₦airaland Forum

Mr/Mrs/Miss Moderator...I guess you guys are taking this role a little too serious. Why hide people's post. The last time I checked there is free speech in Nigeria. Everyone is entitled to their own view no matter how silly it maybe.

Sagewood: Odimegwu, who spoke at the second National Family Planning Conference in Abuja Wednesday, declared that the N600 billion needed to conduct the exercise, which would capture biometric data over five years, would be generated by the NPC from the sale of data to the private sector if the Federal Government cannot provide it.

Another new low in the history of Nigeria....when public body decides to sell data that it should be protecting jelously, God help us.

[/b]

Sagewood: By Patrick Ugeh and Tobi Soniyi

Section 30(1)(2) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution provides that “the President may deprive a person, other than a person who is a citizen of Nigeria by birth or by registration, of his citizenship, if he is satisfied that such a person has, within a period of seven years after becoming naturalised, been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than three years.

“The President shall deprive a person, other than a person who is citizen of Nigeria by birth, of his citizenship, if he is satisfied from the records of proceedings of a court of law or other tribunal or after due inquiry in accordance with regulations made by him, that - (a) the person has shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal towards the Federal Republic of Nigeria; or (b) the person has, during any war in which Nigeria was engaged, unlawfully traded with the enemy or been engaged in or associated with any business that was in the opinion of the president carried on in such a manner as to assist the enemy of Nigeria in that war, or unlawfully communicated with such enemy to the detriment of or with intent to cause damage to the interest of Nigeria.”

If only he took his time to consult the relevant section of the constistution, he will understand that certain category of citizenship (apart from naturalisation) is an inalienable right that cannot be denied under ANY cirmustance....God help us if these are the type of high ranking public officers we have.

In other news... knorr maggi have brought out a new cube to commemorate RDM's sacking. Now there's a red one for meat stock, gold one for chicken stock, and a blue one for laughing stock.

You've never eaten a biscuit till you've ate this one... and cabin biscuit of course!!!!!!

I dont get all this noise about the cost of feeding and entertainment in Aso Rock. How much do you think a typical dinner will cost per head. Take a look at the sample menu of a typical Aso Rock Dinner:

Starter
CK Stew (with JPG aroma)
D&G Nuts

Main
Gucci Rice
DKNY Beans
Armani Pounded yam
DKNY Vegetable (with assorted meat from Tommy, Ralph & Nautical)

Desert
Louis Vuitton Ice Cream
French Connection Plam Wine
Guess Coffee


Looking at the amount, we should all be praising our prudent president for not asking for more money given the sample dinner menu above. Oga Jona abeg carry go.

ujchief: N30.5 mil for feeding of animals Are u guys runing a zoo at aso rock?

Fela don talk am...abi you no know?....Animal dey where agbada, animal dey put on suit o.....animal in human skin etc.

docokwy: Bi-Courtney, another fake, unqualified Yoruba construction company butted out

This is how the Yorubas corrupt the system with their incompetence and fakeness. If GEJ was a Yoruba, Bi courtney would still be having the contract like OBJ did with 100s of contracts he gave to Kenny Martins his brother, in which no single one was completed and Martins is still walking free.

Oh I get it... Julius Berger and RCC are Igbo and Hausa construction companies? Good Lord!!!...the brain is a terrible thing to waste. What has this topic got to do with being Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa? I guess some people just talk/post for the sake of talking/posting. Please get a life.

The church in Nigeria today lost its purpose the moment it decided to abandon its primary assignment - seeking the lost and bring hope to the hopeless. The Nigeria church is now a commercial entity in a religion garb. The most saddening part of it is that, a lot of people are so hopelessly blind to reality of the situation of the Nigerian church today that any attempt to point out excesses of some the modern day pastor/bishop/GO is met with a loud condemnation of "touch not my anointed" chorus. In my opinion (note that I said in MY opinion)Pentecostalism has done far more damage to Christianity in Nigeria than good and here is my argument.

