₦airaland Forum

annyplenty:
SATAN HAS POURED OUT HEAVY SPIRIT OF WITCHCRAFT: CHRISTIANS SHOULD STEP UP THEIR PRAYER LIVES.

On Tuesday, September 11th, 2014, some few minutes to 2p.m, NIGERIAN time, I was told by voice in the dream the following words “Satan has poured down, heavily, spirit of witchcraft. Christians should step up their prayer lives”. Though I heard the voice, yet I did not see the owner of the Voice.

JOEL2:28
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions


In Joel 2:28, God promised to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh for the purpose to make people call upon His name and be saved. And God is already fulfilling His promises.


Satan is a counterfeiter. He always does the counterfeit of whatever God does. As God is pouring out His Holy Spirit to prepare His people for Rapture, Satan, also, is pouring out all his unclean spirits and demons because he has only a small time left. (Revelations 16:3, 1 Timothy 4:1). There are widespread unclean spirits, demons and demonic manipulations.

At this juncture, I will share some more visions to support what I am saying.


* Sometimes, I was in a fasting session, and then I had a revelation. In the revelation, I saw that demons have invaded everywhere and they were approaching me. Suddenly, I saw a spiritual sword in my hand. And I begin to use the sword to cut the demons into two as they approach me but the more I cut the demons with sword the more in number the demons became. At a point I seemed to be overwhelmed with the growing number of the demons. Then, suddenly, I was caught up as if by rapture. As I was being caught away, I shouted “I enter the glory of my father”.


* On another occasion, I saw myself in a dream, and I was in a meeting with some other ministers of the Word. Then I looked around and some demons hiding in different places and watching us. Some demons lurked inside tress. Some hid themselves in the ground and in some other items.


* Last, in another vision, I saw myself in a crusade and a Pastor was preaching and was telling the congregation to be careful that demons have invaded the earth. The pastor said that of all the countries of the earth, it was Republic of Benin that had highest presence of demons. Then suddenly, my eyes were opened and I was made to see that everybody in the congregation had been possessed with demons including the pastor that was preaching. I was the only that was not possessed with demons among all the congregation.

Bride of Christ, please step up your prayer at this time. Satan is fighting his last fights. He is throwing every dart and arrow at all directions. It is only those who are filled with Holy Spirit and can pray fervently and live holy life than can survive these attacks of the enemy.
Don’t expose yourself to attack of the enemy. Pray always and cover yourself with blood of Jesus Christ.

Before use, pray on all items you bought, including food.

Please, avoid the following things not to expose yourself to the enemy:
Occultic church
Magic/sorcery movies
Horror movies
Items with demonic pictures
Demonic songs
Occultic movies, books and songs and more.

Jesus Christ, The Messiah is coming. Repent and Live in Holiness and Righteousness.

www.jesuscoming1..com

I rarely would lend my voice to such as this but make bold to say that I had a similar revelation at about the same time as this poster.

A word of caution for those making all sorts of negative statements against what they don't understand. Perhaps, spiritual things can only be spiritually discerned. Just because you don't understand something does not make the poster a foolish person.

To confirm posters vision, what we are seeing as of today is just a tip of the iceberg compared to what is about to be unleashed. I was overwhelmed by the details of my own dreams when I had it because of the enormous number of the demonic army that invaded the earth. But was comforted by the word of the Lord in Isaiah that stated that the Lord will (by the power of His Spirit) also lift a standard against the rushing power of the evil one. This mean that all in all, God Almighty is in control and have set a limit beyond which Satan will have no authority. However, Christians should be ready to die for what they believe and no more opportunity to be indecisive but only be strong stand firm with the Lord.

Deception is on the rise and it is time we return to the original Gospel on repentance, forgiveness, obedience, sacrifice and transformation from inside-out (through the pursuit of personal holiness and desire to be more like Jesus Christ whom we profess to follow).

If you still think it is a 'useless' post and you don't believe in demons, end time etc., I wish you the best but please don't rain insult of curses on those who do.

God bless.

Congratulations to retired General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and his running mate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo for being elected as president and vice-president respectively of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I felicitate with Nigerians all over the world and Africans in general for the anticipated orderly transfer of power for the first time from an incumbent to an opposition presidential candidate in Africa's most populous nation on earth. The election of retired Gen Buhari as president-elect did not come to us as a surprise. As I pointed out in my prediction for the Year 2015, which was published in this column in December 2014, inter alia; "…President Goodluck Jonathan should not attempt to contest for the2015 Presidential Election. If he does, not only will he lose, he will also be humiliated. Many of those he has surrounded himself with are mostly deceiving him. All the vows he made to the Lord when he was fighting for his political life in 2010 and when he contested the 2011 presidential election have not been kept, according to the Lord. We are not talking of political promises or manifestoes here, but vows he made when he was prayed for and said he would do for the Lord. Hear the words of the Lord to you, Mr. Jonathan: "When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow," (Ecclesiastes 5: 4). The Lord said Mr. Jonathan had played his part in the history of Nigeria and should retire to Otuoke, Bayelsa State with honor and humility in 2015. However, he is being deceived by some forces, especially those who advised him to embark on Holy Pilgrimage to Israel as a way of winning the presidential election next year. He should also not succumb to forces telling him to belong to a secret society in order to ensure his election victory in 2015. The Lord said Jonathan is being deceived and should not succumb to such lies ....read on



http://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/fayemiwo/040215.html

Found this article and thought it is a well written piece. Anyone with prophetic voice should be bold to come on here to tell us what God had foretold and same whichhas come to pass-to God's glory and praise alone and for edification of the faith.

Now Is a Good Time to Test Our Prophecies

About this time of the year, it is common to read articles from prophetic leaders announcing the latest words from the Lord, telling us what to expect in the months ahead. My question for these leaders is simple: What is your track record so far? How many of your past prophecies have come to pass?

Recently, I discovered a cassette tape in a storage unit marked "Old Prophecies," containing some prophetic words that were spoken over me many years ago and that happened to be captured on tape.

We were able to transfer the prophecies from cassette to CD, and when I listened to those words—some of which I remembered well and some of which I had almost forgotten—I was struck by the accuracy of most of them. It was only by the Spirit of God that some of those things could have been spoken more than 30 years ago.

That is the power of the prophetic gift in operation, and as a charismatic believer, I can say unashamedly that we need more prophetic ministry, not less prophetic ministry, today.

At the same time, prophecies must be tested and prophetic leaders must be held accountable, as the Word makes clear time and again: "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thess. 5:19-21).

If you claim to speak for God, then you should welcome accountability and testing. Otherwise, to paraphrase Smith Wigglesworth, you are surely as wrong as the words you bring.

Have you really been caught up to the third heaven? Then why does your life seem so carnal? Why do earthly things have your eye? If you have encountered God so deeply in the secret place, why doesn't your public life reflect that?

It is not unfair to ask such questions.

Shouldn't great, extravagant claims be examined? Since when is gullibility a fruit of the Spirit? And shouldn't prophetic words have at least some level of clarity?

In the context of tongues and prophecy, Paul wrote, "If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air" (1 Cor. 14:7-9).

I have heard and read some prophetic words that are so obscure that there's no way to test them at all.

How do these edify or correct or encourage?

To be sure, the Spirit does not always lay things out in a way that makes complete sense at first, and it is only over a period of time that many words can be fully understood. Plus, some prophecies take decades to unfold, and so what might seem false for the short term is proven true for the long term.

That pattern is clear from the Scriptures themselves, and it is sometimes this lack of total, initial clarity that stops us from trying to make the prophecies come to pass through our own efforts.

On the other hand, prophecies are meant to communicate God's heart and mind, and He likes to make Himself clear when He speaks to us. What's the use of unintelligible communication?

