₦airaland Forum

BlackViper:
Since the stated objective of the Hamas fighters is that they're so eager to meet their 100 virgins in paradise, I think the IDF should be applauded for making it possible for them to fulfill their religious obligations.

God bless you

T9ksy:
But Nnamdi Azikwe was a true nationalist, ba? <yinmu>.

This is very arguable

VBCampaign:
Let us know what Zik taught on nationhood

Noted

saintkel:
When it comes to one Nigeria....give credit to d Zik of Africa.....Dr Nnamdi Zik.....

Let us know what Zik taught on nationhood

October 1: Obafemi Awolowo’s Doctrine on Nationhood

By: Deji Yesufu

On Thursday, 24th September, 2026, I visited Obafemi Awolowo’s house at Ikenne, Ogun State. The last time I was there in March, I noticed that the Sopolu Awolowo Library was fully operational on weekdays, and it had a room with pictures of Chief Awolowo and his numerous public outings. This visit allowed me to interact a little more with the librarian there. Mr Babalola, the librarian, told me that Awolowo had written in his will that the Sopolu Awolowo Library, named after his father, should be given to the Olabisi Onabanjo University. Sadly, like many public institutions in Nigeria, the library is suffering the effects of neglect. Mr Babalola also told me that in his lifetime, Awolowo ensured that the library was fully functional, fitted with industrial air-conditioning, etc. He said Awolowo had an office in the library that he would steal into during the day through an entrance that led from his own apartment directly into the library.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo once said that while he and others were spending time to think and offer practical solutions to the problems of Nigeria, all that his critics did was to tear him down in public. One of the earliest solutions Obafemi Awolowo provided the Nigerian state was on the question of nationhood. Arguably the most popular quote attributed to Obafemi Awolowo is this one: “Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression…” When you read that quote, you think that Awolowo was dispensing with the fact that Nigeria was never a nation and could never be a nation. It is therefore important to quote him properly, and then I will suggest what I believe Obafemi Awolowo’s doctrine is on nationhood. In his first book published in 1946, Path to Nigerian Freedom, Obafemi Awolowo wrote:

“Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no ‘Nigerians’ in the same sense that there are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’, or ‘French’. The word ‘Nigerian’ is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria from those who do not. There are various national and ethnical groups in the country. Ten such main groups were recorded in the 1931 census as “Hausa, Ibo, Yoruba, Fulani, Kanuri, Ibibio, Tiv, Edo, Nupe, and Ijaw…” What did the sage mean by this statement?

The Historical Context in Which the Statement was Made

“Path to Nigerian Freedom” was written in 1946. Awolowo was completing his studies in law in London when he wrote the book. His immediate audience for the book was the British people. He was showing the Englishman that young Nigerians were already acquiring the requisite education that could put them in a position to govern themselves. He appreciated the fact that the British had created modern Nigeria, and he also appreciated the various investments they were making to turn us into a modern state. Nonetheless, Awolowo was arguing in the book that colonialism was a fading idea and that sooner or later the British would be forced to leave Nigeria. But before they left, it was important that they recognise that Nigeria was not a nation as we have in European nations. Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries did not have modern nations or states as we have them today. Rather, communities banded together for various purposes and operated rather loosely – with a monarch ruling over various regions. In the 18th and 19th centuries, modern nation-states began to be created across Europe, but they were built essentially along linguistic lines.

So, countries like France brought French-speaking people together; Germany brought German-speaking people together; England brought English-speaking people together; and so on. Now, the British, his immediate audience, needed to understand that if the same principle is to be used in Nigeria, we are going to end up with at least ten nation-states, as he listed in the above quote. It was in this book he first suggested the concept of federalism: the idea in which various nation-states could work together for the common good of one country. That Nigeria could not thrive divided, but should rather work united and only via federal principles. By 1951, when Awolowo and others birthed the Action Group, the motto of the party was “Unity via Federalism”. The Action Group, more than any other party of that time, recognized Nigeria’s diversity and argued that rather than denying our diversity, we could actually use our differences to our advantage. Where the country pools the various strengths of the various nations within her together, while we cover each other’s weaknesses. Now, rather than teach that we should shelve our various differences, like our ethnicity or religion, Awolowo was saying we could recognize those differences and still use them for the overall good. So, the argument that we should ignore our various tribal leanings would not serve here. In fact, it is not practical. Rather, the country could still operate and thrive in spite of our differences.

Developmental Context for Which the Statement was Made

Now, merely recognizing our differences is not enough. It was important that we use these differences to build the country up. One of the leading arguments that the Action Group brought to parliament in the 1950s was that it was not practical for Nigeria to move forward while northern Nigeria retained its massive geographical size. In the 1950s, Northern Nigeria was one region that covered the whole of today’s North West, North East and Middle Belt regions. The Action Group argued that within the northern region alone, there are at least five nation-states: Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Tiv, and Nupe (if we are to go by the 1931 census). Each of these ethnic groups was a nation-state that deserves to have its own region or state. The purpose was not merely to give recognition to a people, but essentially to allow for development to reach grassroots areas that normally would be overlooked in larger nation-states. Obafemi Awolowo’s vision of a nation-state was closely connected to the true population count of a country. If Nigeria discovers that there is a mass of people in a particular region of the country, and that by creating a state or region for them, they would be better off – we must do it. Therefore, the Action Group told the British that they were willing for the Edo region of Nigeria to be carved out from the Western Region, as long as other regions of the country allowed for something similar to be done.

In 1964, the Midwestern Region was carved from the Western Region – using the Awolowo principle and while he was in prison – while the other regions of the country were left intact. When Awolowo left the Gowon government in 1971, he told Yakubu Gowon that the greatest thing Gowon did for Nigeria was creating the 12 states in 1967. That action broke up the one monolithic North into six states, and divided the East into three states. It was the final straw that plunged the country into civil war, but it was a war that was necessary for us to wage as a country. In 1975, Murtala Muhammed divided Nigeria further into 19 states. Today, the country has 36 states, and it is still in need of more states. Awolowo’s argument was that as long as a state was viable and could sustain itself, by all means it should be created. With a population of 250 million people, Nigeria is in need of at least ten more states today. The argument is simple: as the country grows in population, more and more distinct groups of people emerge; and if these people live in a region of the country and can thrive as a state, by all means one should be created.

Visionary Reason for Which the Statement was Made

Now that we have succeeded in seeing that nation-states are built around language, ethnicity and even religion, it is important to know that the ultimate goal is not for a country to remain divided along ethnic and religious lines. Ultimately, a country can work so well together that what started as a country divided can become a country united. Whether Nigerians like it or not, circumstances have made it such that this country has become more united than we were sixty years ago. What might sound like an artificial mixture perpetuated by the British has turned out to be an enforced amalgam of disparate parts of the country, such that in another one hundred years Nigerians would have more things in common than those things that separate them. We have been brought together through adversity; we have been joined together through marriages; we have been put together through victories (there is no greater sight than seeing Nigerians rejoice over victories in sports like football); etc.

All these were made possible because we dared to go beyond the limitations of our individual nationalities that had originally been defined for us by our forefathers, and we have now created a new nation called Nigeria. When Obafemi Awolowo wrote that Nigeria was not a nation, I believe it is safe to put the word “then” somewhere in that sentence. We may not have been a nation in 1946, but today we are gradually tending towards nationhood. Awolowo had suggested that federalism would be a means of marrying these disparate parts of the country together. No one says it would be easy, but like every profitable and productive union, we must endure the stress and challenges because the profit of unity is worth pursuing.

Obafemi Awolowo never saw the unity of Nigeria as an end; in fact, he saw the unity of all of Africa as the greater end. If Nigeria can come together via a federal system of government, that same idea can be sold to other parts of Africa that would make all Africa united. A united Africa, with visionary leadership, along with it mass of productive land and people, would be a force that no country in the world can withstand. This is what Obafemi Awolowo had in mind when he taught nationhood as a doctrine and suggested federalism as a means of achieving a true nation state. Nigeria did not begin as one nation. We came together as disparate nations, welded together via federalism. And if federalism is practised as it should be, Nigeria can then become a nation in its true sense.

Deji Yesufu is a Christian public affairs analyst. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

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Isbae U and Obasanjo: Revisiting the Olodo Uprising

By: Deji Yesufu

The first newspaper in Nigeria was the Iwe Iroyin fun Awon Ara Egba ati Yoruba (A Newspaper for the Egba and Yoruba People). It was founded by the Rev. Henry Townsend in 1859. In 1854, Townsend established a printing press in Abeokuta and, in 1859, went a step further by beginning the Iwe Iroyin to enlighten the Yoruba people by increasing literacy, while also reporting the news and influencing public opinion. Townsend understood that his job as a missionary to the Egba people could not only be limited to preaching the gospel alone; there was also a need to bring development to the society where he preached. He saw a close relationship between the growth of a community and the literacy of that community. Therefore, it is safe to say that journalism in Nigeria finds its root in Christian missions, and it has as its driving motive the educating of the populace and the shaping of public opinion for the general good. Those of us who write opinion pieces do not generally report news; rather, we try to mould opinions so that society can be directed towards a positive end.

