₦airaland Forum

Shortly after the elections, which were characterized by the usual litany of usually accurate Nigerian accusations of "vote rigging" at all levels by all parties, the Army tried to influence the choice of government Ministers by sending the President their list of preferred candidates. About this time, increasing signs of army dissent and coup plotting also became apparent but for some reason Shagari chose to handle it informally, once again using Umaru Shinkafi, his NSO Boss as an informal intermediary, perhaps misled by primordial assumptions that officers from his geopolitical zone would not betray him. He was clearly in error because it had already been demonstrated in July 1975 that such a scenario was possible. Reviewing Shagari's biography, a news editor for the Guardian Newspaper in Nigeria, Chukwuma Nwokoh, wrote that "One lesson to be drawn from 'Beckoned to Serve' is that no serving military person can be believed to be loyal to a government. In other words the military is the most perfidious institution ever created by man. On several occasions, hints pointed at the direction of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari as a potential coup plotter. Twice, he denied. He even threatened to resign his commission given that his loyalty to the Shagari government was in doubt."

But Buhari was not the only one engaged in invoking personal and regional loyalty while actively plotting. The Director of Army Staff Duties and Plans, Brigadier Ibrahim Babangida and the Director of Military Intelligence, Colonel Aliyu Mohammed, both on friendly terms with the President, paid a long private visit to Shagari in late October or early November to pledge their loyalty. At that very moment, Major Bamidele of the 3rd Division was being detained and put through a trumped-up hearing after he innocently reported rumors of a coup to his boss, Brigadier Buhari in Jos.

A few weeks later on December 31, against a backdrop of increasingly strident public criticisms by former military ruler General Obasanjo, President Shagari was overthrown in a coup by senior northern officers he had helped nurture in the early sixties, in whom he had placed so much trust over the years. In addition to the controversial 1983 elections, they claimed they were motivated to take over to stop corruption and economic mismanagement on the part of civilians. However, unconfirmed reports claim that at least one of the military conspirators even obtained funding for the coup in part by selling import licenses obtained from Shagari's government and others were known to have lifted oil from time to time. Other reports pointed at financial contributions from a prominent Yoruba politician who was dissatisfied with his chances of becoming the ruling party's Presidential candidate.

When on April 18, 1983, 19 islands on Lake Chad were suddenly occupied by Chadian troops under Habre, the Nigerian military got a chance to hit back.

The GOC, 3rd Division, Brigadier Buhari, mobilized the 21st Armoured Brigade and unilaterally closed the border, cutting off food and fuel supplies to Chad. Although he felt this was a sound operational move, the action prompted political reprimand from Lagos. But Buhari defied all orders to reopen the border, including that of the President. Buhari rationalized his actions thus: "My first loyalty is to my troops. I cannot endanger their lives by sending them on a difficult battle to defend their fatherland and then turn round to feed the enemy and supply them with fuel for their tanks." Eventually the 21st Armoured Brigade prevailed and all captured Nigerian islands were regained, making Buhari an instant hero in the military. However, in pursuing the Chadian intruders, Buhari's units penetrated 50 kilometers into Chadian territory, once again against strict orders not to cross the border. "Unlike America's General Douglas McArthur who kept opposing President Truman's Korea policy, Buhari was neither cashiered nor redeployed for repeatedly disobeying higher political direction."

As the 1983 Presidential elections approached, proposals to use the military to support the process, met with criticisms from opposing parties fearful of a repeat of the experiences of the sixties. Within the Army itself tensions were also rising about the extent to which they would be used for such purposes rather than the Police. It has been reported that at one of several gatherings of officers to discuss army duties, policies and strategies for the elections, Brigadier Buhari (a former federal minister and state governor) bluntly told then Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. General GS Jalo: "Sir, tell Mr. President we can't take on anymore."

The Nigerian military coup of December 31, 1983 was coordinated by key officers of the Nigerian military, led to the ouster of the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari, and the installation of Major General Muhammadu Buhari as Head of State.

