I had gone to a nearby cyber café to file my story to the headquarters of my news organization. I had just settled down to begin the first process of logging into the computer after making the formal payment when two youths walked in. the way they came in attracted some attention. Though a male and a female, they held tight to each other almost kissing while walking into the café. Their dressing mode was shamelessly scandalous. They were singing one of Wiz Boy’s piece. An elder being attended to by one of the staff in the café, looked at them with scorn and cursed out, “a dying generation from a spoilt family.” Almost everybody in the café sighed at the attitude of the two young fellows. A staff of the café went to them and asked them to be quiet because everybody was busy, concentrating on the system doing one thing or the other requiring concentration.
The female partner, looked at the staff yet with a more disrespectful scorn and snapped her already busy mouth with chewing gun. Her male partner, tapped at her elbow and remarked, “he was right, let’s do what we have come to do and walk out.” The girl suggested that they should walk out to go to another cyber café because, “this cyber café may give us bad luck if we log in to check our results.” The male companion smiled a bit and remarked, “our results are already in the system, no Jupiter would change them. Our results are bound to be good because of the hard work we did during the examination including paying the necessary fee contributing to the school’s demand for the examiners, including the sum given to the flyers.” The female counterpart added, “you did not remember the one paid to the security officials separately. Plus the fact that we had free hands to do our bid during the examination period. So, I agree with you our results are already in the system and must be good. Even, I am expecting nothing less than 3A, 3Bs and 3Cs,” she wished. The male counterpart was more optimistic, saying, “honestly, for me, it will be straight As and Bs. I know what I did. Even the Maths which tried to mess me up, one of the lady invigilators took one thousand naira from me inside there and solved the questions for me. So I am confident. WAEC has suffered me in the past two years, this time, I will teach them lesson,” he affirmed with confidence.
Once they had decided to remain in the café to check their results, they approached the cashier, made the payment and were allocated to two systems. They preferred to check their results on one system. While all these were unfolding, I concentrated on my assignment but equally eave-dropped my ears on these two interesting lads, intermittently watching their movements and behaviours.
A staff of the cyber café helped them to log in because apparently, they were not so proficient in handling CP. As the staff booted the computer, logged in the password, it was ready for them to begin to process their results. “May I help you both to get the results fast?” she asked. The female partner quickly replied, “no, we don’t want anybody to see our results, particularly myself. Chidi, you may tell her to check your own for you, but for my own, I don’t want anybody to see it sha,” she resolved. On his part, Chidi said, “I don’t mind, our results must be super credits. Anybody can see them because there is no how we could do what we did during the exam and still get poor results,” he confidently assured themselves. Meanwhile, the cyber café staff has moved out to attend to other needy customers, leaving the self-assured pair to face the system for their results.
Then, the male companion, probably more computer literate sat by the side of the PC and began to venture into the unknown with reinforced confidence.
At this time, they were not talking, but whispering to each other so quietly that not even the next person to them could hear what they were murmuring to themselves. This time around, since I could not hear what they were saying, I resorted to be watching their countenance which would indicate the outcome of the computer’s message.
As they concentrated very intensly, the first result appeared on the flat screen. They did not like what they saw, they leaned closer to the screen to be sure of what they had seen. It was the result for the boy counterpart, English E8, Lit in-Eng F9, Christian Religion D7, Government F9, Igbo Language E8, Biology F9, Mathematics F9 and Economics E8. the boys countenance suddenly changed as he took deep breathe, crossed checked his both Exam number and the password to ensure that what he was seeing was his own result.
He leaned backward on the chair, took another breathe, sighed audibly and dropped his face down. Then, I knew something had gone wrong with over confident chaps. I forgot what I was doing completely to observe the interesting episode as it was unfolding and assuming a publication and newsworthy dimension.
The girl suggested that he should re-log in because, “computer misbehaves at times. Always underlying even correct things with red lines. “Try to log in again,” she advised her male companion who by now had spiritually and mentally left the cyber café, leaving just ‘a log of human being facing the computer.’ When the female counterpart asked him to check her result for her, he could not even gasp a speech as the whole cyber café appeared to be turning around in his brain.
