Oh my goodness! Reading this story about the ordeal which my friend and someone whom I have tons of respect for, Mabu Nfinyo, my jaw kept dropping lower and lower in horror, amazement, and awe! It's a long read, but please read it to the end. It's sounds like fiction, but it is oh so true.
Mabu Nfinyo holding up the dead Cobra
Photo credit : Mabu Nfinyo
MY 3 DAY ODYSSEY: 4 FUNERALS, AN ATTACK BY MANY HEAVILY ARMED HIGHWAY ROBBERS, A TYRE PUNCTURE, AND THE COBRA.
(This is long, crazy and very interesting. Sorry I can’t make it any shorter).
Thursday 19th March 2015 at 22:42, a Whatsapp message hits my phone from my Aunty Ms. Goodness Kinyang who is in the UK: ‘Cover yourself with the blood of Jesus wherever you go, even to Nigeria and stay blessed’. I was already in Bamenda, from Yaounde and now on my way to the village for the funeral of my young Aunt Marie Noelle Machu Memba Kinyang who died at the age of 28, and just 1 year 3 months after her wedding to my uncle Barrister Kinyang George.
Friday 20th March 2015 at about 12:30 while in the car on my way from Bamenda to my village; Lassin-Noni, in Bui Division - North West Region of Cameroon , I receive a strange call from Pastor Terence Kanjo which I paraphrase: “President(in french)…, where are you? I have just received a strange phone call from one of my daughters in Dschang, and I am presently in Ebolowa. You don’t know her but she knows you, and knows I am close to you because I always talk about you. She says she has just had a very bad dream and she saw you dead. She called me this morning and told me about the dream, so I have decided to call you and cancel any possible plans by the evil one, and cover you with the blood of Jesus because God sometimes warns us through our dreams, and the dreams of others’. I then tell him about my Aunty’s earlier text message and he says; “You see…God is sending you a message”. He prays for me while I in communion listen meditatively over the phone and…’AMEN’.
FUNERAL 1:
We arrive at the one of the villages where one of my Dad’s cousins (an Aunt), had died a day earlier and had just been buried a few hours before our arrival. She was…I guess in her late 70’s and I had just seen her waxing strong about 3 weeks ago during my recent trip to the village to meet my Grand Mum who is about a 100 years old who had been very sick and had insistently been calling my name and wanted to see me before she eventually passes-on. After spending some time with the family of my deceased Aunt, we decide to hit the road to Lassin-my village.
Upon arrival in Lassin, we are welcome by the News that another family relative had just passed-on that morning. She should have also been in her 80’s. I should remind you that we had been driving in a convoy with the corpse of my late young Aunt; Marie Noelle. Upon arrival of the funeral hearse, we laid the latter in-state for wake keeping service.
FUNERAL 2, 3 & 4
Saturday 21st March at 1 pm, Marie Noelle is buried. I immediately leave to be part of the burial of the family relative who had died a day earlier. Immediately after her interment, my dad (who had just joined us in the village the night before) and I, decide to go to Mbinon-a nearby village for another heart-wrenching funeral of a young, beautiful, bright and promising kinswoman (if I might use that word). Wifoke Vanessa Fijong had died a week earlier at the age of 21 in Bamenda. She had just completed the Higher Teachers Training College, had just taken service in the secondary school where she had to teach and recently enrolled for a Master’s program in the University of Yaounde I. ‘It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the leaving will lay it to his heart.’ Ecclesiastes 7:2. Later in the evening I checked my phone and discovered that my Aunt: Ms Kinyang Goodness had emailed me a Daily Grace Inspirationals From Joseph Prince Ministries and the meditation of that morning was on covering ourselves with the blood of Jesus from acts of Evil Persons.