There are more church now (due to explosion of Pentecostal churches) than there were 30/40 years ago - Yet Nigeria is far worse that it was 30/40 years ago.

There are more Christians than there are 30/40 years ago - There is nothing to show in our national lives for this increase.

We are where we are, because the Christianity has become so commercialised that it has lost its appetite for raising genuine and true worshipers of God. The blessings of God today are being peddled to the highest bidder and we continue to bring the standard of God down to level of man, instead of bringing men up to the standard of God.

Despite my criticism of the Pentecostal churches above, the orthodox church are not fearing any better as they seem to have caught the commercial virus/bug of the Pentecostal churches, the health and education systems referred to by the OP were product of orthodox churches back in the day. But how many of the orthodox churches now operate not for profit schools or hospital? most of them have seen how the little cousins (Pentecostals) are reaping bountifully from their ventures and have decided to travel down the same route. They all seem to have forgotten that well being of the community is at the heart of gospel.

May God help his church in Nigeria

It's a common grumble that politicians' lifestyles are far removed from those of their electorate. Not so in Uruguay. Meet the president - who lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay. Laundry is strung outside the house. The water comes from a well in a yard, overgrown with weeds, only two police officers and Manuela, a three-legged dog, keep watch outside. This is the residence of the president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, whose lifestyle clearly differs sharply from that of most other world leaders. President Mujica has shunned the luxurious house that the Uruguayan state provides for its leaders and opted to stay at his wife's farmhouse, off a dirt road outside the capital, Montevideo. The president and his wife work the land themselves, growing flowers.
This austere lifestyle - and the fact that Mujica donates about 90% of his monthly salary, equivalent to $12,000 (£7,500), to charity - has led him to be labelled the poorest president in the world.

"I may appear to be an eccentric old man... But this is a free choice. I've lived like this most of my life," he says, sitting on an old chair in his garden, using a cushion favoured by Manuela the dog. I can live well with what I have."

His charitable donations - which benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs - mean his salary is roughly in line with the average Uruguayan income of $775 (£485) a month. The entire president's wealth - a 1987 VW Beetle In 2010, his annual personal wealth declaration - mandatory for officials in Uruguay - was $1,800 (£1,100), the value of his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. This year, he added half of his wife's assets - land, tractors and a house - reaching $215,000 (£135,000).
That's still only about two-thirds of Vice-President Danilo Astori's declared wealth, and a third of the figure declared by Mujica's predecessor as president, Tabare Vasquez. Elected in 2009, Mujica spent the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Uruguayan guerrilla Tupamaros, a leftist armed group inspired by the Cuban revolution.
He was shot six times and spent 14 years in jail. Most of his detention was spent in harsh conditions and isolation, until he was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy. Those years in jail, Mujica says, helped shape his outlook on life.

"I'm called 'the poorest president', but I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more," he says.
"This is a matter of freedom. If you don't have many possessions then you don't need to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more time for yourself," he says.

The Uruguayan leader made a similar point when he addressed the Rio+20 summit in June this year: "We've been talking all afternoon about sustainable development. To get the masses out of poverty. "But what are we thinking? Do we want the model of development and consumption of the rich countries? I ask you now: what would happen to this planet if Indians would have the same proportion of cars per household than Germans? How much oxygen would we have left?
"Does this planet have enough resources so seven or eight billion can have the same level of consumption and waste that today is seen in rich societies? It is this level of hyper-consumption that is harming our planet."

Mujica accuses most world leaders of having a "blind obsession to achieve growth with consumption, as if the contrary would mean the end of the world". But however large the gulf between the vegetarian Mujica and these other leaders, he is no more immune than they are to the ups and downs of political life. "Many sympathise with President Mujica because of how he lives. But this does not stop him for being criticised for how the government is doing," says Ignacio Zuasnabar, a Uruguayan pollster.

