Sunday, March 14, 2010

Sufi Story (Or Nigerian future foretold)

A certain man was believed to have died
and was being prepared for burial , when he
revived. He sat up, but was so shocked at the
scene around him that he fainted. He was put in
a coffin and the funeral party set off for the
cemetery. Just as they arrived at the grave, he
regained consciousness, lifted the coffin lid
and cried out for help. “ It is not possible that
he has revived,” said the mourners, “because he
was certified dead by competent experts.”
“ But I am alive,” shouted the man. He appealed to
a well-known and impartial scientist and jurisprudent
who was present. “Just a moment ,” said the expert.
He then turned to the mourners, counting them.
“Now we have heard what the alleged deceased
has had to say. You fifty witnesses tell me what
you regard as the truth.” “He is dead,” said the
witnesses. “Bury him,” said the expert. And so
he was buried.

This reminds me about the resounding chorus of Nigeria the so called 'failed state'. I pray it does not end this way for us and our country. You never miss the water until the well runs dry.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Omoluwabi, this allegory is simply excellent!!! I always love it when we move beyond the rote of the social sciences and pose issues in such fresh and original ways, using newer tropes beyond recurring banality... Omoluwabi, thats a great short story on your laps... I give you some period of grace to develop it, or I'll steal it, and no court will be able to adjudicate between us.... No try me o!!!

N.B: I have always hated the 'failed state' thesis... A lot of times, its just a very lazy way of engaging/describing very dynamic realities through over-generalised indices...