The good news is that God is speaking today through many of His servants, and some of them have powerful track records of hearing from heaven.

And so, if you are a prophetic leader (some of you are my personal friends), I encourage you to remind us of what the Lord has previously said through you. (Of course, predictive prophecy is only one aspect of prophetic ministry, but it's the aspect I'm focused on here.)

You are boasting in Him, not in yourselves, and you are helping us take seriously what He is saying through you today.

Share some striking personal or national words the Lord gave you in the past, and tell us how they were fulfilled.

Give us one detailed story that will stir our hearts and glorify the Lord and remind us of the power of this gift of the Spirit, and then share what is on your heart for this season so that we can take it prayerfully to our God.

You have been placed in the body for a specific purpose, functioning as sons of Issachar who understand the times and know what God's people should do (see 1 Chron. 12:32).

But as charismatics, we have often been guilty of failing to test prophecies or hold prophetic leaders to account, and this has brought mockery to the name of Jesus, reproach to the Spirit, and needless confusion and pain.

Let's all step higher during this critical time of American and world history, and if the Spirit is really speaking, let's pay careful attention. But if human words are masquerading as divine words, let's bring accountability and correction.

We need to hear from the Spirit, not from the flesh, from above, not from below. The stakes are very high.

http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/in-the-line-of-fire/46590-now-is-a-good-time-to-test-our-prophecies

Saraha1:
@sammy pls try to ur story, am sure lot of christian will learn from it.
May God see us through this race .

activefibre1:
they want you to sell your soul. sign a path wit the devil. Did u put your blood on the white handkercheif?

...no, I didn't put blood on the handkerchief. What stopped me and my friend from going further was not because we knew the implication of what we will be doing but due to simple fear of pricking our own thumbs! The dread of pricking myself with a needle was what God used to stop me. Needless to say, for the fact that we have 'meddled' with and trialed an occult practice, the repercurrsions was going to be one that will last for the next 3-5 years of my life...and my friend's too. In fact my friend's life was turned 'upside down' around this period. he began to take hard drugs. He didn't do well in his final exams, became very wayward but the good news was that God redeemed him a few years later- he became a Pastor!

Between my time in SSS2-3 (15-16years of age), I had one of the most turbulent periods of my life. I started having problems with my mind. The devil came back to oppress me with what I and my friend practiced: mind-control. A million and one thoughts would come and leave my mind in fraction of seconds. I became unstable, couldn't focus for more that a few minutes before wandering off. It was not just the wandering off bit but also the nature of the thoughts. They range from horrible, filthy to day dreams etc. Then I began to have migrane headaches because I just couldn't sleep or rest day and night. My nights were plagued with horrible dreams and my days with sorrow. It was so bad that I literally started to weep to school...shedding tears quietly. One day, I heard a voice said to me that I If am not careful, I will develop mental problems. That was it for me.

Earlier on I had become a Christian in a school different from where I was and asuch lost the opportunity of friendship with other Christians. There was no one to share my experience with or what I was going through. My christian journey was a struggle. Then one night I sat down outside of my home. The sky was clear and stars shinning and I said "God, you are up there and I am down here. Just leave me alone to live my life. If this is Christianity, I don't want to be a part of it" and that night I had my first ever revelation of Hell (in a dream). The revelation of Hell is a story for another day. The moment I woke up from that dream I heard an audible voice said "If you turn back from me that will be your end". But that experience didn't move me. Looking back now, I realised that it is God's love and mercies that have kept me. I continued with wanting to find my own solution to my problems. I incidentally reached the end of my toil and turned back to God for help. What I didn't realise was the extent of damage caused by meddling with the things of the occult. My deliverance started and took a long time to complete.

God began to direct my steps. By age 16-17, he led me to an elderly Godly woman I knew at the time. She was in a late 50s. I told her of the struggles with my mind etc. I expected her to pray for me and may be ask me to fast etc but she did not do any of these. She recommended that I read a book! The title was called the 'Celebration of Discipline' written by Richard Foster. I read and practiced what was written in the book, mainly,the section that had to do the meditation of the word of God. I started meditating on the Scriptures EVERY DAY and could be in meditation and prayers 4-5 hours everyday. God began to remove, from the roots, the seeds of evil in my heart and planting the His own rightous and godly seeds. Before long ( about a year and half), the problem of mind control fizzled out...but that was just an aspect of the deliverance that was completed. The other had to deal with lustful thoughts and dreams. I hadn't realised that I have opend doors to demonic powers through wanting to practice levitation, astra travel, reading Hints, Mills and Boons magazines (do you remember those magazines of those days?). I had invited a 'Spirit Wife' into my life and my deliverance from this was not completed until about 5 years later (in my final year at the university). Now, I do not have time or patience for anyone who would tell me that spirit husband/wife is a fabble. Anyone could argue what they choose but no one can argue my experiences and pain. These demonic entities are REAL but I have seen the power of God first rated in the name and blood of Jesus Christ.

Key lessons for me are these: When God says not to touch anything occult, He knows what He is talking about. When He says to believe in Jesus Christ and receive salvation (so that we can legally be under the protective watch of the Almighty) He knows what He is talking about. To those single, run a million miles away from anything occult (espcially ouija boards which are increasingly becoming common, fortune telling, and other occult materials). To those with children, teach your children to do same. Also to remember is that the sins we enjoy the most are the same sins that will be most difficult to be delivered from...and if not, will be the same sins that will lead to hell. Think about it.

God bless

The best balanced piece I have read in recent times...this is my opinion. Let's major on the majors whilst choosing between two necessary 'evils'. Please I encourage you read first before commenting to make sense of the article and not necessarily the source.

Let me make it emphatically clear that this is not a clarion call to crucify President Goodluck Jonathan even though he has been likened to the Christian prophet Jesus Christ, who was “crucified” on the cross. It is a call to massacre President Jonathan’s identity, his party and everyone associated with him strictly with the weapon of the ballot....read on

http://saharareporters.com/2014/12/29/many-reasons-hate-buhari-many-more-crucify-jonathan

I have read through almost every post on this thread, it has been very useful and truly reinforces the need to be watchful and prayerful over our children. Most importantly, it is critical to pay attention to what our children say and their behaviour when it’s out of sync. But all in all, thanks to God that He alone can adequately watch over children in this depraved world. [please don’t ask why these evils (child molestation etc) still continue if God has it all figured out]- they have a shelve–life and God’s wrath will soon be revealed on all evil doers.
I thought I will share this experience. I don’t think it’s something spectacular like gifts but it’s an experience I have shared with only a few people. Regardless of your knowledge or faith, it’s still God’s mercies that prevails but must say that it makes it easy for God to act on our behalf when we are on His side.

It happened when I was in SSS1 (year 4) in the secondary school. I was at the time learning to be a Christian, without much knowledge, passionate about anything Bible so much that I enrolled in the World Bible correspondence course (back in the early 90s) had all the certificates they could provide upon completing the courses but wanted more and then the deception started to creep in...
I stumbled upon another ‘Bible’ correspondence course and enrolled on the course with a friend. The first shipment of study material was the biggest bible I have ever seen. Does anyone know how big those Bibles used in the big Cathedrals look like? This bible was almost the same size. To date, I still wonder how it got through the Nigerian post office un-tamppered! Well, as we started reading through, we came across lots of stories about Jesus making clay birds (from mud) and turning them into live birds, how Jesus slapped a young rude boy etc and all sorts of stories I have never found in the ‘normal’ Bible. As children, the more we read the more our curiosity kicked in.
I and my friend completed the first series of this course, and then the next shipment of study materials came. It was a very tidy grey book with a very clean white handkerchief in the middle, and an instruction piece containing instructions on how to levitate, control peoples mind; particularly how to get people to do what we want without speaking a word except to maintain a fixed eye contact, and also how to astra-project.

