By Benedict Ahanonu
Because of the misdeeds of King Solomon that loved many strange women and in total had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines who turned away his heart after other gods when he became old as he went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites and also built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon; the Lord was fiercely angry with him and decided to make Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a king.
Solomon then sought to kill Jeroboam, but he arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
When Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, heard that Solomon had died, he returned and with all Israel, he came and spake to Rehoboam, saying,
“Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.”
But the king answered them roughly after the advice of the young men, saying, my father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, “what portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents.”
Then all Israel called Jeroboam, and made him king. There was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
The foregoing biblical account best fits into the prevailing political situation in Nigeria today.
While some Nigerians were embittered about the Jonathan-led government of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP and sought a change with the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC, the experience so far has not been palatable and tends to mirror what happened between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
Following the misrule of King Solomon and fear of the unknown under his son, Rehoboam, Israel chose to cling to Jeroboam but it turned out a raw deal as that which they were afraid of eventually caught up with them under the leadership of Jeroboam.
That is why it is often said that a group of people deserve the kind of leader(s) they get because leadership is a reflection of the people.
God was not wrong in choosing Jeroboam because he was at that point the best and someone capable of dealing with Rehoboam – remember he fled to Egypt and while there he must have learned some intrigues as he enjoyed the company of King Shishak.
Nigerians wanted a Messianic King, one that would be a better replacement for Jonathan, some even prayed for change and they got what they wanted. Is it the fault of God? No.
Today, instead of ‘Change’ as was canvassed during the electoral campaign, it is what some describe as the chains of Rehoboam and the people are wailing seeking for another change. Since I was born, it has never been so hopeless and there seems to be no end in sight to the terrible situation prevalent in the country where people now steal pot of soup out of hunger and jump into the lagoon to escape the biting hardship.
The angry reactions across the land also echo the popular biblical phrase, “To your tents O! Nigeria, sorry I mean Israel.”
The government of the day is like working in fits and starts and it appears there is no clear chart. Naira is appreciating in value against the dollar and many are jubilating, but that is not sustainable because the economic indicators speak otherwise. Nigeria is still import- dependent and largely a mono-product economy which belies whatever cosmetic measures being taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria to shore up the value of the naira. I am not excited.
Many things have gone awry and the true picture is that there are many cooks spoiling the broth in Nigeria.
In Imo State in particular, the story is not different as the Rehoboam-Jeroboam phenomenon is holding sway.
People were tired of Ohakim in 2011 and yearned for a relief, then came Okorocha with his Imo Rescue Mission. Many sheepishly bought into it in a bid to unseat and remove the alleged evil represented by Ohakim but down the line, the cry is still the same, “To your tents O! Imo.”
Today, the reality on the ground is a departure from the message of hope as captured in the so-called Imo Rescue Mission.
Pensioners are still being owed, civil servants are underpaid, the so-called free education is a fiasco, the promise of industrialization is still a mirage, and instead of rescue, Imo people are in chains.
Under Okorocha’s watch, my darling Heartland Football Club got relegated for the first time in history to a lower division, and sports are as good as dead in Imo State right now.
Soon, there will be another general election and Nigerians including Imo people must be on red alert in order not to repeat the mistake of 2015.
In Imo State, while we do not want a Rehoboam in the form of Okorocha’s handpicked and slavish yes-man, we equally do not want a populist and pretentious Jeroboam who would still lead Imo people to cursed Chemosh, Molech, Ashtoreth and Milcom. Remember, Governor Okorocha had advocated that elected leaders should be sworn into office with such dumb and deaf gods as his unique panacea for the country’s hydra-headed problem of corruption.
Fellow Nigerians! Now you know that despite the media hype, Imo is in trouble and desperately needs real change.
Benedict Ahanonu, an Abuja-based media consultant, editor and public affairs analyst can be contacted via: 08033944198 or email: bahanonu@yahoo.co.uk
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