The consequences of your actions are yours to face and bear
Afam Nnaji
Publisher
As we drove past the school gate other students were doing manual labor close around the main field that served as venue for our inter house sports there were chants of "007", "James Bond", "Double 07", "Bond Bond", "Mr Bond" etc in the air the moment some of my school mates saw me in the car.
My step mum (may her soul rest in peace) and her brother were bringing me back to school (Command Secondary School Abakaliki) after serving the one week suspension that I was given by our new commandant Maj Gen SM Dule Rtd who waged a war on stubbornness when he resumed. No be say I do any serious bad thing ooo.
My step mum on realizing that I was the person being hailed by those students asked me a simple question - if these people hailing you so much believed in your actions why didn't they do exactly the same thing you did so that they will go on suspension too and be hailed by others?
She reminded me that I missed one week of school work but will still be required to write the same exams with the rest of them.
I learnt a very valuable lesson that day - no matter what people say or do only you will face the consequences of your actions whether right or wrong.
Since that day I only did what I wanted to do knowing fully well that I will face the consequences alone and that made me to become immune to peer pressure.
I cannot remember the last time I did anything because others were doing it or because of what people would say if I refused to do something they felt was cool.
That was why I got into the university at 16, spent 6 years there and refused to do what most guys did then because I chose to accept responsibilities of my actions and on my own terms too.
Now, if you get carried away with excessive hailing and bow to all sorts of pressures from peer pressure to family pressure to societal pressure you will certainly run into problems one day and no amount of 'I was misled or deceived' would save you when the time comes for you to face the consequences of your actions.
Picture shows me and my former Commandant Maj Gen Dule Rtd when we hosted him a couple of yeas ago in Lagos.
