For just 70 people, I was born.
For just 70 people, I was beloved of my Father.
For just 70 people, I told on my Brothers every move to my Father.
For just 70 people, I earned the wrath of my Brothers and Family.
For just 70 People, my own blood sold me as a slave.
For just 70 people, I was accused of attempted rape.
For just 70 people, I was imprisoned.
For just 70 people, I was born.
For just 70 people, I was beloved of my Father.
For just 70 people, I told on my Brothers every move to my Father.
For just 70 people, I earned the wrath of my Brothers and Family.
For just 70 People, my own blood sold me as a slave.
For just 70 people, I was accused of attempted rape.
For just 70 people, I was imprisoned.
How often do we take responsibility for our actions.
We live in a society and culture where the buck is passed and the blame traded off to someone else.
Our failures, shortfalls and inabilities are as a result of someone or something somewhere responsible for it.
Our success is ours, our failures is not ours, but theirs.
“This is jackpot, both a car and a boy to sell off! Am in money!!” “atleast, i can pay Iya Risikat her money, and be able to buy 2 more buses and be my own boss……no more doing boy-boy to anybody” Shina thought to himself, and gave the kid sitting beside him, a leering smile. He was so happy with his craftiness. He fooled the woman out of the car after offering to help her.
“She’s such a fool!! How can she be so gullible enough to get out of the car and leave her son in the car? DOesn’t she know that the world has become a wicked place?” “Trust no one at all!!” He smiled as he ruminates over it. But then a pang of guilt hit him in the guts. “But what has this woman done to deserve this?” The thought came to him. She just asked for help, is it now a crime to ask? “How am i to trust the people am going to meet even? What if the Police come looking for me what will i do?” Fear gripped him at that point and a terrible dread came over him in that instant. And as if the car sensed his thoughts, it stopped right in the middle of the road!
Shina got down, and tried starting the vehicle to no avail. He had a bit of a vehicle mechanic background and did some test runs on the car, but the car simply would not start. It was as if it wasn’t the same vehicle that he had driven for the last 20 minutes. The battery failed to come on, the lights all went out totally. He was perplexed, his fanciful day-dreams went out like the car battery and he stood dazed and confused on what to do.
The vehicle had stopped in the remote area of waterworks, Eleyele, and it was a very quiet, unsecured area prone to all shades of characters. He got two rough-looking guys to help him with the car, he had known them for a while and they all tried looking at what the problem was.
Somewhere, somehow, he heard a voice, push the vehicle away from here. Together with his two other cohorts, they pushed the car up the hill of the waterworks to the main road. From there, like a programmed robot, they pushed the car down the hill-side road of Eleyele, up the hill-side road to Fan milk. They stopped on the way and people gave them curious stares wondering why they can’t get a towing vehicle to tow the vehicle. But the men were fervent with the task at hand. As if been hounded by legions from hell, they could not dare take a breather for more than 2 minutes before they set to the task again.
Fadeke and her husband Joe sat in the living room, heads down, wondering what they would do next. The Police Officers had assured them they will find Little Abe and bring him home safe, but it left no room of comfort for the family. As the evening breeze fanned itself around there house on a hill, they sat in fervent prayer for the recovery of their son. Joe was going out and coming in, standing by the gate, looking across the valley hoping against hope to catch a glimpse of his son walking up the road or the car coming up…but it was all futile.
Around 6pm, they heard a knock at the gate. Both husband and wife were startled at the knock and rushed to the door, Fadeke stood rooted to the spot when she saw Shina alongside her Son, Abe at the gate!!!! For seconds, Husband and Wife stood gawking them unbelieving, before Fadeke snatched Abe from his hands and gave him a bear hug, weeping and dancing that he had been found. Joe stepped outside to converse with Shina, asking him how he got to know the house, he replied he didn’t know, but that they pushed the car all the way here. Sure enough, Shina together with his two friends, were panting like a deer that had run a 100 km stretch and badly in need of water.
Joe offered them water to drink, went out to check the car, got in and turned the ignition, and like a brand new car, the engine purred to life!!! The three men were stood in unbelief at the turn of events. The swore over everything they could swear on that the vehicle had refused to start, hence they had pushed it all the way!! If only the vehicle could respond and confirm what they were saying, it will be a welcome relief to them, but it seems all the strength had been drained out of their body after it seem the legions of hell had wiped them into a frenzy to get the car and the kid home! They were panting, worn out and wasted thoroughly by the time they got to the house of Joe and Fadeke.
They thanked them profusely and bid them farewell, praying never to set eyes on them again till eternity.
A joyous mood overcame their household that evening. Joe postponed his trip till the next day while he led the family in prayer of thanksgiving to God. Grandma was so relieved, she stayed in the toilet for an hour, worshipping God, for she had been pressed since morning but would not get up to use the toilet. Oye and Ope were just too glad to have Abe back in the house for them to continue their Police and thief games, oblivious to what was going on. For Abe, it was just another day of adventure for him. Totally unaware of the strange events and the implications.
Monday morning, Fadeke was at the Police Station to report that her son had been found, and the vehicle located. The Police Officers on duty, doubted she was the same person that came in Saturday afternoon to log in a report. She was dressed in a white well starched nurse uniform, looking prim and proper. Not until she narrated the events that they believed she was indeed the same person and found the story of the recovery incredible to believe. It was like a fairy tale to them. The car dying on the would be kidnapper, and him pushing the car all the way to their house that he had never been before!!!!
