I remember the story of an alien whose amulet was stolen in a remote village. Upon learning the language of the locals, he approached a man for help. The man told him if an amulet of such worth was stolen, it would be sold in the city.
The alien got to the city and approached a police officer for help. The cop told him it was just impossible to identify a nameless thief in a city of millions. The alien asked, “who can help me? “ The police officer replied without wasting time, “God”

Unsatisfied, the alien approached a market man, his reply was, “my son, only God can help you “. The alien approached a little child, his reply was, “Sir, only God can help you “. The alien talked to a roadside beggar, his reply was, “my friend, only God can help you “.

“only God can help you “. “seek God”. “ask God”. “pray to God “. “God “. “just God”. “only God”. The replies he got from everyone kept reverberating in his head.

Then, the alien went in search for God. Some people told him, to meet God, he had to put off his shoes. Some other people told him, to meet God, he had to put on his shoes. Some said, to meet God, he had to bow down his head five times a day. Some said, to meet God, he must never bow down his head. Some requested he offer wine and bread to God. When the alien eventually got a wine and took it to God, he was chased out with machetes and sticks by some bearded people who had turbans around their heads while worshiping God. Some people told him, if he was to meet God, he would clap his hands and dance to drums. Some people forbade him from dancing to drums.

His search for God became intense because he could not let go of his priceless amulet. He went to some people, they told him to offer milk to God. Some other people told him to offer salt. He was made to kneel before a snake. Some made him kneel before a tortoise. Some assured him of meeting God inasmuch as he did not slaughter or eat cow. Some said he was free to eat and slaughter cow. Some people warned him against pig, some other people allowed him eat pork. And, on and on went the travails of an alien whose precious amulet launched him to find God.

Aliens are non-humans. So, they differ from humans by their unrelenting attitude. The alien did all those he was asked to do. He knelt before snake. He clasped his hands to the tortoise. He bowed his head five times a day. He brought milk for God. He wore shoe when he was not forbidden and he put them off when otherwise. He wove turban, he wore rings, he spoke to God, he cried to God. Yet, there was no God anywhere. No God to deliver his amulet.

Like waves directs the sea, so does fate directs man. Fate directed the alien to a very popular God. The God claimed he could do all things. The God had decided men’s destinies. The God’s verdict was needed before wedding one’s partner as he was the only one that could foresee what was to come. The God had many followers. He was unquestionable. Someone that once questioned him was severely tortured. Someone that tried to challenge him was murdered gruesomely. The people(his followers) , said, “we must protect our God”. It was God needing protection, not God providing protection.

The God reigned supreme. His greatness and might was passed down to generations, so, the little kid grew with the fear of the God- that whatever the God wanted was the best and not what he(the kid) wanted for himself. The little kid was consoled, in reward for dedication to the God, with the promise of an everlasting life with the God, someday. Once, when the kid asked his parents about the God, he was mercilessly beaten. His father told him if he dared question God again, he would go to hell fire, a place of eternal torment reserved for those who questioned God. So, the little kid grew in fear. He had never seen God. He only heard of him. His parents once told him that we were all images of God. God was an albino. God was black. God was white. God was Irish. God was so multi-coloured. God had curved nose. God had pointed nose. God was a mongoloid. He, in fact, was a negroid.

The little kid became a man and was free of his parents' threat. He decided to go his way, away from his parents. Like his parents, he was Christian Indian, but unlike them, he chose to marry a Muslim Pakistan. Then, his parents assumed he was insane. They reported him to God. When his father claimed to have met God, he told him God forsook his marriage. And so did he. He was not going to bless his son’s marriage. So, it was God differentiating between his images. The same God that was said to be one but had different ways of worshipping him.

The alien finally met the popular God. Much to his chagrin, he saw his amulet dazzling brightly in the midst of resplendently decorated ornaments. He was happy. He was overjoyed. So, it was true that only God could help him. He now understood what the police officer said, what the market man said, what the road-side beggar said, “only God can help you “. As he made to grab his amulet, he was quickly accosted by hefty men who dragged him like a mere object. He later learnt that, it was his amulet that God used in enchanting his followers. When the amulet shone brightly, the people fell on their kneels in worship because it was God’s glory being radiated. The alien watched in dismay. The God was no God. It was the people that created the God to fill a vacuum they could not occupy. His stolen amulet was God’s magic wand.

That was definitely not a God!