Background
Civil-military tensions were testy as evidenced by the decision of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3rd Division (Major General Muhammadu Buhari) to cut off fuel supplies and food into Chad, an action caused by border disputes between Nigeria and Chad and which was opposed by President Shehu Shagari. Against further orders by Shagari to avoid breaching Chadian Borders, Buhari's units pursued Chadian intruders about 50 km into Chad. These unilateral actions in the words of military historian Nowa Omoigui "undermined civil-military relations and eventually contributed (among other reasons) to a successful coup on December 31, 1983".[1] Prior to December 31, 1983, the Director General of the National Security Organization, Umaru Shinkafi detected chatter associated with up to 10 coup plots but the NSO was unable to act because of the tenuous and vague nature of the intelligence gathered.[2] One of the key coup participants, Major General Ibrahim Babangida noted in Karl Maier's 'Midnight in Nigeria', the media and financial collaboration of business mogul Moshood Kashimawo Abiola in the coup plot.

Coup details
Colonel Tunde Ogbeha was tasked by the coup plotters to negotiate the peaceful surrender of President Shagari's Brigade of Guards army unit. Ogbeha was unable to reach Colonel Bello Kaliel, the Commander of the Brigade of Guards and engaged in a Lagos-to-Abuja-and-back seeking game which made Kaliel suspicious. Brigadier Ibrahim Bako was given the responsibility of arresting President Shagari after Ogbeha's successful negotiation of a peaceful surrender. Unknown to Bako was the fact that no such surrender had been negotiated. Additionally details of the plot had not only been leaked to President Shagari but also Captain Anyogo and Lt Colonel Eboma of the Brigade of Guards mounted a defense of the presidential villa in anticipation of an attack. As expected Brigadier Bako arrived at the Presidential villa to arrest President Shagari but President Shagari's guards were not pacified as expected. A firefight ensued leading to the killing of Brigadier Bako.[3]

Participants
Major General Muhammadu Buhari (General Officer Commanding, 3rd Armored Division, Jos)

Moshood Kashimawo Abiola (Business tycoon who financed the coup plot according to General Babangida)

Major General Ibrahim Babangida (Director of Army Staff Duties and Plans)

Brigadier Ibrahim Bako (Brigade Commander)

Brigadier Sani Abacha (Commander, 9th Mechanized Brigade)

Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon (Military Secretary, Army)

Lt Colonel Aliyu Mohammed (Director of Military Intelligence)

Lt Colonel Halilu Akilu

Lt Colonel David Mark

Lt Colonel Tunde Ogbeha

Major Sambo Dasuki (Military Assistant to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Wushishi)

Major Abdulmumuni Aminu

Major Lawan Gwadabe

Major Mustapha Jokolo (Senior Instructor, Basawa Barracks - Zaria)

Major Abubakar Umar

Additional notes on Buhari's role
General Buhari has denied his involvement in the December 1983 coup however the example of the late Major Daniel Bamidele betrays Buhari's complicity in the December 1983 coup. Nigerian military historians Max Siollun and Nowa Omoigui note that when Major Bamidele got wind of the coup to oust Shagari, Bamidele reported the issue up the chain of command to his GOC 3rd Armored Division (Major General Buhari) who was allegedly in on the plot. To prevent Bamidele from leaking the plot, Buhari ordered the arrest and detention of Bamidele for 2 weeks. Bamidele wasn't released until the successful execution of the coup. Learning from this unfortunate experience, Bamidele didn't report any rumors of the so-called Vatsa coup (between 1985 and 1986) and was executed for it.[4][5] Bamidele's words to the Special Military Tribunal that tried and convicted him are:

"I heard of the 1983 coup planning, told my GOC General Buhari who detained me for two weeks in Lagos. Instead of a pat on the back, I received a stab. How then do you expect me to report this one? This trial marks the eclipse of my brilliant and unblemished career of 19 years. I fought in the civil war with the ability it pleased God to give me. It is unfortunate that I'm being convicted for something which I have had to stop on two occasions. This is not self adulation but a sincere summary of the qualities inherent in me. It is an irony of fate that the president of the tribunal who in 1964 felt that I was good enough to take training in the UK is now saddled with the duty of showing me the exit from the force and the world."[4]

Additionally, in a 2015 interview, Sambo Dasuki alleges that he and two other military officers (co-conspirators) travelled to Jos to brief Major General Buhari, who was then the GOC of 3rd Armoured Division, on the status of planning for the 1983 coup.[6]

Major General Buhari's Supreme Military Council (SMC) observed a minute of silence for the slain Brigadier Bako during the SMCs first meeting.[7]

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Nigerian_coup_d'état

To the lengthy poster above, your inadvertent use of double negation in your statement about prayer proved once again that Jesus is Lord over all

I thought I'd read reasonable comments on how Dangote has an unfair advantage in the area of public private partnership and concessions from government, but as usual, the only thing Nigerians know how to do is to fight ethnic wars online.

