Nairaland Forum

Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Anenih, on Sunday night expressed his fear of the opposition parties’ merger before chiefs of the ruling party.

Anenih told the governors, federal lawmakers and state chairmen of the PDP from the South-South geo-political zone, in Asaba, Delta State, that the opposition political parties congregating under the All Progressives Congress banner might be a threat to the PDP hegemony.

“We must not live under the illusion that our party is invulnerable. Although, the existing opposition parties are still too small, fragile and sectional, we must not ignore the possibility that a merger of these parties may constitute a threat to our current dominance of the political terrain,” Anenih told his party men.

The APC, an initiative of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change, All Nigeria Peoples Party and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, has the avowed mission to dislodge the PDP from power come 2015.

Before now, Chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur, had derided the merger, saying selfish ambition would create division among the merging parties.

The PDP BoT chairman also said that the opposition parties had hijacked the Nigerian Governors’ Forum hence the need for party members to rally round the PDP governors’ forum chaired by the Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio.

ckkris: Make dem just tell Amechi to stop distracting President Jonathan. Ateke Tom dem will not read all this turenci. As for election, na naija stylee. This one no be England. Even America count their vote so tay they just rig am at their Supreme Court. Asari don talk am say if Jona no win in 2015 Nigeria no go sell even one barrel of oil. Dem wan try?

An open appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR,
President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Federal Republic of Nigeria

Your Excellency,

BACKGROUND:

We, the National Association of Seadogs, Pyrates Confraternity, have chosen to write this open appeal, for your personal attention, and to the conscience of the entire Nigerian Political leadership. We are deeply concerned because of the ominous signs we foresee, as a consequence of unfolding events, at this juncture in our nation's socio-political and economic development.

We are concerned with the level of perversion, intransigence and the hostage nature of violence over our beloved nation, Nigeria. Corrupt practices, brigandage, proliferation of arms and armaments and poor social and economic infrastructure is rife and threatening to drive Nigeria over the precipice. We have opined in the past that the groans of Nigerian citizens are not being given due attention, as our leaders seem preoccupied with fulfilling either their personal or sectional agenda, instead of galvanizing and empowering the citizenry for unity, development and growth.

SOCIO-POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES:

Over the years the Country seems to progressively slide from bad to worse. The marginal increase in our Country's revenue appears to translate to a corresponding pauperization of ordinary Nigerians. Nigerians are caught between the rock and the hard place. They are sandwiched between all major social ills, viz: hunger, disease, extortion, illiteracy, terrorism, armed robbery and kidnapping. In spite of our previous pleas, the government seems to have plugged its ears, preferring to stagger on, oblivious of the grave dangers facing our nation.
The President Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration not only paid off Nigeria's foreign debts but also left a sizeable foreign reserve. We have it on record that the reserves have not only been depleted but we have started accumulating new foreign debts. The state governors are not left out in the scramble for foreign loans. While all these problems persist, our elected officials are embroiled in their re-election campaigns oblivious of the fact that they are barely two years into their four year terms. This epitomizes crass insensitivity.

PROBLEMS OF INSECURITY:

KIDNAPPING FOR RANSOME:

Nigeria is currently ranked as one of the top five countries in the world for kidnapping incidents. Kidnapping has proliferated both numerically and geographically in recent years and the threat extends to both Nigerian citizens and foreign nationals. Since 2006, it is estimated that in excess of 300 foreigners have been kidnapped in the country, and the number of local victims is assessed to be in the neighbourhood of 6,000. Since 2009, it is estimated that over 140 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in Nigeria, with a large majority of these cases seemed to have been criminally motivated.

An output from analyses of the 113 incidents identified over a five year period in which a demand amount was made public, the average initial ransom demand was around =N= 3, 611,000.00 (three million, six hundred and eleven thousand naira only), Of the 58 cases in which a final release figure was reported or known, the average payment was around =N= 2,000,000.00 (two million naira only). However, for foreign nationals, the average ransom demand and payment was substantially higher; demands were usually over US $2 million and the average settlement was around US $100,000.

