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Mar 16

The Role of Women in the Modern World

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by johnm

It is good that our women are taking up important positions in our political, social and economic scheme of things. The trend must be encouraged. The New world of our dream is one where excellence will be our general philosophy. Women must strive to excel and be counted among our best and brightest.

However, our women must know that there is no gender war in Nigeria. The argument is no longer that men are stronger and brighter but that women too have equally great capacities for great achievements.

Nigerian women must not abandon their families. They must be able to combine excellence in their career and profession with their home management ability. The home front needs them most. Their ability to combine the two fronts effectively will give them leverage over women in other places. A nation without great women is yet to arrive. That nation delays her great strides.

Mothers are among a nation’s most important groups. The new Nigerian women must be good career women as well as good mothers and good wives. Since the beginning of the world, women have been for great importance; they have nurtured-children who have grown to be the world’s greatest and brightest; they have been good wives by providing emotional security and support for the greatest men in human history. Some have come out from behind the scene to make tremendous contributions to society’s greatness and progress. Women have indeed done the world great service. Nigerian women are making their mark. The new Nigerian youth must stand by them. Nigerian women must not seek sympathy, they must earn our respect. They must not demand lowering of standards to help them come up. They must prove themselves by competing on the same standards with men. They must give a lie to the contention that women get to high places by undue influences on the men. They must insist on excellence as the criterion for their promotion and achievement.

The history of the great achievements of Nigerian women dates back to the empire days. There were great women of substance in the Benin Empire, the Oyo Empire, among other organized societies of precolonial times. There was Queen Idia of Benin and Queen Amina of Zaria. In recent history, we have Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. The Aba women riot of 1929 was another proof of the strength of Nigerian women. Today, there is a new breed of Nigerian women who are making waves in the social, political and economic spheres of activities in Nigeria. The up-and-coming Nigerian women must derive inspiration from these women with a difference. They are among Nigeria’s brightest stars.

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Mar 16

Interpreting the Old Testament in Africa, A Review

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by johnm

NATURE AND PURPOSE
This volume is a collection of twenty-three papers read at the International Symposium on Africa and the Old Testament, in Karen, in October 1999. It is part of the Biblical Studies in African scholarship series which features titles by contemporary African Christian theologians.
The purpose of the series generally is to make available a sample of such books like the one under review at affordable prices to students, faculty, clergy and laity within Africa. Furthermore, it is hoped that African Christian theological scholarship will eventually enter the mainstream of the theology curriculum in tertiary institutions in Africa and beyond. The series intends to fill this gap and facilitate systematic research on contemporary Christian theology as articulated by African scholars. The editors of the text admit that there is no plain answer to the question “what does it mean to interpret the Old Testament in Africa today?” However, they are convinced that the text is an attempt to realistically answer the question. The question of localization, they affirm, is important for Old Testament scholarship.

SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS OF ONE ESSAY IN EACH OF THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE BOOK
Part One: Mapping the context of Old Testament Studies in Africa
The Current State of Old Testament Scholarship in Africa: Where We Are at the Turn of the Century, By Knut Hotler

This paper asks some basic questions with regards to the state of the Old Testament scholarship in Africa at the turn of the last century, relating the minor stories of Old Testament scholarship in Africa to the major story, the story about who we are, and where we are. It surveys the current state of Old Testament scholarship in Africa from three perspectives (thematic, institutional and interpretive) and discusses a couple of aspects of interaction between these three areas. Preference for approaches relating the Old Testament texts and the African context and the growing interest for more traditional exegetical approaches are noted from the thematic approach. From an institutional perspective, the paper identifies and discusses some of the problems and challenges facing the development of an infrastructure facilitating an Old Testament scholarship. The third perspective discusses how Old Testament scholarship in Africa relates to different aspects of its interpretive context. However, as all three refer to the same phenomenon, Old Testament scholarship in Africa, they are closely related. Although African Old Testament scholarship has been established, its voice must be heard within the church in Africa and its interpretation must reflect its dialogue with the experiences and concerns of Africa. The same is true if it wants to be part of the global guild.

