Discovering Calvary

PROLOGUE “You have to listen to me!” he screamed, tears rolling down his eyes. “Please listen to me,” he continued pleading with the people wandering aimlessly. “The end has come! The end has come! We need to repent! The time is here! Please, give your life to Christ!” He was in the middle of Wuse Market Centre. The sky was dark, there was no sun. A feeling of restlessness in the atmosphere as if the spirit of peace had left the earth. People walked around, rushing everywhere but heading nowhere. His pleading fell on deaf ears, as people continued their zombie like movement, unperturbed by the sight of a man kneeling, crying, and screaming for repentance. Like the prophets of old, Samuel continued screaming in his already hoarse voice. “Repent! Please. Let’s turn back to Christ! He will forgive us. Jesus died for our sins. Please repent, turn back!” Samuel tries reaching out to a young man dressed in a pristine designer suite. “This is the time to repent and turn to God, Sir,” he entreats. “Please turn to Jesus, the Saviour of our soul, repent!” The young man, appalled by Samuel’s audacity, wrests his wrist from his hold; and as he does that, Samuel sees the number 666 imprinted on the young man’s wrist. Immediately, Samuel lets go of the wrist like he had just touched fire. As if on cue, sirens start blaring; there was noise everywhere. Men and women dressed like Roman soldiers Samuel used to see in ancient Roman movies, dropped down combo-style from an object which looked like one of those identified flying objects (IFOs) he saw in movies – round like a disk, with neon flashing lights. The soldiers looked angry and menacing. They had dangerous whips with which they used to flog everyone in sight, at no provocation. The whip looked like the type known as ‘scorpion’ which Samuel recalled seeing the soldiers use to flog Jesus, in the Passion of the Christ movie. Samuel could not understand what was happening. Everything looked, seemed, and felt strange. Why the commotion? Why the number 666? “Is this rapture?” Samuel asked himself. “Have I been left behind?” As Samuel tried to comprehend his situation, Roman soldiers on separate hover boards speed towards him, with their whip mid-air, ready to strike him. Looking straight at those terrifying eyes and understanding the imminent pain, Samuel tries to shield his head with his arms, screaming “Nooooo!!!” CHAPTER ONE Samuel was born into a Christian family. His parents believed they were sound Christians and affirmed the same whenever the need arose. Whenever Mr. Chukwuma Okorie, Samuel’s father, filled in any form, he was always proud and happy to write ‘Christianity’ in the religion section. He had no iota of doubt in his mind that he was well qualified to identify himself as a Christian. His parents had been Christians. In fact, his father, Mazi Kalu Okorie, was one of the first people to accept Christianity when the Scottish missionaries appeared in their village of Isiaga. Mazi Kalu Okorie was the first ordained Presbyterian elder in their village of Isiaga. He was a very successful farmer and highly regarded among his people. Christianity came with its twin sister – Western education. The Isiaga people were not favourable towards Western education because it negatively affected agriculture their major livelihood. The missionaries insisted on drafting the young men who formed the bedrock of farming into this new madness. They left for school very early in the morning and came back midday. By then it was too late to help on the farms. The missionaries told the people of Isiaga that other villages surpassed them in embracing Western education, so their young men were educated and working in the medicine, law and teaching professions. The missionaries espoused the advantages of Western education to the Isiaga villagers. Among the white missionaries were some black Igbo- speaking men (though with a strange dialect) who were skilled teachers. Some families released their children, but these were usually the lazy or weak ones. Sons who ignored their parents’ misgiving and joined the white man’s school were told in very clear terms by their parents that they should forget about eating. There was no way they could come back home to eat after spending the whole day gallivanting and romancing the white man’s “stupid” form of education; where teachers wrote terms on the blackboard and insisted that their pupils repeat the pronunciation. What a waste of youth! However, Mazi Okorie had a strong conviction – rare among his people – that the white man’s education was good, like his religion, which stopped the killing of twin babies. He believed it was wrong to kill the innocent babies just because they came together from the same womb. One of the most painful experiences of his life occurred when his very dear sister, Orie, had a set of twins after ten years of a fruitless marriage. Her very patient husband remarried after the babies were thrown into the evil forest. Not long afterwards Orie died of unhappiness. Mazi Okorie had never been able to forgive that cruel aspect of Isiaga tradition. Mazi Okorie believed that this Western education had the potential for future progress. Unfortunately for him, although he married early, he was yet to have a son. However, he was not deterred; he was bent on keying into whatever blessing Western education rendered. Thus, he approached the young men whose parents had thrown out of their homes because they embraced Western education and assured them he would provide their food. They did not have to follow him to the farm. Mazi Okorie’s kindness boosted the progress of education in the village, and more young men were encouraged to join the school. The school in Isiaga was primary level. To gain higher education, the graduates had to leave for the neighbouring village – Akanma – which was across the river. Akanma accepted Western education before Isiaga and progressed to having secondary schools and teacher -training colleges. These Isiaga pioneer students came back to the village years later very much changed. They looked very important and dressed like the white missionaries in suits and ties and wore socks and shoes. They cut their hair in a peculiar style that made them look even more different from the rest of the villagers. They came back with gratitude in their hearts for Mazi Okorie who made it possible for them to attain this education. On their return, however, they learned that Mazi Okorie died, leaving a young widow and a baby. He did not live long enough to see the baby boy grow into a young man. These pioneer students mourned Mazi Okorie dearly in their hearts and swore among themselves to make sure the young son, Chukwuma, attained the highest level of education he was willing to attain. Thus, Chukwuma Okorie was able to attend school based on the collective funding provided by the pioneer students. This kind gesture, honouring the memory of his father, gladdened his heart. For those men to remember what his father did for them, even when they did not see him alive, showed they were good men. Even in the Bible when Jesus healed ten lepers, only one returned to say ‘’thank you.’’ Chukwuma Okorie was grateful to the men who honoured the memory of his father, by coming back to collectively to say, ‘’Thank you.’’ Consequent of the scholarship from this group, Chukwuma Okorie was trained to degree level. He was sent to England to pursue a Master of Science degree in economics at the University of Cambridge. This degree ensured that he got a well-paying job from the Nigerian government on his return. Chukwuma Okorie’s benefactors insisted they didn’t want him to pay them back. However, on his own, he vowed to give scholarship to at least one person to express his gratitude to God. Accordingly, Chukwuma Okorie was proud to identify entirely with Christianity.