RECONCILED

September 15, 2008

A Lagos church unites estranged families

By Ernest Omoarelojie

For Dickson Akhator, 45, life could never have been better, having progressed from
a mere industrial hand to becoming senior commercial manager with construction
giant, Strabag plc. With a house and other mouth-watering perks as part of his new
status, there was no reason to imagine that life ahead would not be a lot rosier.
That was until the relationship with Teresa, his wife and mother of his four children
turned sour. The result? The vengeful spouse reportedly cast a spell on him,
resulting in a 14 year-long mental disorder.

But Akhator has turned out to be a cat with nine lives. Besides having his sanity restored, he,
along with his wife and four children was, on 17 August, the subject of an emotional
reconciliation that turned the packed auditorium of the Synagogue Church of All Nations into
weeping wrecks.

Akhator’s trouble began shortly after returning from Yugoslavia where he bagged a degree in
Economics. This medium learnt that upon his return, he went back to Strabag plc, a company
he worked with as a construction worker. Luck was with him as he quickly rose to the position
of Senior Commercial Manager. Shortly after, however, his lucky run hit a brickwall and took a
turn for the worse. The reason, this medium gathered, is that he got involved in a discrete
relationship with his secretary that later blossomed into a full-fledged marriage. As it turned
out, wife number one suddenly came short of his new status and he wasted no time in telling
her that his marriage with her was over. Akhator also told her to pack her belongings and take
a walk.Teresa, the wife in question, told this medium that she refused, preferring instead to
fight for her place, especially because she contributed in no small measure to making her
husband what he had become. Teresa also disclosed that Akhator was so enraged with her
refusal that he turned her into a punching bag at the slightest provocation. Worse still, he
began telling anyone who cared to listen that she was a witch. “When I refused to leave as he
wanted, he started telling everyone that I am a witch. He would not listen to any entreaty
from me or other people,” she said.

But determined to regain her husband’s love, Teresa sought the advice of a neighbour. The
neighbour, whose name was not given, obliged and took her to a native doctor to procure
what she believed is a love portion with which to permanently cement her relationship with
her estranged husband. But the portion came with a caveat-whatever you pronounce on him
would come out exactly as you wish.

Teresa returned home, convinced that all would henceforth, be well with her home. That was
not to be. According to Teresa, no sooner had she returned home than her beatings became
even more severe. Angered by the attack, she rained torrents of abuse on him. Apparently
demented by the severity of the attack, she forgot the native doctor’s warning that whatever
she pronounced on the man would ultimately manifest. She recalls telling her husband that he
would go mad for beating her to stupor. Soon after the incident, Akhator’s mental state began
to deteriorate. Before help could come, it worsened and he sold everything he had, including
a plot of land in Abule Egba area of Lagos. Left with no money or home, he herded his family
to his village. He never returned from the trip as he became a certified psychotic.

Akhator’s rescue was not planned. It was more of something that was meant to happen.
According to Pastor Temitope Joshua, the long road to finding Dickson began when one Eno
Ngozi Lucy, alias Mabel Usifoh, a prostitute based in Spain came for help in the church. Eno,
this medium gathered, confessed to having paid some people to kill her mother whom she
accused of being a witch and behind her inability to make a head-way in life. When the
assassins failed to carry out the assignment, she flew back to Nigeria to do the job herself. For
a start, she beat her mother to stupor, stabbed her in one of her eyes with a broken bottle
and left for dead. The mother, now blind in the left eye following the attack, told a stunned
audience that her daughter’s action was instigated by a letter her father wrote to her. In it, he
told Eno that a witch doctor had fingered her mother and one of her sisters as those
responsible for her and her brother’s woes. Both father and daughter were on hand to confirm
the bizarre tale. They equally begged for forgiveness, which the woman granted without
delay. Her case, Joshua disclosed, made him to realise that there are probably more people in
the church facing the same problems. To be sure, he asked everyone else with anything
similar to come forward. Dickson’s case turned out to be the most bizarre of the horde that
responded to the call. “The woman confessed and I told her that until she brought her
husband to me, there was nothing I could do for her,” Joshua told this medium.