She went to the Park as well to show her appreciation, they marvelled that it was she they actually did saw on Saturday and praised God for his mercies. They also informed her, they had expelled Shina from their park, for he brought them into disrepute with People and was a blemish to their association.
Meanwhile, oh his majestic throne, God gave a knowing smile as he accepted the worship of Fadeke and her family and all the people concerned and gave an order for a protective hedge be placed round the family from that day from now on till eternity.
NB:
Fadeke later went to the hospital to be treated for her injuries, which miraculously, where only superficial with no major damage at all.
Sometime last week, i took a rare day off work and went visiting a close a close family member. He was on his way for a prayer meeting and he invited me along.
We got there, the meeting was almost over so he ran in to join the prayer….and when i got there my spirit did not settle in for the meeting so i stepped outside to wait out the meeting. Then it came to me….there are several churches, mosques, religious organisations and several religious programs all over the place and still no end to the seemingly mirage of problems they all seek in these places.
Its 6:31pm on a wet monday evening. Ideally i should be in class..but don’t have the slightest motivation to attend not with the rain soaked streets of Lagos. but its really the amount of work on my desk that bogged me down.
Even though atimes i wonder, as i am wondering now, why i feel so exhausted after a day’s job of just sitting behind the system..but i guess as i have been told, the white hairs growing on my head at this very young age of mine..speaks volume of what i try to accomplish daily. Interestingly, i have a colleague who gets really worried about it and says several people she knows, who work themselves at their job in terms of mental capacity are growing white hairs….But i ask, why is my boss not growing white hairs…probably because he wears an afro and he maintains it regularly, hence the white hairs remain deep unseen to the public. maybe an expedition will lead us there..lololol
But be it as it may, my heart grieves for an evil that is becoming synonymous with our nation. I wonder, when did we become so inured to the pain of others and carry on with our lives with no sense of compassion at all.
Its quite interesting, the much interest and passion sex invokes in people and the general reaction to it.
Sex, despite the times we are in now, still seems muted in in this part of our world but atimes veiled in conversation unlike the first world nations where its the norm and without restraint.
Even at that, while our conversations regarding sex may be “veiled” the manner in which its invading our society and sub-concious is highly alarming and the rate at which we get involved in it, either physical in the act itself or mental..is something else. We are in a world saturated by sex…images, sound, smell….name it..it all envelopes us all round. like a thick fog.
Many of you will wonder why this absurd title…but its the current reality of our faith, what I have come to notice and observe over a while now.
Jesus is weak when we no more believe that the mere mention of his name brings the whole universe to its knees in worship but we add prefixes to make it sound more powerful ie, in the mighty name of….
Jesus is weak when we believe praying in the name of the Holy Spirit and Jesus gives us sure-fire that our prayers will be heard. Not only that, give roles and acts to the Holy Spirit and adjectives that was never mentioned in the scriptures nor used. ie, In the Mighty name of Jesus! Holy Ghost fire! Power of the Holy Ghost! Holy Spirit Fire! Thunder of the Holy Spirit!
Jesus is weak when we believe we have to wake up God very early in the morning with a loud megaphone and speakers and beg him to favor us today and waking up the whole neighbourhood in the process. Wonder why Jesus himself had to go quietly to a place and commune with his Father early in the morning.
Dear President Jonathan,
I’m ashamed of myself. I want to apologize for my heartless abuse of your meek and gentle self. Please accept my sincere apologies.
I did not mean any harm. If I had known that you were as fragile as an egg, I would have been massaging your tiny ego instead of throwing darts to strengthen your muscles.
Just like you, Mr. President, I want to move Nigeria forward. I want to do it in a gentleman’s way – without shedding any sweat. But I have seen that Nigeria is such a heavy load that anyone involved in that venture must be ready to perspire.
Despite the impression I must have given over the years as a professional critic, I am a thoughtful man. I know it must be hard being the president of a dysfunctional country like Nigeria. But I did not know it was this hard. And surely, you did not have the slightest idea how hard it would be when you allowed your name on the ballot.
At a non-denominational service to mark Nigeria ’s 51st Independence Day, you lashed out at me and other critics of yours. I truly deserve it. But your frustrations drew no sympathy in me.
As a member, in good standing, of the National Association of Armchair Critics (Home and Abroad), I want to respond to you.
I read a article by Jonathan Power on Palestine and the war of civilisations in todays punch newspaper and i would want to disagree with some points made in that article about the tolerance level of the two religions; Islam and Christianity. While it is acknowledge historically and i have read as well that Islam is a religion of the sword,i beg to disagree that its more tolerant than Christainity. Evidence abounds in the northern part of Nigeria of how intolerant the Moslems there are,the Jos crisis is an recent example of this. How many times in the history of religious crisis in the country have you heard of Christians instigating an attack on moslems?
From the global perspective and historical antecedent, i agree that some atrocities have been commited in the name of christianity especially during the holy crusades, especially during the attempts to recapture the holy land,but i will like to bring to your notice that there was a period in christain history that was known as the dark ages in which christians/believers were persecuted for their differing point of view by christians/believers of the same faith. The era of Roman Catholic Popes calling the shots in affairs of sovereign states and any attempt to resist the Pope’s authority was met with the threat of excommunication. Continue reading
samaderibigbe 