Guess what? Our curiosity went through the roof. We decided to start with mind controlling bit as that seemed the most exciting to us and first test was to try this out on the guy that sells snacks/drinks to children during lunch time. We followed the instruction and decided on what we wanted to happen without having to say a word of it to the guy. During lunch time, we proceeded to the kiosk, asked to buy some drinks and snacks (but what we actually wanted is for our money to be returned, the snack and drinks given to us and a ‘change’ or balance as well.) IT HAPPENED exactly as we wanted. This guy gave us back our money, gave us the product and a change (as if we had actually paid)! Now we felt on-top of the world and at the same time a bit confused and excited.

Whilst still trying to refine this mind control strategy and master the incantations etc, another ‘bible correspondence’ course material arrived. In this course, there was reference to the white handkerchief that was sent earlier and specific instruction that we prick our thumb with a needle and ‘stamp’ the handkerchief with the pint of blood from the prick and post it back in a self-addressed envelope.... ....that was the beginning to bad stuff but if not for God, I may not be alive to tell this tale....Deep down within us we knew there is something evil about this but could this be another dimension to understanding the Bible that we didn’t know (the supernatural, metaphysics etc)?. I am still trying to figure out why did this happened to me and what exactly it is that God has in mind for allowing this experience. I think I have written a very long thread already and would like to stop here...

Spiritual things are real, even if you are Christian, you must remain watchful. If you are not a Christian ( and I mean a true Christian), am sorry to say and without being or meaning to be rude, it is a BAD and UNFORTUNATE place to be because the devil could have you for his supper any day and any time. Give Jesus Christ a chance.
Wish you all a pleasant Christmas.

I think it all depends on what you want and believe that God wants for your future. What future can you see ahead of you? What do you want to achieve in life? What are you creative abilities? Lasting financial reward and security + fulfilment will come only when you have these priorities right. It is not about Canada, Australia, UK or Nija. There are Nigerians in all of these places having different experiences. Just be sure your destiny is connected to your location. Some people on this forum realised it lately that theirs' didn't, some realised it early enough and went back home and others are finding fulfilment living in the UK.

On a light note, all things are possible to him that works hard and have faith in God. I moved to the UK about a year ago with family and have a white collar job that pays 2k after tax!...it is God and hard work. Yes, it might mean having to re-skill yourself and target high-skilled job areas but once you have your foot in the door, you can only continue to go up...even witches and wizard can't stop your upward advancement because God will be with you.

Whilst there is thin line between pride and ignorance, you must be able articulate the future you want to get to, even at a job interview, you must be really 'clued in' to compete in this environment. All said, God will crown your effort if you are set in the right direction. And even if you are not, He will, in His mercies, crown your effort but redirect your ways if you acknowledge God in all your ways.

All the best!

Canadian Hamed Al-Khabaz was expelled for revealing holes in his college's network but has now been taken on by the developer.3:41pm UK, Wednesday 23 January 2013
Dawson College where Mr Al-Khabaz studied (photo: Safesolvent.com)

A Canadian student who exposed a security weakness in his college's database has been offered a job by the computer firm which made the software.

Hamed Al-Khabaz had been expelled from the higher education establishment in Montreal for exposing the flaw, but has now been thrown a lifeline by the company he embarrassed.

The 20-year-old had found that it was possible to access the social security numbers and contact information of other Quebec students just by changing a few numbers in web addresses.

After he went public and then tried to test whether the potential breach had been fixed, Dawson College decided he had broken its rules and expelled him.

But then the firm which designed the database stepped in and handed him a scholarship and employment.

Edouard Taza, the president of Skytech Communications, told Canada's CBC News: "We will offer him a scholarship so he can finish his diploma in the private sector."

He added that Skytech had offered him a part-time job in information technology security.

Mr Al-Khabaz had stumbled upon the flaw while working on a mobile application for the college's website. Dawson College is a pre-university higher education establishment.

Its website runs a programme called Omnivox which allows students to make changes to their timetable online.

Omnivox also stores thousands of social insurance numbers, home addresses, phone numbers and other information that was vulnerable even to a novice hacker, according to Mr Al-Khabaz.
Hamed al Khabaz has been offered a new job. (photo: Safesolvent.com)
He found that by changing a few characters in the URLs - the specific numbers of individual web pages - he could potentially access the details of up to 250,000 other students across Quebec.

He reported the flaw to Dawson College and was praised for doing so but then, several days later, decided to test whether anything had been done about it.

As soon as he did so, he received a call from Skytech threatening him with police action for computer hacking if he did not sign a non-disclosure agreement.

He was then told he was being expelled from Dawson College, given zeros for his earlier college work and would have to pay back thousands of dollars in grants.

It looked hopeless until Skytech realised that it was in their interest to employ someone who had proved themselves capable of testing their systems thoroughly.

Mr Al-Khabaz said: "This wasn't a game for me, it was my moral duty to protect the students' data.

"If I was really acting maliciously, I could have concealed my identity, stolen all of that information and sold it. But instead I alerted the right people; I just tried to make sure they were following through and fixing the site's weaknesses."

The college stood by its decision to expel Mr Al-Khabaz, saying it had warned him not to attempt to breach the computer system.

In a statement to CBC News it said: "When this directive is contravened by the student by engaging in additional activities of the same sort, the College has no recourse but to take appropriate measures to sanction the student."

A statement on Skytech's website said: "We believe that this event should not prevent this gifted student who helped to find a security problem, doing what he loves the most.

"We will ask the student to work for us on mandates in computer security, so that he can work in the field he loves."

http://news.sky.com/story/1041705/student-who-exposed-it-flaw-offered-job

Hmmm...I think rather than address the what the source of the Bishop's wealth is, we should be looking for fruits/evidence of a ministry of intergrity, transperancy and accountability. We should ask, and not only the Winner's Chapel, but all Churches in Nigeria the following questions:

1. Do they prepare annual income and Expenditure Accounts?
2. Are members of the Church privy and truly have access to these accounts?
3. If you are a Church member and your church provides one have you ever asked to see it? If you did have you ever asked any questions and what answers did you receive?
4. All of the above focuses on accountability and transparency...and now to integrity...what can you say about the fruit of this ministry i.e what kind of congregation members is the ministry producing.I understand that this may generate subjective answers but lets judge the fruits from the perspective of how much impact are members making in the community to transform lives for the Kingdom of God. This point is reinforced below.
5. Are church members/church itself active in the community and impacting the lives of their respective communities? what community live-changing projects can the ministry point to that have achieved either Local, State or National recognition? let's start from, may be, mending the bad roads leading to many of our churches and grow to public-private partnerships with the Govt. (Please don't say govt. is corrupt because I sincerely believe that if a church/denomination is doing something really serious with the Govt that will truly translate to positive community impact, the Govt. will give their best.)

....so if we look at the big picture then can we appropriately discern for ourselves what the truth is. Yes, God is the ultimate judge but for those who are trully Christ's followers, we have the mind of Christ to discern all things.

Iolo: Why do you think the biblical Isreal is same as Isreal of today if todays Isreal was only created in 1948.

2. Isreal in the bible was used to represent the people of God more or less like the word Gentiles were used to represent the unGodly. To my own new understanding, Isrealite today includes U and I and everyone else who is a Christian, not just the jewish nation cause those ones have strayed far from God teh teh considering the atrocities they commit everyday.

