By Malachy Uzendu
On Tuesday, March 5, I addressed a letter to the dreaded Corona Virus, detailing my personal convictions about how he should treat, especially here in Nigeria, certain characters and personalities. I think I was mistaken. I did not advert to the fact that Corona Virus is son of the devil. In devil’s colony, we were told, there is no mercy. It is a place where might is right; where endless suffering is the norm; where, according to the Bible, there is unparalleled pain and gnashing of teeth.
As on 10:40 pm Saturday, April 18, we had recorded 2,281,714 covid-19 cases world-wide and 159,511 deaths. Here in Nigeria, we recorded 49 new cases, bringing total infections to 542, with 23 in Lagos, 12 in FCT and 10 in Kano. Of the number, 166 positive patients were discharged, while 19 people unfortunately bowed to the cold hands of death. Among the dead, the hitherto Chief of Staff to the President, Alhaji Abba Kyari, was the most prominent public official.
And so, with due humility and in total reverence God, I appeal to you to withdraw and bring to naught the letter dated March 5, which I addressed to the wicked corona virus. I had listed the category and character trait of personalities who should be visited by it: economic saboteurs, election riggers, sponsors of killer herdsmen, hired killers, kidnappers and their foot soldiers, political prostitutes who unscrupulously change political parties like wrapper simply for selfish desires, corrupt public and civil servants, and all those who illegally import small arms and light weapons, thereby fuelling insurgency as well as people who seem to be moving dynamite illegally that have led to inexplicable deaths and destruction of property in parts of the country.
When I wrote that noxious letter dear God, there was no single incident of corona virus in Nigeria. But in a little over one month, we are witnessing a tsunami of deaths already, with several people feared to have contracted the deadly virus but are either ignorant of their status, or are unscrupulously hiding same and are wreaking havoc stealthily. We have lost some doctors and several medics who risked their lives to attend to covid-19carriers. We have several innocent subordinate staff of some of these carriers who inadvertently have been infected because they diligently carried out their official duties. There must be several unknown character of covid-19: all those okada, keke, and commercial vehicle riders, businessmen, professionals and artisans, who due to no fault of theirs, have become consequential victims of covid-19 and unfortunately, are not yet aware of their status.
According to your words in Psalm 130:3 – “If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, then, who shall survive”. Since were statements composed by your bosom friend, David, whom you said occupies a prime place after your heart, I hereby plead with you dear God, to remember the irreversibility of these words. Should you Lord allow covid-19 continue on a fluoric as a result of the intransigence of few individuals and the ignorance of the majority, then devils kingdom will reign and it would appear that your words in the Gospel according to St. Mark 13:22 in reference to the end times where you clearly said that “no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even angels in heaven or the son, but only the Father”, have been rendered senile. This is impossible.
Dear God, you permitted to be written through inspiration in the Book of 2 Chronicle 7:14 – “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”.
Kindly oh Lord, hear us and save humanity. We are really sorry for our sins. We are sorry that we have steadily debased the environment, your most valued creation after the human being. We are sorry that some human beings engage in homosexual activity; that some are lesbians; that some have become shamefully, transgender individuals; that some people have tampered with the natural course of the creation of man, your most treasured, whom you devoted time to make on the sixth day of creation saying in Genesis 1:26 – “let Us make man in Our image and likeness”.
We have transgressed and ignorantly attempted to play God, even though it is impossible. Some of us erroneously believe they can replicate You, to the extent that some so-called esoteric scientists are making futile attempts at replicating human parts; some very wicked human beings on the other hand, have equally turned cannibals; some embarking on a new trend of slavery, replicating the stone age activities reminiscent of the Hobbes state of nature, thereby subjugating your hallowed commandments – “Thou shall not kill”.
Here in Nigeria, covid-19 has made us come together once again as a nation, subsuming all our biases and prejudices, our tribes and religion; the high and the low; the rich and the poor; the haves and have-nots. We no longer hear of mindless, unbridled grandiloquence and “what-can-you-do, the-more-you-look-the-less-you-see” attitude and empty diversionary drama sometimes emanating from the National Assembly; the “who-are-you” posture by some persons occupying sensitive portfolio at the executive arm of government, and the “we-are-infallible-and-therefore-final” pomposity of certain people in the judiciary.
Before our eyes, every essence of democracy in Nigeria was being abused. Our law enforcement agencies were gradually unfortunately degenerating in the orgy for breaking the law. Our university dons and teachers at all level were gradually decimating their time-honoured prestige as moulders of the future, to abusers of character and learning. We now have chief executive officers who thrive in turning the rules and procedure upside down and exhibit peacock attitude unabashedly. This is to the extent that we are growing an army of discontent people in our society, and unfortunately are gradually brewing a time bomb that could explode and compel us to learn the hard way.
Our transgressions are a legion. But merciful God, since you promised that you are the |God of mercy, hear us from your abode in heaven, heal our land of corona and other virus and restore the joy of our salvation. If you do not immediately hearken to my pleas and turn us away from our pomposity, we shall be consumed in no time. We have learnt our lessons, we are sorry and we shall sin no more.
