₦airaland Forum

safetyInspector:
Stop arguing over this, you can make a trip to see the road for yourself. To me that road is the greatest achievement of GEJ. If only APC will reconstruct the remaining section, travelling from Lagos to South East/South South will be a smooth ride. The road was completely reconstructed not just resurfaced as you put it.

I have posted the evidence that it was resurfaced from Ofosu- Benin by both Ononemelon - the last pdp minister of works that handled the road, and the then opposition after the PDP had used the road to steal N300b , please show us evidence that Benin-Ore was reconstructed and not resurfaced.

I use the road all the time and so I get annoyed at the useless party - PDP for doing a shoddy job after budgeting N300b for the same road. who is fooling who?

lexy2014:
its been 3years and counting and u are still talking about pdp. I thought nigerians voted 4 apc 2 correct mistakes of pdp

u have mentioned countries in d sahel and am yet 2c how d activities of d so called gaddafi loyalists in d countries u mentioned affects Nigeria.Y haven't we seen Gaddafi guys in benin Togo, Ghana, Ivory coast, countries who just like Nigeria border d countries u mentioned? Even at that, d pronouncements of members of this govt have made d Gaddafi connection a mere fantasy. In d early days of this administration, d minister of interior Lt. Gen dambazzau told d national Assembly that d herdsmen issue is an economic one not a religious or ethnic one. theres no Gaddafi connection in that statement. Latter on, gov el rufai said on several occasions and very recently on channels that d govt pays "herdsmen" 2 keep Nigerians safe. These "herdsmen" being paid, are they d same Gaddafi loyalists that u and buhari are talking about? If they are, y would d govt pay foreigners when they are clearly carrying out criminal activities on Nigerian soil? With el rufais statement that d govt pays these "herdsmen" or "gaddafi loyalists", it clearly shows that d govt is in direct contact these criminals. Is el rufai saying that d govt is powerless in getting rid of these "Gaddafi men"?

Again, when d killings began 2 escalate in Benue, d govt thru d defence minister said d "herdsmen" were reacting 2d anti grazing law enacted by d Benue state governor. This position was reinforced by myetti Allah. Now if d "herdsmen" are d same as "Gaddafi loyalists", are u&buhari saying that Gaddafi loyalists now have cattle they are rearing in Nigeria? Also d govt said one of it's solution 2d herdsmen crisis is 2 create cattle colonies 4d "herdsmen". So if d herdsmen are d same as Gaddafi loyalists, that means that in creating cattle colonies, d govt is planning 2 cede parts of Nigeria 2 foreign criminal elements. Does that show a govt that is serious about national security?

Oga we are talking about terrorism in the country ranging from Bokoharam, herdsmen attack/ cattle rustling, robbery and daily manslaughtering going on especially in Zamfara area etc being aided from Chad, Mali, Sudan ,Niger etc by a Confederates of Gaddafi's ignoble remnants which the PDP pampered and allowed to fester for several years before the coming of Buhari. So you want us to stop talking about the effect of a party in government for 2 decades when it is obvious that the party sabotaged and it is still sabotaging our nation being?

Your attempt at lumping the insecurity problems as only herdsmen attacks is deceptive and mischievous. Elrufai and not the FG paid those cattle owners and don't even have the full gist.

Several international organizations are aware of the effect of Gaddafi's remnants in Sahel Africa but have chosen to remain ignorant ,bias and mischievous in your approach. At least use Google .

www.Saharareporters.com


I f you are a Nigerian, chances are
you know someone who has spent
an entire day, at least once,
traveling the 140-mile Sagamu-
Benin City road, or been killed
trying to do so.
Sagamu-Benin, sometimes
referred to herein as “The Road,”
is the only direct link between the
eastern and western parts of
Nigeria, and between her political
and economic capitals, Abuja and
Lagos.
It is a thirsty road, guzzling the
blood of innocent Nigerians. In
one accident, a friend of mine was
able to find only her brother’s
head, but no other part of him. In
a well-publicized crash a few
years ago, a vehicle ran over tens
of people who had been forced to
lie on The Road by armed robbers
while being robbed.
It is also a hungry road: almost
every week, vast sums of money
are “spent” on it by federal
authorities who pretend not to
know that federal authorities are
“spending” vast sums of money
on it.







On 23 September 2003, the
Minister of Works, Adeseye
Ogunlewe, announced that the
government was losing an
estimated N185 billion annually to
bad roads, and had awarded 156
road contracts since 1999 at a
cost of N302 billion, and
describing the situation as
“shameful.”



