As Awiah drove by, his eyes could not resist the temptation of feasting on the pretty ladies lined along the road.

He has nocturnally visited the place more than once to have some time with them. Not so long ago, he had vowed to the great deity of his hometown never to have anything associated with it.

As he drove by, the titillating figures of half-naked ladies of varying shapes and sizes got him transfixed. He occasionally forgot he was driving.  In their sleeveless, skimpy and transparent vests, they beckoned to people walking by. Awiah sensed a growing sensation below his loin but remembering his vow he quickly suppressed it.

It was a gloomy day for Ghanaians. Morbid as it was, there were lessons learnt. Some of them in secret.  Awiah had closed from work that weekend. 

He informed his wife that he would not be delivering the teaching in church since he was staying late in the office to finish some work. Sins of the flesh again as on many occasions had gotten the better side of him. Straight to the brothel, he went. Jezebel clothed in nudity was anxiously waiting. 

After taking his shower he made for the bed. As a prelude to the main performance, the kisses, smooches and the caresses started. Every nerve stood still and the cedar of Lebanon between his two thighs became stiff. 

Before he could make a triumphant entry to the already opened gates of Babylon, the strangest and loudest of noise was heard. The turmoil threw them off the bed. The slimy walls of Babylon suddenly became dry as the desert of Libya. The stiff cedar flesh between Kaba’s thighs drooped within a fraction of a second.

The rapture had come. The visitation of the long over-due wrath of God on humanity had come. Jezebel screamed and her fart was loud enough to wake a corpse. 

Awiah hid under the bed. In the confusing, he loudly swore that if he was spared to live, the dreaded deity of his village should kill him if he ever dares betray his marriage vow of fidelity. 

Though a Christian he never knew what made him say what he said. In the midst of the commotion, his phone rang. With shaky hands, he picked it and answered the call. That was the call that woke up the dream in him. His wife had asked him if he had heard of the terrible news-the gas explosion at Atomic Junction in Madina. She was sobbing and asked Awiah to come home immediately since all the children were terrified.

Growing from a traditional home, Awiah knew of the danger that awaited him if he reneged on his vow. He was troubled. He could not fathom why of all the names he holds sacred, he had to mention a dreaded deity he had often preached against.  Even though there was a way out, it was difficult to follow. To revoke the 'curse’ he brought on himself, he would have to announce publicly, his crime at the sacred altar of the shrine. Afterwards, he will buy two cows and seven white rams which would be sacrificed to propitiate the deity. Awiah a catechist and a church elder will not orchestrate his own public ridicule.

A few weeks later, Monica noticed a sudden change in the life of Awiah. He comes home early and hardly ever complain of being tired on any matrimonial bliss. She was overjoyed. More than once she gave a testimony to the congregation on how adorable her husband had become. She asked the women ministry to continue to pray for their husbands.

The thief comes in silence and no one knows when he would come. All are expected to stay awake and pray. Everyday things are changing. Global and economic pressure is making us doubt our own shadows. The family system is breaking apart. The new media is seriously playing a role of enculturation. Physical and cultural barriers have been broken. Sins of the flesh and evil influences across the globe have made most of the slaves in many ways. 

A sacred thing such as sex is becoming more venerating in common domestic animals than humans.  Are we raising a nation of sex relishing he-goats and nanny goats?The threat that the new media poses to us Ghanaians begs for a question. What measures are families, schools, churches, mosques and other societies putting in place to minimize the disheartening and disquieting behaviour and culture we imbibe as we associate with the new media?

For what purpose would people record their sex activities? Is it in our nature to cheat on others especially our wives and husbands? Has it not become clear that some of us are media illiterates by the way and manner we handle and treat sensitive and profane information? 

The questions can only continue but methinks there should be serious punitive measures and legislature on how to manage and control the circulation of certain profane images on the new media.

There is always some form of damage done the individual when their nude pictures are leaked. If one whose nude pictures are leaked were to know that they would be leaked, they might not have even recorded them in the first place. 

 

If Awiah had sensed a rapture that day he would have gone to deliver the teaching in the church. The likes of Awiah were just lucky by some divine intervention. Some of us may not be as lucky as Awiah. One slight mistake of satisfying our flesh can bring some irreparable damage to our persona and families.

In all things we do in secret; good and evil, great and small, we should be mindful of the thief.

- By Joseph Aketema, University of Ghana | aketema@yahoo.com