Longing for the time of reaping

Andrew is very sick and tired of his country. He regrets that he was born in this era. His father had told him that in the past, parents could borrow money to train a child in school with the hope that after graduation, the child would be sure of a job and the money would […]

Andrew is very sick and tired of his country. He regrets that he was born in this era. His father had told him that in the past, parents could borrow money to train a child in school with the hope that after graduation, the child would be sure of a job and the money would be paid back. But times have changed to an era of unemployment. This is causing mental health for many youths. Some jobless people are developing negative attitude to life.  Some people find it difficult to exonerate government from enabling violence and crime. Government is accused as a principal accomplice for enabling the injustice that makes the helpless youths to go about in rags and empty stomach. A hungry person is an angry person. This anger becomes dangerous when the deprived youths observe that the children of the ruling class and the rich are never jobless. This colossal failure of government is part of the seeds of armed bandit, kidnapping, prostitution, terrorism and all forms of unhealthy insurrection as long as the youths are denied the actualization of their legitimate destiny. 
Some of the jobless youths have employed themselves in the industry of Satan where they are ready and willing to kidnap people for a whooping ransom. Some are joining international terrorists groups. These could be avoided if the rulers of the nations follow and obey the teachings of their religions to form their consciences in justice, honesty and love. Some rulers of the governments in the different countries are Christians, Muslims or adherents of other religions. In Islam, justice is a core and prime value. One of the attributes of God in Islam is al-Adi “the wielder of absolute justice” (Tirmizi, Deavât, 82/3507). Just take a minute and reflect on this beautiful verse: “O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin” (Qur’an 4:135). Islam demands that you show justice to even your enemy: “O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah, as witness to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is nearer to righteousness” (Qur’an 5:8). A Muslim is to resist injustice: “Let there be no hostility except to those who practise oppression” (Qur’an 2:192). Could it be that some Muslim leaders who have failed in the various countries during their administration did not read these verses? 
What about some Christian leaders who have failed in their administration? What excuse do they have to offend justice by turning the world into an abyss of hell by not creating job opportunities?  Perhaps they have not read Paul’s letter to the Galatians that a person “reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7). Perhaps the euphoria of office made them forget that going to school or learning a trade is like sowing a seed with the hope of reaping: “They go out, they go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the sowing: they come back, they come back, full of song, carrying their sheaves” (Psalm 126:6). Psalm 126 is a song of deliverance that captures the joy and relief of the Israelites as they return home from captivity. They had learnt from their past experience of seventy years in exile that they could have avoided the mistakes that took them there. They realized that justice is the seed that produces peace. 
The people who returned from exile examined their present needs and try to forget the past that could be a distraction to move on with hope into the future (Psalm 126:4-6) just as Nigerians needed a change to return to the time of reaping. The people from exile recalled: “When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs” (Psalm 126:10). This also captures the mood of many Nigerians after the elections of 2015 that yearned for change. Now we are expecting a miracle that would turn the dry parched land of the nation into streams of water. 
The psalmist uses the image of sowing and reaping because in the ancient world the time of sowing seeds was considered to be a time of mourning, while the reaping of the harvest was the time for rejoicing. It was the dying and rising theme as seen in nature. Through it the people expressed their faith in the life-giving power of God, who transforms the present sufferings to future hope as prophesied by Isaiah: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants” (Isaiah 44:3).
In many countries of the world, the hope of students is extinguished. The hope of the youths as leaders of tomorrow has become a mere illusion.  Some sow in tears but have no idea of the time of reaping. The value of merit no longer counts even to get admission into a higher institution of learning. The candidate now looks for somebody who knows a Rector, Registrar, Dean, Head of Department or Vice Chancellor for assistance and in some cases, not without a bribe. While in school, some lecturers would prefer that the students buy their way either in cash or kind to graduate instead of allowing the students to use their God given brains and intelligence to cultivate their talents and sow the seed of excellence. The consequence is that some students graduate from school with “purchased certificates” that they cannot defend. Some graduates have become unemployable even if a messianic government should ascend the throne of leadership with job opportunities everywhere.
Is there a solution to this endemic aridity that now threatens to abort the desired bumper harvest? Perhaps, we can examine one of the factors that act as a drought. What easily comes to mind is the syndrome of “the winner takes it all”, a plague whereby a person must  belong to the ruling political party or be a friend of someone in the ruling party to be relevant and have a share of the national cake. In some countries, those in “opposition parties” and those who relate to those in opposition are regarded as enemies to be avoided. These enemies do not have access to the basic necessities of life because they did not vote for the ruling party. In an interview on the Ted Koppel Report in 1990 Harlem, New York, Nelson Mandela emphatically stated that “One of the mistakes which some political analysts make is to think that their enemies should be our enemies.”
On May 29, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari declared: “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody”. A sincere and courageous implementation of this creed could take Nigeria to the idyllic time of reaping if some politicians who claim to have sown the seeds that put him in power do not demand a pound of flesh like Shylock. Should they want to be worshipped as “godfathers”, the distance to the time of reaping would be so long that nobody may get there. Planting and reaping demand sacrifice hence we must be ready to contribute our quota to this renaissance of national reconstruction. This will write our names in the heart of humanity for the glory of God. Imagine how the world would look like if the resources expended on arms and weapons of mass destruction could be used for human development. We can actually transform the world to such an extent that a person with criminal intentions would look upon himself or herself as stupid and insane. Let us hope and pray for the dawn of a new era when nobody would be deprived of basic needs. May God grant eternal rest to those who have died as a result of failure of government! May this era of change of attitude take us to a fruitful time of reaping! May we have enough to eat and enough to share in joyful celebration such that peace will flow again like a river in our land! Amen!
Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua ([email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>/ [email protected])