Life of a Proud Naija Graduate; Road One

The different roads in my great University were popularly called by numbers. And the most famous of these roads was Adesoji Aderemi Road a.k.a. Road One. This is because, this basically was the road that led you into school. Road One spans all the way from the majestic school gate into the body of the campus. Now, I had many things I loved about my school but I must say, Road One was my earliest love on campus. 

First, Road One was full of the promise of majesty and awe. It was very wide, smooth and bordered by well-groomed, lush and verdant green lawns on both sides. The in-bound and out-bound lanes were separated by this same nicely clipped lawns and you had tall street lights all the way down. And the streetlights worked! Not very common back home.

One of my first impressions of this long road was of smooth and wide-sweeping twists and curves that hid what lay ahead from you. Yes, you knew great Ife lay ahead but it was just out of sight, hidden maybe around that next corner? You caught a glimpse of a hill here, a tower there, but you just couldn't see the school straight ahead, like a shy but mischievous bride flashing a promising shoulder here, a timid knee there. And finally, as you approach the end of the road, like the conclusion of a giant game of hide and seek, first comes a glimpse of the sports complex on your left and before you can take in the wide lush fields, students playing games, gisting or holding meetings in the field, you sweep around the last bend in the road and it's like the very breath is sucked out of your lungs!

Suddenly, three of the greatest structures on campus dramatically lunge out at you; the sprawling Amphi theater to your left, the School library to the back in the middle and the tall stately Senate building to your right. The first time I caught sight of this view fourteen years ago, I remember I gasped with wide-eyed wonder in the car. You just never get over it. In the middle, right before the library lies the green lawns of the beautiful park used for photography called Motion ground. Road One brings to mind words associated with my Great School like Learning and Culture. It was just the perfect way to get your mind set to partake in the intense academia represented by the Library, the cultural and social heritage represented by the Amphi theater and Motion ground and of course never forgetting the eventual goal of leaving with a good degree in hand represented by the Senate building.

You know while writing this piece, I found myself remembering something else about Road One that it would be easier to forget. You see, just as there is the in-bound lane, you also have the out-bound lane which is of course exactly the same except that it faces the opposite direction, leading out of school. When a student for some reason or the other got expelled from school, maybe for academic or disciplinary reasons, the popular slang in school was, he or she had been placed on Road One. It was one of the most painful experiences a student could have. To have to leave before acquiring the degree you came to get. Worst of all were those students who after a few years on the campus had to be carried out on the same Road One, dead. I once had a Room mate who died so I remember this so clearly. I remember the tearful candle light processions held by students for their departed colleagues.

Indeed, Road One is like many of life's experiences. The exact same situation that leads some people to greatness and fulfillment carries some others into chaos. Some get married and are blissfully happy, others end up in a mess of abuse and crushed dreams. Some migrate to another country and flourish greatly while others end up homeless and penniless in a strange land. Interestingly enough, while many students who experienced the dreaded Road One expulsion situation found it hard to pull things back together in their lives, I still know many who got it together and refused to be held down by it. They fought back at life until they snatched back the greatness it seemed would never be theirs again. Sort of like a seed of greatness had been planted within them and though they had been kicked in the gut, they just would not give up until they flourished. Many students who were placed on the dreaded out-bound lane of Road One went on to attend other schools and still acquired their degrees, others became wealthy and successful entrepreneurs but that is a story for another day.

Today, I simply remember Road One as a well-planned masterpiece full of promise, majesty and the hopeful dreams of young hearts.