The issue you grappling with is one to do with is called Replacement Theology. Time will not permit me to explain the details but in a nutshell, the Church and Israel are not the same. Apostle Paulrefuted this theology in the book of Romans. Please study the book from chapter 8 onwards. For the fact that we, redeemed gentiles, are called spiritual Jews does not in any way imply that God has abandoned is age-long covenant with Abraham, Isaac or Jacob. The prophecy of the coming Messiah (Zachariah 10:12) will be fulfilled in the Jews. So many issues to be exposed here but a lot can be understood through prayerful study of the Scriptures.

I have followed this thread with keen interest and would like to just lend my thoughts, and these completely negates those with the view that this is not a religious/political battle. It' is a battle that has roots in ancient history of Arabs versus the Zionist.

Whilst Iran has the right to nuclear weapons, it is totally absurd to keep reiterating that another nation be wiped out of the face of the earth. Iran is practically "looking for trouble" and the statements by Ahmedinajad is provoking the need for pre-emptive attacks against its own nuclear development efforts. Putting it mildly, which one of us will, daily facing threats of total annihilation from a sworn enemy, would wait till the enemy develop the capacity to carry out the threats?

From the religious angle, it is a battle directed against the Sovereignty of the Almighty God to whom the earth belongs and who has chosen to not only bring about the nation of Israel, but chosen to give them the land. Some may argue this but time will definitely tell because God Himself will sort Iran out along with other enemies of the Jewish state whether they are Arabs or not. For those oblivious of the issues of the faith, Israel is God's time clock for His agenda for the ages. Meaning to keep close eyes on what is happening to the Jewish state is to understand the nature of the times in which we live. It is either we believe Biblical history to be the complete truth or we don't believe any of it at all and not a mix or both. Israel is not a perfect nation by any means but have many people wondered why for some decades Egypt does not meddle as much with Israel? They have learnt a bit from the ancient Pharaoh and much from the miraculous Six Day war, so much that the ex-president Mubarak signed a peace treaty with Israel. This treaty is now under attacks under the current Egyptian Islamic regime.

Biblical israel is still the same Israel of today regardless of the Diversities caused by the Dispersion (research Jewish history) and the Aliyah (migration/return to the mother land) because the God who was is still is and very much active in the affairs of every nation under the sun.

I have followed this thread with keen interest and would like to just lend my thoughts, and these completely negates those with the view that this is not a religious/political battle. It' is a battle that has roots in ancient history of Arabs versus the Zionist.

Whilst Iran has the right to nuclear weapons, it is totally absurd to keep reiterating that another nation be wiped out of the face of the earth. Iran is practically "looking for trouble" and the statements by Ahmedinajad is provoking the need for pre-emptive attacks against its own nuclear development efforts. Putting it mildly, which one of us will, daily facing threats of total annihilation from a sworn enemy, would wait till the enemy develop the capacity to carry out the threats?

From the religious angle, it is a battle directed against the Sovereignty of the Almighty God to whom the earth belongs and who has chosen to not only bring about the nation of Israel, but chosen to give them the land. Some may argue this but time will definitely tell because God Himself will sort Iran out along with other enemies of the Jewish state whether they are Arabs or not. For those oblivious of the issues of the faith, Israel is God's time clock for His agenda for the ages. Meaning to keep close eyes on what is happening to the Jewish state is to understand the nature of the times in which we live. It is either we believe Biblical history to be the complete truth or we don't believe any of it at all and not a mix or both. Israel is not a perfect nation by any means but have many people wondered why for some decades Egypt does not meddle as much with Israel? They have learnt a bit from the ancient Pharaoh and much from the miraculous Six Day war, so much that the ex-president Mubarak signed a peace treaty with Israel. This treaty is now under attacks under the current Egyptian Islamic regime.

Biblical israel is still the same Israel of today regardless of the Diversities caused by the Dispersion (research Jewish history) and the Aliyah (migration/return to the mother land) because the God who was is still is and very much active in the affairs of every nation under the sun.

Deleted

In the Old Testament, God 'owns' 10% but in the New Testament, He 'owns' 100%. What therefore matters most is that you give as He directs you. In the NT, we are stewards of God's 'entire' blessings and resources and they are to be used as He bids/leads you cheerfully. So whether you give to orphanages or widows or church or a needy friend, do so as you feel God leading you and do not 'cap' or limit your giving to 10%.

Career Path is quite important and cannot be over-emphasized if one wants to arrive at success in a particular field. Like I have said in my recent post before I was re-directed to this thread, the Nigerian situation is VERY unique, making Career Path issue almost non-existent. The following are realistic factors we could debate upon but I encourage us to proffer solutions/suggestions where we can:

1. How many graduates today learnt about Career Counseling  during their undergraduate days?(new generation graduates might have)- our foundation of learning needed to have been redirected as far back as the late 80's to reflect emerging realities. Rather focus has been on grades and studying 'marketable' courses. This in itself was a fall-out of regressing economy, social development and growing corruption in the system.

2. Because of failing national economy and poor development, focus has shifted from following passion and self-fulfillment( which is the foundation to establishing Career Path) to survival!- but it seem some people are fast realizing (in their old age) that they have made wrong choices in pursuit of money whilst sacrificing their passion.

3. How many Nigerian graduates today can confidently refuse to apply for a prospective job opening or decline a job offer simply because it does not align with their Career Path?- Unless may be the support system around the individual is strong ( financially etc). Mind you, with the present global economic realities, even the Western and European graduates seem to be having fewer choices.

4. Whilst excellent CV and interviews would go a long way in securing a dream-job, has it always been the case in Nigeria? I refer to nepotism on the one hand and divine providence on the other (both seem to be the greatest factor shaping 'Career Path' in Nigeria).

5. Have we considered how lopsided and less fragmented is the nature of the Nigeria employment market? There seem to be more promising opportunities for careers in engineering, medicine and a few social sciences ( Accounting etc) more than any other professions. What about pure sciences and Art majors? Yes, one might argue that a graduate of History or Bio-Chemistry, for example, who wants to develop their career in this path, should go for it but considering factors 1-3 above, a lot of graduates are not rewarded up to the minimum requirement (where they can fend for themselves and build a future for their families) for which they can even survive! So many a 'forced' to opt out in pursuit of better opportunities.

My conclusion is that whilst it is good to concentrate on building an excellent CV and developing astute interview skills, you may find yourself landing the dream job mainly either due to the God-factor (divine providence) or nepotism ( man-know-man). Your smart CV is just a step in the whole nine-yard and if you get 'lucky' or 'favoured' along the way, then can Career Path 'emerge' for you. Otherwise, consciously developing and maintaining a Career Path is VERY far from the reality and almost non-existent in Nigeria. At least, not in the present decadence that the country is in.

My Advice (from experience)

1. Understand and acknowledge the hand of providence first (believe in God and His ability to make all things possible). Don't make the mistake of rusting in your CV but do your best to make the CV smart off course.

2. Find your path (from Passion to Career choice through counseling and divine guidance). Some would never have access to career counseling but all should have access to divine guidance.

3. Its never too late to re-trace your footsteps if you think you have missed it.

4. PATIENCE- I consider this very very important in making your next move, especially if you are tempted to move away from your career/life dreams for ANY reason.

5. Self-evaluate your progress ( self-development is important in this area, no matter how slow the progress might be just keep going).

6. NEVER compare yourself with another person's career path/growth- staying focused is the key.

7. Find the courage to be thankful to God at each step of the way.

mycvclinic:
CAREER PATH
   
When thinking of career path, I suggest you physically imagine a path (even a bush path will do).
Now you follow a path cos you are headed to a destination.

Career path has to do with career planning.
A Career Path, like the name suggests, is like a plan or map of your career. With a career path, you are able to chart out the course of your career. The answer to questions like ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years time’ fall into your ultimate career plan.