The Uruguayan opposition says the country's recent economic prosperity has not resulted in better public services in health and education, and for the first time since Mujica's election in 2009 his popularity has fallen below 50%. This year he has also been under fire because of two controversial moves. Uruguay's Congress recently passed a bill which legalised abortions for pregnancies up to 12 weeks. Unlike his predecessor, Mujica did not veto it. He is also supporting a debate on the legalisation of the consumption of cannabis, in a bill that would also give the state the monopoly over its trade. "Consumption of cannabis is not the most worrying thing, drug-dealing is the real problem," he says.

However, he doesn't have to worry too much about his popularity rating - Uruguayan law means he is not allowed to seek re-election in 2014. Also, at 77, he is likely to retire from politics altogether before long. When he does, he will be eligible for a state pension - and unlike some other former presidents, he may not find the drop in income too hard to get used to.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20243493

I read this article today about how some popular pastors left their previous churches to start their own,  interesting article.

http://www.globalnews-ng.com/?p=10 (scroll down the page to view the article).

MOBO999:
this just shows how shallow and empty Nigeria women are, they are nothing but Gold diggers

here in England, Ghana women, Zimbabwe, South Africa and even Libya women are well behaved and admired, not this evil Nigeria witch sister.

I guess you have no mother, sister or female family members if you do - then you have just put all of them in the same category as this woman going by your statements above. It amazes me how you can easily and conveniently stereotype all Nigerian women based on the action of one woman. I guess you will never be angry if a European says "ALL Nigerians are into 419 or better still all black people are gang bangers". To condemn the act of the person involved is one thing and to condemn all Nigerian women as gold digger is something else.

Pharoh:
I was not asking where you were as from the physical location perspective and thanks for explaining your point of view. The argument then was that NN24 can invite who ever they wished to and their criteria was that it was only the top four candidates. The whataboutus debate also invited the top six candidate  of which shekarau was not among but at the end of the day i was surprised to find him there.

See my point is there has not been a perfect method of selecting candidates for these debates so whatever BON does should just be left like that because the earlier organizers were also guilty of the same crime of excluding some candidates. Not that i am in support of candidates being excluded but i cringe this days when i feel people just want to condemn anything that has to do with PDP, BON or the government. That's the reason i have been asking that, what was the position of those condemning this act as it is not a new thing and can the provide evidence if they condemned the other debate organizers.

I was only joking about the last part regarding physical location. Thank you for clarifying your point in a civil manner (which is not common on NL these days). I think we are in thesame position concerning this issue. I only hope Nigerians can see beyond the showmanship at these debates to what each ccandidate has got to offer.

Pharoh:
And where were you when some candidates were excluded from the NN24 and whataboutus debates? 

The fact that I was not on NL jumping up and down when they were excluded does not not mean I'm in support of such act. I only responded to the person that asked "who is Dele" as I believe the issue being discussed is not about Dele but the repugnancy of the act and should be condemned. If thesame question had come up regarding NN4 debate, my response will still be thesame. I don't see the logic in your question of where I was when NN24 excluded other in their debate, did I mentioned I have done anything about this one apart from dropping my 1 kobo's worth on NL? and if you still want to know where I was , well I was in my house minding my business.

A good part of me don't believe this because in business there is something called Rate of Return and Payback Time. Countries characterised by instability like Nigeria will generally attract investors that want higher Rate of Return and faster Payback Time.

Taking into consideration that the $100 billion is only to buy our near if not total obsolete power plants, the investors will need at least another $15 - $30 billion to bring the power plants to 21st century. Furthermore the time the investors will be making money from the investments is still light years away when you consider what still need to be done in terms of refurbishments of the power plant before they start to generate electricity.

Another aspect is this deal is for power generation only, don't forget electricity sector is made up of Generation, Transmission and Distribution. what happens if Nigeria is unable to attract thesame level of investment to the transmission and distribution side of the sector.

