By Fr Pat Amobi Chukwuma
A shadow is the image of a human being or a non-living thing cast by sunlight, moonlight or any bright light. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English succinctly defines shadow as “a dark shape that someone or something makes on a surface when they are between that surface and the light.” It resembles the being or the object in appearance.
Its colour is black. There is no difference between the shadow of a white man and a black man. Or have you seen a white shadow? A shadow is short at noon and you can stand directly on it. As the day runs by, it stretches. By 5.00pm it becomes as tall as a palm tree. I remember vividly as a child how we used to chase our shadows at play times during the day or at night during moonlight.
As we run, our shadows also run ahead of each of us. Whatever we do, it also does so. When we stop, it stops. When we march on it aggressively, it repeats the aggression on us. Unfortunately, neither of us was able to catch one’s shadow. Hence, the chasing was always in vain.
I do not know whether it is a fact or a superstition that spirits even if they appear in human form do not have shadows. Thus I have been keen to come across a ghost in human flesh to confirm the belief. Unluckily I have never seen any. Traditionally, it is assumed that masquerades are spirits.
But I am not convinced because I have observed times without number that masquerades have shadows. Even corpses have shadows. I am still watching out for any human being or ghost without shadow. Kindly alert me whenever you come across any.
Chasing of shadow is a useless venture. Facing the reality is expedient. There is the story of a housewife who married a very wicked man. The wicked husband beats her at the least provocation. After weeping painfully, she retaliates by mercilessly slapping the picture of her husband. One day she vowed to set him on fire so that she can have respite from the hell called marriage.
When she was sure that the heartless husband was not at home, she set up firewood and placed her husband’s enlarged picture on top of the wood. Then she poured enough kerosene on it and set it on fire. As the inferno raged, she was binding and casting. She shouted, “Fire! Fire!! Fire!!! Go to blazes wicked animal called husband!” As the fired husband was coming back home, he heard the extraordinary shouting. He hurried to the backyard from where the shouting was emanating.
When the vexed wife suddenly saw him, she ran away through the back door. The husband saw his image burning ferociously. He raised his voice after her, “Foolish woman, if you are courageous, come and burn me alive!” He used fire extinguisher and quenched the raging inferno. But it was too late. His enlarged picture has been burnt to ashes. An image was burnt but the reality remains. This is chasing of shadow. Till today, the wife on the run has not come back home, because she knows the penalty awaiting her. It will be a do or die duel.
Where am I heading to? An elderly priest I worked with at Abagana would always ask the congregation at every moment of his homily, “Do you know where Father Nwadiugwu is going?” The congregants always replied, “Yes, father!” or “No, father!” Then he would make some clarifications where there was doubt or proceeded if the coast was clear. Are you with me?
A common adage says that a person whose house is on fire does not chase rat. Our country Nigeria is immersed in consuming inferno which has snatched thousands of innocent lives since the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came to power two years ago. His predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari promised during his electioneering campaign that if voted into power, he would defeat terrorism in six months.
He spent complete eight years without fulfilling his promise. Instead of being defeated, terrorism multiplied. Tinubu came on board with the promise of “renewed hope”. We are yet to see the hope. Instead, hopelessness is the order of the day.
If I were President Tinubu, I would concentrate on tackling insecurity head on. I had expected him on assumption of power to organize security summit and budget substantial amount of money on security each year. What is the essence of constructing coastal road from Lagos to Calabar which gulfs billions of Naira when those to coast on the road are being killed on daily basis? Is it not chasing of shadow? Perhaps the ghosts of Nigerians will utilize the coastal road on vengeance mission when it is completed.
About two months ago, terrorists slaughtered over one hundred innocent villagers in Plateau State. Blood was flowing like a river. As if enough is not enough, the terrorists continued unabated to commit worst atrocity in Benue State, the Food Basket of the Nation; whereby millions of innocent people have been sent to their untimely graves. The governor of the State, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia, is just helpless. I blame him for venturing into politics at the first place.
As a priest he may not have the courage to deal decisively with the bloody monsters. I earnestly pray for him and the wailing citizens of the State. Many lives have been lost. The fear of the unknown is roaming about in the entire Benue State. The basket and its food contents have been destroyed by the heartless terrorists. Acute hunger will consume the surviving citizens of the State and the Nation as a whole.
When people are lamenting that the rat bit someone to death, the lizard went to sharpen its teeth. The people of Benue State were still grieving from previous bloody attacks from terrorists and bandits when the worst happened few days ago in Yelwata Community of the State. The invading terrorists struck again and left about 200 villagers (men, women, youths and children) dead.
Their lives were cut short during the night when they were in bed. Their blood is still flowing like enormous flood into River Benue since the fateful night. Many wounded and maimed villagers are lying critically in hospital. Governor Alia is moody and speechless. The people of the State are mourning and confused where to run to. This prompted President Tinubu to reschedule his itinerary to pay condolence visit to the State.
He visited the wounded victims at the hospital. It was reported that bad roads could not permit him to reach the place of the atrocity. He should have used a chopper. Or was he afraid of being attacked? This neglect prompted the tearful people of Yelwata to name the mass grave where their innocent beloved ones were buried as Tinubu Cemetery. However, President Tinubu held stakeholders’ meeting with the grieved selected citizens of the State, including the Security Chiefs.
The Tor of Tiv articulated their sentiments by stating the facts and figures. During his response, President Tinubu directed a pertinent question to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, “Why has no arrest been made?” The IGP opened his mouth and closed it without any meaningful words uttered. The President insisted that arrest must be made. Thus he mandated the Security Chiefs to go after the merciless terrorists.
I understand that the terrorists came on motorbikes. How did they go free? Are they ghosts? Where do they come from? There must be local accomplices, because it is the rat at home that told the wild rat in the forest that there is fish in the basket at home. Who finances and arms the terrorists heavily? Until the rotten tooth is pulled out, the mouth must continue to chew with caution.
The Executive and the Legislative Arms of Government are playing politics when the Nation is burning. The sole and urgent Bill Nigerians want now before the National Assembly and on the President’s table is Bill on how to secure the lives of the Nigerian masses. Security is more important than politicking. Defecting from one party to the ruling party is of no use to the starving and dying Nigerians.
Pursuing the 2027 Electoral Agenda now is chasing of shadow. What happens if all the electorates are killed by bandits and terrorists before 2027? The Presidency and Legislature should concentrate on governance for now. Securing the lives of helpless Nigerians is more important than securing the 2027 political tickets.
The President, governors and lawmakers move with tight security while the poor masses move with none. Are we in the Animal Farm where the lives of the leaders are more important than the lives of over 200 million masses? Will Nigerians vote from their graves in 2027? Time shall tell.