Mapping out and identifying your career path is a key career planning tool. It enables you identify your career aspirations and then take the necessary [b]steps [/b]to work towards achieving these identified goals. These [b]steps [/b]include skills and knowledge acquisition.

Your skills and your interests have a major effect on your career path and how successful you eventually are in your career. In drawing your career plan, it is important that you strike a balance between your skills and interest.

It is impossible to function in a field without the necessary skills. Hence, for you to progress in your career journey, you need to equip yourself with some essential skills. Also, having a good deal of skills without an interest in your chosen field has a reverse effect on motivation to function in a field.

As an accountant, I have identified my career path, specialising in audit. While studying for my degree, I was already looking ahead to develop the skills and abilities I needed to build a worthy career in the field of Accounting. Decisions I was faced with included how to obtain the relevant skills and professional qualifications. At a point, I had to choose between studying for an MSc in Accounting & Finance or sitting for my ACCA qualification exams. With my career path in mind, the ACCA appeared to be a more lucrative venture for me as I wanted to specialise in audit.

Now, this decision will vary if my career path was in Management Accounting. I would have found a professional qualification like CIMA to be more beneficial.

WHAT HAS A CAREER PATH GOT TO DO WITH YOUR CV?
Your CV contains information of your academic qualifications, work experiences and skills. You can look at my CV and tell what my career aspirations or career path is.

If I send my CV to apply for a job in the Engineering field, the recruiter will not get past page one; he will throw if out!!! My CV tells a story that will only be of interest to a recruiter in the finance field.

Your CV shows your ability and capability in a chosen field.

Therefore by choosing a career path and bearing such path in mind when creating your CV, you are able to include all necessary pointers and ingredients to capture the attention of a recruiter.

Answering questions like:
- What are my skills and interests?
- In what field do I want to specialise?
- What qualifications do I need to progress in this field?

will enable you can draw up a career plan and hence build a CV which will get you started on your chosen career path.

THE CHALLENGES
Among the CVs I reviewed, I remember replying the sender of a CV to get him to tell me what his career path was. Looking at his CV, you could hardly tell the industry he was interested in pitching his career tent. From his CV, I could single out almost equal interests in Finance, IT and Engineering.
He informed me that although he had a specific career path, the challenges of the employment market in Nigeria had thrown him to different paths. I wasn't motivated to work on this CV because it didn't have a path, it lacked a story, it lacked a focus.

Question: Will you get the opportunity to explain to a recruiter (probably going through thousands of CVs) that your CV has a clash of career paths because of the job market? Probably not.


What is your Career Path? What is your focus?

I wish to commend you on this service offering to the people. Well done.

However, I also wish to observe that many of your suggestions so far, though been very helpful, seem to neglect some realities. An example is on the issue of Career Path. Yes, it is important for CVs to tell the recruiter a story and not just any story but the story the recruiter wants to hear. The reality that seem missing here is that your suggestions fit the ideal situation i.e where the economic, political and social system work in the manner that they should- something similar to the developed Western/European economies. Don't get me wrong, some of your ideals do work in emerging markets like Africa as well but the Nigerian situation is very unique.

Many graduates out there have aspirations and career goals (some obviously struggle) but just don't have the opportunity to express them. Unfortunately, the CV which could serve such purpose seem to be increasingly confused and near to being irrelevant in Nigeria. Have you asked yourself how many graduates in Nigeria REALLY have the choice to choose or decline job offers? Many will thank their stars for getting just one! One could decide to turn down job offers or refuse applying for particular jobs simply because it does not align with their career path if there are ALTERNATIVES. But are there any alternatives in this country (except may be the individual is 'silver-spooned')?

Again, how many graduates today know much about Career Counseling (probably the younger generation of graduates might do but not the whole lot)? Access to counseling at the university level might have helped the present unemployed market situation but again, the Nigerian educational system failed in this area.So what hope do people thrown into different career path do? What encouraging advise do you have for them? May be that will be the best way to start.

On a more personal note, I do believe that to some extent we are masters of our destinies and to some extent we are not. Speaking from the former perspective, I meant we are responsible for the decisions we make and we don't make but also there is the activity of the divine hand (God's Providence). Such providence, most often, comes with grace and favour that disregards your past to give you a brighter future. Some graduates will confirm to you that they have gotten jobs that was not really based on the smartness of their CVs.  You do not have to accept this view but if you do I think it is important to spell it out. Doing this will not make less of your campaign for an excellent CV but rather to complement it and job seekers should know better.

Again, I say that you are doing an excellent job but may be a balanced perspective can be reflected in your suggestions to give hope and encouragement to those whose career path/growth have been badly affected by the Nigeria core unique elements. I am sure that there are many out there, may be you can confirm that yourself from all the CVs you have received so far.

God bless

I personally bear witness to the prophecy sent to me from a brother in the Lord but would encourage all to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit for themselves. Apologies that this is a long post so please take time to read if you have to.

To add a bit to it, my confirmation is predicated on the experience I had some 2-3 weeks ago. For the first time, I felt a strong sense of hopelessness and burdened for Nigeria. I have always been an optimist and one who would always encourage people to think positively about the Nigerian situation but this time around, I felt something just wasn't right. Suddenly, the popular Scripture came to mind: 2 Chronicles 7:14

"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land". (NIV)

I then found myself thinking aloud and said " Lord, people have prayed and still praying but there seem to be no deliverance in sight for this nation" and the my attention was drawn to the first part of the above reference: "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways and then then I felt Holy Spirit asked: 'Who are my people'? and I said 'the Church, the Redeemed of the Lord' and God said:

"True. I am not depending on the unbelievers to bring about deliverance to this nation because they are not mine (from the context of the above scripture). The deliverance of Nigeria lies in the hands of the true Christians. Prayers have saturated the heavens but no repentance from evil ways. It is like putting the cart before the horse and there will be no result. Let all who are called by my name REPENT- especially those in public offices and private employers of labour. Let all who proclaim Christ depart from iniquity, let the intercessory ministry be purged through repentance then will prayers be acceptable to me and I will HEAL the land"

Having pondered on this, I realised that much emphasis in our Churches has been for people to pray with little on the subject of Repentance. This is not bad in itself but it is grossly inadequate to bring about the much needed change in Nigeria. Most of the time, the few times that repentance is preached from the pulpit is when it is directed at to those who want to be saved and to 'make' Heaven. More than ever before, ministers of the gospels now need to push the message of repentance from the pulpit, directed at public servants, private employer of labour and individuals in the congregation.

If we don't do this, this great nation is DOOMED. PLEASE discern the voice of the LORD, REPENT if you need to as a Christian, encourage others to do so and pass on this prophecies.

Happy new year and God bless, READ ON,

From: 'Segun Olumoroti <watersprings777@gmail.com>
Date: 31 December 2011 21:25:14 GMT
To: Kingdomword Administrator <Sonship@kingdomword.net>
Subject: PRAY FOR NIGERIA !!!
Beloved Brethren,

Early in September 2011, while fasting and praying for the national prayer retreat of The Preacher scheduled for later that month, the word of the Lord came to me, “Pray against the Spirit of Sudan.” South Sudan had become independent from the oppressive Islamic north only a few weeks earlier, on July 9. I understood the word to mean that the Satanic principality that had sponsored Sudan’s very oppressive anti-Christ Islamic regime, and sustained twenty cruel years of a most ravaging civil war between the Christian south and the Islamized north, having lost that territory, was seeking another abode, in Nigeria. I took it as a personal prayer point even though, later, I had to send out sms’s to a few friends.