TERRORSISM AND BRIGANDAGE

The activities of terror groups around the nation, particularly, the Boko Haram sect has enveloped the nation with a veil of insecurity and despair. Permit us to single out some of the more spectacular events to underscore the peoples' concerns. This chronology of events is far from being exhaustive, thus:

October 1, 2010:
Nigeria Independence Day attacks; were two car bombs exploded at the Eagle Square, inside the crowd of Nigerians celebrating the 50th anniversary (golden jubilee) of Nigeria's independence. The attacks left 12 dead and 17 injured.

April 11, 2011:
About 150 people were killed in coordinated bomb attacks by Boko Haram insurgents. They also shot up and sacked police facilities in Damaturu and Potiskum in Yobe State. 2 Boko Haram suicide-bombers also blew themselves up near the military Joint Task Force Headquarters in Maiduguri in a botched suicide attack.

November 11, 2011:
3 police officers and a civilian were wounded in a Boko Haram bombing and shooting attacks in Geidam, Yobe State. 6 churches, a police station, a pub, a shopping complex, a High Court building, Local Council buildings and 11 cars were burnt in the attacks.

December 4, 2011:
A soldier, a police officer and a civilian died from bomb and gun attacks on a police station and two banks in Azare, Bauchi State.

December 7, 2011:
An explosion linked to Boko Haram killed 8 persons in Oriyapata Area, Kaduna city.

December 13, 2011:
A Boko Haram bomb attack on a military checkpoint and gun duel with soldiers left 10 dead and 30 injured in Maiduguri.

December 17, 2011:
Following a raid on the hideout of a Boko Haram sect leader in Darmanawa, Kano State; a shootout between sect members and police officers left 7 dead, including 3 police officers. The Police also arrested 14 Boko Haram suspects and recovered a large cache of arms and bombs.

December 22, 2011:
Boko Haram bombs attacks in parts of Maiduguri killed 20 people.

December 25, 2011:
A Christmas Day bomb attack on Saint Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla Town, Niger State, killed 42 worshippers, with many others wounded.

December 30, 2011:
As worshippers left a mosque in Maiduguri, after attending the Jumat prayers, 4 Muslim worshippers were killed in a Boko Haram bomb blast and shooting attack which targeted a military checkpoint.

January 5, 2012:
6 worshippers were killed and 10 others wounded when Boko Haram gunmen attacked a church in Gombe city.

January 6, 2012:
8 worshippers were killed in a shooting attack at a church in Yola. Boko Haram gunmen also shot dead 17 Christian mourners in the town of Mubi, Adamawa State.

January 7, 2012:
3 young men engaged in a game of cards were summarily shot and killed and 7 others wounded by Boko Haram gunmen in Biu Town.

January 10, 2012:
A Boko Haram attack on a beer garden killed 8 people, including 5 police officers and a teenage girl, in Damaturu, Yobe State

January 11, 2012:
4 persons were killed by Boko Haram gunmen in Potiskum, Yobe State, when gunmen opened fire on their car as they stopped for fuel. The victims had been fleeing Maiduguri to their hometown in Eastern Nigeria.

January 13, 2012:
Boko Haram killed 4 and injured 2 others, including a police officer, in 2 separate attacks on pubs in Yola, Adawama State and Gombe State.

January 17, 2012:
2 soldiers and 4 Boko Haram gunmen were killed in an attack on a military checkpoint in Maiduguri, Borno State.

January 20, 2012:
Several bomb blasts rocked various sections of Kano City including the Zone I Police Headquarters, Sharada; the State Security Service Headquarters, Kano; Kano State Police Command, Bompai; Immigration Passport Office; Farm Centre Police Station; Naibawa Police Station; YaarAkwa Police Station, UngwarUku and Jedijedi Police Station. Red Cross officials put the death toll in this well-coordinated attack at about 120. More than 200 persons were also injured.

