Boarding schools are fun and torture. When my mom first announced I would be attending a boarding school the following went through my mind:
My mother hates me
I’ll run from home
I might get possessed by evil spirits
I’ll be beaten to death by seniors, and lastly
My mother hates me
While now I understand the pros of attending a boarding school. My 3 years there were fun, exciting, mysterious and enlightening.
During my first 2 months into school, I had faked sickness 5 times (thank God for good health). I had lied to go home 3 times and I had made my mom visit me almost every weekend (yes, I’m a mommy’s pet).
My main fear wasn’t the mean seniors or bullies–there were a lot– it was the stories that terrified me to my bones.
I’m sure many relate to this the myth and legends of madam koi-koi, bush baby, gardi/naked man, and many other stories gathered from a variety of people from different parts of Nigeria.
I’ll leave the schools anonymous but if it’s similar to your school experience you can leave a comment.
I schooled in the North and while telling this story to friends, it was quite similar to their experience as well. One schooled in the east while the other in the middle belt. Each had a different name for him, however, what he did was all the same.
In my school in the north, we called him ‘gardi’. This strange man or men in some cases entered the girl’s hostel. There were never reports of him molesting any girls, but he just looked at them as they slept.
A few students who have seen him said, he was really tall, hairy and never wore any clothes. Though girls frequently reported to school authorities it has always been dismissed as a hoax.
The most realistic I’ve experienced was my 2nd term in SS2 (Senior Secondary School 2). My bunk was at the far corner and I never had anyone on top of my bunk because it was damaged.
On this warm night, I suddenly woke up–which hardly ever happens– and I looked across to the bunk opposite me and I saw a shadow. A few seconds later a scream emanated from the bunk and the hostel was in chaos.
When the hostel finally settled down, the voice who screamed told the tale of how she woke up to see a figure opening her mosquito net and tried reaching out to her. #chills
I think this lady is more famous than all the boarding school legends put together.
There are a lot of origin stories about why she roams the halls of hostels looking for her missing red shoe.
The Koi-Koi comes from the sound of one heel hitting the floor as she searches for the other. There hasn’t been a story of how she looks but the creepy sound of one heel hitting the floor scares the hell out of me.
Of course, there are creatures that live in the bushes. But the bush baby is the most famous of them all.
Some describe him as a very small/short man/child with long hair covering his face and body looking for babies to steal.
While others just say its a baby that was abandoned near a boarding school and it cries looking for its mother. As sad as this sounds I really don’t want to wake up at night to the sound of a crying baby.
While there are actually lady’s who can braid themselves. Well, this one, in particular, was the first prefect of an old boarding school.
According to the stories, she always had a different style of hair every day. Many wondered how this was possible until one night a group of junior students, secretly followed her to the back of the hostel where the lavatory was located.
The prefect sat by the lavatory and removed her head. Yes, she picked up her head from her neck. She placed it between her knees and began losing her own hair.
The students scared ran and the prefect saw them and she disappeared. Till today no one knows where she went to and she hasn’t been found.
Till today many still believe these individuals as a hoax or just a myth. While the few who have had a first-hand experience will testify on their life about it the reality of it.
So believe it or not. There are very strange things in this country of ours. You will need to keep your eyes wide open and listen to your mom’s warnings.