By
Obododimma Oha
How does it feel to be the first Black person to visit and work at the International Space Station? That is a big but unavoidable question for Victor Glover, first US Black person at the International Space Station. Even the Vice President, Harris, could not suppress her excitement at Victor making it to the station. For Victor, it was not a playground. He did not plug his ears with earphones to listen to the latest hip hop tune. No. He was there to work and had to work hard to further prove something. So, congratulations, Victor. You are a pathfinder and must show good example, not shoot fellow citizens for fun or move your cattle through the cattle routes in New York, destroying gardens in the process.
When I listen to some African narratives, for instance, that which tells us that Tortoise had to borrow feathers and some wax, to be able to make wings and come from the sky to the earth, I think about how such narratives can inspire real-life actions, like the one Victor participated in. In other words, the ideas are there. What remains is for people to actualize them by trying something. It does not have to be what you have always known. You don't have to obtain permission first from your pastor or general overseer before embarking on it. Victor, I am just surprised that you went that closer to God's house and your pastor did not protest! Congratulations, for being a victorious rebel!
When I saw the video clip of Victor Glover talking with the US Vice President from the International Space Station, I knew immediately that one was on a new earth. Victor was not a mere character in a science fiction movie. It was real life. He was flesh and blood like me and did not have ten heads while I had one. Yes, a new earth for new people who dare. A new earth for people who try to think and rethink, not for people who want to keep doing the same old things. Congratulations, Victor.
It is good to lead the way to goodness and betterment, not retreat further into the jungle. Humans need to get better and to move on. Humans need to achieve beyond achievement. Humans need to move on to justify their presence and to learn more. Victor is saying that humans will be victorious, if only they try.
It is VICTORious to fly up there and out of this world. It is VICTORious to defeat all obstacles, including sentiment, to live the name VICTOR. It is VICTORious to live the reality of firstness, which means that one cannot be ignored. It is VICTORious to be a VICTOR, which reminds us that this has been a fight. Congratulations, Victor.
In my country, there is a song which one could hear dripping from the Palm-wine Drinkers' (Kegites') shrine. It says:
We are going higher
Everyday!
We are going higher
Everyday,
Why not join us!
Why not join Victor in this quest? Why not free your life from obstacles and fictitious impairments? Why not plan t a garden near God's house, even if it means borrowing feathers and wax like Tortoise to return to Earth? Why not join us?
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