Dangote opened up a cement factory in Ethiopia. The factory and vehicles have been vandalized incessantly. Last week, the
manager was assassinated. Why? The Ethiopians see Dangote cement as anti nationalist. But in his home country, he acquires import waivers, lifetime lease for natural resource quarries, acquires arable land like he is the FG, and the stupid citizens can only sing praises, while the more educated ones are happy to drive his death-trailers with their Msc under the dashboard.
We call east Africans the real sub Saharans, but you cannot exploit them this way.
Nigeria has never had worse citizens. Shame on us all. Shame!

Aisha buhari will deny that statement. It is false. APC is struggling for validation from all and sundry

Good storyline, poor grammar. Very disjointed with words correctly spelt but often out of place. More like an article proofread by a half decent grammar app.

Rape has and will always be a crime. Rape = Non consensual sex with anyone (incl. Husband/wife). Even animals seek consent before copulating. Let's be the higher animals that science says we are !

This is why I'm highly optimistic about Northern Nigeria. Today we call them the problem with Nigeria, ruthless sectional violence, illiteracy and poverty etc. But the north is a product of the leaders they have had, and the opportunities presented to them.. If that same north has access to the awareness that the south has, not even education, just awareness, they would rid Nigeria of her problems.. These same set of corrupt legislators are being glorified in the South, we defend them, we are their bodyguards, we are their spokespersons, we find excuses for their redundancy, we recycle them every 4 years But the ignorant, poor, dirty, hungry, bloodthirsty, aggressive north holds its leaders accountable. so who's ignorant now?? ... In a few years , the northern masses would see the bigger picture and the potential in Nigeria, they'll realise the wastage of resources that had been going on, I'm convinced that they won't stomach it. They'll herald the social revolution we all need. The south on the other hand is too 'intelligent' to be of any use !!

is Big brother my brother?

kodded:


and freeze has said nothing concerning these killings , so sad

is freeze an elected public official. Your voice is as good as Freeze's

Emyogalanya:
PAUL THE FULANI SLAVE. SOMETIME AGO ONE GUY MADE A THREAD SHOWING THAT ATIKU IS CHAMBAS BY TRIBE CAN SOMEONE PLS EXPLAIN THIS FULANI STORY?

Atiku is Fulani, he is proud of it. the Turaki Adamawa and Waziri Adamawa are Pulbe titles. I don't know where the Chamba angle is coming from.

The Fulani are very good record keepers. if atiku's pedigree was questionable, he would not occupy a huge position in the Fulani traditional system. I agree there are some tribes who discard their identity and adopt Fulani, like the Verre for instance, but larger groups like Chamba would never claim Fulani. Being bachama is out of the question

I say unto you ; He. has gotten his reward

ImperialYoruba:
Atiku's State. Where is his voice on this?

Atiku is. a fulani

Reading comments here and I've discovered that most young Nigerians lack comprehension skills, analytical skills and basic decision making skills.

There is little hope, very little hope with this set of young people. The Libyan returnee is smarter than most of us.

all the posters who abused this guy, is a retard!

1. he has a skill. he works with aluminium, probably makes aluminium windows and doors or tables, and with it he raised 520,000 naira to travel out. Most of Nigerians do not have a handiwork, they depend on their certificate to fetch them jobs, and condemn successive governments for not putting food on their table.

