Nearly Thirty Years Later a Lie Walks Tall, Free and Unaccused

You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.

— Exodus 23:1-3

Everybody wants to be a hero or heroine. Unfortunately, not everybody works hard enough to get into the heroes' hall of fame. I have been a victim of people trying to ride on the back of my reputation to get cheap fame. It started many years ago in secondary school, at Ovom Girls' High School, Aba, Nigeria. I speak finally nearly thirty years later because the devil is still the father of all lies. And many have benefited by seeking his help. There were at least two incidents and I shall relate them one after the other. Twice I was bullied for stealing. Twice I was falsely accused for another's misdeed. I wouldn't understand why young girls would have their consciences seared with envy, malice, injustice and conspiracy at such a young  age. Is it indeed true that the the black race is the evil race? And that every black person is first bad before any good can be found in him or her?

Incident 1: Venue - Ovom Girls' High School, Aba. We were in Junior Secondary One around 1991/92. A classmate Rachael (nee Ucha) had made a hand crotch of a purse red in colour and quite engaging in my opinion. I asked her if I could take a closer look at her handiwork as I had considered it pretty. She obliged my request and handed it to me. It was a small purse made of wool and in crotch. I admired it and praised the weaver. In no time, another classmate asked to also see the purse and since Rachael was still around I handed the purse to her. The particular classmate I couldn't quite recall collected the purse and like me passed it to yet another classmate. We had been waiting for Mrs Emeh, the Home Economics teacher who doubled as the form mistress. Soon, someone called that the teacher had arrived her office, which was the Home Management laboratory. Sometimes we took our Home Economics lessons in her laboratory as she has teaching aids there. We arrived the laboratory, answered our names and got our Home Economics class. It was the routine that the form teacher called our names to register attendance or truancy. I had forgotten about the purse.
 We continued with our classes including an Agricultural Science practical. I was to return to the class to find that Rachael didn't have possession of her purse. Naturally she asked for it and I was confused because I had thought all along that it was in her possession....

To be continued later.