Magic In Miracle

He was Godspower Bassey, tall, fair-skinned, squarely-built and ruggedly handsome. His father was from Akwa Ibom; his mother Delta. He studied Psychology and Criminology and graduated with Second Class Lower Division.

Many students had thought he would graduate with a pass grade because he missed many lectures, tests and sometimes entered the examination hall when they had almost finished. He was a genius, but a kingpin, the leader of a gang!

His father, Chief. Bassey (chief) was a rich livestock farmer. He had grasscutter, snail, bee, fish and poultry farms. He had three peacocks, five peahens and many chicks in his home and had landed and housing properties all over Nigeria.

Chief had died in a road accident when Godspower was in his first year in the university. A lorry carrying cartons of frozen fish had a road mishap, thirty minutes later the locals had invaded the scene carting away cartons of fish. One woman with poverty written all over her face, body and as tiny as a dwarf ant decided to prove to others that big things come in small packages. She carried six cartons of fish on her head and was crossing the highway when she staggered and fell.

In an attempt to avoid hitting her chief swerved suddenly, lost control and ran straight into the ditch. He was rescued but his car was a write-off. He was rushed to a hospital and the doctor on duty attended to him and later certified him fit.

Recklessness on the part of drivers, faulty vehicles, bad roads or external factors: animals, humans (in this case) could trigger road carnage. Road accidents are menaces to humanity and I challenged automobile manufacturers, engineers … to research and find ways to prevent cars from somersaulting when their tyres burst.

Airbag is commendable but it could be consolidated to proffer a kind of buffer that protects the occupants of vehicles in an accident, the way womb and amniotic fluid protects the unborn baby. If mankind could put his fellow on the moon; fly in the air, traverse the sea then he could achieve more 'impossible' feats.

Three days later chief died. Godwin became downcast but he repressed his feelings. But not his mother for she cried till tears went on hunger strike but when chief was alive they used to have misunderstandings but ironically they were each other's staunchest friends; strongest allies. Their children, friends or relatives dare not say something negative about one in the presence of the other.

When I see couples in love
I 'see' hearts dancing – candlelit wining and dining!

Chief's brothers drove his family away and took over all his properties. They claimed his wife had killed him. Six months later Mrs. Bassey took ill – diabetes was diagnosed. Shortly after she developed hypertension. She eventually died: exactly a year after her husband's demise.

Godspower's education was adversely affected by the death of his father and his uncles' inhumanity to him and his mother and he defied two sessions in a row. He was working and schooling simultaneously. His colleagues and lecturers liked him because he was gifted. In fact, Dr. Fowowe Arowojobe, his Statistics lecturer used to seek his advice.

Two years later the news of a fake doctor operating a medical centre in Remo became headlines on national dailies. Ten pregnant women who had died in his hospital within four months stirred the hornet's nest.

Incidentally, that was the doctor that attended to chief and certified him fit before he died of internal bleeding days later. Godspower was bitter, embittered, miserable, irritable and he became angry with the world.

After his Youth Service he searched fruitlessly for job for two years till he got to his breaking point, yes the last straw! Indeed every Tayo, Tanko and Tagbo has his breaking point but God says that we'll not be tempted above our capacity. Perhaps that was why Thomas Edison, one of the greatest scientists and inventors of all time said, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.”

He took to drinking to escape into a fantasy world, a world where life is made of roses, rain is Champagne, bliss is air and peace is sunshine. But this Eldorado is suspended in the sky and after a while the fragile line holding it in place would prostrate to gravity, the mighty king and the tourist would fall like humpty dumpty into a life of tears and sweat, bile and blood. How pathetic!

He started smoking as well and joined a gang that smoked weed in an uncompleted building. Negative things happen a lot in uncompleted buildings. Landlords, if you've the resources start and finish your building projects without making those buildings fall asleep for months or years. Or is it money that went on sabbatical?

Godspower dated two ladies on two different occasions but when their rich parents branded him 'gold digger' he called it quit and actually became a human 'digger,' alas a kidnapper! One of the parents of his girlfriends once said to him, “Manspower, you see there are gold diggers with 'spoon-shovel,' some with 'hand-trowel-shovel' yours is 'lorry-shovel,' and I won't allow you to cart away my long-disposed Nokia 3310 let alone my business empire!”