At different times, desperate
governments of Ondo and Ogun
States have intervened to
rehabilitate damaged portions of
The Road in their areas, only to
come under the attack of federal
officials.
Sagamu-Benin is part of the
Lagos-Mombasa, as well as
Algiers-Lagos sections of the
Trans-Africa Highway, and of
Nigeria’s East-West Road. It is
probably Nigeria’s most vital road.
That is why it is in many ways a
good way to study and analyze
Nigeria.
In the 1970s when it was built by
Dumez, travelers needed only a
comfortable three hours between
Benin City and Lagos. But that joy
of easy travel lasted only a few
years. Collapsing sections yielded
the phenomenon of full-time,
year-round budgeting for endless
repair. Traveling back, in terms of
hot air and hot funds, here is
some of what we know:



On January 21, 2013, Minister of
Works, Mike Onolememen, told a
visiting Kogi State delegation led
by Senator Smart Adeyemi that
The Road, along with three others,
would be completed before the
end of the Goodluck Jonathan
administration, using funds of the
Subsidy Reinvestment and
Empowerment Programme (SURE-
P).


In April 2013, SURE-P was said to
have invested N16.5 billion on
The Road. Vanguard newspaper
said the agency had (also)
budgeted N21.7 billion to cover
the dualisation of the East-West
road.
In December 2012 , Gabriel
Amuchi, the Managing Director of
FERMA, said that the "zero
potholes" target set for the festive
period on critical Federal
Highways, naming one of them as
the Sagamu-Benin Road.



In October 2012, Solel Boneh won
a three-year $390 million contract
to widen and pave the Sagamu-
Benin road, and rebuild drainage
and water channels.
In September 2012, the
government awarded a three-year
contract for the reconstruction of
sections of The Road, worth over
N65b.


In September 2011, during a
courtesy visit to Edo State
Governor Adams Oshiomhole,
Minister Mike Onolememen
explained that the real problem
with the Benin-Ore part of The
Road was the water table being
very high, and that every
construction methodology had
been defeated because in the
raining season the road would be
washed away. The governor
expressed shock that neither
contractors nor the Minister’s
predecessors had identified and
corrected this issue. The N16
billion reconstruction/asphalt
overlay of the Benin-Ofosu
section, by RCC, continued.


In August 2011, the Federal
Government approved an
additional funding of N106 billion
for the East-West Road, to bring
the total sum to N245 billion, up
from N138 billion, Minister of
Information Maku citing a failed
portion of the Sagamu-Benin
Road.


In July 2011, Mr. Onolememen
announced that Nigeria had
decided to concession the
Sagamu-Benin Road to capable
private investors, using a Public-
Private Partnership model.
In December 2010, the House of
Representatives Sub-Committee
on FERMA asked the government
to inject over N500billion as an
intervention fund to rescue the
country’s roads from collapse,
adding that FERMA needed about
N100billion annually.


In November 2009, the Federal
Government awarded contracts
worth N12. 2 billion to RCC and
Borini Prono for repairs on the
road.
In October 2009, President
UmaruYar'Adua directed that
unspent allocations to the Ministry
of Works, be channeled into road
rehabilitation and construction.


In September 2009, Minister Dora
Akunyili announced government
contracts worth N29.5billion,
including an additional N16.67
billion for the reconstruction of
The Road, raising the cost of
reconstruction to N24.27billion.
In May 2009, N9.7 billion contract
for rehabilitation of the Ofosu-Ore
portion of The Road was awarded.
In April 2009, the government
approved N376.4 billion for 30
road contracts nationwide,
including two sections of
Sagamu-Benin, part of 26 road
projects worth N116.57 billion.


In August 2007, the new Minister
of Transportation, Diezani Allison-
Madueke, reportedly broke down
when she visited and saw the
deplorable condition of The Road.
Soon after that, she disclosed that
the Obasanjo government had
spent over N450 billion on roads
in its eight years.
About two weeks after her crying
act on The Road, something of a
reconstruction began. A top
Ministry official, John Ibe, told
reporters the first phase of the
contract, for N7.5 billion, had been
awarded.


In Feb 2007, Solel Boneh
International received a $52
million contract for renovating the
“Lagos-Benin” expressway.
At the end of 2006, Solel Boneh
won a contract to pave a road in
Nigeria for $270 million; that road
was unspecified.


