Monte Gobe was very ugly. In retrospect, I believe it was by design. For some inexplicable reason, God must have wanted to test the limits of human tolerance. This is not an inordinately cruel thing to say, for if you ever had the mispleasure of Monte Gobe's presence, you would surely concur with my point of view.
My first experience with Monte was my very first day of high school. We had been divided up into our classes and Sola Ladapo and I had spent the first few hours making fun of Tayo Falape who wore Cortina shoes. We started the chant in class:
"Cortina shoes for bata"
"Cortina pant for kpata"
We insinuated, by our song, that not only did Tayo wear the Cortina leather material as footwear, but also as underwear. Tayo, a geekish looking kid at the time, could do nothing more than smile sheepishly, pretending it was as funny to him as it certainly was to us.
At break time, we all bounced happily out of class and made our way to the food kiosks. I was endowed with the benefit of 40 Kobo which, at the time, would be able to purchase for me a Krest "mineral," meatpie and chewing gum. As Sola and I strolled like the cool guys we thought ourselves to be towards the kiosk, a booming voice suddenly distracted us.
"One Boy There!"
As though by automotation, every kid within voice-span took off in the direction of the voice, and not being ones to be left out, Sola and I did the same. We arrived with the rest at the Junior common room and there sat a senior whom the others greeted as "Senior Priye." Priye Ukodoh was one of the terrorists at the time, from what we later heard. He and his boys would sit down in the junior common room and use the younger students as objects of their pleasure--not in any perverse manner, mind you.
"All of you line up" Priye asked. We lined up, about twenty of us, and stood not unlike soldiers. Priye seemed to be preventing a giggle from emanating, saying nothing for the next five minutes, looking to his left at Sege for a signal. After another couple of minutes, Sege saw something then nodded his head at Priye. Priye stood up suddenly and said: "Ok, at the count of five, I want all of you to shout, at the top of your voices, 'Monte Gobe!' If you don't, I will belt you" and he removed his belt menacingly.
I certainly did not feel the need to be acquainted with his belt so I cleared my throat ready to yell as loud as was necessary to decrease the possibility.
"Five... four... three... two... one"
(In Unison) "Monte Gobeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!"
It must have been Seun Okusana who first noticed the ape-like figure half-running half-crawling towards us at an alarming speed. "yeeeeeee!" Seun screamed, prompting the rest of us to turn around instantly. At the same moment, Senior Priye and the rest of his boys, laughing hysterically as they were, scaled the back wall of the junior common room and thundered off.
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