2. He says Libya would have been a perfect place if it had a central government, the lack of which, makes security absent. No central government means no laws, no rights, no security for foreigners. Yet in the instability, he even learnt a new skill, the Egyptian style of aluminium works, in the insecurity he still got a job, was underpaid because he was a foreigner, got set up, got arrested, paid 120000 Libyan Dinars as bail, which equals 31,605,984.00 Nigerian Naira. 31.6million naira. How many Nigerians can raise 31.6million naira as bail? was it not in this Nigeria that someone was remanded in prison for 6months because of a debt of 40k, until he jumped to his death this week? So what the fuxk are y'all saying? And some people are saying he should have stayed in Nigeria with his 500k and become a naira millionaire with 2m today how dumb can we be? how should he now accept 20k monthly?
fuxk the talk of discrimination!!! in Nigeria we discriminate against ourselves! SARS against poor people, rich against poor , politician against poor people, soldiers against poor people, DSS against enemies of APC, cultists against Jews... all over Nigeria , there is discrimination and subhuman living conditions!

I am a professional, but I learnt something from this guy, the need to learn more handiwork. get a skill. Nigerians please get a skill.

The fulanis are politically in control of Adamawa, but are a minority numerically. The Bachama are fearless and even more blood thirsty, in Taraba, the fulani cannot match the Jukun or Mambilla any day, in Borno the Fulani cannot match the Kanuri anywhere, and in these areas they are relatively calm and peaceloving. And the interesting part is that, these groups also have muslim adherents, sometimes up to 50%, but it doesn't cloud their judgement. Crises are not given a religious undertone.

But once they move downwards, people are more educated, exposed, docile and carry their aggression to the internet, thus allowing the fulbe race to pillage their lands and their women...

In all west african countries where fulani are found, they are minority including in their aboriginal areas.. the only exception is Nigeria - where we gave them power on the platter of religion.

The fulani are unable to match their neighbours in their own states, but southerners permit them to carry out head hunting in their lands...

It is sad that so many people lost their lives, particularly children, thus we must condemn the killings and its root causes, not calling for reprisals, especially by a paramount traditional and religious leader. The Sultan should see himself as a father of Nigeria, not just a father of the fulani. No father would see his sons fighting to the death, and would support one over the other.

But I assure you, there would be no reprisals. The Fulani do not have the wherewithal to carry out reprisals in Adamawa State. ...excpt they receive external corporate aid

he should drive the car first... if he agrees, then it's all good!

if you know, you know

zionmde:
Those dead guys must be among those hailing soldiers during python dance. Anyway what goes around comes around. Wat people dont understand that supporting ur perceived friend in dealing unjustly with others is foolishness because one day he will turn to u and treat u the same way.
Anyway since they must also be members of IPOB terrorists i think they deserve wat they got.
No pity given
APC
Chanjiiiiiii

You're in so much pain

vedaxcool:
[s][/s]

Liars everywhere

your drug's presentation is in suspension form, and it is in mg ?

Even if the story is true, there is nothing wrong there.

First of all, we as Christians are part of the body of Christ.

The word of God says we should not be "unequally yoked" with unbelievers.

The Word of God says that the man and the woman join together and become one flesh.

And Muslims say that Jesus is not the son of God and that he is not Christ, and he did not die for our sins, and the Word of God calls such people the Antichrist.

How then can Christ be your saviour and yet your body denies Jesus as your saviour

The Nigerian flag was designed by Mr Michael Taiwo Akinkumi in 1959. The Yoruba man was born in Ibadan on the 10th of May 1936. As an electrical engineering student at the Norwood Technical College, London, he came across an advertisement in the national daily paper about a competition for the design of the national flag, and he immediately picked an interest and submitted his entry to the panel in
Lagos State.

Mr Taiwo deservedly emerged the winner and was awarded a whopping prize of 100,000 naira, which was a fortune back in the days. However, even though his design was the best, the original design was given a little modification by the judges to better suit what they had in mind.

Taiwo’s original design of the Nigerian flag was a little more intricate than what you see today. It had the image of a red blazing sun in the white space in between which the judges apparently felt was not necessary and as such, it was removed. The picture below shows what Akinwumi came up with before the alterations.
[Naij.com]

Why was the sun removed ? I tried researching on our old emblems and flags for insignia like the sun.

