_(First Published in Daily Independent on January 8, 2015, to mark my birthday, December 24).
From the seeming endless valleys of travails; to the promising heights of triumphs, December 24 affords me a rare opportunity to reflect on the journey of my life so far. It is also an avenue to envision the fortunes, hopes and desires of a future that holds great promise. It is no doubt a period to ponder, especially the physical thistles and the psychological hardness of a journey of life which, in many instances, has attempted to dilute my faith; and to speak to the time to come with the certitude of fun and cheer.
As I celebrate another year of life, I am reminded of the importance of gratitude and appreciation. It is a time to reflect on those who have positively impacted my life, and I am grateful for their presence. One person who comes to mind is my late grandmother, Ajiweda Ola Komolafe, whose strength, skill, and tireless efforts helped shape me into the person I am today. Grandma did her best for me and I remain eternally grateful! And, to my treasured parents and wonderful siblings, my lovely wife, my two little kids, and, indeed, all those who, despite the winding and the wearisome nature of the journey, have continued to unquestioningly assure me that the One who made me would never leave me helpless, I say, ‘The end is not now!’
Lou Erickson describes life as “a taxi” whose “meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still.” If this is true, then, “what is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visiteth him?” Indeed, what is in this sad, sick and insane world that mortals remember their dates of birth with so much pomp and pageantry? As a matter of fact, is life worth its struggles?
In her book, ‘Empress’, Shan Sa describes life as “a transparent pearl, a star revolving slowly on its own axis.” To Thomas Carlyle, life is “not really a mutual helpfulness” but a “fair competition cloaked under due laws of war.” In Jarod Kintz’s view, the year of one’s birth marks only his “entry into the world” while other years where he proves his worth “are the ones worth celebrating.” To Sholom Aleichem, this “mutual hostility” is “a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor.”
Crowfoot’s poignant description of life on his deathbed in 1890 – a “flash of a firefly in the night”, “the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime”, and “the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset” – underscores the fleeting nature of human existence. This perspective is echoed by Henry Longfellow, who views age as an opportunity for growth, albeit in a different form. As Longfellow beautifully puts it, “as the evening twilight fades away, the sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.” This wisdom is reminiscent of the Psalmist’s prayer, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”.
More than forty years ago, this man was born into this fated part of the wide, wild world. As I was later in life told, Nigeria’s morning as an independent nation was safe, healthy and functional. It was indeed a garden where all kinds of flowers could grow and glow, far better than what has now become her defining characteristic. No thanks to her formerly-shoeless-now-clueless handlers. Although I did not know how Nigeria’s ‘no victor, no vanquished’ unCivil War was fought and won, I grew up to learn that the roles played by the Obafemi Awolowos, the Nnamdi Azikiwes and the Ahmadu Bellos helped a great deal in keeping us together as a nation and cementing our relationship as a people bound together by a common faith.
Again, I remember Nigeria, the land of my birth and I ask why the Father Christmas of those thrilling days has suddenly lost the essence of his gifts and why dear fatherland has become one big racket where people opportunistically search for charades that only stagger their imagination? Unfortunately, our current leaders lack the integrity of past leaders like Awolowo, For obvious reasons, they are deficient in the sacred characteristic of distinguishing between the theory of their credo and the actuality of their praxis, and that has led us to where we are today.
Just like the famous Siamese twins, our politicians control our country’s affairs, leaving us to watch in dismay as Nigeria hemorrhages from the failure of structure and scattered organogram. Strangely, ours has become a mysterious country, comprising crafty characters and men with no fixed identity, in whose eyes traveling on a straight course amounts to a sin. In our fated clime, cake-sharing camp followers are generously rewarded for wallowing in fatal paradoxes while statesmen are labeled alarmists and secessionists for daring to denounce cluelessness in governance.
Charles Swindoll was right: “Anything under God’s control is never out of control.” So, Eternal Rock of Ages, as I take yet another bold step into the journey of my life, teach me to live with You, not without You. Prince of Peace, my times are in Your hands, let me not come into this world in vain. Protect me and protect Your interest in my life, and let the remaining part of my years on earth be filled with unstoppable testimonies.
My Lord and my God, teach me how not to live like Methuselah whose only known accomplishment was longevity but grant me the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live an impactful life like William Marconi who ended up being the inventor of Wireless Telegraphy. The Fourth Man in the Furnace, create in me the spirit of love and make my life as exciting as lives and times of Maximilien de Robespierre, Raoul Wallenberg, Lech Walesa, Nelson Mandela, William Stephenson and Awolowo who have variously demonstrated that age could never be an impediment to making the world a better place to live in.
Our Help in Ages Past, Your miraculous intervention in the situation of Samaria is a ready assurance that there’s still hope for Nigeria. Therefore, even if a whole destiny at present seems broken, give us hope of a greater Nigeria, of a country that will neither wear out nor rust out, and of a country gloriously conquering, not miserably failing. In Your infinite mercy, give us a leadership that works, and a country that will bang-up, not hang-up.
O Lord God of Elijah, teach our leaders to learn from the tragic and fatal mistakes of Kings Nebuchadnezzar, Ahab and Saul! Let them encounter You like Saul, that “zealous” Pharisee who “intensely persecuted” the followers of Jesus, on his way to Damascus. The Helper of the Helpless, take away from us all ‘while men slept’ challenges and give us leaders who have honour and leaders who will not lie!
Consolation of Israel, I have cried in the past, but I don’t want to cry anymore! So, The Balm of Gilead, the only One that makes the wounded whole, into Your able hands I commend my future: as I continue on this divinely-ordained path of valuable worth and perennial validity, teach me to sculpt my existence into something bright, beautiful and interesting, to the extent that, peradventure, this “uncharted territory” is flashed before my eyes, it will be worth watching.
And because He lives, powers, assigned to ridicule me before men, I am not your candidate. BACKFIRE!
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