Column: In 2 016! by Kenneth Jude

Ufot Ekong

Each New Year comes with its own fair share of challenges, visions, desires and aspirations. Some of the challenges are ones that we can attempt and successfully surmount if we apply wisdom and the right template. Other challenges are natural and will always come our way no matter the stiff opposition we put up. It is pretty difficult to keep such challenges at bay. They are not man-made, they always happen and no force under the sun can do anything about it. Example is the rain that will come when it wants without requiring any human permission. How about earth quakes and other tragedies that rear their ugly heads even when we pray and bind such calamities from befalling us? At times, we are left wondering if God is no longer with us or alive.

As humans, that is how we are configured and it is natural for one to always think this way. Our belief is that when we have prayed, everything should ordinarily work out well and smoothly for us. So, when the opposite happens, all hell is let loose. We curse everything and blame anything within sight.
The sun will always shine to every human person, whether good or bad. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that the sun has come hence no one can do anything to stop it from shining. One can only put up something to serve as a shade but to stop the sun from shinning is absolutely beyond human prowess. This means that there are certain things we can control and there are others we just can’t irrespective of how powerful one thinks he is. This is a natural law.  Talk of money. It is an essential thing everyone desires at every given time yet it does not come at all times. At times, it pours in in droves yet at other times, it disappears leaving you to wonder how cruel it can be especially when you are in dire need of it to carter for a pressing need.
In all of these, one thing we can’t run away from is the fact that we just cannot have everything at our own beck and call. If we have everything in life when we want, how we want it, the quality and quantity of what we want and all of that, we may take the place of God in the world and in our lives for granted. That is for sure. If man was given the powers to determine where and when rain should fall, when and how the sun should shine, the power to control the air we breathe, there is a little doubt that he would have misused and abused the opportunity. Apart from the fact that he would have abandoned God having had and all these knowledge, man would have used it to bring terror and mayhem on his fellow man. For the air, he would have caused his staunch enemy not to breathe it, or better still, if the “thing’’ was to be sold, he would have made the price so exorbitant such that it will beyond the reach of many.
For the rain, he would have ensured that it rains heavily on the residence of his foe for weeks if not months until properties running into thousands are gone. He would have made sure that the surroundings of his tormentor(s) are flooded so much that one will need the aid of a Boat to wade through. For the Sun, he would have steadied it and directed it on the head and skin of those he does not like. If a politician is given this kind of opportunity, imagine the devastation that would have befallen his opponents. That would have been the easiest means to wage war on political adversaries since the act will be interpreted as a natural disaster hence no one will blame anybody for being responsible for any untoward fate that will come the way of dissident and recalcitrant politicians.
That is why we should not overburden our minds on the things we can’t change rather we should dissipate our energy and time on what we can do to move our state and country forward. The year 2015 has come and is gone. There is no contending the fact that there are things we wanted to achieve. Many would have vowed to end the year married. Others had intentions and strong desires of buying a new car, building a new house, starting a business, getting a well paying job in an increasingly difficult environment and so many other things that I can’t enumerate one after the other. All these are good and in order. But it becomes abnormal when we don’t give ourselves a break. When we think that God has abandoned us even when the Holy Book says that God will never abandon His children even when a nursing mother abandons her suckling baby, we should retrace our thoughts. The undeniable fact is that humans are hard to please. Whatever good you do to them, any day you do badly, all the good things you did are forgotten pronto. You are called names and castigated with scant abandon.
When we turn away from God because what we desired in the out gone year did not see the light of day, then we have derailed. We commit an unpardonable faux pas. When we abandon our faith and begin to seek help from things and evil powers, then we are done for. As a Christian, there is no law that says one will be free from troubles and problems for being a Christian or born again. To the best of my knowledge, such law does not exist. The problem with most Christians is the gross lack of faith and patience. This is our albatross. That is why the Devil is quick to exploit this Achilles Heel to his advantage. It’s not every young person that is a cultist today would have loved to be there without any compelling factor in electing to join a secret society that thrives on evil practices and superstition.