On 21 December 2006, the
government gave RCC a N7.5
billion contract for rehabilitation
work on The Road.
In November 2006, President
Obasanjo stated that N36 billion
had been made available for the
construction of the East-West
Road, among others.


On October 16, 2006, Olubunmi
Peters, the Managing Director of
FERMA, announced the
government had approved N6
billion for repairs on The Road.
In July 2006, the government said
N438.8billion had been made
available for three major
highways, including the East-
West.


In November 2005, the Senate,
citing "the deteriorating state of
our federal highways and the
increase in the spate of road
accidents," specifically on the
Lagos-Ibadan and Sagamu-Benin
highways, asked its Committee on
Works to investigate FERMA and
the Ministry of Works.
"The Minister of Works ought to
be invited because we can't
explain where all this money is
going,” Senator Victor Oyofo said.
“The Benin-Ore road is [the]
worst.”


In March 2004, Adeseye
Ogunlewe, the new Minister, said
the government had approved N15
billion for road maintenance.


In February 2004 , the government
announced "Operation 500 Roads,"
to rehabilitate a total of 26,400km
of roads, including Benin-Sagamu;
and in October, "Operation 1000
Roads" and 32,000 kilometres, at
a cost of N5.8 billion.
Following a November 2002
request by the Ministry for a
virement of N10 billion to enable it
make payment for contracts
already executed, the House of
Representatives agreed to probe
how N300 billion disbursed to the
Ministry in three years was spent.
In a resolution, the House noted
that in the 2002 Appropriation Act
alone, the National Assembly
made monthly appropriations of
over N70 billion to the Ministry.
In September 2000, Minister
Anenih said that the Federal
Government had set aside N19
billion for the rehabilitation of
roads in the South-West.


On 21 August, Information and
National Orientation minister Jerry
Gana announced a N1.7 billion
contract for emergency repairs of
the Sagamu-Benin Road to
Piccolo-Brunelli Engineering Ltd.
In May 2002, the Ministry
announced that the government
had already spent over N42 billion
nationwide on completed road
projects.


In May 2000, at the end of the
first year of the Olusegun
Obasanjo presidency, the
government announced that it had
up till that point awarded
contracts for 45 road and bridge
projects valued at N65 billion. I
presume that somewhere in there
was Sagamu-Benin.
There, in shorthand, is partly
where Nigeria has been.
Happy New Year, Nigeria!
sonala.olumhense@gmail.com

OfficialAwol:
Oh goodness!

No roads in 16 years?

Have you ever heard of a road called Benin-Ore road in Nigeria that was done by GEJ?

Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja road, in my state, was done by GEJ.

Roads done in the North are countless.

Almajiri schools built.

Why are twisting facts?

Why are you bent on deceiving the gullible?

after looting N300b on the Benin Ore and doing resurfacing from Benin-Ofosu? No sir PDP didn't construction a damn shiit on that road and there a evidences hence they couldn't reply when the VP - Osinbajo threw that challenge at them -PDP.







WWW.abdusidiq.com
You Have No Score Card to Show
the People, Oshiomhole tells
Jonathan
EDITOR
Nov 13, 2014 6:52 am
0
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of
Edo State has challenged
President Goodluck Jonathan to
show what his party, the Peoples
Democratic Party has done in Edo
State, saying the President only
came to the state to commission a
resurfaced existing Ofosu-Benin
axis of an expressway which was
constructed by a military regime.

SillyMods:
Not only that three years of PMB is better than eight years of OBJ. PMB's three years have been far better than the sixteen years of PDP altogether if we compare apple for apple.

We must consider facts, including the following:
1. Completed infrastructures including roads and housings. In 16 years, PDP didn't complete any major project throughout Nigeria. If it's a lie, kindly bring out the project. On the other hand, PMB has completed Abuja-Kaduna rail project it inherited in less than two years of assuming office. Many major roads have also been completed.

2. In sixteen years, PDP could not improve power generation nor power supply. OBJ spent $16bn on power project, yet NOTHING to show for it. PMB's regime has notably improved generation and distribution of power and we can see the difference.

3. Foreign Reserves - while OBJ built our reserves, GEJ of same PDP found a way to deplete it to around $29bn from $67bn despite earnings of billion dollars from crude sale. PMB, with about 40% earnings compared to GEJ, has built the reserve to above $47bn in less than three years with oil at average of $55 per barrel.