We are worried that the appearance is being inadvertently created that our government have lost control of its ability to secure the lives and properties of its citizens.

CORRUPTION:

THE FUEL SUBSIDY SCANDAL:

Please recall that a few months ago; this country was rocked by news of huge criminal and fraudulent racket that bedeviled the fuel subsidy program at a time when Nigerians are forced to endure the hardship of removal of subsidies for locally consumed petrol. In spite of the photo-op show of dragging a few culprits to court, nobody has been convicted of, or penalized for this huge national show of shame. It is instructive to observe that a good number of those complicit in this fraud are politically connected individuals and children of prominent politicians and captains of industry. The Committee that was appointed by your Administration to investigate the subsidy scandal recommended the refund to the national treasury, the sum of
N1, 067,040,456,171.31 (one trillion, sixty seven billion, forty million, four hundred and fifty six thousand, one hundred and seventy one naira, thirty one kobo only) by the under listed entities, thus:

1. NNPC (Kerosene Subsidy) - N310, 414,963,613.00
2. NNPC (Above PPRA recommendation) - N285,098,000,000.00
3. NNPC (Self discount) - N108,648,000,000.00
4. Marketers (Total violations of PSF) - N8,664,352,554.00
5. Companies that refused to appear - N41, 936,140,005.31
6. PPPRA excess payment to self - N312.279.000.000.00

TOTAL: N1.067, 040.456, 171.31

To date, there is no evidence that the investigative report by the Nuhu Ribadu-led committee on petroleum subsidy payments has, or will be given further attention. It will probably end up gathering dust on the bureaucratic shelves where previous, well-meaning reports, like it are forgotten. One more time, the nation has been sent on a wild goose chase.

EXERCISING THE PREROGATIVE OF MERCY:

The recent granting of presidential pardon to Ex- governor of Bayelsa state, Dr. Dieprieye Solomon Peter Alamieseigha, a convicted usurper of public funds is a case study. While it is the constitutional right of the Nigerian President to exercise the prerogative of mercy, the circumstances under which the said pardon was granted, coupled with the fact that Dr. Dieprieye Solomon Peter Alamieseigha is still wanted in the United Kingdom for jumping bail on charges of money laundering is indicative of insensitivity and leaves the impression that this government is willing to sacrifice the interest of Nigeria on the altar of personal interest and political expediency. This pardon flies in the face of your much vaunted war on corruption; an affront on our collective moral and traditional values and sends a wrong message to our children that crime has no consequence. Corruption and misuse of public funds now seem acceptable in high places! It is apparent that for the Nigerian government, the purported war against corruption appears to have become a cruel joke created to further denigrate the already battered sensibilities of Nigerians.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC COST OF CORRUPTION:

EDUCATION:

PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLMENT:

Corruption has pulverized our education system with millions of Nigeria children that should be in school dropping out to hawk products on the streets, in order to supplement family incomes. Our primary, secondary and tertiary institutions are not maintained and are poorly funded. The UNICEF have reported that 40% of Nigerian children aged 6-11 do not attend any primary school while 30% of pupils drop out of primary school and only 54% transit to Junior Secondary Schools. Nigeria accounted for 10.5 million of the 61 million "out of school ''children worldwide.

TERTIARY EDUCATION:

Nigeria has a tertiary education enrolment rate of 4.3% and is ranked 116th out of 151 countries sampled by UNESCO. It has been established that Only 520,000 of the 1.7 million individuals that wrote the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) can gain admission into the university. This is due to a deficiency in the capacity of Nigerian universities to accommodate them.

The university system of education in Nigeria is indeed in dire straits. Public universities in the country are unable to compete with their counterparts in the world due to manpower and infrastructural deficiencies.

