SPECTATORS
Odd as it may sound, many people are spectators. They know this but pretend as if it’s not the case.
Chukwugozie and Okechukwu were born to the same parents. The boys were to cause a strong revival in their community, with the help of its other indigenes. Many knew about their birth and their calling, both in their land and in the world beyond them.
Between the boys, the question of who would be the actual deliverer of their community and who would be the destroyer was contentious. Most people in the community were religious and so they got a lot of spiritual information. Their information was mostly from their local deity or from Chukwu, the creator of the universe. In order to discover which of the boys would be the deliverer, the people visited their home regularly. Though the boys were twins, they didn’t look identical so it was easy to differentiate between them. Chukwugozie was born first. Okechukwu followed. For that reason, it was first assumed that Chukwugozie was the deliverer.
Resulting from the assumption that Chukwugozie was to be the deliverer, people initially showed more favour towards him, especially in presenting gifts, with the hope that when he reigned as the deliverer, he would reciprocate their gestures in kind, possibly marrying one of their daughters. The boys were the talk of the town; people couldn’t have a conversation without mentioning either of them. As they grew, Chukwugozie began to have visions of the spiritual world. It started at the age of five and frightened him. Most times, he wondered if he was normal or whether a curse had been placed on him. One day, he saw things that were beyond his understanding so he ran to his aunt, who lived in their family house.
When Chukwugozie’s aunt heard his story and saw the fright on his face, she smiled and told him not to worry, saying that it was common in the Ndi Ofú community and that it was the work of Chukwu, to notify the deliverer and to help rescue the people from impending troubles. “Troubles?” the boy asked. “What kind of troubles?” “…Troubles that are too enormous to bear and countless in number”, replied his aunt, Nneka. “Just rest and with time you will know how to handle and use your gift for good.” Those were her words before she tucked him back in bed. She wondered if Chukwugozie could be the deliverer but as she lay down to sleep, she decided not to tell anyone; not even the boy’s parents.
Troubles! Were there really troubles? Yes, in Ndi Ofú community, there were countless problems people couldn’t mention, like ritual killings for money and power, cannibalism, fraud and all sorts of deception for personal interests, oppression of the poor masses and of the less-privileged in the society, injustice for those who sought fairness and much more. The people cried to Chukwu continually for their land to be redeemed and for Him to raise a deliverer to sustain transformation whenever it occurred.
Most of Ndi Ofú’s rulers were complacent. They cared little about the happenings in their community. Whenever they were elected, they went after their selfish desires and ignored those who sought their assistance. They denied justice to the less-privileged but allowed accused people to go free after collecting bribes that they requested. Those corrupt acts lingered and most people in the community were scared to speak out, for fear of what might happen to them if they did.
The silence of Ndi Ofú’s people was similar to sitting on the fence and watching what was unfolding. Things became so serious that their problems started telling on them. It was not just physical anymore but also spiritual. Some of the people started losing their gifts of seeing visions. Some couldn’t communicate with Chukwu freely anymore and some started practicing diabolical things to have a hold on some power. The wise ones resorted to praying in their closets for the land’s deliverer to arise.
It was quite ironic that the Ndi Ofú people; “people that see visions”, as their name implies, were going through sufferings. Could it be that they were hearing from the wrong god? The truth was that their visions and their interpretations of them were based on the states of their hearts at any given time that they were received. One could get the truth through a vision for the land or a vision for oneself, others or a particular group of people but their interpretation was determinant on whether hatred, bitterness, jealousy, selfishness, malice, lustful or other bad thoughts were lingering in their hearts. An example was the situation between Uzochukwu and Ginika, who were in a relationship. Many times, Uzochukwu would impress Ginika with some truth about happenings in their community, as revealed by Chukwu, as well as with talks on the possibilities of a future for them together. That made Ginika fond of Uzochukwu but the young man became lustful and he convinced her to have sex with him, considering that they were going to marry. After the act, he dumped her and that made the girl confused and insecure, doubting all others who approached her after Uzochukwu, whether or not they claimed to know Chukwu.
Was it that the Ndi Ofú people didn’t know what they were doing? In actual, there were three categories of people in the community: the sheep, the wolves and the wolves in sheep’s clothing. The Sheep were the innocent ones; some were knowledgeable on visions and they interpreted them for the good of people around. Some others were clueless about such. Some did their best to live rightly while others were reckless, making them instruments for evil people. The Ndi Ofú community had a mixture of such people. Most of the Sheep longed to do what was right but their fears limited them so they resorted to prayer, for Chukwu to raise a deliverer from among them.
The wolves had no fear of Chukwu; they were out for their selfish agenda. They used all sorts of things to either manipulate others to do what they wanted or to destroy them for their own benefit; they were rebellious in nature. They did not want to have any association with Chukwu or people who were committed to Him, even when they knew Chukwu was above all. They tried to rub shoulders with Him.
