Walking on the Tiny Edge

By Isaac Benjamin

Walking On The Tiny Edge is a unique literary classic without chapters. Rather, the Author adopted a fictional style of having subtitles with topics that are relevant with the current happenings. The Author used some figurative expressions which includes lots of imagery and metaphors that are garnished with satirical pour of issues. These are current challenges that beset Nigeria, Africa and the world especially the coronavirus that has brought the world to its knees altering our ways of life.
The Author is of the view that we are walking on tiny edges which elapses when our time on mother earth is ends. It is a journey on tiny edges which one could fall off the cliff of life without a premonition. This literary work had a portion with tributes from colleagues on their unending pains of the departure of their loved ones.
The book is in honour of the colleagues of the Author who passed on unexpectedly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Oct 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665593991

Isaac Benjamin

Isaac Benjamin is the author of several literary classics with distinctive characteristics. His works portray true narratives of human experience. The author is a product of the Nigerian Defence Academy with a B.Sc in Political Science and Defence Studies. He holds a Masters Degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolutions. He hopes to be done with his Doctoral studies in no distant time. His works among others includes Great Giants of Wicked Purities, Child Delivery in a Courtroom, Farewell To N’Djamena, Ode to Children of Our Embattled Values, a collection of poems titled The Solitary Verses. The author has some research works published in several journals. Hell’s Gate, one of the author’s literary works is in Hollywood database. The writer is a nationalist who strongly believes in the unity of his country, Nigeria.

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© 2021 Isaac Benjamin Eboh. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/26/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-9400-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-9399-1 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Preface

Walking On The Tiny Edge

A Journey So Uncertain

The World On Its Knees

Ancestral Truth

The Uncertain World

The Garment Of Fear

The Power Of The Supersensible

Destiny And Good Will To Humanity

The Finality Of Everything In Life

The Legacies Of Pa Boba Lives On

Defficient Patriotism And Crude Eternity

The Mystery Of Human Existence

The Fast Extinction Of Good Nigerians

The Distracting Lines

The Broken Lines

The Pang Of Pain And Acceptance

Dedicated To:

Brig Gen AU Kuliya of blessed memory

Brig Gen TJ Olayinka of blessed memory

Maj Gen H Ahmed of blessed memory

Maj Gen JO Irefin of blessed memory

Everyman holds an appointment with death. The

time we do not know in the land of the living.

PREFACE

Come to the edge

We might fall

Come to the edge

It’s too high

Come to the edge

And they came

And he pushed

And they flew

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WALKING ON THE

TINY EDGE

L ike a mystery, the candle light kept on shining bright amid the heavy storms. With no form of shield or cover around it, the ray that it emitted traveled very far into the horizon. It was quite unbelievable as I could feel His very essence fresh. My heart began to long for an eternal crux of being. Then like a bolt out of the blues there was a spark in the living room which made me to get up from the bed to unpluck the electrical wire that had exposed of some it’s part. There had been darkness around the vicinity for many days even though regular payments were made to settle the electricity bills. Like a blessed minded fellow, I have always ensured that nothing in the physical such as certain restrictions of growth, poverty and backwardness in our society played on my mind.

I tried to force myself to sleep afterwards, but though my eyes were heavy and full of sleep, it later glowed very bright in the dark as the light soon went off with total darkness in the land. Most people were already in bed and the night was tranquil with noises from nocturnal birds chirping from the distance. Country sides are usually a place that connects with nature, a deep peace that is normally lacking with the noises of the city. The quietness was real as it goes into the recess of the soul. Then I heard a calm voice within the deepness of my mind.

Write this book. I already gave you the title.

I startled from a struggled will be sleep as my head leaned on a sofa of the long chair in the parlour. My eyes got back into its socket; the sleep was imminent again. I don’t understand this, I told myself. My mind was empty without anything to remember. I decided to meditate a verse of the Holy Bible and then a word from a profound silence lured me into a deep sleep. I travelled far into another realm which I knew nothing about. I could see celestial beings all in some peace singing praises to the Supersensible. Their apparels were pure white that glowed extensively. I could not tell if their bodies had a physical being like ours.

I stood aloof as I listened to the choruses. Instantly, my heart got dominated by an inner peace such that you don’t get in the world. Then my eyes were further opened and it dawned on me that I was in the land of Pure Delight which my father in the Lord had talked about years back. I wanted to removed my shoes as it was a Holy place of the Almighty. It was a place where there is no sorrow and death, a sanctified place of immortality. I looked down at my feet to remove my shoes, but I couldn’t see any. And then an Angel appeared at my right-hand side. He carried an aura of peace and holiness. He was a mighty being to see in my human spirit. Then he said to me:

Look and Live.

