14 Nov 2008 |
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The smell of cordite and sulfur engulfed the field and eyes ran as if suddenly stricken by Apollo. Incomprehensibly the Ref suddenly grabbed the ball and walked towards the most boisterous part of the GCU entourage and after what looked like a moment of trepidation yellow carded one of the Eagles Coaches. “What the hell was going on?” we asked. Surely he saw that the missiles were coming from behind the classrooms – the side monopolized by the Ibeku and Uzuakoli conspirators. But he was not over and was now walking purposefully towards our 11 meter spot. “Penalty Methodist College!” "Chineke Ekwele Ihe Ojor!!!!"( God forbid bad thing O ) While both sides were initially confused the MCU crowd came out of its stupor first, cheering as if they had just been handed Expo for the next WAEC. Even though our GK Torty chose the right side, Stability’s conversion was undeniable and Methodist College was finally on the score board. But now GCU was annoyed and I mean really annoyed. The goals seemed to come in pairs and within 10 mins the Uzuakoli Goal keeper had been forced to retrieve the ball from his net 4 times silencing the MCU crowd again. Finally when Okonji refused to score and chose to dribble The Uzuakoli goal keeper and shadow instead- all while balancing the ball on his head and munching on a gala- they could no longer contain their anger and again the air was filled with the whizzing sound of assorted missiles. The Police? They had simply disappeared. Some claim they were seen running towards Owerri with the Ref and Linesmen in tow as if preparing for a Marathon. We fell back towards our buses still under fire, but to our horror realized that they were leaving without us. None of the drivers was willing to risk their windshields and be kept off the road for days because of a mere game. Oga Pikin or no Oga Pikin. The sucked out oranges and rubber seeds had now been replaced again by bottles and various nuts and bolts and their impact was deadly. In addition to that the Ibeku students had pre arranged stashes of high grade gravel and they too were now finding their mark. The GCU pink shirts were now stained with blood as the entire school now made its way back toward their campus looking more like Iraq’s Republican Guards at Bassara than the pride of Umuahia. We arrived back at Umudike adrenaline coursing through our veins and anger in our hearts and were met by the school bell already in full motion and calling for every student and resource to be brought to bear and face this emergency. Iodine and Dequadin lotion were applied to open cuts, and Sloan’s Liniment to bumps and welts.
The counter attack was put in motion with the ease of people used to giving orders as well as others obeying commands - all behind the backs of the teachers who were Miles away in the Masters Quarters. Everyone wore dark clothes, no sandals and the guys from the Wood and Metal Work shop as well as the Agricultural Science Department quickly liberated and handed out assorted “accessories” to even the playing field. Two "Gwon-Gworo" Lorries complete with Okporoko and Goat dropping smell, were quickly chartered slash hijacked and the Assault team was on its way. Now since I was a junior then and had yet to develop my 6 foot 6 frame; I was not allowed to participate so I can not recount the story from now on first hand, but I do know enough to say that the squad disembarked half a mile from the Ibeku field and walked through the bush diagonally from the tarred road , allowing them to appear on the Ibeku grounds right through their farms. They were still celebrating their ambush, and their dorm lights flickered merrily in the night as both their girls and boys sang and danced. Study hour certainly had been put on hold for tonight. We first of all took out their generator and attacked the boy’s dorm. A well flung Bicycle chain reduced the main window into a million fragments of glass which fell on the surprised occupants like angry soldier ants pricking and piercing flesh and skin alike. Wailing and screaming in fright and pain the Ibeku boys sped in front of us like errant Cows seeking to escape the herdsman’s whip. And boy did we whip them. By the sudden shrill of the screams and amplified crescendo “we” were now in the Girls dormitory and while the flogging did subside for just enough time for some under wear and bras to be liberated as well as “um” some flesh to be squeezed here and there, they too were punished for the folly of their men. There was absolutely no resistance because as we would learn later on, they thought we were the notorious armed robbers that had in the past paid visits to other High Schools in the area like Olokoro and Afugiri and they didn’t want to get robbed or raped or both and hence were like dust in the wind. For 2 straight hours we controlled the school…..digging up yams, capturing the principal’s plump goat by throwing a blanket on it and clubbing it unconscious with a huge spanner and then as the final insult we dug up their schools sign board and headed home for Umudike. It was now our turn to celebrate and relive the adventure as we juniors formed huge ring around our troops and listened in fascination as they replayed the attack over and over in different versions. Lace panties and bras were passed around to emphasize points and I remember Bob Ukegbu actually smelling one to check authenticity as he claimed.. Anyway never did goat pepper soup and yam taste so good and by the wee hours of the morning we had eaten up all the evidence. Bellies full and happy we fell sound asleep, as if we knew that the morning would be pregnant with trouble.....
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