The often quoted but ignored biblical maxim “what
does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul” came
to bear fully at the sleepy Ezigbo village, in Ihiala Local Government, Anambra State, suddenly one dark saturday morning. It was an unusual day; a day of reckoning--and sadly, judgement day.
The
occasion was the burial of one of their “heroic” sons, Izuchukwu F. Ezimoha,
a.k.a Izu-Ugaji, literally interpreted to mean, "the lion"-someone with a large heart, one of three Nigerians executed by the Indonesian Government for drug trafficking. For him, death did not come swiftly; there were warnings, but the lucre of the illicit drug trade would close his e
Together
with his fellow convicts, they met their grim fate shortly after midnight on
July 25 by firing squad, while 10 others slated for the same fate got a last
minute reprieve.
When his remains were brought home, sympathizers could not hold back their emotions: tears flowed freely; It was already noon at the multi-million naira home of the fallen drug peddler, where
kinsmen had gathered to bid him farewell. It
was a sorrowful departure as the young man, who at age 35, was extremely brave and generous though about to be laid to rest.
The penalty for such risky venture is well known. Even the Bible attests to this in the Book of
Proverbs where it acknowledged that “there
is a way that seemeth right to man, but the end thereof is destruction”
While alive, Ezimoha lived on the fast lane in Indonesia and was not oblivious
of the firm posture of that country’s Government on drug peddling; why he
decided to continue in the lucrative venture beats any reasonable
imagination. But the allure of the
practice may have been too much to resist-notwithstanding the perilous end, thus, confirming the biblical injunction that the things of the flesh
are flesh while those of the spirit are spirit.
And
as his multi-million mansion would attest, this would register in the minds of
the younger generations that all that
glitters is gold. During his trials,
he was photographed downcast and forlorn; apparently in total regret of his
actions as if remorseful.
Would
there be a lesson for the upcoming Nigerians?
It is doubtful considering the pains and the cruel fate of the narrow
path!
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