Sunday 22nd March at 9:45 am, Virtually 45 minutes after take-off from the village and heading back to Yaounde in the pick-up truck I was using, we are on a sharp bend of the high stony dusty hills of Bvugoï (Dom)-Noni when I suddenly notice a motorbike that has blocked half of the road and two persons lying down. In a split second I notice that these two persons are not in the sprawling positions of those we witness in motor-bike accidents but they were lying on their stomachs perpendicular to each other with their faces tucked in the dust and their hands behind their heads-in surrender. I immediately understood this was an ambush, and this is same area where they had shot and almost killed the Divisional Officer (D.O) of the Noni Sub Division-Mr. Nkwelle Divine, but met with exchange fire from the Brigade Commander who was riding with the D.O in his car. I immediately shouted to my driver ‘Fire…Boko Haram’. At the same time, a man emerged from a bush with a rifle and another man with a pistol and pointed at the windscreen from the driver’s side with an order for us to stop. I told the driver ‘fire…’, he swerved from hitting the bike, but ran violently into a ditch-and could have gone down the valley that is behind the ditch. I shouted again…’fire’ and he courageously powered the engine off the ditch, and suddenly another man emerged from the side of my window with a rifle aimed at us and dressed in Gendarme outfit, a red beret with his face painted entire black revealing only eyes, and blowing a whistle for us to stop. I shouted again ‘Nyugap…fire’ to the driver. The driver charged-on towards this man who had now jumped into the middle of the road with the rifle aiming at us, but he jumped away across the road for us not to knock him down. At this time all the lady-relatives who were behind the car-including my other young Aunt Mrs. Beatrice Lawsamba Medoung (CRTV journalist) were prayerfully shouting: ‘Blood of Jesus, blood of Jesus, blood of Jesus…’ meanwhile my cousin; young Magistrate Yata Eric and I stayed faithfully-calm in front of the car encouraging the Driver to fire-on. I told the driver to beat-off much dust so that the dust will blind the view of robbers if they are chasing us. Guys…I looked at the side mirror and tucked my head out of my window to look behind, and the cloud of dust that I saw was reminiscent of the pillar and cloud that guarded and guided the Children of Israel on their way out of Egypt.
Now reassured that we were quite away from danger I told the driver to stop so I can see the state of those who were sitting behind the pick-up truck. Low and behold, They all jumped out shouting and saying my cousin; Mabu Dieudonne had fallen off the pick-up when it fell into a ditch. They did not know we were actually running away from the robbers and therefore could not hear all the shouts from behind. I told them we can’t go back now but rather run to the neighbouring village (about 5 minutes drive away), and mobilise the crowd to go back, get Dieudonné and possibly counter-attack the robbers. When we got to the village (the same village where we attended the first funeral the day earlier), I asked those who happened to have guns to go get them out so we can go for a counter-offensive. Well, no one had a gun and if anyone had, I doubt if he could bring it out. A couple of guys took their bikes and drove up the hill for a rescue attempt. About 15 minutes later we saw a group of guys accompanying Dieudonne back. We was blanketed in dust, limping and coming down the hill, with one foot of his trousers funnily torn-off entirely and the other one hanging on. Thank God he had worn some red shorts which rescued him from any eyes that would wanted to look further. We asked him what had happened, he said he fell off from pick-up truck when it fell into a ditch, and while laying on his back, one of the robbers came towards him with a rifle pointed at him but he quickly grabbed a big sharp volcanic rock that was next to his hand and badly wounded the right part of robbers face. When he woke up to run away another rubber jumped on him and stabbed the middle of his palm with a knife during a fight while he was trying to escape, the robber held him from behind and tore his trousers just when he was taking flight. THANK GOD Dieudonné (God’s gift), fell off from the pick-up and had no injuries, and a stone was next to his hand when these robbers came to attack him. This was no COINCIDENCE but GOD-INCIDENCE. Dieudonné said they were all together about 10 robbers on the road and in the valley armed with rifles, pistols, machetes and knives. When he was sprinting off very hard, he said one of things that covered and guided him was the heavy dust our car was beating off. And the robbers didn’t chase him because they were carrying away their badly wounded colleague into the valley. Meantime the other two persons (whom we later learnt was a man and his wife) who were lying down and had been assaulted by robbers jumped on the bike and sped off during their attempt to get us, and during the fight with Dieudonne.