The “Olodo Uprising” was a phrase coined by the rapper Ycee in a podcast published in June 2026, where he made the point that the Nigerian society of today was moving from a Yahoo Culture towards a Peller Culture. He described the whole phenomenon as an “Olodo Uprising”. Olodo in Yoruba could be translated as “dullard”. Therefore, the Olodo Uprising is a culture where individuals, through a sudden rise in social media publicity with its corresponding revenue in dollars, suddenly become the face of popular culture. These individuals, Ycee clearly pointing at persons like Peller and Jarvis, are not contributing anything meaningful to society through any beneficial intellectual product. They are simply persons who have suddenly gained visibility because one or two celebrities have promoted them on social media. They are eccentric; they are unique in their anti-social behaviors; they are generally not educated; they have millions of followers on social media, and the visibility they have gained via Tik-tok or YouTube has plunged them into obscene wealth. They are the new face of Nigerian youths and, for whatever it is worth, they are at least better than the Yahoo boys. It is in this category that I would wish to put Isbae U and his podcasts.

YouTube algorithm has suggested Isbae U’s interview with former President Olusegun Obasanjo to me a couple of times. When I eventually took the time to watch it, I was put off completely by Isbae U calling Obasanjo “Sege”, and I stopped watching. Now, I understand that the “Curiosity Made Me Ask” podcast is not meant to be a serious show per se; I understand that there are podcasts that are meant not just to enlighten people but to make the public laugh, to entertain viewers, and to reveal the softer part of celebrities who are generally known to be serious-minded persons. Despite this, I could not stand a 30-year-old Yoruba boy calling a 90-year-old former head of state and president, war veteran, and arguably the most historical individual living in Nigeria today “Sege”. There is no modernity in this world that would allow me to watch that kind of nonsense. I was forced, however, to return and complete watching the podcast because I saw a number of positive reviews on it by individuals I respect on social media. I knew what I would encounter while watching it, but there was no way I could comment on the podcast without enduring watching the 41-minute show.

Bae U began the whole discussion by positing a fact that he had housed, fed, and paid the salary of Obasanjo while he was president of Nigeria. Again, when you understand that the program is meant to entertain viewers, you will understand why he made that point. Obasanjo eventually corrected him and said that it was Nigeria as a country that employed him, not individuals like Bae U. Now while the podcast was meant to be entertaining, one could see the Olodo factor that Ycee had suggested is a prominent feature among young and popular social media persons. Obasanjo could define “adjective” right off his heart – a product of years of proper learning at Primary School level, Bae U could not find a definition for “pronoun”. It is either he did not know it at all, or his craft does not allow him to think that deeply. The whole scenario was eventually covered with the jocular banter between him and the former Nigerian president. It is also interesting to know that while Obasanjo knows individuals like the King of England, he does not know who Don Jazzy or IShowSpeed is. One part of the exchange that I enjoyed the most was Obasanjo’s comment on Charly Boy. It is good to hear that Charly Boy took care of his old man until the man died. It is a duty all of us owe to our parents; it was a timely reminder for me.

A nation’s growth, prosperity, and productivity cannot be separated from the intellectual might of its people. Nigeria cannot afford to continue to have individuals with average minds as the face of its popular culture. Isbae U kept making the point that he was giving Obasanjo a platform because he has close to 900,000 followers on YouTube and he earns a handsome sum from social media. It is a tragedy of the greatest magnitude that Isbae U would have that number of followers on YouTube, but Edmund Obilo, the cerebral Ibadan broadcaster, can barely boast of 70,000 followers on YouTube. The problem is not with the content producer; the problem is with the consumers of the content. If we have more persons consuming Isbae U’s garbage than Obilo’s thinking, we must blame ourselves for this. It is the Olodo Uprising made manifest in all of its realities. The founders of media in this country, persons like Henry Townsend, never intended for media to be for jokes and entertainment alone; they saw that media could be a means of educating the public and molding opinion positively. An educated citizenry would not be easily swayed by money politics; they will make informed choices of the kind of leaders they want; and they will bring such persons to political office. In return, these individuals would serve the society and build it up.

It is not likely that the people who need this message the most would conclude reading the article. But those who do, I hope you will go back to your social media feeds and unfollow as many “influencers” there who are not adding to your mind. The quality of a society cannot be separated from the quality of the minds of the popular faces in its culture. Perhaps the day Bae U succeed in bringing Prof. Wole Soyinka to his podcast would be the day I will begin to take him seriously.

Deji Yesufu is a Christian Public Analyst. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

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Desmond Elliot, Gbajabiamila, and the Unseemly Sight of Kneeling Men

By: Deji Yesufu

Femi Gbajabiamila is said to be the most powerful politician in Surulere, Lagos State. He was elected to the Federal House of Representatives for Surulere 1 in 2003 and was re-elected repeatedly until he left to take up the job of Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As somewhat of a political godfather in Surulere, he has influenced many people to office, including Desmond Elliot, who was elected a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly for Surulere 1 in 2015, and has since been returned to that seat in 2019 and 2023. He was seeking a fourth term in office when he fell out politically with Gbajabiamila.

The root cause of their disagreement was Desmond Elliot’s alleged involvement in the planned removal of the Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa. Gbajabiamila claimed that Tinubu was unhappy to hear that one of his boys was involved in the matter, and he was asked to deal with it. In May 2026, Desmond Elliot failed to get the party’s ticket to run for a fourth term for that office. That was the last time we heard of the matter until images began to emerge on the internet yesterday morning of Elliot kneeling and prostrating before Gbajabiamila, asking for his forgiveness. Those images have elicited a lot of reactions around the world, and this article is only one of them.

Sometimes I wish I had never read Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s books. They have given me such an elevated view of what politics should be. I cannot for a moment imagine one of Awolowo’s men kneeling or prostrating before him, seeking some favour. Let us make it very clear: in every system, organization, institution, or association, there would always be individuals in the leadership, and they will have subordinates. A functional system works with laws, order, and hierarchy. It is always a blessing to have men come together to fulfil a purpose, and to find an individual among them that is chosen to lead the pack.

In such organizations, leaders deserve respect, loyalty, and obedience. But there is something unseemly, dysfunctional, and primitive when you see grown men fawn, grovel, and beg to have a place given to them in the system. It is disturbing, to say the least, to see grown men kneel and prostrate on the floor for another man all so that they may be given some political position. It tells a lot about the people involved in the whole scenario. The beggar obviously does not have any self-worth; their very livelihood is connected to the position they are begging for. The “beggee”, if there is any such word in the dictionary, obviously has an overinflated view of themselves. They do not know that one can be in a position of influence today, and tomorrow have lost it all. One can have life today, and tomorrow be dead.

Besides these, the main issue with all these men who kneel around is that most people in positions of authority or wealth today in Nigeria did not reach those places via merit but mainly because they know one person or the other. So, the moment that person becomes vexed with them, they lose that position. Nigeria has succeeded in building most of its institutions on oligarchs and not on the inherent worth of individuals. And no country can thrive this way. The wealth of a nation is its people and the inherent qualities they possess, and not necessarily the natural resources in the soil of their land.

The moment we can succeed at ending the rent system that controls almost every aspect of our national life, then the natural giftings of people can emerge, and these people can prosper in whatever field of life they find themselves. They would not need to beg anyone to eat; the value they bring to the system will naturally provide for them. Another reason why these men also hold on to the aprons of their godfathers is that they have never learnt the art of contentment and how to use money wisely. They have built a system all around them that is sustained by money, and when the free flow of cash ceases, they begin to lose their worth.

The greatest problem with Desmond Elliot kneeling for Femi Gbajabiamila is the kind of politics that Bola Tinubu has succeeded at imposing on Nigerians. Some have called it “godfatherism”, but I think it is worse than that. It is a politics of money; a politics where the worst of the lot lead the pack; it is a politics of rent-seeking; it is a politics that is not built on human worth but personal preferences.

It is important to note that this kneeling fiasco is coming on the heels of yet another general election in Nigeria. I am aware that the politics that these men play has also succeeded in capturing a lot of the institutions that would oversee the elections. But it is not impossible to remove these people from power and to replace them with a new breed without greed. Nigerians can bring an end to this kneeling fiasco by replacing these men at the polls. It would be difficult, but it is not impossible.

Deji Yesufu is a Christian Public Affairs Analyst. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

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dandadee:
Walter Ofonagoro is alive!

Admin, this comment is correct. The author meant to write "Chuba Okadigbo".

Adeleke Ademola – There is Nothing to Celebrate Here

By: Deji Yesufu

It was the late Nigerian Senator Walter Ofonagoro who, during one of his political spats with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said that Obasanjo has no quotable quote in the annals of political discussions in Nigeria. Whether you agree with Ofonagoro or not, you may agree that one of the most celebrated quotes in Nigeria’s political history was one attributed to Emeka Ojukwu, the late Biafran warlord, who said at the death of Chief Obafemi Awolowo that “Awolowo is the best president Nigeria never had”. That quote is very instructive, especially when you realize that it was Awolowo’s massive strategies, more than anything else, that defeated Biafra in that unfortunate 30-month civil war Nigeria waged a few years after the country had earned its independence from Britain.

At another occasion, Ojukwu said the following of Chief Obafemi Awolowo: “…As a leader of the modern cast, Awolowo has left Nigeria standards which are indelible, standards beside which future aspirations to public leadership can be eternally measured.” Ojukwu was alluding to the eight-year period between 1952 and 1959 when Chief Awolowo led a team of technocrats in the Action Group in governing the Western Region of Nigeria. That government instituted Free Universal Primary Education for all children and free medical care for children up to age 18. This is in addition to the massive infrastructural development they brought to the region, which today includes Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo, and Delta states. Awolowo and his team carried out all these with the miserly funds they obtained from the sale of Cocoa and Palm Kernel, and also from an effective taxation regimen they introduced to the region. It is this “standard for future aspiration to public leadership” that has today compelled me to speak on Ademola Adeleke’s re-election bid to Osun and to warn against early celebrations for him.

