A Desperate Plea to Protect Our Children

By Julius Ogunro

There is a joke I occasionally tell. I tell my wife that I love her as much as I love myself, but I love the children more. So, if there was a fire, I would prioritize saving the two boys before considering us. She responds that she came first before the kids and we laugh over it.

Jokes apart, that is how much I love my children and kids in general. So when I hear about the wholesale kidnapping of children by bandits and other criminals, which has become all too common, it breaks my heart. I cannot but think of my two preteen boys who have been lavished with so much love and care and what trauma parents of abducted children suffer.

The kidnapping of children in Nigeria is becoming too commonplace and normalised. It has become like one of those Nigerian maladies we are forced to live with - the frequent power cuts or the habit of starting scheduled events late.

Almost weekly, we read about mass kidnapping of children in the north. The headlines are terrifying: ‘Bandits reportedly kidnap 30 children in Katsina,’ ‘Gunmen who kidnapped 287 school children in Nigeria say they will kill them all if $622,000 ransom not paid,’ and ‘Nigeria school abductions: More pupils snatched as army hunts for missing children.’

The frequency appears to have softened the shock and pain we ought to feel about this abomination. Gradually too, such incidents have ceased to make front page news as newspapers focus on other catastrophes, which are not in short supply in the country. We, too, are not as outraged as we were after the first incident in 2014 when Boko Haram abducted hundreds of schoolchildren in Chibok, Borno State. The outcry that followed that event caught the world’s attention, leading to the viral campaign: #BringBackOurGrls. Arguably, the controversy surrounding the Chibok kidnapping contributed to President Goodluck Jonathan's defeat in the subsequent presidential election.

But here we are now with mass kidnapping of children occurring weekly without a whimper. The bandits attack schools almost casually, ferrying hundreds of children into forests and threatening to kill them unless a large ransom is paid. Statistics are scarce, but it is safe to estimate that over 10,000 children may have been kidnapped since Chibok. That is how bad the situation is, with the far north now at the mercy of bloodthirsty criminals who see schoolchildren as soft targets and an easy way to rake in millions. The rest of us are helpless and appear to have become inured, or consciously shut our minds, to the gravity and oddity of this heinous crime, while praying that it does not affect our children or relatives.

But, for a moment, imagine that you were a parent of an abducted child. You were at work and then received the call that your beloved son, Jide, Usman, or Tonye had been kidnapped. Tonye is only nine, the apple of your eye, who prefers Golden Morn cereal in the morning. He only eats Mummy's specially prepared lunches and spends his evenings lounging on the family sofa, watching cartoons, or playing with other children. But in the bush with the bandits, Tonye is not special. He is one of a hundred children forced onto motorcycles and shipped to the hinterlands. The kidnappers were unprepared for the logistics of transporting and feeding so many people, leaving the children bedraggled and hungry.

Except for scraps, there is no food or clean water in the kidnappers’ lair. Tonye is starving, shivering, and fearful for his life, calling out for mummy and daddy. But there is little you can do. The kidnappers' hideout is impossible to breach, and they demand a king's ransom, which you will be unable to raise even if you sell everything you own. The security agencies are helpless, only issuing press statements. Your blood pressure is up. Your life suddenly seems meaningless, and you wish it were you rather than your beloved child who had been kidnapped.

That is the fate of the parents of abducted children, and it could be any of us. Even you.

The government is apparently impotent and unable to stop this menace. The Nigeria Safe School Initiative (NSSI), launched in 2014 following the kidnapping of the Chibok girls, has proven ineffective in protecting children from the bloodsucking marauders. The NSSI's mandate is to promote safe learning environments and secure schools in Nigeria. It seeks to safeguard students, teachers, and educational facilities against threats such as violence, attacks, and other forms of insecurity.

The Safe Schools Initiative has failed. If it hadn't, there would be no need to write this article. We must devise new ways to protect our children from the threats posed by bandits and kidnappers. This is urgent because school insecurity threatens to exacerbate the already dire situation of out-of-school children in the far north. If school-age children don’t go to school for fear of being kidnapped or coming to harm and failing to acquire market-useful skills, the chances are higher that they may grow up to be criminals and bandits who would then pose a threat to other children. Securing schools is therefore critical to avoid repeating the patterns that allowed bandits to thrive.

We must do everything we can to protect our children, especially those in school. Even if it means striking a deal with criminals. We could offer them amnesty and provide support to reintegrate them as productive members of society. We could declare an emergency, and provide a security ring around vulnerable schools. Whatever the case, we must draw a red line that no mass kidnapping of children is permitted; if this is violated, the full weight of the Nigerian state will be brought to bear on the perpetrators.

PS: Replace the name of the kidnapped child in this article with your own. Don’t say, God forbid - feel for a moment the fear and pain of parents of abducted children.


https://www.thecable.ng/a-desperate-plea-to-protect-our-children/

SAP Failed. Will Tinubu's ‘Reforms’ Succeed?

By Julius Ogunro

Nigerians are buffeted from all corners. Inflation is at an all-time high, even as the value of the naira has sharply plummeted, heralding what is probably the worst economic crisis the country has seen. Coupled with the rising wave of crime in the form of kidnapping, armed robbery, and banditry, the general outlook of things is bleak.

Now, with the prices of basic goods soaring above the reach of the average citizen, Nigerians have begun to adjust their lifestyles to suit the times. Non-essential items are ticked off the budget list. Expensive crucial ones are replaced with cheaper, if inferior, alternatives. Movement from place to place is limited, with people cramming several appointments together to maximize transport costs.

Things are hard. The perpetual Nigerian grumbling has given way to the strident cry of complaints and the federal government is in the line of fire for the policies that have left many in the lurch. On assuming power in May last year, the Bola Tinubu administration quickly implemented two economic policies, which have been touted by economists as necessary for the nation’s economic growth and long-term viability.

However, the ‘removal’ of the petrol subsidy and the floating of the Naira, at least in the short term, have worsened the economic crunch and further plunged many Nigerians into poverty. Although data on the latest poverty trend is scarce, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) estimated in 2022 when the average inflation rate was 18.85, that 63 percent of Nigerians lived in multidimensional poverty. In June 2023, the World Bank reported inflation pushed an estimated four million Nigerians into poverty between January and May 2023. With inflation reaching the highest levels in decades in December 2023 at 28.9 percent, the Punch newspaper stated that this had contributed to worsening poverty, with major contributors being food and non-alcoholic beverages.

Following the trend of higher inflation leading to higher poverty, any new data on the economy will possibly show an upward trend in the number of poor people and Nigerians being squeezed by the downturn. But, it is reasonable to deduce that causing Nigerians untold pain and anguish is not the intention of the government in implementing these economic ideas.

The orientation of the Tinubu administration appears to be the neoliberal economic model, which in its core principles shares similarities with the Washington Consensus Model. The neoliberal policy recommends market-oriented reforms, the removal of government subsidies, and allowing market forces, rather than government interventions, to determine the prices of goods and services. It emphasizes free markets, limited government interventions, deregulation, fiscal austerity, and free trade, among others. Its central assumption is that free markets are the most efficient and effective way to allocate resources and promote economic growth, leading to prosperity for all.

The two seminal economic policies of the Tinubu administration, at least in their intentions, appear to fit into this free market idea. The government explained that the removal of subsidy on petroleum would promote efficiency in the downstream sector, with the expectation that market-driven fuel prices would lead to competition among private businesses, potentially leading to lower prices; improved service delivery in the long run, and lead to investments in alternative energy sources, and improve fiscal sustainability as the petrol subsidy was costing the country around N7 trillion annually.

The objectives for the ‘floating’ of the naira were similar. Early in the administration, on June 14, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) simplified the foreign exchange market by merging all its segments into one. This eliminates the previous system of multiple exchange rates, allowing the naira to be traded at a single market-determined rate. In effect, the forces of demand and supply, rather than the government, determine the value of the naira. The touted gains included export competitiveness, attracting foreign investments, and eliminating corruption in the form of round-tripping associated with multiple exchange rates.

These neoliberal economic ideas look good on paper. So did the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), the series of economic reforms sanctioned by the IMF and World Bank which was implemented by the Ibrahim Babaginda administration starting in July 1986. Its key features included the devaluation of the naira, deregulation, and privatization of government-owned businesses, trade liberalization, and fiscal austerity. All drawing heavily from the neoliberal economic worldview.

The expectation was that SAP would lead to economic growth by stimulating exports and attracting foreign investment; increasing employment by improving the efficiency of local businesses; reducing external debts through export earnings and decreased expenditures, and that devaluation and a tighter fiscal policy would lead to lower inflation.