The message as I understood it seemed well explained by Luke 11:24-26, especially the first half of verse 24:
24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man[a territory, Sudan], he walketh through dry places, seeking rest ; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

This reminds me so much of the Kenyan experience decades ago, when a group of intercessors in a teacher training school suddenly had a vision of furious red horses galloping towards their country. Intercepted by timey prayers, however, the horses diverted from the border of Kenya into Somalia next door. Somalia has not been a normal country ever since, with little rest from wave after wave of Islamic insurgencies.

In September 9-11, 2011, there was the retreat of The Preacher in the Middle Belt city of Jos, Nigeria. In the process of the prayer vigil on the second night of that retreat, a sister with remarkable prophetic gifts raised a prayer concern about Nigeria. She used the same words to describe her burden as she called us all to pray against “the spirit of Sudan.” I was frightened. It was no mere coincidence. I realized at once that God had confirmed His word in the mouth of a second witness. Anyone who has gone through the horrors of one civil war will never wish to experience another. Ask them in Liberia, Sierra Leon, Libya, and ask the elders in eastern Nigeria who suffered the Biafran war.

Four days before Christmas, we posted the online message, “When Feasting is Unpardonable Sin ,” warning that in this season of Christmas festivity and the threats of Islamic jihads in Nigeria, it might not be permitted for everyone to enjoy a feast when the land mourns. Yesterday was Christmas, but it was not to be for everybody. I had been fasting for many days, and could not but go on fasting. St. Theresa Catholic Church at Madalla, on the outskirts of Abuja the capital city of Nigeria, was suicide bombed at the close of Christmas service as worshippers were queuing to leave. Over 40 deaths have been reported, besides several injured and inestimable property damaged. What jolted me was the Yahoo News on the tragedy: “Boko Haram is trying to ignite a sectarian civil war in a country split evenly between Christians and Muslims”http://news.yahoo.com/islamists-kill-dozens-nigeria-christmas-bombs-081417359.html It sounded so much to me like the word of the Lord about the agenda of the Spirit of Sudan. Could that be a third witness from the mouth of a prophetic internet donkey?

What further bothered me in that news were the remarks attributed to Muhammadu Buhari, who had also contested at the last presidential polls. In the opinion of that retired army general and former head of state, these assaults are a pointer to the failure of the present government of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, a man who has been under the severe assaults of high level sorcery and political snares; such manipulations and sorceries that it takes more than a Sunday school T-shirt to bullet proof.

As we relish, on one hand, the lofty condemnations of the premeditated brutalities of Boko Haram, we, on the other hand, share the worry of Jesus in Luke 11:17, about the paradox of a house divided against itself. Oh, that Prophet Daniel could come down and read us these glittering handwritings on the wall!
About a year ago, a retired army General who, like Buhari, is a northern Muslim and former military ruler of the nation, threatened tacitly in the papers that there could be a civil war attributable to Dr. Jonathan if he did not ‘gentlemanly’ abdicate his presidential ambitions to the ‘north,’ all of whose prominent candidates were Muslims.

Some hundreds of years ago, Egypt was a very Christian territory, as also was Libya and the rest of northern Africa. Today, the story is pathetically different. Ephesus, where Paul once preached, which had the first of the seven churches to which Jesus sent special letters, it is said, does not have a church anymore. Its candle has gone out, as Jesus had warned in Revelation 2:5. Islam has taken over that city, and others like it.

May our children not rise up in the next fifty years to curse us fathers and mothers whose knees were too stiff to bend, whose lazy brains and fearful hands knew nothing to do while the spiritual topography changed against their tender future. As a Bishop recently feared and warned, may they not have to spit on our graves someday, that while we pursued our insatiable greed and stuffed our protruding bellies with stolen wine, we wasted our political privileges in the houses of parliament and the other corridors of economic and political power, shamefully unlike another woman centuries ago who in similar circumstances swore, “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

Jos, a city whose name is said to have been derived from the acronym, “Jesus Our Saviour,” which used to be the paradise of many missionary agencies in Nigeria, is now like ancient Berlin with an invisible wall marking the risky boundary between the Muslim north and the Christian south of the city. The city has already conceded some precious grounds to the threatening advance of Islam. Port Harcourt and Lagos are not too south from the ‘northern’ threats. America is not as far away anymore; not farther away now than next door. South Africa and Kenya and Britain are already marked for their own seasons. Ghana and Zambia are stirring. France seems almost like a helpless captive. The list is long. Every place is under watch. It is a global threat, “while MEN slept” (Matthew 13:25). Feeble women and little children may sleep, but when adult men also sleep in some seasons, things go wrong.

There are notable parallels between the two nations of Nigeria and what used to be Sudan. Today, Nigeria is reckoned as the foremost evangelized and evangelistic nation in Africa, a missionaries-sending nation next only to USA in the world. In the 1950s and earlier, the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM) similarly sent missionaries, and especially evangelized the northern parts of Nigeria. Sudan had a dominantly Christian south and an Islamized north. So does Nigeria. Both territories boast a large land mass. Sudan had and still has a species of Islam that is fundamentally fanatical and very intolerant of any other faith, like the Boko Haramians of northern Nigeria. Sudan used the means of politics, governance, and violence (in fact, wars) to pursue its agenda of enforcing sharia over the entire country. The tools have been no different with those who have been invoking the spirit of Sudan into Nigeria. The sounds of ‘Boko Haram’ are the sounds of that spirit already knocking at our door.

‘Boko Haram’ is a political mask. May God expose the masqueraders behind the mask. Boko Haram is a unilateral declaration of war awaiting escalation whenever ‘the other’ should have been provoked enough to reply. When a rooster struts out to challenge the sleeping neighbour next door to an early morning fight, check properly; its owner is behind it, waiting with a machete. The coordination, professionalism and sophistication of Boko Haram are not those of some ragtag terrorists or ‘militants.’ They have the intelligence and other backings of certain foreign governments, of notable foreign and local agencies, royal fathers, as well as serving and retired politicians. Until recently, when God exposed one of their moles among the members of parliament, who could have believed that those dissidents had such ‘noble’ membership and patronage? The general public will be shocked the day it learns about the size and skill of their army and the sophistication of their weaponry; but our prayer is that God may do again in Nigeria what He did to Pharaoh and his armies when He overthrew both horses and their riders in the sea (Exodus 15:1). Amen.

Last night, during my midnight prayers, the date “January 12” came to me as having been marked for a surprise attack in an unsuspecting location. I wish I can right away tell where, but it could be somewhere in one of the ‘safer’ southern cities. Watch and pray; pray with eyes open in this season.
Often, one hears the understandable remarks of aggrieved southern Nigerians, that the country should split, and “let them go their own way.” It is not so easy, for many reasons that this is not the place to explain. Besides, by such expressions, unawares, these make prayers in support of the very Spirit of Sudan.

Someday, soon, the mystery of the fifth seal shall speak from under the altar in Heaven, and there shall come “the great day” of the wrath of the lamb that sits on the throne. In that day, there shall be no hiding place in the dens and rocks and mountains “from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:14-17). May that day come soon, in Jesus name. Amen.
May the world join us now to contend against the Spirit of Sudan. We would rather have those prayers now than relief materials later for a war-torn people, should that wandering spirit somehow find abode here, aided by the bloody invocations of its armed priests that have already offered more than sufficient provocations.

If this stirs you, please, pass it on. If it does not, delete it. One will chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to flight (Deuteronomy 32:30). Amen.


--
JESUS IS LORD!
Your Brother - 'Segun Olumoroti www.kingdomword.net
[Tel.: +1(281) 859-0827(H); +1(832) 878-2627(M); Fax: +1(281) 674-4765]
", I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. , " Galatians 2:19-21

Sorry, moved post to E-Christian Fellowship thread. See thread number/page 18.