On Sunday, 18th August, 2026, the Nigerian electoral body, INEC, declared Ademola Adeleke, incumbent Governor of Osun, as having been re-elected to another four-year term in office. Adeleke had come to government in November 2022 under the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He left the PDP and joined Accord. His biggest opponent in the just-concluded elections was Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Oyebamiji had employed the full machinery of the federal government, with intimidation of voters and vote-buying allegedly reported all around the State. There were also pockets of violence, and it appeared that the APC would have a smooth sailing. They failed, and Adeleke returned to office. On Monday, while reflecting on the elections, I made the following statement on Facebook:

“Elections in Nigeria continue to have the electorate choose between the devil and the deep blue sea. Nothing to celebrate about the whole thing. It is even made worse by the open display of vote-buying. Welcome to another four years of a clueless dancing Governor.”

Some smart Alec took the opportunity to ask me on that thread why I think Ademola was clueless. Another tried to enlighten me on the things Adeleke had done while in office. I was told that Adeleke paid salaries and built roads. One other person said that Adeleke cannot be considered clueless because his administration took Osun State from 33rd to 7th position in the overall results that emerged from NECO and WAEC in 2025. My fact-checking of the latter information indicates that Osun came 7th overall in NECO; WAEC is not inclusive. This latter information is indeed impressive, but it does not refute my labelling the governor of that state as clueless. Yes, my angst against Ademola Adeleke is the public characterization that he has come to have among Nigerian governors as a “dancing Governor”. Even if Adeleke becomes the best Governor in Nigeria today, he would still not appear to me as a serious person; and the fact that people would come out to defend him is testament to the reality that we are contending with as a nation, which is that the worst of us continue to occupy positions in public office, while the best of us deodorize their nonsense.

After my study of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s tenure in office, I have chosen to take the advice of Emeka Ojukwu and to use him as the standard to which I would measure public office holders in Nigeria henceforth. I don’t care what roads Adeleke has built in Osun State or if he succeeds in making every student that writes WAEC in that state earn “A”s in all the subjects they write. The fact that a Governor spends valuable time, every time he is in public, dancing, shows to me that he is not a serious person – both in his private and public life. I cannot imagine any of Obafemi Awolowo’s commissioners dancing in office in the 1950s. Even Ladoke Akintola, whose time in government fell terribly short of Awolowo’s, would never have countenanced his officials dancing while carrying out public functions. It is plain stupid, and that we have people coming to defend the nonsense on social media is proof of why we have the kind of people leading us in Nigeria today. Our leaders are no different from the people that follow them.

I should also inform my readers that the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation awards an Obafemi Awolowo leadership prize to worthy persons in public life in Nigeria. Every two years they publish conditions to win the prize in the Nigerian Tribune and the conditions, or “standards” in the words of Ojukwu, include: integrity, credibility, discipline, selflessness, visionary leadership, people centered leadership, grassroot-friendly policies, positive policy intervention, impact on poverty reduction, respect for rule of law, accountability, guarantee of press freedom, and courage and tenacity of purpose. There is no dancing in the list; a “disciplined” leader would not be doing that in public. It will interest you to know that since the inception of the prize in 2012, no Nigerian Governor or head of State has won the prize. Wole Soyinka got it in 2012; Thabo Mbeki (2014); and Akinwumi Adesina (2023). The award is given every two years. No one was found worthy of it between 2015 and 2022. Nominations for the prize have again been opened for next year’s award. Those who think that Ademola Adeleke is the best thing that has happened to Nigerian politics could nominate him.

Let me end by saying that the Osun elections were not all negative. I had remarked in my reflection on the whole thing that choosing any of the candidates was choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. I have no reason to change my mind on that point. I am, however, glad that the Nigerian federal government, led by Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, allowed the people of Osun State to make their choice. Vote-buying notwithstanding, the person that the people wanted was returned to office. I would, however, wish to use this occasion to ask Ademola Adeleke to get someone to educate him on the time Chief Obafemi Awolowo spent in office, and to imitate a little from that great man’s time in public life. Dancing in public was never known to him. Governance is serious business. Nigeria has sufficient resources to turn the country right side up if our public servants will do what they are elected and appointed to office to do. I am an indigene of Osun State, although I do not reside there, and this is one reason why I am very concerned with the person leading that state. I wish Ademola Adeleke a better second term in office, and I hope that Nigerians have greater standards to compare public leadership with. When we do this, our public servants will sit up.

Deji Yesufu is a Christian Public Affairs Analyst. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

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Interesting this gentleman has share here...

SuperOnyi:




One of my wishes and prayers to God is to take my life if I ever find myself in a situation where I'm completely helpless and have to depend on others. Dementia is heartbreaking and one of the worst things that can happen to anyone. Thinking about it should make anyone who still has plans to impact the world sit up and stay on alert, even if we have no control over tomorrow.

I don't watch movies that much, but I saw this news about an actor who had to be taken into a "caregiving home" after dementia sucked his memory out. This is a famous legend who had made millions in the industry but was completely helpless.

One day, after I have financial backup to run research and solve world problems, dementia, diabetes, and cancer would be totally obliterated.

An Encounter with Dementia

By: Deji Yesufu

Probably second only to my meeting with and knowing my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the most important things in my life are the people God providentially brings my way. There is a sister with whom I have been working for a little over two years now, trying to birth a ministry in Nigeria. I had the opportunity of visiting her family in my recent travel, and I met her mother, who has come down with dementia. Mama Cee, as we shall call her in this essay, is in her early seventies, but she cannot recognize anyone in her family. I told my friend that Mama Cee was the reason I was visiting her home. When I entered the house, my friend was finishing up bathing Mama. It takes her sometimes two or more hours to clean her up. Mama looked well-kept. Her appetite is wonderful. She kept staring at me, as if she knew me from somewhere. I also noticed that as I moved across the room, she kept her eyes on me – smiling throughout. Her granddaughter was by her side feeding her. My friend cannot do anything else now; Mama Cee has become her full-time job.

What is dementia? Dementia is a group of conditions that cause a gradual decline in memory, thinking, reasoning, and the ability to perform everyday activities. It is caused by damage to brain cells and most commonly affects older adults. The other diseases that you can find under dementia include: Alzheimer’s disease (the most common form, accounting for about 60–80% of cases), Vascular dementia (often follows strokes or other blood vessel problems), Dementia with Lewy bodies (can cause hallucinations, movement problems, and fluctuating alertness), Frontotemporal dementia (typically causes changes in personality, behavior, and language), Parkinson’s disease dementia (occurs after years of Parkinson’s symptoms), Mixed dementia (more than one disease process is present), Huntington’s disease, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, and Normal pressure hydrocephalus.

My friend tells me that Mama Cee began to have challenges with her memory in her early sixties, and that from that time on things only got worse. She explained that no one in the family knew exactly what was wrong with her until they approached a psychiatrist who rightfully diagnosed her. Except for a miracle, Mama Cee’s health is not likely to improve. Probably what is most depressing for my friend is remembering who her mother used to be. Mama Cee was a wealthy businesswoman who owned a chain of businesses. With the money she made, she was able to train all her children in school before she retired to the village some years back. All her children are now adults with their own families, and everyone had hoped that Mama would spend her final days in a worthy retirement. Only to become weighed down with this dreadful disease. My friend thinks that dementia is worse than cancer.

A very safe estimate shows that 4.9% of Nigerians would come down with dementia at age sixty and above. This simple statistic suggests that besides other diseases that could very easily kill, dementia is a disease that you and I must pay attention to. While there are no guaranteed ways to prevent dementia, the following are a few things we can adopt for a healthy lifestyle: controlled blood pressure (high blood pressure in midlife is a major risk factor for dementia); manage diabetes (keep blood sugar levels under control); exercise regularly (aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week); eat a healthy diet (a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, nuts, and healthy fats); don’t smoke (smoking increases the risk of dementia by damaging blood vessels and brain tissue); limit alcohol consumption (heavy drinking increases the risk of cognitive decline); keep your brain active (reading, learning new skills, solving puzzles, and engaging in mentally stimulating activities help maintain cognitive function), stay socially connected (regular interaction with family, friends, and community groups supports brain health); get enough quality sleep (poor sleep and untreated sleep disorders can increase dementia risk); protect your head (wear seat belts and helmets to reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury); treat hearing loss (using hearing aids when needed may reduce the risk of cognitive decline); maintain a healthy weight and control cholesterol (obesity and high cholesterol contribute to vascular disease, which can increase dementia risk).

One lesson I took away from meeting Mama Cee was that our lives are not in our control. You can have health today, and tomorrow no longer have it. You can possess the ability to decipher the greatest logic today, and tomorrow lose all your cognitive abilities. You can have life today, and tomorrow you are dead. Today is the day of salvation. It is dangerous and foolhardy to put off to tomorrow things we should do today. If you do not write that book you have a burden to write today, tomorrow you may lose all the cognitive ability to put the essays together to tell your story, and the world would be at a loss for it. My friend tells me that her mother was a symbol of strength and control in her younger years. She had money. She had friends. Now she is a shadow of her old self. Thank God she has children who can take good care of her in her illness. Perhaps one more lesson that we can take from Mama Cee is that those of us who have been blessed with the gift of children would do well to invest in them now and raise them up to be responsible persons in the future. Our well-being might be totally dependent on them tomorrow, especially when you consider that we live in a country that does not know its right from its left.

