The other side of Night

Someone once said that night was the forerunner of every crime and the mother of all evils. The fellow further went on to ask God to shed His light into every evil night, that the evil might pass away. This statement and prayer got me thinking, is night really that evil? Are all the evils of the world conceived at night? If there wasn’t the darkness of night, would the world be better than it is now? Is a good night rest the only advantage of night? Can any good really come out of darkness?

Even as I write, I do not have the answers to any of these questions. However, I believe that there must be something other than evil that can come out from darkness. It has been argued that darkness and evil were not created by God and they only exist as a result of the absence of light and good. If that be the case, we can start by saying that evil, night or darkness are not entirely bad, no they are not. If we say that they only exist as a result of what is not there then we can say boldly that all we need do in times of darkness is find the light.

So the questions will be; what is my light? Where is my light? How can I get to my light? Light comes in form of strength and hope, it comes to us as that feeling of happiness even in sadness. The light will be that thing that encourages us, that which tells us that there are better days ahead. With the thought of the light on our mind, we can live through the darkness of every night knowing that it will one day pass. We learn that the darkness teaches us to appreciate the days of light. In those times of darkness, the only thing that keeps us going is the thought that there are better days ahead, we walk through darkness and we have the assurance that someday somehow, the light will come, so even though we dwell in darkness, we just have the belief that it is temporary, we believe that it is only a mirage, we figure that the darkness is not really there, we say to ourselves countlessly that darkness was never created, we say that darkness just needs a little light. In our moments of darkness, we find strength, we find will and purpose, when the darkness falls, we know that things will not be the same again but somehow, we trust that the light will show up and save the day.

So, I say to myself, if we can draw all these positives from the dark periods of our lives, then darkness cannot be entirely bad. Speaking of the crimes and evils committed at night, I say to myself, those who do that are weak and cowardly, they have chosen to ignore the light that was created as a guide, they have made darkness their abode because the works of their hands are far from honourable. These men are evil men, they come out in the day and they are the gods and princes of this world, their words are seen as law they are highly respected in the society, reverence is what people have for them submission is what they demand, but underneath their masks of achievements and ambitions, lies a coward who is patiently waiting for nightfall so that he may carry out his evil desires. Looking around our world today, we see men like these ones; maybe, we too are people like these. We run under the cover of darkness to conceal our true intentions. We are driven by selfish desires, and the light is more often than not a nuisance. Looking around our world today, we see nations in darkness, we see people stumble and fall under the darkness of bad leadership, our brothers and friends die from preventable causes because those with whom they entrusted their lives have sold them out. Bottom line, there is darkness all around and there seem to be no light in sight.

I know a place that is so richly blessed. A place where the land is beautiful and its inhabitants are created to be happy. In this place, the people are so powerful that they can be whoever they choose to be. But, these people live in darkness. The life they live now is nothing compared to the kind of life they ought to be living. Africa is blessed indeed but why are we trapped in this evil night of war and corruption. Could there really be something good to learn from the African story? Would I be out of line if I say that Africa is in darkness right now? Would it be too much to ask of this continent to step out and see the light? David Cameron, speaking at the Lagos Business School seminar said; “every preventable death on this continent is a tragedy”. Would I be lying if I say that most of the Africans, who die, die as a result of what could have otherwise been prevented? So then, what is the up side to this darkness? How do we live through this darkness? When would we stand and take our place? When would we pick up our light and let it shine? So, where do we go from here?

Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider once wrote; “we hold in our hands the most precious gift of all: Freedom. The freedom to express our art, our love, the freedom to be who we want to be. We are not going to give that freedom away, and no one shall take it from us”. I agree with them totally. The time has come for Africa to choose to be free from the darkness of war, corruption, and sickness. The time has come for us to realize that choosing to be in darkness is no longer in our best interest and that a single beam of light can disperse darkness no matter how thick that darkness may be. It is time for us to embrace the light of good governance, it time for us to embrace the light of the truth, it is time for us to be free. The time has come for us to take a look at the other side of the night and may be, just maybe, we might find all that we have been looking for all along.