MY DEBT TO LATE SENATOR ALBERT LEGOGIE
When Omoruyi Osagiede sent a message to former Federal Government College Kwali, Abuja students in the United Kingdom that Senator Albert Legogie was dead, I immediately believed it. Omoruyi was not one given to idle rumours. I immediately searched the internet for what information I could get about the death. As I was doing this, my elder brother, Osaretin sent me a Blackberry message confirming the death of Albert Legogie. Osaretin knew Victor Legogie, the first son of the Senator as they were in the same Faculty in the University of Benin.
Victor Legogie was the last of my “school fathers” in secondary school and I attended University of Benin with him as well. I was also friends with Jennifer Legogie, Victor’s younger sister. I visited their family house in Benin regularly but never met Senator Albert Legogie in the house. In fact, I only met him once in 1992 when he was invited as Chairman of the prize giving day ceremony at Federal Government College Kwali, Abuja. He was Deputy Senate President then.
Senator Albert Legogie gave his opening remark during the prize giving ceremony and it was less than 10 minutes. However, one hour later he was invited to the stage again because he had to fulfil the next agenda which was titled “Chairman’s Time”. He cracked a joke on account of this. The intention of the school was clear: Deputy Senate President, please dig deep into your pockets or the National Assembly’s pockets and leave a legacy for the school. I don’t recall what he promised the school but very much remember his other promise.
Senator Albert Legogie promised a one-off prize of N1, 500 for the best student in the subject, Government for all three secondary school levels. What else does a student need to get fired up? This was enough motivation for a student to push the boundaries of academic excellence. I needed this money. N1, 500 was big money then and still remains valuable even now. Soon the carpet was swept off feet. General Ibrahim Babangida struck.
Perhaps you may understand why the abolition of June 12 elections in 1993 by Ibrahim Babangida meant different things to different people. Babangida’s decision meant the National Assembly’s life was cut short, Senator Albert Legogie was no longer Deputy Senate President, and the Senate was no more. My secondary school didn’t maintain the link to the Senator and even Victor, his son had finished his education at the school. My big money dream was cut off. However, what was more poignant for me was what I did to lay my hands on the ill-fated N1, 500.
My competition for this prize were in classes D, E and F. I went to the library regularly to read newspapers of current events in politics to support my examination answers. I never wanted to restrict myself to the standard answers expected by my teacher, I wanted to be different. Yes, I wanted N1, 500. My love for the library made me feel like the undisputable person to become library prefect, though disappointingly for me Uche Onyeama got this. Whenever results from tests and examinations on Government were released, I went round each of these classes to get the results of the top students. I recorded these results in a notebook and this became a benchmark to measure performance. Chukwuka Olisekwu, who shared the same seat with me always laughed when I was updating results of my colleagues in my notebook. I suspect he felt my motivation was because I didn’t want to be beaten by a girl, as Bimbo Olobayo was a very formidable opponent. Thinking back now, as far as 1992 I was successfully deploying benchmarking as a competitive strategy and till date all big corporations use benchmarks competitively. The strategy was simple, know what the competition was doing and get ahead of them. Senator Legogie propelled me. My motivation for Government went beyond the monetary offer from the Senator as I now needed to make history. Back then in our school, a brochure was produced every year detailing results of all students in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE). From the brochures, no student had achieved an A1 (distinction) in Government in the SSSCE in the history of the school.
In reverence to Senator Legogie and his motivation, I achieved this feat.
With an emphatic success in Government, I still believed I could lay hands on the Senator’s award despite Babangida’s annulment. I didn’t need the school to make the link as I knew his house in Benin. I visited the Senator’s house more than 5 times and I always told Victor that I wanted to see his father since he owed me money. It was always a comic moments as we always laughed about this. When Jennifer gained admission to University of Benin and while being introduced to her for the first time, the first comment I made was the father owed me money and I needed her help to get my money back.
The fact remains that in all this, I am indebted to the late Senator. He owed me nothing as his offer motivated me to achieve what has remained invaluable – a competitive streak that remains insurmountable; a self-belief and self motivation that continues to define my being. This is more than the gift I expected from your gesture in 1992 and from the depth of my heart, I say “Thank you”.
Written By Efosa Uhunmwangho
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