One final thing about Mama Cee is that my friend is looking for a carer for her. If she can find someone to care for Mama Cee, she can be free to do other things. The challenge has been that many people who are trained to do this work come with such professional prices that are way beyond what she can afford to pay. If, however, you think you could help a friend; you are a lady open to be trained to care for someone suffering from dementia, kindly reach me through my email below, and I will link you up.

Thank you.

Deji Yesufu is a Christian public affairs analyst. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

Source

Racoon:
Nothing new. Hitler, Idi Amin, Mobutu, and even the devil still have worshippers till today.

You should see the documentary first before you jump to conclusions.

TextandPublishing.com (History) channel has produced a documentary on the life and times of Muhammadu Buhari. Tracing his birth, to his role in the Nigerian civil war, to his place in the Muritala government, to the run-up to the second republic, his overthrow of the Shagari government, his becoming a democrat, a president, and finally his death.

This 56-minute documentary chronicles key moments in the life of the late Nigerian president:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6jFyAVzjQ8?si=2MPkiz8fDlTiLsQg

WhizdomXX:
Many in The military have mostly become beasts against the civilians who are fighting for their welfare.

I cannot argue this...

Ibas3454:
Lawless country. If you are not guilty why are you kidnapping the young man... Nigeria army una no try

Well said...

The Justice Crack Matter

By: Deji Yesufu

His name is Justice Mark Chidibere. But his social media handles carry the name “Justice Crack”. So we will use the latter to refer to him in this article. Sometimes between 28th April and 1st of May, 2026, Justice Crack went missing. His friends and supporters went online and said that the Nigerian army had abducted him because of some videos he published online. On the 2nd of May, 2026, the army published a statement confirming that Crack was in its custody and that he was being handed over to civil authorities for prosecution. Crack’s friends made the point that it was their outcry in the media that compelled the army to bring him out. If Crack had no voice, he could very well have disappeared from the face of the earth. In August 2019, Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, went missing. It is alleged that he was abducted by security officials at the behest of some leading northern politicians. That young man is believed to have been murdered, because no one has heard from him since that day. It was to evade a similar situation that supporters of Justice Crack cried out, and thanks to the media, Crack remains alive today. His case for bail was heard at a Federal High Court in Abuja this morning, but it was not concluded. Justice Crack is still in the custody of the Department of State Security.

Justice Crack's crime was that he published a video where he showed Nigerians the beggarly kind of food that the Nigerian army gives its soldiers who are at the front lines fighting insurgency in the North East of the country. That video infuriated a certain Brigadier Adegoke, who allegedly subsequently got him arrested and has him face legal issues. Once upon a time, Aba Jalingo was arrested in a Nigerian airport because he wore a T-shirt that read “We are all Biafrans”. At this rate, are we not all Biafrans? A few months ago, I contacted a Nigerian soldier who had published a video accusing senior military officers of corruption and making things difficult for soldiers to do their jobs. That young man went through all kinds of legal issues, torture, and incarceration. Eventually, he was let off the hook the moment the army realised that his matter was no longer in the news. It appears that the only thing Nigerian authorities fear the most is public opinion, the media. Get your story to the media, and Nigerians will sit up. Does Justice Crack have a case?

On face value, the Justice Crack matter should never have even made it to the public at all. First, fighting on the frontlines is not a tea party. Soldiers are not on holiday. They are working, and their peculiar kind of work demands sacrifice, discipline, and focus. Nobody expects that Nigerian soldiers should be fed three-course meals on the battlefield. What is expected is that they have the basics. That the welfare of those men on the frontlines should be kept as a priority. This country fought a thirty-month civil war. There is no account anywhere that our men were poorly fed. Soldiers must be paid their salaries, and their families should be looked after. They should all have solid life insurance policies in case they were to lose their lives. And then both the Nigerian government and the insurance companies should care for their wives and children. These are basic things. A friend of mine lost his father to an American military expedition sometimes in the 1950s. His mother received a pension until her death a few years ago. When she died, the American military sent in their condolences and support. Israel has the names of the 2,500-plus persons who have laid down their lives to secure the Jewish land since they started their quest in the late 19th century. The Nigerian army must put in measures to ensure their personnel’s welfare, safety, and, in case of demise, the care of their dependents. These are the things people see and then decide to join the army. If our nation’s soldiers, laying down their lives to protect all of us, are not cared for, who would want to join the military?

Another point: the Nigerian army needs to be informed that this country, Nigeria, is now a democracy. We last had a military government in 1999 – that is, some good 27 years ago. Nigerian soldiers should come out of this antediluvian mentality that believes that they can always employ force to bully their way out of things. The very Boko Haram crisis this country is facing was made worse when their founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was summarily executed extrajudicially, rather than having him investigated and made to face the full weight of the country’s laws. Most of what has been propelling that group since 2009, when the man was killed, has been a quest to avenge his death by his followers. The result being the thousands of lives that have been lost in the process. The military should be reminded that its primary duty is to ward off external aggression against the people of a country, while the police is made to deal with internal issues.

As we discuss the matter of Justice Crack, we must also commend the civil society groups that have taken up his matter, continually updating Nigerians on his welfare. One name deserves mention here: Peter Akah. He and other civil liberty groups have stood with Justice Crack and supported him through his ordeal. These young men and women have put their lives on the line to ensure that things work for us in this country, and they deserve commendation. Some of them are also beginning to run for public office, and I believe that it is individuals like these that should be supported and voted for in the coming elections.

On a final note, I am convinced that making the Nigerian society work is not an impossible task. Not every Nigerian will japa. Even if we leave this country, we will still face social issues wherever we go. If we stay behind and help to fix our own social challenges, our children and us will benefit from it. If a social media personality brings the issue of the welfare of Nigerian soldiers to the public, he should not be prosecuted for this. Instead, the military should look into improving the welfare of its officers and men. We cannot afford to normalize corruption and incompetence in this country. Those running public institutions in Nigeria should understand that they serve the Nigerian people; we do not serve them. They are accountable to Nigerians, and they owe the people of this country some basic minimums.

Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

Source

Very well written.

Online dating has become the norm, even in Nigeria. As someone who lives abroad, even I can see that.

I think the major issue with Lege's arrangement is that he is not mentally equipped to handle the demand of his job.

Agreed

MrPresident1:
This question must rank among one of the most stupid questions ever asked coming from a so-called Pastor. What do you want to do with all the tithes and offering that you are collecting, ehn ole? Thief. In the Bible, tithes and offering was a form of taxation from the haves to redistribute to the havenots. Tithing was Israel's form of taxation.

You want to collect tithes without any form of responsibility toward the people. You want to buy private jet abi? Ole buruku thief pastor.

The Church and the state is one and the state, there is no separation, every separation between church and state is a satanic contraption and configuration

Can you just imagine the crass ignorance and idiocy that is the place this question comes from?

They do "programs" with tithes and offerings.

Obviously Osinbajo was rebuking that whole church, not just Komaiya.

Yemi Osinbajo and the Prosperity Gospel

The day is Sunday, 5th March, 2026. The venue is the Rock of Ages Christian Assembly in Benin, Edo State. The preacher is Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the former Vice President of Nigeria under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, which led the country from 2015 until 2023. Yemi Osinbajo also contested the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries in 2023, in which Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu emerged as the party’s presidential flagbearer. The topic that was given to Osinbajo to speak on by the minister of the church, Pastor Charles Osazuwa, was “Christian Leadership – The Need for Capacity Building”.

Those who have followed Osinbajo’s speaking engagements in recent times, particularly when he has the opportunity to speak to Christians, would realise that the Professor of Law has been making certain emphasis that appears to drum at the heart of the challenges that have befallen the Nigerian nation. Osinbajo appears to have discovered puritanism and the work ethic that they employed in their day-to-day lives, which led to the building of the great economic powers that Europe and America have today.

Prof’s doctrine is essentially this: Christians must be both light and salt to the Nigerian nation. We must rediscover the spirit of work, industry, honesty, integrity, trust, altruism, and especially the care of the poor, that has always tended to make Christian nations prosperous in the past. The last time Prof made a similar speech, he criticised the preaching that suggests that Christians should not give to the poor. In this message, again, Osinbajo makes the point that early Christians were known for their charity and care of the poor. He added that the social welfare schemes many Europeans and American nations practice today have their roots in the Bible.

Osinbajo points at the clear fact that giving to the poor was at the heart of the gospel Jesus preached and lived. He even stated that Jesus showed from the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man, and Matthew 25, that those who despise the poor will end up in hell.

If the discussion for that day had ended with Prof. Osinbajo’s speech, that would have been the end of that conference. No one would have probably heard of that speech. But Providence had other plans. Following the various speeches presented that day, the key speakers, Yemi Osinbajo, Korede Komaiya, and Olumide Emmanuel, joined the host, Charles Osazuwa, on the podium to answer some questions in a panel discussion.

Pastor Charles asked Osinbajo to answer this question: “When a country has a government, why should the church be burdened with the care of the poor?” Osinbajo replied that it is because Jesus commanded that the Church should care for the poor. He added that Christians influence government either directly, while serving in government, or indirectly through worthy examples. Pastor Korede Komaiya was obviously unhappy with Prof. Osinbajo’s message, and he commented that it is clear to him that the implication of Jesus’ death and resurrection, with soldiers being bribed to hide the truth of the resurrection, is that we despise money at our own peril. He added that “biblical prosperity is correct, original, and godly…” He said he could never understand why anyone would speak against the prosperity gospel.

