Follow Us on Google
Let us start by throwing shade at the almighty English language. When someone does or says stuff behind me, why don’t I simply put it that way? Why must I say they did or said it behind my back? Does behind my front exist?
Who wants to join me in court to seek more consistency and transparency in the language? We need to summon the high priests of the language before a court of competent jurisdiction. The English language flaunts far too many intricacies that do not add up. Imagine the effrontery of saying that behind me and behind my back mean differently.
To be sure, doing or saying (hurtful) stuff behind another is human nature. There is not one human being -living or dead- who does not or did not engage in or suffer it; one way or the other. The mannerism could be out of anger, out of envy, out of error, out of foolishness, out of hate, out of ignorance, out of love -yes, out of love, out of pettiness, out of pity or out of nothing. It is a serious matter any way you look at it because it can break bonds and homes, can destroy friendships and relationships and can kill progress and the future.
Alas, this entry is essentially only about some of the malicious things people say behind you. Because of space and time or the lack of them, we shall not here dabble into the nitty gritty of why or how people say things behind you. This piece is just about the what. So, where do we start?
Of course, the best model as always is Jesus. What did they not say behind Him? Even His family spoke evil of the mere son of a carpenter. Others scorned Him as a blasphemer, a felon, an impostor, a Satan worker, a subversive.
The thief on the cross taunted Him. He wanted Him to help Himself if He really was who He said He was. Jesus’s case was double tragedy. The God who became man to rescue man was ridiculed and rejected in front and behind and summarily killed by man at the end of what turned out, fortunately, to be just the beginning of a glorious eternity.
So, when they mock you silly, simply relax with a knowing smile. Your Master already travelled the road and victoriously too. Understand that man had long transmogrified the beautiful earth God bequeathed to him into an evil world. However, understand more: that no matter what man does or says, they cannot defeat you because your Father, the eternal decider-in-chief, already won the battle between Light and darkness a couple of millennia ago.
There is more to glean from what happened to Jesus. Most people malign you behind, accusing you of what they would have done if they were you. Forgive them because they know not what they do. They do not know you are not them and shall never be.
Meanwhile, here is what more is going on behind you. Those you accommodated for years now say you are homeless all because you are going through a rough patch. Those you brought into the picture singlehanded now rejoice behind you that they have succeeded in cutting you out of (or removed you from) the same picture. They almost always rejoice too foolishly, too early: the same people you crowned yesterday, today gleefully mock you -their very godfather- as a local garri-eating federal rat that must die by otapiapia.
Pray for God to grant you long life so you live to see how and when pigs fly. Pray also for the Lord to teach you to always temper anger with memories of goodness, no matter the provocation. Meanwhile, dear Waters Clan Head, slow down today; in fact, put out the fire. You call(ed) that human bridge of yours political father; don’t allow anger push you any further so that nature doesn’t intervene.
I mean, can you not see that you have been pulled out and allowed unleashed? When another makes you a mad dog but wisely withdraws once you descend into the arena, you begin to look like the instigator. Can you not see that your godfather has quietly retreated, to focus on his job and is excelling in all ramifications? If you continue the way you are doing, the Paramount Ruler of the Federal Kingdom and all those noise-hating power brokers may in 2027 stand with the one they know rather than with you who may later turn on them.
And, dear all, please take note of that and this. Reacting angrily might not always be childish but dwelling is. Never allow the sun go down on your anger, no matter how everlastingly powerful you believe you are. Again, never conclusively remember a person’s 10% evil while conveniently forgetting their 90% good?
Apologies, we had to make that detour into the delta. Elsewhere, the same people you discovered (literally speaking) now wonder behind who you are sef. The same people you employed when they were still in their rawest state now call you good-for-nothing, jobless, unemployed. The same people you empowered all the way to the head table now say you are finished, powerless, struggling and therefore undeserving of even a place in the hall.
Behind you, the same people you fed now call you hungry. The same people for whom you gave your life now question why you did not do it much earlier and in a much more horrible fashion. The same people you guarded to safety now call you guardless. The same people you guided to success now call you guideless.
