The power of deep observation

The boy rushed passed where we were standing and jesting. A woman was heard shouting: ‘stop him!, stop him!’. We turned towards the voice and one of us concluded that it was ‘as usual'. Yeah, as usual has become how we describe the incident that has became rampant with students and restaurant keepers that has somehow became normal too. 

The economy of most families have become so bad that most of their wards in tertiary institutions were on 0-0-1 food formulas. That is: no food in the morning, no food in the afternoon and one half plate of food popularly known as ‘half chop' in the evening so that they would be able to read and sleep.

Most will enter restaurants to order food and after eating the food would take to their heels without paying. Most of the restaurants keepers had came out with the idea of collecting their money first before service, but the few students that can afford food four times a day had in the spirit of ‘being your brothers keeper' spoke out against it, claiming that it was to insult their person that restaurant keepers came out with that embarrassing idea. 

“ Are you implying that we can not afford a plate of food?, or do I look like an urchin to you?, I will never pay till after eating, if you don’t want to sell, tell me. Who knows the rubbish you want to sell to me, only after eating you will see your money.”

Restaurant keepers knowing fully well the competition going on among the food sellers and not wanting to lose paying customers had agreed to serve food first before asking for money.

But alas!, our conclusion was faulty. It wasn’t a restaurant keeper shouting, it was one of the ladies managing upstairs library shouting.

It happened that the boy running away was one of those boys in love with foreign magazine that the school management subscribed for, for the lecturers that usually spend two weeks reading them before returning them to the school library.

So, some news inclined guys and gals would enter library and any that captured their interest would disappear from the library for two weeks before reappearing again. Some never found their way back. 

The upstairs library was mainly for magazines and newspapers, so library cards are not required to enter there unlike the downstairs, where textbooks and other academic texts where housed. You need to register with the school librarian before being issued a card to enter there. 

So, the runaway guy moved the foreign magazine, the lady saw him, he took off and the lady raised her voice. 

Federal polytechnic Ubiina was founded in late 70’s as College of Education before being converted into state polytechnic in 1987.

When it seemed that the state government was wasting the state resources in running it, it was handed over to the federal government in 1998 and it became federal property. Just like most federal agencies, it was poorly managed. 

The notion that federal property is every bodies property was at play how the polytechnic was being run. ‘I don’t care' attitude visibly manifest itself in the running of the institution. The managers of federally owned agencies believed that where the resources they were wasting comes from, there are still many there and federal government is far from them.

No one was monitoring, no one was even hiding anything or cares to learn the act of continuously looking over ones shoulder to know if anyone was watching. Impunity reigns. 

The chief librarian read Town and Regional planning in school, since no one was planning anything whether in town, region, economy or family, Rector of the school who happened to be the man in-law imported him from one dilapidated room he called office into federal institution and that was how Mr. Ubiam Okeke turned into chief librarian of federal poly Ubiina.

Either he found it difficult or that he doesn’t care a hoot to import the planning that was in the course he read into the new position he found himself, no one knows.

His staffs were not organized, let alone thousands of books under his care.

Everything was haphazardly done by his staffs that were trying their possible best to make sure no serious chief was fostered on them. They like the ‘I don’t care' attitude of their boss who only pays attention when new shipment comes.

The federal government through the state education board had been quasi managing the distribution of new books since five years after the riot that rocked the state and Ubiina community.

The students had been complaining of the low quality books the lecturers had been selling to them at an exorbitant prices and nothing happened till they organized riot that nearly damaged about 60 percent of the shops in Ubiina community and School compound.

Since them, the lecturers were prevented from selling books not recommended or supplied by the board.

The board on their parts at times, subsidies some quality books for the students. It happened that the Chief librarian were always interested only whenever any new shipment that concerns his department comes.

His orders were that no one should tamper with anything till he had seen and sign them and give instruction on what to do with them. That, had been Mr. Ubiam Okeke's modus operandi for three years now.

Ogbete main market is the biggest market in the vicinity of federal poly Ubiina. Almost all West African nations goes there to buy things. It is a very large market. It is only 30 minutes by bus from the campus. Most students that like sampling themselves go there for their shopping instead of the supermarkets that litters Ubiina.

On one of those their samplings, some students accidentally noticed that some of the books on sale there had the theme of their school in it, They became curious. They did little exploration have the other shops that have the same book on display and their findings were the same. So, they decided to contact education board and narrated their findings to them.

The board officials went on secret mission to the market and confirmed what they heard. 

The following day, the education board rd invited the Rector for explanation, the Rector referred them to the School librarian, he went there opening and closing his mouth trying to staff the blame to his staffs. 

“Tell this August assembly how the books supplied to your school developed wings and found their ways into Ogbete main markets?.”

“ Truly, I am as a surprise as you, it must be some of my staffs at work there”

“ This is the fourth week since the books were supplied to your school, how come you have not handed it over to the HOD of the department?”

“We were following due process of counting and recounting to make sure there wasn't any fault”

“ Faults as how from which quarters?”

“From everyone involved: staffs, delivery personnel, etc.”

“What are you implying, are you saying that one of them sold the books with confirming papers given to you without your knowledge?”

“No, I saw all, it must be after counting that it disappeared.”

He was served sack papers, his bank account frozen. Meanwhile, the students that reported the incident were silently rewarded we’ll accordingly with the problem they helped solve. The books were taken over from the sellers that were referred to as the accomplice.

The school, librarians, and the sellers never knew that the education board stamped the name of each institution they supplied books to at the center of the books before sending them out to schools.