By
Rev. Fr. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua
I never loved seeing my mother in tears. One day I asked her, “Mama why do you cry so easily?” She answered, “My son, the language of the heart and soul is better expressed in tears. Every drop of tear serves as a healing balm for a wounded heart and memory.” At her baptism ceremony, Monsignor Paul Emonyon asked her, “What name would you like to be called?” I was expecting her to say, ‘Aleabu’, a name she was given by her father, Ekhaisomhi. Rather she said: “I would like to be called the name of the woman who wiped the face of Jesus”. Monsignor Emonyon said, “That means you want to be called Veronica”. She replied. “Yes!” That was how she was named Veronica. Veronica could have been among the women who wept for Jesus Christ (Matthew 27, 31–33; Mark 15, 20–22; Luke 23, 26–32). But Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children (Luke 23, 27-29).
Children have not stopped asking, “Why do mothers cry?” Recently, I read this tweet by Georgy: “Why are you crying?” a young boy asked his Mom. “Because I’m a woman,” she told him. “I don’t understand,” he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, “And you never will, but that’s okay.” Later the little boy asked his father, “Why Mom does seem to cry for no reason?” “All women cry for no reason,” was all his Dad could say. The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God and when God got back to him, he asked, “God, why do women cry so easily?” God answered “When I made woman, I decided she had to be special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world; yet, made her arms gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her the inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times will come even from her own children. I gave her
strength that allows her to keep going and take care of her family and friends, even when everyone else gives up; through sickness and fatigue without complaining. I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances. Even when her child has hurt her badly, she has the very special power to make a child feel better and to quell a teenager’s anxieties and fears. I gave her strength to care for her husband, despite faults and I fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart. I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly. I also gave her a tear to shed. It is hers to use whenever needed and it is her only weakness. When you see her cry, tell her how much you love her, and all she does for everyone, and even though she may still cry, you would have made her heart feel good (http://www.turnbacktogod.com).
On March 4, 1980, my mother cried out her heart when Igietsemhe was killed. He was her younger brother and the only son of her mother Esiema. He was stabbed to death while working in the river by Bameyi. When she had cried to her satisfaction, she became stable. Even then, the crying of a mother is not a pleasant sight to behold by any child. I watched the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in torrent tears over the Chibok girls. I guess the scenario was not pleasant to many Nigerians. Here is the report from Punch Newspaper of May 5, 2014: “First Lady Patience Jonathan on Monday expressed displeasure at the absence of Hajiya Nana Shettima, wife of the Borno State Governor, at a second enlarged stakeholders’ meeting on the abducted schoolgirls. The First Lady burst into tears after she took a roll call and discovered that the governor’s wife and those she invited were absent.” The refrain, “there is God in everything we do,
“there is God o’’ has provided a job and sense of humour for some comedians in the social media.
Some Philosophers in different epoch have questioned the existence of God but the Psalmist declares: “The fool says in his heart, "There is no God” (Psalm 14, 1). The intention of the First Lady to call the meeting was her concern for the Nigerian girls who are suffering in the “den” of the terrorists. She could not have called a meeting to lecture her audience on philosophy of religion or theodicy. She could not have intended to explore the arguments of Philosophers and Theologians on the existence of God. She was not out to teach English language but to pass a message that “God sees all that we do.” But people perceive God in different ways. For some people God is perceived only the form of an idol where they worship money, power and sex. For some ambitious people, no body can be at peace if they are not in possession of power. When they have the power, what do they do with it? Perhaps to acquire more wealth and make every body around them
glorified slaves. They recruit political thugs (potential terrorists) who would later turn against them. Some leaders do not have the common sense to promote the common good and human development but they can give capacity to criminals for selfish interest. Very often, blood begets blood hence Reuben advised his brothers, “shed no blood” (Genesis 37, 22).
