By Frank Meke
Sometimes, I do marvel at names and their meanings. Though there are certain symbolic importance attached to names, particularly in Africa, even during Abrahamic times, some names with their meanings do not add up, and I wonder .
Let us look at the zeecheus. It means “pure and innocent” one, yet a certain zeecheus is a thief, a liar, and a tax collector of most insidious personification.
The morals of zeecheus biblical stories are very important, though, but we have seen plenty of zeecheus in our midst, not by names alone but by character, refusing to change for the better
They conjure figures, change and mutilate figures, records of meetings, and would even hire assassins to eliminate anyone standing on the brutish ways. They boldly deny who they claim to be.
In Nigeria, they are everywhere, in politics, in the church, in families and communities , clubs, or associations, in tourism and travel, and out of it.
If you check them out properly, these zeecheus in our midst are neither tall nor short. The tall ones, few though, look like ostrich with their long necks looking at budgets and money to steal. I won’t bother you with eating habits of these wild beasts, and to domesticate them, you dare not let them lose anyhow, or you will regret breeding them.
Now, the small, short looking zeecheus in Nigeria have image and psychology problems, which made them hound for money or material things of this world as if there’s no tomorrow.
You will find these types as agberos and pimps. They are the fixers of political and economic wahala. Everything they do is about self and money. The short put zeecheus is dangerous to even self. At meetings, they lack wisdom and open their mouths like a person suffering from dysentery and diarrhoea. The zeecheus(s), for short, zacks, are men of no repute. Not known to nurture anything to greatness, their game plan is to distract development and progress. They connive to cheat and lie against the system. As men of low esteem, the zeecheus of Nigeria are hate mongers. They don’t pay tax but want to benefit from those who pay tax. They rob Peter to pay Paul at a fixed price and woe betide you if you dare confront them.
The zeecheus with this Nigerian DNA are propagandists and usually unknown to those who dread them. These zeecks lack staying power. They easily fall like a pack of cards at the slightest tough opposition. They are cowards and sing like canary bird if confronted with intelligence and wisdom. And to the credit late fela kuti, these zeecks are opposite people. Look around. They are watching and waiting to pry on you!
Who exactly is zeecheus? This short ( average height) man was a tax collector in the city of Jericho. Read Luke Chapter 19 , verse 1 to 9.. zeecheus was an enigma and was hated by the people for cheating them through unknown tax metrics. He was also a prominent Jewish leader, certainly rich from accumulating wealth through illegal means like most Nigerian leaders and so-called businessmen.
Please let me share one long-time encounter with a certain zeecheus person years ago. He was in our industry, and luck happened to him and became a Director General of one of our agencies. He spent eight years in office travelling all over the world to attend tourism events and seminars. His type of zeecheus DNA is that he has long neck like ostrich and wait for this shocking revelation. Our long necked zeecheus contracted jidijidi and spent our budget treating it in hospitals in Europe, and our agency suffered setbacks on account of that foolery.
There was another zeecheus. This one is a woman with zeecheus worldliness. She used to attend our meetings in lagos and would come with a night bus to lagos. We helped her get complimentary accommodation and feeding in hotels in lagos, but the moment she found herself in government, the spirit of zeecheus overwhelmed her.
These people are plenty in our travel and tourism space and if we call them out now for odd recognition, they and their apologists will scream, “Please call Frank to order “as if one has killed an innocent goat!
Sorry, oh, jare for the digression. The biblical zeecheus, a son of Abraham, one day woke up from his elephantiasis tax collection wrongs. He could not sleep, and his conscience was heavy with guilt. Zeecheus was bleeding inside.
He heard that Jesus Christ was in town and passing through the city and went a climb the sycamore tree to have premium view to see the master. This is something the thieving and lying Nigerian zeecheus will never do.
Long and short of the story, zeecheus attracted the attention of Jesus Christ, who went to his house to dine with him but zeecheus, seeing great opportunity to right his wrongs, confessed restitution to those whom had cheated, maligned in his desperation to have the things of this world and possibly trampled under feet and sponsored political thuggery and rigging. He may had probably rigged himself into office as a treasurer or tax man.However, Zeecheus got his salvation and got his peace back because he let go of cheating others and embraced eternity by becoming one of the disciples of Christ Jesus.
The morals here is time has come for the Nigerian zeecheus to change from their evil ways. Those who lie against others to gain advantage, those who steal and call those who oppose them as stooges and those who would even kill to acquire worldly pleasures, should have a rethink or be hounded out soon.
As you read this, are you apparently a zeecheus in your little corner? Are you playing the ignorant zeecheus? It is not too late to change from your own way. Jesus is swift to forgive and bless. And to those who specialise in reading meanings to my writings, please note that I only called zeecheus to order and not you. Are we still celebrating the risen Christ? Go check yourself in the mirror. What and who did you see? Bye-bye !
