The Wages of Corruption

The Sacrificed Lunch Pack

7 The Wages of Corruption The Sacrificed Lunch Pack M y little girl Alice, curious little creature, looked at me sternly as I walked in. As soon as I slumped on the sofa, she came up to me and asked why I had stayed so long at work. I had to explain painstakingly, to satisfy her. Kids nowadays enjoy having their dads around them, unlike the days I was growing up, when fathers were usually the cats of the home and the children the mice. Their absence was usually a great joy for the children. It was usually the time they had freedom of speech, laughter and self expression. After I had explained my lateness that evening, I asked my little girl Alice if there was anything else she wanted to know. She said there wasn’t for the time being, but that she had a suggestion to make to me. “What is it Alice?” I asked. “It is like this, daddy, I no longer want to be carrying a lunch pack to school.” “You mean, lunch is no longer necessary for you?” “No, daddy, I want lunch but I no longer want to take a lunch pack to school.” “I don’t understand Alice, you want lunch and you don’t want to take a lunch pack to school. You want your lunch to be wrapped up in leaves or paper or what exactly”, I said confused. “Once again, it is like this daddy, I would like you and mummy to replace the lunch pack with a five hundred francs piece each time I’m going to school. I’ll use the money to buy lunch at school.” 8 Sammy Oke Akombi “Now Alice, that surprises me a lot because your mother and I think that your lunch pack is fresher, nicer and surer. That’s why you should have it instead of a five hundred francs piece.” “Daddy I know all that but this is what I want. I’m one of the few pupils in my class who come every day to school with a lunch pack in their bag.” “Ah well, you think at thirteen you’re too old to go around with a lunch pack. I do take a lunch pack to my office, you know.” “Daddy, so you see, it is not a matter of age or looking down on the idea of a lunch pack. It is simply that I no longer want to take it to school.’’ “All right my little girl, I’ll look into the matter and then discuss it with your mother. The following week, instead of the splendid lunch pack my little girl Alice used to carry in her school bag, she began going to school every morning with a five hundred francs piece in the left pocket of her skirt. Her mummy had put up a very strong argument in her daughter’s favour. She thought that Alice wanted to start managing her own finances and so she should be given the opportunity. My arguments against the unhealthy conditions of the food that was sold in the premises of the school and outside, did not quite make much sense to my wife, so I gave in, hoping my little girl Alice was going to reverse the situation shortly after. But the days went by and then weeks too and my little girl Alice seemed to be getting happier and happier with the new situation. At the end of the term she came back home with wonderfully improved results. “Come on my little girl, what’s the secret,” I asked. “Well daddy, the secret is obvious. The five hundred francs piece that had replaced the lunch pack had done the magic.” “How? Did it make you eat better?” 9 The Wages of Corruption “No, daddy, it didn’t make me eat better. It made me know better.” “Know what dear.” “Know that I could save money and buy marks from my teachers.” “What did you say, dear?” “Daddy but you heard me.” “No …eh yes. I might have heard you but I didn’t understand. Can you say it again?” “Ok daddy, I said, I knew that I could save money and buy marks from my teachers.” “Buy what? From whom?” “Marks daddy, are you deaf?” “From who?” “From my teachers. They sell marks. They’re not well paid and that’s what they do to...