A WEEK OF GOOD HEADS AND HEADLESS

 

I was thinking this morning.... As children growing up in Ogboru Street in Warri, we used to tell ourselves ridiculous jokes in pidgin English. One of such was about a young man that likes wearing hats. This young man entered a car for the first time and brought his head out of the window to feel the breeze on his face. Suddenly, a trailer truck came and brushed his head off. He didn't realise his head was off until he wanted to wear his hat. We will then end the joke in our typical fashion... 'when e wan wear the cap, e no see head again.'

Stupid, you will say, but that was what came to my mind when last Sunday, Alex Otti, governor of Abia, said 20 headless bodies were found around Lokpanta cattle market in the state. It was a sad news to comprehend as I imagined how someone's brother, father, sister or mother that went missing is now being counted among headless bodies.

On Monday morning, we woke up to the news of an explosion that had rocked the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex in Port-Harcourt as a result of political power play between father and son. With youths from both camps threatening to unleash violence, everyone started running like headless chicken. But who are these youths that are ready to sacrifice their heads for our shameless politicians? Prof Chukwuma Soludo described them as a “Headless mob."

I headed into the weekend covering my head with a hat as I visited the University of Benin, my alma mater, to attend the wedding of the daughter of my Hussey college classmate. As I watched the bride and groom dance out, I remembered that the Latin term “alma mater” means “nourishing mother." Our friend, the mother of the bride, had nourished her daughter to this point and have earned the right to dance and celebrate a good head.

It is the responsibility of parents to raise children with good heads on their shoulders because the head is a symbol of power and glory. Headless bodies and families have lost their glory. Pray for God to protect your head and the head of your family because it is only on a head you wear a crown. Without a head, there will be no crown. Proverbs 10:6 says 'Blessings are on the head of the righteous.'

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey