₦airaland Forum

The look on Former Governor Sam Egwu's face got people talking.

By Israel Usulor

Nigeria is a funny country, the clearest epitomistion of a Shakespearean stage in which day in day out, the leaders and the led act-out varying dramatic scripts that leave sideline watchers dazed. It is often said that Nigeria is a heaven for artistes who seek fresh ideas, for, there is always something new to write about, talk about or to convert into a block boaster Nollywood movie. With Nigeria, it is always “no dull moments”

So last week, the war between the Kaduna state Government and its “unqualified” teachers continued or as some say, reached its peak. In case you missed it, let me refresh your mind:

The Kaduna State Government led by Governor Nasir El-Rufai had in its wisdom conducted a competency test to test the ability of primary school teachers in the state. This apparently was in response to the abysmal level of education in the state. The questions administered on the teachers, words have it, were those of primary four pupils. The outcome proved just shocking as a whopping 22000 of the teachers failed to score 75% despite the ridiculously cheap questions. In fact, some of the questions papers released so far shows that the “brainless” teachers struggled to write the full name of the governor of the state. Governor Nasir El-Rufai has therefore vowed to give the teachers the short end of the stick by showing them the exit door. Already, the state government said applications for the new 25000 teachers have started rolling in despite stiff opposition from teachers in the state who has threatened a total showdown.

While one understands the plight of Governor El-Rufai, as expressed in his avowed decision to butt out the “teachers”, I cannot but raise some questions already thrown up by the saga. It became necessary to raise these questions given that Nigerians in their nature are already treating this mess as a “Kaduna case”. Treating the incident in Kaduna as an isolated one would ensure that we would never ask the necessary questions which could help sanitise the education sector.

One, how on earth did these 22000 “teachers”, who are in no way better than their students find their way into the teaching service? Was there a proper employment process? In whose administration were they engaged and how? If they were properly tested, interviewed and employed, how did their incompetence escape the watchful eyes of those who were in charge of the recruitment process? Or, were they engaged through cronyism, in which people of questionable academic backgrounds get enlisted into the civil service simple because they know someone at the top? The Kaduna state government must go beyond sacking these “teachers” and investigate the process that threw them into the teaching service.

Two, sacking the teachers might appear a progressive idea, but is that the best? Is the Kaduna state government comfortable with the idea that it is going to throw 22000 of its citizens into the tempestuous Nigerian labour market? One is of the opinion that there could be a political solution to the debacle. After all, Nigerian politicians are particularly good in finding political solutions. Why not initiate a retraining programm for the “teachers”? Not only are Nigerian teachers not cared for, there are no retraining programmes for them, and most of them never refresh their brain after many years of leaving school. They are attuned to the daily routine of using outdated methods, textbooks, and working in an outdated system. In a country where teachers barely feed well, where salary is a luxury, where teachers are never supported to go for refresher courses, why should anyone lay the blame solely on the teachers?

As I already pointed out, the Kaduna mess is not an isolated case, it is a national issue. The education sector is in shambles and the government cares less. And then let us not mistake the proposed sack of the teachers as the solution to more serious issues bedeviling the education sector. It is not!

News just coming in indicates that the Kogi state government has sent a delegation led by its Commisioner for Education, Hon. J.S Tolorunleke to understudy the Kaduna Competency Test with a view to replicating same in Kogi. Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai shared the news on his twitter handle @GovKaduna. It could be recalled that Kaduna state had conducted the said test on its teachers. More than 20000 of the teachers failed woefully. The government has vowed to show the teachers the exit door. See the tweet below.


"FLASH: Kogi State Government’s delegation led by the Commissioner for Education, Hon. J.S Tolorunleke are in Kaduna to understudy the competency test conducted for primary school teachers in public schools so as to replicate the same in Kogi State"

Common sense Senator, Ben Bruce shared the photo below on his twitter handle.

There are stories you hear and your ears get to tingle like a door bell. You want to pinch yourself just to be sure you are still alive. Some stories are too shocking to be true. This is the type of story narrated to The Journalist Blog by Chizoba Francess, a victim of acid birth. Surprisingly, Chizzy, as she is fondly called, was attacked with raw acid by someone from her family. Chizzy’s is a story of miraculous survival. She has not only survived, but has gone ahead to bag degree in Biochemistry from the Anambra State University, Uli. But what really happened to Chizzy? Why would her uncle’s wife attack her with acid?
“It was family problems” Chizzy told this blog. “My father is the first son. And in their reasoning, they thought he wanted to take everything. So they planned to take away his only son” she said.
2004 was the year and the location was Awka Road Onitsha and the time was 4:00 am. Nine-year-old Chizzy was fast asleep, enjoying the early morning sleep made good by the cool breeze of the River Niger sauntering into their room. She was dreaming of how to celebrate her birthday which was 3-days away. She didn’t know she would spend not just her birthday in hospital, but another 18 months.
That fateful morning, her uncle’s wife, identified as Ebele had sneaked into the room with a container of raw acid and spilled the dangerous chemical on her face. The chemical took it from there, “Shredding the mattress on which I was sleeping” she said.
The chemical nearly destroyed her life hence her survival has been tagged a miracle.
Narrating the shocking story to The Journalist Blog, Chizzy said the original target of the attack was her brother, David. She said Ebele mistook her for David, hence the acid landed on her.

Read the rest of the story @ [https://jonalistsblog..com.ng/2017/11/acid-bath-victim-opens-up-to-journalist.html][https://jonalistsblog..com.ng/2017/11/acid-bath-victim-opens-up-to-journalist.html]

By Israel Usulor

Heartbreak hurts like hell! It hurts like a slash of a sharp sword! The pain of heartbreak bites like the sting of scorpion and tears through your heart like the sharp end of a poisoned arrow. The pain is real! I mean so real you could touch it with your fingers. You feel betrayed, cheated, rejected and dumped. Many people who have gone through heartbreak never wish to experience it twice.
Dealing with heartbreak can be challenging especially when it involves a serious relationship or when you are dumped by a trusted partner with whom you have spent some lovely time. Whether you are the dumped or you dumped someone, dealing with it can be a challenging task. I dare say that if not well handled, heartbreak can send you into serious coma and depression or even alter the course of your life. Yes! It’s that serious. Heartbreak can ruin a life! But it can be perfectly handled such that the person comes out stronger, wiser and better. Are you going through heartbreak or recently came out of one? If yes, this write-up is for you!
1. Accept it and move on: The first step towards recovering from heartbreak is to accept that your heart has been broken and that the relationship has ended. Accept it as a reality you cannot change. It is only when you accept that the both of you are no longer together that you would be able to make the necessary mental shift required for permanent healing.
2. Re-wire your brain: To recover from heartbreak, you need to make a serious mental shift. Our brain works like machine. It can be re-wired to face a new direction. You have to move your brain away from you past relationship and focus on building your life. Focus on the future and potentials you have. Take good care of yourself and look good. Don’t look unkempt and make sure you eat well. Encourage yourself and make your brain to understand that it is not the end of life.
3. Give yourself some space to mourn: I want to say that one of the most difficult things in life is losing a loved one. It is particularly difficult to say good bye to someone with whom you have shared everything. You have sacrificed time, money, energy, and creativity for the relationship and at the end, you get dumped or you have to go because it didn’t work out. You feel sapped and drained. To deal with this feeling, you have to take out time and mourn. You have lost something valuable and dear to you. Don’t stop yourself from crying if you wish to. Express your grief and let it out. Suppressing it would worsen your situation.
4. Reflect on what really went wrong: There is always a reason for a breakup. What really went wrong in your relationship? Was it your fault or that of your partner? Be frank to yourself. Open up to yourself. If it was your fault, accept it and forgive yourself. Every heartbreak makes you a better person, and this an opportunity for you to be a better in your next relationship. If it was your fault, what attitudinal changes are you willing to make so as not to lose your next partner?
5. Maintain a reasonable distance for your ex: For your broken heart to begin the process of healing, you have to maintain a reasonable distance from you ex. Avoid all possible contacts since this will make you relapse to the past and depression. Let your ex know that you need time to recover and that you may not be able to answer calls, return texts messages, e-mails or return calls as usual. You must also keep off social media and don’t fall into the temptation of constantly checking the social media contacts of your ex. Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and any other place you see your ex, is a threat to your recovery.
6. Get rid of things that remind you of your ex: There may be things in your life that point directly to your ex. For instance, birthday gifts like phones, jewelries, clothes, handbags, and even apartment, if both of you stayed together should be replaced. Don’t throw them away. You will need them later when your heart calms down.
7. Don’t go into another relationship yet: Most times people are tempted to start another relationship immediately one ends. Some use this to heal, others just want to show the ex that “there are many fish” in the river. Well, it’s fine if it works for them. But the most ideal thing to do is to stay out relationship for a while. This helps you to re-position your heart and mind for something new. You have to properly digest the lessons learnt from your previous attempt.
8. Make new friends but not commitment: heartbreak must not make you a recluse! Go out and hang-out with friends. Make new friends from both sexes. Don’t hate the opposite sex. However, hesitate to make new emotional commitments since your heart may still be colored by your previous experience which will in turn affect your judgments of what you really want from a relationship.
9. Don’t hate your ex: Yes, this may appear tricky, but it’s necessary for you to heal and heal well. Some bitter hearts go as far as wishing planning attacks or even wishing their ex death. This is not proper. Hating your ex will do you no good. On the short run it helps you to “revenge” at the early stage of your heartbreak. But as days and weeks pass, expunge hatred from your heart. Hatred is a poison and it gradually eats you up even if you have moved on. To truly move on, you have to let go and forgive your ex. This will bring you true healing.
10. Finally, when you are ready, fall in love again. Don’t be afraid, or allow your past to affect your new life. Now, you have learnt some lessons from your heartbreak and also knows what you want from a relationship. You are in a position to become a better lover. Go ahead and catch fun with a new date.

