REMIX-Abraham and Son

Once in history, there is the repetition of the Abraham story which has no link to blessings and yet, embraces an equal amount of, permit me to say, absurdity.

The news reports that a youthful man of considerably untampered sanity expertly roasts his son (possibly, next of kin) on a coalpot over the loss of a mango belonging to his wife. This story, I find most intriguing and unfortunate. Apart from a previous threat of a taste of hell, I can't think of anything that could push a father into committing such a heinous act…or that's a game they've been playing? Looking at the setting in most of our homes, it seems quiet simple….

Jeff's mother rival returns from a busy day at the agbogbloshie market, with the hope of unusually complimenting her late supper with a 'mangoful' of vitamins. As usual she strode into the compound griping about the things Jeff hasn't done and giving him that says a lot more than he might want to hear. She does her belly fine before approaching the place, which until today was thought to be the most secure place…. The mango no dey

Basically, that's the beef
Not long ago, a similar incident occurred where a man had to put in a closed fist of his son, heated coals with the hope of reforming him into success, after his son was engaged in theft. Surprisingly, both stories star the same characters: a man in his thirties, a stepmother and a nine-year old boy.

Initially what I used to ask was the role of the stepmothers when the men went berserk. But I quickly found out the misconceived role of some African stepmothers. A lady who believes her rival's son would never be appreciative so the best she can do is to turn her back on him. One who thinks her role in the family is ultimately the satisfaction of the man and the relegation of the kid….and that someone else's cannot be her responsibility. She wears the make-ups, spells her fashion with her perfume and leaves the kid wearing that 'I need help' face. Some have a little morality not to play pretence whereas others are just so good at it.

So, I wasn't much surprised when I realized the woman referred Jeff to his father over something she could have easily settled with the kid knowing very well the distasteful treatments the boy had previously received from his father. After all even in most of our ''peaceful homes'', the father is seen as the military man to whom all misdeeds are reported..with the normal chorus of ''You wait when your father comes you will see'' . Such could have been the situation in this home too…

Agya laborer returns home to assume his misconstrued disciplinary role.

He takes his stool, folds his right sleeves and pushes the other up…then, summons lanky Jeff to his jury where the woman witnesses and the boy is sentenced

Like the biblical Abraham, he lays hold of an idle furnace of a coalpot, stretches a product of his balls on it (what was he thinking), then begins the roast…Until the arrival of a guest from above, the man would have salivated over brown toasted entrails of his kid…-pity!

These are but part of few such issues in our country … the others may still be uncovered or, possibly drained into normalcy. The right of the child as it is in our country, is terribly in ditches. The situation is gloomy everywhere depending on which angle you might want to view from. No one would love to see his kid grow into a social misfit and a nuisance to security. But inasmuch as we hate gory sights of our kids, we shouldn't be deforming them in an attempt to reform. The spare the rod and spoil the child principle is unfortunately clouding the judgement of well meaning individuals.

Our system stunts the bud stage confidence in the kids and hardens the stubborn ones. No one downplays the efficacy of reprimanding but someone says the right corrective methods should be used. So you don t make miserable, the life of your child and possibly mess up yours too…so living in a house would create the feeling of a home and some human right activists could take a leave. I hear the 36- year old man is on the run. I hope the law grabs him. But I pray he runs harder too…

samuel oppong