1. Prior to akinkunmi's design I found no previous flag bearing the sun symbol.
2. Post independence, the flag of the eastern region had a sun in it. (see d pic)
3. On declaration of Biafra, the adopted flag had a sun symbol on it.
4. The adopted green on our flag , does it represent Agriculture or Arewa?

Questions.
1. For how long has eastern Nigeria been associated with the sun?
2. Who were the judges overseeing the flag design competition?
3. Could the East's relationship with the sun , be a reason why it was removed from akinkunmi's entry?
4. If the answer to number 3 is affirmative, could it be that the sectional issues that plague us , have a longer history than we know of?

zombieHUNTER:
What is this one saying
Stop pretending jare
We all know that the country is useless
Infact it should be a crime to have a Nigerian flag considering how useless it is

You carefully avoided the main issue. The main issue is this, as at today you are a Nigerian. even if you win US DV Visa lottery tomorrow, you would still board an aircraft bearing a NIGERIAN passport.

Good can never come out of evil, hatred will never give you peace. As long as you continue denigrating other ethnic groups and the country generally, nobody would ever support your ambition. And one thing that is very clear in Nigeria is that you need at least one other group to support you before you can achieve anything. I don't need to remind you about how the rest of the south feigned blindness during Python dance...

conductorH1:
This one looks way better. Trust me

first of all, your moniker is too new for anyone to reply you directly.

but note that flag desecration is an offense in Nigeria, in fact, I have never seen Catalonians burning the Spanish flag, I have never seen Kurds burning the Turkish or Iranian flags, I have never seen Taiwanese burning the Chinese flag, even in the full scale revolutionary wars that ravaged Europe, national flags were carried by belligerents. It is only in Nigeria that people want to secede and they constantly irritate the people who would be their neighbours tomorrow. Appeal to your kinsmen, hatred can never get you a country, it would only cause generalized disaffection towards you, with no benefits now or in the future.

GavelSlam:
When oil loses its value we'll begin to look for something to swap it with.

like nuclear powerplants?

Danny287:
Bros you try but imagine asking a child to draw a Nigerian flag in school and he or she goes out to draw all this... too many drawing inside one flag try again.

that's funny, though there are countries with 'full' flags too... it's no big deal... the main issue here is what it symbolises.

another option...

the socialist insignia at the top remain, alongside the red band.

The green band represents agriculture and fertility.

The white represents purity,

The left pile of books represents intellect and knowledge.

The wheel on the right represents industrialization and technology. It is a better option to the rising sun in the previous flag.

The oil rig stands for Crude , the country's currency.

someday....

the black symbolizes the black loamy soil, fertile and aerated. the black may also symbolize the Niger delta and her Oil - the black gold , foundations upon which the modern Nigeria has been built and upon which it is run.
the white Oil rig is literal, arising from blacK delta and pumping crude into the entire country, funding our failed unitary system of government.


The Green band, represents Agriculture, the Guinea Savannah middle belt, the nation's food basket.

The books on the left symbolize the west, pioneers in education and with the most centres of learning. Known for diplomacy and fast becoming the nation's intelligentsia, its offspring have gone on to stand out as leading lights in most spheres of human activity

Rising sun - symbol of the east, resurgence, enterprise, industrious spirit and commerce. As the sun rises afresh from the east daily, so are new ideas conceived daily in the east. It has the potential to be a leading economic giant if the right conditions are provided and its people begin to look inwards.

The star, sickle and red band - symbols of socialism, a political and economic theory concerned with social welfare, which believes that power and the most benefits should go to the working class, and that the means of making, moving, and trading wealth should be owned or controlled by the community as a whole. This is achieved either through socialist controlled government or through worker's cooperatives.
In Marxist theory, it is a transitional (temporary, in between) social state between capitalism and communism .
Strives to eliminate the capitalists and profiteering big corporations... Also strongly opposes privatization.

CHINESE SOCIALIST MODEL

1. For the economic aspect, China insists on the economy with different types of ownership basic system of market economy with the public ownership in the leading role.

2. For its political aspect, China sticks to a system of the People's Congress, a system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation, and a system of regional ethnic autonomy.

3. For its cultural aspect, China keeps its socialist value system at the core of social trends, while respecting differences and expanding common grounds.


