Whirlwind of Mercy: The Story of a Country at War with the Truth by Pearl Adams, chapters 3 & 4
Chapter 3 – Port Harcourt, Nigeria,
Harvest Of Mercy
“God sent me to give you a message my son.”
“I beg your pardon, Sir.”
“My name is Bishop Samson Princewill, the General Overseer of Temple of Glory Church, Port Harcourt. I have a message for you from the Lord.”
Brigadier-General Dave Enwa turned sideways to look at the man sitting beside him at the departure hall of Port-Harcourt International Airport.
“That’s interesting Sir. What would the Lord want with someone like me?”
“The message is contained in Proverbs chapter 1, verses 10 to 19. I have a Bible here. Let me read the passage to you.
My son, if sinners entice thee,
consent thou not.
If they say, Come with us, let us
lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily
for the innocent without cause;
Let us swallow them up alive as
the grave; and whole, as those that
go down into the pit:
We shall find all precious substance,
we shall fill our houses with spoil:
Cast in thy lot among us; let us all
have one purse:
My son, walk not thou in the way
with them; refrain thy foot from
their path: For their feet run to evil,
and make haste to shed blood.
Surely in vain the net is spread in
the sight of any bird.
And they lay wait for their own
blood; they lurk privily for their own
lives. So are the ways of every one
that is greedy of gain; which taketh
away the life of the owners thereof.
“He says I should tell you that He is doing this because of the covenant you cut with Him last year. He also said that the enterprise you and your friends are pursuing would not yield any fruit. Good day General.”
Enwa was shocked to his marrows. He couldn’t even make an attempt to stop the Bishop who was already walking out of the departure hall. There was no doubt that the man spoke for God. Who else but he and God knew about the covenant he initiated with God when his wife, Gladys was diagnosed with cancer? He had promised God that he would serve Him all the days of his life if He (God) healed his wife who was in coma at that time. At the time he made the pledge, he wasn’t a Christian in the true sense of the word.
Certainly his moral life was nothing to write home about. He did try to keep his own side of the bargain when his wife regained consciousness. God knows he tried. He even became a member of one of the Pentecostal Churches in town, the Tabernacle of the Righteous where he allowed himself to be persuaded by the Pastor to join the Hospitality Service group. He hadn’t bargained on God wanting to control all of his life and he eventually rebelled against that.
The overbearing attitude of his Pastor did not help matters either. The guy was virtually lording over his life under the guise of being a shepherd. One day, he took stock of his life and realized that he wasn’t cut out for discipleship. He wanted to serve God on his own terms. Gradually, he stopped attending church and went back to his old ways. True to His nature as the Faithful One, God healed his wife completely without asking for anything from him. Not even once was any pressure brought on him to keep his side of the bargain. Of course, the Pastor visited him severally and advised him not to neglect fellowship with other Christians. The poor man eventually stopped harassing him when it was obvious that his mind was made up to steer clear of the church.
Holding his head in his hands, he sobbed quietly for a while. He felt so ashamed of himself. What an ungrateful idiot he had been! He hadn’t even mentioned his encounter with God to his wife! He was afraid she would coerce him into a commitment he wasn’t ready for. He raised his head skyward, as if expecting God to scold him for his ingratitude.
“Lord I’m awfully sorry. Please forgive me. To think that You could still watch over me despite all I did to You.”
Enwa felt lightness in his heart that he could not explain. He remembered a gospel song his wife was very fond of. It says;
“There is therefore, now no
condemnation, for those who
are in Christ Jesus,
For the law of the Spirit
of life in Christ Jesus has set
me free from the law of sin and death,
O there is therefore, now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”He had never consciously learnt the lyrics of the song but now he could hear it right inside of him. He hummed the tune to himself.