He pointed at a direction I did not seem to observe. I could see a bright image of a spiritual being that I could not behold with my eyes. I got scared but the Angel said:

Fear not.

I stood perplexed not knowing what to do or to say. I could see the earlier celestial beings very clearly as they sang effortlessly. I felt an inner urge to join them. I had always longed to head a mass choir to the glory of the Supersensible. But this one looked different, a delightful praise of the Everlasting Him. I could see the choir very clearly as they sang from one song to the other. And then, I saw my late Mom to my surprise. She was so wonderful and looked timeless.

My Mom, I told the Angel.

Oh Saint Christiana, he replied.

Aha, he knows Mom’s name I told myself. I placed my gaze on her but she didn’t seem to have seen me which made me worried. The whole place was very beautiful. It was a spiritual excellence that cannot be found anywhere on earth. The Angel with me was friendly, I could feel a sensation of peace around him. He told me singing to the Supersensible was their routine and the reason man was created. He reiterated that songs were placed on man’s heart regularly to glorify the One who is God All by Himself. He was very confirmatory. I told him that sometimes I usually wake up with divine songs from heaven and that most often, I forget especially if I didn’t write the relics down. I reiterated that I usually forget the relics and tone.

I can see you love praise!

Yes, Sir, I replied, thought I could lead a mass choir someday.

Oh great.

I expected an affirmation from him since I was in the holiness of His very essence. Then, he took me to somewhere that overlooked an isolated disastrous spaced area with no physical barricades but mighty pillars of fire that provided illumination to a less bright but very hot overheated fire within a massive and endless span. The flames both within and at the distanced invisible perimeters were continuous. I heard groans and shout for help from the distance. And then some ghastly outpour of unbearable pains. I was shocked and scared without words. Then the Angel said:

Fear not, it is for Lucifer and his followers.

I did not know what to say but began an inner most questioning about my performance and deeds on earth. I could do better if I am allowed to go back, I soliloquized to myself. The Angel took me back to where we were earlier, but the experience of what I just went through kept flashing back in my mind. I was glad and excited that I could go back to our land of the living. Then, he gave me a chorus as a gift which he asked me to record when I got back home. He advised that I don’t give up with writing but should use it to encourage many especially those without hope and that I had been so empowered. I was stupefied, then woke up to a new day.

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In life, there are people who are born with some peculiarities of kindness and humane characters. It didn’t matter if they had so much or sometimes had nothing. They are life givers that make the world a joyful place to want to live in. On the other hand, there are those who use people of substance to get relevance and then become the devil in baggy pants. These people are everywhere, they are in all sphere of life. There are also those who distinguish themselves as Angels of help among men not the ones earlier mentioned. They are not proud neither are they in the race of acquisition of wealth if they did get exalted positions. They are kind souls in human flesh who probably exhibit their traits without knowing the reason. They act not on their own but a push from the supernatural. Although they eventually like all mortals die in human flesh, their souls fly away to the heavenly and free.

There comes a time in a man’s life when everything about life begins to play out on the decline. The vanity of life begins to show in as though living is not worth it. There are many who get the desired exalted positions but without an inner peace that should follow a man’s existence especially as he gets full of age. A child’s perception about life is certainly different from that of an adult. For while some kids group up in very rough conditions, there are some that had the sweetness of life. The Super One’s perception about us is awesome. He wants the best for us if only we are in humility ready to serve Him in sincerity and in truth. It was this deficiency in servanthood that made Lucifer to be thrown away from heaven.

There is something about serving. It affects our destiny and shapes our lives. I always long to put my hopes and trust not in my own inclination but the Great One in heaven. In life, you are certainly as good as your life reference which could be a very good one or a terribly bad for remembrance. I crave to be a blessed memory when I leave this stage. There are many who live as though they own their breath, unfortunately, they forget that we are all walking on a tiny edge which is supported by the kind of grace that we have.

Each time I reflect back on my life, I remember the seemingly tiny edges that I would have slipped off from. As scary as they were, I would just stand off to pray for a few seconds or minutes and probably hours. It is for this reason that we can’t leave here without fulfilling our purpose on earth. Purpose is the reason for being. A man can live for many decades without a purpose. There is the natural purpose and the divine purpose. I crave for the help of God in my life and whatever He offers is my purpose. So, I step up and activate the actions that would cause me to attain His divine direction. His Word is my reality. So, I speak faith into my life and constantly seek that He orders my step.

