My Most Memorable Book… ‘Eze goes to school’

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Segun Adefila has proven that he is on top of his act. With a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Lagos, Adefila has introduced freshness into stage acts in Nigeria with his theatre group, ‘Crown Troupe’.

Adefila’s Crown Troupe is famous for its innovative rendition of works that are flexible enough to be performed in conventional and unconventional performance spaces.

He shares his experience of the book ‘Eze goes to school’, which he read way back as a little boy in primary school, while preparing to move on to a secondary school. His reminiscences of the book were mostly locked in the innocence, struggle and dedication to hard work that Eze showed in spite of challenges he encountered after the passing away of his father.

I read the book’ Eze goes to school’ while I was still in primary school. It is so many years back now but memories of the book remain fresh with When I read the book, I did not feel like it was yet another book because I was like Eze’s age too.

I saw the difference in life situations with different people and I think it kept bringing back the message to me. For Eze, going to school meant walking for miles and having to carry load to the market, which was the same distance as his school.

I must say that it helped me become appreciative of the support I enjoyed, going to school at that age. I went to go to school then being driven in a car by my father. Though young, I learned to work and follow my heart through things that I believed in I remember vividly too, the moral lessons of the book, which were put across through Eze’s experiences. The book shared the importance of having parents talk to their children to be confident of themselves and be the best at their studies. Okonkwo, Eze’s father, proved this when each time he told Eze not to allow anyone beat him to academic excellence.

My memories of the book also remain strong following the lessons that Eze learned while he served his master. He learned the importance of timeliness and focus in everything he did. He learned also, the reward for not taking what belonged to other people, just as his master taught him.

In the book ‘Eze goes to school’, I appreciated what dedicated mothers do to help their children achieve success in good things. I saw also in the book that life makes a beautiful meaning when you interact with people.

I still see the book as ‘a big deal’ that every child should experience by reading. It showed a relationship between the teachers and their pupils. It bred a bond that made teaching and learning interesting. It showed how teachers built up their pupils and confided in them for greatness.

In this book, I saw how Eze was continually encouraged to stand up in healthy competitions. It was not only his father that encouraged him to have a competitive drive to come tops in his class, his teacher whom he did serve also encouraged him to do the same. You could feel the enthusiasm with which his teacher encouraged him to beat pupils from other schools, for him to qualify for the scholarship.

I will recommend that children read this book and have an experience that could shape their thoughts and approaches to doing things as they grow up in life. Eze always had to put in his best at work and it earned him good success.