I'm afraid from the above, I don't see how an investor will invest $100 billion in a business environment that goes against all business logic especially where the investors will have to depend on other companies for transmission and distribution. What happens if the investors are true to their words and paid $100 billion, refurbish the power plants, increase power generation to 25,000MW per day but we don't have the capacity to transmit and distribute what is generated. I don't understand how any investor will be willing to run this risk with $100 billion (no be small thing o)

blink182:
I beg make we hear word, who is Dele. He doesn't even know his left from his right

This is not about Dele - whoever or whatever he is doesn't matter. The crux of the matter is that every aspirant should be given a level playing field; as such no one should be excluded, from a debate no matter how hopeless their ambition might be. I'm not a fan of Dele and can never vote for him, but the act of denying him the platform to present himself to the electorate should be condemned by every right thinking person. No wonder Nigeria is where it is today because we've condone so much nonsense in the past. May God help us.

Could not believe my eyes when I read this,

UGHELLI – CHAIRMAN of Sapele Okpe community, Sapele Local Government Area, Delta State, Mr. Michael Egbejule, has warned against burial of non-indigenes in the council.

Appealing to the Delta State government and other relevant authorities to call the Diden family in Sapele, who purportedly buried one of their family members in Sapele last week to order, he alleged that their action in recent times was threatening the peace in the community.

Speaking to newsmen in Sapele over what he termed an the act of provocation and flagrant violation of the orders of the Orojde of Okpe Kingdom, which forbids non-Sapele natives from being buried in Sapele, Egbejule alleged that "the Diden family has consistently shown disdain to the Orojde's order.”

According to him, the Diden's family; "have buried one of their son's, late Precious Diden against Orojde's standing order in Sapele."

Egbejule added that these set of family are exploiting their alleged closeness to the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan to undermine the Okpe's traditional institution. He said; "if not checked it is capable of overheating the system and could lead to break down of public peace."

He said the community may resort to self help if the state governor continues to shoal this individual to continue to undermine the Orojde's order, adding; "we cannot continue to watch and allow one family to over-run the Sapele okpe community."

He therefore urged the governor to take necessary action to prevent possible break down of law and order in Sapele by calling those using his name to cause trouble in Sapele local government area to order.


Source:
http://odili.net/news/source/2011/mar/29/305.html

For me their problem is due to 2 major issues

1. Their video quality is nothing to write home about. believe it or not musical videos have their ways of imprinting songs in our memories and when you are put off by a musical video, sometimes it hard to like the track for which the video has been short (run away comes to my mind).

2. They need to be more versatile in thier delivery. At the moment they are very predictable and when you listen to their album,.one tends to get bore easily because the songs, beat and vocal style all sound thesame, I guess it's because they work with thesame producer who's not capable of giving them different sound in each of their tracks

No doubt those guys are MASSIVELY talent (even more than the likes of p square and dbanj in my view), but they really need to step their game up and I believe relocating to lagos has got very little to with success in music as far as album is concern but maybe in the area of corporate sponsorship and concert then Lagos is the place to be.

ABOUT three months to the governorship election, Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has appointed 457 special advisers, senior special assistants and personal assistants.

A breakdown of the appointees whose names were released on Tuesday by the governor's Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Kingsley Emereuwa, showed that eight of the 457 appointees are advisers, 397 senior special assistants and 52 personal assistants.

No reason was given for the appointments but the state Information/Strategy Commissioner, Anthony Agbazuere, told The Guardian on Wednesday that the governor may have done so to reduce unemployment and or injecting fresh bloods as the need arose.

Similarly, the CPS said it was a move to bring in some people with vibrant ideas and contributions to state governance, stressing that most of them were tested and certified competent in their areas, including a way of compensating them for their loyalty and steadfastness.

Some of the appointees comprising indigenes and non-indigenes including non-Igbo cadre are Israel Amanze, former Commissioner for Agriculture; J.C. Mbonu; Emma Omokwe, erstwhile adviser to former Governor Orji Kalu on Legislative Matters; Chuzzy Iboko, former director-general of the state's Radio/Television, among others.

http://odili.net/news/source/2011/jan/21/6.html

Set your priority right. If having BF/relationship is not part of your priority then so be it. You should not have bf because others are having and it should not make you feel weird or 'old fashion'. Make your decision and stick to it no matter what because ,  you are the person that will be the consequences of the outcome.

