The Eleven Who Never Left: A Metaphor Of The Nigerian State -By Kehinde B. Oluwatosin

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

There is a positive correlation between one’s cultural roots and his interpretation of the scriptures. Given the demonization of African traditional faith systems by other faiths it’s often than not commonplace that a Christian would spend half of his Christian life exorcising the demons of his root. This historical mental warping contributes to our acceptance and the use of the scriptures predominantly as a warfare tool randomly put to use when we desire to lay ambush for our enemies. The scriptures beyond this mystic use is a chronicle of historical events of the past which are springboards to the present. There is nothing in the area of modernity today whose spring boards wasn’t laid in the scriptures. An instance can be gleaned from the allegory of Jesus walking on water. This allegory threw up certain talking points especially in today’s world of inventions, innovations and technological advancements.

JESUS A MAN LIKE US.

The walking on water of Jesus defies the natural laws of gravity, it’s easy to admit that Jesus was a supernatural man hence his capacity for magic, however Peter needed to affirm this and he was summoned by Jesus and he did walked on water. Peter’s walking on water is a clear affirmation that walking on water was going to be one day a possibility for humanity, however this miracle despite our affinity for religion as Nigerians did not unmoor discoveries in us, we rather created mystery out if it and wrapped faith disquisitions around it and till today we are still grappling with how ships overcome buoyancy and how an eleven kilometre bridge could spread across boundless waters despite Jesus showing us this possibility over two thousand years ago.

THE AUDACITY OF PETER.

In Christian gatherings Peter is often regarded as a betrayal the one who betrayed Jesus, of all the disciples of Jesus, Peter is the most audacious, spitting his mind without fear, he was the one who first of all suggested that Christ should not die so as to enjoy more of his immortality on earth, he was the first to suggest having a permanent residence at the transfiguration and on the sea he was the first to ask to see his possibility of also walking on water like Jesus. It’s not mere coincidence that theories of National advantage and superiority has revolved around some few nations, they have built an oligarch of development developing countries can only imagine because very few nations are prepared for the pain of change. The audacity of Peter involves a projection of the self into the horizons of deering-do, adventures and fearlessness typical in every nation interested in moving into modernity. What Peter is telling us is that those who care about discovering other planets shouldn’t care if their adventure take their lives in rockets. Another lesson from this allegory is how technology could be transfered through adoption, Peter Saw Jesus walked on water he did the same thing. That was China’s model that made them world powers in the area of tech- modernity.

WHERE WERE THE OTHER ELEVEN?

The difference in developing nations and developed nations is that developed nations use other developed nations as their metric of development, what Michael Porter aptly described as ‘related and supporting industry’ in his factors that contributes to national advantage. The other eleven who never asked to walk on water are symbols of the kind of citizenry we have produced through years of deliberate assault on education, a demography of people satisfied with free oil wealth and void of any form of enterprise, a citizenry who desires change but afraid of the altering that change brings, rather than walk on water and repair our comatose education system, insecurity challenges and poverty, we rather sit in the comfort of the boat of free oil money. Noticed Jesus did not call anyone who did not make attempt to the water, a clear indication that modernity doesn’t come cheap, it takes the willingness of everyone. You do not get anything of monument without a fight. The eleven other disciples mirrors the Nigerian citizenry raised to consume to the point she has lost enterprise to create her own, is this how we would sit and look while others walk on the water of development?

Conclusion

Every invention has its model in nature and God through this nature showed the possibility of a world where man is god, a world with boundless possibilities entrenched in the human spirit, the Nigerian society is still predominantly occupied with fear, primordial beliefs, creed and after life hence she’s not left the boat of stagnation unlike Peter the rock. The scriptures is a chronicle of events pertinent to human existence and should not be a book read for spiritual fortitude only.

Kehinde Oluwatosin Babatunde is a prolific writer based in Lagos.
Email: Kehindeobabatunde@gmail.com