FEATURE ARTICLE

Fr Pat Amobi ChukwumaFriday, February 13, 2015
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THE THEORY OF POSTPONEMENT

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fter a sumptuous meal of pounded yam and egusi soup, I diluted it with a bottle of cold Hero beer. Then I became a hero as my throat was sounding, "Na you biko, na you biko!" Good cooking, good eating. As I sat down on my executive seat and was glancing through a newspaper, sleep caught me unawares. Instantly, I entered into the dream world. I dreamt having a lovely interaction with God, whereby God showed me the date of my death. The date was so imminent. Tearfully, I knelt before the Divine Majesty pleading for an extension of my earthly life, so as to put things in order. Looking pitifully at my ugly face, God told me, "My dear child, because of my love for you and having created you in my own image and likeness, I hereby postpone your death till you attain 100 years." I hugged God reverently and paid obeisance. Then the Angels escorted me back to earth. As I was waving at them at the boundary between heaven and earth, I woke up singing and dancing. If you eat well, then you have a healthy dream. But if you sleep with hunger mesmerising you, your dream will be chaotic.

Postponement can be definite or indefinite. The former has a date but the latter has no fixed time. During the examination period in my secondary school, we normally pray for the postponement of the exams, especially when we are not ready. If the postponement is indefinite, some of us students would go home and sleep. When the examination timetable is released suddenly, such lazy students fall into sudden sickness. Sudden illness can lead to sudden death. A certain man died of brief illness. The man himself was as shot as briefcase. As he stood before the judgment seat of God, he asked God for brief judgement since he died of brief illness. God and the Angels laughed at him. As soon as God began the judgement, the brief man raised his hand up and said, "God, I died suddenly while I was on earth. Therefore I did not prepare well for my exit. Please my God, could you postpone my judgment and give me more time to go back on earth to prepare well for the judgment? I need to consult my lawyer." God frowned at him and replied, "There is no postponement in Divine judgement." The judgement began instantly. He was sentenced to 1,000 years in purgatory.

There are certain things that cannot be postponed. Time is one of them. The English says, "Time flies." The Latin has it this way: "Tempus fugite." The Germans would say, "Die Zeit laueft." Time runs in seconds, minutes and hours. It does not wait for anyone. Hence, we must meet up with time. In the examination hall, time seems to run faster. If time chokes you while writing an exam, you can develop High Blood Pressure. When the Examiner says 15 minutes more and you are still answering number one question out of three compulsory questions, you are no better than a man buried alive. Sweat oozes from all over your body including from the nails. If care is not taken, hot urine runs out from your system. A wise person must plan things according to time allotted to them, because no postponement in time.

Death cannot also be postponed once it knocks at the door. No wonder we are admonished to be always ready. This is why I use Ever-ready batteries to operate my radio. If death can be postponed, the rich will perpetuate in this world. A certain rich man was building a mansion at his hometown. When he was about finishing the edifice, he heard a knock at his door. He enquired, "Who are you?" A voice from without replied, "I am Mr Death. I wish to see you." The rich man told Mr Death to see his Personal Assistant because he is too busy. The Boss called at his personal assistant to go and meet a visitor knocking at the door. In a twinkling of an eye, he stood before the august visitor. Mr Death wore black attire with death written all over. The personal assistant ran for his dear life. He called on his Boss to go and meet his visitor personally. As there was no way to escape, the rich man knelt before Mr Death asking for the postponement of his death till he finishes his mansion here on earth. Do you know what happened? Mr Death handcuffed the rich man and led him into the grave. The next moment, the rich man saw himself standing before the judgement seat of God.

All said and done, certain things or events can however be postponed. Last week the Independent National Electoral Commission, after due consultations, postponed the 14 February Valentine Presidential and National Assembly Elections till 28 March 2015. The Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly Elections billed for 28 February were also postponed till 11th April 2015. Tongues started wagging. Some were for while others were against. A multitude of journalists waylaid the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega on the eve of the pronouncement and bombarded him with questions. Cheerfully the wise Jega tackled all the questions professorially. Some of the journalists questioned about the morale behind the postponement. It was as a result of the insecurity situation in the country, especially in the North-East states. The military is already facing a herculean task of crushing the demonic insurgents. Therefore, the Security Chiefs cannot guarantee safety of the voters at the same time. Life has no duplicate. Things must be put in order. Therefore there is need to postpone the Elections. In addition, many eligible voters have not collected their Permanent Voter's Card (PVC). I am in full support of the postponement. The tension in the country is too high. There is serious need to douse the tension generated by selfish politicians bent on winning the elections by all means; by crook or hook. The Igbo adage says, "Kama tabiri jaghee eze, si chere ka o juo oyi." That means, it is better to be late than the late. The postponement of the elections is the constitutional prerogative of INEC. We are still on the right track. The Constitution stipulates that elections must be conducted not less than 30 days before the handover date. Fortunately, the handover date is on 29 May 2015. How can we then make much ado about nothing? A bad workman quarrels with his tool.

The politicians are not helping matters as they heat up the polity. It is necessary that our politicians should avoid inciting statements that will derail democracy in the country. Some politicians see election as a-do-or-die affair. They are ready to shed blood to win. They do not mind being the president, governors and law-makers of the dead. My people, no one has the monopoly of violence. Those who uphold violence die violently. A man who throws stone into the market cannot guarantee that it will not hit his mother or wife. Nigerians, let us give peace a chance. Leadership is a vocation. Every Tom, Dick and Harry must not be at the helm of affairs. Most politicians aspire to the leadership positions in order to amass ill-gotten wealth. Even those who promise to fight corruption are not free from corruption.

In the time being, let us remain prayerful. Peaceful, credible, free and fair elections are our target, come March 28 and April 11, 2015. We must get it right this time. Those who plan to perpetrate evil before, during and after the elections must retrace their steps. Man proposes but God disposes.

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