Xenophobia

He had several options 
He was the best graduating 
student of his set
He studied mathematics and 
graduated with a perfect CGPA
There was a close second from 
the Biochemistry department
But he pulled it off
He was the first person to do 
that in his university
His parents were very proud!
After his graduation, he got 
several job offers
He also got scholarship offers 
to study at universities home 
and abroad
His parents got concerned
They didn't want him to choose 
based on sight
They believe in the spiritual
They consulted a man of God
he prayed with the family and 
gave their son some scriptures to read
He promised their son that if he 
read the scriptures and prayed 
with sincerity
His path would be made clear!
He did everything he was told to do
The second night of the prayer
He saw himself in a country with a 
multiple coloured flag
He recognised the flag immediately
When he woke up, he thought about 
the vision of all the countries he 
could choose from
He had great offers from Europe, 
America, United Kingdom and Canada
Why would he go to another African 
country
A country with a history of oppression, 
depression, entitlement mentality 
and strife
There were communities with the 
same issues right in his own country
Communities that saw the mineral 
resources discovered in their land 
as a good excuse not work but to sleep 
and wake up waiting for free food and 
lavish lifestyle
When the communities didn't get 
their demands they resorted to violence
Sabotaging government facilities and 
kidnapping foreigners whom they blamed 
for taking their share of the national
cake!
He had been told tales of the citizen 
of that country
He had read about the crime rate 
and drug abuse
He told himself the vision was not 
for him
He would rather travel to a more 
psychologically balanced country
The next morning, during their family 
prayer
His mother told him she saw him in 
the country with a multiple coloured 
flag
His Father confirmed it
An hour later the man of God called 
to tell them what he saw too
It was South Africa!
The oracle has spoken!
That same week, a letter of offer 
arrived from  South Africa
He took it as the fulfilment of prophecy
He packed his bags and travelled to 
Madiba's country
When he arrived at the country
He found everything the way he imagined
There was beauty, there was pain
There was plenty, there was scarcity
There was enlightenment, there was 
ignorance
Resentment was floating like a keg of
gunpowder on a raging sea
He felt very uncomfortable, very ill 
at ease
He could sense an evil growing in 
the heart of the people
As a result of misplaced priorities
and misguided aggression
He knew the feeling well
He was from the Niger-Delta in 
his country
He was familiar with the constant air of 
"We shall get them one day" 
He was just praying that 
"one day" wouldn't put him in the 
middle of conflict
After his registration, he noticed 
that there seemed to be a very biased 
mentality
Certain students from his country 
who won athletics scholarships were 
set up to fail doping tests to give 
advantage to the local students who 
were poor athletes
The locals offer international 
scholarships but they really didn't 
want the international students to 
succeed and take up the available
spaces meant for their own students!
Most of the foreign students have 
one scandal or the other
Academically, he was untouchable
His lecturers marvel at his genius
He had a way of mesmerizing people 
for effect
It helps him with his results
Most lecturers milk the awe in 
his favour
Within four years he was done 
with his Doctorate
By this time he had made friends 
with a lot of students
Both foreigners and locals from all
over the world
He had also gained depth in his 
understanding of the people
A perceived sense of injustice had 
given crime room to fester
Internet fraud and financial fraud 
syndicates thrive because people 
have a mentality of "Collecting back 
what was legally taken from  us by 
the white folks during the 
colonialism and/or apartheid 
systems"
Corruption was part and parcel of 
the culture
The police officers conveniently went 
missing whenever 
"It is about to go down"
They only surface for the convenient 
arrests and celebrity cases
All sorts of perversions are a part 
of the culture
It was a melting pot of sorts, with 
everything good and evil mixed and 
fed to all
He got a job offer
The job was good and the pay was 
fantastic
He was required to convert his study 
permit to work permit
He was given a slip of paper to 
carry around for several months
One day he met a lady
The lady attended his University 
back home and they knew each other 
when they were in school
But they didn't get a chance to 
be friends
The lady walked into his office 
looking for a job
It was like Adam meeting Eve
They tied the knot a few months 
later
They had been married for two 
months
When the first wave of attacks 
happened
It was as if the city suddenly 
went mad locals accused foreigners 
of taking jobs away from them 
and attacked the 
foreign nationals with impunity
Looting their shops and burning 
their properties!
The lady's elder brother lost three 
cars and his wife (who was a South 
African) was beaten blue-black by 
the mob!
That was the day started planning 
his exit!
He had been preserved by God 
throughout his study
There was no agreement to extend 
the visit unnecessarily 
But the lady had deeper roots in 
the country
While he could up and leave on 
a whim
She still had a lot of things to 
attend to!
He had been offered a job as a 
University lecturer in Arizona
He told her he had to go and 
settle the  employment and 
accommodation issues
She agreed to join him in six 
months
By this time, she was two months 
pregnant
He travelled to the USA
He worked as quickly as he could
They talked daily
Four months after he left
Another wave of attacks broke out
When he heard the news, he felt 
a sudden chill run down his spine!
He started calling her phone number
He tried calling her brother 
and some friends too
Nobody responded to his call
Finally, he called the pastor of 
the church they were attending while 
he was still in the country
The pastor was a local and well 
respected
The pastor mobilized church members 
and  volunteers to search for her
After three days, they found her in 
a local hospital
She was in a coma, breathing through 
a hole drilled into her throat
A mob had descended on her during the 
attacks
Without any regard for her pregnancy 
they had beaten her unconscious 
The doctor told them there was 
no hope
The baby inside her had died and
She was most likely going to die 
within a few hours
He screamed in agony!
He had always known tragedy was 
lurking in South Africa and had 
been careful to avoid it
He didn't know he would still 
fall its victim in such a huge way!
He called the Brother in Jeans 
and T-shirt
"Brother, I want her and I want my 
baby
I believe they were my only gains
in South Africa
I could have gotten my doctorate 
anywhere else but I couldn't have
found my wife anywhere else
I believe God sent me there to find
her and marry her
I am not taking a loss in this
I refuse to let them go
I refuse to be a victim of danger
I was warned about
I refuse to be a victim
They are still breathing, they 
must live"
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt 
agreed with him
There is nothing God cannot do!
That night, the angels of the Lord 
visited her
She said she saw one of them remove
a dead baby from her womb and
then another angel placed another 
baby in her womb
Then a third angel breathed on 
her face!
The next morning she regained 
consciousness
Nobody believed what had happened
Fetal heartbeat was normal and 
her body healed at an abnormal rate
She also didn't have any memory 
of the attack although she remembered 
everything else
She was discharged a week later
Two weeks after the attack, she 
was in Arizona with her husband

PS: Events happened in South Africa, 2017
She had since delivered a baby boy 
and she is currently pregnant with 
another baby
I watched with horror as another wave
of Xenophobic attacks raged in 
South Africa
I couldn't help but cry!
I love all of God's creations and 
to see people attack other people 
so heartlessly troubled my heart 
greatly!
We have always had our priorities 
wrong
It had never been things over people
With God, it had always been 
People first!
We are the most valued creation 
of God and none of us deserved to 
be killed for food or drink or money 
or politics or principles or things
I pray that the fragrance of the spirit 
of Christ shall spread all over 
South Africa, Africa and the world
Peace be still in Jesus name. Amen!!!

Singing: 
You Lord, You are worthy
And no one can worship You for me
For all the things You've done for me
And no one can worship You for me
Here's my worship
All of my worship
Receive my worship
All of my worship
Here's my worship
All of my (all of my worship)
Father, receive my (receive my worship)
All of my worship (all of my worship)