Academic Excellence, the case of Obiora Maludum, from Irefi and a Dengrammite

I wish to draw your attention to an issue we have systematically relegated to the back burner to our common peril. Oraifite was known for nothing other than education. Before the war, the pride was what secondary school or University you were attending, the course of study, the number of As in your school cert result, the number of distinctions. The discussion was on STONEAND COUSIN, NELKONAND PARKER, DURREL Arithmetic, HOLDERNESS AND LAMBERT etc. The brilliant ones did their school cert in class 4 instead of 5. Not anymore. After the civil war, things gradually began to fall apart in Oraifite especially in the early 80s. The schools became a shadow of themselves. Book work stopped. MONEY DEMON took over. Centrifugal force gave way to Centripetal force. Intellectual discourse gave way to Money power. The system then broke down. No discipline, no respect for elders, Darwin's principle( survival of the fittest)became evident. People lost interest in schooling. We sought for short cuts. We engaged in conspicous consumption for those who took the short cut and succeeded. We displayed bad example to the young ones because the one who went to school did not get a job while the one who did not but somehow managed to 'Make' it arrived at public functions in style complete with Police escorts and forward attack vehicles known as pilot cars.

But in the midst of this confusion, out of the cacophony of discordant tunes, we have a guy among us who I can assure you belong to the class of the famous BEN CARSON. His name is Dr Obiora Maludum. Trained at All Saint's Irefi, the Prestigious DMGS and the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus where he graduated at the top of his class in Medicine. Now to the latest.He just crushed the American qualifying exam known as USMLE. He scored 96% in part one and 99% in part 2. Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr Maludum actually scored 100%. They just took 1% as VAT. He is surely a high profile guy in the class of Obama but in the field of Medicine. Let us buy books for the kids instead of the latest Apple smart phones or ipods. Let us help send our less priviledged neighbours' kids to school instead of sharing motor bikes or bags of rice or yards of abada. Let us help with uplifting education once more in Orai because that is the only way out in the present digital world. Use Obiora Maludum , Ben Carson and Barak Obama as examples to our kids. Ponder about this as you pack your bag and baggage ready to return for the great reunion known as Orai Ezue. Nnoo nu.

Sir Uzo Ufondu( Olife ndi igbo)