The atmosphere at the Ayogu’s residence in Ketu, Lagos was plaintive. There was no consolation for the grieving family over the loss of their son, Godwin Chukwudi Ayogu last month.
A month ago, a visitor at this residence would have been embraced in warmth and laughter, but death has snatched away that happiness, replacing it with grief and regret.
It was the month Godwin was expected to return from Ghana where he was studying Economics at the Cape Coast University. The last time Godwin set foot into his parents compound was in September last year.
He was supposed to spend the Christmas holidays but for some financial constraints, he stayed back in Ghana. If his parents had known that it would be the last time they would see or hold their son again, they would have travelled to Ghana to bring him back home by all means but death is like a thief, creeping on its victim unexpectedly.
It was a despondent father who welcomed this reporter into his home. An image of the deceased set in a small frame was placed at the entrance of the house.
On February 23, the media was awash with news of the gruesome murder of a 300-level Nigerian student in the Cape Coast University in Ghana. With this unpalatable news, Godwin Ayogu joined the league of Nigerian students killed unjustly in their quest for a better education abroad.
How it all Happened…
It was the last news his parents expected to hear. They were not looking forward to a corpse after making such an investment in their first son. Alas, they were the last to know about their son’s death. Lillian Ayogu had been begging her son to return home for a while since his last visit. Perhaps, it was her motherly instincts that made her to pester her son with calls to a point that he started avoiding her calls.
“When he didn’t come home last Christmas, I wanted to visit him but he insisted that I shouldn’t that he would be coming home soon. And that they were writing exams and would be done at most on December 26. I called him on the 26th and he said the ABC coach was full. He postponed his trip to New Year because by then, he reckoned that there would be less people travelling. On the 31st he didn’t come, by 1st, 2nd, I was pestering him with calls. I even told his father to allow me to pay him a surprise visit, but he called him that he would be back the following week that he was just stuck with some projects, he requested for money which was sent to him. His next excuse was that his ATM card had expired. I became mad at him. How could he not know when his ATM card expired. My instincts told me that he didn’t want to return home, that something was keeping him in school so I made up my mind to go and drag him home if possible. He was actually dealing with the father in a way that he couldn’t really see something was wrong but as a mother, when a child starts behaving in a way that is different from his normal ways, it means something was amiss. It was not like Godwin, who was known to love his family and was always eager to return home after exams. At most he would spend two days before returning home, but he wasn’t this time,” she said.
On Friday, February 21, Godwin’s father Fred Ayogu, a businessman was going about his business when he received a call from his wife who travelled to the village for a burial the previous day. She told him that she received a call from Ghana concerning her son’s whereabouts. She suspected something was amiss by the tone of the caller’s voice. She was asked to come to Ghana but when she tried to call back, the line was unreachable. So she gave her husband the number to call. Meanwhile, Godwin had called on the 14th that he wanted to return home and needed some cash but since it was a weekend, his father couldn’t go to the bank until the next Monday which was on the 17th. He paid in the sum of N23, 000 into his account. The last time Fred spoke to his son was on the 18th of February. He told his father that he was going to the bank to withdraw the money. He was expected home on the 19th. His line was unreachable from that Wednesday.
Fred called the number his wife gave to him thrice before he finally got through. The caller introduced himself as the Chargè D’affairs of the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana and told him that some ugly incident took place at the university where his son was studying and his son was missing. The Chargè D’Affairs promised to call back with more news the following day. Fred immediately called his son’s driver in Ghana to check on his son. By 8pm, he called back and the driver told him to come to Ghana. His mind could not wrap around the whole secrecy and insistence to come to Ghana. Not until he received a call from a friend in Jos the next day, sympathising with him over the death of his son which his (friend’s) wife learnt from the internet, did he realise that his beloved son had been killed in Ghana. Moreover, his wife had made several attempts to reach her son which ended in futility due to poor network reception.
Who killed Godwin? The details surrounding Godwin’s death is quite suspicious. When Fred arrived in Ghana on the 23rd of February, he went straight to the embassy where he met with the president of the Nigerian community in Ghana and together they headed to Cape Coast University. The sole mission of Fred’s visit to the school was to unravel the mystery surrounding his son’s death. He shrugged off all formalities and went straight to the point. Present at the meeting were the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Nigerian lecturers, security personnel, officials of the Nigerian embassy and Godwin’s uncle. Fred demanded for his son’s autopsy result and was told that the police were already on it.
