…but we KNOW…

BUT WE KNOW

Nicodemus’s (hereafter known as (Bros) Nico) story in John chapter 3  has always amazed me even as a child in Sunday school class at my Parents Anglican church, which by the way still misses me (can you Imagine biko nu). I recall my teacher then telling us how we needed to be born again as that was the only way we would get to heaven. I dunno whether it was that she did not do a good job explaining how EXACTLY I was expected to become born again, or my childish imagination was just working overtime. Actually now that I think back, I do think it was a combo of both.

So well, all I was thinking was ‘thank God I am young ooo. At least I can still squeeze back into my mother’s womb and be ‘born again’ unlike some bigger adults (and those fat chubby kids) who could not and so had lost all hope of ever making heaven.’ I dunno what brand of shepe I was taking then walahi but it was not doing me much good. In fact I always thought of Bros Nico as a really fat man and so I had already sealed his fate in my head… straight ticket to hell!!!

Anyways as I grew older, secondary school/teenage years, my fascination in this Nico story stayed especially because the very popular John 3 v 16 was spoken here. So Jesus said this WORLD WIDE POPULAR ‘For God so loved the world…’ to an ‘ordinary’ Bros Nico? Nooiceeee!!!

But something else got my attention in the story. This time, my fascination stemmed from the fact that my sister who I will call Ada, had a verse from this chapter on her wall back then  before she got married and moved out. It read

‘The wind blows wherever it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit’

I of course did not understand it, but it was the fact that I did not understand it that made me go into her room and read it daily. She also had the phrase

‘Shall we continue to live in sin that grace may abound, God forbid”

Aside from being surprised that ‘God forbid’ was in the bible, I still preferred the one about the wind. I asked her and I am sure she did a fine job explaining but I doubt I understood it but I was still very fascinated about this ‘wind-blowing’ story.

(Today, years later, I have quite a few on my own wall. Learnt from my sis jare…)

Now as a more mature Christian, I have a better understanding of that verse  and the entire chapter. Long and short of the wind story is that we Christians are LIMITLESS. But today, the most fascinating part of this Chapter is found right at the beginning… A short phrase

Verse 2; … RABBI, BUT WE ALL KNOW…

Ok I would explain for the benefit of those who are already lost. Nico was a ‘Society big man’, a Pharisee and he came to Jesus at night cos they, all the other big men, Nico inclusive,  were beefing Jesus and accusing him of all sorts of things including being a fake and a deceiver and all that. PURE BEEF!!! But bros Nico had major issues and knew that only Jesus could give him answers, beef aside. But he had to come at night jare cos he didn’t want his other Pharisees and Jesus beefers seeing him associating with a common enemy, Jesus. I love his opening statement…

“Rabbi, we  ALL know that you are a teacher come from God for no man can do the miracles you do except God be with him…”

Imagine if his fellow beefers heard him say this. They would have killed him walai. How dare he spoil their runs. He didn’t even say ‘I know’ he said ‘WE ALL  know’ hehehe. As in forget all the paparazzi wey we dey form say you no be boss ooo, we know you be boss men Jesus. We are just fronting but WE ALL KNOW.

Now let’s bring this home. Allow me to make this my own ‘home’. Disclaimer though; If this looks like me showing off, please put the blame on God who has made my life so beautiful… :p Ok let’s…

I recall my school years (not too long ago now). From my first year I started winning the MOST POPULAR AWARD. Right up until graduation, there was really no year I didn’t pick up that award from one place or the other.

(Most Popular Male and Female in the Social Sciences)

And it was all round popular- In church, the hostel, off campus (when I moved out of school hostel), department, faculty, class, etc, and that without an effort, I promise. I dunno how that happened but I guess it had a lot to do with my very extroverted nature. My name didn’t help matters as I was the only EZIAHA in UI.