I'm amazed at the number of peeps(mostly male) here advising the poster to kick his wife out (to be a REAL man). If exactly the same story had been from a female poster, most(if not all) of the peeps screaming for divorce here will make 180 degree turn and talk about how the wife needs to forgive her husband or how she have to accept it that it's normal for male folks to cheat on the wives/girlfriend(like its their God given right). It's unfortunate that we (male folks) behave like we own the world when it comes to issue of relationship and to think that some Men in this age still believe the only way they can earn their wife's respect is by instilling fear in them. When you earn respect by fear, it's only show you are weakling who want to take respect(like a bully) and not earn it.

I've been married for 5yrs, so I know what it means to be married, thank God this has not happen (and will never happen) to me but I can appreciate the sort of pain and heartbreak an unfaithful wife can cause an husband. The question begging for answer is- can the poster see any future for this marriage? if there is then he needs to take reasonable steps to manage the situation whilst causing minimal damage to the reputation of their marriage, if not then he should move on but remember the devil you know is sometimes better than an angel that you dont know. I know of a close family friends whose wife cheated on him and his family wanted him to divorce his wife but he insisted on sticking with his Wife - they came out of the situation stronger and they are very happy today. Yoruba will say a o riru eleyi ri afi nderu ba oloro ni which means "there is nothing new under the heaven.

I'm not in any way condoning adultery from whatever side(husband and wife), infact I abhor it. I just want people to be objective in their criticism no matter the situation.

Tudór:
*blah bla bla bla bla bla bla. . . . . Rants you tell yourself to sleep well at night, not so?

I repeat for the benefit of anyone who is Illiterate. My God is NOT a MAN that he should write a book. My God who created the entire universe with limitless and infinitesimal space is not a tiny egostical murderer that you can fit into a book like yahweh. My God is NOT a bicycle like Jehovah  that has to have a 'manual'

My God is not so animalistic and vain as to tap, survive and exist based on the greed, materialistic lust, fear, lust for 'eternal enjoyment' pangings for reward and relief of man. My God is FAR above and beyond that.

My God does NOT need an IDENTITY, HE IS THE ULTIMATE IDENTITY!!!!!

My God is NOT a MAN and will NEVER be angry like a man, jealous like a man, shout like a man, think like a man, LIE like a man, have mood swings like a man seek punishment and revenge against 'enemies' like a man, play favouritism like a man, die like a man, ask for cash and material things like a man, require gifts and sacrifices like a man, murder people like a man, fight in battles like a man, impregnate virgins women like a man,  speak through man like a man, keep record books like a man, require praise and adulations like a man. Its just NOT possible!

My God is GREAT. He is the GREATEST and not in the league of criminals like the god of the bible.

@Tudor

There is no point talking you out of your confused state of mind  cause , the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1Cor 1:18a) ,  The fool (like your likes) says in his heart there is no God (Psalm 14:1)

iyatrustee:
Seems we have some unity ikere guys in the house!fagba was dreaded u all remember?missing dinner bcs u went to stream happens always and god help u if its the friday assembly• Was in fabunmi house 97set dat makes me your snr! Lol

That Name "Fagba" sent shivers down my spine , he was a no limit soldier. I left Unity in 1992 but that name is still stucked to my memory. By the way check out Unity Ikere Group on facebook(if you haven't already)

Group 1 - http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=20720708248

Group 2 - http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=37011813199

Just got this now and it all over the newspapers in UK.

One of Africa’s richest men is plotting to buy a stake in Arsenal in a move that could trigger a full-blown takeover battle for the Premier League football club.

Aliko Dangote, a billionaire Nigerian industrialist, is in talks to buy the 16% stake being sold by Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, the club’s fourth-largest shareholder. Dangote is understood to have registered his interest in buying the holding with Blackstone, the American finance house that has been given the job of finding a buyer for the shares.