4. Import and export - while PDP's was basically an import driven economy, PMB is changing the orientation as our import has continued to reduce while our export goes up every quarter.


There are more but we will leave you for now.

you forgot to add that we must put all the earnings under PDP for 16years on the table vis a vis their achievement and compare with Buhari's relatively meagre earnings and his achievements so far. These thieves think we all are fools but they are mistaken PDP ain't coming back in this lifetime.

jpphilips:
Nobody is asking the right questions, just take the throne because you are young mtcheww!!
Where are the content and character ?

He is wasting his time. I read one of his posts where he tactically denigrate the political mechanism in Lagos being sustained from Bourdillon and I asked myself if this guy is politically conscious of the Nigerian dynamics that threw up the Bourdillon necessity. Truth is if you must lead me, you must be very aware of the political environment/ history and its dynamics as it affects development and the social contract of delivering democratic fruits to the people. I'm sorry , Durotoye has not convinced me a bit and I'm not ready to gamble my democratic trust on such an inadequate opportunist.

lexy2014:
d focus of d discussion is on d Gaddafi connection 2 this whole episode. How in d world did Gaddafi's arms travel from Libya to Nigeria? Who brought d arms 2 nigeria and who are those using d arms?Even if they did, did they come with everlasting bullets?

many of his 'boys' ran back to their bases Mali, Chad ,Sudan etc after the fall of Gaddafi and went with the arms and training gained therefrom and with collusion from their government officials who were helped into positions by Gaddafi in the first place, a new breed of local terrorism with regional coordination was birthed in Sahel Africa. Especially through Mali and Chad, these rogues came to Nigeria with heavy scars behind in form of cattle rustling, robbery and killing of Nigerians while PDP pretended to be lameduck thereby allowing these terrorists infiltrate our territories. 30 years earlier when Chadian forces unleashed similar terror on Nigeria, Buhari defeated them and nearly oust the Chadian government breeding the terror.

use Google and educate yourself bro.

lexy2014:
so since u can different a Tuareg from a Fulani, pls what's d difference? Also, Which north African countries did Gaddafi's boys overrun?

Post-Gaddafi repercussions in the
Sahel
This project is a collaboration
between NAI and the Kofi Annan
Peacekeeping and Training Centre
(KAIPTC) in Accra. It was
established in the spring of 2012
with the intention to explore the
emerging security challenges in
the Sahel region after the fall of
Gaddafi.
Researchers: Mats Utas, Emy
Lindberg
Project started in 2012, finazlized
in 2014
The North African Spring has had
consequences reaching far
beyond North Africa. For instance,
the brutal killing of longstanding
Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi,
has resulted in unintended and
comprehensible repercussions in
the Sahel region and beyond. Over
the past decades, longstanding
and far-ranging political and
economic ties have been
established between the Gaddafi
regime and both governments and
local strongmen in the region.
Currently in Chad, Mali, Central
African Republic, Niger, Algeria
and Mauritania, but also in the
Darfur region of Sudan. Local
political maps are being redrawn,
as political and military strongmen
lost their chief patron.
Simultaneously, militant groups of
loyal Gaddafi supporters are
returning from Libya to their
former homelands, contesting for
new space in the fragile political
topography of the sub-region.
Even before the fall of Gaddafi, it
was hard, if not impossible, to
separate flows of refugees, and
migrants from mercenary soldiers
and smugglers from radical
Islamists such as AQIM. The fall
of Gaddafi complicated this map
and the military-political dynamics
in the region and far beyond. On
the political scene, it is crucial to
understand what returning
mercenary soldiers from the
Gaddafi regime will imply for the
many local armed struggles in the
region. Furthermore, what will the
influx of arms and ammunition
flowing from Libya to the region
mean? If anti-aircraft missiles
SA-7 and other advanced military
equipment ends up in the hands
of AQIM or loyalists will it shift the
nature of the game? Will it also
change business strategies of
smuggling refugees, drugs and
contraband cigarettes to the north,
a business that not only includes
local strongmen, but also
government officials in the named
countries? Far from being just
local battles of control over space
and people the scenarios
increasingly ties up with global
political and economic agendas....