Lol. Many economists now say the programme achieved the opposite, with even the IMF coming to agree later that, after the implementation of the structural reforms in several countries, the results were mixed. In Nigeria, the gains of SAP were marginal and short-lived, while its enduring impacts included the worsening of poverty and inequality; increasing significantly the level of unemployment as local businesses folded up, and sparking serious social unrest.

If you asked any Nigerian who is 45 and above, he or she would possibly tell you the most pivotal economic development that caused a dramatic downward shift in standards of living was the Structural Adjustment Programme. It was during this time that Nigerians ceased to buy brand new cars and tokunbo vehicles -imported fairly-used ones- became the vogue. The subsidized feeding of university students stopped this time too. Naira also began its sharp descent with SAP. It is safe to say that Nigeria never recovered from SAP.

Now, again, we are in the throes of economic reforms which are being touted as the next best things. But SAP failed with enduring consequences for Nigerians, why should we expect President Tinubu's ‘reforms’ to succeed? Already the short-term impact of the president’s policies is leaving Nigerians out of pocket. Tokunbo cars are becoming out of reach as Nigerians are making do with refurbished Nigerian-used fairly-used cars (confusing? I know. This means buying second-hand vehicles that have already been used in Nigeria). Patronage of fairly-used items such as laptops, televisions, and even pots and spoons is increasing rapidly as new ones are beyond reach. This is reminiscent of the SAP era, a seismic shift in the standards of living, for the worse.

Some economists with neoliberal leanings blame the failure of the SAP reforms to achieve their intended outcomes on the Babangida regime, for its corruption and perceived failure to fully and efficiently implement the policy. Sadly, such allegations may hold some water now too. The issue of official corruption is yet a serious problem, but even more troubling, the implementation of the ‘reforms’ seems halfhearted.

When the president declared at his inaugural address that the petrol subsidy was gone, it implied that market forces would decide the price of the product. The cost of PMS subsequently rose quickly to match with market realities. But since then, despite changes in market dynamics, especially the depreciation of the naira, the price of PMS has remained constant at around N600, even when the landing cost has risen to over N1000! This suggests that the government is secretly intervening by way of subsidy to keep the price artificially low. The IMF confirmed this recently in a statement, even as the government is paying heavy subsidies for electricity consumption.

So what kind of voodoo economics is this? It reminds me of a Yoruba saying, ko se eku, ko se eiye (‘’It is neither a bird nor a rat,’’ suggesting ambiguity). Also, If the government is neoliberal in its economic leaning, it would take two components seriously: fiscal austerity and running a small or limited government. Rather, the administration has the highest number of federal ministers ever and has earmarked billions for the entertainment and travel of the President, and his deputy, as well as for various dodgy social intervention schemes, which are outside the core economy. The National Assembly is also spending like a sailor that just touched the land after many months at sea. This negates every assumption of neoliberalism, which by the way does not mean austerity for the people but enjoyment and the status quo for the government.

Any reform, market-oriented or otherwise, without a fundamental change in how the government conducts its business, especially its budgeting process, and a curb in the lavish spending on key government leaders, would likely fail.

In the end, as with Babangida’s SAP, this administration will not be judged by its intentions or the theoretical merits of its policies, but by where it leaves Nigeria economically. For now, things do not look promising.


https://www.thecable.ng/sap-failed-will-tinubus-reforms-succeed

The Five Lessons from BBC’s Expose on TB Joshua

By Julius Ogunro

The BBC’s three-part documentary on the late TB Joshua: The Disciples: The Cult of TB Joshua, highlights the disturbing abuse that took place in his church for decades. Here are the five lessons from the revelation:

1. Anyone can be psychologically manipulated and controlled regardless of their education and class. A barely literate man, TB Joshua was a master manipulator who dominated people far superior people to him in education and class. And it did not matter that they were black, white or yellow. They ate from his hands, tolerated abuse and would probably have committed great crimes if he asked them to do so. They probably did.

How could he do this without a university degree or great formal education? Joshua probably had ‘native intelligence’ and had honed his art through trial and error over time. What is clear is that at his peak, he had become a master of mass hypnotism and mind control, as he was in the use of public relations and the media. The outcome was the man who ran what seemed from the outside a compassionate religious ministry but beneath the glamour was a devilish schemer, rapist, hypnotist and master manipulator.

2. Nigeria lacks adequate regulation and oversight across many sectors. Despite documented allegations of long-term abuse from former members of the Synagogue Church, authorities did not investigate or intervene over a period spanning multiple years. Bisola Johnson, a former Synagogue devotee and prominent voice in the documentary, has had a video on YouTube detailing Joshua’s crimes for years, yet no one paid attention. The “Prophet” appeared to have a pass to do as he wished. Even when the guest house in the church premises collapsed in 2014, killing about 116 people, the majority of them South Africans, he was not brought to book, despite the coroner’s report indicting him for criminal negligence.

Had he been alive when this documentary came out, it is safe to say nothing would have happened to him.

3. Nigeria’s religious space is permissive. Religious leaders seem to have the liberty to engage in any bad behaviour, given the lack of regulations in that sector. This is due to the sensitivity of religion in the country, which is often viewed through the lens of competition between the two predominant faiths of Christianity and Islam.

The last time a government agency attempted to actively regulate religious groups by proposing a code of governance, it didn't end well. The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRN) had initiated a set of reforms, requiring the tenure of heads of religious groups to not exceed 20 years, among others. The agency’s head, Jim Obaze was sacked following the uproar that greeted the proposal. Now, the country’s political elite seem to have conceded that space entirely to religious leaders, shady or not. It is this lax environment that produced men like Joshua and other predatory religious figures hiding in plain sight.

4. The traditional media in Nigeria is inept, weak and ineffective. It took the BBC to finally highlight Joshua's crimes that had been ‘begging’ to be reported for years. There are many important issues, of great corruption, abuse and injustice burbling beyond the surface, waiting to be broken.

The Nigerian mainstream media appears not interested and seems to have taken a vow not to conduct serious investigations, or engage in in-depth analyses. Only the online media appears active and the best is the faction represented by a small pool of reporters led by David Hudeyin and Fisayo Soyombo.

Perhaps, these media organizations’ precarious financial situations make their distaste for investigative journalism understandable. They earn most of their revenue from advertisements and exposing corruption or abuse may hurt the government or big corporations which provides them with advert revenues. So they limit themselves to reporting the news and other boring stuff. Or, perhaps, it is because of the speed with which news is broken these days due to the prevalence of social media that leaves them no time to conduct proper investigations. Whatever the case, Nigeria’s mainstream media space is dull, with all of them reporting about the same things without flair and flavour.

5. Psychological and emotional abuse can be as devious and bad as physical one. The question that is frequently asked by those who saw the documentary is: Why didn’t they leave, after all, he didn’t put a gun in their heads. However, these people tend to minimize emotional and psychological abuse and control, which, in some cases, can be as bad or even worse than physical abuse.

Emotional and psychological abuse involves manipulation, control and isolation, causing the victim serious nonphysical damage that may affect his long-term emotional and mental well-being. The ‘scars’ are often invisible but difficult to heal.

Let us understand that these victims had given up their identity, their family, their education and indeed their lives for Joshua. It was therefore tough for them to wake up to the understanding that it was all for nothing and that they had been conned. In many cases, going back to their former lives was impossible - relationships had been destroyed, and too much water had passed under the bridge. Victims in such circumstances tend to make excuses for their oppressor and in some cases will serve as props to the abusive institution, demonstrating a form of Stockholm syndrome. They deserve our sympathy and not scrutiny.

Finally, there are still many shady religious figures like Joshua, hiding under the guise of charity and ‘doing God’s work.’ But beneath the glamour of their TV programmes and faux American accent are predatory characters who run slave camps, abuse women and children, and have grown wealthy on the back of these. We must expose these crimes. The victims don’t have to be our friends and relatives to make these revelations. We don’t even need the mainstream media to do this. In this age of the smartphone, everyone can be a citizen journalist. If we fail at this, if we fail to organize our society and our religion in such a way that villains like Joshua are deterred or quickly exposed, then no one can save us.

https://promptnewsonline.com/five-lessons-from-bbcs-expose-on-tb-joshua/

Why Nigerians Pray

By Julius Ogunro

If you live in Nigeria, it’s hard not to sometimes think that something is wrong with you. This often happens when you are down on luck and have tried all you can and things are not working out as you hoped for. Then you start thinking that perhaps it is an ancestral curse at work, or that ‘village people’ have cast a special spell on you to impede your progress. You feel frustrated and underappreciated, believing that your earnings and results are not commensurate with your skills, talents and experience.