Part Two: Finding Africa in the Old Testament
The images of Cush in the Old Testament: Reflections on African hermeneutics, by David Tuesday Adamo

This paper examines the various functions and meanings of the Old Testament term Cush that have been put forward by Euro centric scholarship. A brief survey of some extra biblical references like African and Assyrian precedes the discussion on the Old Testament references to Cush which is divided into three groups: Cush as a personal name, a geographical reference and a reference to people of Africa descent. It discusses the exegetical function, meaning and translation of the term and the implications of the translation for the churches in Africa. Adamo holds tenaciously to the view that Cush should be translated or rendered Africa which will disprove racist ideas that some scholars have forced into the Bible in their interpretation.

Part Three: Using Africa to Interpret the Old Testament
What”s in a Name?: Africa Versus Old Testament Nomenclature, by Jonathan Gichaara

Gichaara engages in a comparative study between the significance of names or name giving in the Meru African heritage and in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament and African cultures, the name is inextricably bound up with existence. Nothing exists unless it has a name. It is not a mere label of identification, but an expression of the essential nature of the bearer of the name. It stood for the character qualities of either the bearer of the name or the giver as the case may be. The differences are also outlined.

Part Four: Using the Old Testament to Interpret Africa
Genesis 1-2 and Some Elements of Diversion from the Original Meaning of the Creation of Man and Woman, by Anne Nasimiyu Wasike

This article discusses the place of women in the church and society. It laments the woeful use of the Bible since some African scholars have referred to their traditional, cultural and religious heritage to justify the inferior status of women in society. For centuries, male scholars have gone to the Scriptures and selected those texts that support their male-dominated views on women. The writer believes that Christianity has failed to reflect the restoration message of the Gospel. It has alienated and marginalized African women in the Church. It is no wonder that Africa is leading in emerging church movements which are seeking wholeness, healing and recognition of women”s leadership. Women, Wasike argues, have to question the patristic interpretation which does not allow them in leadership roles beyond household management. She holds that there is need for a theology that affirms restoration in Jesus Christ which supports our uniqueness as persons ? male and female-, made in the image and likeness of God. The man-made barriers that restrict human freedom, especially women”s freedom, have to be torn down to enable each child of God to fulfill his or her God-given gifts and talents.

Part Five: Translating the Old Testament in Africa
Morphological and Syntactical Correspondence Between Hebrew and Bantu Languages, by Victor Zinkuratire

This article draws attention to some features of the Hebrew language that have close equivalents in Bantu languages. Several examples of certain morphological and syntactical correspondences between Hebrew and Bantu languages are cited. A final example of comparison is taken from a common feature of the Hebrew language namely the qatal-wayyiqtol (perfect and imperfect) verb sequence used in past tense narrative.

The writer draws several important implications based on the discovery of these similarities and correspondences. He suspects that Hamitic and Nilotic groups of languages would yield a still closer and more radical resemblance with Hebrew than the Bantu languages. These correspondences and similarities between Hebrew and African languages could encourage African Old Testament scholars to examine the potential of using mainly African Bible translations (instead of European ones) in conjunction with the Hebrew (and Greek) Bible. This could be a promising route towards a genuine African biblical exegesis that will facilitate a more contextualized interpretation of the Bible for Africans.

EVALUATION
Generally, these papers give a fairly representative testimony of how the relationship between Africa and the Old Testament is interpreted in universities and theological seminaries in Eastern and Southern Africa at the turn of the last century. They are an invaluable effort to interpret the Old Testament in an African context. They are important signposts in the long journey towards the maturation of African theological scholarship. By mapping the context of Old Testament studies in Africa, aiming at finding Africa in the Old Testament, analyzing various aspects of the Old Testament portrayal of Africa and Africans, discussing Africa to interpret the Old Testament, analyzing various aspects of how the texts of the Old Testament are experienced as relevant to their contemporary African readers and describing various aspects of the effort of translating the Old Testament in Africa today, these papers portray the puzzling affinity between the African religious heritage and the way of the life which the Old Testament presupposes and takes for granted.

