| CHASING SHADOWS? Popped up on this forum a number of times. Those of you who attended Awgu County Secondary School in its pre-civil war glorious days will remember our esteemed senior tutor, the late Mr. Eneh. He was a remarkable precision shooter. As the kites (egbe) would hover above in the sky, he would ask one his children to bring his double barreled rifle. He never looked at his target directly. He would look at the shadow of the kite on the ground, points his gun upward, pulls the trigger, and tells his children to go pick the kill. The legendary fictional Sherlock Holmes also used shadows prominently. How about James Bond in the Gold finger who used the shadow of his enemy to gun him down. Chasing shadows may not be a bad thing. I must confess that I have chased shadows in my life. It could be a good thing. One could chase the shadow of the person he adores and admires. One can also track down a shadow he wants to abolish. I have chased the good shadow of my late father and have attained some success with it. Now, I am tracking down the shadows of the enemies of Nenwe culture. You need to know or define the objects whose shadows you want to chase. Shadows represent real objects and invariably do not exist as phantoms. When you have done this, you also want to ensure that you become good at chasing shadows, and a little bit of luck can't hurt. Now, let us join hands and track down the shadows of greed, tyranny, and corruption in our society. They are the real enemies of Nenwei. Did I mention to you that I am also walking in the shadow of a distant figure in Nenwe history? Let not your spirit be troubled. Sincerely, Cosmas Onwudiwe Onuora, M.D., FACOG, FICS. |
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