In the meeting under review, the immediate audience of the First Lady could be either Muslims or Christians.” We may ask further, “Was she addressing only those who could not attend the meeting? Was she preaching to the terrorists who abducted the girls in Chibok? It is not likely that there was an atheist among these people. Could it be that the mother of Nigeria was calling on the “God of justice” to send down fire like the “God of Elijah” (2 Kings 1, 10)? In the face of evil, human beings naturally desire God’s immediate intervention. James and John, the disciples of Jesus once requested for vengeance on those who were obstacle on their way: "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them" (Luke 9, 54)?
Let us examine the tears of the First Lady beyond the kidnapped girls of Chibok and those who could not respond to her invitation to dialogue on the current Chibok concern. The First Lady could have been overwhelmed by the sorrowful mystery of Nigeria. This could have been what her patience could no longer stand and then suddenly exploded in tears like the Boko Haram Bomb. Her husband has inherited a country that has struggled for unity for so long. They inherited a country that has witnessed the shedding of innocent blood to “keep Nigeria one”. They have inherited a country whose youths have grown in different cultures and traditions. Some who have been nurtured in a culture of intolerance have now turned against their own kindred and kings. Who could have ever imagined that a person could kill an Emir? Abomination! Is Nigeria falling apart? This calls for more tears!
The tears of the First Lady may symbolize the tears of many who are groaning over the evolution of the nation into an uncontrollable anarchy in some part of Nigeria. Many youths are mentally, emotionally and physically kidnapped by unemployment and poverty. As a grand mother of the Nigerian youths, she could have been moved to tears for the victims of “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” She could have been moved by a number of unemployed youths who have died in the process of seeking for jobs. That religious, ethnic and political polarity is destroying Nigeria must have broken her heart to pour out the thundering tears. May the tears of the “grand mother” of the Chibok girls hasten their release! May the prayers and tears of Nigerians rise to God like the smoke of an evening oblation! We must continue to pray and cry to God who makes the impossible possible (Luke 1, 37). With God, I believe we shall overcome these national challenges and
tragedy very soon!
Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja and Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City (comonokhua@hotmail.com).
I never loved seeing my mother in tears. One day I asked her, “Mama why do you cry so easily?” She answered, “My son, the language of the heart and soul is better expressed in tears. Every drop of tear serves as a healing balm for a wounded heart and memory.” At her baptism ceremony, Monsignor Paul Emonyon asked her, “What name would you like to be called?” I was expecting her to say, ‘Aleabu’, a name she was given by her father, Ekhaisomhi. Rather she said: “I would like to be called the name of the woman who wiped the face of Jesus”. Monsignor Emonyon said, “That means you want to be called Veronica”. She replied. “Yes!” That was how she was named Veronica. Veronica could have been among the women who wept for Jesus Christ (Matthew 27, 31–33; Mark 15, 20–22; Luke 23, 26–32). But Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children (Luke 23, 27-29).
Children have not stopped asking, “Why do mothers cry?” Recently, I read this tweet by Georgy: “Why are you crying?” a young boy asked his Mom. “Because I’m a woman,” she told him. “I don’t understand,” he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, “And you never will, but that’s okay.” Later the little boy asked his father, “Why Mom does seem to cry for no reason?” “All women cry for no reason,” was all his Dad could say. The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God and when God got back to him, he asked, “God, why do women cry so easily?” God answered “When I made woman, I decided she had to be special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world; yet, made her arms gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her the inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times will come even from her own children. I gave her
strength that allows her to keep going and take care of her family and friends, even when everyone else gives up; through sickness and fatigue without complaining. I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances. Even when her child has hurt her badly, she has the very special power to make a child feel better and to quell a teenager’s anxieties and fears. I gave her strength to care for her husband, despite faults and I fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart. I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly. I also gave her a tear to shed. It is hers to use whenever needed and it is her only weakness. When you see her cry, tell her how much you love her, and all she does for everyone, and even though she may still cry, you would have made her heart feel good (http://www.turnbacktogod.com).
