Let me at this juncture talk about my typical day since the last five months. I wake up daily at about 5.30 AM. Once I wake up, if there is power, I would plug the water heater to boil water for me to take my bath. I would also fill the water flask for Adeiza and his mum to bathe with it once they get up around 6.30 AM. If there is no power, I would light up the gas burner to get the job done. After taking my bath, the next thing is to pray before checking the kitchen for a light breakfast. If there is food prepared the previous night, I would warm it and eat. In the absence of such, I take tea and leave to take food at work later in the day. Before leaving home around 7.AM, my son would already be up. I would peck him and play with him. Off I go to work.
I am a teacher in the primary school of the foremost West African military university, Nigerian Defence Academy. Work starts by 7.45 AM.
The first activity of the day in school is the general assembly. We pray with the children, sing the national anthem and the school anthem before the headteacher makes any necessary announcements for the children and teachers.
Teaching and learning follows for the next 5 hours with a break of 30 minutes in between. My classes are always in the morning. This is because Mathematics is best mastered in the morning. In the afternoon, I engage the pupils on current affairs for a few minutes before closing. On some days, there could be prizes of free lunch for whomever gets some deserving questions right. The children are always excited at such an event. It motivates them to prepare ahead and stand a chance of winning a free lunch.
By 1.00 PM, the school closes for the day. However, we have a 1 hour 30 minute extra lesson for children of busy parents who might not be available by 1.00 PM to pick their wards. This is optional for both the pupils and the teachers. Due to the nature of Mathematics as a subject that requires extra efforts of the teacher for pupils to get the concept, I subscribed for the lesson. It affords me the opportunity to thoroughly teach those that are preparing for the common entrance examination, the examination that ushers a primary school leaver into secondary school.
By 3.00 PM, we finally closed for the day.
On my way home, I will branch out to grocery stores to get whatever is needed by my wife and son.
I always look forward to meeting my family at the close of work. Once I open the door, I go straight to meet my boy who always welcomes daddy home with a smile.
I would take my bath, pray and eat. At this point, I would dedicate time to visit and interact on hive. I do the same at the early hours of some days when I wake up early.
The next thing is bedtime. This is my schedule from Monday to Friday. On weekends, I stay at home to spend quality time with my lovely wife and son.
The three pictures are those of my son, wife and I.
