Ruffled Feathers

There seemed to be good reason for the Carnivorous Lords to believe that after the senate suspended action on the exam-malpractice case of the VC’s son, nothing would be heard of the case again. They felt this was an unsatisfactory solution. Some of them, particularly Nonso, concluded in his heart that the case was no doubt cut-and-dried. Their patience wore thin and they called for a meeting.

During the meeting, the fraternity rolled out drums of war. The capon was the first to speak: “Friends, our feathers have been ruffled; we have been provoked beyond endurance on two fronts. First, the stupid devils called the Juggernauts have been on our hunt for months, giving us a rough ride. Second, the recent decision of the senate to grant pardon to the VC’s son, which is a demonstration of the discriminating arrogance of power, has pierced our hearts and the hearts of many students. The stubborn truth is that the senate and the Nauts have acted without thinking of the consequences, and just as thunder follows lightning and blindness the plucking out of eyes, so punishment follows the breakdown of rule. Since they have chosen the path of infamy, it is germane that we, the punishers, put them all under the ban of dishonour.”

“Yes!” the members chorused.

“It is their turn to be in disgrace,” Nonso shouted, a sense of hatred and ill will brewing in his heart.

Every one of them craved an opportunity to speak on the matter as they all raised their hands.

“Yes, Tony,” the capon said.

“The enormity of disrespect for the law on exam malpractice cannot be ignored. The VC cannot expect peace in this university, since there is in his psyche an irrational element that can be exploited and influenced in a manner that does not benefit the institution. This injustice must be exposed to the light of reason clearly, satirically, and in the nakedness of their absurdity,” Tony argued.

“Yes, Mercury,” the capon said, as Mercury’s hand was still raised.

“Seeking to rewrite the rules after a game has been played is certainly unacceptable. This cover-up and denial should not be allowed to fly away by non-action. We need to challenge the VC; we need to challenge this academic injustice, this grotesque double standard. The real punishment for the VC’s moral and psychological default is to make Unicot ungovernable. It will be his headache to find out whether the selective justice applied to his son was good,” Mercury said.

“Yes.”

“Truth has been murdered in broad daylight, and Lady Justice does not hold her sword in vain. In this circumstance, it is demanded that she strike,” Katmandu said.

“Yes.”

“The morality of the VC and the senate is being called to question here, given their abuse of power. With the rape of justice, I feel they have raised a firestorm which they would find difficult to douse,” said one who was standing near Nonso.

“Yes.”

The capon, sensing that the group favoured a violent response to the blatant untruth by the VC and the senate, rose mightily and said, “I thank you all for baring your minds. We are of the same mind. Friends, time is ripe; time to register our displeasure; time to stand up and defend this fraternity; time to grasp the nettle and mete out revenge. The VC and the senate have taken the students of Unicot for a ride; the Nauts have rated us low. The Nauts have shown us that they are better than we think they are; their intention is to wrest us out of our fame. We shall be drifting towards the surrender of our power if we fail to fight. This is our fiefdom, and we have a sacred duty to protect it. We have no option again but are condemned to fight, not only to redeem our bruised ego but also to stamp our dominion in Unicot. This is a call to that duty, a call to individual and collective responsibility. Each of us is responsible for restoring the reputation and healing of our fraternity. We must fight our enemy: the enemy called death, which lives in the hearts and minds of the Nauts; the enemy called injustice, which lives in the minds of the VC and senate.”

Applause erupted from the members.

“I charge you,” the capon continued, “rise to your full height and crush and extinguish the flames that burned in their hearts; go for the jugular; kick them where it hurts most; be resolute and fight till the last man has dropped dead. Since they did not want peace, we will give them war. As painful as it will be, that’s the right answer to their action,” the capon concluded.

“Good speech, Capon!” Nonso shouted, clapping his hands. He devoured the message and was eager for an action that would not only cause pandemonium but bring the university to an abrupt halt. Since the killing of the two lecturers did not make the authority shut down the university, he wanted an action bigger than that.

The other members joined in giving the capon resounding applause. The meeting ended after an agreement to carry out an attack against the Nauts, which they tagged “Operation Total Annihilation”. They also agreed to send a missile across to the VC and the senate.