Pastor Olumide mediated the discussion by explaining that obviously, what is needed is a balance. And Prof. Osinbajo added that there was really nothing like a prosperity gospel. He made it very clear that a prosperity gospel was a perversion of the gospel of Jesus. The discussion was not meant to be a debate; it was clearly a panel discussion. When preachers join a panel discussion at a conference, open disagreements do not happen often. Even where there has been obvious disagreement, the moderator tries to do damage control and finds a middle ground for the congregation to follow. But it was not difficult for some of us to observe that Osinbajo and Komaiya were clearly not on the same page that day.

The last time Korede Komaiya was in the news, it was concerning his arrest of another pastor. Pastor Festus Alilu had had a wave of inspiration and had gone to social media to excoriate Korede Komaiya for his blatant Prosperity Gospel preaching. Mr Komaiya had Alilu arrested, and he was in detention for a number of days. Komaiya claimed that Alilu had been cyber-bullying him, and since the Nigerian Police can so easily be moved by pecuniary means, it was not difficult to have Alilu detained. The matter became a national storm; Omoyele Sowore and a few other people waded into the issue, and Alilu was finally released.

Following his release, Alilu made a public apology to Komaiya, practically retracting his earlier statement. It was obvious that some big papas in the Pentecostal movement had spoken to Alilu and encouraged him to apologise, and also brokered peace. That is how that matter died down. What was not killed from that matter is these facts: Korede Komaiya is a “son” of David Oyedepo. He learnt his trade from him, and he preaches full-blown, blue-eyed, prosperity gospel. He believes that money is the central factor in Christian ministry, and the one person who needed to hear what Yemi Osinbajo was saying that day was Korede Komaiya. It was not surprising that he objected to Osinbajo, regardless of the respectable manner in which he did it. Komaiya would never have left Benin without objecting to what Osinbajo said because Komaiya is a Prosperity Gospeller. He is not a preacher of the gospel of Jesus.

The good news that came out of the exchange between Komaiya and Osinbajo is that respectable persons and people with voices are now beginning to warn against the dangers of the Prosperity Gospel in Nigeria. Some of us have been raising this alarm forever. We have been chased out of churches because we warned congregations against the gospel of prosperity. Our families have been attacked. We have become the butt of jokes in many circles.

One person suggested that I seek psychiatric help because I had the audacity to say that David Oyedepo, Enoch Adeboye, and Chris Oyakhilome do not teach the gospel of Jesus, but the gospel of prosperity. Alas, now that someone like Yemi Osinbajo is saying the same thing, our God has very graciously justified the stance we have taken for decades now.

The chief point in Osinbajo’s message must not be lost. Osinbajo is not primarily a pastor; he is today primarily a politician. Osinbajo has joined politics to bring God’s kingdom principles to reform Nigeria. At the heart of his politics is the bettering of the lot of the poor. If there is anything that is conspicuous about Nigeria today, it is the sheer number of poor people in this country. Nigeria’s poor are amassed in the midst of the plenty this country has. It is a criminal thing.

Yemi Osinbajo must have read Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s books and seen what the sage did with the very little income he got from Cocoa and Palm Kernel to develop the South-West region between 1952 and 1959. Obafemi Awolowo led the finances of Nigeria during its thirty-month war without borrowing a dime from the International Monetary Fund. At the heart of Osinbajo’s politics is “Afenifere”, the same politics that Awolowo practised. And Osinbajo knows Awoism well because he is married to Awolowo’s granddaughter.

Nigerian elites have a problem with greed, and corruption is eating into the very life of this country. Alas, a gospel has arisen within many churches in Nigeria that legitimises that greed. That gospel is called the Prosperity Gospel. Whether Osinbajo becomes president of Nigeria or not, it does not matter anymore. The man has done his bit; he has told this country, especially Christians, what we must do to save the nation from the abyss it is heading into. Government serves the people.

The church must find a gospel message that has the concern of the poor at heart, and she must first live this gospel and then teach it to the Nigerian government. Until then, things will not be any better for us in this country. And it is not a curse.

Written by Deji Yesufu

Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18L2yFhEPw/

MaxInDHouse:
Modern day nation of Israel disregard the wise counsel from Jesus so they are no longer worshiping the God of Abraham!

What counsel is that?

triplechoice:
No wonder you failed to see the obvious implications of what the essay contained. You're defending something you don't fully understand.

You demanded I point out where the essay explicitly says "religious war" or even insinuate it. That to me, is trying to be clever by half. I never claimed the phrase "religious war" appeared verbatim. I showed you the implicit framing, quotes like "Islam will not co-exist peacefully with the Jews" and "the way Islam flushed out Christianity ", and you've now conceded that I insinuated it correctly. You said "on that ground I will concede to you".

But instead of owning that concession, you shift the blame to me and then defend religious war by citing the Quran. That is a dishonest way to debate. It is either the essay didn't frame it as religious war (your original denial) or it did and you now agree with the framing. . You want to have your cake and eat it too: denying religious war and simultaneously defending it.

I will come back to address the substance of your reply: your claim about the Quran and what Jesus commended..

Waiting

triplechoice:
Yes pastor Deji, you did and even more than insinuating it.

Let me quote your own closing paragraphs back to you:

You wrote, "Islam will not co-exist peacefully with the Jews"

You didn't say "Hamas" or "Iranian regime". You said Islam, a religion of nearly 2billiom people, including millions of peaceful Muslims, and even Muslim citizens of Israel

Another one:

"The way Islam flushed out Christianity from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, is the same way it will flush out Israel from the Middle East"

But that is a medieval religious historical grievance, not political analysis. You're framing a modern territorial conflict as a repeat of religious conquests

Next:

"Israel has learned from the activities of Islam in the mediaeval period "

Again not "from specific terrorist groups", from Islam as a timeless violent civilisation..
You never once named Hamas, Hezbollah, or any actual organisation. You named Islam, the definition of insinuating a religious war. Trying to deny it doesn't erase your own words


Furthermore, you ignore or are not even aware that Israel itself has 20% Muslim citizens who live, vote, and serve in its parliament and army. So, going by your logic Israel should be at war with its own Muslim population, which is completely absurd, but it's the logical result of your "Islam' vs Jews " framing

You claim to be a Christian, yet you endorse vengeance with the sword

"They will continue to employ the sword to avenge evil against their land"

But the Jesus you preach and follow said, "put your sword back.....all who take the sword will die by the sword" . He also said, "Love your enemies"

He never once commanded or praised military vengeance. When his own enemies sought to annihilate him, he died forgiving them ( Luke 23:34)

So, I will ask you directly,

Would Jesus fight a war of annihilation?

Would he tell Israel l to "learn the sword " from medieval Islam?

If your answer is no, then stop mixing Moses law with Jesus reinterpretation of it. If yes, then on what page of the Gospel did Jesus say that?
ng

First, this is Pastor Deji media handler. You can find pastor Deji on textandpublishing.com.

Second, thankfully you did not identify "religious war" in the essay, but you succeeded in insinuating this is a religious war.

On that ground I will concede to you. Except that you cannot see the MIddle East crisis and not conclude that it is religious. Musilms have it written in their scripture that Jews and Christians should destroyed.

Lastly, Jesus did commend two swords to his followers at the end of his life. It was our Lord's way of saying that security is unavoidable in the church. Nonetheless, Romans 13 has given government the power of the sword to punish evil, and Israel is using theirs very well.

triplechoice:
You are essentially endorsing preemptive religious warfare as a defensive necessity, a logic that has been used to justify atrocities by every religion.It is shameful .

Jesus command to "love your enemies" directly contradicts this mindset, not as a naive pacifism , but as a radical alternative to the endless cycle of retribution you're endorsing .

Why can't you envision a day when Isreal and their neighbours will start to live together as one? . They were living together as one before 1948.

And how many Jews are Christians to make you frame this as religious war?

"He who lives by the sword dies by the sword" was Jesus direct rebuke to Peter using violence in self defense. You as a Christian pastor should not cherry pick Moses "An eye for an eye" to override Christ who reinterpreted the law .

Where in that whole essay did the write mention "religious war" or even insinuate it?

Government and the Biblical Call to Revenge

by: Deji Yesufu

On Monday, 30th March 2026, the legislative arm of the nation of Israel, also called the Knesset, passed a law that mandated the government of Israel to execute terrorists. Prior to this day, the only person who had been killed in Israel, based solely on terrorist charges, was Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann was a Nazi official who had worked actively with Hitler and had been involved in the killing of thousands of Jews in Europe.

After the Second World War, Eichmann fled Germany and was residing in Argentina. Israel’s secret intelligence agency tracked him down, kidnapped him, and flew him back to Israel. Eichmann was charged with his crimes, and after a lengthy trial, he was executed by hanging in 1962. After Eichmann, no one else has been killed by the state of Israel for terrorism. In spite of the fact that Israel has suffered terrorist attacks on its soil constantly since the birth of that country in 1948, the Jewish people held to a theory that frowns against capital punishment by law.

This theory is the idea that killing is primitive, and persons who are charged with capital crimes should only be given long prison sentences. Under this mindset, thousands of Palestinian terrorists have committed heinous crimes against the Jewish state. When the law enforcement agency in Israel arrests these persons, the worst they get is prison sentences. Yahya Sinwar, the man who instigated the October 7th 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel, was first arrested in 1988 for terrorist activities. He was sentenced to multiple life imprisonments. He spent 22 years in jail and was released in 2011 as part of a prisoner swap arrangement. The moment he got out, Sinwar began to plot the destruction of the state of Israel. Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024. The lesson of Sinwar’s life showed the Jewish people that some terrorists are better dead than alive, and it appears that the Bible agrees with them.

