To a layman Our
first breath after birth would mean the beginning of life. Where actually, life
began the moment the sperm and eggs fused into one, creating a zygote, what
would grow into a foetus and become that baby everybody understands as the
symbol of the beginning of life.
Science has
taught us that perception is probably an illusion, until an empirical
revelation provides evidence of the perception. On the other hand, feelings, a
form of perception, although subjective to psychological states of the
perceiver has been neglected, as such leaving some untapped information that exist
within our cosmos. Because it is beyond our frequency of perception or
un-unique to us doesn’t mean it is non-existent.
Because
science cannot explain it then it is not real, has been the significance of our
reality. This is perhaps the reason why most people who claim to have seen,
heard, felt, dreamt some inexplicable, unfathomable elements, have been locked
away behind bars forced to undergo repressive therapies to realign them with
the reality formed by science.
Although
this argument seems to have no bearing to my subject matter, it is however
important to address how the real and the seemingly unreal world interact on
the surface. It is a nuisance to note that Governments all over the world would
do all in their power to repress or refute any upbringing that might upset the
psychological order such as the bearing of ghosts, apparitions, fathoms,
enigmatic substantive dreams with physical evidences. I myself have seen quite a
few unsettling things in my life, although not for the lack of pursuing the
supernatural. My encounters and revelations are accounted in another essay.
The energy
in us, what some call the spirit, the ghost, and within some primitive
demography described as luckless phantoms is the mainstay of our existence.
That material being that you can
touch, the face that smiles at you and body that ails and heals is just the
element that manifests the existence of the energy in us. The lack of this
energy is the death of the material being.
I have had
quite a few experience to substantiate this metaphysical aspect of life. I will
take my account from the most recent. Some of them perhaps might elicit in my
audience, my ability of clairvoyance or premeditated séance, one of absolute
configuration within their perspective could be described the prospect of
achieving vain reality.
On the 28th
June 2007, I witnessed an event that would perhaps strengthen my belief of
re-incarnation. A man (Solomon Iviwehe) who lived in Makurdi, had an accident,
died and was buried by his family in 1996. His wife (Sara) after the burial
relocated to her parent’s house in another part of Makurdi with the
children.
10 years
later, Sara kept getting report from a woman from the same town in Makurdi,
where she and Solomon used to live. The woman trader who buys things from Benue
and sells in Lagos claimed that she had sighted a man who looked like Solomon
in Lagos. Sara didn’t believe her. It was possible the man only resembled
Solomon. She thought. She never believed the man in topic could be her deceased
husband. A year later, in 2007, the trader woman, who was deeply convinced that
the man must be Solomon, took a picture of him and showed it to the brother of
Solomon in Makurdi. The brother knew immediately this was the picture of his
deceased brother and thought the woman was playing a sad practical joke. He
collected the photograph from her anyway and showed it to his mother. Mothers
know their Children. His mother asked him to contact the trader woman and they
arranged to pay Lagos a visit.
The mother
with two of his sons (Solomon’s siblings) planned the trip and decided not to
inform Sara as they do not want to stir bad memories. They needed to see for themselves
before alerting her or taking actions.
On the 27th
June 2007, they were preparing to leave for the motor park as early as 5am,
when they heard a rattling knock on their door. It was Sara. She had heard the
story. Although with doubts, she decided to brave the journey and see what lies beneath the base of the black pot.
The company
of four set out on the journey, amidst plea to Sara to stand back. She remained
adamant and continued with them to Lagos. They arrived Lagos much later in the
night than they expected. No thanks to the unbecoming traffic and extremely bad
Nigerian roads.
They looked
for cheap hotel in the heart of Ebute metta and all four squeezed into a room
for the night. At the early of hours of the next day. They took their bath and
called the trader woman who came over to the hotel and helped them through the
hectic commuting from Ebute metta to Jibowu.
This was the
28th June. They approached the house where the trader woman claimed
the supposed reincarnated Solomon lived. They demanded to see Solomon. The mea-guard
(An Hausa man, named Baba) who also owns a small shop located precariously
between the setback and the gutter, was wearing a dirty white colored toga,
which apparently hadn’t been cleaned for a while, as it oozes of pungency in
spite of the perfume, told them that there is no one by the name Solomon and
asked them to check the next house as there is a possibility they have missed
their destination. The mother brought out the photograph and showed it to Baba.
Baba took the picture and told them that he knows the man in the picture and
that he is actually one of the tenants inhabiting the house but they must state
their mission with him. Just as the mother was about to respond, the brothers
were actually calm and their faces blunt with suspense, Sara snatched the
photograph from Baba and scanned through it. Her face lit up. A mixture of
fear, surprise and horror beamed her face into confusing frown. She yelled in monologue
an incoherent syllable and some words in her local dialect. As she raised her
head from the photograph, she looked longingly at the house as if a long lost
memory was beginning to form a union between her, the house and her deceased
husband. One of Solomon’s brother (Not sure what his name was) perhaps knew
Sara was about bursting into uncontrollable feat, hastened at her and held her
tight before she could.
While the
commotion was going on outside the house, one of the inhabitants came out to
find out what was going on. He was shown the photograph. He nodded and
immediately said his name is Mr. King and promised to help them call him. He
began walking back into the compound, oblivious of these people’s mission. He
hadn’t walked far when he stopped, turned and ask Baba if Mr. King was home and
Baba said he is home and pointed to his car. He added that he saw him and his
wife earlier when they were trying to start the electric generator.
