited and wondered whether to disband the advice this young man gave earlier; since he could not live by what he admonished about, or to still stick to the message anyway.
I was fortunate to discover an answer to my confused mind as this was evident in an African Proverb I chanced on which said,
“ Examine what is said not him who speaks.”
I never gave any hint to anyone who wondered where Don Spiritual had bevidentn till the time all room members were about to sleep after preps [night studies]. Neither did Kamus make any revelation. My “school father” only got to know the aftermath of this happening when his best friend gave him a call to inform him he has been indefinitely suspended. A moment crowned with displeasure, mistrust, skepticism, disappointment, and dismay.
Friend, we should be perfect reflections of what we preach. Not only should we manifest those teachings outwardly, but also should consciously ingrain those words into our hearts and truthfully live by them. In this line, the Holy Qur’an quizzes,
“ Do you command the people to be pious and yet forget to practice piety yourselves even though you are the one who recites the Scripture? Will you not reason? ” – Holy Qur’an 2:44
Peace 🕊️
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