You know what they say about posterity. Like that saying “posterity would judge”? Well, I really don’t know what it means. Regardless of how much research I have done on it, none seemed to make sense to me until recently.
Recently, while I spent time meditating on a particular issue (It’s a habit I formed because of my loud mind), my mind flashed back to a Bible study teacher I had as a little girl. He was more than a bible study teacher, he basically started a Children's Christian group out of our home church at the time. The group was interdenominational, however, so kids from other churches and those living in the area of our primary meeting location were invited.
Our teacher’s name was Akani but he was way older than all of us and is with the Nigerian custom any Man or woman older than you but not related to you was referred to as “Uncle”, “Brother” or “Sister/Aunty” and so we called him “Bro Akani” which due to fast pronunciation became “Brakani”.
Brakanni was the most devoted person I had ever met. He threw himself into a work that had no pay and little earthly rewards. His day job during the week was “mini crayfish trader” and on weekends, he spent his time picking little children from their houses, teaching them God’s word then returning each and everyone back to their homes regardless of how many we might be (imagine controlling 12 to 18 kids on a busy Lagos road…that one na work).
Brakanni taught several generations of kids. Most times, he taught an entire family. He taught siblings from the oldest to the youngest and just like most of our parents, his teaching methods varied as each generation emerged. He could be soft with one and hard with the other.
He became more than a teacher as time grew. As his older students grew and became too old to attend his bible classes, he tried to become friends with them, visiting them, following up on their growth and sometimes even getting to their level by playing games and getting in whatever fun they had going at the time just so he could maintain a relationship with them.
Brakanni wasn’t educated. Most times, our bible classes were taught in pidgin (which even made it more interesting to me) but he had a way with children more than an experienced, certified educator. He chastised truant kids with love and tried to encourage the most stubborn kids to leave truancy and become right. I can’t think of how many kids he snatched from the path of crime and waywardness which would have appeared in their adulthood. In the midst of all of his work, he sometimes had parents complain about their children trekking to and from our meeting place and over several other issues. All these complaints he took to heart and tried to find a way to work around them while doing a thankless job with no pay or monetary element.
At the time, Brakani was a pain in the butt to me because no matter how hard I tried to run away from the bible classes, Brakanni found me and with my mother’s permission (which she always gave), I always had to go.
Most times, I like everyone else took Brakani’s effort for granted. We played truant, said mean things behind his back and sometimes to his hearing but that never deterred him. Thinking back now, I could say Brakani was the real example of Christianity.
Brakani never married nor had any romantic affiliations because life never gave him the chance to. In July 2011, Brakanni passed on. His death occurred under mysterious circumstances as many believe he was murdered. He was found dead in his room with scratch marks on his neck. In other to avoid a scandal, the church took charge of the situation by burying him without a police investigation (like you could even rely on those). Till date, no one knows how or what killed Brakani.
You know what they say about people having big shoes to fill, Brakani was one of those people. His shoes were too big, large and great to fill. Getting a teacher to fill that role proved quite difficult for the church. Many of us tried but we couldn’t and till when my parents relocated and we left the area, the children’s class was still stuck in the abyss because of the lack of a teacher. Right now, I don’t even know if it exists anymore.
I still don’t know what they mean when they say “posterity would judge” but I am hoping that Brakani’s story is a good fit for its meaning.
