On the Cases of Madness in Ife
by Oladehinde Ibikunle
I dismissed the story of the first case as a rumour. It happened in one of the ODLTs, but there were so many testifiers that I reached the conclusion that it was true. The second one happened in an examination hall; maybe it was one of those expensive jokes and now the third one reportedly happened somewhere in the sport complex of the school.
The polarity of fear instilled in hearts of students (by fellow students) here is on the far and extreme positive side. Students, especially freshmen, who get easily frightened by the threat of academic failure fidget and fawn their mental tails to the gory story of their sophomores and supposed seniors.
Efforts are intensified, "First class must be made by whatever means" for the intellectually gifted ones and "Road One is not my portion" for the other ones. Those who are not well-inured with reading for long hours without sleep have to abuse drugs to keep themselves active and awake. So, when the brain loses it enduring strength to sleepless nights, then a case of madness is reported.
While I do not underestimate the transcendental powers from the village, I believe most of these madnesses are self-inflicted.
Let the mad students know - and those who will run mad in the subsequent examinations - that first class is prestigious but it is not a fair deal when it is exchanged for one's well being or sanity.
And... Who told you that you must be on the brink of madness before you have it?
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