WAEC English Language 2020 Theory — Question 5

Model answer

I Had Never Felt So Embarrassed in My Life I remember how I fell into the horrible hands of pickpockets. It was an incident I'd never forget in a hurry. I left home for Badagry. I had planned attending the yearly Arts Festival organized to promote arts and culture. As a lover of fictions, sculptures and movies, I wanted to enjoy myself to the brim. I wore the New African Regalia I had been gifted two months before. It was grandma who brought it from her trip to the outskirts of Nupe. It had sketches of the Nok rafters. I had reserved it for the day; it would somewhat fit the tempo of the day. Mum had warned me to beware of snatchers in Lagos, especially places of crowded people - event centres, bus-stops. She had narrated her ordeal - how some unknown boys snatched her handbag at Ojuelegba and vanished into thin air, before she could say Jack Robinson. I had held that lesson tight, but never thought I would fall victim somehow. I had never gone about with a bag or pulse, except at school. And I had always moved about suspiciously, particularly when in a strange place. 'Deji, make sure you return early, and use the ATM card on the table to withdraw N80,000 for me while coming back. You know my usual pin right? Don't take my money to the festival. You heard me?' Mum had instructed before leaving home that morning. At noon, I left home early enough, but felt I should ignore mum's warning and withdraw her money before heading for Badagry. I had envisaged the event might end very late in the night. In that case, the ATM would have been emptied. And I did not want to leave in the heat of the show. I thought 'I'll be careful with the money. No one knows I'm here with something big'. I kept everything on me in the same nylon. The festival was strikingly enlivening — so many crafts, so many exhibitors, so many recreations. The premiered film was incredibly interesting. I was buried in the movie. I forgot time flew. What jotted me up was the chaos and mayhem that tormented after the first winner of the exhibition claimed a sumptuous prize of two million naira. Before I could realize anything, it was late. Something big had been robbed off me. I could not find the pickpocket. I lost everything except me. I regretted taking the money along. I was lost in thought 'how do I return home? Where do I get transportation fare?' I resorted into begging in public places. I begged for fare to return home. People avoided me. Nobody could believe my story; an able young man begging alms? It was ignominious. I received insults. I felt ashamed of my life. I had never felt so embarrassed.