The Elder is not to blame

When we were growing up, our elders would send us on errands and spit on the floor, saying, 'Be back before this spit dries up'.

I can vividly recall those days, when the elder would say, don't step out of the compound, we'd dare not defy this instruction, even in his absence.

When an instructor instructs, the instructee listens with keen attention, never to miss a word of what is said.

I was prepared to go to my farm, we've been favored with abundant downpour, while it was a weather for two for some, it was a weather for farm for us. It was a tragedy when my phone rang and I heard my brother sobbing, struggling to find words to express the misfortune that befell us. However, he had no other option but to spill the beans. He said; 'Uloko, Opaluwa is transcended to the land of the silent ones'. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine, yet sweating profusely.

I abandoned my plans and said to my son, 'my brother, your uncle, just gave up the ghost' we have no time for work. We have a duty to honor our deceased. Take this money and fill up the bike's tank, we're going back to our roots. I will use my car.

Families and friends  came to offer their condolences; the deceased was laid to rest 6 feet beneath the earth. But when I look around, I saw not my son.

When I returned home, I was informed my child was in a clinic. To my distress, I saw my son lying there, haplessly helpless, crippled, and, with trembling hands. His legs involuntarily unwilling to carry his weight. What happened to you my child? He was hired to fix the light in a home down the street, but was unlucky he got the shock of his life. It took the Grace of God and courageous passers-by to strike him down from the rooftop (said a good samaritan).

As a father, I left a simple instruction for my son, but he let my  spit to dry, intentionally unconcerned. This reminds me of Ola Rotimi's book, in the case of King Odewale and his biological parents, 'The Gods Are not To Blame'. I like to agree with Sir Isaac Newton, who mentioned in his third law of motion that; 'for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction'. Perhaps not so equal and opposite in this case, but verily, there's a reaction. Hence; 'The Elder is not to blame'.

®Ahmed Salim Jn ✍️ RCHP 

#Uloko