After recovering himself after few minutes, he managed to let out
a steam off his mind with a venom as he said, “so WAEC has marked me down again?” he lamented to himself. Took a deep breathe again, sighed more audibly as he remarked, “what will I tell my parents again?”
Since he does not have the courage to check his companion’s result, he invited one of the staff to come and check the other girl’s result for her. His female companion strongly objected saying, “I can try to do it myself. I don’t want to show my result to anybody. It is my private secret,” she resolutely affirmed. The cyber staff quietly walked away but noticed that something must have gone wrong with the two lads judging from their unusual calm nature and their mood.
The male counterpart grudgingly moved away from the seat for her companion to check her own result. Meanwhile, she has been gripped by fear, fear that could by unjustified or justified. But as a girl with courage, she faced the computer, perhaps with renewed hope and confidence even if it was false hope and weightless confidence.
Now, she logged in her examination and centre numbers, leaned forward to allow computer to do its own assignment. Because the internet service in the café was moving fast, it was just few minutes before the girl’s result appeared. What did she get? English Language F9, Lit-in-Eng F9, Igbo Language E8, Government E8, Commerce E8, Maths F9 Biology F9. As she did not like what she saw, without knowing what to do, she did not know when she exploded “WAEC stop this nonsense again.” Meanwhile, the male companion recovered himself and took a look at his companion’s result. Although he did not like it, at least, his own result was better. The girl quickly wiped off the result on the screen and this time invited a cyber café staff to come and help her, claiming that both of them must have coded the computer wrongly. A male staff moved closer to assist but she said, “no, I prefer a female staff, please,” she requested while becoming so sober.
A female staff came to their assistance, logged in the girl’s information, quickly, the same result appeared. As the staff saw the result she sighed, walked away, leaving them there to gnash their teeth with misdirected aggression to WAEC. The candidate remarked, “so WAEC is still pursing me in spite of the fact both of us went to a miracle centre Aba where it has been happening. What did I do?” She seemed to query WAEC.
After waiting for their computer time to elapse, they sat down dejected and utterly disappointed. The boy remarked, “I will ask my father to sue WAEC because I saw that this thing Agbaghaka.” The boy on her part remarked, “My father will not even listen to me again about WAEC. He will ask me now to go and learn vulcanizing trade or even how to mould blocks because He has always told me that of all his four children I am the dullest educationally.” The female added “even if my father can take the action against WAEC, that my so-called Christian mother, Mrs. Praise the lord will never allow my father to do anything regarding me and WAEC.”
As they tossed possible ideas as to how to convey the sad news to their different parents, they managed to leave the scene unnoticed, no more singing and no more noise making. One of them picked the phone and called probably her mother and I heard her saying, “mummy, WAEC has marked me down again.” Probably, the mother did not like what she heard because she shut off her phone. The girl turned to her companion, don’t you see, Mrs. Praise the lord did not even want to hear me out, she simply shut off her phone once I said, WAEC has marked me down again. Is this type of woman I am going home to face?” She asked herself.
The boy being a man put up a more courageous face saying, “Odiegwu, I am going home to face both mummy and daddy after all Chiawuotu.” The girl suggested that they should go to Mr. FANS and enjoy away their immediate predicament. After arguing a bit as the rationale of going to a joint, the girl finally convinced the boy to go to another Fast food place instead of Mr. FANS because “most of our students come there at this time of the day and I don’t want to begin to entertain questions about my result.” They both agreed. As they boarded keke bike, they told the rider that they are not happy of their WAEC result. While sympathizing with the two young adults, the keke rider asked, “how can you people get good results when almost every week in the last two years since the present administration came to power, secondary school teachers must visit Owerri just to come and be addressed by the Governor and for them to clap and hail him” he asked very derisively. “No be una keke people and teachers put him there, why are you saying what you have just said?” asked the male candidate. “My children, watch, now na morning, you see this come to Owerri every week by teachers to clap for Owelle will do something for you in future. Na democracy dividend of free education.” The keke rider opined.
As the candidates alighted from the bike, they said to each other, “what the man said may make sense. Why do we blame WAEC,” they seem to say to each other. But the truth is this, does WAEC mark anybody down? The answer is simple. No, candidates fail exams and blame WAEC. That is the simplest truth.