The steady decline in the quality of infrastructures like lecture rooms, laboratories, libraries, hostels, staff, non-teaching staff quarters, and the deficit in the high quality manpower, in effect, have had a negative impact on the quality of graduates that are being churned out from our citadels of learning. This terrible state of Nigerian universities is an ugly reflection of the overall decadence in the country itself.

This rat race in the society today has eaten so deep into the fabrics of education that we abandoned merit for favouritism. It is a matter of who you know in high places of authority. This has succeeded in taking us to a level where lecturers are usually compromised by students, and vice versa just to get unmerited grades.

POVERTY INDICATORS:

To make matters worse, our political leaders to whom we have entrusted the management of our nation's affairs seem to be preoccupied with fending for themselves rather than work for the upliftment of those that elected them into office. With earnings of approximately N29, 479, 749.00 per month, our Senate is the highest remunerated in the world, at a time when The World Bank estimates that 70% of Nigerians currently live below the poverty line of USD $2 per day.
Can you imagine, Mr. President, how much impact 25% of these staggering amounts of money can make in the lives of ordinary Nigerians if invested in Education, healthcare delivery or infrastructure?

The eaves that once held the rafters of our nationhood are falling and we, sworn to defend the downtrodden and resolute in our vision of an egalitarian society have chosen to sound the alarm bells, once again.

HEALTH CARE DELIVERY:

As ordinary Nigerians die of preventable and treatable diseases and injuries on account of the dearth of motor able roads and decent health care facilities, our leaders have developed a penchant for seeking medical attention overseas further draining our scarce foreign reserves.
It is more heart rending, given that elected public officials, even state governors spend periods that far exceed the constitutionally approved leave of absence in hospitals abroad, at the expense of tax payers'. A recent study of foreign medical expenditure by Nigerians revealed that as the nation's health sector continues to reel under a plethora of seemingly intractable problems, the country loses $500 million or N81 billion yearly in capital flight as Nigerians seek solutions to their medical challenges abroad – this amount is spent on medical care in three sub-specialties alone. This figure pales into insignificance, when you take additional cognisance of the amount estimated to flow to foreign health services providers through private health insurance placements by Nigerians.

GOVERNMENT EFFORTS AT COMBATING SOCIETAL ILLS

We recognise and commend the current efforts being made by your government in curbing the monster of insecurity as exemplified by your inauguration of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North and the Committee on Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons on Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Given that the Judiciary arm of government houses the last vestiges of hope for ordinary Nigerians, the efforts of The Chief Justice of the Federation, Hon. Justice Aloma Maryam Mukhtar, GCON, in cleansing the Judiciary of graft and inconsistency is also commendable,

As laudable as these and other government policies are, we are of the opinion that they are palliative in effect and will be of little consequence until the monster of corruption is tamed.

INFERENCES:

We are convinced that the Nigerian economy is haemorrhaging so uncontrollably through pervasive corruption and fiscal profligacy that no policy direction, no matter how well articulated, will produce the desired objectives under the current situation. Nigerians, therefore anxiously await a corresponding reduction of graft and waste across all levels of government, without which we, as a nation, will keep "perambulating", motioning without movement!

WAY FORWARD:

INSECURITY:

In order to curb the current wave of insecurity, government needs to desist from giving a political coloration to the incidences of hostage taking and bombing. Persons arrested in connection with these dastardly acts should be tried under the relevant sections of our Penal Code, as applicable to murder, arson, manslaughter, etc, etc; and where they are found guilty, imprisoned. At present, there is no disincentive or deterrent for people who are predisposed to lawlessness. Also, the focus of the government should shift to identify the sponsors and financiers of the Boko Haram sect. They should be apprehended and made to face justice. The law must become a leveller; no name should be too big to face justice.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:

In order to engender economic development, government must recommit itself to the enormous task of taming corruption and prosecute all those who have been indicted in the series of misappropriation scandals rocking the nation, from petroleum subsidy scam to pension fund misappropriation, from electoral malfeasance to budget implementation and government spending. It is only by doing this that it can arrest the hemorrhaging of the Nigerian economy and free up funds for the much needed investment in power, critical infrastructure and support for Small and Medium Scale enterprises.

