Without the Why

(An Open Letter to the Osahon Family of Idemudia Compound)

To Mercy, Mary, and Maudlyn, 

Without the why, every action is open to individual interpretations

You cannot expect people to assume the Why

It is the most important question of the lot

Most people can guess the what; they most likely know the who

They may not know the how, but they come up with it

They surely know the Where

They will most likely know the When too

The Why, however, speaks to the heart of the issue

The core of it all

It addresses the motive

Why would a woman's favourite children keep their own children far away from their mother?

Imagine a woman having four children

The woman is quite a fetish, and this is known to the whole community

Her first child testified that when he was struggling financially as a teacher, she took him to a native doctor who gave him a red charm done into a handkerchief and told him to use it to tie his head all the way from their village to his house in the city so that he could become wealthy

He said he did it

He was desperate, and he felt his mother had his best at heart

He said as he approached his house in Benin, driving his Peugeot 504 saloon car, he suddenly felt as if a force was in the car with him, and a tussle for the steering commenced

He said he fought valiantly, but somehow, he forgot that it was the fetish handkerchief he tied on his head that was causing the problem

He said he veered off the road and almost killed a man standing beside an electricity pole

The man eventually became his friend in the area

He gave the man the nickname "A'yorunbo", meaning "The one who sneaked into heaven and luckily escaped back to earth."

The car crashed into the electricity pole, and it was a total wreck

He said he managed to alight from the car and walked all the way to his house

The instruction was for him to go straight from the native doctor's lair to his house without branching at any other location

As he walked home, he was looking forward to the embrace of his wife

He met his wife in the 60s, somewhere in Abraka

They were both teenagers at the time

He was an undergraduate at the University College London while she was studying secretarial studies at another institute.

They went to Badagry together when he was to observe his meteorological degree practicals

They travelled to Japan together a few years later, leaving behind a daughter for his mother to care for

The child was dead by the time they returned to Nigeria

His wife had gone through thick and thin with him

He was sure she would care for him once he got home

He dared not go to the hospital for fear of diverting all the blessings the native doctor promised him to the hospital

He was told to go home

So he persisted and went home

When he got home, his wife rushed out of the kitchen to welcome him

They had three children at the time, 

The moment his wife touched him, she felt a sharp pain in her belly

She was pregnant, and she had a miscarriage immediately

He was confused

The native doctor didn't tell him he would lose his car and a baby in the quest to become successful in life.

He had dared to dine with the devil using a teaspoon

He had lost much more than he bargained for

Instead of getting the treatment he looked forward to, he rushed his wife to the hospital.

The baby was confirmed lost, and his wife was confined to bed rest in the hospital

He wept bitterly for his foolishness.

He was naturally not a fetish person; he was well-read and didn't grow up with his mother.

His mother was moderately successful as a businesswoman, and she convinced him that without the support of charms and other metaphysical help, she wouldn't be where she was in life.

He believed her and had suffered for it 

It was the last time he ever had anything of such to do with his mother

His mother, however, was not deterred by his report and his loss

She moved on to her other children

Exposed them to the world she knew

A world full of devils, demons, and all sorts of strange spirits, all in a bid to be financially successful in life

She didn't hide it

It was her way of life

Her husband fought her till he died because he didn't accept her way of life.

He was a Christian and didn't want anything to do with her demonic ways

The grandchildren observed these things

As they grew, they noticed that those who were once very close to this woman among her own children kept their children far away from her influence.

They knew who their mother was and didn't want their children exposed to her ways.

They flew their children to Canada, Dubai, America, and London for milestone events and only gave their mother a bit of news here and there regarding the progress their children were making in life.

They knew the story

They know it to be true

And yet they held on to the umbilical cord of "family."

A family that compelled the first to serve the last

A family that compelled the sons to serve the only daughter

A family that siphoned all the fortunes of the others and gave it to the one

The one being the woman's favourite

Her only daughter

The first son fought this destiny all his life unsuccessfully until 1996, when he met with the Lord, and the secrets of what had been done were revealed to him.

Thereafter, he changed his fortune and came out of the snare

At the age of sixty-six, he began to buy properties and build

He began to prosper in the presence of his enemies

He began to prosper by believing in God, praying, working hard, and redirecting his energy from hating and abusing pastors to embracing the reality of the Holy Spirit

He learned that a man's destiny is in his hands as long as he does not involve himself in the affairs of others who can subject his glory to vanity.

He kept far away from his roots until he died in 2007

Almost two decades have passed

Half a generation has passed

Another generation is on the rise

The old generation is wooing the new to follow its ways

A way that didn't prosper them

Look at the people wooing you; look at their antecedent

My God!

How can you not see this for yourself and say no?

Sentiment?

Remember 1 Kings 13?

It was a sentiment that killed that young prophet.

He was given a new direction and instructions, but he allowed the old prophet to persuade him away from his path.

This new generation is towing the old path rather than breaking away from it and forging their own paths.

Suddenly, those who left Egypt long ago and are doing well are considering having a parley with Pharaoh.

Imagine that!

Ask those who went before you why it is so important to reconnect yourself to the old pathway your fathers left.

Ask Abraham why he didn't go back to the Ur of the Chaldees to pick a wife for his son or in a time of famine.

Ask Isaac why he kept far away from the source his father departed from

Ask Zedekiah why his alliance with Egypt failed

Ask questions from your spiritual leaders and pastors

Dont bury your children under the yoke of servitude

If a man or woman would be free indeed, it is first expressed through the freedom of his or her spirit

Then, the freedom of his or her mind

Then, freedom in the physical realm

I speak for myself

I am not a member of your family

I do not bear your surname

I am of a different breed

Whatever you put your necks into by this alliance, you have signed with the devil.

It will not come to me or my children

I did not agree with you or your actions from day one in word or deed

I did not sign any accord with you, and I did not give you the power of attorney to act on my behalf or on behalf of my family

I write this to warn you and to admonish you as Jeremiah once did to the children of Israel

Your alliance with Ekron, Magog, and Baal is not of God

Break this alliance

Do not trade your future and freedom for sentiments

Spare the coming generation of the spiritual pollution and corruption that you know existed long before you were born

Spare your children the battle to be free from the same battle you were fighting

Turn around now before it is too late

If you don't, know that you made this decision of your own will, added to it your own sweat, and paid for it with your own money.

There is no other ingredient needed in an agreement other than this

The one to whom you willingly submit yourself, you will serve.

 

PS: They brought an old seed based in London back to the family land long ago.

They planted and watered it.

Before that time, that particular branch of the tree was flourishing and prospering.

Once the seed was planted

That branch began to wither

Ask questions instead of being led by the nose through ego and sentiment

I will not fight for you, pray for you, or acknowledge you in any way once you step into this path

You are on your own

I am not going to stand with you or even empathise

I am not asking you to agree with me

I am asking you to make your inquiries freely and do as your spiritual leaders, who you know to be sound, instruct you.

I have defined my future long before now

Define your own.

 

-Pastor Erhun Osimhen