Mrs. Adigun was the school's academic Vice Principal. She was Abigail's best staff. Not that the woman had ever taught her any subject in class. Mrs. Adigun was her mentor and the woman she looked up to – her role model – in fact, she had pronounced the Vice Principal her god mother. If asked, Abigail would not be able to state how she got very close to the VP but what mattered was how wonderful and productive their closeness had been. Mrs. Adigun was a punctual woman, and a fanatic for neatness. She would always tell Abigail that her - Abigail's – neatness was one major thing that drew her to Abigail. The VP had also been a source of great knowledge to Abigail Brown. She was vast in History and Literature especially, not that she taught these subjects, she just loved them, and this rubbed off on Abigail. It would suffice to say Abigail being one of the best students in the Arts' department was greatly due to her constant communion with VP Adigun.
It was from this excellent woman she got to know about Black
Power, the damages colonization wrought in Africa, its merits, and the evil of neocolonialism that was eating deep into the contemporary black society. Neocolonialism was really one topic Mrs. Adigun spoke fiercely about. To her, the former colonial masters were trying to enforce their dominance on the black soil despite not ruling directly anymore, and it seemed the Africans were indulging them. The contemporary African societies were taking everything from the foreigners as the best, even to the point of dropping their rich cultures in order to practise that of the Whites. Mrs. Adigun was not opposed to the fact that the people of the black race had benefitted from the Western world, she just believed Africans should be able to balance the good stuff from overseas with their own excellent stuff here in the black continent. She believed the Ghanaian poet, Kofi Awoonor, was right when he called for a cultural synergy through his beautiful poem, 'Anvil and the Hammer.'
It was through this same woman she got to know of great historical figures – mostly blacks – who had done great deeds that were hard to forget. People like Mahatma Gandhi who fought for India's independence, Martin Luther King Jr - the American Christian minister and activist who advocated for the civil rights of the American Negroes of the twentieth century, Malcolm X, the American Muslim minister and activist who also advocated for the blacks though in a radical way, Nelson Mandela who served twenty-seven years in prison because he opposed the apartheid government in South Africa, Jomo Kenyatta who fought for Kenya, Kwame Nkrumah who fought for Ghana, to mention a few. Mrs. Adigun
Insisted that the present African people didn't really know the value of the sacrifices by certain past leaders. That's why they behaved irrationally, and that's why Africa was degrading. They just didn't realise that each individual had to contribute their own quota of love, hard work, and patriotism for their individual countries in order to make the black continent shine. Above all, the VP was God-fearing and thirsted for the widespread gospel of Christ.
Abigail was excited. She couldn't wait to show the VP her poem,that was why she was walking hurriedly to her office which was located at the third floor – the highest floor – of the administrative building. She had thought about her extensive talks with the academic woman on the present state of things in Africa and especially in the country and it dawned on her that she had to suggest ways of improving Africa through a poem. She had titled the poem 'Rediscovering Africa.' As she neared the administrative block, she saw the school doctor standing and chatting with her Government teacher. She greeted as she trotted past them. As she commenced the ascent of the stairs, she checked her wristwatch again. It was7:22am by then. She had to make haste. She knew she had to get there latest by 7:25am to show her poem. She doubted if there could be anytime for Mrs. Adigun to read through. All the same, it wouldn't hurt to drop the poem now and come later for the comments whenever there was time.
As she got to the third floor, she noticed that a series of movements were going on, and she remembered that the furniture in the principal's office were being replaced. The offices were arranged in such a way that you'd pass the Principal's office before you could get to the VPs'. As she got close to the principal's door, two men came out of the office carrying the principal's big old table that was to be replaced. The students assigned to sweep that floor had stopped now for the two men to pass comfortably with what they were carrying. Abigail greeted the two men and tried to move out of the way. Unfortunately, as she turned, trying to press her back against the banister so she could create space, she slipped on some banana peels that had been swept to that side together with other dirt by the sweepers on duty. She lost her balance and fell from the third floor all the way down to the ground and landed with a loud thud.