Bracewell-Smith’s stake is currently worth £96m, but she is seeking up to £160m for the shares. Her holding is key to the future ownership of the north London club.

Arsenal’s two biggest investors, Stan Kroenke, the American sports tycoon, and Alisher Usmanov, the Russian oligarch, are also contemplating buying the shares. If either of the two men were to buy the Bracewell-Smith holding, they would be forced to launch a full takeover offer for the club.
Arsenal, which has a market value of £606m, is one of a number of Premier League clubs that could change hands this summer. Liverpool’s American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, have recently put their club up for sale.

Manchester United has attracted bid interest from a fan-based consortium that wants to wrest control from the Glazer family.

Dangote is a passionate football fan and has the wealth to compete with Kroenke and Usmanov. Forbes magazine recently ranked him among the world’s 500 richest people, with a fortune estimated at $2.5 billion (£1.7 billion). He has helped the Nigerian national football team with cash presents and has stood for the post of president of the Nigerian football association.

He recently celebrated his 53rd birthday with the purchase of an eight-seater Bombardier jet, regarded as one of the most sophisticated private planes in the world.

He is the founder of the Dangote Group, a manufacturing empire that started in the late 1970s as a cement importer and which now has interests ranging from sugar and flour to telecommunications and oil.

He is a close friend of Nigeria’s former president Olusegun Obasanjo. Until recently he was the head of the Nigerian stock exchange but was forced to step down after falling out with Africa Petroleum, one of Nigeria’s biggest companies, which accused Dangote of manipulating its share price, a charge he has appealed against.

The Nigerian tycoon is thought to have made it on to a shortlist of about 10 investors, drawn up by Blackstone.

The holding was put up for sale earlier this year. It was inherited by Bracewell-Smith’s husband Sir Charles Bracewell-Smith and transferred to her name in 2005.

The stake has attracted interest from investors in Asia, the Middle East, eastern Europe and America. It is expected to be sold for about £15,000 a share, against a current market price of £10,000.

Sources close to Kroenke say he is the favourite to buy the holding. The American, who currently owns 29.9%, the largest single shareholding in the club, ultimately wants control and has told Blackstone he plans to bid.

Kroenke is also more popular with the Arsenal directors than Usmanov, who owns a 26% stake through his Red & White Holdings investment vehicle but has failed to gain a seat on the club’s board.

A buyer could be selected before the emergency budget on June 22, which is expected to put up capital gains tax on certain types of investment. A rise in the tax rate could cost Bracewell-Smith millions of pounds.

Foreign ownership of football clubs is under increased scrutiny because of the large debts many clubs have been saddled with after takeovers by foreign investors.

Some proprietors, such as Chelsea’s Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, have slashed debts recently while others — Aston Villa’s American owner Randy Lerner, for example — have striven to avoid becoming dependent on bank financing.

The sale of a stake in Arsenal, which is forecast to make a pre-tax profit this year of £56m, will not be helped by growing speculation that Cesc Fabregas, its star midfielder, could move to Barcelona this summer.

Both Arsenal and Blackstone declined to comment.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/leisure/article7133927.ece

Joagbaje:
You are wrong on this because this Ganja seed guy didnt ask any questions in the church. But rather running spy agency. If he was seeking truth, he should have asked questions.but rather boasting "there is more, yet to come"
If there is anything you observe in achurch that seem contrary to your convictions, you should ask for clarisfication based on the word of God. If you dont want to do that , just move on to another church , that agrees with your convictions. But when a guy goes and hide in a church and is busy criticising the church, He is a false brethren .

2[b] Cor. 11:26[/b]
    In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among[b] false brethren; [/b]

False brethren dont go away, they stay ,they are not part of you but they keep coming. They attack the church from the inside.

Galatians 2:4
    And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus,:

Nobody force  anybody to give in Gods house, It is voluntary giving. Even if the pastor recommmend any amount for everybody, it is still voluntary. You give according to your covictions. And when you give, you are the one benefitting, and not the pastor.

