Tale of an African Woman

Chapter Fourty Nine

316 49 ike the news of my success in the examination, the one that I would enroll at the university took my village by storm. Almost everyone seemed to be talking about it. Old women on their way to their farms debated on the merits and demerits of the venture. Young men and women held lengthy conferences on it at street corners. In palm wine houses, it was the main subject of discussion. As the news spread and increasingly gained acceptance in the village, Tela, who had tacitly campaigned against sending any woman to the university, felt increasingly embarrassed and isolated. But was it for nothing that the villagers believed he was wise? He did not think so. In many things, he had often demonstrated that he had great foresight. Even though in my case this quality had not been very much in evidence, he also believed that part of the magic of his wisdom was to follow the light when he saw one. With the entire village now stirred with the excitement of the news that I would go to the university, he made a fresh appraisal of the situation. I was told that he instantly saw the longterm material implications of my education, when I would return to the village, gorgeous, powerful and rich and giving gifts to everyone who had been on my side. He immediately became aware that he would be left out and decided at that moment to embark on a fence-mending exercise. He quietly sent for me. When I showed up at his compound in the evening of the day of the invitation, he sat me down and proceeded with tremendous aplomb and dexterity to unmake the disaster he came close to causing. “We all are behind you and love you so much that we don’t want anyone to take you away from us. It seems this university thing is a good thing that will bring development to our village. When you go don’t forget us and remember not to abandon our L 317 culture,” he said as he gave me a big rooster. “Take this and prepare it. This is your food on the way.” “Thank you very much,” I said with extreme happiness as I grabbed the flapping bird. “With everyone in the village now on my side, I’ll make sure I don’t disappoint you.” Tela’s gesture was soon known all over the whole village. It opened the gates for others who might have had a similar idea in mind but were reluctant to carry it out. With the old man now leading the way, other villagers took the cue. One after the other, they came to our compound, some bearing baskets of peanuts, others with roosters, corn, sugar cane and other food items. The eagerness to bring food might have also been encouraged by information that hunger was prevalent in Yamade. The villagers made so many food offers that my grandparents took some of what had been brought to the market to be sold and the money handed over to me. As the day for my departure to the university drew nearer, I made the necessary preparations. I had roasted peanuts crushed into a paste and preserved in a plastic jar for me to use in preparing sauce. Corn was taken to the mill and ground into flour to be cooked into the popular kibane. Smoked fish and venison, beans and gari all formed part of my luggage. Two days before my departure, I made sure that I went from compound to compound to announce my departure and bid everyone goodbye. While I was making the tour, parents advised their daughters, who watched with envious eyes as I had become the focus of all attention, to emulate my example. Young men, some of whom might have cherished the ambition to ask me out but who now saw me gradually moving away from their grasp, still took courage and wished me a safe journey. It was all me in the village and I loved every moment of it. The highlight of the day’s visits took place at the presbytery with Fr Sean. He believed that I would succeed, having watched my intellectual progress from the time I started to learn Christian doctrine to my entire primary, secondary and high school years. He always maintained that I was very focused and hardly indulged in the dirty pranks common with people of my age. “I’ve come...