CONCLUSION:

We are confident that Nigeria can be great again! But we are convinced that this greatness will remain a fleeting illusion until the political leadership of this country has made a conscious decision to find the political will to empower the citizenry. We urge you Mr. President to apply yourself to an Ernest and conscientious effort to rein in corruption, graft and save this nation as it trudges down the road to perdition.

Let us make hay while the sun shines!

Ide Owodiong-Idemeko
NAS Cap'n
National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity)

Acidosis:

Lol.. You think you can fight people who are spiritually armed & high on black magic (juju) with gun??

so some Africans still do not believe in the spiritual?? LOL,


Just yesterday in Kano state, while celebrating malaria's day, some spiritualists in the mood of celebration were displaying all sorts of powers... while some were trying to cut their heads with sharp knives, others pierce their tongue with knives but to my greatest surprise, none of these penetrated their skin, no blood, no cut, nothing! (Watched all these LIVE on nta).

Its time to apply some spiritualist approach to some matters... Americans may not believe in all that BUT we are Africans and these things are very much within...

It is very possible the spiritualists only used incantations & spiritual words on these heavily armed men...

I'm afraid, the police would loose more of their officers if they think they can overcome these guys with bullet wey small small boys dey dust like sand for here...

Our group is serious about morality

Lawmakers say a team will reach out to the spouses of the slain personnel.

The House of Representatives issued a surprising plea to police authorities Thursday, urging the force to let go of any plan to retaliate against the killing of more than 30 of its personnel by a suspected cult group in Nasarawa State.

Lawmakers condemned the shocking attack on the personnel who were ambushed on a mission to dislodge the group, but urged restraint and pledged to institute a team to reach out to the spouses of the slain officers.

Wives of policemen took to the streets on Thursday to protest the murder, barricading the Akwanga-Lafia Federal Highway in Nasarawa State.

Raising the matter for urgent consideration, the lawmaker representing the area in the House, Kigbu Haruna (PDP), said that within six months, the state has lost many people as a result of similar clashes.
Mr. Haruna urged the Federal and Nasarawa State governments to dialogue with the group involved in the killings instead of retaliating.

“We cannot condone it anymore as the crisis if not checked will stretch to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,” Mr. Haruna warned.

Lawmakers delivered stern condemnation of the killings, many questioning whether it was now approved for Nigerian citizens to bear arms.

Ahmed Idris (ACN, Plateau) called for immediate action to be taken by the Federal Government to stop the killings in not just Nasarawa state but Nigeria at large.

There are claims as many as 90 security officials – far more than the figure officially released by the police- may have been killed in the attack. Reports say some of those killed belonged to the State Security Service and the Civil Defence Corp.

The Police Commissioner in the state, Abayomi Akeremale, on Thursday told journalists that the bodies of 30 officers had been recovered while some were missing. Nine police patrol vehicles were also burnt, he said, adding that investigation was on and no arrests had been made.

“We believe that members of the group are still in the bush around the area and we would do all we can to smoke them out,” the commissioner of police told the News Agency of Nigeria.

One of the dead is said to be an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Momoh. Police did not confirm that but said he was missing.

The Directorate of State Security also said it has deployed a search and rescue team to determine fatalities of its operatives involved in the operation.

http://premiumtimesng.com/news/133539-nigerian-lawmakers-beg-police-to-forgive-nasarawa-militia-that-killed-over-30-police-officers.html

okpurukata: This is really scary. So Nigerians go to church these days only for the miracles, irrespective of where it comes from. SMH. Only God will judge and only Him knows His own.i hope some so called pastorprenuers don't lead souls to hell.