Beware, my friend: it’s a crooked, crooked, crooked world; this. The same people you hail publicly are working overtime privately to nail you. The same people you idolise think you a scum. The same people for whom you jump all over the place to please or promote, want you dead; terminally out of the way.
The same women you lost your voice for don’t now speak with -let alone about- you positively. The same men you mowed others down for are now busy taking care of those same enemies you amassed. The same children you deprived the poor for have grown up to squander the loot mindlessly. The same company you have kept and trusted, man and boy, are silently working anticlockwise (against you).
It is sadder than sad and truer than true. Behind you, most of those for whom you sacrificed everything everywhere now say you failed because you did not plan your life -according to Podcaster Providence Essien. Most of those you schooled enough to qualify to join the intelligentsia now call you ignorant. Most of those you sponsored in everything and to everywhere now call you broke, just because of a little delay.
Most of those who cannot stand your grace go behind you to say that yours is blood money. Most of those who cannot stand your faith are busy backstage calling you fanatic. Most of those who cannot stand your self confidence grumble behind that you are arrogant, egoistic, proud. Most of those who cannot stray into your privacy stay outside your walls to bleat on about you being a cultist.
Most of those you took on your back to show the way of politics and politicians now stay behind to say that they will teach you a lesson or two about the same tricks you taught them. Is God not good? His long rope is longer than the longest. He is too godly, our God: too patient, too quiet, too wondrous.
Imagine God doing nothing to someone who jeers His child as terminally sick and about to die; the same person the same child of God rescued from the claws of death and hospital embarrassment over what I codename bill inability. Imagine a christocentric daughter being disappointed behind when it mattered most by someone she had appointed against all odds. Imagine a Jesus guy being dishonoured in private by an individual he honours publicly. Imagine the unbearability of the untold pains inherent in the betrayal that should never have been conceived let alone executed.
Furthermore, you must realise that being run down behind is not necessarily a function of something you did. Sometimes, it is because of nothing, or the emptiness of the names-caller. They call you poor, just because you refused to steal along with them. They call you runs girl, just because you are a single woman who is independent, pretty and successful.
Imagine being scapegoated all the way to prison or complexion-shamed, just because you sought political office. Imagine being tagged barren or a baby mama or impotent, just because you chose to keep private things private. Imagine being labelled a witch because they think you are too old and have refused to die. Imagine being x-rayed falsely in absentia; imagine being concluded on; imagine being kept aside hatefully; imagine, just imagine.
Forget their plastic smile, behind you they deride you to no end as an addict, a bootlicker, a dropout, a fraudster, a murderer, a nonentity, a zealot. They lie that you are abusive, cursed, illiterate, lazy, overzealous, vile, wayward. They concoct stories to paint you black. If you have so-called besties who are close to opportunities that can transform your life but who never invite or connect you, cut them off this instant.
It is such people who enjoy calling you names behind. They warn prospective helpers that you are a blackmailer, that you are not a team player, that you cannot be trusted. They tell sponsors who are looking for workers with a generous spirit for their non-governmental organisations that you are stingier than a raven. Vilifiers never have a good thing to say about you, even in front of God, because they are Satan incarnate.
And, there are too many of these evil agents lurking in our shadows, in our families, at our markets, our schools and our worship places, on our roads, everywhere. In this evil movie of life, no one is spared, either as a villain or victim. Your parent, priest, teacher, boss, partner can damage you behind, and vice versa. Everyone hurts everyone behind, in some ways; no matter whether they worship you or bow and tremble in your presence.
That is the tragedy of the reality we call life: in these times and in this world. Yet, it is all good: let them say what and all that they want behind you. It is their mouth: let them run it. It is their energy: let them waste it.
As for you, rest assured that you are important and feared otherwise no one (compelled by inferiority complex) would disparage you behind. Also, never forget: as long as you are alive, people shall always talk and the same people shall come back under you if they already are not. There is no escape, whatsoever for them and their satanic cohorts (collaborators who encourage or hear and act on falsehood). Finally, please take this home: the one who speaks evil behind permanently remains small, and a loser.
God bless Nigeria!
