Stranger in his Homeland

Chapter Thirty-Seven

283 Chapter Thirty-Seven Antony found Namnde to be very interesting. Very tall, lean and with a hungry look on his bearded face, he wore a tie which on his long neck looked like a rope. He spent his whole time smoking and eating kola-nuts. He would listen to Antony talk for a very long time without interrupting him by making any contribution to the topic. He certainly liked the fact that his niece had fallen in love with a senior civil servant. For university girls, husbands were not very easy to come by. It was obvious that he would do anything to encourage the relationship. On his return to Sigili-Mundu Antony found more to rejoice in: the letter to Eru whose disappearance had brought him such nightmares was not missing. It had all along been among his manuscripts which he had taken with him. He destroyed it at once. He went to Saminou early in the morning to find out about their return journey with the books. It was only then he realized that Saminou had never actually known what his intentions were. In keeping with his understanding that Antony had intended to open a bookshop, he had made arrangements for a hall to be hired for the purpose as soon as the books arrived. He had also contacted some booksellers who had not only assessed the value of the books but had gone ahead to label the prices on each volume. Two of the typewriters had already been sold immediately they arrived, although only half the money had been paid. Antony explained anew what he wanted the books to be used for. Saminou was disappointed. He apologized to Antony and arranged for them to be moved to the Prefecture and later to the college campus after a room shall have been allocated and shelves constructed. The following week he wrote to Rotary Edmoton to acknowledge receipt, thank them for the books and to tell them into what use they had been put. 284 Linus T. Asong Whether Zaché was aware of the error in translation which distorted the purpose of the books, it was hard to say. But he found something in it to hurt Antony. When the materials arrived and Saminou started advertising them he wrote to the Canadian Embassy in Tetseale to complain. Using the address on one of the books he also wrote to the Rotary club in Edmonton. *** On the IIth of June Antony wrote to the Minister of Education resigning his post as “Surveillant General” of College Principal de Sigili-Mundu. Three reasons prompted the move. On the 20th of May Zaché informed him that there would be a staff meeting that afternoon. At about I p.m. Anthony arrived his residence where he thought the meeting was to take place. Zaché told him that they would leave at 2.30 for the college. “Why do we have to travel three kilometres when we are only two of us? What stops us from holding it here?” “Iz zhe principel,” Zaché said. “Zhe conseil of professeurs hez to teke prace in the Salle de conference in zhe college.” For over an hour and a half they marched on, Antony following Zaché as he sweated in the armpits, neck and above his ears. As they went on Zaché informed Antony that the main reason for the meeting was because the Lamido wanted his daughter failed. “I’d be damned! Passed or failed?” he asked. “Felled,” Zaché repeated and went on toe explain: Salamatou, the girl in question had been betrothed to a certain butcher just after she was born. She had sent to college as a facesaving move. The Lamido had been under pressure to set an example by sending his own children to the new college. One year was enough for her, since the whole exercise was meant to be a joke. She was already a woman and her fiancée was getting very impatient. Should she pass into the next class she would be too educated for the husband who was already feeling most uncomfortable with the number of books she was carrying about. “Why does he not just withdraw the girl?” Antony inquired. 285 Stranger in his Homeland Zaché told him that the Lamido would be setting a bad example. Everybody else may follow suit. So far nobody could see the advantages of having the college there while...