But this is nonsense, really. You are not cursed. The real culprit is the Nigerian economy and how our society is organized. We are a poor country, mainly populated by struggling people trying to get by. In such circumstances, it is almost impossible for talents to be rewarded to the full extent they deserve. This is coupled with the fact that we are not a merit-based society. The slacker in school with a well-connected Uncle in government will probably do better in time than the first-class brain that used to teach tutorials. While influence peddling exists in every society, the most developed ones have minimized this and are mainly competence, rather than connection-based.

If you doubt this, when last did you see a job vacancy for the CBN or the foreign service?

Many Nigerians instinctively understand this. They know that success and progress here depend more on connection than competence, and respond to it in one or a combination of three ways:

1. They Pray: The greatest weapon Nigerians think they possess is prayers. Ours is one of the most religious societies in the world. According to the Pew Research Center (2023), a staggering 95 percent of Nigerians report praying daily, placing the country second only to Afghanistan in terms of prayer frequency. This indicates the deep integration of prayer into the daily routines of many Nigerians.

What do Nigerians pray about? They mostly ask for supernatural help to overcome the economic and socio-political challenges, which are mainly the outcome of leadership failures. However, the prayers are often not for help to disrupt the adverse political and economic system, or to change the status quo, but that this system favours them as is. They ask God to make their case different. ‘’There may be poverty in the land but my case will be different.’’ “Bandits may kill hundreds, but Father Lord, my family and I will be safe this new year.’’

This attitude is the reason why religious programmes are packed full weekly, and especially at the end of the year when people are more pious and hope that somehow all the failures and challenges of the preceding year will not follow them to the new one. It is responsible too for the prevalence of religious themes such as ‘Redeemed to flourish in Hard Times,’ ‘Divine Repositioning,’ and ‘No loss, No Lack, No Limitation.’’

In all of this, Nigerians seek God’s help, as a unit, to be the exception and not the rule. The norm in the country is that of poverty, insecurity and general hardship and these Nigerians think that it is only God that can make them escape these.

2. They Join Politics: This is one of the reasons why political contests are so fierce. For many Nigerian politicians, elections are a matter of life and death, a fight to finish (Supreme Court). Because being in a political office appears to be the surest way of escaping poverty and other Nigerian maladies. It provides an exclusive pass into that limited group of big men and women with power, which, in the country, is often followed by great, if unexplained, wealth. That way, you can largely function above all the problems – petty and serious - that define the average Nigerian life. To be sure, not all those who adopt this strategy contest for political offices. Some actively support political actors with the hope that they will be their vehicles to power and the soft life.

3. They flee: Many Nigerians, especially young ones, tired and frustrated by the ingrained disparities and obstacles elect to leave. They don't fight the system or are tired of doing so, and emigrate to places, especially Europe and North America, where they believe their talents and skills will be fully appreciated and rewarded. This has become so common in the last decade or so, making the Yoruba word for ‘run away’ - japa – almost becoming part of the English lexicon.

[color=#000000]Of the three strategies, prayer is the most common and easily accessible to the majority of Nigerians. It doesn’t cost anything, only faith in a supernatural being. Few Nigerians have the influence or resources to run for political office, or to emigrate from the country. But all can pray, and ask God to make their personal circumstances different, atypical of the country’s average.

At this point, prayer appears to be a desperate act of helplessness, an awareness of one’s impotence in the grand scheme of things, and an inability to change anything by oneself. But the evidence that things will truly change because it’s a new year and because Nigerians pray is scarce. Every year appears to be worse than the preceding one for the country.

Yes, there will be exceptions, a few Nigerians that will live large and well, despite the challenges, but our best hope for a peaceful, stable and prosperous society is to fight collectively to make the changes we want to see happen. Putting pressure on elected officials to ensure reforms across the board. Asking or praying to be an exception in a failing country is somewhat selfish and unrealistic. In a truly failed state, a Somalia, no one will be exempted. States fail when the nameless majority resign to fate, and accept the anomalies as normal, while seeking to be part of a shrinking pool of exemptions - until the day when there is no longer room in that pool.

https://www.thecable.ng/why-nigerians-pray

https://www.thecable.ng/yoruba-and-the-concept-of-omoluabi

Yoruba and the concept of Omoluabi

By Julius Ogunro

I was born in Maroko, a now demolished Lagos seaside slum, which has metamorphosed into posh Lekki. Although Maroko was a medley of various Nigerian ethnicities, Yoruba was its primary language and culture. All Maroko children spoke Yoruba, regardless of ethnic origin. Yoruba worldview and ethos were, therefore, the first cultural values I learned.

Reflecting on this now, I could say I was fortunate to have been introduced to such advanced systems of thoughts, beliefs, and mores as a child. The Yoruba of Maroko, like others elsewhere, were tolerant, inclusive, and open. And this forms the basis for my liberal disposition and views today.

As a child, I could not distinguish us from our Yoruba neighbors. We all spoke Yoruba and pidgin and looked the same. Although we had different kinds of names, my childish mind could not process that this meant different ethnicities as the bonding and unity was strong. There was no us versus them.

Perhaps what made these lines particularly blurry was the Yoruba attitude to religion. In one family, there could be Christians, Muslims, and Ogun worshippers. On returning from church, I still recall Iya Elewa, the Yoruba Muslim beans seller, jocularly asking, ‘So gbadura fun wa’ (hope you prayed for us) and ending the conversation with, ‘Olorun kan náà la ń sìn (we worship the same God). There was no sense of superiority or exclusivity.

I was very proud of this Yoruba inclusiveness and worldview. It best approximates western cultural values of tolerance, flexibility, and diversity, which are partly responsible for the accelerated growth and development of countries in the western hemisphere. When I read of the incessant religious and tribal conflicts in the far north, I tell myself that that couldn’t happen in Lagos and other parts of Yoruba land. Because the people and society were more nuanced, more tolerant, and more understanding of other cultures and ways of life, and saw diversity as something not to be feared, but embraced, and the basis for a truly modern and developed society.

The overriding idea that shaped this Yoruba worldview and ethos was Omoluabi. It is a concept I find difficult to translate into English as no word in the language captures its full meaning and essence. Let me try. Omoluabi refers to the idea of being a person of good character, morality, and virtue. It encompasses a wide range of positive qualities that are highly valued in Yoruba culture, including honesty, integrity, respect, kindness, generosity, compassion, empathy, and responsibility.

The concept places great emphasis on personal conduct and the need for individuals to strive to be their best selves. It is believed that living as an Omoluabi is a key component of living a fulfilling and successful life. Therefore, parents, guardians, and other adults often teach children and younger members of the community about the concept of Omoluabi as a way of instilling these positive values in them from a young age.

That is why the general conduct during the recent elections in Lagos was shocking. The concept of being an Omoluabi, a person of good conduct, which is the foundation of the Yoruba culture and society, was thrown overboard for the sake of electoral victory. Thugs ran wild beating and injuring people whom they consider non-Yoruba and may therefore not vote for a particular party and candidate. There was no respect for diversity of political affiliations, opinions, and ethnicities. Ethnic profiling, baiting, and violence were rampant. That was not the Lagos I knew, the one I was born in.

I am not a naïve liberal with no sense of pragmatism who sees the world through rose-colored glasses. So, I know that elections will always be divisive and politicians will do all they can to win. But shouldn’t there be a benchmark of acceptable political behavior? Is anything fair to win an election, including the destruction of the moral fabric of society? Are there no tactics we should consider too low and too abhorrent, and therefore all condemn? Would we tolerate a pogrom to win one election?

We can win the election and lose society. Leaders who get elected by sleight and violence lose the moral suasion to preach good conduct to students and others who look up to them. Societal growth and development are not measured only in roads, bridges, and physical infrastructure. We also grow in thoughts, belief systems, and values. On the last score, we appear to be regressing. Many of our young people now engage in yahoo-yahoo or internet scams and are unrelenting in engaging in crime as a shortcut to wealth. Who would tell them that crime doesn’t pay? The tatata Governor?

We may say this doesn’t really matter and it is only a political game. I disagree. It does matter. There is a connection between our personal beliefs and conduct with the overriding culture of the society and a connection between the culture and the prevailing civilization and level of development. Political leaders, whether we like it or not, are models of either good or bad behavior and influence people accordingly.

A society where we beat up people, suppress voters, and encourage bad behavior to win an election, is intolerant, exclusivist, and close. In time, this bad behavior will show in all aspects of that society and may even reflect in its economic performance as open and inclusive societies tend to do better and grow faster than closed ones.

Nigeria, and indeed Lagos, is not irredeemable. Omoluabis must step forth and lead the frank conversation about the things that truly matter: A good name, good values, and good conduct. ‘’Orúkọ rere sàn ju wúrà lọ’’ (A good name is better than gold). Everything should not be about winning. There are indeed some victories that are costlier than defeat and only bring temporary joy.

And yes, there will always be a divergence of political opinions and beliefs but belonging to different political parties should not necessarily mean being enemies. We cannot merge ethnic identity with political affiliation and consequently exclude our neighbors and fellow kinsmen based on these political differences. If the Yoruba tolerated people of different faiths in one family, why would Lagos Yoruba not be accepting of people of different political ideas, opinions, and affiliations?

The Lagos of my childhood teaches us a lesson about what is possible in Nigeria. It was populated by Omoluabis and a shining example of tolerance, inclusiveness, and diversity. That Lagos holds the key to Nigeria’s emergence as a stable, mature, and developed society. Not the Lagos of the last elections.

https://www.thecable.ng/yoruba-and-the-concept-of-omoluabi

Yoruba and the concept of Omoluabi

By Julius Ogunro

I was born in Maroko, a now demolished Lagos seaside slum, which has metamorphosed into posh Lekki. Although Maroko was a medley of various Nigerian ethnicities, Yoruba was its primary language and culture. All Maroko children spoke Yoruba, regardless of ethnic origin. Yoruba worldview and ethos were, therefore, the first cultural values I learned.

Reflecting on this now, I could say I was fortunate to have been introduced to such advanced systems of thoughts, beliefs, and mores as a child. The Yoruba of Maroko, like others elsewhere, were tolerant, inclusive, and open. And this forms the basis for my liberal disposition and views today.

As a child, I could not distinguish us from our Yoruba neighbors. We all spoke Yoruba and pidgin and looked the same. Although we had different kinds of names, my childish mind could not process that this meant different ethnicities as the bonding and unity was strong. There was no us versus them.

Perhaps what made these lines particularly blurry was the Yoruba attitude to religion. In one family, there could be Christians, Muslims, and Ogun worshippers. On returning from church, I still recall Iya Elewa, the Yoruba Muslim beans seller, jocularly asking, ‘So gbadura fun wa’ (hope you prayed for us) and ending the conversation with, ‘Olorun kan náà la ń sìn (we worship the same God). There was no sense of superiority or exclusivity.

I was very proud of this Yoruba inclusiveness and worldview. It best approximates western cultural values of tolerance, flexibility, and diversity, which are partly responsible for the accelerated growth and development of countries in the western hemisphere. When I read of the incessant religious and tribal conflicts in the far north, I tell myself that that couldn’t happen in Lagos and other parts of Yoruba land. Because the people and society were more nuanced, more tolerant, and more understanding of other cultures and ways of life, and saw diversity as something not to be feared, but embraced, and the basis for a truly modern and developed society.

The overriding idea that shaped this Yoruba worldview and ethos was Omoluabi. It is a concept I find difficult to translate into English as no word in the language captures its full meaning and essence. Let me try. Omoluabi refers to the idea of being a person of good character, morality, and virtue. It encompasses a wide range of positive qualities that are highly valued in Yoruba culture, including honesty, integrity, respect, kindness, generosity, compassion, empathy, and responsibility.

The concept places great emphasis on personal conduct and the need for individuals to strive to be their best selves. It is believed that living as an Omoluabi is a key component of living a fulfilling and successful life. Therefore, parents, guardians, and other adults often teach children and younger members of the community about the concept of Omoluabi as a way of instilling these positive values in them from a young age.

That is why the general conduct during the recent elections in Lagos was shocking. The concept of being an Omoluabi, a person of good conduct, which is the foundation of the Yoruba culture and society, was thrown overboard for the sake of electoral victory. Thugs ran wild beating and injuring people whom they consider non-Yoruba and may therefore not vote for a particular party and candidate. There was no respect for diversity of political affiliations, opinions, and ethnicities. Ethnic profiling, baiting, and violence were rampant. That was not the Lagos I knew, the one I was born in.

I am not a naïve liberal with no sense of pragmatism who sees the world through rose-colored glasses. So, I know that elections will always be divisive and politicians will do all they can to win. But shouldn’t there be a benchmark of acceptable political behavior? Is anything fair to win an election, including the destruction of the moral fabric of society? Are there no tactics we should consider too low and too abhorrent, and therefore all condemn? Would we tolerate a pogrom to win one election?

We can win the election and lose society. Leaders who get elected by sleight and violence lose the moral suasion to preach good conduct to students and others who look up to them. Societal growth and development are not measured only in roads, bridges, and physical infrastructure. We also grow in thoughts, belief systems, and values. On the last score, we appear to be regressing. Many of our young people now engage in yahoo-yahoo or internet scams and are unrelenting in engaging in crime as a shortcut to wealth. Who would tell them that crime doesn’t pay? The tatata Governor?

We may say this doesn’t really matter and it is only a political game. I disagree. It does matter. There is a connection between our personal beliefs and conduct with the overriding culture of the society and a connection between the culture and the prevailing civilization and level of development. Political leaders, whether we like it or not, are models of either good or bad behavior and influence people accordingly.

A society where we beat up people, suppress voters, and encourage bad behavior to win an election, is intolerant, exclusivist, and close. In time, this bad behavior will show in all aspects of that society and may even reflect in its economic performance as open and inclusive societies tend to do better and grow faster than closed ones.

Nigeria, and indeed Lagos, is not irredeemable. Omoluabis must step forth and lead the frank conversation about the things that truly matter: A good name, good values, and good conduct. ‘’Orúkọ rere sàn ju wúrà lọ’’ (A good name is better than gold). Everything should not be about winning. There are indeed some victories that are costlier than defeat and only bring temporary joy.

And yes, there will always be a divergence of political opinions and beliefs but belonging to different political parties should not necessarily mean being enemies. We cannot merge ethnic identity with political affiliation and consequently exclude our neighbors and fellow kinsmen based on these political differences. If the Yoruba tolerated people of different faiths in one family, why would Lagos Yoruba not be accepting of people of different political ideas, opinions, and affiliations?

The Lagos of my childhood teaches us a lesson about what is possible in Nigeria. It was populated by Omoluabis and a shining example of tolerance, inclusiveness, and diversity. That Lagos holds the key to Nigeria’s emergence as a stable, mature, and developed society. Not the Lagos of the last elections.

https://www.thecable.ng/yoruba-and-the-concept-of-omoluabi
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Amid Intrigues, Fayemi Garners Massive Support

Nseobong Okon-Ekong

At least 17 governors elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) may have backed the presidential aspiration of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi ahead of the special national convention scheduled for Tuesday, THISDAY has learnt.



Of the 17 governors, findings revealed that only Governor Babajide Sanwoolu of Lagos State, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State were not rooting for Fayemi’s candidature.

Multiple sources disclosed this feat at the weekend, attesting to diverse re-alignment currently on-going to ensure that the governors put Fayemi, the Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum, on the ballot.

One of the sources said Fayemi had been able to regroup 17 out of the 22 APC governors who are sympathetic to presidential ambition, though five governors shut delegates from their states out of the reach.

The source said: “In light of the push by the governors for one of their own to take over as president, Fayemi, a presidential aspirant of the APC has been rallying the governors around his candidacy.”

In the last couple of days, according to the source, Fayemi had engaged 15 APC governors to support his push to clinch the party’s presidential ticket.

Another source claimed that the meetings were positive and the governors were optimistic about Fayemi’s chances and his capacity to manage the affairs of the country efficiently.

He said: “Many governors have already pledged their support to Fayemi. They have also reiterated their stance that it is their collective decision for a governor to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari.”

“Fayemi’s meeting with the governors is in continuation of the engagements he had had with them in the past and that the recent meetings were at the instance of the governors, who wanted assurances on a number of issues.

“We are very optimistic about Fayemi’s chances and in the next couple of hours, many of the other governors on the sideline would come on board. We believe that some of the governors who are also aspiring would queue behind Fayemi.”

An entirely different source claimed that the calculation of the governors supporting Fayemi “is that a vote for Badaru may be a waste. He is not likely to upstage Lawan.

“The Senate President is believed to be the only other APC presidential aspirant who may be able to command a block vote from senators like Fayemi is expected from governors.”

However, the source observed that Fayemi “is expected to come out tops because all progressive governors have full control of delegates from their states.

“With the supposed commitment of 17 governors, Fayemi is expected to put up a strong fight for the presidential ticket of the APC,” the source explained.

