Dead Men's Path is a short story by the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, first published in 1953.
After consulting with some members of the faculty, Michael learns that the school had attempted to close the path in the past and met with strong opposition from the nearby village.
Afraid of giving a poor impression to the Government Education Officer scheduled to visit, Michael places a fence across the path and tops it with barbed wire.
Michael insists that the path remains closed and explains that the purpose of the school is to abolish such ancestral beliefs.
When the Government Education Officer arrives, he gives Obi a bad review and writes "a nasty report" on the "tribal-war situation developing between the school and the village.