Death And A Shopping Mall

By Tayo Ogunbiyi

Few weeks back, the Israeli-built Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, a rendezvous of sort for people across the globe, was visited by vicious marketers of death and the imposing edifice was left largely deserted, after days of gunfire, explosions and bloodshed. Days after the siege on the shopping mall was eventually lifted, the world was faced with repulsive sights of lifeless human bodies, carnage and misery. Lying lifeless on the floor of the mall were bodies of men and women, whom hours before were full of life, hope and expectations. They came to the shopping mall, with the hope of spending their hard earned money on items that could bring them satisfaction and fulfillment. Ironically, they could only purchase the one unlikely commodity, which no man wants to touch with a long pole, -death.

The hideous Nairobi shopping mall event has once again brought to the forefront how insecure our world has suddenly become. It has also brought to the fore the innate wickedness in the heart of man. It has equally brought us face to face with the stark reality that our world is being ripped apart by deep -rooted hatred and bitterness. But, perhaps, more importantly, the Nairobi massacre has brought us to the harsh truth of death as a constant companion of man in the voyage of life. Though many would want to wish away the thought of death being a life-steady buddy, the truth, however, is that man daily walks in the shadow of the valley of death. The uncertain thing, nonetheless, is the exact time and place when each person would come face to face with this unwanted life associate. While many of the chaps at the Nairobi Westgate Shopping Mall were lucky to postpone the day of reckoning with death, some were, however, not so fortunate.

Death is the last crowning glory of every man’s sojourn on earth. The fool will die. The wise will die. The rich will die and the poor will also not escape the deadly and cold grip of death. The deadly thing about death is that it will come when it will come. Some die at birth.  Some die in their prime. Some die in their old age. Some die in their sleep while others die bathing. Some die in five star hospitals while others die in miserable dispensaries. Some die unsung while others are celebrated even in death. Some die plotting against death while some are trapped in the cobweb of death for some inexplicable reasons. That is death for you! It (he?) is so ruthless that it gives no room for negotiation between itself and its victims. Except for, perhaps, King Hezekiah in the Holy Bible, who God gave the luxury of re-negotiating his exit date, death daily moves rounds the world, with so much pride and arrogance, to pluck from among men whom it wants.

Death meets man everywhere. It is procured by every instrument, and in all chances, and enters through many doors. To some, death come by violence and secret influence while to others it comes by the aspect of a star and the scent of a mist, by the emissions of a cloud and the meeting of a vapour, by the fall of a chariot and the stumbling at a stone. Others encounter death through a full meal or an empty stomach, by watching at the wine or by watching at prayers, by the sun or the moon, by a heat or a cold, by sleepless nights or sleeping days. Others are brought down by death through water frozen into the hardness and sharpness of a dagger, or water thawed into the floods of a river, by a hair or a raisin, by violent motion or sitting still.  Many deaths occur suddenly, like the case of those that lost their lives at the Nairobi Shopping Mall and others who had been killed in various dastardly circumstances through the activities of heartless merchants of death.  Death, sometimes, strikes without warning.

The one thing we can count on is today. No one is really sure of tomorrow. It is, therefore, quite strange that many go to any extent to acquire wealth, power, influence and all sorts of ephemeral material possessions. Some enter into occult covenants, whose terms might be eventually injurious to their generations yet unborn, just to remain relevant in a world where one is forgotten immediately one is gone. The Holy Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes, aptly summarizes the sojourn of man on earth when Solomon, perhaps, the wisest king ever, refers to life as vanity. Nothing but the grasping of the wind! The real essence of life is not in living only for ourselves, our dreams but in sharing our lives with others. True riches lie in the number of lives one has been able to impact while on earth. The mansions that men build are not as important as the men that are built for it is the latter that would determine the fate of the mansions built. If only leaders of Third World countries would take counsel in the summation of King Solomon about the vanity of life, perhaps, their people would not have to grapple with so much misery in their various countries. Leaders, and followers alike, who relish in cornering the commonwealth for personal ends, should remember that we came to this world with nothing and will absolutely return with nothing. Individuals that daily live lives of worries and anxieties to the detriment of their health, need to take things easy because life will eventually go on with or without them. Those that engage in all manner of wickedness should remember the day that they will stand naked before the judgment seat of their creator. Every man, irrespective of status, shall one day stand before God in judgment. Just think about this!

The Nairobi Shopping Mall death is a demonstration of the uncertainty of life. It signifies the ephemeral nature of man. It is a reminder, especially to those who rely on the powers of godfathers, that the only reliable and ever constant being in life is God, the Father. Each time you are lucky to witness the dawn of a new day, remember the Nairobi Shopping Mall and reflect on the temporary nature of life. Perhaps, this might offer us all new insights to the real purpose and meaning of life.

•Ogunbiyi is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja