Usain Bolt, Juju And Soccer Prophets

Twice, lightning stroke, twice a miracle happened, right before our eyes. Not the miracle that is carelessly tossed about by sleek juju men like Kwaku Bonsam, nor the miracle that false prophets, who ‘heal’ the blind, flaunt to bamboozle us to get into our heads, to rob us blind. This miracle is real, touchable and tangible, something you can grasp and taste. It is the miracle at the 2012 London Olympics.

That the USA and China led in the medal count again, of course, is not the miracle. Your guess is far off if you think the miracle is the American, Michael Phelps taking home 22 medals or Gaby Douglas snatching the gold in gymnastics. The miracle is that a tiny, poor island nation of 2.6 million people, Jamaica, took home more medals than any single African nation. Jamaica grabbed more medals than the whole of West Africa, with a quarter of a billion people.

Usain bolt made all of us Jamaican. I celebrated with my Jamaican brothers and sisters. With Bob Marley’s Natural Mystic blasting in the background, I screamed “Yeah maan!” like a rastafarian on a beach in Kingston, and giddily cursed out “bombaclat !”, even though I did not know the meaning of the word. Bolt set a new Olympic record of 9.63 seconds. Yohan Blake, his country man, bolted out of the tracks to claim the silver, at 9.75 seconds, to become the second fastest man on the planet. On the women’s side the miracle was no less phenomenal. How can a nation with a population a little more than that of Accra perform a feat, almost comparable to Moses parting the Red Sea before Pharoah and his generals? What is the secret? Both Blake and Usain were trained in Jamaica, not in the U.S. What makes some nations perform and others fail? I waited for a prophet like T. B. Joshua to come out and claim the glory of Jamiaca’s victory, but none came. I waited for some ‘powerful’ juju man to demystify why China claimed so many medals. I waited to be regaled with revelations of occultic powers, witchcraft, mame wata, and mmoatia spirits helping these athletes, but nothing came. I waited for some voodoo priest from Haiti to reveal that Gabby’s mother came to him for some special potion but no hougan came.

When I tell my African friends and family that juju does not work, most look at me like I had just desecrated the tomb of a revered ancestor. They argue that if one does not believe in juju then one does not believe in God. Does one have to believe in fairies, vampires and Harry Porter just because one believes in God? Should I still believe tuberculosis and malaria are caused by evil spirits in this age of space travel? The tragedy is that most Africans have these enslaving superstitious beliefs. It is passed on to our kids, who are supposed to compete with the Japanese and Germans in future Olympics and in the journey of life.

The hard evidence from watching the Olympics is that Juju, occultic powers and prayers from prophets like T.B. Joshua are useless and do not work in sports and national development. God has given all humans the mind and body to excel, the rest is left to us. That is why a godless, atheistic nation like China can accumulate so many medals at the Olympics. We can live in our fantasy world and blame black magic and ancestral curses, but the evidence is as clear as daylight. The Chinese and Japanese do not believe in juju, black magic or occultic powers. They have no prophets or men of God, no mallams, and no Tigari priests, yet they gather Olympic medals like manna from heaven. In the Olympic medal count, where are the juju superpowers like Benin (Dahomey) and Haiti? Where is the Congo, Nigeria, Senegal and magic power house India? They are all missing in action.

It is no secret that Africans are gifted physically to dominate the Olympics. Black people just have it all. Look at African Americans, rid of superstition and backward dependence on enslaving false beliefs, they have dominated many sports. When Michael Jordan or Floyd Mayweather fails, they blame themselves, not juju, occultic powers or ancestral curses. When they triumph, there is no reference to prophets or men of God or juju.

I have always looked forward to the Olympics with great anticipation. Much more than the lofty principles, the Olympics is a prophecy, a crystal ball into the soul of nations. It is not just a game of physical excellence and challenge. It is a barometer of the state of mind of nations, their resilience and fighting spirit. It is what a people are made of, the content of their character, their uncompromising dedication, hard work and sacrifice, their belief in self. Can a people tap their boundless, infinite potential if they blame their failures on juju, ancestral curses and the hallucinogenic visions of self-proclaimed prophets? Can a people reach their full potential?

A delegation of Africans went to God and asked the Supreme One, tearfully, “We pray more than the Swiss, we fast more than the Chinese, we speak in tongues and cast out more demons than the Japanese, we do more praise and worship than the Germans. We have more anointed prophets than the United States. Why, o God! Why have thou forsaken us? Should we bring more tithes and offerings to thy temple? Why are all these nations doing far better than us? Do we have to fast and pray more to thee? O heavenly father! We need help from Thee”. From his throne, God looked down at the Africans, and thundered, “I have given you all the gold and diamonds in the world, all the precious minerals, manpower, fertile lands and sunshine in abundance. I have also given you the same brains I gave the Asians and Europeans. What else do you want from me? Get the &#%@ out of my face”.

By Kwame Asempa