He
disappeared at the back of the house, and after a while came out with the wife
(Anu). They showed the picture to Anu and her nod was enough to affirm she knew
him. She confirmed he was his husband but wanted to know who they were. One of
the brothers told her her husband is their brother and needed to see him and
Anu told them she has only met her husband’s father and no other relative. She
asked the brother if they were coming from Sierra Leone (Apparently Mr. King
had told his new wife, he is from Sierra Leone). The brother immediately
answered Yes. The wife looked at them suspiciously for a while, then she told
him he believes him, pointing at him, because he looked like Lawrence
(Apparently Mr. Kings first name is Lawrence). The plot thickens. Anu went into
the house and came back looking frantic, carrying some clothes in her hands,
and shouting her husband’s name. She moved from flat to flat asking from every
neighbor and none of them could help with his whereabouts. Anu paced towards
Baba, who had moved into the compound to help search for Lawrence. She wanted to know if Lawrence had gone out
and Baba said he never stepped out of the gate and he must be in the compound. The
cloth she was carrying was the one Lawrence was wearing that morning. She found
the singlet and cut-out jean-shorts on the floor, at the door post between the
living room and the adjoining passage, leading to the two rooms in the apartment. The singlet
and shorts were laid out on the floor in a manner that would suggest that he disappeared
while wearing them, as they were laid out in torso-and-limb format on the floor.
The search
continued for another thirty minutes, with every inhabitant joining in the
search party. While the search went on, Sara was crying profusely. It would
appear Lawrence (Mr. King) had disappeared. Anu and three other neighbours came
towards the party at the gate and invited them into the compound. In less than
thirty minutes after been ushered into the compound, three armed policemen
entered (Apparently one of the neighbours had alerted the police that something
strange was going on in their compound and their presence was needed). The
police demanded from Sara and the brothers to state their mission in the house.
Sara jumped forward and told the police how her husband (Now Lawrence) had died
in an accident and was buried more than ten years ago, only to resurface,
married to another woman and alive. The police couldn’t believe her and asked
her to prove it. She produced Marriage pictures showing her and Solomon (Now
Lawrence). He showed them pictures of her, Solomon and their three girls. In
addition, she showed them pictures of his funeral; the lie-in-state and obituary.
The brothers and the mother attested to all this. The trader woman told her
side of the story. How she had noticed the semblance and decided to tell her
former family about it. The Police took everyone to the station to avoid
possible attack on Sara and her accomplice, as the matter was beginning to
attract some street miscreants. Everyone wrote a report and described the
events in vivid details. Will save you the details of how Lawrence had lied to
her wife that his whole family had been wiped out during the Sierra Leone civil
war except him and his father. He told of how he had been rescued by ECOMOG and
found himself on asylum in Nigeria since 2001. He told her of how he worked as
a tailor and was fortunate to have met a rich man who invested in him and
bought a sewing machine for him and got him a shop. Anu in her report confessed
that she had been married to Lawrence for more than 5 years. They had only one
baby girl who died two months after birth due to congenial complications. He
had no friend and was always in the house sewing clothes. She had never met any
of his customers. She only delivers the finished clothing either early in the
morning or late at night on his motorcycle. He claimed that these are the times
that he could meet his customers at home as they all go to work in the morning
and only return in the evening. He never attends parties or go anywhere unless
it is very important. She said that her family never truly liked him. Her
father thought he was abnormal. He shied away from interactions and most
importantly avoided taking pictures.
Solomon or
Lawrence never showed up again. I know this because I interviewed these people
and spoke with the police afterwards and the case was still open last time I
checked nine years ago. I had this report on file for more than three months
awaiting publication. My supervising editor (Chux Ohai) wouldn’t publish it.
According to him, it was lacking of assessable evidence and my eye witness
account or the police’s wasn’t good enough. Perhaps, someday someone like the
trader woman would see him again.
Sara and Anu
were both married to the same man at different life times of the man. I learnt
later that Anu had a girl child for him but the child died two months after
birth as a result of congenial complications.
Lawrence or
Solomon has gone somewhere else possibly to complete the remainder of his life
before he passes on.
This
Phenomenon is a common belief in Africa. When people die suddenly at an un-appointed time, such person often
reincarnate to live the remainder of his or her life before he or she can pass
on. I was never a believer of this phenomenon until this day. Some call it
familiar spiritism, Others believe it
is pure black magic, while some believe it is evidence of an evil spirit(s)
transmogrification into a vessel. Whichever it is, this incident reflect the
interactive dynamism between life and death.
Although in
the eyes of a scientist, logic would portend that Solomon did not actually die
but cleverly staged his own death to escape a life he probably hated. He, of
course would change his identity (Lawrence) and location to minimize the
possibility of unravelling his ploy. And when he was found out, disappeared
again, although without much antic to support his recent disappearance. What
science would have failed to notice is that, the former wife (Sara) identified
the remains of Solomon after the fatal accident, and a number of family members
and friends saw his face and could confirm he was dead. The circumstances
surrounding his disappearance is evident to suggest a ghostly inclusion,
however without solid and confirmed evidence, the loophole is gaping.
How does
this story express evidence of the metaphysics? How does it shape the belief of
life after death? How does it describe that our spirit is not only an amorphous
matter in a liquid or gaseous form within us and would only seep or float away
after the physical material dies, and subsequently congeals, emerging into a
new living structure, similar to the old structure?
