THE PAIN, THE GAIN AND THE MEMORY

Permit me to borrow a leaf from this biblical reference in 2Maccabees 6: 18 – 31 “Eleazar, one of the scribes in high position, a man now advanced in age and of noble presence, was being forced to open his mouth to eat swine’s flesh. But he, welcoming death with honor rather than life with pollution, went up to the rack of his own accord, spitting out the flesh, as men ought to go who have the courage to refuse things that it is not right to taste, even for the natural love of life. Those who were in charge of that unlawful sacrifice took the man aside, because of their long acquaintance with him, and privately urged him to bring meat of his own providing, proper for him to use, and pretend that he was eating the flesh of the sacrificial meal which had been commanded by the king, so that by doing this he might be saved from death, and be treated kindly on account of his old friendship with them. But making a high resolve, worthy of his years and the dignity of his old age and the gray hairs which he had reached with distinction and his excellent life even from childhood, and moreover according to the holy God-given law, he declared himself quickly, telling them to send him to Hades.”Such a pretense is not worthy of our time of life,” he said, “lest many of the young should suppose that Eleazar in his ninetieth year has gone over to an alien religion, and through my pretense, for the sake of living a brief moment longer, they should be led astray because of me, while I defile and disgrace my old age. For even if I should avoid the punishment of men at present , yet whether I live or die I shall not escape the hands of the Almighty. Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now, I will show myself worthy of my old age and leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws… “So in this way he died, leaving in his death an example of nobility and a memorial of courage, not only to the young but to the great body of his nation”. Consequence upon the above biblical reading, I like to borrow from the recent incidence in our immediate environs. Recently or all in the past, we read of the efforts of the heroes past. We read of the late ones and the living legends. We heard at a point or the other watched movies about attempts made by some people somewhere in the past to reshape the society. You remember these freedom fighters? Harry T. Moore who was instrumental in registering black voters, giving Florida more African Americans at the ballot boxes than any other state. On Christmas night 1951, the evening of their 25th wedding anniversary, Harry and his wife, Harriette, were killed from injuries sustained in the explosion of a bomb under their house. James Chaney a man who promoted a volunteering for the Congress of Racial Equality? Malcolm X who was killed on February 21, 1965, while on stage giving a speech in Manhattan, he was rushed and shot 15 times by three gunmen? Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 4, 1968, King was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Nelson Mandela and his fight against apartheid and his imprisonment? Chris Hani, the South African Communist Party, who was eventual assassinated? Steve Biko a founder of the ‘black consciousness’ movement who eventually died in jail? Among them are Azikwe, Awolowo, and Ahmadu Bello till recent MKO who all fought and died. I remember Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Gani Fawehinmi, Enahoro, Beko kuti, Tai solarin among others. Still, there is one man who saved us from the Liberia type of civil war. That type of sierra leaone war. There is one man who did not allow the genocide type we all heard of in Rwanda or the recent Zulus type in South Africa. He is clueless though brave in defeat ,Goodluck is the name. I so ask, among many past leaders, how many of them could have stand tall to save us from the crisis which could have crippled our unity and led us back to another scampering war? We may not give it to him because, of his gentleness though, he saved us many blood. All we have today is nothing defer from greediness. Self-serving,deceit,Pretense and empty promises. It is good and right to quote that the CHANGE PROMISE is fast CHANGING from good transformation to bad. Still, we hope to get it right one day no matter how long it may take. Abraham Olusegun Adeleye Writes from Okemesi Ekiti