If God dey love Naija and Ghana the same as Switzerland, den why he for do we so?

Ibi like say God no dey love Ghana den Naija. Weytin make I talk so? Weytin be say yesternight around 3 am den I no dey fit sleep so I dey read newspaper wey I read som story. Ma broda, ma sista, dat story convince me say true true Chineke dey love Switzerland pass Naija den Ghana. Allow me to make my case.

"The story" which is entitled "Prophet T. B. Joshua" was on page 3 of the 4th April edition of the The Mirror, a Ghanaian weekly. The writer does not say what s/he's trying to communicate so I, like any reader, was left in the unsatisfactory position of trying to get to the heart of the story. After reading the article, I think the writer wants to show that God has a special plan for everyone by using the prophet's life story as an illustration. If this is not the writer's intention, well, s/he can't blame me for getting it wrong. I swear if you gave that article to five independent readers, and asked each of them to tell you what that article was about, you would get 5 different answers...but I digress. Perhaps i'm regressing into typical Ghanaian mode - critiquing the quality of things I have not tried to improve. You no dey do notin but somebody try a, den u go say ino dey bi. wey life dat?

Back to the article, i'm not challenging the idea that God has a special plan for his children. That could very well be true, but to accept the bishop's account of his life as a valid proof of God's plans in action would necessarily lead me to the conclusion that God does not love Ghana, or Nigeria, as much as he does some other countries.

Here's the summary of the bishop's biography. His childhood dream was to become a soldier but "unusual occurences" which we're being asked to interpret as divine, "impeded his goal of fulfilling his childhood dream". Now readers, let's take a look at these supposedly "unusual occurences". He passed the entrance exam required for the Nigerian Defence Academy at Kaduna and was invited to go for an interview. He boarded a train which was to take him from Lagos (where he lived) to Kaduna. The train broke down on the way. Consequently, they were stuck in the Jebba -which according to the article is somewhere in the bush- for 6 days. He did not have a means of getting to Kaduna and so he missed the interview. In the bishop's own words "this is how the ambition to enlist into the military was aborted by what was obviously an act of fate". Even though he was upset, his mother told him it was willed by God and so he came away from the experience a changed man and "began to look at whatever came his way with a more mature mind whose focus was on God alone". The article goes on to talk about other incidents which interrupted this education. Four times, he was unable to take an exam he had registered for because he either "forgot his acknowlegement card" or was involved in an accident en route to the exam venue. Four times!

The article does not mention how we went from someone who could somehow not get his act together to take an exam to a prominent "prophet". The prophet is said to be on friendly terms with "highly-placed foreigners"...as if foreigners are in some way special. Apparently his foreign friends include kings, queens, princes, and princesses from Zululand in South Africa, Former president of Zambia Chiluba, former president of Congo-Brazzaville Lissouba, President of Gabon Omar Bongo and surprise, our very own president of Ghana Prof. Atta Mills! If all these is to be believed, this prophet is the kind of person people pay attention to. If he says God did it, who am I to challenge it?

So against my better judgement, I am going to grant that all that happened was willed by God. Having done that, I now need to have a chat with God, woman -to- woman.

Chat with God

God, you must have planned it in such a way that everyone on that train with the prophet also had to be stuck in the bush for 6 days. Nigeria lost money in 2 important ways: for six days, all these people did not contribute to the economy, and for six days, the train company did not earn income from the particular train which broke down. Why do you let this happen only in Nigeria and Ghana and other countries like ours? 6 days? God, did you really need six days? Why did you have to make it cost our country so!

Also, God, why did you have to let the train break down to prevent him from making it for the interview. You could have just made him fail the exam! That would have saved all the other people from being stuck in the bush for days. Why do you keep doing this to Naija? To Ghana?
I know that sometimes you do things to glorify your name but this one, this one just makes me think I don't understand you.

And, God, we both know that if this had happened elsewhere in the world, the prophet's mother would have sued the train company or at the very least complained about them. God, you of all people must know how much Ghana and Nigeria need that. The complaining would have gotten the train company to ensure their trains don't break down, or better, put in measures to send another train to pick up the stranded people the same day or at worst, the next day. Complaints would have led to a more efficient service, and yet you made us miss such an opportunity for redress because of one prophet? why?

Lastly, God, you know I want to get to know you better, so why did you make me read this story and not believe it? All part of your plan, huh? Ah well...maybe you made me write this blog entry so one of the comments will bring me to a better understanding of your ways. I await in anticipation.