It is not only individuals that walk on tiny edges, nations too, do. There were these separate studies in 2017 that revealed evidence of ancient sunken continents in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They fell off the cliff from earthly existence. It is so with countries that are in constant threat of violent conflicts over some challenges with coexistence. When they split, they fall off the cliff. Today, there are many countries that are walking on tiny edges. One of such is Afghanistan. The country has serious challenge over her democracy which seems to be threatened by the recent loss of power to the Talibans.

Power, belongs to the Supersensible and He gives it to who He so wishes. Unfortunately, the power of the tongue can mar the dreams of leaders who become despotic and proud. Pride goes before a fall and this is what happens when a man has so much money and power. The two can destroy what a man has laboured for over the years. It is vanity upon vanity. The legacy that such things bring is that of shame and disgrace. As the world watched one of the countries of modern times go into embarrassing situations, the memory it brings will last for a very long while. The fact is that the Afghan State previous leadership was stained by the greed of despotic leadership as the country remained the same from one year to another with no form of infrastructural growth.

And the churches in Nigeria believed that the former American President was God sent because of the changes he did in Jerusalem. The fact is that God can use anybody or anything to accomplish His purpose. He can use you too for that which you probably do not have the skills to perform. You cannot believe in a man who is so egoistic and tells so many lies. I am baffled that even the whites have such laughable qualities that many people in Africa will not want to reckon with. When a man is not truthful, people should not elect him to positions that would bring hardship to them except through some electoral manipulations. It is dangerous as it can lead many people to their early graves. Pride goes with the attributes of such leader. And though they know that they are walking on tiny edges, their desperation does not allow them to see the dangers ahead. It is not the devil this time. In themselves, they have qualities that are damnable. I tell you and very sincerely too, that regrets follow all their wrongful and evil devices to atone for the sins committed.

If they took away that joy from you due to their jealousy, did they take away the mercy of God upon your life? And though you walked on those tiny edges, they cannot control your destiny. Although they consider themselves better than you in terms of their societal affluence, cheer up, they are only walking on very tiny edges. Nobody knows tomorrow or the hour and time. But I tell you very frankly. The maker of the universe owns time.

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A JOURNEY SO UNCERTAIN

I n all life adventures there are those who have the heart of gold to walk sane on the sands of time while there are multitudes who are neither good or bad as well as many others on the valley of decision dangling between the good and bad. There are wonderful people who don’t go to church or mosque. There are also many who do not have any form of religion but are simply good people.

As I meditated during my quiet time, I got some deep revelations about certain life matters. All the struggles that we embark on each day only pays us at the full of time with age and dust. So, this body too, soon will be gone to the dust? I asked myself, and then everything will be as though one never existed. Then why was there the need to come here and go through all the challenges of life? Why was it that it was not optional to decide to come here and live or just remain in heaven? Why are some people born with terrible disabilities from birth which is no fault of theirs?

Too many questions bothered my mind. Why does God allow all these things, too many evils to happen? Moments like these troubles show us that we are nothing. In times like this pandemic, we see how fragile and insignificant we are on this earth. How is it that an invisible enemy can just appear and take away so many people within the twinkle of an eye? How come with our sane minds we cause harm to others without an ounce of guilt or pity? Everything that is happening within the four corners of the earth has been prophesied in the Bible. Is it that we could just face a form of extinction from mother earth?

In these storms of life, I bow to the Supersensible for help. I will not run away from the presence of the Almighty. He might not stop them from doing these evils to the people, but He will shield us with His mighty powers. Those who forget about God cause several evils to mankind. They will surely bow before the one true God someday. Their evils will be used to place a big shame on their lineage aged criminality of putting humanity into these hard times.

The hopes and dreams of many have been cut short abruptly and quite unexpected. There is no strong and reliable solution to the problems. Suddenly, power and human dignity have both been thrown to the dust. It is a life of nothingness and vanity. We are so badly affected because we have thrown away the virtues of our creator with many evils that we commit daily under the Sun. With so much inequality and pride they try to deride our own existence with mockery and the recently exposed are terribly evil.

The power of their manipulations is constantly being exposed and resisted recently by many scientists and doctors. Their lives will be exposed to the very edge they put mankind. It is a land of adulterated purity that we have put our world into. What is the meaning of this satanic elimination? There are many insinuations about all their evil plans which they have put on a timeline. It is sad that we could see these things happen and the many love ones that we see leave here daily. How