Reconfiguring Unbiblical Daniel
By: MICHAEL ODIGBE
ANYTIME, the SUPER EAGLES are defeated in a game, Nigeria doesn’t only parade coach Stephen Keshi but over 70million coaches. Yes, every adult becomes a coach semonizing on what ought to have done to beat our opponents. Among these emergency coaches are people who cannot even tell you whether a
football pitch is a square, rectangular triangular or trapezoidal in form.
Similarly, today, millions of Nigerians instantaneously have transformed into sociologist with specialisation in social work and social welfare administration. Why? Because of Daniel Oikhena, the stowaway Kid who flew in the wheel compartment of Arik Airline from Benin to Lagos on August 24, 2013.
However, methinks, Daniel Oikhena is only an evil genius, simpliciter, invariably, today, we have two evil geniuses- namely former president Ibrahim Babagida and Daniel Oikhena. But does Nigeria need evil geniuses? That is the question.
Secondly. It beats me hollow for anyone to seek ecclesiastic refuge in religion to rationalise Daniel Oikehna’s escapade as having God’s endorsement. Therefore, it is wrong to compare him with biblical Daniel. The truth is that we have before us are two Daniels. Yes, we have the biblical Daniel whose total obedience to the will the divine grace to rout the lions in the den. But, in contradistinction, there is the other unbiblical Daniel Oikhena, the serial sinner. Without God’s grace who survived the Arik plane incident by a stroke of luck. Not God’s intervention because God is never associated with the evil machinations of any sinning Daniels, young or old.
Thirdly, some commentators argue that because Daniel Oikhena had no evil intention in boarding the Arik airline, he cannot be accused of committing any crime. I agree. A legal maxim states: Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit read. Translated into English this means that the physical act of a man doesn’t establish guilt unless the mind is guilty. But wait-oo. A mind without evil intention and is guiltless can still causes havoc. Although, Billy had no evil intention, it was the letter bomb he delivered to his father Dele Giwa in 196 that killed him.
Indeed, young Daniel Oikhena didn’t commit any “crime” by transgressing the sancrosant Benin Airports perimeter fence and traveling in Arik airline with a ticket a boarding pass and security clearance!! Anyway, has there ever been a ownishable crime in Nigeria of today and has our archaic laws ever been patriotically revised to moderanise them? Is there any difference between a crime fighter and a criminals in our sick country? Go and ask ARFICAN OHINA, the musician. He will tell you why we uncrimminalise crime in Nigeria in our statute books and beer parlour talk.
So far, so good. Beyond the polemics generated by Daniel Oikhena’s incident, let’s look at what we should immediately do with the stowaway boy who is only 13 years of age. To begin with, he needs a team of expert care-givers diligently co-ordinated and supervised by government at this critical stage of his life. For instance, he needs the rehabilitative assistance of a psycho-neuro-psyhologist, medical physician, clinical psychologist and a sociology with specialization in social work and social welfare administration.
The work of the psycho-neuro-psychiatrist is to diagnostically establish the neurological status as well as mental state of Daniel Oikhena and then treat him accordingly. He needs the psycho-neuro-psychiatrist’s tender care because from my preliminary obsevation Daniel Oikhena comes off as kid suffering from delusion of grandeur, paranocdal fixation with traveling to America and a pathological deficiency in differentiating between realities and actualities in life.
Also, the job of the psycho-neuro-psychiatrist is to study Daniel Oikhena’s mind- brain control complex to determine whether he is under the control of his brain or super brain. Usually, the mind is generated or powered by the brain. But the mind can become a controller of the brain. When you allow the brain to control the mind and how you think, you can be said to have a BRAIN.
On the other hand, there are people who knowingly or unknowingly reconstruct their minds to take over control of their brain. Such persons have a SUPER BRAIN. They are the CAN-DO people who can accomplish good or bad tremendous feats by merely using their mind to assign jobs to their SUPERBRAIN. It is not surprising you hear such a statement that “the human mind resides in all the 14billion cells of the brain”.
To me, Daniel Oikhena seems to be a kid with a SUPERBRAIN. This suggests why he is considered intelligent by government officials.
Nevertheless, it is imperative a psycho psychiatrist positively re-programmes Daniel Oikhena’s mind. If this isn’t done, his SUPERBRAIN will work against his successful use of government scholarship granted him.
It may interest the reader to know that I once had a case like Daniel Oikhena in my hands. Enter Deltan Nwafenna Uwerumor.
He was in JSS 3 at Adolor College, Benin when his SUPERBRAIN invented a small, plastic car that was powered by dry-cell batteries. I took him to Delta State military administrator, Group Captain Ibrahim Kefas, who gave him a scholarship from JSS 3 to university. To ensure that he fully used the scholarship award, I arranged with the mother (a widow) and the Delta State Ministry of Education to transfer him from Adolor College, Benin – a public school - to Lumen Christi College, Uromi a private institution.
Before doing this, our innocence didn’t give us the insight to ensure his superbrain was positively re-wired through psycho-neuro-psychiatric rehabilitation. Therefore, before we knew it he had abandoned his education at elitist lumen Christi College, Uromi and flown out to Libya en route America to which he was pathologically fixated about traveling for the golden fleece. But he got stuck in Libya from where he was repatriated to Nigeria.
Again, he tried to go to America via Cote D’ Ivoire but hit the brick wall. Frustrated, he returned to Nigeria still with America on his mind until he passed on in a fatal road crash on the Abuja-Benin road. And so an intelligent kid and a genius in electrical engineering died in cold blood without self-realisation.
Culled from www.nigerianobservernews.com/17092013/features/features7.html#.Ujkuc6l5ELU.facebook