My Brother’s Keeper
The problem with being a Nigerian is that, delightful as it is, it sometimes dulls the senses. And before you bring out the knives, let me explain!
The first time I witnessed a peaceful-demonstration-gone-awry in London, the police were at a definite disadvantage. I matter-of-factly asked, "Where are the riot police?"
Trouble was, it was mid-afternoon, in the office. A staid do-things-by-the-book English office. Everyone in my section swung round, more confused than me; everyone except for Seb, that is, who thought it was hilarious. An ex-soldier, he'd been thinking exactly the same thing.
We spent the next two hours discussing the efficacy of water canons - a strange but deeply satisfactory bonding moment which horrified our colleagues!
Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I could hear CNN in the background, reporting that The Joker on Pennsylvania Avenue was sending troops to certain key cities under the guise of maintaining law and order. And my first thought was, "They really need a coup". Now do you see my problem?
I could blame myself. I could say that my innate cynicism is down to the childhood trauma of living under military rule. (Cos, let's face it folks, that many soldiers on the streets in most counties tells you that a man in uniform has a stranglehold over your fate, albeit behind the scenes...)
Or cry wolf and intimate that I've been thrown a teensy weensy bit off kilter by the indelible picture of uniforms that shout camouflage, boots that cry pain, and weapons that scream war…
Prosaically or poetically put, truth be told, if I am spinning on an axis of gloom and doom, it might be because of a very suspicious trend. You see, society's 'underdogs' seem to be in the process of being deliberately eliminated, and it's a tad diabolical.
The Irish once rid themselves of their political prisoners by shipping them off to Australia. The Chinese don't much like the Uighurs, so they're 're-educating' them in Xinjiang. Daesh despises the Yazidis, so makes it their mission to massacre their men and sexually enslave their women. Hitler wanted an Aryan race, and near annihilated the Jewish population in Germany. And now it's open-season when it comes to people of colour in many countries; already tainted by colonialism, but doing their utmost to keep the confederate and empire flags flying.
The fact that it appears to be sudden, shows how insidious it's been. As if we were all lulled to sleep, and woke up to find that the dying embers of World War II were never fully extinguished, but stirred up and blown into the four corners of the world.
The first time I tried to read the book of Job, a few verses into chapter two I decided Christianity wasn't really for me. I'm not usually a big fan of the traditional translations of the Bible, however in this case only the NKJV does this particular verse justice:
And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”*
Other versions use words like "wandering", "roaming" and "roving" which makes it sound like the dawg was on a walking tour of the Alps, or exploring the Atacama Desert. Really?! Have you ever seen British forensic teams searching for evidence?!! About a dozen people link arms and scrutinise every square inch of the area involved. To and fro, back and forth are studied and deliberate movements. He wasn't playing then and he isn't playing now.
In his epistle, James - brother of Jesus - tells us that if we resist the devil, he will flee. As is the norm, this verse is almost always quoted out of context, i.e. without a 'before' or 'after'. Which is why, though at times overly simplistic, the after (verse 8) in The Message version is very apt: "So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time."
Well, let's see where we are with that? Not doing anything bad, but not doing anything good either. Perhaps our present predicament is a direct result of this subtle form of passive resistance. If we ignore anything remotely uncomfortable or distressing there's a great possibility it will go away, or at the very least not taint us. Er...hello folks! I can tell you from firsthand experience, that never works. Even if it does disappear, it comes back twice as strong and much more damaging.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to one thing. And so, every morning, I wake up and “smell the coffee” afresh, realising that no matter the brew, the flavour has got to be love.
Am I my brother's keeper? Too right! Should I perhaps be speaking up or stepping out so that he sees he’s not alone? Errrr, I think so!! Time to leap from one Testament to the next and shout a resounding, "Yes!!!"
*Job2:2NKJV #James4:7TheMessage #Genesis4:1-12 #Matthew22:39 #Genesis1:27 #2Corinthians2:11