The biblical position on what should be done to people who commit capital crimes like murder is simple: death. Exodus 21:12 tells us that if a man kills another, he is to be killed also. Numbers 35:33 tells us that the only way to atone for shed blood is by shedding the blood of the murderer. Unfortunately, the more our world regards the Bible and the wisdom it offers as antediluvian, the more it sees the wisdom of scripture as primitive.

Israel has been forced to look again at what the Bible teaches, and to put into practice the wisdom of the Holy Writ. If Yahya Sinwa had been executed in 1988, he would not have been alive for a prisoner swap in 2011. While he was in prison, he underwent surgery for cancer and was treated with radiation therapy by Israeli doctors. Yet, the animal came out of prison and led the incident that killed 1,200 Jews – the worst crime against the Jews since the holocaust. In this essay, I will look not just at the matter of capital punishments, but at the concept of how God has entrusted governments with the sword to carry out revenge on evil.

The biblical position on revenge that most people are familiar with is this: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay” (Deuteronomy 32:35). In other words, God is the ultimate judge in our world. But there is a strange scripture in the New Testament that tells us that God has entrusted revenge into the hands of government: “For rulers are not terror to good works, but to evil… For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Romans 13:3-4). What does this mean?

Christianity was not born as a state religion. Christianity was a minute sect within Judaism. With the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the dispersing of Christians into the then Roman world, Christians became a persecuted minority increasingly within society. Although they were persecuted, their godliness continued to win adherents to them. So that the religion grew in numbers in the Roman Empire. In 312 AD, Emperor Constantine became a Christian.

Even after his conversion, Christianity was still not a state religion, but it was clear that if people wanted to have the favour of the Roman ruler, they would have to be Christian. This is what made Christianity something of a state religion in the Roman world. In the 7th century, Islam was brought to our world by Mohammed. 150 years after his death, two-thirds of the Middle East, which used to be under the Roman Empire, had been conquered by the Muslims. It is clear that Islam made much inroads into hitherto Christian nations because those countries did not understand the powers that God had given the government to use the sword to ward off evil. But by the time Islam reached the shores of Europe, European leaders knew they had to employ the sword. They understood they had to carry out revenge. This is what led to the crusades of medieval times.

Therefore, while scripture commands individual Christian citizens of a nation not to carry out revenge, it has given the government the power to avenge evil. It is simple: if evil is not avenged by the government, people will imbibe the notion that they can get away with crimes. Murder rates are skyrocketing in Western countries because somebody deceived them and told them that capital punishment was wrong. People now kill other people, and then taxpayers would continue to fund these people’s lavish stay in a lifetime in prison. On the other hand, countries like China and Singapore are experiencing a decrease in crime because capital punishment is invoked for serious crimes that include not just murder but also corruption. What is the overall implication of the doctrine I am teaching here?

First, as citizens of a country, we have a duty towards electing worthy persons into our government. We also have a duty to ensure that we have sound laws; such laws that deter evil. Secondly, we have a duty towards ensuring that evil is avenged and avenged very quickly. There is no reason why people who have committed heinous crimes should be kept on death row for long. Such persons must be executed and quickly, too, so as to act as a deterrent to others. Individuals who have been proven to be involved in large-scale corruption cases should be made to face capital punishments, because in many cases their actions have led to the deaths of Nigerians.

Thirdly, the government must equip itself towards punishing evil. The idea of granting amnesty to insurgents like Boko Haram should never be entertained by the government. These individuals have shed blood, and their own blood must also be shed. If not, the land becomes guilty of the shedding of innocent blood. The main argument against capital punishment has always been that innocent people could be killed. It is the reason why our judiciary must be above board. We must have judges who can look at a case and decide on appropriate punishments for crimes. Where the case allows for some doubt, the accused should not be killed. But where the accused is clearly seen to have committed a capital crime, there is no reason why the government should spend money to imprison such individuals for life. They should be put away.

On a final note, I must give a word on recent happenings in the Middle East, particularly the war between Israel and Iran, with the United States of America backing Israel. Israel understands that its survival as a nation depends almost exclusively on the annihilation of its enemies. Israel understands the place of vengeance on those who carry out crimes against its people. This is what informs the country’s war against terrorist groups and countries that support terrorist proxies against their land. It is sad that atheistic and agnostic groups would employ the biblical principles of love for neighbour and use that as a basis to criticise Israel’s commitment to defend its land. But they forget that the same Bible equally teaches justice, and scripture has empowered government to avenge crimes against its people.

Israel has learned from the activities of Islam in the medieval period, and they know that if they do not employ military actions against Islamic militants, the way Islam flushed out Christianity from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, and many other Middle Eastern nations, is the same way it will flush Israel from the Middle East. There is no peace in the Middle East today because Islam will not co-exist peacefully with the Jews. And the Jews are not going anywhere; they will continue to employ the sword to avenge evil against their land.

Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

Seyi Makinde and the Obafemi Awolowo School of Government

By: Deji Yesufu

March 6th of each year marks the birthday memorial of the late Nigerian politician, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. The Obafemi Awolowo Foundation has made it a point of duty to mark this event each year, with a program honouring the sage. This year, the event was held at Ikenne within the Awolowo family compound itself, and a few of us who attended the event noticed that all governors from South West Nigeria, the region Awolowo led, were invited to the program, but only Governor Seyi Makinde attended in person. The rest of them sent representatives. I felt that this was newsworthy, and I published it on my Facebook page. My observation was greeted with no small criticism, especially from supporters of the Governors I criticized. Some felt that as long as a Governor had sent a representative, it was sufficient. Others said that I published my observations because I was paid by Seyi Makinde. While a few felt that what I wrote was not totally out of place. Dr. Motunrayo Adetola, a physician practicing in Canada, even added that Seyi Makinde was from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), while the Governors that did not attend were from the All Progressive Congress (APC), a party that is supposed to be populated by Awoists.

Permit me to begin this essay by introducing myself. I am not a politician; I am a pastor. I, however, hold the view that Christianity can be a positive influence on a polity, and those of us who preach righteousness can use our ideas to influence the moral fiber of society, such that righteousness can exalt our country. My ideas were further deepened after I read all the written works of Obafemi Awolowo, and I discovered that at the root of Awolowo’s philosophy of government was moral upstanding. When Obafemi Awolowo was in Calabar prisons, he wrote for himself a list of codes of personal discipline, where he promised God that if he ever was delivered from the predicament he had found himself, he would not carry out retribution on all those who betrayed his course. He made the commitment to love his wife and make his home a veritable paradise for his children. The list reflected a man who believed that there are two forces at war in our world – the force of good and the forces of evil. Awolowo believed that God was all the force of good a man needs, and he would rather be on the side of God in any event because then he was certain to emerge victorious, because there is no man that can defeat God. One of the ways Obafemi Awolowo exemplified these codes of conduct was to ensure that people within the parties he led lived by a certain minimum standard. Corruption or stealing was a no-no. Awolowo said that he never allowed any party member to bring a concubine to his house. He was known to be a one-man-one-wife individual, but Awolowo allowed party members to bring women to his house only as long as they were married to them – it did not matter how many wives the man had. So, at the root of Obafemi Awolowo’s thinking was a commitment to the general good – not just doing good through politics, but a politician endeavoring to live an upright life.

This past event was not the first time I met Seyi Makinde at Obafemi Awolowo’s birthday memorial. In 2025, when the event was held via Zoom, Governor Seyi Makinde joined the discussions remotely. I had always known Seyi Makinde to be an individual who has a working mind – he reads. His foray into Oyo State politics was a lot different from the path that many other politicians go through. It is on record that Seyi Makinde is practically the only person who came into public office in Nigeria without the help of a Godfather. He had spent a great deal of his time and resources not only selling his ideas to people, but he was also known to be very generous and approachable. So, when Abiola Ajimobi was concluding his time in office, citizens of Oyo State had no qualms trying their hands on Seyi Makinde. He entered public office as the only PDP Governor in the south west in 2019. When he returned for a second term in 2023, I had my doubts. One had seen that the consistent picture of Governors in Nigeria for their second term is that they use the occasion to retire themselves to the Senate. But I still gave him the benefit of the doubt, and Makinde has not disappointed. Let me make this point too: Seyi Makinde’s government has not been excellent. His government cannot be compared to what Obafemi Awolowo’s administration did when he led the government in South West Nigeria between 1952 and 1959. Perhaps this is the reason why the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation have not given Makinde their prized leadership award. Yet, by Nigerian modern standards, Seyi Makinde has surpassed many Governors. Now, to the reason why I think there is something to learn from Makinde attending Awolowo’s birthday memorial.

Obafemi Awolowo rarely measured governance by achievements or projects carried out: roads built, salaries paid, or the like. Obafemi Awolowo founded his government on workable philosophies of government. He believed that individuals who would work in public office must be persons that are knowledgeable. People who would aspire to public office should be able to articulate their overall philosophies through writing and sell these ideas to the public. Now, the person who will sell an idea for others to imbibe must be an individual himself who is knowledgeable. A person who reads widely. A person who is able to pinpoint workable political philosophies that have served people in other parts of the world, and endeavors to transport such ideas to their local environment and adapt them to the needs of the people. Awolowo felt that the two needs that were paramount in the lives of people were education and health. He believed that a child should be educated early and that it should not be far-fetched for the government to pay for the education of that child. Awolowo understood that God gives gifts to people in society and that education will hone those gifts and help people to develop their communities. In the same vein, Obafemi Awolowo maintained that it was the government’s duty to ensure that the citizens of a locality had good health. Diseases are mostly either environmental or hereditary, hardly the fault of any person. If a people’s health is secured, they can better contribute to general societal productivity. Awo documented these ideas in books, and it is very clear to me that Seyi Makinde reads those books, and his effort at implementing some of those ideas has set him ahead of others in the South West. Here are my concluding thoughts on this subject.

