Yes, it is very traumatic to have your examination paper or papers cancelled. And this is more especially when one is convinced that one has excelled in that first sitting.
I know this because in 1996, in Notre Dame Sem. Sec. Sch. I, and others suffered a similar fate when we wrote our final WAEC examinations. We had to resit English language and other papers. It was nation-wide cancellation - like this one.
It traumatized us, our mothers, sisters, fathers and brothers. Yes, It traumatized our friends.
At that time, again, I, and my friends naively blamed WAEC for their "insensitivity". But now it is very clear to some of us that blaming and getting outraged towards the exams council for these leakages is very unreflective behavior.
Our outrage towards WAEC is indeed misguided because we are the exam council.
Why, isn't it our same fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and friends who themselves go as low as Hades, if need be, to get these so-called "Apor" for the students? The people at WAEC - our brothers, sisters, mothers,fathers etc - sell these questions on the secret market every year to make ends meet because after all, everyone else in other organizations, even at the level of the presidency, has some plan B of some sort to make extra money from their work side - damn integrity.
And we, who are outside of WAEC buy these leaked questions Just so that our relatives can "excel" unmeritoriously to boost our egos among our peers in society. So that we'll get "flying colors".
Isn't it true that students will rather risk the cancellation of their papers by cheating rather than be honest even if they have to resit after failing? Yes we think that if we fail and have to resit, we'll be stigmatized by our supposedly more intelligent peers. As a people, we honor those who dishonestly excel and we stigmatize those who honestly fail. So we prefer to cheat and pass - Damn the consequences.
Cheating is in our DNA Or do people think that the people at WAEC are citizens of Jupiter? We should never ask again why the educated people at the top are mostly cheats and thieves because it is obvious this has formed part of our nurture to the extent that it is almost our nature.
Those guys in government who inflate contract sums, over-spend thier budgets, fabricate expenditures etc they started their thievery at WAEC exams. Check it!
Let us admit - WAEC is us. We begin our lives with short cuts from WAEC exams. No wonder we end up as thieves in public office as a shortcut to riches so as to impress the same society for which reason we cheated in our exams.
We have now placed "integrity" on cheating, looting and sharing as a people. The ends justifies the means, in other words, is now our motto. Even at the university level, it is more shameful because many students at the universities go in to write common end of semester exams with back up "apor" in their pockets. So you sometimes know straight away that some university students clearly passed their SSS examinations by cheating which is why they come into the Uni. With same attitude only to graduate into greater shame.
Let's stop behaving as if we are a confused people - even though we are indeed confused. Let us blame ourselves for our bad nurture as a people and our get -success-quick & easy attitude. After all we want flying colors!!! And we have it! The flying colors are RED, GOLD &GREEN!
Amenga - Etego SaCut
(Journalist&Ghost writer)
