O GODWIN, WHERE ART THOU NOW?

Whenever I think of Godwin “the Greed” Emefiele, the former Governor of Central Bank, & consider his plight the scripture that comes to my mind is Hebrews 10: 30-31, which says:

“For we know Him that hath said, vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, sayest the Lord. And again, the Lord shall judge His people. It is a FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD!”

A man that the whole of corporate, political & fiscal Nigeria literally bowed down to & worshipped, who defied even the DSS, who was guarded by soldiers, who sought to run for the exalted office of President using Central Bank funds, who tormented, impoverished & destroyed the lives of over 200 million Nigerians & drove many to suicide by seizing all their savings & changing their currency overnight, who attempted to stop our President from emerging victorious by undermining & sabotaging the electoral process, who laughed us all to scorn & treated us with relentless wickedness & unadulterated contempt, who pushed for the arrest & indefinate detention of many during the election campaign, including that of yours truly, who publicly & boastfully proclaimed to all that dared to oppose him to “come out & fight” & who committed countless other atrocities is now languishing in Kuje prison with no-one to provide the funds & properties he needs to get out on bail?

Isn’t that sad?

I feel sorry for him & despite my utter disdain & contempt for his person & all he represents & stands for, I would be the last to gloat. Yet the following questions must be answered.

Where are all those who egged him on & used him & where are his super rich & “untouchable” friends from the banking, corporate & political world today?

Why have they run away & abandoned him? Why are they hiding under their beds & denying him?

Why have they refused to take phone calls from his wife, children & family? Why don’t they visit him in Kuje prison to offer a word of encouragement?

Why have they stopped inviting his loved ones to their parties & why have they refused to pop into his home to check on his family?

Is that how friendship is supposed to be? Were they not all in it together? Did they not all benefit from him & his profligate, disgusting & repugnant treachery, perfidy, madness, evil, power-drunkeness & graft?

If the truth be told they are even more shameful & cowardly than he is.

There is nothing worse than a friend that runs away when the battle gets hot & such spineless quislings can best be described as nothing but back- stabbing, treacherous malefactors & worthless fair weather friends.

They were never his true friends but rather friends of the office he manned for over 8 years.

True friends are meant to stand with you through thick & thin & for better or for worse but Godwin’s ones were never true.

They never loved him & they have now run away from him & abandoned him like rats abandoning a sinking ship & like the proverbial three blind mice.

I hope Godwin has learnt his lesson & that he has come to appreciate the scripture that says “cursed be he that relies on the arm of flesh”.

I hope he now accepts the fact that all power belongs to God & that the Lord alone rules in the affairs of men & forges the destiny of nations.

If He can bring King Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man that the world has ever known, down to his knees & turn him into into a wild, grass-eating, gibberish-blabbing wandering beast for 7 years then who can stand against Him or challenge His awesome power?

Let this be a lesson to us all! Never play God, always remember that power is ephemeral & never forget that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Do not abuse power & be just, merciful, fair, charitable & kind to all.

You never know tomorrow & the most dangerous thing is a praying man that has the ear & favour of the Living God.

I am sure that Godwin has learnt this lesson. Let us hope others do to.

(FFK)