The raging war between the Kaduna state government and the teachers that failed its recently conducted competency test seems far from over as Gov El-Rufai today released some question papers of the competency test on twitter. As can be seen below, the questions were ridiculously cheap, and the teachers failed woefully, prompting the government to weld the big stick. See some of the questions below.

The raging war between the Kaduna state government and the teachers that failed its recently conducted competency test seems far from over as Gov El-Rufai today released some question papers of the competency test on twitter. As can be seen below, the questions were ridiculously cheap, and the teachers failed woefully, prompting the government to weld the big stick. See some of the questions below.

By Reno Omokri


The recent todo on the issue of tithing which was sparked up by popular On Air Personality, Daddy Freeze, is actually a sad reflection of the state of Christianity in Nigeria specifically and the Black world in general.


Why? Because it proves that it is still true that if you want to hide anything from a Black man all you need to do is to put it in a book!


If all those who have opined about this matter had cared to read about what The Holy Bible says about tithing, I am convinced that it would not have led to as big a controversy as it is today.


So many people have spoken for and against tithing and the thing that bothers me most about their interventions is that it references their pastor, a certain sermon, their opinion or something they have heard.


As a matter of fact, somebody commented that if only I read a certain book by David Yongi Cho, I would know that he (the commenter) was right in his opinion on tithing.


On the issue of tithing as well as on any other ecclesiastical issue, there is only one reference point and that is The Bible.


2nd Timothy 3:16 says:


All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for DOCTRINE, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (KJV)


This pretty much covers it. Any controversy about tithing must be settled by The Bible.


The truth is that tithing as presently practice by many churches, especially the so called Pentecostal or Evangelical churches, is unscriptural.


Take away tithing and the attraction and motivation to be the founder and president of an 'international ministry' would disappear.


The Bible actually warned us of such times as this in 1 Timothy 6:5-6.


Constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. (NIV)


The truth is that tithing is an age old AGRICULTURAL practice that predated even Abraham and Moses. Ancient communities, including African communities, set aside a certain potion of their harvest (usually a tenth) and sacrificed it to their gods through his priests.


Now the tithing that Moses taught about was instituted by the living God because the Levitical priests were not given a portion of the land of Canaan as an inheritance and aa a result they were to be supported by their fellow brethren.


Numbers 18:20-21 says:


The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.“ I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting. (NIV)


From the above it is clear that the tithes were specifically gifted by God to the Levites.


You will never find anywhere in Scripture were God, His Son Jesus or the early apostles and disciples asked the New Testament church to pay tithes to pastors.


Pastors do not replace Levites. In the New Testament, pastors worked and earned a living. They were not dependent on the church and the following verse proves it.


I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive."-Acts 20:33-35. (NIV).


The above was a farewell message from Paul who had pastored a church in Ephesus. I have been to Ephesus. I have been to the market where Paul had his tent making business.


Neither Jesus, nor Paul nor any of the fathers of the early church collected any tithes from their congregation because they were not Levites who were prevented from doing any type of work other than temple service.


Rather than tithing, the book of Acts teaches us in Acts 2:44-45 that the early Christians lived a communal life and shared EVERYTHING they had.


All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.


Too often, pastors try to manipulate their congregation by quoting Malachi 3:8-10


“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole NATION—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. (NIV)


I want my readers to note the words 'NATION' in the Scripture above. Scripture must be used to unlock Scripture.


The above Scripture was directed to the NATION of Israel. This is clear from Malachi 3:6


"I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed" (NIV)


The reason God said the Israelites were robbing Him is because, as I have proved above with Scripture, on their way to the promised land, God made a deal with them that He would not give the Levites a share of the land of Canaan so that they could focus on Him and the work of the Temple.


In return the rest of the Israelites were to give God the tithes of their agricultural produce from the land He gave them and God in turn gave His tithes to the Levitical priesthood.


It is funny that pastors who insist that Malachi's verses on tithing must apply to them do not insist that other Old Testament provisions should also apply to them.