Godspower looked at him with cold, angry eyes and if he had a magical wand he would have changed his eyes to a double-edged sword so he could pierce his heart with it. But if wishes were horses beggars would definitely ride. So all he could do was hiss. And he hissed so loud that rats in nearby bush thought a snake was approaching and they all scampered to safety.

He finally found his voice when he got to the gate, where he was sure his escape was certain, very certain. “You may be rich but I tell you the gulf between you and Dangote is like that between Mauritania and Mauritius: very far, yet you're doing as if Dangote was your staff and remember not every Tanko Shinkafi likes tuwo shinkafa,” he philosophised and took to his heels before the man's security guards could capture him.

He was in kidnap business for three years. His CV reads: “Over twenty people kidnapped and still counting.” Many of his colleagues had been arrested thus he finally became the kingpin. He operates a five-man gang. Once they had a successful operation, he would give one-tenth of his share of the money to charity. How?

He goes to the hospital and pays the medical bills of patients who couldn't afford to foot their bills and free prisoners (stranded ex-patients whom the hospital authorities refused to discharge because of their debts.)

One fateful day, they kidnapped a renowned legal luminary, Chief Adegoroye Adeagbo (SAN.) and his heavily pregnant wife. Ideally they wouldn't have kidnapped her but she refused to leave her husband even at gunpoint. She said they must kidnap them together. While they were trying to source money precisely N20, 000,000 from his family, his wife went into labour. Godspower had compassion on her and took charge. He was a genius.

It got to a stage the woman appeared to have given up but God and Godspower never gave up on her. In the end the woman came back. She finally pushed and a bouncing baby boy was delivered of but the woman went limp.

Godspower paused a bit; diverse thoughts raced through his mind. In the end he kidnapped one and hence asked his hostage his wife's favourite song but he didn't know. Godspower was disappointed. Whenever he was enraged he ran his finger on the bridge of his nose. He x-rayed his age-long mannerism again and shouted at him, “How long have you been married?” The man voiced in panic, “Fifteen … no twelve oh, fourteen years!”

“You mean you've been with her for fourteen years yet you don't know her favourite songs?” He yelled at him. He handed him his phone. “Call someone, your son, daughter anyone before I pump hot lead into your guilty mind; empty brain,” he exploded.

Godspower knew Mariah Carey's 'Hero' would do the magic but he preferred her favourite. Demola, the man's son hooted at the other end, “Hero by Mariah Carey.” Godspower downloaded the song in a jiffy and played it. He'd instructed his hostage. “Call her pet name and say what I told you softly, calmly,” he muttered.

“Air, we all love you, even our abductors do, please come back. We love you!” his hostage exhaled.

Few minutes later she moved her head, she was conscious again. Chief Adeagbo hugged him and screamed, “Oh, you're a genius, I like you!” He promised to help them and pestered Godspower to call the security agents. He eventually did and the police came and arrested all of them. His wife was quickly taken to the hospital and given first-class treatment in earnest.

Godspower and his gang members never killed, raped or maimed any and they all pleaded guilty in the law court. Chief. Adeagbo had enlightened them beforehand and in the end they were sentenced to ten years imprisonment. He had told them to have a change of heart. They did and he fulfilled his own part of the bargain. He pleaded with the state governor who happened to be his bosom friend and on October 1 (Nigeria's Independence Day) they were released. They had spent two years in prison.

Chief. Adeagbo had christened his son Godspower and he established all the young men in various businesses, according to their gifting. Godspower floated an advertising agency, 'Blue-world' which became a market leader with formidable accounts from multinationals and indigenous companies.

Chief Adeagbo was able to win back all his (Godspower) properties from his greedy uncles. All the ex-convicts turned out a phenomenal success and became one big happy family with the Adeagbos.

They later started an NGO, 'Options PCT' to champion the cause of Peace, Calm and Tranquility amongst youths in the Nigerian Society and our world at large. Nuns and monks chose celibacy, criminals chose crime, leaders chose selflessness, humanity, popularity; dictators, rulers and looters chose hate, greed and corruption.

In other words, choice is a matter of choice and that accounts for the word 'Option' in the name 'Option PCT.' What they were saying in a nutshell was that even though youths could choose bad or evil they were championing the cause to make them choose peace, calm and tranquility over any other.