On Friday, in the wee hours of 12th December, 1992, the conjugal union
between Chief Paul A. Boshi and Mrs. Roseline M. Boshi of Mbamena in the little
town of Zaki-Biam, Ukum LGA, Benue State, was blessed with a male child, their
first, and he was named Terungwa which roughly translated could mean ‘the Lord
has heard’ or ‘the Lord has answered’. Few months later, Terungwa was baptized
according to the Catholic faith and given the name Simon. Thus, his full names
became Terungwa Simon Atsaigba, his last name been his father’s middle name.
Even though the Boshis had no
recognized acquitances with formal education, they were hell bent to see their
child educated notwithstanding their mean income. This suffices to explain why
Terungwa attended substandard schools. His early education was quite irregular.
He is said to have attended Dugwer Nursery and Primary School, Zaki-Biam, LGEA
Primary School, Mbamena, and NKST
Primary School, Uvia, the first and
last now defunct and indistinct. More notably, Mr. T.S. Atsaigba attended
Alexander Memorial Nursery and Primary School, Zaki-Biam where his unmatched
brilliance made him popular and every teacher’s delight. It is far from
overstatement to say the name Terungwa became a synonym for first position.
More often than not, the total marks of the pupil carrying position 2nd
were just the half of Atsaigba’s total marks. It is unclear whether Simon
attended another primary school before completing his primary education.
Like his primary schools, Terungwa
Simon Atsaigba attended a no name secondary school. Though the now defunct
Pioneer Combined College (PCC), Zaki-Biam, a newly established school, was in
its hay days when he was admitted into JSS1 (2001) where the story of his
brilliance continued. His nick name “De Professor” gained prominence because
friends, mates, teachers and other students fondly addressed him with the
title. Atsaigba completed his secondary education at Mbapuun
Grammar School, Zaki-Biam, where he
sat for and obtained WASSC in 2006.
After his
secondary education, Mr. T.S Atsaigba who has uncommon quest for knowledge
applied for and was given admission into Preliminary Studies at College of
Education, Katsina-Ala at the completion of which he was absorbed into the NCE
programme proper in 2008 owing to his outstanding performance. He combined
English and Literary Studies with Theatre Arts. He held many offices in the
College during his three years of studies, some of which include Assistant
Secretary General, Association of Theatre Arts Students (ATAS) (2009),
Director, Final Year Production, Group B (2010), etc. Atsaigba completed his
NCE programme in 2010 with merit in all his combinations.
