BLACK MONDAY
I woke up as early as 4:00am with anxiety rushing down my spine like spinal fluid as I thought of the dreaded course I had that morning. It was chem130 nd mth110.I had slept by some minutes after 1:00am but I just found myself tossing from one end of the bed to the other.All I could see once I closed my eyes were chemical and mathematical equations.It was the first examination I would be taking as a student of the University of port Harcourt.
Finally the anticipated 11th april finally came.I said my prayers wich was only about d exams. I rushed out of the room,had a quick shower and got dressed and found myself back on my books.
I was still unravelling d myth of this exams wen I heard the shouts of great uniport students, I looked out of the window to the get a glimpse and alas! It was happening,the rumoured protest we all heard of.
I live in one of the hostels in delta, So, everything could be seen clearly from my window. At that moment, I closed my books and ran outside with mixed feelings not knowing whether i shud be happy or sad or even join d protest,it was termed a peaceful protest.
We were fighting for our rights but little did we know that d decision on this rights has already been taken by d men in high places. We cheered those who had the boldness to Speak for us, we supported our colleagues who were being denied chances to write exams or to even graduate because they couldn't foot the school fees. We were one in this struggle, we only wanted to speak our minds.
At first I thought everything was going to end quickly and we would be attended to by school authorities but no! They were bent on frustrating our efforts and so they paid deaf ears. We expected them to stop the protest and call for a meeting with our student leaders but instead they shut their gates and rained down armed men upon us like the holyghost,all different kinds of forces which i haven't even heard or seen,they were angels in sheep clothings as we thot that they would listen to us
The students were enraged and so, they moved a step further and I knew for sure that our protest had turned into a riot... School properties were being destroyed, girls in the hostels were being harassed, phones and laptops were missing, our taps and even our lights were destroyed. I thought we were fighting the school, how come we turned again to fight ourselves.
They lost it when they broke into private shops and started offloading private trucks carrying company properties...maybe we were got over excited or the emotions were boiling over. They had succeeded in stopping every exam scheduled to hold that day and we thought the school had gotten our message, little did we know that the school authority had gone a step further to deal with us, they had involved more armed men and instead of the sound of tins and woods I heard earlier, I started hearing rhythms of gunshots of all kinds, tear gas were opened up on us as we watched and ran in disarray,before me an asthmatic patient dropped down and then our eyes opened to d reality that we were in trouble."Uniport has turned against Us" My heart sank and I trembled... Before long, students started running to safety, my room harboured as much girls as it could, Infact my hostel was in front of this war zone, so, we all had to lie down...some had started crying, some called home, some fainted and I laid there cold with my minds exploring a lot of things that could happen.
'it all started as a joke' I thought 'they said it was going to be a peaceful protest' but I didn't think protest Involved guns too.
Before long, we heard someone was gunned down by a force man.
The sea turned red, the road became rough,the students became aggressive, turned d table on the forces,words were passed immediately by our uniport leaders to our parents that the school was on automatic shut down,we were still in d battle front but d school had already sent information to our parents. And then more rumours of death started coming...
More than one life was certainly lost that day, lives of precious Nigerian students. And then I thought, 'where was our right to speak'.
If only the school authority had given us listening ears, if only they were willing to take an equilibrium decision with the students, if only they had considered that some parents were passing through difficult times, if only they remembered that some students had to go through the University without sponsors just because they want to be better Nigerians, if only they didn't make decisions based on one story 'students used their schools fees for frivolous activities', if only someone had said something reasonable to calm the students down, if only they took us as their own children, probably, maybe, they wouldn't have asked the armed men to open fire, they would have done something to salvage the situation.
But to them we were criminals and they decided to treat us as such...
It was a black Monday indeed, lives were lost, hopes were shattered, dreams have been buried, efforts wasted and yet we have no result,no agreed terms,no remorse from the school,no formal recognition of lives lost,absolutely nothing. to show for our BLACK MONDAY
A bright exam morning turned to a sorrowful day filled with tears and lifeless bodies of precious Nigerian students.
#April11th #itwasjustyesterday
#restinpeacepeterofurum
Written By Sen. Fabchris
