There is far too much that man does not know about himself or his surroundings or both. There is far too much that man does not pay attention to. There is far too much that man does not understand. For instance, one: why one head, one heart, one mouth, one nose and one stomach but two ears, two eyes, two feet, two hands and two legs?
For instance, two: why is good so bad and why is bad so good? Or, why is good so weak and why is bad so strong? For instance, three: who is in charge of this world; is it God, is it Satan? Stop breaking your head, my dear, the answer is too obvious.
By the way, is anyone wondering how all these thoughts emanated and where we are going? That person is not alone. I have myself been overthinking since my ever-active mind suddenly became one thoroughfare penultimate weekend. This was a function of events which played out the preceding fortnight.
I have been thinking about the sun, about the moon, about the stars. I have been thinking about the day, about the evening, about the night. I have been thinking about power, about poverty, about plenty. I have been thinking about education, about illiteracy, about ignorance.
I have been thinking about the wanton havoc brought on life and society by the rich, by the poor, by the educated, by the illiterate as well as by pretenders to both thrones. I have been thinking about how poorly a man treats the woman or the child without remembering that, tomorrow, he (the same man) shall become a child who can only be helped by that same woman or that same child who by then had become a man. Almost instantly, I developed a headache. Life is too deep, too insane, too uncommon!
Life is wired in a way that every human being, who has a functional brain, ought willy nilly to be humble, to be restrained, to be wise. Life itself let alone its condition or weather never lasts forever. You are up or down, today or tomorrow or the day after. Nothing is cast in concrete forever; nobody too.
That was how my mind kept somersaulting on and on, all the way to about David and Goliath. Then it hit me. David is not always the small one. Goliath is not always the giant.
The world over, there are too many Goliaths who are tinier than David. They may appear or look big by virtue of the high office they hold. However, because all they are good at is blocking, demoting, embarrassing humiliating, impoverishing, subtracting and targeting an innocent person just to prove their nouveau riche status, they are at best only tin-Goliaths. They are Goliath in David’s body form.
The small person angling to drag a big man or woman down or before equity should -fundamentally- bring along a clean pair of hands or forget Davidlike victory. David’s grace does not fall on small head with dirty hands. David’s grace can also fall on big head clean hands. Yes, David can be a big man, a big woman: just as Goliath can be a very small person.
A so-called big man or big woman or, why not, big child who is evil (in their mind and therefore before God) should not misconstrue this as an escape route. It really is a cul-de-sac. Such a one is a sure candidate for hell; sorry, is a sure candidate for David’s stone that never fails. Such a one is the modern-day Goliath tackled by the Bible in the Old Testament.
Get the point now, if you missed it earlier. A small person can be Goliath. A big person can be David. It is about grace, it is about your standing before God.
Small David can be Goliath, spiritually speaking. Mighty Goliath can be a mere David, in the eyes of God. That is the ultimate determinant of this fight. This whole American wonder between David and Goliath is something that is decided in the invisible or immaterial realm, while those in the physical only feel the vibrations.
So, which one are you: a big David or a small Goliath? Or a small David or a big Goliath? Or, are you both? That is, are you David when it suits and Goliath at other times?
Fortunately: you cannot lie to God or yourself. You cannot be David and claim Goliath. You cannot be Goliath and claim David. Above all, you cannot be both.
Furthermore, to enjoy the victory of David that you crave against the run of play, against even what bookmakers have predicted, you must clean up your space today. Tomorrow may be too late. Big or small, just be on God’s side, in spirit and in truth; 25 hours daily, and see how every injustice, every oppression against you, against your family, pales into your victory. Sssh, be patient: Herod shall soon die and even these Egyptians, you shall sooner than later see them no more!
Meanwhile, if the humiliation or the shame or the threat is too much to bear, David may either go under the radar or like -Joseph- flee; which is like running away to live to fight another day. Even so, David ought always to be patient and in silence knowing full well the stone is in flight. Another thing: David ought permanently to know that humiliation never happens except the target reacts humiliated. Otherwise, the thunder goes right back complete with lightning and downpour to the sender -in this case, the humiliator.