I called my village-Lassin and asked them to notify the security as well as to warn my Dad who had just left the village and was about 20 minutes behind us. Because I could inadvertently get to my dad or his driver due to network problems, I called my Mum who was still in the village. She immediately dispatched a bike rider to drive fast and stop my Dad. Thank God, My Dad had decided to swing-by to greet the D.O and while he was about continuing with the journey, he was intercepted by various bikes as well as others who had heard the news of what we had gone through. If he hadn’t stop to greet the D.O, he would have been the next victim of these high way robbers who should now have been very angered by the injury inflicted on one of them. GOD AT WORK AGAIN.
After giving statements to the Brigade commander, and mobilizing the villagers to go for a counter-offensive, I hit the road. I had to get back to Yaounde on time to catch my flight to Abuja-Nigeria. After about a 45 minute drive we had a tyre puncture on the very dusty slopes of the hills of Djottin-Noni, we got out, replaced the tyre, joked about our experiences and then hit the road again. About 15 minutes after leaving, I saw three young guys trying to shoot something with stones. Immediately we drove by I looked through the side of my window and saw a long black snake trying to escape. With my knowledge about snakes from books, TV documentaries and other encounters with snakes, I knew it was a cobra. I immediately told the driver to stop. I jumped out of the car, grabbed a big stone and got there on time when one of the guys had fatally hit the snake on its trunk. We pulled it out, I got the stone you see me holding in my left hand and hit the head of the snake many times. We held it up so I can take the picture of the 1m75cm Snake you see below and I could still feel the living snake wriggling in my hands. If you look at the picture closely you will notice the twist and turns of its body.
We continued our journey in time for me to get to Yaounde and be at the airport at 6AM Monday morning to catch my flight to Abuja-Lagos. I got to my home at 3am, packed my luggage, barely had any sleep and left the house at 5am for the airport to meet my wife Kaldiye Kaldadak T. MABU in Abuja for us to share some good moments, have some business meetings and experience the landmark political and media frenzied Nigerian Presidential Elections on the 28th of March 2015.
In summary, the text message from the Aunt on Thursday, the phone call from Pastor Terence Kanjo on Friday and the Devotional from my aunt on Saturday; all concerning covering myself with the Blood of Jesus, from evil people and times can be testified by these experiences recounted above. Someway somehow, the fingers of all those robbers froze on their triggers and they could not shoot. Dieudonne fell from the pick-up and landed with his back but had no injury, and came face to face with the armed-robbers but instead wounded one of them and escaped. We arrived our destinations safely meanwhile one of our acclaimed, energetic, enigmatic political and entrepreneurial compatriots Francoise Foning was buried a day earlier after dying from a car accident. We travel every day and cross our graves every day from similar experiences, but take it for granted, nor even pause to say Thank You lord. Praying for safe a journey and thanking God for a safe arrival should be a requirement and not an option
The multiple experiences of my life spanning from childhood to now always seem like one of Indiana Jones’ epically adventurous movies but this story is that of a man who is after God’s heart and like biblical David is not frightened by Goliaths because, ‘Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world’. I know I am covered by the Blood of SOMEONE who died on the CROSS OF CALVARY some 2000 years ago. He is called JESUS. Try HIM.
AND MY ADVENTURES CONTINUE…
Nfinyo T. MABU
Abuja-Nigeria
Tuesday 24th March 2015
Nfinyo, I bless the name of the Lord for your life, and may your story inspire others to trust in God for their safety, security, and protection!!
5 comments:
Hmmmmm! This is the length of a novel but worth reading. The power of God is always alive for those who believe and trust in Him. God YOU are mighty! We should not only pray when we are faced with adversity. Prayer is the key to everything. Thank you Lord for saving them and may the souls of the faithful departed rest in perfect peace Amen.
moity i don tire for refresh oh.bring us fresh gist pls
Me too its been days no gist. Maybe you should employ some staffs hahahahha
Wona first ask wether she be ok oh. Because this is unlike her. Moity I hope say u dey fine oh. If something dey worry u make oga Jesus hold ur hand ohhh
hehehe.you are right mangwineh but am sure she is fine and on duty somewhere.multitasking can be very challenging at times.Moity we hope you are doing ok whereever you are.we miss you
Post a Comment