By SaharaReporters, New York

Two weeks after President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated a committee to work out details of a clemency for members of Boko Haram, the militant Islamist sect, the amnesty body has not been able to make any contact with the sect led by Imam Abubakar Shekau. Three sources, two of them members of the amnesty committee, the third an associate of Mr. Jonathan, told SaharaReporters that the committee was not close to establishing contact with the leadership of the Islamist group that has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly bomb attacks in different parts of northern Nigeria, including Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

One of our sources added that the intensification of violence by the sect has left many members of the committee demoralized. “Some of us knew of the psychological difficulties associated with this assignment, but we were hopeful,” said the source. Speaking in a similar vein, another member told SaharaReporters that, unless Boko Haram decided on its own to call off further terror attacks, “the committee is going to be a failure from the look of things.”

The second source added that several persons had approached individual members of the committee claiming to be able to serve as intermediaries to facilitate negotiations with the leadership of Boko Haram. He said none of the so-called intermediaries had demonstrated any capacity to put the amnesty body in touch with Boko Haram’s top brass.

A source close to the Presidency in Abuja also told SaharaReporters that the chairman of the amnesty committee, Tanimu Kabiru Turaki, has confided that his group had not reached the sect’s leaders. The source added that the committee “is busy looking into past recommendations geared towards solving the Boko Haram problem.”

The source said he was not aware that members of the committee were demoralized. Instead, he praised Mr. Turaki, a lawyer, for continuing to remain positive about achieving results. “Barrister Turaki continues to assure government that his committee will not fail,” he said. “Rather, he and his committee are networking with different stakeholders to achieve a formula towards resolving the challenge of Boko Haram.”

Sincere 9gerian: Ngige's declaration is dead on arrival. We want Soludo.

By the way, what has Ngige achieved since being in the senate? How many motions or bills has he sponsored? I dont know of any. Where is his constituency projects? It appears all he does in the senate is shout "aye" and "nay"

musKeeto: Even as an atheist, I'm 100% sure this isn't the way of 'CHRIST'....

But when was the way of Christ ever 'properly' defined?

As long as the 'SPIRIT' leads.....

The controversial pastor’s wedding was like any other Sunday service at the church.

At exactly 8:29 a.m., I walked into the noisy grounds of the Perfect Christianity Mission, a semi-enclosed space where wooden beams are suspended on metallic poles, in Surulere, Lagos.

The Sunday service, which would double as the wedding of the General Overseer, had already begun.

The past few weeks has been awash with announcements of the impending marriage of Sign Fireman, a controversial character, who heads the church. He had picked one of the ladies in the church and the congregation were waiting, with bated breath, to see the bride.

On the wedding ‘flyer’ is a white Hummer limousine announcing the special guests at the ceremony – “governors, senators, top pastors from around the world, legendary businessmen from around the world,” amongst others.

I was present for the wedding ceremony.

I sat at a vantage point, from where I’d get a clear view of the altar as well as notice the arrival of any of the special guests. From my seat, I scanned the faces around the altar, no recognizable one yet.

Fireman, decked in a black suit on a cream shirt and his hair gleaming under the yellow lights at the altar, had begun to lead the prayer and worship session.

“Open your hands and come to the stage…”

The congregation chorused after him.

A lady in an obscure corner screamed: “My daddy is a handsome man.”

The music stopped abruptly.

Almost immediately, Fireman broke the silence. He sang, “Sweet sweet lover. Endless lover…”

The congregation went wild.

A security man, wearing a black face-cap and clutching a piece of wood, moved his feet in rhythm with the music. He threw the stick up, caught it mid air, and then dashed towards the gate- wriggling his waist all the time.

Not too far from where I sat in the church, a photographer begged a young lady in a long, flowing dress, posing for a shot to stop moving to the music and focus on the shot.

By the time the last of the choruses faded away, the church was filled to the brim with scores of people having nowhere to seat. Fireman, appearing surprised at the large turnout, knelt at the altar to apologize to those on their feet and asked some to come and perch around the edges of the altar.

A little boy leading an elderly blind man tried to force his way through the crowd onto a raised platform at the rear of the altar.

Signs and wonders

The controversy surrounding Fireman’s ministry lies mostly in the ‘signs and wonders’ he performs during his service, the miracles being astounding and outrageous in one breath.

A church flyer I was clutching showed a Sister Effiwatt testifying on how “the Man of God” raised her from the dead “instantly;” a Brother Olamide said he was cured “from seven years of total madness;” while Brother Okafor narrated how he went from abject poverty to owning his own house.

When Sunday’s Healing and Miracles session began, it was no different.

Fireman set the ball rolling by likening the power of God to electrical power which can be converted to sound, mechanical, light.

“If you need healing, the power can turn into healing. Now if you need money, the Bible says the power can turn into wealth. The power of God is the multi-purpose solution. Whatever you need, all you have to do is receive power,” he said then added, “Before I came to the service today, the Lord assured me that he’s going to heal at least 70 profound people.”

Claps and cheers erupted and then, the miracles began.

Fireman moved to the first man, who said he fell and hit his leg and ever since has been walking with aid of a stick. Suddenly, the man dropped his stick and began to walk.

The congregation cheered.Dr. Fireman2

He moved to the next man, who said he hadn’t walked for two and a half years, and hugged him. The man rose, started to walk, at first gingerly, before racing across the altar, jumping up and down.

Again, there were cheers.

And then as if a thought just struck him, Fireman paused, called Pastor Chigozie, one of his junior pastors and offered him a Jaguar – which he said was bought for Fireman by a member a week ago.

The congregation rose from their seats to clap and cheer.

“The moment I count from one to seven, the first 12 people to stand up, your lives shall change forever. Seven out of you, within the next 60 days, you will touch your first million,” Fireman announced.

He began to count and when he got to seven, everyone in the church stood up abruptly. I thought of all the things a million bucks could do in my life and leapt up from my plastic seat.

The miracles continued, gradually taking the semblance of a stage play, except that the congregation believed it was not.

A young woman began to roll on the floor of the altar, screaming, “She must serve me. She must serve me or I’ll frustrate her life. She must serve me.”

The pastor approached her.

“Are you ready to leave her?” he asked addressing the ‘demon’ inside the woman.

“Never,” the demon retorted, laughing maniacally.

A man in a grey beard walked towards the pastor, wagging a finger at his face and said, “You can’t do anything. I challenge you.”

“You challenge me?” Fireman asked.

“Yes. Who are you?” the grey-bearded man replied.

“You want to know who I am? I’ll take strength out of you!”

The pastor blew into his microphone thrice and the man collapsed in a heap.

“That is who I am,” Fireman declared.

The congregation cheered.

The man- judging by his accent, a Ghanaian- appearing remorseful, slowly rose to his feet and the pastor informed him that the cause of his problems were his grandfather but that he, Fireman, was going to send the “demons” back to the grandfather.

“Take a phone and call Ghana. In the next five minutes, he (the grandfather) will have a stroke,” Fireman said. “I’m not the first to do it. In Mark, Chapter 5, Jesus allowed demons to enter pigs.”

A woman told the pastor that her “pikin has been missing since one month.”

The pastor patted her on the shoulder, “Angel don find am. Now go.”

The woman walked away.

Testimony time

If I had thought that the Healing and Miracles session was a dress rehearsal for incredulity, the testimonies were a class act.

At 10:10 a.m., they began.

Fireman took up his seat on a cream coloured upholstered chair at the altar, allowing a junior pastor to run proceedings.

The first lady narrated how after the ‘Man of God’ blessed” her, she moved from having no job to getting six different offers in two weeks, including a phone call from a firm she never applied to.

The junior pastor asked her to step forward, turned to the congregation, pointed to Fireman and said, “I want 25 people to hold a seed of N1, 000 and come and drop at his (Fireman) feet. As you are returning to your seat, something must happen.”

Dozens of worshippers dashed towards the altar with their ‘seeds.’

