By Richard Ihediwa
At a time their contemporaries in Abuja, Lagos and other major cities in the country ride on air conditioned buses to school with knapsacks filled with all sorts of confectionaries, these kids in a village near Aba in Abia state, pedal about six kilometres on bike everyday to and from school.
Eight years old Mmesoma and his sister, five years old Melody, do not have anything of such privileges. To them, the painstaking pedalling on the rough road to school is the luxury as there are many other less fortunate children, their age, who go the same distance to school on foot.
The kids who interestingly bear the same surname- Ihediwa- with the reporter narrated that before the old bicycle came their way; they actually made it to school on foot.
“Before they gave us the bicycle (they, referring to their parents), we sometimes trek back from school when we don’t have money to pay for commercial motorcycles. Our mother will take us to school on her bicycle and we will trek back home after school”, the boy said.
The distance between Mmesoma’s village and his school near Aba main town is a little above three kilometres and the kids have to ride about seven kilometres every day on the bike to and from school.
With pain mixed with calm adventure, Mmesoma, beamed with an innocent smile as he recalls the ordeal he faces with his sister every school day.
According to him, the onus of riding to school fell on him when his ten year old elder brother who used to carry them on the bike went to live with their aunt in Nsukka, Enugu state last year.
Mmesoma recounted as his sister held tightly to the bicycle with one hand and her brother’s school bag with the other, that they had fallen many times especially on muddy or sandy parts of the road. During such occasions they sustained minor bruises.
“We used to fall. We have fallen many times and we used to have injuries on our legs”, he recounted.
He however, assured that he has mastered the road which is also plied by motorcycles, cars and lorries especially those going to the popular Ekeakpara Market in Aba. He disclosed that he rides on the edge of the road to avoid being hit by a motorcycle or a car.
Mmesoma, who is in primary four, said the major challenge is having to ride on sandy road during the dry season as well as muddy and slippery road in the rainy reason. He said riding in the rainy reason is very tough as the road was always flooded. Sometimes, they fell in the mud and to avoid such he has to come down and drag the bike along until they were clear of mud.
During the dry season, Mmesoma, said one of the biggest challenge was when one encounters a speeding vehicle which usually raises dust. “Dust will cover your eyes, your nose, your mouth and everywhere,” he said smiling.
It takes Mmesoma and his sister, who declined to speak throughout the encounter about 45 minutes to get to school given the rough road and the fact that they take some minutes to rest during the journey to and fro school.
By the interaction, it was clear that the kids were finding it difficult to cope with studies. Mmesoma said they were always tired by the time they got to school. They get to school late and he often sleeps off in class. He also confirmed that his grades were not usually good.
When jokingly asked what type of food they had in their school bags, Mmesoma said they had their school books but no food. According to him, they were always given N10 or N20 to buy biscuit, which they shared for lunch.
Mmesoma said he likes the bicycle but would prefer going on motorcycle or car. He said his father used to take them in his car before it got bad because of the bad road.
Asked if their school has a school bus, he answered in the negative but recalled that he has seen some school buses on the road near the town.
Mmesoma, who said he likes school but preferred that it was nearer, could not tell what he wants to be in the future as he smiled shyly when that question was posed to him. However, he said his sister wants to be a nurse when she grows up.
Effortlessly but carefully , Mmesoma levelled his bike on the earth road; he told his sister to hold on tight; putting his left foot on the corresponding pedal, he pushed gently, then nudging forward, the bike rolled on as he levels the other leg and sped off to school.
Even when the reporter waved and shouted a loud “bye bye”, the kids could not wave back as they had to concentrate on clinging to the “metal horse” as the bicycle is called in the Igbo speaking south east.
In all, the ordeal passed by Mmesoma and Melody as well as many other children their age across the country is largely unacceptable in the 21st century Nigeria at the time children should have access to school a short working distance from home.
It is appalling to note that in a state like Abia with its very high internally generated revenue and huge federal allocation, children cannot still go to school with ease. The Government in that state, and of course, all states of the federation where children still go through such painful ordeals should wake up to their responsibilities in the general interest or else Mmesoma and his contemporaries would not forgive them for not setting good examples for our leaders of tomorrow.
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