The wolves in sheep’s clothing were those who had ulterior motives for their good actions. They pretended to give a helping hand just so that they could get what they really wanted in the long run. They could claim to have a deep knowledge of the mysteries of Chukwu, to draw a crowd to themselves but it was all deception; they were neither here nor there; they camouflaged themselves according to what was suitable at every moment.
Chukwu, who is ever faithful, answered the prayers of Ndi Ofú. He told them about the family through which he would deliver Ndi Ofu. That was where the matter of Chukwugozie and Okechukwu came to play because their family was pointed at by Chukwu, as the one that would raise the deliverer for Ndi Ofú community’s problems. As the people watched the boys, Chukwugozie seemed more likely to be the deliverer; he was more concerned with the things of Chukwu; he was a well-behaved young lad and one who sought deep spiritual truth, unlike his brother who was stubborn and rebellious, with no care for spiritual matters.
As people spoke about the future and what might play out, it seemed they knew it all but all they knew were bits and pieces. They gathered many followers to themselves. They speculated that in the house of the deliverer, one child would be good and the other bad. Most of the good people couldn’t do much but wait for the deliverer to be revealed; they observed to see which of the boys would be good and which one would be bad. It was not easy to tell though because Okechukwu was transforming as he was coming of age.
In order not to be misguided, the Ndi Ofú people made the two boys leaders in different areas in the community. Both boys provided leadership independently. The aim was to observe them separately. If any of them declared something as a prophecy from Chukwu, the people would see if it came to pass. When one of the boys was seen to be right, the people moved towards that one as though he was the deliverer. When a prophecy made by the other came to pass, the people shifted again towards him. It happened regularly.
The wise ones among the Ndi Ofú people sought after Chukwu, rather than wait for the deliverer. The more they sought after Him, the more He revealed Himself to them and spoke to them through visions, dreams, and into their hearts. As they were guided by Chukwu, they began to teach people how to hear from Him and how to interpret visions they received from Him. It was challenging for them because they were not getting immediate results but they kept at it, believing that it would eventually yield fruit.
The influence of the bad people in the land increased and so at a point, Okechukwu stepped down from his position and went to a nearby country to learn why his community was failing, in spite of the gifts his people were endowed with. Unknown to him, he couldn’t learn or understand things from another land because his land was peculiar. The burden of leadership became too much for Chukwugozie. When most people expected more from him as the supposed deliverer, he ran away and settled in another land. There, he got married. He and his wife had children and were away from the watchful eyes of the people of Ndi Ofú.
It seemed as though all hope was lost for the Ndi Ofú people. Evil continued unabated and expanded all around the community. The only people that withstood and opposed evil were the wise ones and their followers. The Ndi Ofú people wondered among themselves whether the prophecies about a deliverer were true after all. “Did Chukwu lie? Is there really a deliverer?” they asked. Some gave in to evil practices. Some others sat back and watched. Many people either did good or bad; whichever was favourable at any moment. A few others joined the wise group and their number increased.
While Okechukwu was away, he realised there was not much he could get towards providing a solution to his people’s problems so he returned home. Upon returning, he observed that things had gotten worse and were unbearable. What could he do? He found help in the company of the wise ones among the Ndi Ofú people. They taught him a lot of things, such as how to hear from Chukwu, how to discover his gifts and talents and how to use those gifts for the good of the land. As time went on, Okechukwu gained mastery of the abilities he had acquired and he began to train his people on leadership. He told the people that Chukwu had an important role in the transformation of the Ndi Ofú community. People began to accept his teachings and to trust Chukwu to fulfil His word in their lifetime.
When it looked like their misery was over and a ray of hope was beginning to appear, the wicked people ganged up and accused the good leaders of responsibility for the problems in the community, bringing about a division among the people. It brought about a setback for Okechukwu and his followers because some gains in receiving their trust were lost with the accusations, especially among the followers who were never really sure about what to do. Those followers were not steady. They would support one person and follow them for some time but in another moment, they would change their minds.
Okechukwu collaborated more with the wise people in the land. He called on his brother, Chukwugozie, to return to the community. They worked out a plan: the wise people did what they knew best, Okechukwu continued his role of training leaders and Chukwugozie taught people on how to interpret and utilise the visions they received from Chukwu. It was a three-fold cord that could not be broken. They began to expose the wicked acts of the wicked political officials in the land, holding them accountable for their actions and removing those who were unfruitful in their jobs, especially the influential ones who got their wealth from unlawful practices. Such wicked people were questioned thoroughly.
People in Ndi Ofú began to sit up because they didn’t know who was watching them, to bring them to book. Those who would have naturally done evil began to do good and those who always desired to do good, did it freely. All like a dream, Ndi Ofú community changed for good with people marvelling at its accomplishments and how Chukwu transformed it to what it eventually became.
Written
By
Ikenna I. Anyadike
Edited by Chukwudifu Onianwa, of ChuDifu Projects
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