2 Cor. 9:7-8
    Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. [8] And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

The poster is only trying to share his experience which to me is no crime but the Joeagbajes of this world are hell bent on crucifying the poster. Mr or Pastor Agbaje you are a typical example of christian that gives a bad name to other Christians. I've look through you posts all you do is either slate the person that do not subscribe to your myopic view of the bible or quote a verse of the bible out of context to support your flawed argument. I can recall in a thread few month ago where you claimed not to be a pastor but when your cover was eventually blown you ran with our tail in between your legs.

My advise is this - Instead of wasting you breadth here why not channel it into something that will uplift the work of the kingdom. attack me if you want as I know it's your tool in trade.

By: Sam Aweda is President & Snr. Pastor, Jesus for the World Revival Mission

Questions have been raised as to what business a Pastor got to do with protest against bad governance, referring to Pastor Tunde Bakare. The lashing of the government by the retiring leader of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Primate Jasper Akinola at the 80th birthday ceremony of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade early this year, 2010 has also been criticized, though mildly by some people of the media as too harsh coming from the pulpit. These questions have certainly risen, out of pure lack of knowledge of the Scriptures; both the Bible and the Qur' an.

Of course, the primary and sole responsibility of spiritual leaders is to lead and guide their congregations to heaven but this duty will be very difficult except their (congregation) state of body well-being is good enough. The state of the body well being of an individual has a big part to play in his/her spiritual well being. A well maintained body will be equipped to properly focus on the spiritual without the temptation of compromising his faith in order to survive (live a fairly acceptable life). The prayer of a man by the name Augur was recorded in Proverbs 30:7-9 and quoted:

"Two things have I required of Thee (God); deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me. Lest I be full, and deny you, and say, who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the Name of my God in vain". A Yoruba adage says "You are hawking bath soap when I am hungry, how can I clean the outside while the inside is not full".

So what do you expect a true shepherd (Pastor) to do in the circumstance where the government of the earth is treating his sheep (congregation) so miserably as it is being experienced in Nigeria leading to a situation which is incapacitating the congregation to live a life worthy of heaven and enter into rest?. To allow their congregations be devoured by the roaming wolves in persons of the conscienceless, greedy, wicked and selfish people running our government, who has created untold hardship and poverty in the nation?. A real shepherd will fight the roaming wolves with all it takes to protect his sheep. And this is what Pastor Tunde Bakare, Primate Akinola and Bishop Gbonigi have been doing. Lone voices in the wilderness.

But where are the other Shepherds in the Churches and Mosques, especially those with large pulpits, whose followers are large enough and capable to trigger positive actions, which can force the government to be responsible and accountable?. They are busy winning and dining with the corrupt government officials, presiding over the thanksgiving services of the rigged elections that brought them to power.

They are busy milking the sheep in tithes, offerings and gifts without bothering for the sources of the monies and in effect without bothering for where they (sheep) end up, whether heaven or hell. And recently they have introduced "First fruits" where they collect the January salaries of the sheep, voluntarily or involuntarily to buffer their wealth.

I understand that the Muslim Shepherds (Clerics) are themselves largely supported by corrupt individuals in the government; they are sent food stuff and other items during Ramadan and Eid-ul-fitir (celebration that follows Ramadan) and Eid-al-Adha (Hajj celebration) and other Muslim festivals. So if all these take place, how is it possible for them to fight the wolves i.e. the corrupt government?, Many of the Shepherds in both large faiths have largely become self serving in a Yoruba adage, which translates as "We in our case are full, we are not aware that children of some other people are hungry"

This non-caring attitude of many of our Spiritual leaders to the plight of the citizens is a departure from what it was the situation at the beginning. After the people of God decided on their own to be governed by kings, He (God) left them with checks & balances. Saul, the first king of Israel had Samuel, the prophet to check his excesses.

King David, though a prophet himself had Samuel, Nathan and Gad as his ombudsman at one time or the other, that wicked king, Ahab with his witch wife, Jezebel had prophet Elijah on his neck and Kings Jehoshaphat & Jehu had Prophet Elisha.

