There be African Heroes in Our Midst

We don’t need Hollywood to bring us excitement; there’s very often — what Mariane Williamson of The Quest calls — a deeper drama going on in our lives–that is to say a compelling impetus driving us in our vision of the type of life we want, and are leading.

So when you get to hear heroic acts and deeds that are not of Tinseltown stock, you begin to question some of the values in your life, and how much validity they represent juxtaposed against the evils of the world.

I can very much imagine that even if you’re a charity-giver, and hear of such heroic deeds as two Nigerian policemen facing a gang of thirty armed robbers in Nigeria, with one getting killed, and the other with “unearthly fury” shooting the gang all-out, the benevolence associated with giving to an organisation that appears almost faceless just shakes your comfort-zone just that small bit. You might begin to wonder how far you’d go in fighting an injustice.

When all is said and done and dusted, the truth is crystal-clear: there are heroes among us.

They are with us every day.

These are the unsung heroes that get buried in the cacophony of corporate news dissemination…

Two acts of serendipity have fortuitously exposed me to the heroism of more individuals.

The first was the whimsical purchase of the NBC-hit Heroes about a group of apparently very normal individuals who are destined to save the world with their super-human abilities, which play out through the show.

The second was the story I referred to above about the Nigerian policeman. The impact of which can be captured in a quotation:

30 heavily armed robbers invaded the Oba, Nsukka branch of a first generation bank, fired shots into the air to scare off people and proceeded to break into the bank. This was in broad daylight, 1.00 p.m. to be precise.

The two (2) policemen on duty rose to the occassion in amazing style, responding with what was apparently accurate marksmanship. Minute by minute, the casualty among the robbers rose: One, two, three, four … wounded (or dead?).

The bewildered gang took to dragging their hit colleagues into their getaway buses.

Meanwhile, inside the bank, the two brave hearts were running out of ammo, and knew it was only a matter of time, unless help came.

But where was the reinforcement? The supposed reinforcement later arrived about 30 minutes after the robbers had departed. But this was before the plot had played itself out in full.

One of the two policemen giving the robbers the time of their lives heard a thud - his colleague had taken a shot in the chest and had fallen to the floor. In agony, the dying cop gritted his teeth in a last effort not to scream and give away his colleague’s position. He was dead in a few minutes.

Bleeding from several wounds himself, the surviving cop rose up angry to face the robbers. It was with unearthly fury that he fired and fired away - and this onslaught totally demoralised the robbers, who hastily beat a retreat.

Bank workers who came later met a dead policeman with a chest wound and an unconscious one with his finger hooked on the trigger. His magazine was empty.

A question I posed to a friend during lunch a few days ago was yet-another X-files moment of God speaking to me, but me not listening–or me simply getting excessively philosophical in my young age?;-)

Either way, what greatly touched me about the Nigerian story was the “unearthly fury” with which the second (unconscious) officer used to shoot at the armed robbers. Where did it come from–that courage to face an evil you know can defeat you?

The heroism displayed by the first one who, sadly, died as he took on the armed robbers one-on-one was more than unprecedented; it was stomach-churning and heart rending.

I would like to see a day when each and every single one of us can walk the walk in this deeper drama of life, where our lives are so intertwined and connected in a way that transcends any six degrees of separation.

I also hope that when that day arrives, we will feel compelled to fight to the very end for what we believe in. I know the maturity of any courageousness I possess is very nascent, but maybe, just maybe, there might be someone out there…