I only hope this not a sneaky IMF agenda against African(sub-Saharan) economies as they were fully responsible for pushing for removal of oil subsidy across all West African economies from 2012, hmmm, Ghana just did with their fuel now N184.

http://www.informationnigeria.org/2011/12/ghana-cuts-fuel-subsidies-fuel-now-184-naira-per-litre.html

Fhemmmy:
We are appreciative of your time on our thread . . . . While we as well appreciate your good comment of our service.
We take so much pride in what we sell and we yet remain so humble.
1.4M Naira is a lot of money, but surely wont get you more a 2003 Toyota Corolla CE model (Manual window)
But if you still want us to send you details of a 2009 LE or XLE, we wont mind to do such. . . . . Looking forward to doing business with you soon

Thanks, please kindly do me an email for the 2009 LE / XLE.

Happy New year!

Oga Phemmy, your reputation go before you! Seasons greetings.

Please can you give me an idea of the best bargain for Toyota Corrolla 2009 XLE and LE Automatic transmission (cost +landing) to Lagos. Not too comfortable with the hybrid model. my budget is N1.4 but not sure.

email- fesodola@yahoo.com

Thanks

Offcourse, I am not offering any guarantees but it could as well happen for you on this site!

iice:
[color=#9900ff]@Sammy.

I appreciate your comments too.
It was a pleasure really.  Atleast you didn't prove stereotypical with you responses lol.

I'm all for responsibility but how many people actually take responsibilities for their actions?   How many actually think for themselves?
Part of our responsibility is to point the problems in our society and try to encourage new growth.  [/color]

Thanks

kambili190:
@Sammy: I agree, we have a personal responsibility. We can't be blamed for the fact that the world is as it is but we can be blamed if we keep it up like that. Every day, when we wake up, we have a choice to do good or evil. everyone and everywhere.

God bless

kambili190:
Hello Sauer,

I am neither searching for another Nigerian nor rejecting any of them. I am simply not thinking of what nationality my next boyfriend should be. I will have my eyes wide open before I enter any other relationship in the future. From what I have learned, I can only say that I want a person with values, Christian values. And it is true that an atheist can have stronger values than a person who goes to church.

I agree with you when you say that we have a free will to some extent but not completely. That is true. However, if the system in Nigeria is so bad, what about the religious influence? I don't get that this does not hold some people back from doing evil. My boyfriend's house was decorated with pictures of Jesus. There was a Bible next to his bed which he read frequently. So how is it possible this "bad" system has so much influence but his religion doesn't? I don't understand how you can give in to bad but the positive aspect in your society, namley the strong belief in the Lord does not influence you?

Ohh, GOD bless your intellect!!!!! You have all figured out enough to be ready for a solid relationship and God will make it happen for you in His time. I am happy to read this perspective.

God bless

sauer:
You are making the same point Sammy's making, and am tempted to say "is this because you both believe in freewill?" I find nothing wrong there though. To say the truth, every human is to an extent in possession of the will to decide exactly what to do in every situation. But note, only to an extent. To the other extent, his decisions are influenced by his society of birth and where he lives. Okay then, my advice to you: do not reject any Nigerian who comes your way again, but when you find that he is being more influenced by his society of birth, than by his capacity to make individual decisions, RUN! RUN! RUN!!. When you find though, that he appears in full possession and use of his potential to make individual choices. . . .and he does this well, then STAY! STAY!! STAY!!

Best Wishes

Find that really hilarious!!!

Sauer and iice, I rest my case with you guys with the my last submission, is Sauer doing a law degree or something?

I agree that a system is very powerful with the seemingly unresistable pressure for wealth and other grievous temptations. We can as well attribute the law of cause and effect to some problems peculiar to the Nigerian system. You have mentioned all of these and they are correct. In terms of moral decadence it is not getting any better in the world as a whole. However, it takes having the Spirit of God in-dwelling the life of someone to fight and overcome a system and that is why Jesus said 'you live in the world but not of the world'. This gift of God is freely available for those who believe in Jesus Christ and at the end of the day neither God nor system will be blamed if they reject the offer of this gift that could increasingly make one a better person in a corrupt world.


Now if you do not share my religious views, its fine but that is my position. But if you do, look at this way: when we are done on this earth and called to account for how we lived our lives, do you think the GREAT judge (God) will take systems into consideration no matter how ingrained they might have been to influence our actions and decisions? I think not. Rather we will be judged on the basis of the His word and if we received the gift He extended to us or not. Simply meaning  that at what point do we take responsibility for our actions without pointing to the system?

Having said this, I appreciate your comments and iice's

God bless

kambili190:
Dear Ivynwa,

I am happy to have met you here. You are a very friendly person and you say the right things.
I don't agree when people claim that Nigerians are all bad. They are so many of them and indeed people are different. This applies to every person. Of course, people are products of their families and the societies they were brought up but god has given us hearts and brains so we are all capable of making choices. A system is an explanation but not an excuse. And asthe Bible says, a rotten tree will bring about rotten fruits but a good tree can bring nothing but good fruit.

I am happy you understood the point of my argument with Sauer, from the highlighted in your post, System is an explanation but not good enough for an excuse.  As you keep your heart open, God will make His plan come through for you.

Wishing you a pleasant New Year.

sauer:
^^I understand your argument and I'm not being stereotypical. I think it's simply denial to think otherwise in this instance and in many more. One should not be considered stereotypical when one argues that different peoples have different mannerisms. Considered philosophically, it's only a result of collective consciousness. I am not going to argue that Nigerians are bad or are a evil people. My argument simply rests on the fact that the Nigerian society, as it is at the moment, has rendered Nigerians very different. In the same way, the British, American or Finnish society could have rendered its citizens quite different from every other. It's the societal content we are talking about here.

Forget what "a handful of Nigerians" means. . .it might as well be literary. Never bother about those in diaspora, cos then arguments may be raised about how many actually qualify as sufficiently integrated into their adopted societies. Anthropologists & sociologists have always made us know that societies are living entities and affect individuals as much as body chemistry does. Basing my arguments on this, I do not suppose that am wrong by claiming that the not-so-accommodating situations in Nigeria have changed Nigerians considerably and probably rendered them less filled with positive morals or universal values. Hence, the op's observation that the boyfriend's sister seemingly found nothing wrong in the illegal dealings of her brother. Are we not familiar with such many instances of this in Nigeria?

We do not have to like it. It's a fact. The Nigerian society has changed Nigerians considerably, albeit profoundly badly. . . .we can only look to it to effect a reversal, if at all. In many cases, individuals have no "individual" choices, as they must rely on society to live or survive. No wonder many are in the race for money in Nigeria's incredibly materialistic society. I am Nigerian and have no apologies for this. Staying in denial has no way of helping others. Affirming our suspicions goes a longer way in rescuing us from the jaws of corruption.

iice:
[color=#9900ff]Sauer is mostly right. [/color]

I do not disagree that the Nigerian leadership system has shaped a lot of the negative values that we have today in the society but refuse to believe or blame the Nigerian system, for example, for my wrong actions or decisions. Therefore , it is not an issue of denial as you claimed. In a similar vain, this guy's infidelity and corrupt conduct to an innocent lady should not be blamed or excused by the Nigerian system. He is personally responsible for the values he has chosen to live by and should be personally held liable, and this is my argument. Yes, we are shaped by our environment to an extent, though may be true in some cases, should not be an absolute. If it is, then we all have no personal consciousness of the right and wrong and should therefore blame people and systems for our wrong conduct and decisions. We know that in the real world this is often not the case.

In summary, I believe that this guy's action stemmed from his own personal value system, even though being a Nigerian but lived considerably in a non-Nigerian society (from this case). Should we now say he is a product of the Nigerian system (blaming his actions on the Nigerian mannerism) simply because he is a Nigerian or a product of the German system because he has lived considerably in Germany? Where do we draw the line? The argument could go on and on and that's why it does not matter your nationality or where you have lived but a matter of personal values which could be informed by a combination of both or non .eg some predicate their values purely on religious dictates.

