Don’t Die Avoidable Death 

In one of the parishes I worked, a woman always came to me with bloodied nose and swollen face, fatal decoration from the man she called her husband. It was always a dilemma counselling her because I could see her helplessness. The next thing she feared more than loosing her life to her beastly husband was actually losing her marriage to him. To worsen her case, she did not have anything doing economically.
Long story short, I finally convinced her to run for her life, after receiving more bouts of life threatening beatings. I paid for her transportation to her uncle’s house. After two weeks, she came telling me that the man called and begged her to come back, she was obviously looking for my approval for her chicken-hearted and lilly-livered disposition. In my magnanimity, I chased her back to her uncle’s house.
After some months, the man went to beg. When I was consulted, I told the uncle to give the man two major conditions: 1. Empower the woman economocally. 2. Deposit an undertaken never to beat her with the police and the uncle.
Death in marriage by the hand of an abusive spouse is avoidable, do not honor it. We all woke up to the sad news of the death of Osinachi, a gospel singer, famously known for the song ‘EKWUEME’.  Suddenly, the cause of her death started filtering. am now reading that she died of injuries from violence by her husband.
The news going round now is that she was been enduring this violence for years. So, her death, for me, was avoidable. Whatever made her to stay in that marriage despite constant life-threatening violence can never be godly.
There is nothing pious and righteous about enduring life-threatening violence till death. The Bible never said “ Blessed are those who are killed by their husbands or wives, for theirs is the kingdom” No!
If spousal violence is the cause of Osinachi’s death, she will not be the first, I do not know if she will be the last, but I hope hers will help in the liberation of many women in such situation.
I repeat, there is nothing godly, pious or Christian about staying with a man who beats you mercilessly and puts your life in danger. God can save you miraculously from accident, armed robbers, bandits, etc, but you see a violent husband or wife, you have to save yourself: RUN.

Reverend Father Oluoma,
Abuja.