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https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/06/05/amid-intrigues-fayemi-garners-massive-support/

Atiku and his group of scaremongers should therefore be disregarded. After the eight-year rule of a Northern Muslim, fairness, equity and common sense demand that the presidency should go down South and specifically to a Southern Christian. The argument that only a North-centric candidate can win is faulty and introduces a dangerous dimension to our body politic. Assuming that the political parties were to fall for this line of reasoning this time, what about the next election cycle? The point is that this argument can be made infinitum, which implies that the major parties will keep presenting far Northern Muslim candidates ‘in order to win.’ That is inconceivable. Our country is already at a tipping point and we should be very deliberate about our actions at this time in order not to push the cart over the wall.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/529518-the-2023-presidential-election-and-the-demonisation-of-zoning-by-julius-ogunro.html

Sultan, Fayemi, other Political bigwigs converge on Abuja for Unity Summit

The National Prosperity Movement (NPM), a national sociopolitical group, is organizing a National Unity Summit in Abuja which will provide a platform for illustrious Nigerians from all walks of life and representing diverse interests and groups to have a meaningful conversation on the themes of peace, unity, equity and nation-building.

The summit, according to the organizers, will also provide new perspectives to the issues of equity, inclusion and economic prosperity for Nigerians and in the end, stimulate the process of national healing, understanding and progress.

‘’We believe that we can have a productive dialogue about these emotive issues in a rational manner, devoid of the counter-accusations that have lately characterized national conversations, and yet arrive at the need for unity and belief in the future prospect of our country,’’ said Hon Ahmad Sajoh, the Director General of the NPM.

He added that, “this summit is expedient at this time when there is increasing irredentism and hate-crimes across the country, which appear to be fanned by rising intolerance, nepotism, and mutual suspicion across the nation's social and political space

‘’We cannot have too much of dialogue when peace and national interests are at stake. We can begin the process of healing and national reconciliation by understanding our fears and concerns, and then work towards addressing these issues in a calm and rational manner.”

Dignitaries expected at the event include respected elder statesman and retired general, IBM Haruna who is to chair of the event; Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Chairman of Southern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, H.E Oluwarotimi Akeredolu; Chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum, H.E Simon Lalong; Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and Governor Sani Bello of Niger State.

Others include the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar.

Also expected are: Prof. Attahiru Jega, former Chairman of INEC, who is to deliver the keynote address, and Prof. Doyin Salami, Chairman of the Presidential Economic Council.

Please find additional information below:
Theme: The Imperative of Unity
Venue: NAF Conference Centre, Abuja
Date: December 1st, 2021. 10.am Prompt
Organizers: The National Prosperity Movement (NPM)


Signed
Julius Ogunro
Director, Research & Strategy, NPM.
julius.ogunro@gmail.com
npm.ng
November 23, 2021.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2021/11/25/sultan-jega-fayemi-other-eminent-nigerians-set-for-national-unity-summit/

Governor Fayemi
and

Governor Fayemi

2023: NEG Commends Southern Govs; Insists on Southern Christian Presidency for Equity and Fairness

We welcome the resolution of the Southern Governors Forum on the necessity for power shift to the South. The Forum, led by Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akerodolu, the Governor of Ondo State, argued in its communique that for the sake of equity, fairness and to further strengthen the principle of rotation, power must shift to the South in 2023, after the eight-year rule of President Muhammadu Buhari, a Northern Muslim.

To quote the Governors verbatim: ‘’The forum reiterates its commitment to the politics of equity, fairness and unanimously agrees that the presidency of Nigeria be rotated between Southern and Northern Nigeria and resolved that the next president of Nigeria should emerge from the southern region.’’

We thank the Southern Governors for speaking with one voice and for demonstrating boldness in making the call for presidential power shift to the South in 2023. We are excited that our position and campaign which we began over a year ago has been validated and is finding expression in diverse voices.

We note that this position has found support too in Northern politicians of goodwill who are fair-minded, such as the Governor of Borno State, Prof Babagana Zulum. Zulum said, quite frankly that: “I have said it times without number that I, Professor Babagana Zulum, I am of the view that the presidency should go to the south in the year 2023 because the unity of our country is very important.”

We welcome this gradual shift towards a consensus on a Southern presidency in 2023. It is good for the unity, stability and diversity of our country. It will further strengthen the principle of rotational presidency and promote inclusion in our body polity.

However, we wish to note and state clearly that the call for a Southern presidency in 2023 by the Southern Governors did not go far enough. The country is at the moment riven by strife, stoked by religious distrust, suspicion and fear of domination. Things have become so bad that only a delicate balancing in 2023 can begin to redress these anomalies and restore faith and hope in the country again.

We strongly believe that the only way to truly promote fairness and inclusion in our diverse and complex society, especially at this time of unprecedented national crisis, is for power shift to a Southern Christian in 2023. Anything other than this will further exacerbate the rifts and wounds that have become more evident lately and not bode well for our country.

Nigeria’s population is divided almost in equal half by the adherents of the two major faiths of Christianity and Islam. Since 1999 with the return of democratic rule, power has interchanged at the highest level between practitioners of these two faiths, ensuring that there is balance and inclusion at the highest level of our politics. To a large extent, this has provided some assurance to the heterogeneous groups which make up the country that no faith or group will dominate the other.

It should not be different in 2023. To shut out Christians, who make up about half of Nigeria’s population from power for 16 years, assuming another Muslim takes over from Buhari, will be grossly unfair and bad politics that will lead to deleterious outcome for the country.

If that happens, it would mean that no Christian can hope to become President of this country in the foreseeable future. There is a zero chance of a Christian minority emerging president from the North when power shifts there again. The population of the North is overwhelmingly Islamic and the Christian minorities barely feature in the mainstream politics of the region, except in a handful of states.

Therefore, the only chance of a Christian becoming President in Nigeria is when there is power shift to the South, as it will happen in 2023. We therefore urge the political class to tread carefully and to work towards a Southern Christian consensus in 2023, in order to avert religious strife that will further weaken the bond that binds us.

Already, the country is beset by all forms of conflicts and problems. The separatist fervor has gone up, the polity is heated and irredentists everywhere are challenging the basis for the unity of the Nigerian state. We need not add religious crises to the mix of conflicts and problems that we are dealing with now. We need to heal, not bleed more.

We have very competent Christian politicians, technocrats and leaders, who have the experience and national outlook to lead this country well and treat everyone in a just and fair manner. We call on all the major political parties to put the peace and stability of the country first this time by reserving their presidential tickets for competent and experienced Southern Christians.

May God bless Nigeria.

In the interest of equity, fairness and peaceful coexistence, the next President of Nigeria should not only come from the Southern part of the country but he or she should be a Southern Christian President.



This is the stand of a non-partisan socio-political organisation, Nigeria Equity Group (NEG) which also aligned itself with the recent resolution of the Southern Governors’ Forum on the necessity for power to shift to the South in 2023 at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years tenure.

NEG National Convener, Dr. Emeka Nwosu flanked at a World Press Conference in Abuja on Wednesday by the Group’s Secretary, Alhaji Muhammed Mubarak; Barrister Hamza Abdullahi, Legal Adviser and chief Christian Amushie, PRO, said that they support the stand of the Southern Governors Forum who they said spoke the minds of most Nigerians especially those from the South.

Dr. Nwosu said the position of the Southern Governors is in line with NEG position and campaign which it started over a year ago and which is finding expression in diverse voices.

According to him: ” We note that this position has found support too in the Northern politicians of goodwill who are fair-minded, such as the Governor of Borno state, Prof. Babagana Zulum who has been saying that he is of the view that the Presidency should return to the Southern part of Nigeria in 2023 because the unity of the country is very important”.

NEG leadership however argued that the call for the Southern Presidency is not far reaching enough and therefore demanded that the next President of Nigeria should be a Christian of Southern extraction.

Said he: “The country is at the moment riven by strife, stoked by religious distrust, suspicion and fear of domination. Things have become so bad that only a delicate balancing in 2023 can begin to redress these annomalies and restore faith and hope in the country again.



“We strongly believe that the only way to truly promote fairness and inclusion in our diverse and complex society, especially at this time of unprecedented national crisis, is for power shift to a Southern Christian in 2023”, the Group demanded.

NEG also advised that: “Anything other than this (Christian President in 2023) will further exacerbate the rifts and wounds that have become more evident lately and not bode well for our country”.

The Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) argued that Nigeria’s population is divided almost in equal half by the adherents of the two major faiths of Christianity and Islam, adding that, “it’s gratifying that with the return of democratic rule in 1999, power has interchanged at the highest level our politics”.

The Group warned that it will amount to grave injustice and insensitivity should another Muslim South is President after President Buhari, saying that:”to shut out Christian who make up half of Nigeria’s population from power for 16 years if another Muslim take over from Buhari, will be grossly unfair and bad politics that will lead to deleterious outcome for Nigeria”.

