by
Obododimma Oha
On the wall of our classroom in Elementary One in those days was a drawing of squirrels and birds eating wild fruits. Then,there was a message underneath in Igbo:
ị ga-adị ndụ ma ị rachaba!
(You will remain healthy if you eat fruits!)
I used to spend a long time during the break period looking at the message (both the picture and its achorage in Igbo). Now that health confronts humanity in the world,that message comes back to me and reminds me. Do the squirrels care to wash their hands or to wash the fruits before eating? Are they afraid of any contacting a virus? For them,the virus is not finding the fruit to eat. That must be a terrible virus. Imagine touring the whole forest and braving death in the claws of other creatures and not locating a fruit to eat!
That drawing has many rich narratives. It can also provide good plots for a pleasant dream on a rainy night. You will remain healthy if you live on fruits!
Today,whenever I see a squirrel pass along,I feel like asking it where it is headed,whether to share in the fruit. And whenever I hear a squirrel bark,I feel like asking it if it is angry because it has not got a piece of the sweet fruit. Adam and Eve should have tried to learn from the squirrels,instead of just being scared as petty disobedient children. We could have stayed healthy this day if they had been confident in munching the fruits and licking their fingers afterwards.
Can you see the power of that message on the wall? Can you see that our classroom was a lesson itself. I am still in that classroom after decades! I am being taught by that drawing of squirrels eating fruits,not just by the words or by our class teacher.
Indeed, one has remained in good health by learning from the squirrels and its kinsfolk. One has learnt what health truly means from those professors of the treetops. And one is still learning about life from them that are closer to it.
You will remain healthy if you live on fruits. And we attacked all the mangoes we could find at break time or on our way back from school. We were healthy and the fruits were healthy and waiting.
Today,we have a different lesson in our schoolbags. It is a lesson taught by elite culture. It says that the noodle and fast food are better than the mangoes eaten with unwashed hands. It says that being driven to the beachside is better than climbing the trees and singing about wild fruits from the treetops. It says that not being able to cross the road is less devastating than squirelling one’s way in the bush looking for ripe fruits.
Welcome home, people of the trees. Your children are looking for fast food to eat and squirrels are looking for wild ripe fruits before retiring for the day. Which would or could come back healthy and alive?
As you worry and look out to see whether the “driver” has come back with the children, think about the powers of the forest of the world. This forest and that forest. That forest in this forest. You can see why and how I am still in that classroom with a drawing of squirrels eating wild fruits. You can see why that classroom with a drawing on its wall is in my heart and how my heart has become the immortal classroom.
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