All pictures are original content and are protected by copyright laws. they belong exclusively to the author

In your Old Testament reading, have you come across the term high places? Mentioned 117 times, high places were centers for Canaanite idol worship that the Jews were commanded to tear down. But instead, these places became idols that subtly seduced God’s people year after year—they couldn’t stay away!

What about today? Are followers of Christ still tempted by high places? Let’s ask it a different way: Do believers sometimes succumb to today’s “ism-idols”—rampant materialism, impure sexism or me-ism?
What can we learn about overcoming recurring, seductive sin from the stories about high places? Something mentioned 117 times is more than an archeological curiosity!
The Hebrew word for high place is bamah —mountaintop, open-air altars on elevated knolls near towns. According to 1 Kings 14:23, the Canaanites “built for themselves high places and sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and beneath every luxuriant tree.”
Even before Israel crossed the Jordan into Canaan, Moses exhorted the Jews to “demolish all their high places … [or they] will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides” (Numbers 33:52, 55).
Why was God so concerned about these mythical Canaanite deities? Just look at some of the gods that people worshiped in these places:

El—supreme head of the Canaanite pantheon of gods, supposedly the father of creation.
Baal—lord of earth and rain (prerequisites for successful harvest in a dry land).
Ashtoreth—goddess of fertility. Canaanite farmers visited her shrines to mate with cult prostitutes to guarantee crop fertility.
Dagon—principal god of the Philistines. Dgn means grain in Hebrew and Ugaritic and is associated with wheat harvest. In 1 Chronicles 10: 8-10, when the Philistines found King Saul’s dead body on Mount Gilboa, they “fastened his head in the house of Dagon.”
Molech (Moloch, Milcom)—Ammonite god to whom children were sacrificed. At Gezer, archaeologists have found clay jars containing the charred bones of babies.
Chemosh—a Moabite deity, “honored with horribly cruel rites like those of Molech, to whom children were sacrificed in the fire” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary).
That’s just six of 26 major Canaanite gods and goddesses! High places were not harmless shrines—God’s people were seduced to flagrant sin at these altars. Isaiah rebuked them: “Are you not children of rebellion … who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter the children in the ravines?” (Isaiah 57:4-5).
King Solomon succumbed to wheedling from his Canaanite wives and built a high place for Chemosh and Molech on the mountain east of Jerusalem.
Today we don’t construct idolatrous clay figurines of Baal or attend worship services for Asherah, but our temptations are just as seductive and perhaps even more subtle.
Believers today might avoid obvious “high places” such as theft, child abuse or explosive anger. But we tend to be casual about what writer and Bible teacher Jerry Bridges calls “respectable sins.” We rarely speak of envy, worry, spiritual pride, sexual window-shopping, gossip or strife as sin. But these habits are nothing but sinful deeds of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21).

How do we deal with today’s version of high places where idols abound? I have discovered four “dashboard indicators” from a 25-year-old king who decided to put an end to 800 years of idol-accommodation: Hezekiah, who reigned from 715 to 686 B.C., 215 years after Solomon’s collapse.

Dashboard Indicator One: Have I given myself permission to adopt a casual attitude toward sin?
God wanted to drive out the Canaanites because of the wickedness of the Canaanites—not because of the goodness of the Jews (Deuteronomy 9:5). God is not casual toward sin!
By contrast, the Jews were casual about idolatrous high places for 800 years. Solomon is a good example. As he grew older, his wives “turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God” (1 Kings 11:4). And then he built a high place for his wives.
Like Solomon, we might give ourselves permission to flirt with temptation but still try to retain a vibrant heart for God. But Solomon couldn’t—and we can’t either. The more we entertain worldly high places in our hearts, the more our love for God slips away.
As a new believer in Christ I was startled when I heard a friend pray, “Lord, help me to love You and hate sin.” I had never considered actually hating sin. Psalm 36:4 describes the wicked man by saying, “He plans wickedness upon his bed … he does not despise evil.”
Are you giving yourself permission to flirt with temptation? Ask God to give you a hatred of sin.

