Wikipedia didn’t tell us about the story of Porridge (porage), Jacob did. In fact, the bible account described it as “savory food served with bread” (Gen 27:17). In clear spiritual definition by Isaac, the father of Jacob and Esua, Porridge or savory food has the capacity to deceive, change perception, mislead, hypnotize, bewitch or put in state of mind receptive to suggestion.
Please be patient with me as we look at how Wikipedia described this savory food. Wikipedia says it is a food which is made with cereal usually made with oats, boiled in hot bowel or dish, with some people at liberty to add sweeteners and other likeable. It is usually eaten in the morning, very aromatic, a kind of energizer. It makes the weak very strong and tones a body down with fever and other body affliction(s).
Porridge is also deceptive and is known as the love portion to which our women use to win the hearts of their stubborn husbands and those generally weak to reject offers of the savory kind. It is a weapon of the wise against the very unassuming and foolish person(s), nations or businesses. It is another Adam’s apple, centuries old aromatic hospitality bait used to floor the weak and to buy their soul and body.
The Europeans are matters in this game, to which the greatest lobbyists across board employ to bewitch, deceive, destroy or gain advantage over opponents. Some are applied subtly and others converted to hard currency, women, liquor, property and other vanities of life. Colonialists in Africa, particularly in Nigeria came with mirror, caps, cloths and sundry gifts to steal and plunder human and material resources.
Porridge has capacity to fretter away destiny, amputate blessings and reduce a people to zombies, loving others and anything foreign as against their culture and way of living. Funny thing about porridge is that you don’t need to be poor to fall for it, indeed, and significant, the strong and the very rich are its major victims.
To address the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, it is important to address its very foundation by tracing our bee like attraction to South Africa through the porridge of hospitality and tourism which they deceptively sold to us as brothers. Mandela knew that the white elements with their economic power and visibility would make black South Africa a difficult prospect economically and socially.
His government sold the kingdom as home to all blacks from anywhere in the world. There were flood gates of entertainment, sports and cultural tourism employed lavishly to drive the message. Even the ranks of the white, (Europeans, Americans, Indians e.t.c.) were cleverly amputed by the Porridge offering of Rugby.
The government of mandela offered hostings of rugby competitions and events free of charge and stadiums were opened as porridge to give the once enslaved and oppressed South Africans the opportunity to scream out frustrations. While the white South Africans could make a meaning out the porridge offered and took hold of all the gains of sports and entertainment offerings, the blacks of Africa, Nigerians in particular went to South Africa to fretter away their blessings, deceived into believing that South Africa is “home”.
Our national assembly and political leaders and their families without shame accepted the pot of South African porridge made of year round free tickets from South African Airways, best stay in luxury hotels, guided visits and red carpet treatments to their nature reserves, Mandela’s Soweto, table tops hills and the kind of appointments that could make patriotism a no case, a turn off.
From our diplomats, entertainers, students’ leadership, journalists, senior citizens, civil servants, these influencers were systematically targeted and offered the Zulu brew, a kind of Porridge that includes the best of their women. Check the records in the past two decades, Nigeria and Nigerians are the highest tourism and hospitality spenders in South Africa. While the porridge care givers smile to the banks as we poured into their land. And knowing that a day will come when the “irritants”, “underbellies” and “women snatchers” from Nigeria who sold all their inheritance to visit their deceptive destination, would be killed and branded as criminals, South African Tourism porridge grew in popularity.
Even as we protest the xenophobic treatment, some of our leaders and influencers are targets of the South African Jacob porridge. They know us very well and that we hardly support our own. That we love their women, liquor and their organized environment. They know that our tour operators, tourism media, entertainers and sports personalities still love their porridge.
South Africans know we are bluffing, and that we don’t love Nigeria and our people. It is fact to which when the heat dies down, their famous Jacob’s porridge would once again be lavishly employed win us back.
Nigerians do not want to endure pain, and sustain character of integrity and patriotism. We sell our country and people cheaply. Some of us are still wearing the T-shirts of “love South Africa”, while others are promoting South Africa tourism through third parties and agents. We are full of excuse, for the challenges of development we face and would offer no help other than castigate. Thank God for President Buhari response to the xenophobic attacks yet there are Nigerians, selling our trade, security and cultural history to South Africans.
Just wait for the South African embassy to open shop again, you would be amazed at the rush to this land of deceptive providers of porridge who are waiting to milk us of our wealth and later organize their worst kind to chase us out. Are you eating South African porridge and milk and think we don’t know you? Just know that your time is up.