When the song stopped, he remembered the reason for his trip to Abuja. Three days previously, two operatives from the Military Intelligence office in Port-Harcourt visited him at home. They weren’t people he was familiar with so he declined their request for a chat and insisted on their meeting him at the Battalion Headquarters. One of them apologized for not going through the proper channel and put a call through to the Chief of Army Staff, General Dickson Okwuechie with his cell phone. The Army Chief in turn, called him on his landline, imploring him to grant audience to the duo, whom he claimed were his “Boys”.
That was how he allowed himself to be convinced that military intervention was the only way out of the present predicament in the country. In spite of the chat with Okwuechie, he didn’t give them a categorical answer, but promised to visit the General in Abuja to get details of the plot before committing himself. When his visitors left, he felt uneasy about getting involved in any form of treachery against the President. That wasn’t out of cowardice of course. Every one knew him to be a very brave officer. Who hadn’t heard of his exploits in both Sierra-Leone and Liberia? It was just that he wasn’t keen on joining forces with Military Intelligence operatives in a sensitive operation of this nature. For God’s sake, everyone in the military establishment knew that those guys could betray their parents in their quest for cheap promotion!
Even before his meeting with the Bishop today, he had been having an uneasy feeling about the whole thing. He liked President Akinluyi even though the old dog could be very irritating at times. He remembered his first meeting with him during the inauguration of his administration. The man had looked him straight in the eyes and said, “Young man, you have a great future in the Army if you persevere. Your generation will celebrate you if you do not allow sentiments and inordinate ambition to derail you.”
Did the man see anything in his eyes that betrayed his desire to rule this country in the nearest future? Of course, he wasn’t thinking of planning a coup d’etat. He planned to retire from the military and join one of the political parties as some of his contemporaries had done. He looked around the hall expecting to see the military intelligence goons. He made up his mind not to make the trip to Abuja. He realized that he had lost all sense of fear. God had intervened to stop him from shedding innocent blood. He was sure the same God would protect him against possible backlash from the General and his group. Enwa walked out of the departure hall humming, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…..”
Chapter 4 – Abuja, Nigeria
Dream Big
General Okwuechie checked his wristwatch the umpteenth time. He was surprised that Brig-Gen Enwa kept so late. He knew him to be a time conscious officer.
“Peter, we may have to start the meeting without Enwa. If he fails to show up, call Colonel Odunye in Port Harcourt to take care of him. “Operation Salvage” is too important to allow a black leg sell us out.”
“I agree with you Sir. I believe we can make do without Enwa Sir.”
Brig-Gen Peter Adoki was glad that he wouldn’t have to share the spotlight with Enwa when their enterprise becomes a success. He hated that man with a passion. It wasn’t as if both of them had any open confrontation. He just couldn’t stand the arrogance of the man. Of course, he refused to acknowledge even to himself that his hatred for Enwa stemmed from his marriage to Gladys, his childhood sweetheart. It also did not matter that it was he, Peter who dumped Gladys for her best friend, Edna Bassey. He was also secretly glad about the instruction he was to pass to Col Sam Odunye. That meant eternal goodbye to the rubbish called Enwa. In fact, he wished he could get in touch with Odunye right away. Revenge is indeed very sweet when it is criminally cold!
He was brought back to the present by the croaky voice of General Okwuechie.
“Adoki, how many of the GOCs have shown interest in the project?
“Sir, only those of Enugu and Kaduna. We have received tremendous support from the Air Force and Navy. I believe we can pull this thing off if we strike at the right time and place Sir.”
“Good. This is what we will do. We’ll get the Officer Commanding the Brigade of Guards to deploy some of our loyalists to the Villa two days before zero hour. He should be able to do that without raising any suspicion.”
Okwuechie smiled to himself. He was sure everyone in the room was curious to know how he got Colonel Abayomi Ogundipe, a kinsman of President Akinluyi to join in the conspiracy. He wasn’t going to satisfy their curiosity. Stranger things have happened in the world. After all, Judas Iscariot ate on the same table with Jesus Christ and still betrayed him! He surveyed the seven faces in the room. They formed the core of the plot. They were his boys. He wished with all his heart that Enwa had shown up. He’d always had a soft spot for that officer right from their first meeting at the War College, Abuja. He regretted having to expend him if he failed to show up today. Coup plotting was never a thing for sissies. You had to be a man to pull it off or you are dead.
