MATTER OF THE MOMENT

Taste of Ar-ma-ged-don in Nigeria

By Nyabuk Moses

Ar-ma-ged-don in the Bible is a battle between good and evil at the end of the world. Also, it is a terrible war that could destroy the world.

In view  of the above definitions, and, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, and of course, the present day experiences in the society, it may not be out of place to state that Ar-ma-ged-don is in the offing, if not already here in Nigeria.

Though, the war between good and evil had been a long standing issue, but contemporary physical matters which before now seemed like fighting the shadow or crying wolves when there was none have really made people, young and old to have a taste of the metaphysical Arma-ged-don.

They include kidnapping, clamour for 2^nd term or 2^nd, 3rd term that, global warming, economic meltdown and above all, almighty corruption in both high and low places.

These and more tend to render many communities hopeless and dampen enthusiasm for the future as in real war time. Without gain saying, the presence of armed security operatives with their arms and ammunition in every nooks and crannies indicate that war between good and evil is really going on unabated. If such a circumstance persists, can one be tempted to say the end of the world has come or is near?

The Akwa Ibom State Government recently set up a Task force on Revenue Drive which a crop of people were employed to issue tickets and emblems and sell to motorcycle operators making use of the roads in the municipality and elsewhere within the state to make money for the government to enhance general development of the state. Good, that is the law.

Instead, this crop of people which government thought good of them make another law by trickishly  taking people away from the road to their hideout called office where they frame and cook many stories in the name of charges. Before one gets out there must cough out money ranging from N2, 000 to N5,000. Bad, this is evil and never the intention of the government. This is a new trend where people are groomed to become new breeds of corruption stakeholders to further worsen the already battered economy of many families in the state.

This calls for an urgent attention by the government to redress the situation before things fall apart and when the centre would not be able to hold, will be when this new breed would not be able to withstand the wrath of the people they had tricked and duped. This is evil.

There is an adage which states that the taste of garri is in the eating, and as the case may be, some of these boogey-men never tasted any physical Ar-ma-ged don as in Nigeria’s 30 months civil war hence their desire to taste of its now, but those who were born and tasted of it, shrud their shoulders and promise never to taste of it anymore.

In the political arena, the answer to a question by the son of man, Lord Jesus Christ again that “Except a man be born again, he …,” explains why politicians clamour for 2^nd this and 3^rd that not knowing Jesus Christ who always spoke in parables did not mean dying prematurely or killing people for the sake of 2^nd this and that will make them born again because as known in some quarters the shortest way to heaven is for one to die and be born again. Pondering our minds on this, indicate that others, not in the business suffer untold hardship as a result of the physical Ar-ma-ged-don as a result of people trying to emerge and re-emerge.

Kidnappers add more pains to injury by practicalising what the Bible said that on that day, two shall walk on the road and one would be taken from the other. Continuing, it said a husband, friend, father or mother and vice versa shall be taken away from another. What a mockery of God’s plans by kidnappers? It should be noted that it is not easy for man to turn night into neither day nor day into night

So therefore, whatever a man in any position does when God gives him or her, the ability to do so, no one shall be able to bring the world to an end until the appointed time which God Himself said would come at an unexpected time. For this reason, be wise, shun evil and do good all the time.

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