AN APPEAL TO MY DAD

DISCLIAMER! This article is fictional. Any resemblance with real life happening or correlation with office, persons and officers is regretted by the author. The author died after writing. Read and ignore the content.
My Daddy, Daddy, I am really crossed with you oo, but as a well cultured child one must not forget to remember that one must not get angry with his daddy even if his daddy is acting like a child.
Daddy, our graduates reported you to me o, and I am not here to confront you since I am not comrade Tobby neither am I Hon. Destiny. Daddy, don’t pay attention to the title, SPITTING FIRE, I am only here to plead. My immediate senior colleagues who are presently graduates of this institution have confirmed that most of them will not be going for NYSC in July but November. Daddy why?
Knowing full well that they were the first to conclude the second semester examinations last session, more so, the rush and pressure the university management put forth on the departments to get their results ready in no time was too much. The deadlines were terrible, several lecturers spend sleepless nights marking scripts in order to meet the deadlines and ensure that the most cherished students of their department make the NYSC in July. Now, all have come to not as only few departments are mobilized for NYSC this July.
Daddy, don’t you think you are being pitiless when students that gained admission the same year, say 2005, graduated with all their results intact the same year, and some students, based on their department will have to wait for close to a year before going to serve their fatherland.
It gives undue advantage to some graduates above the others. This is discrimination at its peak and injustice at its zenith. If not that people will say I am being rude, I will have said that you are a bad fellow or unintentionally wicked.
My Daddy, information reaching me has it that no student that has just graduated without an extra year in faculty of Arts and Education was mobilized for July NYSC. Daddy, if not that I am obliged to respect you, I would have said that you lack common sense. Daddy, I know that all our graduates cannot serve at a time, and we have specific numbers we can mobilize. My loving daddy, why didn’t you use your common sense to divide the numbers among the various faculties and even if you don’t have common sense, you should have consulted with someone that has common sense at least and probably the person will have suggested such.
My Daddy, as your bio-academical son, you may want to say that the Departments or Faculties didn’t meet the deadlines. Daddy, I am the opinion that strict sanctions should be melted out to HODs of Departments and Deans of faculties that do not meet the deadlines.
Daddy, some were even saying that not all our graduates will be mobilized in November. Daddy, what are you doing? Don’t let me say, what type of dad are you? Instead of you to lobby for more numbers to be mobilized for NYSC, you busy yourself doing next to nothing. Some of our graduates are yet to collect their ‘to whom…’ and you sit in your fully air conditioned office sipping tea.
My daddy, don’t let me reject you as my father, anyway this is an appeal not a demand, neither a command nor an impolite request. Well, if you think I am impolite, you too don’t come out publicly to say things you don’t intend doing. If you do that, that will imply that you a deceiver. I am not signifying that you are a deceiver, neither am I denying it.
Daddy, time is life, don’t just mobilize one department, and spread the number across all departments based on the number of their graduates. I am appealing to you now, so that some will not start criticizing you in future and once the criticism starts, you are on your own oo. I love you Dad. Bye for now!
A4‘…imparting lives’ 08024065997, 08054045225 zyplessy2k4@yahoo.com, oniafolabitheteacher@gmail.com
Afolabi Oni is a campuslife reporter of The Nation, a 400level student of Education English, General Secretary Association of Campus Journalists OAU, 2008/2009 session, Assistant General Secretary 2007/2008, Editor in chief of Ife Educator News Agency 2007/2008, and Editor in Chief of The Gist currently. He coauthored a book title tears and a Guest public speaker to several gatherings.