umebeiozowa
1 Published Story
umebeiozowa's Book and Story
TONS AND THORNS OF GOLD
Modern
TONS AND THORNS OF GOLD by Teresa-Mary Ozowa is a novel of over 93,000 words based on the very topical issue of cultism in Nigerian universities. The protagonist is Frederick Amayo, mostly referred to as 'Fred' in the story. From his early teens Fred has had a long-standing dream of going to the university. His desire seems like an unattainable one because of his peculiar circumstances: when his mother, Nkem, becomes pregnant with him at the age of sixteen and gets kicked out of school and out of home, both her lot and that of her unborn child hang in the balance as she takes refuge in her poor maternal grandmother's home in the village. Fred's conception and birth, being imputed to be a 'mistake', his childhood is lived in want, with his young mother being forced to cater for him singlehandedly from her meagre earning as a seamstress because a mere youth of nineteen years old fathered him.
All in all, when Fred grows up and secures admission to study law at the prestigious Lord Lugard Memorial University (UNILORDS), Nkem his mother gets rebuked by relatives and friends for thinking that training someone in the university is like "come and chop". Fred is determined to reward his mother's faith in him. He resolves to study hard to make a good class of degree. Above all, he also resolves to keep the promise that Nkem has specifically elicited from him to shun secret cultism - the raging menace bedevilling tertiary institutions all over the country.
However, on his very first day on campus, Fred is to discover that it is one thing to make a resolution but quite another to be in a position to keep it. He comes to find out that his 6'2 height, his athletic build and dashing good looks are altogether a disadvantage for his survival in UNILORDS.
In the opening Chapter, Fred meets the two other major characters of the novel - Mighty Scorpion and Angela Jolomi - both of whom henceforth will pull him in opposite directions; the former will be seeking to tip him over the precipice to his ruin while the latter - with whom he has fallen in love at first sight - will be fighting to help him secure what the Vice Chancellor has referred to as 'Tons of Gold' (his Degree).
'SCRAM, Jambite! Vamoose... And why are you staring at me like that? I say, get up, Jambite! Are you deaf or something? I want to sit on that spot where you've planted your lousy bum, so get up!' Those are the words of introduction from the diminutive Mighty Scorpion to Fred. Nothing in the world would have convinced Fred at their first meeting that this seemingly harmless dwarf is a most powerful devil who has the Vice Chancellor and the entire university authority by the jugular.
At this first meeting, Mighty Scorpion gives Fred his first baptism of fire, with him and his comrades revealing themselves to Fred as secret cultists on a recruitment drive.
As the case of Fred's alleged fighting with Mighty Scorpion is being tried before the hostel porters, Angela (the one destined to become his heartthrob) saves the day by crashing in to testify in favor of Fred. Although Angela is Fred's junior by two years, she is in 200 Level and has got valuable experience of Campus life.
It is not supposed to be difficult for Fred to follow Angela's advice on how to shun cultism, but he confesses to her that he intends to have all the fun that campus life has to offer - that 'in passing through the university, he intends to have the university pass through him.' Thus, it seems an inexorable fate for him to fall into the trap of the Dragon cultists who try to get him initiated into the cult under duress.
Trouble looms as he soon finds himself possessing a 'CERTIFICATE OF MEMBERSHIP' of the dreaded Dragon cult, with a threat hanging over his head, like the Sword of Damocles, that this certificate will be transmitted by Mighty Scorpion to the school authorities for his immediate expulsion from the university if he fails to show 'loyalty' to this evil dwarf and his so-called Brotherhood.
Thus, much against his will, Fred gets himself dangerously enmeshed in the activities of the Dragon Brotherhood. As it turns out, the seed of the solution to his problem happens to lie in the problem itself. Now, from the position of an 'Insider', he is able to garner privileged information about how the powerful Dragon Cult plans to unseat the Vice Chancellor and replace her with their secret patron, DVC (Academics)...
The plot climaxes with the force of evil seeming to have the upper hand over the force of good. But then Nkem's and Angela's prayers for Fred appear to move the hand of Providence in his favor, so that when Dr. Efune (Dean of Student Affairs) gets kidnapped by the Dragonites, Fred is able to rescue the don from the very jaws of death... And by that singular act, upon the miraculous routing of the Dragon Cult, Fred's life as well as his Tons of Gold are preserved... You might like
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