Umueke Elders

In the land far, far away, the leaders of Umueke were gathering in the king's palace for what must have been the one millionth time on the issue many elders found encroaching on the ways of their ancestors as some put it. The young man from abroad that's talking about destabilizing their community. They consider it an abomination of highest order happening in their own time if allowed by the young man that many have confirmed don't know anything about grass goats eat. Knowing the differences about each grass is a sign of maturity of any young man as far as the elders of Umueke are concerned and Mazi Joseph doesn't know any, therefore mazi Joseph knows nothing.

The king had called them for a year now as report upon report kept coming to him on what Mazi Joseph had been trying to institute in the community he called electrification. They are worried about the one he called photography he had taken of some people in the village and about five out of many he took their images last three months have died of no disease but drawn out spirits some say he stamped on white papers he gave to them of themselves. "Is it by coincidence that those five died of nothing?" One chief asked

"But his parents and siblings are still all alive, even Mazi Okeke, his uncle, is still alive after taking their image several times?" One chief encountered "it's not that box that kills them, it's must be something else"

"more reason there must be something he does to those people he doesn't to his relatives" the man concludes.

They said they have enough natural calamities they worry about, why add black box death to it and now he is talking about what will rest our hurricane torch to rest forever. Electrification he called it. No more night and no more fear of dark or bad boys lurking in the bushes. "You will see them before they see you" he told them and expecting applause only to be met with sighs and curses he never knew some are still capable of uttering to the hearing of others. "He wants to murder the nights we rest in and who knows what will happen to our moon we gather in the squares on about too" one chief said.

Joseph had wanted to tell them how it works. But the adamant chiefs aren't hearing of it. Light had flashed from his camera and only gods know what happened to those five he took their photo of that never complained only for him to hear they died in their sleep weeks later. Some of them and their wives even banned him from attending their burials for fear of them going the way of their husbands.

Joseph is introducing evils they don't know how to categorize or handle. "It had been slavery, then we suffered attacks of wild animals and when we believed we were getting the better of those two, Mazi Joseph came with that black box he called a camera and now he's talking about another for sure from how he talks is more deadly than his camera he called electrification. Me and my household are against that move" one senior chief quipped.

This debate had been going on for almost one and half years and they had forced the man to surrender his camera first to the town leaders till the source of the deaths were determined.

"To think that I even contributed my meagre money to send Joseph abroad for education, now, see what I am witnessing here?" One sad chief lamented

"what annoys me the most is the smirking coming from him each time the issue is raised. Nah. His electricity has to wait" another shouted to be heard.

"He even said the other day that illiteracy is a disease that spread like that monkey pox people died like chickens not long ago. What does that supposed to mean, that we are talking nonsense?" another asked.

Leaders of Umueke, it's time we invite this Mazi Nwankwo's son and read riot act to him. Is it when all of us die here that we will do what's expected of us?" Five able bodied young men and a girl dead alone from their spirits being drawn out of them and stamped in white paper and some being overblown and stick used to house the images he tells then is enlargement. Nah, something has to be done.

After about half an hour of muttering and squabbling, they decided that Mazi Joseph should be sent a message to appear before them two market days from the time the summon reached him, failing to do so will be deemed a declaration of war.

Mazi Joseph appeared as directed on the faithful day with his trousers and T-shirt well pressed. His now trademark smile on his face and some leaders don't like that face and what they are seeing on it. "Em mazi, first do respect the leaders here by showing us that we are not crying wolves for nothing. Remove that smirk from your face" Mr Joseph did as directed but still eyeing them like things from pages of a magazine that comes from somewhere in the hinterlands of Papua New Guinea.

The talk lasted another three months and they decided that Mazi Joseph have to do in his house what he promised to do to the whole community first and stay with it for a year plus as they observe him and all living in that house to see how they are faring before they will gather again to know if they like what he was selling to them.

"We have lost a lot of members of this community all due to that camera and now you are talking of community electrification. Nah. We are against that move for now" one said. "till we see that in action in your family for a year then we will know where to head to from there"

Joseph thanked the leaders and went back to start a house he wasn't planning in the scale he was into it now. He knew that illiteracy and lack of exposure is something else but he knew in him that they are suffering from fear that comes from ignorance. Within months the house was standing, the wiring was on too and generator and double TV followed him back with chairs he knew the doubting elders would soon be overflowing on them.

When the kids that can't help themselves were the ones reporting back to their parents on the local news and what they heard, the same parents started creeping in one after the other. They have forgotten they gave him a year to observe him wither from the unknown before being allowed to help his community. Now, they are the ones not able to help themselves. Local news and hot drinks draws like black hole for sure.