On March 4, 1980, my mother cried out her heart when Igietsemhe was killed. He was her younger brother and the only son of her mother Esiema. He was stabbed to death while working in the river by Bameyi. When she had cried to her satisfaction, she became stable. Even then, the crying of a mother is not a pleasant sight to behold by any child. I watched the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in torrent tears over the Chibok girls. I guess the scenario was not pleasant to many Nigerians. Here is the report from Punch Newspaper of May 5, 2014: “First Lady Patience Jonathan on Monday expressed displeasure at the absence of Hajiya Nana Shettima, wife of the Borno State Governor, at a second enlarged stakeholders’ meeting on the abducted schoolgirls. The First Lady burst into tears after she took a roll call and discovered that the governor’s wife and those she invited were absent.” The refrain, “there is God in everything we do,
“there is God o’’ has provided a job and sense of humour for some comedians in the social media.
Some Philosophers in different epoch have questioned the existence of God but the Psalmist declares: “The fool says in his heart, "There is no God” (Psalm 14, 1). The intention of the First Lady to call the meeting was her concern for the Nigerian girls who are suffering in the “den” of the terrorists. She could not have called a meeting to lecture her audience on philosophy of religion or theodicy. She could not have intended to explore the arguments of Philosophers and Theologians on the existence of God. She was not out to teach English language but to pass a message that “God sees all that we do.” But people perceive God in different ways. For some people God is perceived only the form of an idol where they worship money, power and sex. For some ambitious people, no body can be at peace if they are not in possession of power. When they have the power, what do they do with it? Perhaps to acquire more wealth and make every body around them
glorified slaves. They recruit political thugs (potential terrorists) who would later turn against them. Some leaders do not have the common sense to promote the common good and human development but they can give capacity to criminals for selfish interest. Very often, blood begets blood hence Reuben advised his brothers, “shed no blood” (Genesis 37, 22).
In the meeting under review, the immediate audience of the First Lady could be either Muslims or Christians.” We may ask further, “Was she addressing only those who could not attend the meeting? Was she preaching to the terrorists who abducted the girls in Chibok? It is not likely that there was an atheist among these people. Could it be that the mother of Nigeria was calling on the “God of justice” to send down fire like the “God of Elijah” (2 Kings 1, 10)? In the face of evil, human beings naturally desire God’s immediate intervention. James and John, the disciples of Jesus once requested for vengeance on those who were obstacle on their way: "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them" (Luke 9, 54)?
Let us examine the tears of the First Lady beyond the kidnapped girls of Chibok and those who could not respond to her invitation to dialogue on the current Chibok concern. The First Lady could have been overwhelmed by the sorrowful mystery of Nigeria. This could have been what her patience could no longer stand and then suddenly exploded in tears like the Boko Haram Bomb. Her husband has inherited a country that has struggled for unity for so long. They inherited a country that has witnessed the shedding of innocent blood to “keep Nigeria one”. They have inherited a country whose youths have grown in different cultures and traditions. Some who have been nurtured in a culture of intolerance have now turned against their own kindred and kings. Who could have ever imagined that a person could kill an Emir? Abomination! Is Nigeria falling apart? This calls for more tears!
The tears of the First Lady may symbolize the tears of many who are groaning over the evolution of the nation into an uncontrollable anarchy in some part of Nigeria. Many youths are mentally, emotionally and physically kidnapped by unemployment and poverty. As a grand mother of the Nigerian youths, she could have been moved to tears for the victims of “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” She could have been moved by a number of unemployed youths who have died in the process of seeking for jobs. That religious, ethnic and political polarity is destroying Nigeria must have broken her heart to pour out the thundering tears. May the tears of the “grand mother” of the Chibok girls hasten their release! May the prayers and tears of Nigerians rise to God like the smoke of an evening oblation! We must continue to pray and cry to God who makes the impossible possible (Luke 1, 37). With God, I believe we shall overcome these national challenges and
tragedy very soon!
Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja and Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City (comonokhua@hotmail.com).
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