Post-Gaddafi repercussions in the
Sahel - The Nordic Africa .....
www.nai.uu.se › post-gaddafi-
repercussion



Canadian Foreign Policy Journal 
Volume 19, 2013 - Issue 2
894
Views
3

Original Articles
Fallout in the Sahel: the
geographic spread of conflict
from Libya to Mali
Scott Shaw 
Pages 199-210 | Published online:
01 Aug 2013
Download citation
https://
doi.org/10.1080/11926422

The poverty that Reno and co put us by stealing and boldly told in 2014 to prepare when NOI told us to prepare for recession @ $60/barrel. Fraudulent Reno can only Mock himself and his fellow stewpid PDP.

Mr Senator go prove your innocence before the law. simple.

1sttruth:
Nobody is clapping for Fayose or his ilks rather the question should be; was these blood bath there in the middle belt some 4 years ago ? as we recall that Gaddafi died 7 years back. So these infiltrators waited for your "god" president to come to power to show us the maradonic, acrobatic and James Bond styles they learnt in Libya 7 years ago. Pls say NO to bigotry.

yes it is sir, long before Buhari the Middlebelt had been a theatre of blood bath under PDP. From Everyday massacre in Plateau state , unannounced killings in Nasarawa, genocide in Kaduna, occasional slaughtering s inTaraba/ kogi/Benue etc the middle belt was worse off under PDP and there are records to show.

Litmus:
Would the president make crucial statements, exposed to international scrutiny, without the advice of individuals with acsess to information more reliable than that of the average Nigerian with predilections to consuming horrible animals and making unsubstantiate-able comments on Nairaland?

after the death of Gaddafi, many of his' boys' ran away from Libya and overran neighboring north African nations unleashing terror which unfortunately flow to Nigeria under PDP. The President is very correct. Just ignore these illiterates who can't differentiate between a Tuareg and a Fulani.

More than any president this nation has produced, Buhari's records at fighting terrorism has not been marched so far.
So I'm sure he is privy to plenty and adequate info on the Libya angle and I'm placing my bet on him and not some local tout of a governor who got to government house in Ekiti through official terrorism under PDP and who wouldn't have been so patient and tolerant enough of a disrespectful governor if he were to be the president! To hell with Fayose!

engineerboat:
Baba Buhari wetin be this

“Accommodate your countrymen" Buhari in Benue


"They are foreigners from Libya and Gaddaffi Men" Buhari in London

The president is very correct. Do you know how many terrorists that trained in Libya that PDP allowed to stay in this country due to high handedness, negligence, compromise and incompetence? Do you know how many of them hide under ' Fulani herdsmen' to perpetrate evil to both Fulani and non fulanis? Do you know that under PDP our borders, economy and security became so porous that it took the grace of God for Naija to have survived? Do you know that PDP deliberately stole the defence budget and sabotaged the efforts against Boko haram?

What I don't understand is why the president is too soft on PDP. He is damn too soft on these criminals who are sponsoring these " herdsmen "attacks. They are both in his government and outside of it.

JasonScolari:
Nah, I'm okay with my GOAT chop your ELEPHANT bro.


Thanks anyways.

lols ....hehehehe

JasonScolari:
Lol, baba, wetin man go do nah?

The babe fresh anyhow like fresh fish.

she is but hope she fresh inside too sha....it makes it a complete package. make I give u her phone number?

JasonScolari:
This jade Fuckner is so beautiful. Damn!!!

he he he ....badt guy.

anti Democratic Wike himself wanting to teach us democracy; nonsense! Go ahead and bribe the lawbreakers to override PMB and waste Rivers money . For sponsoring the killings of innocent Riverns to gain undeserved sympathy, God will expose you soon. You can only rig under Clueless.

Nice, but they should work faster.

hmmmm....very few understand esoterism. Sarasin you do. I have plenty questions.

so says the attorney of political and economic robbers...

who created the Devil?

kenonze:

Everyone Reacting!
Is Buhari Chloroquine?

hehehehehe

Thanks Mourhino, I wasn't dissapointed I placed my bet on you. United for Life.

Jackzillionaire:
Abiola caused Awolowo's losing the presidency in 1979 elections so Awo placed a curse on Abiola that he will get there too but he wont sit on that throne.

Awo never did that ,rather he was happy when MKO attended his 70th birthday after he had left NPN and politics in early 80s. Awo was so elated about Mko's exit from NPN that he described it as a movement from darkness to light.

I have heared this IBB sponsored story to justify the annulment of June 12 so many times.
Please always do independent research on any urban legend before going to the e-public.

mu2sa2:
According to SW press June 1993 election was the freest election in nigeria. But we all know that's a lie - that election was as rigged as other elections.

rigged by who?

mtchew! ain't you part of the 16 years rut of the PDP?
.....and what special thing have you done in Gombe that has promoted ethnic equality? all noise.