In any case, it was quite interesting having this deep debate and appreciate your time in doing this. I wish the lad God's speed and hope 2012 will fulfil her expectations.

Happy New Year in advance.

sauer:
Hello Kamibili,

I hope your name's from Adichie's book, cos that'd explain your seeming love for the country. Anwyayz, I must reveal to you different peoples look at life differently. Germans examine life quite a lot differently from Nigerians. Many of your observations cannot simply be put down to how "humans" behave. While "humans" apparently have universally bad behaviours to an extent, Nigerians have their own specific mannerisms.
I find it difficult to believe you'd get the best of advice on here, since it's only natural for Nigerians to defend themselves. However, it must be said that your Nigerian boyfriend might not have behaved all too differently from how Nigerians generally do.

Your innocence cheated you. Innocence is not exactly the thing you want to communicate when engaged with a handful of Nigerians. Times have rendered them tough, and only a tough lady can prove to be a good partner.

Take heart and move on. Damn the guy! He was only being Nigerian!

Sauer

Please refer to the highlighted from your quotes.

I understand and appreciate your effort to strike a balance in your argument but it ends up being stereotypical in my opinion, when trying to understand your definitions and context of quotes like 'Nigerian mannerisims', 'only natural for Nigerians to defend themselves', 'handful of Nigerians'. For example how much is an 'handfu'l considering the current population of 150-165 million population? How many from this population are in diaspora to qualify for your term?

My point is this: As our fingerprints are different so is our attitude and values as humans. Yes, we may be affected one way or the other by society and systems but every human is responsible for the core values they develop and live by. I completely find it unpleasant and inappropriate to refer to a people or generalise when dealing with an isolated situation. Even when we unconsciously/consciously think stereotypical thoughts in our minds, I think it may be better to keep it ourselves rather than spill it out in this manner.

, and yes, interracial marriages do work, like any other racial marriages. I have friends too who are doing well married interracially.

The same factor that is required to succeed in both marriages are the same but it is sad that our generation is fast loosing the basics and chasing shadows. The fear of God is fast disappearing and instead complicating the foundation they should be laying for a successful marital life.

kambili190:
Hello Sammy,

thank you ver much for this post. I have never said Nigerian people are like that. I am not a racist. And as I am a foreigner in Germany, I know what it feels like to be discriminated against. Yes, it happens to white persons too.

I am happy to hear that an interracial marriage can work. I wish you and your wife the best! And thank you for your advice.

Best
Kambili

Thanks.

I am not indicating any racist slurs. It is far from my mind and orientation but rather encouraging you to be open to the Lord, you may be surprised that the next man on your way may be a Nigerian! This was exactly my spouse's experience before we met. God will give you a man that deserves you in due time. Just keep hope and faith alive in Him.

God bless

Thanks for your post and glad to hear you trying to move on, but you just have to LET GO. Forgive him and move on, he is history. The earlier you accept that the better. There is  and should be nothing to talk about!

kambili190:
Dear All,

I would be very greateful for a friendly conversation helping me to understand my story.

I am 28 years old and I live in Germany. My family immigrated here many years ago but I was born elsewhere in Europe and spent most of my childhood outside Germany.

Three years ago, I met a Nigerian man. For me it was the first African guy I have ever dated and been together with. We met, dated and fell in love. He was very good to me and I was very happy. I felt we had a very good relationship, caring for each other and spending wonderful time together. Though he was African and I was European I felt like we had more in commen than I ever had before with a European guy. One of the things I so appreciated in this relationship was the fact that he would go to church with me. I am a very religious person and I love God very much but in Germany you will have a hard time finding someone in my generation going to church on a regular basis. My Nigerian boyfriend was happy to find a European woman who would do as he was taught back home. He was greatful since in Germany he stopped going to church every Sunday like most people here.

However, things started changing too soon ,  I discovered that he lied about his job. This was a shock. I discovered he would get his money by doing illegal business. Naiv as I was I believed he / we could change it. BEing at the end of my studies and having very good job prospects, I said that my new job and an ordinary job that he would do (without eduacation) would still bring us enough money. Now I am laughing at myself ,  my Nigerian boyfriend would never accept the fact that his woman earns more than he.

What I discovered next was also disturbing.  his sister visited us in Germany. His sister was well known to me ,  from the stories he told me. She was in her mid 30s, not married bus successful and rich. She flew first class and laughed at my student's salary. She had a lot of money but asked for money everyday. She spent so much money on cloths in a week, that I maybe soend in half a  year. So far so good, for me it still was not about the money. It was about this: I discovered that she knew about the business her brother was doing at this time. She knew what danger he was in. She knew (as a Christian and regular churchgoer who sits in the first row) that what he did was highly immoral. And I have ever since been wondering, what kind of sister would risk her own brother’s life if she didn’t have to? Maybe one of you can help me to enlighten me on this point because I simply don’t understand. I also have a younger brother and I desire to give him what I have and avoid anything that could make his life harder.

So this thing has always been an issue and we discussed it over and over again. He had plans and good intentions, so did I ….

The second incident in this relationship that affected me negatively was when he told me that he had a second child. I knew about his first child, a son of a German woman. The boy would spend time with us regularly. I still love his son very much. The child is a good child and I feel pity his father does not live with him under the same roof. His parents have never been married but they wanted this child. When I met my boyfriend they were not a couple anymore. They broke up two years before. His second child was with a woman from Congo who lives in Germany. He said he didn’t want this child ( a girl), he only had an affair with the girl from Congo and that she did it on purpose, to set him a trap. I didn’t know how to come to terms with the fact that he left back two broken families but I neither wanted to accuse him. I was confused. On the one hand, I had this wonderful, caring, affectionate boyfriend who would go to church with me, pray with me, share EVERYTHING with me but on the other hand he was someone who did things I couldn’t come to terms with.

I was old enough to know that you can’t change a person and I couldn’t stop loving him. He was my home. I wanted to be his. I started to feel unhappy. I showed it, even when I tried to keep it to myself. I was aggressive sometimes. I was criticizing him every often. He took some distance, became increasingly reserved, showed me less affection. I understand it now. But back then I was bleeding. I felt so down, I questioned my abilities, my personality, my beauty, my worth ….

One day, a phone call …. Someone tells me that he has another girlfriend, he has had her for some months now. She knows all about me, I don’t know about her. She is African but not Nigerian. I ask him, he confesses. On the phone … My world is trembling … I suffer … I pray to God to carry me. I have given my heart away and so much more (yes, this silly concept of romantic love, I wish I would be more pragmatic) and I fell that he betrayed me. Just a few weeks ago, I asked him (I had this feeling) if he is cheating on me. He replies (looking deeply into my eyes): I swear on my MOTHER and my SON that I am not cheating on you. I was convinced nobody would swear on his MOTHER or CHILD unless maybe his life is in danger.

This is by far one of the biggest disappointments in my life. I didn’t believe he was flawless, nobody is. And those without guilt, throw the first stone … but I decided to love this man as much as I can and he turned out to be a stranger. The man I loved die when I discovered what he is able to, namely to swear on a child.

The story does not end here but I am so curious about what you people will reply. And maybe some day I will have the opportunity to tell you how it all ended. Hopefully finally … ended.

Best
Kambili

I will not be in position to judge but would strongly recommend that you WALK away while you can! Religion should not confused with Christianity. Many are religious today but lack the character/fruit of a true Christian. It has nothing to do with either being a Nigerian or not, I mean its not a cultural issue.