After his extended stay in the United States on a scholarship, Peter returned to his homeland of Nigeria, not only laden with souvenirs from abroad but also armed with a notably improved command of the English language. His ambition was clear: he wanted to showcase his international experience to everyone he met. Instead of the typical "how are you," he'd gleefully greet people with a hearty "howdy." However, this linguistic transformation left his friends somewhat perplexed, as they were more accustomed to the nuances of broken English than his newfound linguistic prowess.
Peter's quest for new experiences led him to accept a job as an English teacher at a local secondary school, and this marked the beginning of a rather unusual chapter in his life. During this period, he crossed paths with Mr. Wilson, an individual who harbored a dream of acquiring the linguistic finesse of foreigners, despite having never ventured beyond the borders of Nigeria. Mr. Wilson held the prestigious position of heading the English language department at the school, completely unaware of the impending storm about to disrupt his domain.
Peter was assigned to teach the senior students in the school, and he brought with him a strong set of grammatical skills. Instead of simplifying things, he introduced complicated grammar rules that left the students scratching their heads. The students had previously built a puny foundation in English, but Peter's linguistic threatened to dismantle it.
As the days passed, frustration grew among the students. They found themselves struggling to grasp the intricate web of grammar that Peter wove. They couldn't understand why he was making things so complex when they had learned English just fine before. In their desperation to find a solution, the students decided to take their complaints to the school administration. They hoped that someone in authority would understand their predicament and perhaps put an end to Peter's linguistic experiments. However, their pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears
Not discouraged by the school's lack of response, the students decided to copy what Peter was doing. They used their trusty dictionaries to learn fancy words and phrases like Peter did. In their quest to speak like Peter, they even tried imitating foreign accents. They use naunces like "what's up guy" to acknowledged their friends from afar, while others replied with "I'm fine and chilling". They used their parents phones to listen to the native speakers and tried to copy how they talked.
The school premises became a dueling ground when Mr. Wilson learned of Peter's adventure. He rushed into the proprietress's office, using complex grammars without any relevant meaning and ended with, "I won't tolerate that nonsense from a 'tokunbo'." After his lengthy speech, the proprietress was finally able to express her thoughts. She concluded that Peter would assume his role as the new head of the English department, displaying skills evident in the senior secondary school students. Mr. Wilson left her office, seething with anger and bitterness about his predicament.
After careful consideration, Mr. Wilson decided to undermine Peter by providing the students with a different textbook that he secretly authored, claiming it was from Peter to improve their spoken English. He encouraged them to use their parents' phones to listen to pronunciation online, just as they had been doing before. After a few days, the students began using slang, addressing their teachers as "hey, jerk" and greeting their elders with a phrase they found amusing due to its pronunciation. Other teachers struggled to understand the meaning, as most of them were products of the same school. They relied on Peter and Mr. Wilson, the aspiring scholar. When the proprietress learned of the students' poor performance under Peter's guidance, she decided to reinstate Mr. Wilson as the head of the department.
Aware that Mr. Wilson was responsible for his removal, Peter decided to retaliate. He paid some ruffians to threaten Mr. Wilson and render him powerless. After the confrontation with these ruffians, Mr. Wilson's hand was injured, leading to his hospitalization. Peter patiently waited to regain his position, but instead, the principal left the role vacant until Mr. Wilson's return. Peter realized that his linguistic abilities didn't serve him well in the local school, so he returned home and reconciled with his friends, who had been alienated by his behavior upon his return from abroad. He eventually became a newspaper vendor, where he shared political, social, and occasionally economic stories with the community elders. Everyone in the community knew him as Peter Tokunbo, as he couldn't conceal his linguistic skills even while narrating newspaper stories to his audience.
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