By Fred Chukwuelobe
Karma is commonly defined as the idea that our actions inevitably return to us – good for good, evil for evil. It is a comforting belief. It promises balance. It reassures us that the universe keeps score.
But the world does not work that way.
What we often call karma is nothing more than coincidence – chance events mistaken for cosmic justice. If karma truly operated as a law of retribution, then history would look very different. The wicked would suffer visibly. Oppressors would fall painfully. But that is not the reality we inhabit.
The colonial masters who enslaved Africans, slaughtered our ancestors, and stripped entire peoples of dignity did not reap karmic punishment. They built powerful nations on stolen labour and extracted wealth. Having done so, they sold us their God and threatened divine consequences for disobedience. We accepted – and surrendered our lives in faith.
Today, our politicians loot public treasuries and live in obscene luxury. We soothe ourselves with the phrase, “God will judge them.” Meanwhile, they and their children flourish. God judges they and us.
Religious leaders preach righteousness while abusing children and women. They drain the poor and spend freely. No karma arrives. Instead, they erect mega churches and accumulate wealth.
Businessmen who produce fake goods and cut deadly corners become celebrated figures. They receive titles, honors, and social authourity. They shape markets, morals, and public life.
Despots and emperors conquer nations, rule by fear, amass fortunes, and pass power to their heirs. History does not remember them as victims of karma, but as builders of empires.
Even Julius Caesar did not fall to karma. He was assassinated by rivals. Long before his death, his name had already escaped time. Two thousand years later, he is still studied, still remembered.
Earlier today, I encountered a simple but profound truth: the sword does not always swing back. Those who live by the sword do not always die by it. Colonialists did not die by the sword. Their societies prospered because of what enslaved people were forced to build. Karma did not intervene.
What deserves emphasis is not karma – but justice.
A society that suppresses justice cannot progress. Waiting for karma is another form of surrender. Look around. Where are the looters and oppressors? Are they not thriving? Are their children not secure? The suffering they face is often no different from that endured by those they exploited.
Karma is not justice.
It is a story we tell ourselves to endure injustice.
Justice, on the other hand, must be demanded.
It must be enforced through institutions, laws, accountability, and collective resolve. Rights are not granted by the universe. They are claimed by people who refuse silence.
Freedom does not arrive by fate.
Justice does not emerge by chance.
Bottom line: The sword does not always swing back.
History proves it.
Empires rise on injustice and often live long enough to enjoy it. Karma does not stop them. Silence enables them. Justice, when demanded, is the only force that has ever changed the world.
So let us stop waiting for fate to intervene. Let us stop mistaking hope for action. The universe does not owe us justice – but we owe it to ourselves, and to one another, to make it real.
Chance exists.
Justice must be made.
NB: Fred Chukwuelobe, was a Special Assistant to former Governor of Anambra, Chris Ngige on Media and Publicity.
