Rest... in peace, Paul the psychic octopus

"Haba! These people have started again. Is it a crime for me to have special powers again? Is it now an offence for me to just predict things no one else can? Ah, God, you should have made me a normal animal like all others or at least not made anybody discover my special powers.". I strongly believe that's what the octopus has been saying since it was discovered and even threatened.

When I first heard about this octopus(thanks to my facebook friend), I thought it was just another joke until I found myself ont the CNN website where I saw the video of how the octopus predicted Germany's victory over Uraguay and that was when I knew something was really going down. It became really serious when the same octopus predicted Spain's victory, hence emerging as the world champions.

All along, I thought the world was just having fun until about 24 hours after Spain's victory when I enterd into a church and Paul was the topic they were discussing that afternoon. I was oblivious though of the reason why they were discussing the octopus until about 2o minutes later when I heard the words demonic and octopus used in the same sentence.Haba Naija!!!

I started hearing all sorts of ridiculous comments such as "that octopus is demonic", "that octopus is another way the devil is using to get people", "that octopus has marine spirits","the power of darkness is at work again is at work again, may we never fall victim of this tactic of the devil", "merely looking at this octopus can initiate someone into the "mami-water" world" and even "anybody that eats it will die" and all sorts of ridiculous and unimaginable comments.

As an African and a christian too, I can't say I'll totally rule out these comments as it is possible that there is some form of supernatural power(juju as my country people will call it) behind this octopus, it is equally possible that there is nothing extra to it. Don't get me wrong,I'm not saying these predictions are coincidental, as a matter of fact, I don't think it is because I once learnt that any guess that is correct more than once is not coincidental(I stand to be corrected), but my point is this, the octopus has done it's best, the world cup is over, Spain has been declared world champions and the players are even back to their countries, so why not let sleeping dogs lie or better still, let sleeping octopuses(or octopi) lie and enjoy their habitat and life instead of debating whether or not the octopus has mami-water or papi-water spirits and even wishing they could bring this octopus to Nigeria to predict the 2011 general elections and probably even becoming the president in 2011 and according to some people, wiching they could make peppersoup out of the octopus(though I would totally love to taste that peppersoup).

I know that our cultural and religious beliefs always determine our thought patterns, but it's time to let this octopus rest... in peace.

I hope I have made a point.