‘What Is that in your Hand?’

A TEACHERS’ DIARY

This was the powerful question God asked Moses at the miracle of the burning bush. To my mind, all God was expounding to Moses (and to mankind) was/is that, although he was holding just an unassuming raggedy walking stick, he (Moses) was fully complete and equipped to go and deliver Israel from their poverty, misery, inhibitions.

I bought my own “Soro Soke” T-shirt on Tuesday through a colleague who had worn it to work. What drew me to this T-shirt were simply the “Nigerianess” and “Africanness” of it, and more importantly the simple arty-creativeness of it. So I enthused about it and proudly changed into it for the rest of the day. I inadvertently won the shirt over for its maker who was only a final year Art undergraduate.

With regards to finer descriptions – “Soro-soke”, one of our present national mantra, is actually quite obscurely printed at the left breast pocket area of the T-shirt. So, I didn’t see this at the outset.ml

Before I saw this inscription, I was firstly drawn to this navy top by the simple yellowy Ankara 2 by 24 inch, or so, strip that was vertically placed at the front right aspect of it.

Upon seeing this inscription, arty-me saw clearly how the maker had used the simple yellow Ankara strip to then powerfully draw out one to the infinite messages this phrase “soro soke” could hold.

Let me pause here and ask you reading me now what you presently have that can ultimately pronounce, present you or advance? Have you ever paused to sort out your own thoughts? What potentially promoting thing do you do best and enjoy doing most?

Back to my soro-soke t-shirt, by the end of the day, 37 orders had been placed for it. Several other tweaking had been made to it by Friday with some people placing order for “soro-soke” aprons, mugs, bedding, curtains! My colleague was astonished and has already started thinking in terms of creating a business of it.

Are you still preoccupied with just applauding others and completely neglectful of pushing your own talent(s) through?

Now on your journey, you will be called the likes of “teacher ogbensin” (a derogatory Yoruba term for teachers). For quite a while in the past I was called this year in, year out. Whilst the archer slung her jokes, I bled inside and wrestled with a damaged self-image caused by this onslaught. Nonetheless I pressed on.

Can you beat the fact that this was what an older relation of mine called me whilst I was a teacher in two of the oldest Corona Schools Apapa and VI, Lagos? She continued to call me this whilst I was a teacher in St Saviour School, Ikoyi, Lagos and whilst I was a teacher at Ikoyi Nursery School. Nonetheless I pressed on.

So you will be undermined like Elias did David until David slug his unsophisticated but fatal stone at Goliath disproving Elias’ verbalised underestimations. All I could do was to prayerfully keep going; secretly tearful I went; humiliated I went; unsure I went… The only thing I was sure of was the realisation that everyone is really solely responsible for their own ultimate outcome. So I pressed on and still do!

Dear reader, you just have to find the strength to take hold of the reins of your life and press on. No one can do it for you as no one can be you. Everyone of us has that one (or two, or several skills) they can race with. Find your own unique talents and skill-sets; select them like David chose his stones, then launch with them.

I, however, leave you this week with a golden note of caution. Press on however rough it gets. Whatever you do, press ethically, press fairly!

• Omoru is a freelance writer, education, health and social care advocate