“We’ll go over the plot once again. Dan, you and Adoki will lead the troops to the Villa. The boys at the Brigade of Guards will assist you. Your group will also cover the seven gates at the Villa. Colonel Habib, you will lead the team to the Nigeria Television Authority and Radio Nigeria in Abuja. The team led by Major Itabi Ugwi will cover the Lagos units of the two establishments.
Brig Gen Udoekong and I will coordinate the operation from Lagos and Abuja respectively. Udoekong, you will ensure that your boys take control of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. We don’t want any reinforcement for the Federal troops from Ibadan. You know the GOC of the Ibadan Battalion is a cousin of the President. He will fight like a wounded lion. Our boys in Enugu will take care of the Eastern flank, while Brig Gen. Daniel Ochie, the GOC of Kaduna will handle the North. Our people in the Airforce will provide air support. Those deployed from the Navy will assist in the field operations where necessary. Any question?”
Okwuechie caught the look in the eyes of Ugwi. The man had been checking his wristwatch all evening.
“Ugwi what’s the matter?”
“Sir, I thought I should remind you that the Holy Communion at the Cantonment Chapel starts in less than twenty minutes. The Chaplain has been strutting about, with an exaggerated air of his importance. We may end up missing our evening meal if we don’t get there on time.”
Okwuechie couldn’t restrain a chuckle. He had almost forgotten the reason for the coup plot. The hunger and anger in the land were palpable. He was grateful for God’s intervention through the Holy Communion and would not allow any of his men to make light of spiritual things especially at a time like this.
“Ugwi let me give you a word of advice. Leave holy men alone no matter how cranky or unreasonable they seemed to be. I remember an incident that occurred when I was about eleven years old. We had this Catechist in my village that was the butt of jokes among other worshippers. He had a knack for giving scriptural references that were not found in the Bible. For instance, he would quote a non-existent 2Timothy 8;5 and with fanfare proceed to preach his sermon based on the non-existent text.
One day, my three brothers and I hosted other children in the neighborhood to a drama presentation, which featured my elder brother mimicking the Catechist. We were so engrossed in our inanities that we didn’t know when an uninvited guest joined us. It was my father. I saw him first and gave him that smile that seemed to say, “You are lucky to have such creative children.” I wasn’t expecting any backlash as a result of our action; after all, every one in the village was well acquainted with the antics of the Catechist. My father was apparently not amused for he said, “The four of you, meet me in my room.” We sent our friends away and filed into my father’s room, my eldest brother leading the pack. As we got in, my father rose and bolted the door from the inside. It was then we knew we had used our hands to buy trouble. My father had a copy of the Bible beside him. On the floor were two horsewhips. It was then we knew we had gone too far. So, my advice is, leave holy men of God alone”.
Udoekong raised his hand. A big man in his early fifties, the General had the looks of a predator, which attracted the nickname “Rambo” among his peers.
“Sir, with due respect, do we have any means of preventing infiltration by the authorities? I ask this because it beats my imagination that people like Abayomi Ogundipe, the Commander of the Brigade of Guards and the GOC Kaduna could throw their weight behind this plot knowing how close they are to the President.”
“I’m glad you raised the matter Dan. I can’t vouch for the loyalty of the GOC Kaduna, so we’ll have to take him by his word. I spoke with him personally and he expressed serious concern about the situation in our dear country. I don’t want to see myself as a traitor to the President. He is a good man. I have staked my life in this for the good of this country. I believe every one of us here should look at the project from that angle. As for Ogundipe, there are certain facts that cannot be disclosed in this forum. Be rest assured that he is hundred percent loyal to the cause. Are there other grey areas? Good. We can disperse now to meet again at Brig Udekong’s Guesthouse by 1955hours. Adoki, that should give you time to take care of the Enwa problem and brief us accordingly.”