My criticism of the text is that it did not reflect scholars from all the four main regions in Africa. Although my country, Sierra Leone, is not included, one would probably have expected meaningful contributions from or about the country with probably one of the largest growing church in the world (Nigeria). The above notwithstanding, the writer realistically observes that, without Africa and the participation of Africans, neither Judaism nor Christianity would make sense. This means that the Old Testament cannot be realistically interpreted without Africa”s contribution.

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Mar 16

Nigeria At 49 – Leadership As An Epidemic

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by johnm

Dwight D. Einsenhower (1890-1969) was the President of the United States of America from 1953 until 1961 once defined leadsership as, “The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” This simply explains that a leader is someone you put in your trust to get things done successfully. Good leaders are known for their competence, patriotism, dedication, committed to excellence, confidence, enthusiasm, openness to change and recognition of the value of change.

These are the major yardsticks or components of ethos to understand Nigeria leadership. Nigeria military and democratic leaders since forty-nine years ago have perform below expectations considering the largely untapped natural and human resources, boundless possibilities and opportunities that abound in Nigeria. In fact, our leaders are nothing but what Rev.Matthew Hassan Kukah has recently tagged “accidental leaders”. They refuse to organise, unite and act to put their name in great history of transformation and development of this great nation.Our leaders fail to take advantage of the nation with world largest market. They fail to take advantage of our oil and gas to make life better for all Nigerians, instead we are facing with national psychosis of kidnapping, embezzlement of public funds, religion and ethnic conflicts, pervasive bribery and corruption, and massive election rigging.What have we done with our reserves that make us the tenth most petroleum-rich nation? Is it not a shame if we cannot boast of regular power and water supply at forty-nine years of independence? Is not a shame if our leaders cannot settle the ongoing federal universities workers’ strike of more than three months? Students are to suffer for this strike action in the long run.

Leadership behaviour should be a natural part of performance. It is getting things done and not wasting of human lives. Leader doesn’t tell his subordinates (ministers) what to do, but keep on inspiring them to see what they are capable of, or prompts others to be their best, then, helping them to get there. The reverse is the case in Nigeria. A leader will come to power by coup or election rigging, he will prefer to appoint a Yoruba graduate to head the ministry of agriculture and natural resources.This ministry boss in turns will appoint his relations, some party members and friends even if they are not qualified to complete his team.Are we expecting miracles from them? A round peg in a square hole is nothing but a misfit.Many qualified Nigerians are victims of this misfit.

It makes sense to recruit the best individual, an achiever who will do whatever it take to make sure he succeeds and not a kind a coward Professor who has shown face after SIXTEEN years to tell us the winner and those who annuled the most acclaimed, freest and fairest presidential election of June, 1993 that won by late Chief M.K.O.Abiola. He would have announce the result (be it in Nigeria or abroad) and made history for himself and Nigeria in laying good foundation for Nigeria`s democracy for the very first time that all Nigerians spoke with one voice. How is Ghana or Dubai in sixteen years ago? I have been living in Spain for the last few years. Spain was being ruled by General Francisco Franco for almost forty years of military dictatorship. Most Spainsh people left their country to look for greener pastures during the turbulent forty years of dictatorship. The death of the dictator in power on November 20, 1975, brought a turning point to the people of Spain. The country got her first democratic Constitution in 1978 (21 years ago) to ushered in a Parliamentary government led by Mr.Adolfo Suarez.Since 1978, the country has been experiencing a steady economic growth political stability coupled with quickly increasing mass-tourism which has favourable effects on their economy.