Another member narrated how she used her “last N200 to sow a seed” the previous Sunday and how, six days later, “God surprised me and I’m laughing now.”

The junior pastor called for people to bring N200 to the feet of Fireman.

“Sow like a fool. Something must enter your hand. Your financial position is about to change. The person holding your money would release it after today.”

A crowd trooped towards the altar to drop their money at ‘Daddy’s’ feet.

The next testimony was from a woman who said that she had been barren for eight years but two months after she began attending the church, “the thing enter.”

Again, the junior pastor’s voice rang out from the altar.

“If you are here this morning and you are looking for a fruit of the womb or you know someone looking for a fruit of the womb, pick up a seed and come and drop here. The God of Fireman will surprise you.”

This time it was women that thronged the altar.

The next two testimonies sounded plain absurd to me: One lady claimed that after she was blessed by Fireman, she went to the market and the money in her purse “refused to finish.” A second lady testified that after her own blessing, the N100 notes in her bag turned to N200 notes.

“How’s that possible?” I asked the woman, nursing a baby beside me, my mouth half open.

The nursing mum smiled, “There’s nothing God cannot do.”

Perfect Christianity Mission

Perfect Christianity Mission runs a free transport service to convey members to and from the Sunday service.

The church’s edifice at Ketu Close is crammed between a Jehovah’s Witness church and a Mountain of Fire and Miracles church, with the sounds and sermons at the latter sometimes overlapping with the mission’s.

Every Sunday, smartly dressed young ladies stand at boundaries between the churches and lead folks into Perfect Christianity Mission’s sandy grounds where business activities flow side by side with what is happening at the pulpit.

At the rear of the church is a bookshop with cartons of olive oil near its door; a table stacked with indomie noodles and eggs, prepared on request; and a canteen where plates of fried and jollof rice are sold. Members are encouraged to visit any of the outlets during service.

Fireman realizes the stiff competition he is facing from his next door neighbours and he is determined to keep his flock from “straying.”

When he stood up in the middle of the testimony session, he had harsh words for his critics.

“Some idiots say if Fireman gets married, his power will go. The reason why Dr. Fireman is controversial (is) because this is what I’m born for!

“Jesus told me in person, in my room, that anybody that fights my marriage, he’ll take away from them something they love!”

After counting 15 people who stepped out to give a testimony, I stopped counting.

As the service drew to a close, the pastor announced that, at the next Sunday’s service, 18 and 200 worshippers would be made millionaires and multimillionaires respectively.

“If you are not around next Sunday, believe me, all your life, it will haunt you. The God that created Dangote (Nigeria’s richest man) is the same God that created you. He did not finish creating Dangote and stop.”

As I bent down to retrieve my Bible from under my chair, I realized that I’d barely touched it in the past four hours – we only read a verse from The Book of Second Peter.

The voice of junior pastor rang out from the altar again.

“Before we start the (wedding) reception, we are going to have our closing offering and tithes. After this, our daddy’s celebration. Celebration will not end in your life!”

The congregation chorused, “Amen!”

And Fireman’s wedding reception began.

Often we receive many questions which is the best main battle tank in the world. Which is the greatest modern MBT and why. Our Top 10 analysis is based on the combined score of protection, firepower, accuracy and mobility. All of the tanks mentioned here are incredibly powerful and devastating, however none of them have seen combat against each other during military operations yet. Analysis is based on specifications and available data. Crew training of the tank is also important, as performance of the actual tank depends from the crew performance. This list do not contains tanks that are currently under development or are at the prototype stage.

musiwa25:

imagine if Eugenia Abu is force to bend down several times by a divided army in a civil war.. What will Jesus do after than..

"Sahara Reporters Demonizing First Lady"-Presidency

“If an armed robber is complaining of being robbed, it is your choice as to how much weight to place on his complaints. The history of rigging elections in Nigeria is as old as PDP. They have lived on it, they have perpetrated it, they have deepened it, have feasted on it and even celebrated it.