By Theo Adebowale

The Yoruba assert that 20 children cannot be playmates for 20 years. This wise saying must have been confirmed following contact with Western education, in the course of imperialism at the unfolding of the new economy. The age group is a prominent organization in the local community. And the youth segment was evidently the Works Department of the community. Father Debo narrated how in Igbokoda, infants are so visible in the quarters and they maintain the peers, so we can see a sizeable population and its growth over time. Education, importantly after elementary school could disperse them. But before the formal education, before Ajayi Crowther, before Herbert Macaulay and the nationalists, the relationship could have been sustained for decades.
The dispersal of classmates ensures 20 peers cannot maintain friendship for 20 years. The modern economy is such that as they advance in age, so do their interests, competencies, opportunities, connections and much more ensure that they can move in different directions from the point of emergence. Some of them would be able to remember another and predict what he does at the moment. Ayeni an Akure man was friends with me. After 40 years, Ayeco got in touch and announced that my political affiliation would be progressive. That is a powerful one.
But Western education and the modern economy have added a new dimension, the redefinition of peer group, association and friendship naturally change. There was a time that two persons would regard themselves as friends. No more. Today one person thinks another is his friend. He gets more committed to that friendship to the prosperity of the other. The ‘friend’ is not accessible, he cannot reach, so no communication with him.
In his delusion, not necessarily of the grandeur, you plough for him. Unfortunately as you do, you cannot reach him. So, you cannot feed him back. He does not know your interest, so he cannot protect or project it. The more you protect him in the delusion of the grandeur, the more you erode the confidence you have built unconsciously for yourself over the decades. It is aggravated when there is no supervisor, no coordinator.
The actual word is, no class captain. It was in that state of mind that Biodun Gidigbi emerged class captain the Ife Oluwa form five students 1974, more than 40 years after school. Dispersed all over the planet earth, members of the class started to get reports of themselves. A member of that class was about to host a private family ceremony. In less than a week that the invitation leaked to them, they were able to send a strong delegation headed by the class captain. And they took charge, expressing their authority.
As much as digression is prominent, we can see the difference between a friend in delusion of the grandeur, and the classmate. Whereas classmates can come around after 40 years and make you accountable for personal issue and compel you to listen to the voice of reasoning, one-sided friendship can only consume the ‘illusioned.’ We may not necessarily agree with the notion that ‘one is doomed that has no leader,’ we can assert that it is safer for one to have access to a person or group operating, in wisdom. Old Students Associations can easily throw up that clique.
There are many of such in business and in professions. They are stronger who emerged from secondary school. The modern economy makes elementary school days less viable. Tolu, Obe and a few others in Oba-Ile Estate are exceptionally privileged to maintain a relationship from primary school, their kind have no significance compared to those who were from secondary school. In the secondary school, there was consciousness sustainable in adult life.
There was also a level of stability, better than primary school days. When we were in primary school, our father’s transfer resulted in change of school. Somebody left UMS School, Jebba South for The Apostolic Primary School, Oke-Iro, Ilesa, from there to St. Johns, Oke Bode. Change in income or job can change primary school. Then, the secondary education was more stable because the boarding system could absorb transfer and change of station. Tertiary institutions have not been without their influence.
Remember that those of them that travelled around in search of the Golden Fleece had so much influence in the nationalist struggle. In Western Europe they came about democracy, self determination and independence. Veterans from the World Wars corroborated the claim that if self determination was good for Europeans, it is meat for Africans. The modern population of those with formal education helped them in mobilization.
As for the female folk, marriage and child bearing has been a major occupation. The women have so much, much more to give to the family and their career, so they cannot participate appreciably in Old Students Associations. Rather, they have helped their men to build their groups. It is a welcome development therefore when Fiwasaye and St Louis Grammar Schools in Akure celebrated their anniversaries and paraded several of their members who are successes in their chosen careers. It may be an eye-opener to the potential of these organizations to network into many sectors of the economy and the society at large. It was so in Ondo State during the Second Republic.
Michael Adekunle Ajasin, God bless his soul, was an Andrian. In St. Andrews College, Oyo, he proved his mettle. He was known for honesty, transparency and industry. When he wanted to be governor of Ondo State, not a few of the old students belonged to the particular political party which ideology was close to their upbringing. In the course of their professional training, they were socialized to believing that education is a principal key to turn society around. They got convinced that the worker, the teacher must have a reasonable income to be dutiful and profitable. They realized the place of health and enlightenment. It was easy to mobilize 20 former children, many more than 20 friends to mobilize the majority of their fellow persons to make electoral victory.
In the multitude of contacts, trust develops, capability is determined, leadership evolves to check excesses. Even when modern constitutional provisions are ineffective, they would not have watched helplessly for things to degenerate to that level, peers, friends, classmates, old students would be there to save the situation. But those who are too intelligent, too exposed, too successful to tap from this opening, often fall into adversity. Remember when Ajasin’s governorship ran into problem, the SACOBA trusted him, vouched for him and came out in his defense. The help he got transcended arms of government, religion and sub-ethnic groups. They could check him, they could correct him, and when it was time, they rescued him.
Thank God for Nigerian Governors. They published their class and their class captain, a few years back. Evidently, they must have identified the importance of the class and the captain. Thank God for my class. Biodun Gidigbi emerged class captain decades after graduating. You may need the Boss on the Day of Adversity.