TheTrueSeeker:
You ought to have been taught your 'civic duties' in Sec sch, were you not?

On a lighter note, if listing a 'full-page paper' achievement of Mr. President without verification is not worth getting paid for then you are a waste of space in the universe Sir....!!!

Femi Adesina and co all smiles to the bank for every defense of Mr. President while you still live in your father's one room apartment..!!!


Meanwhile, like i said, exposing you has a time frame..!!!

To you civic duties means paying your taxes promptly and cleaning gutters but to me it is more than that. It involves active citizenship; being involved in issues that affect me directly or indirectly like government policies, socioeconomic discussions etc as well as defending the Nigerian e-space with facts when the darkness of deliberate misinformation with the intent to deceive innocent folks hover around. This doesn't mean I should get paid for it because it is not necessary.

It is most uncharitable of you to talk about my socioeconomic status as if you know me. Rather than being hurt , may I offer you an accommodation if you need one anytime?
May quickly point out that stating pmb's achievement doesn't necessarily translate to a second term automatically for if there is a better option, we shall opt for it. I'm all for evolution but won't sit back and allow the vestiges of yesterday's painful past - the PDP- come back to power. Never!

TheTrueSeeker:
Debunking or exposing PMB's falsehood is first exposing all you his paid e-rats defending him shamelessly for pocket-gains.
We will not send some of you out to the labour market yet...
until your paymaster shots himself on the foot..!!!

please go ahead and reveal how I get paid to do my civic duties. Please do mention dates, bank accounts, and other relevant figures.. waiting for you please.

TheTrueSeeker:
What a contradiction? If you already acknowledged his failure why list achievements even a Local Government Chairman can beat his chest over as a Presidential achievement?

what kinda Truth seeker are you? Debunk any or all of the PMB achievements above staring at you and tell us it is no true. You can't just wish things away because you hate them. Our next president must be better than Pmb or pmb stays. Don't you think so?

"God Spoke!"
By H. Spencer Lewis, F.R.C.
[ From The American Rosae Crucis
November 1916]



IN our mad ambition to conquer
the formidable and attain the very
pinnacle of material heights, we
lose sight of the little, sweet
essentials of life; and it is often in
the twilight of life only that we
realize we have wandered far
away from that narrow road which,
after all, leads to the only goal of
contentment and peace.
More especially do we wander far
from the natural elements of
religion. We enter those modern,
recently constructed, and as yet
untrammeled paths of
"interpreted" religion where the
true and real God is little or not all
considered or understood. We
lose sight of the simple laws and
words of God and our worship of
Him becomes so involved, so
complex, so profound, that God
actually becomes a stranger to
our hearts and consciousness.
Yet God is so close, so near to us,
so intimate and so easily
understood that we may hear the
Divine Voice, feel the Divine
Presence and realize the Divine
Mind every hour in the day.
I make plea for a return to the
simple worship of God. I urge that
we unite in an endeavor to realize
God, consciously, as a living
presence, and to hearken unto the
Voice and observe His handiwork.
"God spoke!"
You have thought that
exclamation to be a doctrinal reply
from the over-zealous Bible
student. You have, perhaps,
thought it to be the blind belief of
the religious fanatic; or you may
have thought it to be the
metaphorical reply of the religious
idealist.
But, my beloved friends, I have
heard God speak; and I say it,
declare it, in the coolness of
careful thought, without undue
fervor or zeal. To me it is
beautifully true, wonderful,
inspiring, but it is not phenomenal,
supernatural or mystic in any
sense.


"God spoke!"
I have wandered idly through a
field of daisies, lying in a peaceful
valley with the great blue heaven
above me, the sun shining
brightly, birds light-heartedly
passing from bough to bough, all
nature gay, bright, sweet and
glorious; strife, turmoil and evil far
away; nothing around me but
goodness and Godliness. And I
have felt the oneness of all
nature, all God's manifestations; I
have forgotten personality of self
and individuality of ego; I have
lost myself in the simplicity and
grandeur--not the complexity and
marvels--of all about me. And, I
have sat down in the midst of the
daisies to try and attune my
consciousness with their
simplicity. And I have reached out
and drawn close to my cheek one
of these daisies that I might feel
its soft, innocent face against
mine, and I have looked into its
eyes, its soul. Then--the occasion
will ever be remembered--I saw
the harmony of its form; the grace
of its design, the symmetry of its
yellow head, the regularity of its
petals, the method of its
unfoldment, the simplicity of its
anatomy and--God Spoke!
Through the daisy God revealed to
me in unmistakable language, the
infinite wisdom of His mind, the
superiority of His ways and His
laws.


