Life they say is a phase; and
there is nothing that has a
beginning that does not have
an end. There was a time in
our lives when we were
younger and spent a
reasonable period of our time
in elementary schools.
Attending a primary school in
Nigeria means you would be left
with beautiful memories from
that phase of life. It might
have been a tough journey for
those born without a silver
spoon; nevertheless, it is worth
talking about.
There were nursery rhymes
sang by heart then and there
were early morning prayers
recited on the assembly ground.
Most children looked forward to
leaving the nursery class then
and joining the primary class.
We would bring back the
wonderful memories of
attending a primary school in
Nigeria in this piece. Below are
some of the things we are sure
you did when you were at that
stage of your life:
1. The shoes you wore
There was a particular type of
shoe that was trending then;
every pupil wanted to wear it to
school and some schools even
made it compulsory for their
students to wear that
particular type. Moreover, not
all colors were accepted so it
had to be either black or brown.
2. The books
Many people would love to read
some of the literature books
used back then in the primary
schools. Agbo’s family was the
perfect family and all the
stories often revolve around
them. Nevertheless, we enjoyed
looking at the diagrams even
though many of us could not
read then.
3. Ali and Simbi were our role
models
Most children enjoyed reading
tales about Ali and Simbi. Ali
was the regular name for the
boy while the girl was always
Simbi. Simbi’s hairstyle never
changed and Ali never got tired
of wearing shorts.
4. The joy of using pen
At the initial stage of
enrolment, pupils were made to
use pencils. It was a wonderful
time for them as most children
looked forward to scribbling.
But moving on to the higher
classes, pens were being used.
Everyone who had gone through
a primary school in Nigeria must
have looked forward to
graduating from the nursery
section to the primary section
in order to use the famous bic
or eleganza biro.
5. The exercise book used
then
If you attended a primary
school in Nigeria, then you must
have used the exercise book
everyone wanted to get. Onward
was trending then and pupils
enjoyed tracing out the
alphabets of the letter. It was
a delightful period as some even
found songs to sing each time
they saw the word ‘exercise’.
There was hardly any pupil who
could not spell that word.
6. The subject we all
detested
Mathematics class was a no no
for most pupils. Most students
became either gentle during the
maths period or they pretend
to be zombies. To have thought
mathematics was difficult then
was absurd, we are sure many
people know better now after
offering courses in statistics.
7. The punishments
Another thing you would
remember from attending a
primary school in Nigeria is the
punishment. There were days
when we got reprimanded for
being naughty in class and
depending on the severeness of
the offence, you could get it
real bad. There were some
teachers who were known to be
terrible floggers; it is amazing
that we still run into some of
them.
8. Graduation and prize giving
day
The bright students looked
forward to this event; it was
the perfect time to get
rewarded for being smart and
outstanding in class. There were
exciting programs like cultural
dance, drama and other things
that could be of interest.
Most times, the graduation and
prize giving day also marks the
beginning of the holiday so it
children always look forward to
it.