Many, given a second chance would denounce their membership and declare for a Christ. But they are lured into it by situations and patchy circumstances. When he wants to eat and there is no food, he thinks of one evil thing to do in order to eat. See; never neglect the power of hunger. If hunger were to be an easy meat to chew, why did Esau sell his birthright to his younger brother Jacob? His action was propelled by hunger. He looked left, right and centre and there was no food. He peered into the future and nothing was in sight to quench the excruciating situation, he was left with little or no choice but to do away with his inalienable right. For a plate of food, he denounced his position as the first born. He was able to satisfy his urge but he lost something bigger.
This scenario, no doubt, still plays out in our world today. Is it not why we say that a lazy mind is a devil’s workshop? While lack or absence of food is no justification for crime, there is no doubting the fact that hunger nurtures the urge to perpetrate evil and something heinous. Those who help themselves to wraps of marijuana do so ostensibly to gain influence and forget some bad situations of life. But much to their chagrin, the more weed the smoke, the more the coast of their problems and worries expand in exponential proportion! So, what we need in this New Year is to get our priorities right. Let the Dakkada creed we are professing with so much passion not be a political phrase. We must bring the creed to bear in all areas of our lives, economy and the state.
The Government of the day must rise to work and be seen to be doing so. Let us keep away from issues that will drag us several steps backwards and look into the presence with a bid to putting things in proper order to serve as a springboard that will usher in a blissful future for this generation and those unborn. Let’s not ignite fire with the intention to burn those we perceive as enemies only to find out that even our bosom friends are caught up in the inferno. What we cannot do, let us leave it to God. Are we not commanded to cast our burdens on Him and He will save us? Have we forgotten that He created us out of His own image and likeness? This says a lot and shows that God is with us. So, let’s not engage our brains in too many worries about what we did not achieve in the past year and focus on what we can do in 2016.
When one falls, it doesn’t mean he has failed, but you only fail when you chose to remain there instead of dusting yourself and standing to a bright and better future that lie ahead. Let’s not be myopic. Let’s put off the lenses that cover us from seeing the endless possibilities that awaits us and put on the armour and garb of positivity and optimism. If we want, this New Year can be one that we will have unfathomable testimonies because of what is in store for us. We can turn the years of lamentation to celebration, shame to fame, failure to success, chronic illness to perpetual good health; you can go and gain acceptability where you suffered rejection.
A hired killer or assassin can say enough is enough. He can say no to killing fellow humans no matter how much is involved. The person that sends them to slaughter others should take it upon themselves and their children to do the job. But since it is a fresh beginning, we urge them to desist from it and embrace peace and brotherhood. This is the chord we need to remain one and succeed as a people. Beating the drums of war and fanning the embers of ethnicity is an ill wind that blows no one any good.
Let our politicians sheathe their swords. They should know that politics is not a do or die affair. Except there is something there that will cause one to die and wipe away one’s entire family if he doesn’t occupy a certain position, all should embrace peace and pursue their objectives with the fear of God and in respect to the rule of law and humanity. May our youths no longer beg to eat. May they live meaningful lives and bring prestige and honour to their families. Let’s not have youths that don’t think. Let’s not have youths that will roam the streets daily without any means of livelihood. Let our youths not expend their energies on frivolities but rather channel their agility and ability to productive ventures.
Let our politicians not take us for a ride any more. May we not be deceived by their sweet nothings. May we not respond when they ask us to go and kill, maim and destroy. Let them repent for good and desist from the politics of deceit, falsehood, hatred and selfishness. Let this year be our year of triumph and victory. Let’s give God all the praise for His cares and faithfulness in the out gone. But for Him, we would have gone with the raging tide of evil and monstrosity in the year. He saved us. Leave the past for you can’t go into the future looking g back. Let everybody and sector in the state arise and work for a better, more prosperous and beneficial 2016. It’s our year! Welcome!