THE ENCOUNTER I was returning to the University of Lagos where I live after visiting Chief Wale Olusi, a family friend who lives in the Ikoyi area of Lagos and who just returned from Spain. I drove into the weekend traffic gridlock on the Third Mainland Bridge. In fact, I was on a spot for about 35 minutes. My wife was engrossed in the Saturday Punch newspaper she was while our son was sleeping on the back seat. At a point, I noticed there was a drama playing out between the car owner right in front of me and a young-looking man. There was an argument that was about to degenerate into a physical fight. All the while, I could hear the hot words they were exchanging: Car Owner: You are a stranger and why should I allow you into my life? Who are you? Young Man: My name is FEAR. I was just wandering around when I suddenly noticed that you have a place for me in your heart. What do you mean? Why should I allow you, FEAR, to come into my life? You can’t be serious. I can see that you currently have two of my colleagues in your life. Wherever they are, there I ought to be too. We work and walk together. Colleagues? Who are those? Worry and Anxiety, of course. I can see you are currently worried and anxious over the state of things at home and work. Your wife has not been giving you rest of mind and your children are not helping matters too. And so what? Yes, calm down sir. It started as a mere concern but you have allowed it to degenerate into Worry and Anxiety. With those two people in your life, I therefore have a legal ground to come in and abide with them. I promise you I won’t stay long. Will you get out of my sight? I know I am worried but it doesn’t mean you, FEAR, must come in to compound my woes. At this point, I had alighted from my car, stood beside the door as I looked around to ascertain the cause of the gridlock. Some said two cars broke down along the bridge and the situation is being contained by the traffic officials. I could still hear them argue in hot tones. At that point on the bridge, I could see the main library building, the faculty of Business Administration building, the University Guest House and the Vice Chancellor’s lodge of the University of Lagos since the school shares boundary with the Lagos Lagoon. They continued: Sir, my aim is just to possess you quickly on this bridge. I just want to confuse and convince you that the domestic and work challenges you are facing will not be resolved soon. I will then help you to jump into this lagoon. With that, you get drown because I am sure you cannot swim. When people hear and read of the story, they will only wonder what could have led a man like you to leave your house only to come and bury yourself in the Lagos lagoon. Somebody help! I am in danger! At this point, I intervened after the man called for help. I walked quickly towards them and said: Young man, I could hear all what you told this car owner. How can you lead a man to commit suicide simply because he has some domestic problems he is contending with? You are a murderer. Sir, I am not new at this job. I have done it several times and this won’t be an exception. You are a murderer and you need to be arrested. Let me call the police. You cannot do to me what I do to others. I imprison people with myself (FEAR) even while they can move freely. How then do you think you can get me arrested and imprisoned? Meanwhile, FEAR was also afraid. My scare that I would call the police frightened him. He was only trying to compose himself too. Before I could reach for my phone in my car to call the police, he had jumped into the lagoon and then started swimming towards the University of Lagos lagoon front. We could not follow him. The young man he was harassing looked relaxed a little thereafter. He thanked me for my timely intervention and how it saved his life. He introduced himself as Mr Confidence Crinkum-Crankum and I told him I was Dr Anani Sunday. He asked for my telephone contact which I gave him. He was full of appreciation. Soon, the road was clear and we could continue our journey. I told my wife about all that happened. She wondered how a man named Confidence could be worried too. THE DISCUSSION We got home and later that evening, I needed to buy some items in the YemYem Supermarket on campus. There, I could not believe what I saw. The FEAR I had an encounter with that afternoon was sitting just under a tree near the supermarket. Immediately he saw me, he could recognize me. He was about taking to his heels when I told him to stop. ‘I am not calling the police’, I assured. That evening, I had a very long discussion with Mr FEAR. He began: My name is FEAR. Sincerely, I am one of the most useless people on earth. My very close friends are Worry and Anxiety. They are both as useless as I am but many people do not know. I specialize in Frustrating Every Available Reasoning (FEAR) in people just as my fellow useless colleague Worry Only Reduces Reasonableness in You (WORRY). What Anxiety does too is not too different. He disorganizes. The most surprising thing is that as useless as we are, we do find people who naturally welcome us into their life. Then I cut in. How do people allow you to come into their lives when they know you harm them? He continued: Usually, it begins with mere concern over both relevant and irrelevant matters as well as matters which man naturally do not have control over. In all these cases and most importantly the last one, had it been men just surrender all to God, knowing fully well that they can actually do nothing on their own, I and my other colleagues would have lived a very frustrated life because we would have no one to house us. We will be itinerant. But where instead of men to give up all to God while trying their little best, they decide to struggle beyond limit; we then have rooms to occupy them as we show them that the more they struggle, the closer they will get to achieve their aims. But as this achievement is delayed, they become worried. Anxiety will follow and my humble self comes in. The car owner I harassed on the bridge this afternoon would have been dead by now but for two things. One, he was wise enough to call for help when I attempted to invade his life. Two, your timely intervention that you will call the police scared me to death. Don’t be surprised that I, FEAR, could also be afraid. I never knew I could swim the Lagos lagoon too. I just needed to escape at that time. My swimming the lagoon was a mere reflex action. I thank God I didn’t get drown. When I got to the bank of the lagoon, some students were relaxing there since their lecturers have gone on strike. They saved me. Had it been they knew I was FEAR, they would have left me to die. As for that car owner, I would have convinced him that suicide was the best thing for him to do. Right there, he would jump into the lagoon. He would have been gone by now even though I knew he had been praying about his family and career challenges. In the actual sense, his wife and children are on the verge of turning new leaves and his application to the Corporate Affairs Commission (the Registrar of companies) for the registration of his private company is about to be successful. He escaped death by the whisker. Usually, I leave my victims when they take a firm stand not to give in to me again; when some knowledgeable people called Christians begin to quote some faith-building portions of their Bible and when some just ignore me. The last woman who evicted me out of her life last week was just quoting and meditating on one Isaiah 43:2-3 that says, ‘When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour..’ That action of hers gave me headache and so I had to leave. Since then, I have been homeless. That is my major challenge for now. I have nowhere to live. I cannot go back to my master, the Devil. He will harm me. Please help me sir. At this point, I was surprised by FEAR’s confessions. I looked at him, placed my left hand on his shoulders and replied him: The Devil cannot harm you just as you cannot harm a faith-filled person. The Word of God that cast you out of that woman is what you need too to save you. That evening, FEAR gave his life to God after I preached the saving Word to him. His name changed and he is now called FAITH. I had to be hospitable since he was homeless. He now lives with me. The following Sunday at church, he testified of his conversion. The congregation was surprised at the salvation of former Mr FEAR. But he warned them, issuing a spiritual Caveat Emptor: Many of my former colleagues are still in town, untamed, roaming around and seeking whom to possess. Be at alert. Guide your heart jealously against their invasion. Let the listeners please beware. Two days later, Mr Confidence Crankum-Crinkum called me on phone to testify of the sudden change in his family. ‘My wife and children apologized for all the wrongs they have been doing for months now. They assured me that they have changed. My company too was registered yesterday. All my worries are gone, there is no cause for alarm again,’ he concluded.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 17:35:00 +0000
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