A few weeks ago, the Sun newspaper published the story of a youth, who confessed why he killed his girlfriend. The lady had met him with another woman and confronted him. He maintained that he did not sleep with the woman, but his girlfriend refused to believe him. Nothing he said or did could convince his girlfriend that he was innocent. She left in a huff and came back to continue her accusation. Uncle said that he heard a voice from within to kill her. And he did!
It was reported that he is now pleading with the parents of the lady for forgiveness, defending that it was not his intension to kill her, and that he did so on the prompting of Satan. After complying with the instruction of Satan, I wonder, whether he informed him that he had accomplished his instruction. It is also important to know what was Satan’s reaction, after hearing that. When the Law enforcement officers came to apprehend him, what did Satan say or do? Did Uncle ever know that the law forbids us from committing murder? If so, why did he choose to do Satan’s bidding, which he knows is evil? Has he read from the Bible or heard from his Pastor that committing murder is sinful? If so, why did he obey Satan’s instruction rather than God’s?
It will be good for Uncle to explain why he accepted that he killed the lady, and even went to the extent of pleading for forgiveness from her parents. If he had played safe, killed her and nobody could connect him with it, would he have gone to her parents to confess the crime? Would he have had that opportunity to plead for their forgiveness? This is the kernel of the matter. It reveals his true motive. Was it by repentance, arising from personal conviction of the sin committed, in which case, he is prepared to accept the consequences of his deed? Mere pleading, so that the person is let out of the hook, without personal conviction, is what most offenders do.
Genuine repentance starts from making peace with God, the real Owner of the lady killed, and Whose Law also was vioated. This is the acid test that determines, whether the confession and plea
made are sincere. When pleas are made only to human beings, the overriding interest is to be pardoned so that the person will be free to continue swimming in crime. If the parents of the lady accept his plea, will it make the Police to release him, since murder is a criminal offence, and therefore, a case between him and the State? When he was murdering the lady, did she not plead with him to spare her life? If he did not listen to her, why does he think that he will now be listened to by anybody?
The Police are tired of hearing confessions of people in their custody, who are not ready to accept responsibility for their crimes but will rather waste their time and other people’s time, blaming Satan, as the real culprit. It will be foolishness for a man to stretch out his hand to kill someone, without considering the legal and moral implications. It is painful that some people take pride in being addressed as, ‘hardened’ criminals. These are criminals among criminals, who bear names, such as, ‘Double dagger’, that describe their depth involvement in crimes, but they melt oddly before the Police and start pleading for mercy and promising to turn to a new leaf, if pardoned. Why do they go back to crime, when they escape the hangman’s noose? If not, who are then the people, who narrate their exploits in crime to the Police, when caught again, and plead once again for forgiveness?
Prudence demands that youths, who are making adventures in crime, should learn from the lives of their gang leaders and members. Do they make it really in life? There is no doubt that Millions of Naira pass through their hands, but do they live to enjoy the money? Do they have happy lives? Are their lives peaceful? One of them, who missed the hangman’s rope by the whiskers, asked me if I have seen any house owned by an armed robber. He said that though they drive expensive cars, but that the cars do not belong to them really, and it explains why they disguise the cars from the owners by repainting them every six months. ‘Is that life?’ he asked me. He made exploits in crime and paid dearly for his deeds. The beauty of it all was that he made up his mind in prison, never to be involved in crime. And he kept his word!
What then attracts the youths in investing in crimes? Not long ago, a youth was caught in crime and he mentioned his crime mate, to his mate’s consternation. Nobody knows the type of oaths of secrecy they must have taken, so that none of them would point accusing finger to the other, when caught. The story has been the same, that once any criminal is caught, like the canary, he sings merrily, mentioning the contact details of his crime mates, the oath that they took, not withstanding! It points to the truth, that their relationship is ephemeral. Who will like to die alone? When caught, do they not quarrel, accusing and cursing one another, but people, who seemed to have been friends? Are they not the people, who inform the Police, which of them organized the crime and the roles each of them played? In self-defence, one of them would claim that he was watching outside the house they had robbed, when their leader shot their victim.
Do they not curse the day they knew the people, who introduced them to crime? Parents sweat to provide the best for their children, investing in their children’s education, which some of the parents did not enjoy. Some children appreciate their parents for this, working very hard to make it in school and in life. Some students, on the other hand, will be daring to go, where even angels fear to tread. Most parents will faint if they are to know that their children are experts in handling riffles, when such parents have never touched a den gun! How will a parent, who has never hurt a fly, feel if he is told that his son has dispatched many people into the grave?
If a parent is involved in crime, he should not be surprised if his child joins him. What bothers such a parent may be that, while he robs with a biro, his teenage son does his with AK 47 Machine gun. What is wrong with that? Should our children not excel us? That is my prayer. If that is also your prayer, may God bless you. We should then be careful, very careful, for all the things we do in the day and at night. As I love the Lord Jesus with my whole heart, let my children’s love for Him excel mine. As the youth testified, why he killed his girlfriend, let my children and yours also, testify how they love God and also their spouses.
For further comment, Please contact: Osondu Anyalechi: 0802 3002-471;anyalechioson- du@yahoo,com