In a few months, Nigerian politicians will begin to breathe down our necks and start to ask Nigerians to vote for them in yet another election cycle. Some of us who have gone through the past few elections and seen how politicians treat Nigerians are tired of it all. We want something different. I am convinced that if any politician were to “deliver” while they are in office today, they must have something akin to what Awolowo documented about government in his books. They must be individuals who have been to Awolowo’s school of government. What is Awolowo’s school of government? Awolowo’s school of government is not merely Awoism. It is rather a general commitment to enter public office to serve the ordinary Nigerian. It is a system of government that is not founded on money but on policies. It is a system of government that has “Afenifere” at its root. It is a selfless abandoning of one’s resources, time, and effort towards serving the public. Left to most Nigerians, they do not care who rules them; Nigerians do not care about systems of government; they are not concerned with whether we have military or civilian rulers. Nigerians just want security; they want food on their tables; they want to send their children to good schools and ensure they have jobs when they are done; they want to be able to go to the hospitals and find cures for their ailments, etc. Nigerians just want to live normal lives and die honourable deaths. And aspirants to public office must know how to meet these needs. But it is not enough to know them; something else Obafemi Awolowo taught us was that men must put action to their words. It is the reason why I consider it commendable that Governor Seyi Makinde would attend the birthday memorial of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. South West politicians should stop mouthing the “Awo” mantra; they should begin to put into practice the Awolowo philosophies of government. But how will they carry out something they have not been schooled on? This is the reason why the Awolowo School of Government is so very vital. You attend that school by reading all Obafemi Awolowo's written works, and then by endeavoring to educate yourself on what serving in public office is all about. People begin to discover that you have attended this school by the ideas you articulate in your writing and by the things you do each day of your life. Obafemi Awolowo’s birthday is only one day in 365 days of the year. It should not be too difficult for South West politicians, those who have benefited the most from his time in government, to abandon whatever they are doing and be in Ikenne in person to honour that great Nigerian.

This is what Seyi Makinde did last Friday, and I consider it commendable indeed.

Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

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PapaOutai – Remembering Rwanda

By: Deji Yesufu

Social media has a way of kicking up new songs that become quite popular and trendy. I suspect that there may not have been a more popular song than the “Papa Outai” song. I confess that the first time I listened to it, I liked it immediately. A brief online search reveals that the song was first published in 2013 by Stromae, a Belgian singer, rapper, and songwriter. But the latest version of the song, which was by artificial intelligence, mixed with “Afro Soul” tenor, was created by Mikeeysmind & Chill77, and published on Tiktok in December 2025. The latest version has since gone viral and has become the background song for TikTok videos, protest marches, and short comedies, and it has also inspired this article. The frequent call of “Papa Outai” in the song is quite gripping, and when you discover that the phrase means “Father, where are you?” you begin to think what might have inspired the song in the first place.

Stromae, whose full name is Paul Van Haver, was born on 12th March 1985, in Brussels, Belgium, to Pierre Rutare, his father, and Miranda Van Haver, his mother. His mother is Flemish, while his father was Rwandan. His father was an architect living in Belgium. He happened to have been visiting his family in Kigali, Rwanda in 1994, when he was caught up in the Rwandan genocide, and being Tutsi, was callously murdered along with the close to one million Tutsis that were killed by their Hutu neighbors in that horrible genocide. Stromae and his siblings were raised by his mother, but the absence of a father in his life would eventually inspire “Papa Outai” – a song that was originally made in French. This very short background to the singer’s life is the inspiration for this article.

A video surfaced online recently where a woman was suggesting that men should no longer take DNA tests to ascertain the paternity of their children. If not for the freedom that the social media affords for all kind of views to reach the public domain, one would have advised that woman not to have bothered embarking on such a project. Even if a law is enacted against paternity tests for DNA, many men would still do it. Incidentally, I agree with the meat of that woman’s suggestion. I also think that DNA testing does a lot more harm than good, and that if it can be avoided, it should. However, it is not my business what people use their money for. If men wish to do DNA testing on their children, they should be given the freedom to. I make my suggestion mainly because the role of a man or a father in a child’s life is so vital. I think that the mere fact that a man is given the title “Daddy”, he should bear that role and consider it a calling from God. It does not matter who donated the sperm; the real father is the individual who offered a child protection, provision, and purpose. Stromae’s lament in his song is that he did not know this as he grew up. The song should also be a reminder to those who have fathers to appreciate them while they live.

Another perspective that Stromae’s song offers us is the vital role of a functional society. Recently Reno Omokri suggested that people in science disciplines do better financially than those in the arts and social sciences. Such thinking reveals the very small-mindedness of Nigerian politicians. Everything is about money. If, for a moment, we consider that this theory is true, how will a doctor, engineer, pharmacist, or computer programmer function in a society that is at war? The social sciences and arts, although they may not earn as much as the sciences, are probably more important than the sciences. Nigeria is what she is today because we simply have not found people who will order our societies aright. Our laws are there, but there are no enforcement agencies. Our courts are replete with judges with questionable characters. Our electoral systems are not working. Today it is “transfer” we are debating; tomorrow, we are debating “transmission”. Our political parties have no ideologies. Money is the central motivating factor for many Nigerians. No society thrives in this kind of environment, and Stromae’s song reminds us that we can wake up one day in Nigeria with a genocide in our hands. It is bad enough that this country has battled Islamic insurgency since 2009 and our military has been unable to defeat them. Some have suggested that the military themselves are compromised with some of them retaining sympathies for Boko Haram, while others see the continual violence as a means of enriching themselves from contracts while purchasing ammunition. When the social fabric of a country is defective, we leave ourselves to the dangers of wars. Rwanda had to suffer that genocide for Paul Kagame to rise up and offer that country leadership, however despotic some might regard it. At least, there is peace, progress and prosperity in that country today. Nigeria cannot afford another civil war. The earlier the better we fix our social problem. Hopefully, our fathers' lives would be preserved, and they will be present in the lives of their children to raise them up.

Of the many videos that the AI enhanced Papaoutai song I have seen, it is those that are used for the Iranian protests that inspire me the most. In the middle of January 2026, young Iranian men and women flooded the streets of their major cities in Iran, demanding an end to the government of the Ayatollah Khamenei. The young people were met with force, and an estimated 30,000 people were mowed down. Some of them were shot dead in the hospitals where they had gone to recover from bullet wounds. Others were stuffed in body bags. The Islamic regime ruling that country has gone on a killing spree, and the worst part of it all is that major news outlets all around the world have remained silent the killings. This was what happened in 1994, when the Rwandan genocide occurred. The world's superpowers were called upon for help, but they looked the other way as innocent men and women were killed. it was not until Paul Kagame’s rebel group entered Kigali that the killings stopped. This was the tragedy that took Stromae’s father’s life, and it is what inspired the song we are talking about today. The saddest part of the killings in Iran is that it is not the fathers who are being killed now, but the children. It is only after the murderous Ayatollah regime has left that we will know the extent of the damage done. Our common humanity demands that you and I should cry out when others are being killed. I understand the political dimension of it; the fact that many right-wing persons like us also kept quiet when the Gaza killings were going on. The difference between the killings in Gaza and Iran is simple: Gaza is full scale war with a foreign power, a war elicited by terrorist groups that came from Gaza itself. The Iranian killings are the rulers of that country murdering their people. There is a lot of difference there!

The good news about Stromae’s song is that the absence of a father is not the end of the world for a child. There are many men who grew up strong and stable under the oversight of a mother who acts both as a father and mother to the children. There are other fatherless children who enjoy the blessing of other fathers coming along with them and guiding them through life. There are other young men and women who, in spite of the absence of a father, learn the lessons of life all by themselves and make a life for themselves. This is where I get the theory that God is the Father of all creation, and many times in the absence of a father, God steps into the life of a child. The greatest Father influence anyone can have is knowing God through his Son, Jesus Christ. In that case, we do not need to call out “Papa Outai” anymore. We know where our Father is. Our Father is in heaven. Amen.

Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at newdejix@gmail.com

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How to Survive Government’s “No Work, No Pay” Policy - JOHESU

Let me begin by congratulating members of the Joint Health Sector Unions in Nigeria (JOHESU) who have now come under the “No Work, No Pay” policy of the Nigerian government. It is a government threat that had long been hanging over our necks, and now that it has been slammed down on us like the French guillotine, it is our duty to ensure that we remain alive despite the macabre pain that the action is meant to inflict. Congratulations is due in our case because, in a practical sense, the strike action has only just started. The first two months of the strike, during which we were paid, were preparatory for a period like this and the smarter ones among us ought to have known that this will happen – and we should have been prepared. This essay is however meant to help those among us who are not prepared, and it is also meant to give us the inner fortitude to fight to the end; so that we do not become slaves within a system that all of us are building.