However, he was asked to go to the morgue to identify the corpse but he declined. Thereafter, he called for his son’s roommate, a 400 level Ghanaian student Aboesie, popularly known as Ene. It was Ene who told Godwin’s parents that Godwin died because of his school fees. According to him, Godwin lent his school fees to some unknown friends and whenever he demanded for it, they threatened his life. But at the meeting, Ene told a different story. He claimed that the deceased asked him to hold his fees for him when he returned from his holidays last year. The deceased was said to have misplaced $600 out of the money his parents gave him, and was therefore unable to pay his fees. The total money that was in Ene’s care was $4,600, but when the accountant checked the tuition fees, it was discovered that the actual amount was $4,400. From all indications, it was clear that Ene implicated himself. The institution accepts 75% of the fees which was about $3,000, but Ene had in his possession more than the actual fees paid. With this revelation, Fred concluded that Ene had a hand in his son’s death since he couldn’t defend himself anymore. Earlier, the Nigerian lecturers in the school had hinted to Fred that the news circulating in the school premises was that Ene took his son’s money and knew about the son’s death.
In an attempt to exonerate the school’s image from the dilemma, the VC of the school argued that the son was not a registered student of the university. This infuriated the deceased father who had judiciously met with all the necessary financial demands of his son’s education from the onset. When a Ghanaian publication later published an article about his son not being a registered student, the school authority felt the wrath of a bereaved father. In order to pacify him, they denied the allegation and claimed that a black Wednesday was observed in the school to honour his son’s. Despite all the evidence that indicated Ene’s complicity in the murder case, he was not arrested.
Is Ene guilty? All accusing fingers point to Ene. His contorted version of Godwin’s death caused the deceased parents to raise an eyebrow. First, he was the one who told the parents about their son’s school fees saga. He was said to have told the Ayogus that their son had to sell his computers and phones in order to survive in school, but it was later discovered that he was with Godwin’s phone on the day Godwin died. From Fred’s deductions, his son must have told his roommate that he was leaving for Nigeria on the 19th so they plotted to kill him. And the story about his son entrusting his fees into Ene’s care was questionable.
Godwin’s death has left his parents in shreds of sorrow and regrets. He would have been 19 in June. If they had known, they would have sent him to Canada to study. Godwin was a brilliant child who was blessed to have parents eager to give him qualitative education. After his secondary school education, his parents like any other parent sought for a reputable tertiary institution to send their son to when his attempts at WAEC were frustrated. Through the help of the proprietor of The Good Shepherd schools in Meiran, Godwin was convinced to give up on his dreams to study Medicine. The proprietor suggested other courses and encouraged his parents to send him to Canada where some of his classmates were studying. He told them not to worry about the tuition fees since Godwin would be schooling and working. Moreover, he was a good drummer, with his talents, he could eke out a livelihood. But his parents were scared to let him study there due to the distance and long absence. They opted for the Cape Coast University in Ghana just to have their boy close to them. Unfortunately, it was there that Godwin met his untimely death. His body was found outside his hostel.
The Nigeria Educational System
The death of Godwin is a cruel reminder of the corruption and dearth of excellence in the Nigerian educational system. Many Nigerian parents are confronted with the issue of security and stability in our universities. Unending strike, cultism and the frustration of withheld results by the various examination bodies and the evident bribery in gaining admission into institutions of higher learning are some of the underlying factors that influence the brain drain in our society today. Often these students become victims of circumstances in their greener abode.
Culprits Must not go Unpunished
The Ayogu family are calling on the Nigerian government to seek justice in their son’s death. They are pleading that everyone whose connivance is evident in their son’s murder should be brought to book. “I know my son is gone forever but at least, the person that killed him should not go free. All I’m asking is for justice to be done in this case,” said Fred. It’s been close to two months since he returned from Ghana after being assured by the police that the matter would be dealt with. He is yet to hear from them. He also demands for the arrest of Ene who is the prime suspect in this case.
A Mother’s Grief…
For Lillian Ayogu, her grief is inconsolable. With a voice choked with tears, she recounted her last time with her son. “My best memory of Godwin was last September when his younger brother got admission into Covenant University. He was at home and I asked him why he wasn’t leaving for school yet. He told me that I should forget about his school for now but rally round to pay his brother’s fees. He said Joshua’s education was paramount, that he could pay his fees later in second semester since his was not time bound. That statement touched me. It made me know that my boy is now a man. Everything I did for him back then was out of love and respect. Normally, when he is leaving for school, I don’t give him a dime but this time around, I gave him money for shopping, to make him happy, to show him that I appreciated what he did. To me, it was a sign that he was a compassionate and responsible man. The last time I called him, he said he was going for a research in Accra that he needed money. Personally, I gave him N70, 000. Each time we talk, he calls me his girlfriend, now nobody calls me girlfriend any more.” Thisday