The great prophet Isaiah checked Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah and Manesseh in that order of succession. Isaiah paid the supreme price however. Bible history had it that King Manasseh had Isaiah tied between two trees and had him sawed into two.

Jeremiah was called into the ministry in the 13th year of the reign of the boyish king, Josiah. He warned relentlessly kings Eliakim (Jehoiakim), Jehoiachin and Zedekiah in that order of succession until God gave Judah to king Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon who took them captives and exiled them to Babylon in 605BC, 597BC & 586BC respectively in what is described as the worst catastrophe that befell the Jews in the Old Testament history (2Kings 24,25; 2Chr.36; Jer.). These checks and balances continued till the appearance of Christ at the scene, if we recollect how John the Baptist confronted king Herod. John also paid the supreme price. Herod beheaded him at the demand of his adulterous woman.

The Muslim holy book is equally against bad rulers. Hear it in Surah 2: 188 "And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly or send it (in bribery) to the rulers in order that (they might aid) you (to) consume a portion of the wealth of the people in sin, while you know (it is unlawful)"

And in same Surah 2 vs. 193, believers are enjoined to fight their rulers to finish; who oppress them and cause them "fitna" Now we know where the Yoruba word "Fitina" originates. "Fitna" or whether "Fitina" means to make another person miserable, leading to tumult. And how many million Nigerians have our rulers made miserable and caused untold hardship (tumult)? And what is our Muslim Clerics doing about it? They should rise up to their calling.

The Qur'an is firmly against injustice. Hear it in Surah 4:135 "O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both-------"

(All quotations are from "Saheeh International translation"

Unfortunately, our Nigerian Muslim leaders have pitted their tents with the rulers and the rich who oppress the citizens as long as they have their share of the largesse from the government treasury and are sponsored with their relations on annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The missing link in Nigeria today is that we have only a few of the likes of Prophet Samuel, Elijah and other prophets previously referred to, who can look straight at the rulers and confront them of their evil doings. What we have mostly are the likes of prophet Hananiah (Jer. 28) and prophet Shemaiah (Jer.29: 30-32) who prophesy or do I say "soothsay" to the rulers what their itching ears want to hear.

God makes the spiritual leaders "watchmen" (Ezek. 3: 7-9).

Jesus calls His followers salt & light of the world (Matt. 5: 13 & 14). It is expected of them to season the world in the same manner, which salt makes our food tasty. Salt is used as a preservative and the Lord has placed the responsibility on His followers to make and preserve the world, suitable and comfortable for habitation. Where a problem defiles all proffered human solutions, Spiritual leaders ought and should provide the answer.

Spiritual leaders in America are wonderfully performing their roles in this aspect. They have constituted themselves as the conscience of the nation. They issue statements constantly with analysis of how any of the Government actions will affect the lives of the citizens. The American Family Association (AFA) is always on the neck of the Government. Hardly does any week go by without making us to sign a petition to our representatives or senators or the President over one issue or the other? Who will stand in the gap for Nigeria?

Shall we live it to Pastor Tunde Bakare, Primate Jasper Akinola, Bishop Gbonigi and a few of the others alone?. I have no doubt in my mind that if the Spiritual leaders of the two largest faiths in the country will rise to their calling, it is only a matter of months to have all the ills of the country corrected and send our poverty into oblivion.

God help us.


http://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/aweda/022310.html

I'm surprise how some people use to excuse of "a  lot of girls are spoil" not to treat girls/women right. After all no girl have "wife Material" pasted on their forehead let us all remember that There is nothing like a no good woman, because every no good woman is made by a no good man.

face969:
Yep im aware of the pastor choir  cremony thing but the thing is he believed in allah at the time he died. His family organised that not him,

Dude so you base your conclusion on a write up from an 'unknown' website and faceless author. By the way are you a marketing agent for this website because in your last 20 posts or thereabout all your arguments was backed up with the same website or are you so narrowly minded and lazy to research other sources.