Nevertheless, they looked on while he continued. “When I was trapped at the television station on Saturday, he dropped whatever he was doing and came to my rescue, and I won’t take it for granted. Thank you for being there for me, my brother. Meanwhile, this program became a success because he was in the background advising and fine-tuning our plans and today, we are successful. Kindly clap for him.”
(Clap) (Clap) Meanwhile, Ken smiled from ear to ear. Then, he continued,
“Ladies and gentlemen, there is a rare leader I must not fail to appreciate. He had graduated from the boss to the father of the members of staff, and grandfather to our children. He is no other person than Mr. Jeffrey Morris. Ladies and gentlemen, could I just crave your indulgence very briefly, and let's give him a standing ovation? He ensured that we did not fail as a committee.”
Now, everyone stood up and clapped for the Chairman while Gabriel continued, “You can take your seats. May I let you know that this is the first country where the Cherry Fields Oil and Gas Group is honoring the youths? The essence of this program is to touch the lives of five thousand Nigerians, especially the Youths, and there is no better time than during the Independent Anniversary Celebration of our great country, Nigeria.”
Now, the President, nodded his head, and smiled with satisfaction, while some members of his entourage whispered among themselves.
“The company is a good company.”
“Yes. They recognized their host communities.”
Now, Gabriel continued, “Mr. President, you can agree with me that the Cherry Fields Oil and Gas Group does not leave their host communities neglected. We encourage them in all their endeavors, especially in the areas of farming and education. The community heads, and the traditional rulers present, can testify to this.”
Now, all eyes went at once to the Traditional Ruler's pavilion, they nodded their heads in the affirmation.
“You're very correct,” one of the community heads shouted, and a big applause erupted from the audience. Then, the General Manager continued.
“Time will not permit me to recognize each one after the other. I want to recognize our sponsors, the Century Airlines, for flying all our guests to this stadium. There is another sponsor that I must mention. It is the management and staff of the Lamborghini Veneno Company for their support. All our supporters are recognized. You are very dear to our hearts. Please check the brochures of this event. I'm very sure all of you have it.”
He paused and looked at the audience to ascertain that everyone had a copy of the brochure. Nevertheless, everyone began to open their brochures. Those that were waiting to go through it when they got home began to flip the pages of the brochure.
Richard and Robinson were not left out. They picked up their brochure and opened it for the first time. The first page had the picture of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the second page had the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The third page had the Minister of The Federal Capital Territory, the fourth page had the picture of the Chairman, Mr. Morris.
The fifth page had the picture of the Vice Chairman, Ken, the sixth page had the picture of the man giving his speech joyously. The man his haters thought that they had successfully annihilated – the General Manager. He looked healthy, undefeatable, and handsome.
“If you don't have it, please indicate by raising your hand, and the ushers would hand one over to you.”
Now, he paused and observed the reaction of the audience, and when no hand was raised, he continued.
“All right. I can see that we all have a copy. The details of all our supporters were careful enshrined in the brochure. They are all lovers of the youths of our nation. You are welcome to do business with them. I want to assure you that after this program, no youth will leave this arena the same. There must be one level of changes in your life. We have numerous prizes to be won. Relax and enjoy the rest of the program. Thank you all.”
Then, he handed the microphone to Edwin, who collected it immediately before he walked down the platform and all eyes were on him. His family was very proud of him, and his wife felt like giving him a hug, and a passionate kiss. The occasion did not warrant that, but the Chairman and the Vice Chairman gave her husband a hug on her behalf. They also gave him thumps up before he took his seat majestically. However, his children, Frank and Francisca, did not consider any protocol, despite the security consciousness, they walked to meet him. Now, the security man beside them was Ahmed. Though he was masked up, but they could recognize him. They beat the protocol and went to give their dad a hug.
While he was about to take his seat, he heard familiar voices.
“Daddy, you're the best.”
Said Francisca. He gave her a hug and responded, “Thank you, my dear.”
Now, Frank, who was standing behind his twin sister, walked to him after Francisca had detached from him.
“Daddy, I'm proud of you,” he said and gave him a hug too. The people around were very delighted with the actions of the children. The Chairman watched the family and smiled. Meanwhile, he sat between the General Manager and the Vice Chairman. He leaned closer to the General Manager who was sitting by his left-hand, and asked “What of the 'husband protector', won't she come for a hug too?”
The General Manager laughed joyously. One of the General Manager's secret to success was that he had a wonderful and close-knit family. The seeds of kindness which his wife and children planted here and there in the lives of people had been his backbone. He had invested in the lives of the indigent. Above all, he was a nice man.
From the platform, Edwin continued with a joke about his marital status
“Thank you my great boss. I'm proud of you. Only that you forgot to remind me to get a wife.”
Now, everyone laughed heartily, especially most of the members of staff, which included Madam Abigail. Then, they shouted.
“Edwin, get a wife.”
Nevertheless, Edwin, who was not expecting that, bowed his head in shame and laughed.
“It's all right, I will get married. Moving forward, I will hand over the microphone to my co-MC.”
Now, he handed the microphone over to Tom, who collected it majestically, and appreciated, “Thank you, Edwin. Next on the agenda is the Match Pass by all the groups represented. We would have a music interlude for all the groups to file out of their seats and form their lines. You have just five minutes for that. Thank you.”
At that point, the Police Band began to play. Now, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was escorted to the salute stand. Mr. Morris was also escorted by his lieutenants and followed by Ahmed. When they got to the salute stand, the President genuinely appreciated the Chairman. They had never met in person. So, that was their first time of meeting.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Morris. I have heard so much about you. Keep up the good work you are doing in my country. I'm so proud of you,” The President said all he had in mind at once while giving him a handshake. In response, the Chairman said, “I'm so proud of you, too. You made our operation in your country effortless. Thank you for identifying with us.”
By now, the participants had arranged themselves in groups with the banner indicating whom they were, and it was time for the match pass to begin. The first group was the President's entourage. They matched with the Vice President as the leader. However, Tom did a good job as he mentioned the names of almost all the members of the entourage and their various offices.
Thanks to his colleagues, he got all these names without stress. Although he knew some of them by name, but his colleagues helped him out with the other people who he was not conversant with. That gave them a sense of belonging. When they got to the salute stand, the Vice President shouted the usual 'eyes right' command, and the people lifted their right hands to their temples, and saluted while the President took the salute. After they left the salute stand, they all dispersed to change into their sports attires.
The other groups matched too and were given their due recognition. The troops from the villages were delighted to see the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in flesh and blood. The Striit Kea Empire Troop matched with their banner led by Victor while Edwin praised him.
When it was the turn of the taekwondo group led by Jeffrey, they surprised the audience with their performances. They were all dressed in their colored taekwondo uniform, an indication that they had been in the taekwondo game for a very long time – they were no beginners. When they got to the salute stand, Jeff gave the usual command of 'eyes right' and his team members turned to the right with their hands on their temple. Now, their left hands were firmly kept by their hips while they gave the salute with their right hands on their temple. After they saluted, another command came from Jeff.
“About turn.”
Suddenly, they turned and formed two lines. Those on the left line turned from the left and continued marching, while those on the right line turned from the right and continued marching, too. They stopped when the commander said, “halt.” They all halted in unison and as soon as they halted, the two lines turned and faced each other.