Well educated kids have come to distinguish between fables and true stories. Thank God for the private sector led primary education. I also appreciate pastors, priests and evangelists who preach the truth without spicing it with weird stories to deify themselves. On a funny note, my daughter who was eight years old then asked me to tell her a story. I began the story in the usual tradition, “Story story,” and she replied, “Story!” I continued, “Once upon a time, there lived a tortoise in New York, he went to the supermarket to buy a Black Berry phone so that he can send a text message to his wife in Abuja…” My daughter suddenly interrupted me, “Ooooh, Daddy be serious for once, tell us a story!” I was amused at her reaction, but this taught me that well educated children can distinguish when there is a deviation from the status quo.
It seems as if unfounded stories sell and spread quicker than the truth. The world sometimes is more attracted to sensationalism than proven facts and true science. Let me state at this juncture that true science is not in conflict with the Christian faith. Any science that is at conflict with our Christian profession is likely a fraud or mysticism. Some people have often used fabricated stories to put fear or destroy homes and marriages. A lot of mysticism propelled false visions and prophecies have been seen and doled out all in the name of religion. I know a case where a young man went to see a so called pastor and he was told that the architect of his problem was his mother. This young man at a point nearly killed the mother. Today he has gone out of his home for fear of being spiritually destroyed by his mother. The question is, how did the so called man of God come up with the theory that the mother of the young man is a witch. Does our Christian covenant support such unfounded and family-dividing claims? Does Christianity encourage the spreading of fear and malicious stories against ones neighbor?
Before I continue to the next segment of this piece, let me briefly relay this story I overheard during one of my travelling days: I sat in a restaurant to listen to two young ladies converse at Mararaba, a sprawling suburb of Nasarawa State and border town near the Federal Capital Territory. The fair complexioned lady who was plaiting the hair of his client asked, “So you mean say this thing them call spirit world na real?” The woman whose hair was being plaited replied, “My Sister, me I have seen all these things with my very two naked eyes. E get one wey happen for my village. One woman like that, even till now she is still alive. She still dey with her husband. Them born pikin and for two years that pikin no gree walk at all at all. E just tanda for ground for two whole years, my sister. Plenty thing they happen for this world. -The one wey you go hear for your ears you no go believe unless you see am for your koro koro eyes. In fact me I know blame Thomas as he come doubt Jesus.”
The two ladies burst into laughter and the story continued as the fair complexioned lady asked another question: “So after two years, the child begin waka or wetin?” “See wetin happen,” “During the time that the child refused to walk, she refused to also eat normally. She would just swallow one or two spoons of rice or five balls of garri. That was how she lived. As time went by, the parents of the child began to notice mysterious happenings within the family. This child continued to get fat despite her poor feeding habit. In the morning however, the couples will wake up to notice that all the food cooked the previous night had been eaten half way or tampered with. At first they suspected rats and stray cats. They took precautions and yet the situation continued. They later resorted to a native doctor who told them after divination that their child was a snake in human form. To erase their doubt the native doctor gave them two kinds of food. One of the foods was meant for wild animals and will make the child become her true form without changing again. The other food was meant for humans. The native doctor directed them to keep the food for their child while they watched under cover from a distance.
When they got home, they did as they were told. The child on seeing the two plates of food rushed for the one meant for animals. she devoured the food with alacrity. When she finished the food, she began to wriggle like a snake. In what seemed like a metamorphosis, within an hour she became a complete snake, head to toe! The couples began to scream, and immediately, the villager gathered and killed the big snake.” “Na wah –O!” The fair complexioned lady exclaimed. Those kine children if you see them, you go know say them be snake. Their face de dey small like snake and them too de commot tongue like snake too!” “Na so my sister, if you look closely you go notice say them back of neck dey fat like cobra snake and you go see say their neck get ring round am.” Na wa O! This world e get as e be O!”
From the story I have narrated you will not doubt me that the women were fabricating a story weaved around people with what is called Down Syndrome. I have been with an elderly woman who pointed to a girl with Down syndrome and whispered to me in Igbo, “Nwatakiri ahu wu agwo.” –The child is a snake. We might readily believe these stories because they appear mysterious and convincing. Before believing in such stories however, we should ask, DOES THESE THINGS REALLY HAPPEN? Before we also fabricate stories like these, we should ask ourselves, “HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL BE RUINED AND HURT BY MY MALICIOUS FABRICATION? HOW DID I COME ABOUT THIS? According to information I sourced from Wikipedia, Down syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is typically associated with physical growth delays, characteristic facial features and mild to moderate intellectual disability. They may have some or all of the following physical characteristics: abnormally small chin, slanted eyes, poor muscle tone, a flat, nasal bridge, single crease of the palm a protruding tongue due to small mouth, and an enlarged tongue. Other common features include: a flat and wide face, there is a short neck, excessive joint flexibility, extra space between big toe and second toe, an abnormal patterns on the finger tops and short fingers. Instability of the atlanato-axial joint occurs in approximately 20% and may lead to spinal cord injury in 1-2%. Around half of those with DS have obstructive sleep apnea. Hip dislocations occur without trauma in an up to a third. These characteristics are what the ungodly and ignorant use to arrive at their conclusion that the child is an animal or a snake. This is quite unfair and absurd. Peddling such stories end up in aggravating the fear and trauma parents of children with DS undergo.