Teresa agreed to bring her husband but the biggest question was how to move him from his
Ewohimi, Esan South-East local Government of Edo State base to Lagos. A concerned Joshua
provided the answer by making available a number of vehicles and some of his assistants to
accompany Teresa and two of her children on the trip. This medium gathered that the search
party which left Lagos on 12 August arrived his village same day. However, finding Akhator
was a Herculean task. By the time they found him, everyone, especially his children who had
not seen him since they were toddlers, broke down in tears. Amazingly, he put up no
resistance and did not exhibit any violent conduct even though he was clutching tightly to a
machete. He also did not offer any protest as he was commanded to pack his belongings (a
bag of bent-mind paraphernalia) comprising torn clothes from which oozes stomach
wrenching odour when it was opened in the church auditorium.

The party returned to Lagos three days later. Over the eight-hour journey, Akhator was said to
have remained mute all the way, perched on one corner of the bus. He equally remained
largely incommunicado until two days later when he stunned everyone with a demand for a
bath. He also wanted to shave his bushy beard and have a hair cut. Above all else, his
demands rekindled measured optimism in his recovery.

By the time Akhator was presented before the church congregation on 17 August, he was no
longer the incoherent madman they brought to Lagos. Against his former career background,
his torn dress and general appearance left many people in the congregation especially
women, in tears. His wife and children, including Billy, his son who was seeing him for the first
time, were inconsolable. Calmly however, Billy was tapping his son as if he was indeed
consoling him. Moments later, Joshua asked him to go and have his bathe, cut his hair, beard
and change into nice clothing.

By the time Akhator came out, smartly dressed in a light brown suit, complete with a fitting
pair of black shoes, the church erupted in disbelief. He had become transformed and beaming
with an infectious smile. The church went into frenzy, followed by prolonged dancing with
virtually everyone struggling to hug and congratulate him. It was a sight to behold.

But just as events were still unfolding, a number of his old work colleagues who were
apparently watching the events on the church’s satellite channel, began to call. They
recognised Akhator and confirmed the he was indeed, a Senior Commercial Manager with
Strabag plc, as he told the congregation earlier on. One of them, Anthony Akpan, who said he
was an accountant with the company then, was the first to call. Shortly after, Mrs. Mary
Okojie, the company’s Quantity Surveyor called, also corroborating Akhator’s claims. By the
time Pius Ehibo, Officer in charge of Store called later to also state that Dickson was indeed,
the man he claimed he is, the church went into delirious ecstasy. In particular, Akpan, who
now resides in Port Harcourt, recalled that Strabag actually made serious efforts at finding
him. The group gave him up for dead when the efforts yielded no positive result. His
appearance, he said, is more of someone coming back from the

dead. An obviously elated Akhator alluded to this when he thanked Joshua for giving him the
opportunity for a second shot at life. “I thank you for this opportunity for a new life,” he said
in a baritone voice that sent the church into another uproar. A happy Teresa was rolling on the
floor of the church when Akhator walked back into the church, transformed. “I am glad the
nightmare is over at last. I am grateful that my husband is back to good health. I am grateful
to God and the man he used in making this come true,” she said tearfully.

At the moment, Akhator can really count himself as one of the luckiest men alive. Following
his full recovery, he has become the centre of philanthropy. For instance, this medium
gathered that many of those who watched his revival on television are coming up with
donations to help him get back on his feet. Also, Pastor Joshua, the man responsible for his
recovery, gave him a brand new Toyota Corolla car gift, offered him N.5 million cash and
promised to help secure accommodation for him and his family. Obviously, life for Akhator
cannot be the same again.

SOURCE: The News Magazine, Nigeria

http://thenewsng.com/life/reconciled/2008/09