Dashboard Indicator Two: Do I allow previous failures to stop me?
Have you ever tried to eradicate a particular sin from your life, but like a thistle in an Iowa pasture, it grew back even stronger? No wonder many believers have all but given up on achieving victory over pornography, worry about kids, bitterness toward an unkind boss, and the list goes on. Every time we attempt to break a sin habit, the enemy throws it back in our faces. Why even try?
From Solomon to Hezekiah, 30 kings (12 in Judah, 18 in Israel) failed to remove the high places. Even “good kings” such as Asa and Jehoshaphat failed to remove the high places from the land. But something in Hezekiah’s walk with God told him past failures should not dictate his future.

Dashboard Indicator Three: Are you a Christian loner?
There’s an old African saying: “To travel fast—go alone. To travel far—go with others.”
Rather than haranguing the nation to avoid the high places, Hezekiah recruited a few faithful cohorts—the Levites. The job of the Levites was to assist the priests by skinning animals and participating in holy convocations. The Levites were only a few in a nation of many.
Still, starting at home, within 16 days the Levites dramatically cleansed the temple in Jerusalem of Canaanite worship paraphernalia. Then Hezekiah ordered a massive celebration, and the Levites “sang praises with joy” (2 Chronicles 29:30).
Next, Hezekiah sent messengers throughout Israel inviting every Jew to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem—not at their high places. Some couriers were well received, while others were scorned. Nevertheless, Jerusalem hosted a historic seven-day Passover celebration.
Then the unexpected happened. The people were so moved they spontaneously traveled to the cities of Judah to break down Asherim poles and destroy the high places and altars (2 Chronicles 31:1). Wow! And it started with a few faithful teammates who were willing to support Hezekiah in following the Lord wholeheartedly.
Who can help support your spiritual walk? Two suggestions: First, find friends to study the Word with you. Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, you need a team.
Second, what trusted friend or pastor can you talk to about recurring sin? Find someone who can help, not merely sympathize.

Dashboard Indicator Four: Are you focusing on eliminating sin or on pleasing God?
Hezekiah didn’t merely exhort people to stop going to high places. Instead, he restored true, God-centered worship at the temple, and the people realized that they did not need to worship Baal and Ashtoreth (2 Chronicles 29-30).
Though it seems counter-intuitive, sin is not defeated by focusing on getting rid of it. Rather, focus on replacing it with something that is pleasing to God.
A friend once tested my concentration ability. “Forget about the number 13,” he said.
“OK,” I replied, eager to prove myself. “I’m avoiding 13 starting now!”
He paused a moment, then asked, “What number did I tell you to forget?”
“Uh … 13,” I stammered.
“And what number are you thinking of now?” he asked.
Oops!
Psalm 34:14 says, “Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” When we do good, evil departs. To eliminate a sinful pattern, find a God-pleasing substitute.
But first, submit to God. In the past I tried hard to “resist the devil” as James 4:7 instructs. It wasn’t working! I had overlooked the first phrase of James 4:7, which says, “Submit to God.” Resisting without submitting won’t work! First submit in simple prayer, then substitute.

Summary
A few years ago I was lying in bed one sleepless night pondering why a certain sin kept recurring in my life. Then a thought hit me: What is it that I don’t understand about God that makes this sin so attractive?
That was a breakthrough! High places in our lives are more seductive when we believe the lie that God cannot provide all we need. Sin seductively warbles that it can meet your needs better than God. But God has already provided everything you need—everything! You don’t need to trek to high places anymore
. ©2012 BGEA
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New American Standard Version, ©1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif.
Scott Morton is International Funding Coach for The Navigators. He is the author of “Funding Your Ministry,” “Down-to-Earth discipling,” “Tired of Do-List Christianity?” and his latest, “For You, My Friend.”

"the miracle of the sun"
many worshippers claim they saw Mary! at UBTH field, in Benin City!!

Okies27:
. Who be dis again? Kids everywhere offering free data. Good Samaritan. Oya, buy glo, mtn, airtel n 9mobile recharge cards, scratch n post on nairaland n let those who needs them load...

I'm sorry... please ignore!

Okies27:
. Dumbest thing I ever read. Ranch them in South tsetseflies will affect them? Dumb! What happens to fumigation around the ranch? Ranching in the North n hunger? Stupidity smells around your post.

I don't think you're right