Deuteronomy 21:18-21 commanded the ancient Israelites to stone their stubborn children to death. Are tithe receiving pastors then prepared to stone their own stubborn children to death because of that Biblical verse?


Quoting an Old Testament verse to justify a New Testament life may appear hypocritical especially as Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith and His early disciples did not preach about tithing. Jesus talked about tithing only in passing while condemning the Pharisees. Pay your tithe if your conscience allows it, but don't use Malachi to justify it.


In the final analysis, I am not saying pay or don't pay tithes. I am just presenting the facts as an ordained pastor.


In fact, when the Pharisees insisted that the first Gentile converts to Christianity must be circumcised and keep the Mosaic Law, including tithing, the Council in Jerusalem overruled them and in Acts 15:19-20 gave only four commandments to the new Gentile believers and tithing was NOT one of those commandments.


Jesus mentioned tithe once (in passing when admonishing the Pharisees) but He preached salvation over 100 times.


Let our message in the church focus on Salvation not tithe! Abraham tithed. But He did not tithe to be blessed or that the devourer would be rebuked.


In fact, the tithing that Abraham tithes was completely different from the tithing God commanded the Israelites to do.


Abraham tithed from the goods he reclaimed from the kings he fought against. He did not tithe agricultural goods.


Are those pastors who insist on collecting monetary tithes aware that money existed during the times of the ancient Israelites, yet God never told them to pay monetary tithes. He only requested for AGRICULTURAL tithes so the Levites who had no farms could eat.


As a matter of fact, God told those Israelites who lived far away from the Temple not to even bother paying their agricultural tithes but to convert it to money and spend it on themselves.


We see this in Deuteronomy 14:24-27:


But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.


Yes, Abraham tithed from his military victory but it does not mean that you must also tithe. Abraham had concubines. By the same logic, you should also have concubines.


The point I am trying to make is that the faith of Abraham culminates in Christ and under Christ, there is no compulsion to tithe. God has given each of us a conscience and His Spirit. If you are led to tithe then tithe. If you are not, then don't.


But let him that tithes not look down on him that does not tithe and let him who does not tithe not hold those who do in contempt. Your salvation is dependent on your faith in Christ Jesus and not whether or not you tithe. ?You can make heaven if you believe but don't tithe but not if you tithe and don't believe.


As a New Testament believer, what is required of you is a willing offering not a compulsory tithe. This is why 2 Corinthians 9:7 says:


Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.


We ought to understand that the biblical practice of tithing had two origins. The first was from Abraham, the prophet and patriarch and the other is the Mosaic Law.


In Christ, both the tithing by the prophet and the law have been fulfilled hence in Matthew 5:17 Jesus said:


"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."


So because of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, we do not need the Levitical priesthood as go betweens us and God since Jesus is "The Way, The Truth, and The Life." (John 14:6)


In the same way, we do not need Abraham's blessings since God has blessed us "with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3).


As a matter of fact, Colossians 2:10 teaches us that 'we are complete in Christ'.


So don't let any pastor psyche you into believing that your worship of God is not complete until you have paid your tithe.


#Reno's Nuggets

Ozibo Ozibo Ekele, the student who broke the 69-year-old record at the University of Ibadan has shocked many by revealing that he never set out to break any record and was not even aware an unbroken record existed in the UI History Department.
In an exclusive interview he granted this blog he said:

"It is important to point out here that I never learned of any unbroken record in UI History Department until my graduation in 2016. When I left UNN, my aim was to get a degree, any degree. So getting a degree, not breaking a record, was uppermost in my mind. Upon learning of the broken record, well, I see it as a journey not a destination”
In case you missed the interview, read it here [https://jonalistsblog..com.ng/2017/11/i-did-not-set-out-to-break-any-record.html][/url]

Exclusive to The Journalist Blog: The Untold Story of the Record Breaker: The Student who broke 69-year-old academic record at UI was initially frustrated out of UNN and was not allowed to graduate with his mates!

Last week, the media in Nigeria were head-over-heels reporting the unprecedented academic achievement of Ozibo Ozibo Ekele, the bookish Ebonyian who cracked a 69-year-old academic nut at the University of Ibadan. However, what the media didn’t tell Nigerians is that Ekele was stopped from graduating from the Department of Mass Communication University of Nigeria Nsuka due to a disagreement he had with his project supervisor over his project topic.

Also, people still didn’t know that Ekele was a science student and was initially admitted to UNN to study Architecture but switched course after the first year because he “lacked passion for the sciences”

The Journalist Blog got in touch with Ekele for a chat which turned out to be quiet revealing. See full story here[https://jonalistsblog..com.ng/2017/11/exclusive-to-journalist-blog-untold.html]