NEG therefore said: “the only chance of a Christian becoming President in Nigeria is when there is power shift to the South.

“We therefore urge the political class to tread carefully and to work towards a Southern Christian consensus President in 2023, in order to avert religious strife that will further weaken the bond that binds us”.



https://promptnewsonline.com/2023-neg-commends-southern-govs-insists-on-southern-christian-presidency/?fbclid=IwAR3_4XbdVu1GX3Hk0EZNXC1JwtjPP79GQPs9dd9OHtYax8VtXwORt47RFfU

In the interest of equity, fairness and peaceful coexistence, the next President of Nigeria should not only come from the Southern part of the country but he or she should be a Southern Christian President.



This is the stand of a non-partisan socio-political organisation, Nigeria Equity Group (NEG) which also aligned itself with the recent resolution of the Southern Governors’ Forum on the necessity for power to shift to the South in 2023 at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years tenure.

NEG National Convener, Dr. Emeka Nwosu flanked at a World Press Conference in Abuja on Wednesday by the Group’s Secretary, Alhaji Muhammed Mubarak; Barrister Hamza Abdullahi, Legal Adviser and chief Christian Amushie, PRO, said that they support the stand of the Southern Governors Forum who they said spoke the minds of most Nigerians especially those from the South.

Dr. Nwosu said the position of the Southern Governors is in line with NEG position and campaign which it started over a year ago and which is finding expression in diverse voices.

According to him: ” We note that this position has found support too in the Northern politicians of goodwill who are fair-minded, such as the Governor of Borno state, Prof. Babagana Zulum who has been saying that he is of the view that the Presidency should return to the Southern part of Nigeria in 2023 because the unity of the country is very important”.

NEG leadership however argued that the call for the Southern Presidency is not far reaching enough and therefore demanded that the next President of Nigeria should be a Christian of Southern extraction.

Said he: “The country is at the moment riven by strife, stoked by religious distrust, suspicion and fear of domination. Things have become so bad that only a delicate balancing in 2023 can begin to redress these annomalies and restore faith and hope in the country again.



“We strongly believe that the only way to truly promote fairness and inclusion in our diverse and complex society, especially at this time of unprecedented national crisis, is for power shift to a Southern Christian in 2023”, the Group demanded.

NEG also advised that: “Anything other than this (Christian President in 2023) will further exacerbate the rifts and wounds that have become more evident lately and not bode well for our country”.

The Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) argued that Nigeria’s population is divided almost in equal half by the adherents of the two major faiths of Christianity and Islam, adding that, “it’s gratifying that with the return of democratic rule in 1999, power has interchanged at the highest level our politics”.

The Group warned that it will amount to grave injustice and insensitivity should another Muslim South is President after President Buhari, saying that:”to shut out Christian who make up half of Nigeria’s population from power for 16 years if another Muslim take over from Buhari, will be grossly unfair and bad politics that will lead to deleterious outcome for Nigeria”.

NEG therefore said: “the only chance of a Christian becoming President in Nigeria is when there is power shift to the South.

“We therefore urge the political class to tread carefully and to work towards a Southern Christian consensus President in 2023, in order to avert religious strife that will further weaken the bond that binds us”.


https://promptnewsonline.com/2023-neg-commends-southern-govs-insists-on-southern-christian-presidency/?fbclid=IwAR3_4XbdVu1GX3Hk0EZNXC1JwtjPP79GQPs9dd9OHtYax8VtXwORt47RFfU

The problem is genetic and not spiritual. Your brothers inherited something in their genes from your mother that makes them susceptible to schizophrenia. Don't waste time and money chasing pastors who can't protect themselves and family.
Continue to pursue the medical option. Then pls go for a test to be sure that you've also not inherited the bad gene. This is sad.
May God help you.

A group known as the Nigeria Equity Group (NEG) says after the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari who is Muslim, the country needs a Christian president in 2023 to maintain “balance”.

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Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Emeka Nwosu, NEG convener, said the failure of government at all levels to manage the country’s diversity has heightened distrust and discontent in the country.

Nwosu said NEG will support any political party that works to produce a Christian candidate, adding that their focus as a group is to promote inclusion in an effort to douse ethno-religious crisis in the country.

“We wish to state clearly that we will mobilize patriotic Nigerians against any political party that goes against this template and does not lead its presidential ticket with a Christian candidate,” the convener said.

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“We are, however, hopeful and confident that it won’t get to the point of conflict; that after the eight-year rule of a Northern Muslim, good sense will prevail and the political parties will do the right thing by ensuring that power moves into the hands of a competent southern Christian.

“We should however state that our group is not a Christian organization, or even a religious one for that matter. The primary focus of the NEG is to promote inclusion and equity in our body polity. And, so, we would fight for the rights of Muslims or any other interest group in Nigeria if we believe there is danger of those rights being abridged in anyway.

“As a reminder, when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo completed his tenure, he handed over to Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’ adua, a northern Muslim. After the untimely and unfortunate death of Yar’adua, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, a Southern Christian took over as President. After his tenure, President Muhammadu Buhari took over and has been on the presidential saddle for more than five years.

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“We believe that it is essential that after the tenure of President Buhari, the next president should be a southern Christian, in order for us to maintain this balance and not to further aggravate the ethno religious issues that have bedeviled our country lately.”

Nwosu said it will be “deliberate disenfranchisement of the Christian population” if a Christian president does not emerge in 2023.

“It would also mean that there will not be a Christian President in the foreseeable future and perhaps in the lifetime of every Nigerian adult living today,” he said.

In February, NEG met with Samson Ayokunle, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who said he stands by the call for a Christian president in 2023.

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https://www.thecable.ng/nigeria-needs-christian-president-in-2023-to-maintain-balance

Looking at the photos and reading the press statement form the church, it is obvious they didnt comply with the ncdc rules for reopening. First, none if them wore mask. Secondly, they stated in their press statement that the service lasted for 2 hours. The ncdc requires the service to be for only 1 hour and for everyone to wear masks. The church appears to be hiding something. If not, they would have allowed the monitoring team to enter. While there is freedom of religion, there is no absolute freedom. The team was only doing its job.

My wife had the same issue, being a virgin when we married. I was a pro though. Talk to her about it, that she shod be free with you, that her body is your and yours hers. Be free with her. Walk naked in the house. Encourage her, and soon she will be less shy

Research: Despite the big churches, Islam is growing much faster than Christianity in Nigeria


Here is the breakdown. By 2060, the Muslim population in Nigeria would have risen to 283,160,000 people and will make up about 60.5 percent of the Nigerian population. Although the Christian population would have risen to 174,270,000 people in 2060, its ratio of the overall Nigerian population would have dropped from 48.1 percent to 37.2 percent. That is an 11 percent drop, at a time when the ratio of Muslims in Nigeria would have increased by 10.5 percent, from the current 50 percent to 60.5. In actual terms, there will be an additionally 109 million more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria by 2060.

Please click the link below to read more:

http:///se2131fd191123en_ng

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Prophet Chukwuemeka Ohanemere better known as Odumeje and the Lion Himself made the news recently. He was recorded in faraway Jakarta in Indonesia doing what he does best: dancing and getting sprayed with money. That is not unusual, really. Odumeje had made a name as the creepiest Pentecostal pastor in Nigeria. Always gyrating to highlife, Zanku, gbe body and the latest pop music in the middle of church service, the self-style lion doesn’t shy from being controversial. So dancing and getting sprayed with Indonesian rupiah is hardly out of the ordinary for the Lion Himself

But something strange happened a few days after his adventure in Jakarta. Video made the round of Nigerians being arrested by the Police in a country said to be Indonesia. According to information on social media, the Nigerians were arrested and were facing deportation because they sprayed Odumeje money. That story turned out to be fake as the arrest of the Nigerians took place in Malaysia, a country the Lion never visited or had any dealings with.

That hardly is the first time the Prophet would make the news. He started becoming famous or, if you like, notorious, last year when videos of his church service started becoming popular. His bizarre healing service soon got tongues wagging. You see, Odumeje does not have time for the grammar of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome or the gentility of Pastor Enoch Adeboye. He beats the demons or sickness out of you! It is not strange to see him lift a sick person up, turns him round and round and then throws him into a set of empty chairs, all happening to the background music of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

It is as bizarre as it can get. Yet Odumeje’s church – the Holy Spirit Intervention Ministry – based in Onitsha, Anambra State is packed full at every service. Even with the valid threat of a broken neck, women, men, young boys and girls, business owners, government workers, traders, the unemployed, the rich, the poor, the sick, the ‘demon-possessed’ and the curious throng to his church every Sunday seeking something only he obviously can give. And he doesn’t disappoint. At least, for now.

