…How God Showed up in my mysteries
For a long time, Johnbull continued to stare at the bucket of water mixed with salt and olive oil. His mind roamed widely. He was apparently confused and afraid. A sly grin crossed his face and he shook his head, muttering ‘why me?’. He has every reason to ask that question because of the bizarre experience of the past. Johnbull wasn’t all that dumb. By all standards, he is smart and very intelligent. But these mysterious situations troubled him. Suddenly, a lizard ran across his legs sending cold chills up his spine and he almost upturned the bucket of water. He thumped his feet in annoyance. Why was he afraid? he asked himself.
At that moment, he had a loud thud few meters from where he stood; someone had thrown thrash very close to his shack of a bathroom and Johnbull grimaced. He dipped his hands in the water to begin the spiritual bath, but he pulled back as he found the water too cold. As he continued to stare at the bucket, his mind again drifted into his past failures. Johnbull remembered when his wife first moved out of his house, how he endured for several weeks. But because of the weight of the bitter separation, Johnbull eventually fell sick because the load on his head was too much. He was then taken to a celestial church down the road in one of the new suburbs springing up in Lagos.
There, the leader who was called ‘woli’ stepped up and went into fervent prayers. The ‘woli’ was very efficient and in no time Johnbull became well. He told Johnbull that, though, he was facing a wicked enemy from his village, God had just delivered him. When, after two months, the situation did not improve in the area of business, infact, nobody patronized him anymore, Johnbull became hysterical and decided to seek help elsewhere. Because he was desperate for solution, one of his friends suggested they consult an herbalist who was said to be very powerful. He had been given the assurance that once the man steps in, he was going to see great changes.
Elated, Johnbull agreed and the so called powerful herbalists was brought in. He spent three days ensconced in one of the visitor’s room in his apartment ostensibly performing prayers. Every morning, they would hear him reciting some incantations and thereafter, he would demand for tea and bread plus egg which they always obliged him. By this time, Johnbull had managed to nick a job as ‘foreign correspondent’ for a South African news media. He would at news hour be called upon to read out his own portion for the day. The job was just beginning to pick up when this herbalist arrived. All the materials he requested for was handed to him and when it was three days, the powerful herbalists departed. Ironically, instead of improvement, Johnbull’s business crashed; his computers broke down and he lost the job as a correspondent to the South African news media!
As is so often the case, Johnbulls friends waded in again and this time, urged him to contact a ‘reverend’ who lived in the heart of Aguda, in Surulere. Aguda is a popular environment for all sorts of hustlers and was often busy round the clock. Johnbull was told how potent the man was and how he has been proficient in casting out demons. Such was his prowess, they said, that witches who dared him never lived to tell the story. Reverend was said to be so ruthless that his famed spread abroad. It was under this circumstance that Johnbull bought the idea and sort him out. Once it got to his turn, Johnbull was confronted by a thin looking man wearing a white sutana with a red band tied around his waist.
The man had beards all over his face and his thick moustache gave him that sinister look that struck fear into Johnpaul’s heart. A table filled with white, red, blue, green and yellow candles separated him from the ‘Man of God’. The sight of the assorted candles further scared Johnbull and made him to wonder if this man was indeed what he claimed to be. But then, the picture was made clearer when the cleric declared himself to be a Sabbath. Fearful, Johnbull glanced at him almost having a second thought. At that moment, the reverend banged the table and released a high pitch shriek while casting a piercing look at Johnbull. ‘I know why you came’, his voice thundered. ‘Your enemies are those of your father’s house’, his voice boomed.
His voice sounded like loud speakers and Johnbull wondered if there was a microphone hidden somewhere. ‘But am going to destroy them’, he assured. Hearing these words, Johnbull’s spirit came alive and he shifted uneasily on his wooden chair. ‘We will go to the beach’, the reverend announced to Johnbull; there, he promised to destroy the evil powers that besieged him. All Johnbull was thinking about was deliverance. But the process, he forgot. The Man of God then held Johnbull’s hands and spoke in tongues, supposedly reversing the damage Johnbull’s tormentors had caused. Then suddenly, without warning, he brought out a bottle of water and splashed the contents on Johnbull’s face, shouting in the process ‘get out… get out…get out!
Three days later, they were at the Badagry beach where Johnbull was thrown into the edge of the vast Atlantic Ocean. They had followed a bush path which the reverend appeared to know very well and pushed Johnbull in a sudden move into the mighty waters. Dazzled, Johnbull, taken by surprise, gulped lots of water before he struggled to regain himself. The area where he was thrown was covered by water hyacinths and Johnbull being an amateur swimmer hurriedly scrambled out. The reverend gave out a weird laugh and his eyes shone brightly as if in a trance. The waves roared and smashed again and again into the muddy banks. Johnbull, already wet, tried to steady his nerves as his mind raced. Had he just escaped death? he wondered, his heart beating uncontrollably.
While he was in that state of terror, and trying to adjust, the reverend grabbed him from behind and landed a deadly blow on his stomach and followed it up with another powerful punch to his head, shouting all the time ‘come out… come out…come out!’ Johnbull wanted to faint. He fell down and got up; without warning, the reverend kicked him and smashed a brown pot on his head and down he went almost passing out! That’s so much for someone looking for deliverance the wrong way! They were only three present—a big mistake on his part. A cold feeling enveloped his stomach. He thought death was imminent and that reverend might use him for sacrifice.
Oh what a fool he had been not to consider that aspect. Still trying to make a meaning from the beating he had received, the reverend announced that the spell from his village had been broken and they were now free to head home! ‘Home?’ Johnbull’s relieved voice sounded husky and quietly, he packed his wet cloths and changed into fresh ones. He would later give thanks to God for what was to follow next. Humming under his weird voice, the reverend led the way back into the old hired vehicle that they came with and drove off. Johnbull promised never to thread this path again for any reason. When they got back to the church, a lady who witnessed when the reverend took him away, approached him quietly and said: ‘My son, please go and look for a bible believing church and worship; you don’t need this type of spiritual treatment’, she told him.
Johnbull who was thankful for coming back alive from the nasty ocean experience, gladly heeded the call and left. More surprise waited for him anyway. When he got home, he found one of the white pigeons they had used for prayers earlier and released into the air, had found its way back to his house and waited! By jove! Johnbull screamed. He figured out that the return of the pigeon was a direct message to corroborate what the woman had said—to look for a bible believing church! That was it. Johnbull retraced his steps and found himself in one of the Redeemed Christian Churches located in Ogba, where he began to worship. Meanwhile, the gale of misfortune continued in rapid succession.
Notwithstanding the fact that, he attended regular service, Johnbull began to experience bad dreams, felt cobwebs all over his face, even in broad daylight, along the open streets; setbacks, frustrations and such other spiritual ailments you least expected. He had three bank accounts, all reading zero—and debit form! Out of annoyance, he went forth and applied for American Visa to escape the scourge. He wasn’t even interviewed before his request was turned down and thrown out.
Can life be this cruel? Johnbull asked himself. He returned home that day walking like an old man. He was so tired and ignored his food for hours. Rejected! Johnbull wept silently. That’s when he heard a bang on his makeshift zinc shack called bathroom with a voice calling out: ‘Have you finished your bath?’ At that point, Johnbull opened his eyes and he came back to his senses. ‘Oh my God’, he had been in a trance! Grudgingly, he bent down to commence the spiritual bath.
