By Chiamaka Okafor @MackieOkafor

This program had been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on August 8, 2019 and serious planning was ongoing. We had paid for the venue, gotten a receipt and a permit to use the hall for our program.

We invited everyone we could invite, the governor of the state (Anambra), the commissioner for information, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Anambra State, National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Anambra State, our lecturers, etc. We had over 80 students who declared interest and we had guests coming from Abuja and Accra, Ghana, to grace our event.

I was in school as early as 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 8, the first day of our three-day event,  to get the keys to the hall from the person in charge so we could put things in order before the arrival of our guests. I got the keys but with warnings about noise and loud music. I reassured the hall supervisor that we were not having a party or any activity that would generate noise. We exchanged final greetings and went our separate ways.

I handed the keys to my colleague in charge of the decoration and told him I was off the see one of the guests who arrived from Accra the night before.

I was in a conversation with this guest, telling him how happy we were that he was able to make it and, of course, how ready we were.  At this moment, my joy knew no bounds.

This joy was cut short by a phone call from another colleague who sounded so frantic.  “Mackie, where are you?” she asked. “There is a woman here shouting at everyone and threatening to throw us out.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. I replied with details of where I was and told her I would join them, and that they should manage it until I came.

Remember, I was already singing away about our readiness and here we were about to be thrown out of a venue we paid for three weeks earlier.

I hurried down to the venue with our guest. On getting there, the story was narrated again but this time the Vice Chancellor’s name was mentioned. It was the most bizarre thing I had ever experienced. I couldn’t react to it. Perhaps because I  hadn’t experienced such disruption before; perhaps because there was someone right there with the right words; perhaps because there was this voice in my head that kept screaming, “This is impossible.”

I approached the man who permitted us to use the hall and he said the issue was beyond him. How do you react if you are refused the use of  a venue you paid for three weeks before your event, particularly when you had about thirty minutes to the start of the event?  Our guest kept asking me to be calm and to think of an alternate venue.

We asked to speak to the acting head of department whom we learnt had given the orders for us to vacate the hall. We went in search of the acting HOD around the faculty. After about thirty minutes, we saw her strolling to her office. We accosted her and explained our dilemma as we walked behind her to her office. Once we were seated, we explained why we were there. She began by saying, “I am sorry, there is nothing I can do. The Vice Chancellor called me yesterday to say that too much noise was coming from our faculty and I promised him that there will no more events in the theatre except rehearsals for theatre arts students that take place late in the evening when lecture were over.”

“Oh, this can’t be happening,” I said to myself. We went to her with our guest hoping that she would take pity on us on seeing him and how far we had come with preparing for our program. But no, that didn’t work. It was a forever NO. We were asked to look for another venue or move our program. It sounds incredible, I know.

I was ashamed and at the same time amused; ashamed that our guest had to experience this and amused that in an academic environment someone could ask another to vacate a venue, thirty minutes to an event, they had planned to use without consideration. I couldn’t understand any of it. For me, the noise was the reason the Vice Chancellor called you. You would have at least tried to find out if there were people booked for this hall and have them sign a no noise undertaking, which for me will favour all the parties involved. But what do I know!

We had to find another venue. Gladly, it was available, and we quickly moved in at 11:00 a.m.

Did this affect the program? You have no idea! A resource person who was scheduled for that day said to me, “You people are unserious.” The only thing I could do was stomach it; and trust me, I did very well. We had over 80 students who indicated interest but at the end of this drama, only about 20 made it to the new venue. Many people, including the crew from Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) had left in the course of looking for a new venue.

I took all of these in good faith. Our guests did as well, and we had a decent first day.

On August 9, the second day of our program, the disc jockey playing for us said to me, “I thought the woman said that hall is no longer available for use? There is another program going on there.”

Sweet Jesus! Did you just hear that? Why did she do that? Was it really the Vice Chancellor who called her? So many questions, but I did not have the time to ask.

Just yesterday, I saw the e-flyer of the UNIZIK BUY/SELL mobile app launch which will take place at the same venue. I was sad. Since then I have been saying to myself that it was a deliberate action to frustrate our program.

I want to seek for damages because that is what is obtainable in saner climes and I really want Nigeria to be a sane society.

I have not mentioned names in this post because it is not aimed at ridiculing anyone. This is just me sharing my thoughts after a very painful experience, in a school I am so proud of, in the hope that this piece comes to the attention of the Vice Chancellor.

Thankfully, at the end of the day, everything came together. Special thanks to Chido Onumah, Dr. Uzochukwu Chinwe, Ngozi Marion Emmanuel, Deji Adekunle of PTCIJ, Prof. Chinyere Stella Okunna, Nze Uche Nworah, Hon. C Don Adinuba, Monique Okechukwu, Chuka Nnabuife,  Emma Udeagha and Emmanuel Ifesinachi for their support on this journey. I am grateful.  We are grateful. UCJ-UNIZIK is grateful.

And to the wonderful team of organisers: Maureen Charles, Chisom Jen Omeokachie, Addar Ogunmah, Muo Ekene, Mathias Wisdom, Adanna Nwana, Madonna Ezeasor, Dimson Emmanuel Zeus, Vivian Ezeokoye and Asouzu Chiamaka. This wouldn’t have been possible without you.

#Thisisatruestory.

Chiamaka Okafor is editor-in-chief of UCJ-UNIZIK: www.ucjunizik.com