(Miss E)

But I do know that the fascination (and the attendant beef) increased some because of my values. As popular as I was then, I was (still am) a really unashamed Christian. Most popular people were popular for other stuff. I flaunted my Christianity so well so it was common for me to find a reason to invite everyone around me for different programs in my church. I never ever partied or clubbed, never aristo’d. never dressed immodestly (infact I carted quite some BEST DRESSED awards too), never slept with any guy or lecturer for ANYTHING, and I NEVER EVER CHEATED in tests and exams. My values were upheld at all times.

I recall when I contested for and won SOCIAL DIRECTOR in my final year, one of my mates asked me jokingly ‘Hope we will not have our FINAL YEAR DINNER in your church ooo? LOL. My Christianity was out there. Nothing to be ashamed of there.

When you have this sort of reputation and you still have a lot of results to show without compromise,

then your beefers increase both numerically and in their outspokenness. Well so do your fans too but the beefers can be really loud.

Well I don’t really blame ’em sha. if I knew Eziaha, me too would beef her hehehe… (What na!!! Didn’t you read the disclaimer before i began bringing this home?)

I recall a very interesting episode in my Social Change class. The lecturer cancelled a test because ‘some nameless persons’ came to him to report that most people cheated. Naturally the class was angry and stuff and had to look for a scape goat to put the blame of reporting on. Who better than Eziaha (and her clique of friends)? LMAO…

(the three musketeers)

That was simply cos I didn’t join the ‘complaining party’ to whinge about the cancellation even though I really wrote that test well and it upset me too. But what’s the point crying over split milk? Ah they so put the blame on us but especially me. They labeled me, gave us a name ‘G5’ hehehe. I felt really sorry for my friends ooo cos their only sin was being in a clique with me.

They said all sorts ooo – ‘I like feeling intelligent, God will punish me, I will NOT pass the course, I am NOT even that intelligent, Maybe I am even sleeping with the lecturer and other lecturers hehehe etc. Hey they had their coded way of doing it all, not that they did it directly. But the interesting thing about this was that all their badmouthing was in public ooo. Privately, quite a number of these crusaders came to me and said they knew I did NOT tell the lecturer and even came for tutorials for the same course from me the tattle-tale. And even for many other courses till we graduated. I became like their Lecturer number two especially as exams beckoned.

You see my people, THEY KNEW.. Out there, they said and peddled all sorts of lies but like Bros Nico, they knew the real deal and would came to me ‘by night’ to submit. OMgosh!!! I so had a ball ooo and of course I was happy to share my wisdom with them. And just incase you are wondering if I felt bad at all the accusations… Nah!!! I always laughed abourrit and in our year book I wrote about that incident being my absolute funniest period in class… BTW, success is the best form of revenge hehehe. That said though, the second test was HORRIBLE and when the final esult came out, i think the lecturer gave me I got a 48 or something that ridiculous. It pained me eh…

Now I also had another set of persons who would always say ‘Eziaha sef likes church. Everyday church church Rev dis Rev dat… ‘ I didn’t blame them. I really was deeply engrossed with my church, my Pastors and of course MY GOD.

Infact before I started any academic stuff whether tutorials or group assignments, I always INSISTED that we pray, and it didn’t matter whether it was held in a private place like my room

or an open place like the social science lounge. WE MUST PRAY!!! So they would always say ‘all these church people’ and would misunderstood any lil thing I say to mean that I am looking down on them feeling like the only person that would make heaven and stuff. ‘It is only God that knows the people that will make heaven not all this people who will be saying one thing in public and doing another thing when they close their doors’ hehehe. Wetin I no hear sef…

Especially in cases where I chose to take an unpopular albeit Christian stand on collective issues. But guess what? Oh this requires another paragraph.

When these people had major issues, please guess who they came to to counsel them and\or pray with them? Yours’ sincerely, no prizes for guessing. They KNOW who to come to. Forget all the noise they make o jare. THEY KNOW. And because I am such a nice someborri, I will help. Some of them literarily came to me at night no kiddin’. How can anyone be ashamed of being publicly associated with Jesus biko nu? In fact I recall a particular scenario and I am practically rolling. I will spare you the details hehehe.