The purpose of this strike action is mainly to obtain better remuneration for staff of Nigerian hospitals, who obtain their salaries from the CONHESS salary scale. CONHESS is the Consolidated Health Salary Structure that was birthed by the Nigerian government in December 2009 for staff of public hospitals in Nigeria. When this salary structure was obtained, Nigerian doctors insisted on having a different structure for themselves, which they named CONMESS – Consolidated Medical Salary Structure. CONHESS runs from level one to 15. CONMESS runs from level one to 7. Government’s salary scales are given to newly employed staff based on the number of years spent obtaining a degree in the university. A bachelor of art degree will usually take about four years and someone employed into the hospital with this degree enters at CONHESS 8. An Engineering degree takes five years and they enter at CONHESS 9.

A medical doctor spends six years in the university, plus a year internship, but the resident doctor is employed into the hospital with CONMESS 3; which is equivalent to CONHESS 11 (Grade Level 13). CONHESS 11 is the salary of a Senior Nursing Officer – a position you reach after you have spent no less than twelve years working in this hospital. In other words, the Nigerian government pays doctors nothing less than ten years of studies ahead of other health workers. Second, the CONMESS salary structure has been adjusted upward three times now since its commencement in 2009. The agreement was that all salary structures would be adjusted simultaneously. Despite upscaling of the CONMESS, the CONHESS has remained unchanged since 2014. It is this injustice that this strike action is aimed at solving. Now, to the main point of this essay: How should you and I survive this strike action? The following are a few tips.

First, we must understand that government salary will come to an end one day; and a strike action like this, without pay, is practice towards that time. In this particular case, you should be encouraged to know that the salaries were actually paid, they are only being withheld by the various hospitals. They are saving the money – we will collect them eventually. But in the meantime, we must develop a new perspective to money. Generally, civil servants are very unwise with spending and events like these help restore to our minds why we all should use money wisely. The key word here is FRUGALITY. It means spending on the most important things, and saving the rest. After collecting two months salary during this strike, you and I should have been prepared for the inevitable. But even if this has met you unprepared, it is not the end of the world, there are other things you can do.

Second, we must prove our worth. Nigerian doctors working in our public hospitals give the impression that they are the most important set of workers in the hospital. This strike has shown to everyone that the absence of even a cleaner in a hospital will render the system unworkable. Workers in every unit of every department are consummate professionals. It means that now that the public hospitals are not working, private hospitals are working. With the mass exodus of medical professionals out of Nigeria, there is a high demand for us in private institutions. Every one of us should be gainfully employed at the moment. If you are not, you are probably not worth being within the hospital. So, save every extra kobo that you can because this strike action may be a very long one. Government has no choice but to kowtow to our demands because there is no country in the world that can afford to have its public hospitals shutdown. Apart from the stigma it attracts in the international community, it also means that the Nigerian government is unable to offer health care to its people. Eventually, government will discover our worth and they will pay us for it. In June, 2023, the Tinubu government did agree that we have a case and had promised an upward review of CONHESS. This strike action is demanding that they should put word to action.

Third, we must be our brother’s helper. In spite of the fact that every one of us are professionals and ought to be earning money at the moment, there are still many among us who do not have these abilities and are wholly dependent on government. Many of them are too proud to ask for help, and they are the ones that would usually fall victim of the “come and sign” threat that government has just published. Those of us earning something somewhere, should send money to these brothers and sisters of ours. That money should not be a loan, but a gift. Consider it a help-line in a difficult time. You will get your money back through the gracious hands of God that says it is more blessed to give than to receive.

This strike action must be total. We must fight to finish. There are no people who obtain their rights on a platter of gold. The very salary structure we are earning even now was obtained for us by strike actions like these by our senior brothers and sisters, many of whom are retired today. If we continue in this oppressive system, we will end up working as slaves in a system that all of us are trying to build together. Nigerian doctors do not have two heads. They do not earn two degrees from Nigerian universities. They may be leaders of the medical team in the clinical sections of the hospital, but they are not the all-in-all in the hospital, so much that newly employed doctors are earning the same salaries which some assistant directors earn in the hospital. This is pure injustice and this strike action is meant to resolve this.

This strike continues! Aluta continua!! Victoria asserta!!!

Still very much available...

Marriage and Marketing Forces

By: Deji Yesufu

I read an article recently. The young man said that three middle aged men spoke to him privately, and separately too, that he should not be in a hurry to marry. They told him that if they were to live their lives all over again, they would probably never marry. They advised that in their own estimation perhaps it is better to keep short term relationships with women and care for the children that result from those relationships. A happy-ever-after marriage is not practical on this side of heaven. Just about the time I read that article, my daughter reported an incident in her class to us at home. One of her classmates just fainted in class. When she was revived and asked what the trouble was, she told her teachers that her parents were fighting. Perhaps the trouble at home reduced her appetite and because she had not eaten, her body succumbed to the weight of her thoughts.

I am a blogger and I am married, and many times when I write on marriage like this, people conclude that I am reflecting the state of my home publicly. Let me say upfront that this article has nothing to do with my home; even though, like all marriages in Nigeria, my own marriage has had its ups and down. My concern really in this article is to reflect on the state of marriages in this country, and perhaps find a response to those men who are counselling our young men not to marry. And, perhaps, find some counsel for our parents on how to handle their marital issues while at the same time protecting the young children God has put into our hands to raise. My standard is the Bible and I hope that you will come along with me as we find some wisdom within the Holy Writ.

When I think about “Marriage and Marketing Forces”, I am thinking naturally, first. I am not looking at marriage from the point of view of the Bible. Rather, I am thinking of the natural inclinations of men. Here is what is factual about men and women: most men remain virile and productive most of their lives – from early teens till even as late as their eighties. While the biological clock of a man is just starting, those of many women is winding down. On the side of population, there are many more women than men. In fact, in the days gone by the way society handled the proliferation of unmarried women was to get men to be polygamous. Christianity has now constrained men to one wife, leaving many women unmarried (I should put a side-note here that men still go ahead and have side-chics to make up for this defect. An argument for another day). In economics, market forces is basically resolving the tension between demand and supply. If a product is much in the market, the value comes down. If there are many unmarried women in society, the sacredness of marriage begins to be threatened.

As we deal with the market forces around marriage, we also must return to the state of the home. In my estimation, while a man leads a house, the woman owns the home. The state of the home is the state of a woman’s mind. I hold the theory that many women are the course of the problems in their homes. Most women take their husbands and their marriages for granted. The only reason why three middle aged men, all very successful in what they do, will regret marrying is because they are in a situation in their homes where their wives give them little or no regard. One woman told me “…you know you men like to be respected…” I thought to myself is not what men like; it is what men have earned. A man provides, protect, and leads a home. He gives his wife a name and honour outside. And this same woman return to that house and cannot respect her husband? In Wale Adebanwi’s book on HID Awolowo, the Yoruba matriarch spoke about how she protected her husband from the prying eyes of other women. She never took him for granted. On the other hand, many women cannot respect their husbands. The side-chic phenomenon is usually employed because many men realize that their wives will not learn a lesson until the woman discovers that there is competition outside. Besides, when the wife brings her madness, the man escapes to the other woman. When he has stayed away for a week or two, she begins to beg him to return. Marketing forces!

Is there a way out of this quagmire? I also think that the happiest day of a couple’s life is their wedding day. After that, the happiness in the home begins to go downhill. But I think there is a solution to this problem and I will try and conclude the essay that way.

The solution to marriages not failing is the gospel and the Christian church. It is sad that most marriages start in church but continue without the influence of the gospel or the church on it. Now, here is one fact we must realize: when the pastor ties the man and woman together at the altar, the pastor is also saying that the extent to which your marriage will thrive will be the extent to which you submit to Christ, the gospel, and the influence of the church on your home. Now, I agree that many churches are a synagogues of Satan. I agree that many counselling sessions with pastors have been the root of the problems of many homes. I agree that many pastors have become slaves to money rather than common sense. Yet, there is still no solution to marital issues outside Christ, the gospel, and the church.

The man and the woman coming together to marry, must at some point in their lives be married to Jesus Christ. They must have repented of their sins to him; submitted their lives to him; and learnt to obey his commands to their hearts. Anyone who enters marriage without having Christ as Lord of their heart will fail in marriage. It is after these, that the couple can come together and marry. Now, within marriage, two injunctions become the rule for husband and wife: “Husband love your wives… wives submit to and respect your husband”. There is no order to these injunctions. The man is not to love the wife first and then the wife to respect and submit to the husband next. No. These are individual duties that God command each party within a marriage to carry out, whether or not the other party is doing theirs. Love for wife will keep a man’s eyes single. He will not take a side-chic. Respect for husband will confer on men the honor they deserve, which will lead a man to love his wife more. Making their home an increasing paradise on earth. When trouble arise, or there is a disagreement between them, it is still the same order of loving wife and submitting to husband that will resolve the matter.

Therefore, if you are not a Christian, I expect that you will follow the counsel of those young men in the first paragraph: do not marry at all. Or, better still, marry more than one wife. Create market forces within your own home that will make your wife submit to your lordship. For the woman, I sincerely have no counsel for you. Perhaps, if you fast and pray, and engage deliverance pastors long enough, you will find solution to the problem you created yourself. But for those who have ears to hear: there is no marriage where Christ is not first Lord of the individual hearts. Then each party must commit to obey God’s commands to them. There is also a final component to all these: there must be a church where the couple must go to each Sunday to hear God’s commands to their hearts. Such a church will never need to mediate marital problems if the couple are already doing what they are supposed to do. But if the need arises, a pastor should look into a marital challenge and simply remind the couple of God’s commands to them.

So, if you are a young man out there and you want to marry, I believe I have explained to you what you need to make your home successful.

Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached on naijareformed@gmail.com

Source: https://textandpublishing.com/marriage-and-marketing-forces/

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