This brings to mind another Igbo Pentecostal priest that held court in Lagos. Rev King...



Alert: Is Prophet Odumeje the new Rev King?
http:///s787edcde191106en_ng

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Perhaps she was healed but the condition returned ����

This is the most clueless President in living memory. He didn't say this really. He must have read a speech put in front of him by his aides. Of course, he doesn't even know how to read well and must have mispronounced some of the words. That is why his aides do not allow press coverage when he receives visitors. Instead they send press release of the event. The president is obviously out of his depth. Totally clueless.
There is no one sector he is leading. Not education. Not health. Not security. Not agriculture. Not solid mineral. He hides in Asia Rock and governs by press release. All he does is make appointments. Even my 8 year old child can govern this country based on the level of governance we have under this inept man.

God help Nigeria.

Lalastica, Please note.

ABUJA. – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is said to have commenced a probe into activities of some associates of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who are directors of Intels, an oil servicing firm.

Atiku is believed to have some considerable shares in Intels, which is managed by an Italian, Gabrielle Volpi.
Investigations however showed that a number of directors of the oil servicing firm, Intels liked to Atiku are being investigated for alleged money laundering to the tune of over $600 million.
A source in the know said: “High ranking officials in intels are being investigated by EFCC for money laundering over $600 million US Dollars.”
It was gathered that while the details of the alleged transactions are largely kept under wraps, a number of the directors of Intels have been interrogated in connections with the alleged offence.
A source said that while details of the transactions were still sketchy, the probe actually began some months back, thus fuelling the indications that the investigations could be linked to Atiku’s political team fences.
Intels operates the oil and gas free zone in Onne in Rivers state, Warri in Delta state and calabar in Cross Rivers state.
It is managed by Mr Gabrielle Volpi.
When contacted, the spokesman of EFCC Mr. Tony Orilade said that he was not abreast of the details of he said probe.
“Honestly, I am not aware. If you can give me till Monday, I shall get the true story and revert to you,” Orilade said.


A source in the know said: “High ranking officials in intels are being investigated by EFCC for money laundering over $600 million US Dollars.”
It was gathered that while the details of the alleged transactions are largely kept under wraps, a number of the directors of Intels have been interrogated in connections with the alleged offence.
A source said that while details of the transactions were still sketchy, the probe actually began some months back, thus fuelling the indications that the investigations could be linked to Atiku’s political team fences.
Intels operates the oil and gas free zone in Onne in Rivers state, Warri in Delta state and calabar in Cross Rivers state.
It is managed by Mr Gabrielle Volpi.
When contacted, the spokesman of EFCC Mr. Tony Orilade said that he was not abreast of the details of he said probe.
“Honestly, I am not aware. If you can give me till Monday, I shall get the true story and revert to you,” Orilade said.

http://www.promptnewsonline.com/n600m-election-money-efcc-goes-after-atikus-associates/

I have called out Joe Agbaje on this because he is one of the greatest defenders of Pastor Chris on this platform. I recall some years back when it was alleged that the man had abandoned his family in London, Joe defended the man. He claimed that Pst Chris often visited his family and that they often go on a romantic getaway! It was obvious that he was lying, perhaps unwittingly, as they have been programmed to defend Pastor Chris until the point of death.

He also provided a robust defence of Pastor Chris when his PhD was viewed with suspicion here. There was no record that the man attended any school or convocated like Pastor Sam Adeyemi. But Joe defended him even when it was almost certain that his PhD and so-called DSC are products of those degree mills, fake online and offline institutions that will award you any degree for the right price.

Finally, he has also vehemently denied adultery claims on behalf of Pst Chris. Well, that was before his wife divorced him for inappropriate relationships with the various single ladies who live in the same White House Complex as he.

The point is, it is people like Joe who provide mindless support for their spiritual leaders who set them up for the big fall. They make gods out of these men and worship them as demigods. May God help all of us.

Pastor Anita, the former wife Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has recounted the pain she and her children suffered at the hands of the Lagos Pastor who abandoned his family in London while gallivanting around the world with various ladies. She alluded to this in a conversation she posted on her blog which apparently mimicked one she had with her ex-husband. in it, she revealed how the Lagos GO would not call his family for months and that she only saw him for about 10 days in a year!!! Find the story below:

Happy Anniversary to the best couple in the world

Wife: Hello

Husband: How are you?

Wife:I amgood. How is your day?

Husband: Good

Wife: Today is our anniversary. Happy Anniversary.

Husband: Happy anniversary.

Wife: I noticed many greetings on social media wishing us a happy anniversary. I find it confusing to read comments from your close friends saying “ best couple in the world”; it sounds like a complete joke, when they know we rarely see each other. We see each other at most ten days in a year; I can’t understand their reason for making this comment, such flattery. It is confusing to me.

Husband: Well, at least they sent their greetings.

Wife: Their greetings are on social media, no contact by text or by email.

Husband: silence

Wife: Hello

Husband: Yes

Wife: I sometimes wonder if we are married. There is nothing more to this relationship to indicate we are married apart from a ring on my finger; the ring is another story and our pictures are interjectedbecause we are rarely together to take a proper picture. I feel sad that we are not together.

Husband: Look, I have told you over and over again that we cannot live in the same country because we arevery busyand onecountryis too small for both of us. I expect you should be able to figure that out.

Wife: One country is too small for us?

Husband: Yes and you keep coming back to ask the same question.

Wife: Okay. Since you don’t often call either, please call the children, at least once a month. They go on for months without speaking with you. I noticed they don’t seem to care anymore.

Husband: Okay

Wife: That is about all.

Husband: Silence (breathing sound)

Wife: Have a beautiful day.

Husband: Silence (breathing sound)

Wife: Bye

Husband: Silence (breathing sound)

Wife: Hello

Husband: Silence (Goes off the Phone)

Wife: Okay

Facing the reality of a dead marriage, were a spouse spends many years of endless hope in anticipation for a change, enduring a relationship that is bereft of life. Believe it or not, this was somebody’s experience and is another person’s state of affair.

https://www.pastoranita.org/blog/108-happy-anniversary-to-the-best-couple-in-the-world?fbclid=IwAR0v1sniD0smwFBLGA5dL66KVRSLsc-WpdJ2S6zXr6FHKxWk4eGxnlZMzBo

The Pope behave like a servant, the Pentecostal leaders behave like God. Not one strand of humility in them

This is nonsense. What are they blaming the governor for? if Jonathan was the president would they blame the governor? They are dodging the real issue.
Buhari is clueless and doesn't care.
But these northern elites would do everything but blame Clueless Buhari. If Jonathan was the President, that protest would have been about him.

angelawoko:
The arrangement of the contestants already shows the bias of the op. If the arrangement had been alphabetic it would have bn better.

You're very funny, complaining about the arrangement. Abubakar Atiku is AA and that comes before Buhari (B). Here the focus is on the candidate, not parties.

Bafarawa: How I rigged ANPP primary for Buhari in 2003

Attahiru Bafarawa, former governor of Sokoto state, says he manipulated the presidential primary of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in favour of Muhammadu Buhari in 2003.

Buhari got the party’s nomination but lost to President Olusegun Obasanjo in the presidential election.

Bafarawa, who was doubling as the party’s chairman then, said Rochas Okorocha was set to pick the ANPP presidential ticket following a mock primary conducted before the nomination convention.

According to him, Okorocha came first, winning 27 of the 36 states and the FCT, while Buhari could only win five.

These revelations are contained in a new book, ‘Politics as Dashed Hopes in Nigeria’, written by Auwala Anwar, PhD, and former special assistant to the president on FCTA from 2004-2007.

The preview copy of the book, published by Safari Books, was exclusively made available to TheCable and will be launched in Abuja on Thursday, January 31.

The book offers an account into the inner workings of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the party founded by Buhari to run in the 2011 presidential election after he had fallen out with the ANPP having failed to win in 2003 and 2007.

https://www.thecable.ng/bafarawa-how-i-rigged-anpp-primary-for-buhari-in-2003

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has devised a complex and a devious scheme to fund its presidential campaign for the 2019 election, SIGNAL has learned.

The scheme involves routing idle funds of the Agri-Business Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) to APC party faithful and canvassers in the 774 Local Government of the country for the purpose of the presidential campaign.

The AGSMEIS is an initiative of the Bankers’ Committee which requires all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to set aside 5% of their annual profit after tax (PAT) for the purpose of complementing federal government’s effort at promoting agri-business. As of June 2018, the fund has increased to a whooping N60bn.