God bless Nigeria!l
Fubara: Help is coming
I am a Wike person, every reader of this space knows that. To be sure, ever since meeting the then Minister for Education quite briefly at Akwa Ibom State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja in April 2015 and being introduced by our then governor (today the country’s senate president) I have had no other contact with him whatsoever. Notwithstanding, I shall remain his lifelong fan for two reasons.
One is something I heard he said a few days after our chance meeting. He may not even remember it but the advice has helped or saved or served me to this day. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you nor anyone what that was.
Two is the political meteoric rise of the former Local Government Chairman, former Chief of Staff to the Governor, former Honourable Minister for Education, former Governor (Rivers state) and now Honourable Minister of Federal Capital Territory. His uncanny courage, his natural humour and his unique style pull me like nectar does bees, other insects and other animals. I used to wonder why people rooted for Trump until the day I looked in the mirror at His Excellency, Chief Nyesom Wike, CON and me.
Alas, we die here. Politics is a stupid, ball-less thing. You support a man or a party or a position even when something in you pukes.
That is where I am, I am quite used to it. I am an Arsenal man, you catch my drift. I always have been, I always shall be.
Following Supreme Court’s extremely surprising judgement on the Rivers Imbroglio, Godfather Wike and his 27 lawmakers have been, to say the least, ruthlessly brutal. I mean, everything is out in the open; no room for decency; no fear at all. These things don’t always end well.
This is therefore an appeal by an outsider, who may be weeping louder than the bereaved, for Leader Wike and his troops to exercise restraint. As Gbenga Aruleba of AiT said during that tempestuous media chat with the FCT Minister last Wednesday, it is important to win both the war and the battle. Granted that Gov. Sim Fubara went overboard but God prefers even the sinner who is magnanimous in victory.
The lawyer-cum politician should not wait for President Bola Tinubu to intervene again. He should rather be the Fubara big brother and political father that he is. He should today, this instant, rein in his boys.
That’s how he would better win back the whole state, not a part which is the best he would end up with if he continued his downhill journey. Rivers deserves better. My man, Wike alias “agreement is agreement,” please place a phone call to or visit Gov. Sim Fubara today -this moment.
God is waiting. Be warned: if you don’t, help shall arise for him from nowhere. Salvation is of the Lord!
My apology to Natasha
I have been reflecting on many things, these few days. I wanted to make peace with myself.
This whole Natasha stuff, complete with its unsenatorialness, is not worth it. I apologise to the senator and to you, my reader, for dabbling into the messy comedown.
This is the real reason for the apology. There is a Natasha in all of us.
We should not scapegoat Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan because in more ways than one, she is like us and we her. I can flaunt a dozen proofs, in a flash.
First of all, an alarming majority of us are not qualified (enough) for where we are. Second of all, most of us can bring down the house over very flimsy excuse.
Third of all, in spite of and despite our adulthood, we like to act like children or at best like student union leaders. Fourth of all, we love to be a distraction because it is the only way we can attract international, national and local attention to our emptiness, our shallowness.
Fifth of all, 95% of us play politics even in matters of life and death let alone of decency and morality. Sixth of all, we have no shame whatsoever; we can go naked in public just to catch cruise -isn’t that how we say it?
Seventh of all, nearly all of us prefer our ethnic nooks and crannies to Nigeria; so we can cut our nose (read public image) to spite our face (read country). Eighth of all, for too many of us, there is nothing we cannot do to bring another down once the price is right even if wrong.
Nineth of all, most of us think it is human and quite all right if you are of the majority to pull another down (especially of the minority) so your people and you can climb. Tenth of all, most of us are so insolent and celebrate it as a way of life.
Eleventh of all, only a tiny minority of us don’t believe in using what we have (beauty, bumbum -whatever that means, connection, money, whatever) to get what we want. Twelfth of all, where is the law against the natashasation (the real meaning of desecration) of the senate of the federal republic and, by going abroad, of the country itself?
And, there are some add-ons. Who has ever been punished and who shall ever be punished for all these primitive political shenanigans, and when shall that be?
The foregoing are reasons Natasha and her like continue to shine within and without Nigeria. And, because I now know better, I apologise for wasting our time.
The shame of a country. Where corruption has failed to kill Nigeria, will hypocrisy succeed?
God forbid!