God spoke! Truly, and I heard, and
understood; God spoke as only
God can speak. Could man but
speak as God speaks--ah! the
vanity of the thought. Yet man
demands that, to be heard and
understood, God must speak in
his limited, self-made, finite
language, and man, therefore,
hears not the voice of God.


The organist, rambling over the
keys while his soul expands and
vibrates to greater area, hears
sweet chords, beautiful notes,
harmonious, euphonious arias,
peal forth, while he is still
unconscious of the mechanical
features of his playing. And when
he has completed one passage of
divine music he knows that God
spoke--and in a manner as only
God can speak.
The artist, the writer, the sculptor,
each has heard the Voice of God
and has understood while others
seek the Voice in place and
manner demanded by doubt,
skepticism and "higher criticism".



Watch the little imprisoned gold
fish in the crystal aquariums. Let a
beam of sunlight strike the silvery
surface of the water and refract its
rays through the world in which
they live and you will soon see the
revived activity. Drop some
crumbs upon the water and note
the instinct of preservation; tap
the aquarium suddenly and see
the instinctive action of fright,
basic law of self-protection
manifested. Study the periodicity
of breathing of water, then air;
analyze the perfect mechanics of
motion in swimming, diving, rising
and immobility. And, as you do
these things God will speak to you
and you will learn a lesson as only
God can teach.


Look into the eyes of the heart-
hungry, poverty-stricken child as
it gazes into the windows of the
stores at this holiday time. Note
its pathetic, quiet, philosophical
acceptance of conditions which in
truth are making the young heart
and mind bleed and ache. And as
you look, smile! Take the child
into the store and buy for it, give
it, those simple--not complex or
luxurious--things which it longs
for and which our children in their
advanced (!) education would
spurn; and when those deep set,
longing, sweet eyes look up into
yours with tears and silently say
"thank you," you will know that
God spoke--spoke as only God
could speak.

And turn your way to the desolate
home where the father has not
heard the Voice of God but has
sought the voice of evil; where the
young-old mother is striving to
make the widely separated ends
meet; where sickness has stricken
one child and medicine is
unobtainable, and food--of the
simple kind, not luxurious--is
required for the baby that brought
God's voice once to the mother;
where all is sad at the time of
greatest rejoicing elsewhere. Go
there, not to Temple, Church or
Cathedral to hear God speak, and
give that which you would give
with less appreciation to yourself.
And, as you sleep in your bed of
comfort that night the poor
mother's prayers of thankfulness
will come to you in the silence of
the night; and your soul, your
consciousness, will know, if you
do not, that God spoke!


And, pass the corner of the busy
thoroughfare where time and tide
pass so swiftly by; where each in
eager pursuit of self satisfying
interests see not the lips of God
about to speak; where stands
upon the corner, 'neath shelter
from the cold and storm, the
ragged urchin boy urging all to
buy his wares; his hands are cold,
his feet is wan, his eyes are filled
with tears; at home there are a
few who wait for his late coming
in; he is hungry, too, yet he must
not spend one single penny of the
fund his mother needs for food;
his thoughts are of the family and
"sister," his chum and friend; he
would gladly sacrifice most
anything to take her just a gem;
stop there and speak to him, as
you pass by, and then go on and
return again; this time give him
just a big red rose and say: "for
'sister,' lad, as friend to friend";
then watch the eyes enlarge with
pride; and see the sorrows flee;
you'll find the boy is a man at
once, with God-light in his soul.
And then, as in your throat you
feel that lump, and in your veins a
tingle comes, you'll know that
somewhere in the aura of your
life, God spoke, as only God can
speak.
Yes, God speaks, and He has
spoken to me. God waits and
waits to speak to you and if in this
life you give no chance for
interview, a time will come, when
life is done, that through the
sorrows, pains and lessons of the
past, your soul will feel, your heart
will know, your mind will hear and
you shall find that God did speak
at last as Father to His child.

where is the opposition or a serious contender to put Pmb and APC on their toes? So far I have only Sowore and his audacity of hope. PDP is just clueless and drifting to madness. We are watching ,though.