Perilous times

Lekan Otufodunrin

I was in Church when the news of the Abule Ado explosion in Lagos broke.

I emerged from the Church to check my Twitter timeline when I noticed that #Rapture was a top trending topic. What could have happened, I wondered as I first looked round to be sure there were people around me and I was not the only one left where I was.

Momentarily, the image of rapture said to be a situation where two persons, even husband, and wife could be together and one of them could be taken away to heaven and the other left flashed in my mind.

Just coming out the Church gave me some assurance about being rapturable, though it is not a guarantee, but I just couldn’t imagine what could have made the Twitter crowd be talking about what most of them don’t believe in given the kind of things they say about faith matters.

However, it turned out that the devastation that occurred in the Abule Ado and the consequent tremor experienced far from the site of the incident made many to realize that the end could truly come suddenly.

Many had gone to Church, others to their various endeavors and some at home when the blast occurred leaving so much ruin within minutes that no one expected.

Drone images of the affected areas make it look like war-ravaged cities following months of battle comparable with some Syrian cities as someone said to me.

Was it really a gas explosion? Is it not a bomb attack? Is Lagos under attack some have been arguing despite the explanation by emergency authorities and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), that should know.

Whatever it was, life suddenly came to a halt for the victims and memories of the Ikeja Cantonment of 2002 in Lagos flashed back due to the explosion many claimed to have heard far and near Abule Ado and people started talking of rapture.

What happened that Sunday morning in Abule Ado could have happened for any other reason anywhere in the country despite the human element involved, but again the point being made is that the shock was enough to make people realize how sudden our exit could be from this world.

Much more than the explosion is the global Coronavirus (Covid-19) scare that has literally brought the whole world, including the superpowers on its knees.

From one corner of the world, a viral infection like no other that we know in recent times broke out and has spread across the world with thousands of deaths recorded.

Initially, it seems it was going to be limited to some parts of the globe, but the impact is so devastating that again someone said to me, “so, God can just decide to wipe off the world with a disease like this”

There are talks of end times, the world suddenly coming to an end when we didn’t expect. The shutdown that has been experienced worldwide is unprecedented and as it is, things can never be the same again.

Those who have always dismissed the thoughts of a more powerful supernatural being are beginning to have a rethink.

Apart from the two instances above, there are many others that make the times we are worrisome and perilous.

Times like this, more than ever before, calls for our absolute trust and faith in God who is able to take control of the situation.

It’s time to seek divine protection, wisdom and take necessary precautions.