When bad things happen, the good we have done are forgotten.
This is the case with the trending issue of Dowen College, Lagos vs. the death of Chidalu.
It is indeed very pathetic that a very promising boy like Chidalu would die in the manner that he did. May God console his family.
It is also unfortunate that such an ugly incident took place in Dowen College, one of the great and leading schools in Lagos.
Anyone who knows this school well would agree that there is no how something like cultism could breed in this school without the school authorities knowledge because of how compact the place is.
Two of our children passed through this school and intact, one is still there presently and I have made every frantic effort to know if any kind of cultism thrives in this place, but the results say none does.
The school authorities STRONGLY frowns at bullying. In fact, one of the rules at orientation given to new students and their parents by the school is that any student caught bullying will be expelled.
Investigations are still on about the unfortunate death of Chidalu and I cannot say for sure that this was what led to the death of the boy, however this is what I think may have happened.
The deceased may have been billed at night as his parents narrated and may have been threatened by the culprits not to say what happened else they would kill him and out of fear, himself and his roommates who knew what happened hid it from the hostel teachers else the bullies would do worse things to them.
Therefore, the story in school which the authorities and other students were told was that he fell down while playing football.
No wonder the Principal made bold to declare what she was told that the boy sustained injury while playing football.
Judging this frantically, she did not lie neither did she try to defend the school unjustly, but as far as this case was concerned, all that the school knew from Chidalu was the football narrative.
Perhaps it was when the boy felt he was in safe hands of the parents that he may have told what really happened to him.
If you were in the shoes of the principal of Dowen College, what would you say to the public?
For crisis management, the school has identified the three boys mentioned with the case, and in compliance with the school rules, published their names With photos, and suspended them, pending the outcome of the investigations.
Unfortunately, the social media has erroneously painted horrible stories of this great school that has been doing well and producing great people within and outside of this nation Nigeria.
Let us think again and not quickly jump into conclusions over this issue.
There are bad people all over the world and we would not be doing our various societies any good if we do not expose their evil deeds for fear of what they would do to us.
If Chidalu according to his mother's marathon has reported that some boys were bullying him at school, the story would not have been the same today.
It is our collective effort, let us all join hands to condemn and expose evil in our society.
Once again, we express our condolences to Chidalu's family and pray for the soul of the reposed to rest in peace.
Tobi Alowonle writes from Lagos
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