But the fund has largely remained idle at the CBN as would-be beneficiaries for a number of reasons have not been able to fully access it. So recently, the CBN went into partnership with the NIPOST, for the postal service to set up a national microfinance bank with the purported objective being that of enabling speedy disbursement of the AGSMEIS fund.

But our investigations show that this is, in fact, a ruse to cover up the funding source of the APC presidential campaign. A highly-placed APC source who is obviously disgruntled over the Party’s contentious primaries told our correspondent that the beneficiaries of the AGSMEIS fund through the NIPOST would be dedicated APC party leaders who would then be tasked with funding the party’s campaign in each of the 774 local government of the country. The NIPOST microfinance bank will conveniently begin operations in January 2019 when the presidential campaign is in earnest.

‘’The party chose that complex route because it is wary of going the PDP way in 2015 when the party through the National Security Adviser used funds meant for the purchase of arms and ammunition to fund its presidential run,’’ the source said.

Reliable sources close to the APC note that the party’s leaders have complained bitterly of a shortage of funds to prosecute the presidential run since campaigns were officially declared to begin by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). They say it was because of the reluctance of President Muhammadu Buhari to approve the use of government funds for the campaign.

The party appears to have gone round the challenge with the AGSMEIS fund trapped with the CBN. SIGNAL can however not confirm if the party sought and received the approval of the President for what is obviously an illegal use of government’s funds for campaign purposes.

Our source, however, insisted that some of the President’s top aides are in the know of the devious and illegal scheme. “How do you think the elections in Ekiti and Osun were funded?’’, he asked. “It was with the use of government funds, some were given by state governors, while we know how we got the rest from the federal government. The president can pretend not to know. That is his business,’’ he said.

Sambo Dasuki, the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA) to former President Goodluck Jonathan is still in detention over the misappropriation of $1bn for arms and ammunition which was misused for the electoral campaign.

http://www.signalng.com/exclusive-how-apc-plans-to-fund-its-presidential-campaign/

The PREMIUM TIMES’ story, “Why Atiku may lose the 2019 presidential election” made very good reading. Quoting an obviously unhappy Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor who did not give his name, the article revealed troubling insights into the party’s chaotic run for the presidency.

The key issues highlighted in the story are lack of consultations by the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; the choices of Peter Obi as the vice presidential nominee and Dr. Bukola Saraki, the Senate president, as the director-general of the campaign council. Other grievances include the alleged marginalisation of party leaders, who stuck with the PDP during its lean years; the supposed faulty campaign structure and lack of proper messaging by the campaign.

These are indeed serious problems, especially the lack of consultation by the presidential candidate and feeling of neglect by the PDP old guard, who did not defect to the ruling party when it was the vogue to do so. This sense of alienation can lead to apathy of party leaders and their supporters and cost the PDP significant votes, particularly in its strongholds of the South-South and South-East. The issues raised by the faceless PDP governor, no doubt, are grim and can very well cost the party the presidential election.

However, none of these concerns are insurmountable. On Obi, the vice presidential nominee, there is little anyone can do about him now. He has been nominated and the time frame allowed for the substitution of candidates has elapsed. But then, he has pulled his weight by demonstrating that he could be an effective VP with his vast knowledge of the economy. By most neutral and objective analyses, he won the vice presidential debate, which also featured Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the current vice president of Nigeria, thereby giving the party a bounce.

It should be given that Atiku Abubakar would spend most of his time consulting party leaders across the country, doing deals and assuaging frayed nerves; in short, demonstrating that he is ready to win and lead! That’s what presidential candidates do. They do the grind, not run to Dubai every now and then to lap up luxury and cool-off.

That said, no challenge the Atiku campaign is going through compares with that being faced by President Muhamadu Buhari. The man has no record to run on and has put together a tattered coalition held together by the illusion of inheriting power in 2023.

In 2015, the momentum was definitely in favour of Candidate Buhari. It was clear as day that Nigerians were fed up with the Goodluck Jonathan government, giving his inability to rise up to the challenges of the time, mainly insecurity and corruption, coupled with what was generally regarded as an uninspiring and underwhelming leadership. His government was tagged ‘clueless’ as Nigerians dreamt of a change.


Buhari was well placed to take advantage of this widespread disaffection as the candidate of the biggest ever coalition put together by the opposition. Supported by a well-heeled communication team, the APC presidential candidate ran an effective campaign, promising to fix Nigeria and deliver a much better country than the one he sought to wrest from the PDP. His manifesto had the solution to all of our ills. On paper, that is. From corruption and good governance to insurgency and insecurity; health to agriculture, and issues in the Niger Delta to the economy, the Buhari policy document was comprehensive and had well thought out solutions to some of the challenges that had plagued our country for years.

The election is therefore Atiku’s to lose. No campaign is perfect. Donald Trump of the U.S. ran one of the most chaotic campaigns ever, yet won the election, mainly by feeding off the citizens’ disgruntlement with the status quo. Atiku can do the same, chirping off the so-called integrity of Buhari and reminding Nigerians how badly the man has done the job he was elected for.


A few examples will suffice. On corruption and good governance, Candidate Buhari promised to “show personal leadership in the war against corruption and hold all the people who work with me to count.” On insurgency and insecurity, he pledged to “give special attention to the welfare of our armed forces and their families, lost heroes and their families and the victims of insurgency”, as well as “Provide of the best and appropriate military and other materials the country needs to combat insurgency and religious violence, kidnapping and rural banditry.”

The document was that comprehensive and covered every sphere of our national life. And no doubt, went a long way in convincing many Nigerians that Buhari was the real deal and was prepared for the arduous task of leading Nigeria into a more stable and prosperous future. Nothing could presently be further from the truth. It has turned out that there is a huge gap between the candidate, Buhari and the man who took over the leadership of the country after the election. Sadly for Nigeria, Candidate Buhari was dressed in borrowed robes.

On being elected, the true Buhari emerged as he ran the most bigoted, nepotistic, exclusive and incompetent government, the like of which we have, perhaps, never seen in the history of our country. The man is provincial, lacks energy and has the penchant for surrounding himself with shady characters from his part of the country. Oby Ezekwesili, the former minister and now presidential candidate put it better when she described the president as lazy, one who enjoys the trappings of his job but not the hard work that comes with it.

The consequences have been dire for the country, which went into recession the first full year Buhari came to power. Since then it has been down the hill for the economy. Over 11 million jobs have been lost since the president took over and hundreds of businesses have shut down and left the country. Nigeria became the poverty capital of the world in 2018; that is, the country with the highest number of extremely poor people. The government has funded the last three budgets with loans and bonds, and consequently, our external debts have risen by over N11 trillion in the last three-and-a-half years. All the indices are bad and growing worse under Buhari.

Security, which arguably is one of the bases on which Buhari got elected, has deteriorated so much that at no other time in the history of Nigeria have we had more deaths as a result of killings by non-state actors. In Zamfara and much of the North-West region, unidentified marauders murder almost at will. The Boko Haram militants have resurged in the North-East and taken over several communities. Several local governments in Borno are no-go areas as the insurgents are fully in charge there. Our soldiers, just like before, now continuously complain about the lack of arms and ammunition to tackle the insurgents. With Buhari nothing has changed, except for worse. Like in the case of pillaging armed herdsmen, who have sacked community after community in the North-Central region and barely got any real pushback from the commander-in-chief.

As such, Buhari, knowing he does not have a record to run on, is relying heavily on his coalition-of-the-corrupt, the never-do-well, the-PDP-disgruntled-and-rejects, the-any-government-in-power (AGIPS), the-2023-hopeful, and in fact, anyone who can assure him of even 10 votes. The man is so desperate to get another chance at ruining, sorry running, Nigeria that he does not even pretend to having integrity or fighting corruption anymore. That’s why he could not move against the governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, who was caught stuffing dollar bribes into his babariga recently. That’s why his new found friends are people like Senator Godswill Akpabio and Orji Uzor Kalu who have gigantic corruption cases on their neck. And that is why he is powerless to call his wife to order even when the woman has set up a parallel campaign council.

The election is, therefore, Atiku’s to lose. No campaign is perfect. Donald Trump of the U.S. ran one of the most chaotic campaigns ever, yet won the election, mainly by feeding off the citizens’ disgruntlement with the status quo. Atiku can do the same, chirping off the so-called integrity of Buhari and reminding Nigerians how badly the man has done the job he was elected for.

https://opinion.premiumtimesng.com/2019/01/04/why-atiku-may-win-by-tope-ajayi/

Is it that the Nairaland admin has collected bribe? Why Is the story not on the front page?