- RELATIONSHIP: Mentor
- Country: Nigeria
- Posted On: September 11th , 2017
- State of Origin: Ebonyi
- Address: NSCDC, Ebonyi Command
IJERE (BIG MASQUERADE)
IJERE (BIG MASQUERADE)
In search of Golden Fleece of Education, we made our way to Ebonyi State University (EBSU). Their best, several teachers did to remove the raw and crude nature from us.
Into the next level, we met him, the lion, “My name is Professor Austine Chukwu, the Dean Faculty of Arts, your lecturer for African- American Literature,” he introduced himself. With the first encounter with him, the Prof. made an instant, great and life-changing impact in us.
As he demanded, we introduced ourselves one after another. During this exercise, Prof discovered that as English Students, we had become more British than Nigerian. Worried by this, he systematically and consistently began to work on our minds. He gradually reclaimed us back to our people. He made us conscious of our heritage, our identity, our roots and who we truly are. Prof made us to stubbornly take pride in our culture, our colour and our heritage. Then, we became proud to black, proud to be Africans, proud to be Nigerians, proud to be Ebonyians.
Prof freed us from mental slavery, made us to see the beauty of our own culture, its splendor and uniqueness. He made us go home to applaud and appreciate our parents for preserving our culture. We began to embrace and cherish what we had previously discarded. We became apostles of African culture, highly emotionally attached to our heritage and began to preach it passionately.
My Prof! the Iroko of literature and African Culture, the Academic Per Excellence, the Ijere Masquerade, Enyi! Onye Ukwu.
What do I talk about in you? Is it your tall, huge, handsome appearance, your deep guttural voice, your kind-hearted, considerate and helpful nature, your great sense of humour or your lecturing skills?
I remember vividly how you normally held us spell-bound for several hours during lectures, how everyone used to laugh from the beginning to the end of every class while you impacted the serious morals in the lessons.
The impact and influence you had in me made me a completely different person from the moment I first met you. I was never the same.
Nna anyi ukwu, jee nke oma. Laru juu.
Ogbonna Joseph Onyebuchi