I laugh when I hear some of them tell me that they wish they could be like me and be serious with God but they can’t and feel so incomplete.One thing I know is this-  You see eh, there is a God-shaped vcacuum in EVERY MAN!!!

Nothing else would do- not sex, not clubbing, not aristos, not money, NOTHINg!!! The earlier you let him fill the gap, the better for you and that is all I will be saying on this matter.

Ok final BUT WE KNOW gist…

When I started dating Bolaji some odd years ago. Nothing even serious then but you know how anything is news worthy in a student environment.The very quiet P. Bj dating the ‘all-over-the-place’ Eziaha? Expectedly, not a few people said it won’t last. And they were very vocal about it. No chance of a snow ball in hell. So naturally people said all sortsa trash. After a few years and might I add, mega disappointments to them, they started eating their words.

That is because a lot of them started having major relationship issues even though they had been voted ‘best couple’ and all that stuff. Then they would come to me or him to seek relationship counsel. I recall telling quite a number of my female friends that ‘you can actually abstain in your relationship’, and I used to be the odd one out. They would say all sortsa stuff about me including the fact that I am just lying and was getting ‘it’ on. In fact one of them claimed I had confided in her and stuff. I dunno why people can be such haters sha.

If you wanna do things wrong and go down, by all means go down low alone and don’t drag us down with you o jare. But like I have come to realize, THEY KNOW. When push came to shove and they had made all sortsa mistakes that were burning them up, they would now come to Eziaha in tears for counsel and a few of my tapes and books. The interesting thing is that they would come individually and would not even admit to each other that they came to me hehehe. I recall one person specifically told me ‘Don’t tell so so and so that I spoke to you ooo’ LMAO… who are you deceiving? Anyways sha, THEY ALL KNOW.

Sweetheart, my point is simple… Even if you feel like you are the only one standing alone and they are all up in your face almost making you wanna apologise for doing the right unpopular stuff, trust me, THEY KNOW and very soon they would come and bow at your feet to take lessons. Trust me baby, sooner than later. They will. They know who to come to when the chips are really down. No not their same feathered friends. They would come to you. And please when they do, shine your light real bright… Rep Jesus wella.

Some other thing I find puzzling is that while some of them, despite the public ridicule, really wanna be like you, they also do not want you to change or compromise. Some ooo. I said SOME!!! I recall a friend of mine who I once told that so so and so had happened to me was like WHAT Eziaha!!! Why did you let it happen… she was so burnt. Till I told her that I was just pulling her legs.

Another advice though is this… DON’T STOP… Not on their account. Trust me, you are a model for them. Like the bible says, YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH… You cannot afford to lose your saltiness abeg. The world is bland enough…

#YesBosssssss

Hugs,

Teddy Bear hugs, I mean…

E

 PS;

Today is my MOST fabulous sister’s birthday… Can’t use her pix, she will kill me. Plus her job too… #securitytinz. But truth is you may have seen her in one of dem Lagos big girls magazines and those ones you see at your tailors’ . Yeah, she is a SUPER STAR and a dresser… Once she told me ‘So with all the RUBBISH you wear you still win BEST DRESSED in your school/department/wherever? That means when I come to Ibadan, I will win the BEST DRESSED IN IBADAN… hahaha. the girl can yab me. She gives me almost ALL my clothes and accessories. At least 90%.

Happy birthday to you Sweerie sugar pie… i absolutely love being your sister, with all the numerous perks that come with it. even though we hardly see you these days and mommy especially misses you. You see, she and my momma are laughter partners. She likes gist and my momsie always has gist and when they start, phew….

Darling Sis, you are a STAR…

Did i mention that she is also OH SO GENEROUS!!! Wow… I bow for her generosity..,

Love you long, hard and deep sweerie, forever and a long day. You are obviously blessed and GOD bless you increasingly

Happiest birthday babes…

And yes, i am purposely leaving out her name :p. It is only me that is interested in being out there like that ooo. The rest of my fam are VERY PRIVATE.

PPS

So I am GIDI-FIED!!!

LookinG forward to an amazinG few days both here and in Ibadan  before NYSC camp opens… AMEN