The school was newly established when he enrolled my elder sibling four years earlier. The location of the school happened to be along the road to his farm where he had been farming for a few years before the establishment of the school. In fact, it was the appearance of the pupils whenever he passed the gate of the school to the farm in the morning that attracted him to have his children enrolled in the school. He later explained to me that the way the school established itself as a well organised, principled and an inculcator of moral discipline which stood the school out from the public schools around was the major point of attraction.
When I started school, I remembered my father taking my brother and I together with him while going to the farm in order to drop us off at the school. Whenever we arrived at the school, we saw the majority of other children being dropped off by their parents from various brands of cars.
Any day my father's return from the farm coincided with our closing time from school, he would pick us and take us home. When we get home, we don't hesitate to search his bag and definitely, we would take our package which might be cooked yam wrapped in cocoyam leaves with a plastic container with the garden egg soup to eat the yam.
As a child, it was all fun. As I grew older, I became envious of my peers whose parents were civil servants. On resumption from any break, they would tell us the stories of how their parents took them on vacations to visit places and enjoy their holidays.
I began to wish I had such parents. This began to show in our attitudes at some points. My brother and I would close from school at an hour that ordinarily we should have waited for a few minutes for our father to arrive like we used to do, but we would pick our bags and run home.
It got worse when we failed to convey the school's invitation to our parents for Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meeting. The invitation used to come in the form of a newsletter. On my way home, I would tear mine and discard it.
When my father got notice of this action, he called us to have a talk. He wasn't angry with us, rather he believed there was an approach to life that we hadn't understood as children. What we assumed we were doing without my father knowing, he made mention of everything for us. He thereafter explained the concept of dignity of labour. In his words;
Both of you are naïve and lack the understanding of dignity of labour. If your work is that of evacuating septic tanks, be proud of what you do. Whatever puts food on your table, don't be ashamed of letting people know. Without doing this work, we would find it difficult to feed as a family. Sponsoring you to this school would be impossible also. Have you ever imagined that the majority of the children in the neighbourhood don't have this opportunity that you have? As you progress with life, be proud of whatever you do to earn a living. That you have the power and opportunity to do it is an advantage you have over many people outside there. Thank God for it.
These words from my dad changed my perspective about life. Whenever I am faced with the challenge that calls for me to participate in menial jobs to scale through, the phrase dignity of labour comes to my mind. This has helped me beyond measure.
In year 2013 when I lost my father, life became difficult to a large extent. I was in year 3 of my Bachelor's degree. On a particular day that I wasn't having money with me, I decided to visit a construction site on campus.
The university was on holiday but I didn't travel during the period. Upon enquiry about availability of job, I was told to come and work the following day. On my way going back home, my mind was divided whether to do it or not. Reason being that I didn't want to be seen by other students that I was doing such a job. On further thought, the words of my father came to my memory. I remember the phrase, dignity of labour, and I went to work for a few days. I used the proceeds to get foodstuff and get myself ready for the new semester without disturbing my mother who was still recovering from the shock of the loss of her husband.
Even after I graduated from the University, I was guided by this principle throughout the phase of job searching. Whereas many graduates rejected private school teaching jobs because of the poor remuneration, I accepted it and didn't have to wait for anybody to put food on my table. I knew quite alright that I was underemployed but I felt that it was better than waiting for a bigger job while I live on nothing during the waiting period. I happily cherished the job enabling me to earn a living. The most interesting part is that the experience I gained from this particular school was instrumental to my getting the bigger job that I do today.
I thank God that today, I have surpassed where my father was during his lifetime. He would be proud of such an achievement if he were to be alive and I give him the credit.
For the rest of my life, I will continue to value what I do and also value the legitimate job of others no matter how menial it is considered to be.