Smart the Brain, we all call him, is the smartest boy I have ever come across. He was so smart that his brilliance made everyone see him as the light of his family. He was always ahead of his peers when it comes to using his head for academic works and other activities that involves exercising the brain. This puts him in front of his class in every academic subject he took.Our Headmaster used to call him the Albert Einstein of our school, for he never dropped first position from his first year in primary school to his fourth year. Because of his high academic performance, our headmaster allow him take the primary school leaving certificate examination while in primary four. Smart surprised everyone by coming out as the best student from our school, that took the exam that year.With our headmaster’s recommendation, he enrolled for the state scholarship examination into the Delta state Government Secondary school. Again, smart passed with flying colors. Before resuming his secondary education, Smart dropped by our school one morning during Assembly period to thank our Headmaster for being a great support to his educational achievements. Our headmaster used his story to stir us all up that morning. The fire his story inspired in everyone present at the assembly that day, made our school come out the best primary school in the nation that year at the primary school leaving certificate examination.When we got admission to the state secondary school, his success as a student there paved way for us and gave us attention that we sometimes wished we never had, for it made us miss some activities that other students considered fun even though it stirred us up to work harder than we would have done.

Finally, his graduation year came. Everyone bid him well and celebrated him as he graduated the best student ever since the establishment of the state secondary school in 1998, at the West African Examination Council (WAEC) Senior School Certificate Examination.

This made the State Government award him scholarship to further his education in the United State of America, at te prestigious Stanford University. We all rejoiced with him and picked inspiration from his academic achievements, as he traveled to America to continue his academic pursuits.

His dad thanked his mum for not aborting him when he insisted while he was in her womb, for he thought she would give birth to another female child after having eight.Years later, it was announced that Smart is returning to Nigeria, after ten years in the United States Studying Medical Science. We went to the airport alongside his parents and siblings with joy to welcome him home. Meanwhile, his parents were already throwing him a big welcome party at home. Finally, his plane arrived. The security aboard the plane that came out to assemble in wait for him sent our tongues waggling in discussion that our boy Smart is now an honorary citizen of the United States of America, which didn’t surprise us. Some minutes later, the sight that behold us changed our moods forcefully dragging tears from our eyes.

Smart our boy and others identified as Nigerians were dragged out of the plane with chains on their hands and feet. One that reminds you of the old slave days. They sniff their nose and scratch their body like mad men as they approached us. Our boy smart couldn’t recognise anyone, not even his parents. The officer with him explained to us that they are all drug addicts that the United States Government had been keeping for years and decided to deport for special attention in their country.His parents, siblings, and friends tried all they could to revive him but to no avail. They have all given up on his case and moved on with their various lives. I still pray for him, I hope my prayers revive him.SMART his name is, but my boy wasn’t SMART ENOUGH to know that’ ONE WRONG MOVE IN LIFE CAN DESTROY ONE’S DREAMS ‘.

Written by Tanrose Anomuogharan