Meanwhile, leadership is a demonstrative ability. Good leaders always display sincerity, credibility, integrity, intelligence, competence in all their actions. They make timely and appropriate changes in thinking plans and methods to carry out their assignments out successfully. A good leader does not need up to 365 days before starting to perform with good results.He knows what is important to the people representing. We have witnessed that briefly in Nigeria with a man which was named after our former Lagos international airport, and we are still witnessing very few of our present democratic Governors performances. Their brilliant performances is a reflection of the characteristics and values of true leadership.This tells us that a new Nigeria is possible. It is either you are a bad leader or a good leader. Good leaders are very clear about their missions, goals, priorities and preferences.The poor ones will always refuse to do nothing after a lot of promises made in their political campaigns and voluminous party programmes. Since October, 1960, the only things we get from majority of our leaders is destructive leadership styles in which they violate the legitimate interest of the country and thereby sabotaging the socio-economic transformation for the development of the country. We should now get it clear that the behaviour exhibited by a leader may or may not reflect in their personalities. What do you think of a leader that traveled out to witness an inauguration of a University when he could not find solution to three months workers’strike actions of his country federal Universities ? Let our leaders know that the foundation of every state is the education of its youth.

Looking back from history, poor leadership in Nigeria appears to be an epidemic-a contagious disease that spreads rapidly and widly among particular population. This epiidemic disease time is up and we have to get rid of it with the help of immunization and quarantine of modern democratic principles and conceptions.According to Joseph Folkmania, “poor leadership in good times can be hidden. But poor leadership in bad times is a recipe for disaster”.We have to act now to safe imminent disaster in our political society. What has happened to the national political reforms conference deliberations and recommendations? Don’t we need true federalism? Don’t we need meaningful balance between federal jurisdiction and the development needs of the states.?

Sometimes, I am very sad when reading and hearing from few Nigerians that so much believe that it is very difficult to have new Nigeria with undistrupted electricity, regular pipe-borne water, good road network. All these are POSSIBLE with good political leaders with physical vitality and stamina, intelligence and action-oriented judgement. A leader that understand its follwers and their needs. The time of “godfatherism” in politics should be a thing of the past. We must have learnt our lessons by now. We have all what it takes to build a solid foundation for a great nation. Let vote for an achiever, a statesman with exemplary character of trustworthiness with good vision to accomplish political process which has political consequences in relation to government and policy.

I will be not doing justice to my piece if I forget the words of the great author, Chinua Achebe in his book titled:The Trouble With Nigeria, where he emphasized that there is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character, climate, land or water or air, but: “The Nigeria problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership….I am saying that Nigeria can change today if she discovers leaders who have the will, the ability and the vision” We need leaders that will provide the well-being of the led, and provide a social organization in which people feel relatively secure. In addition to this: We are not poor because we lack natural or human resources or because nature was cruel to us.We are poor and in this mess because we lack ATTITUDE and good LEADERSHIP. God bless Nigeria.

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Mar 16

Nigeria: A Nation Threatened By Pseudo-Religion

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by johnm

Divergent opinions emanating from different religious quarters have for so many years held the nation at a standstill. This has made so many people to see religion as the greatest enemy of Nigeria’s potential nationhood. Nigeria cannot truly be called a nation when one religion out of the lot will aspire to dictatorship in secular matters. Without subscribing to the notion that “a theocratic order is anathema to nation building”, it is important to understand that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the nation whose God is GOD is a progressive nation. A secular order that is in line with God’s standard can embrace all. Secularity without God is a disaster. When God is sidelined and the people do their own things, progress will never be achieved.

It will not be enough to posit that religion MUST submit to community, to nation, so as to facilitate human co-existence. Without religion, the whole world would have been in flames. When I speak about religion, I speak about the knowledge of the true GOD. I say this because, I see that there are religious followings that evoke parallel but opposing sets of protocols, citing the authority of some unseen and unknowable gods in realms that have no perceptible contact with the actual. Testimonies abound in so many places where the worship of the true GOD, the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, brought about total transformation of people. People who in times past have been living in brutishness, now reverts to love and care for one another.

Through the fear and worship of the true GOD, Nigeria has a chance or space of attaining nationhood. The big problem facing us now is the attitude of some people who blend politics with religion thereby making co-existence to become impossible, reverting human entity to its former state of brutishness. Religion began in Israel the day when God spoke to Abraham, telling him to leave his land and his family home to a new country. God promise to make Abraham the founder of a great nation, and without doubting, Abraham took God at His word and followed Him.

So the very first and most basic belief of the Jewish and Christian religion is the certainty that God is a real person, and that human beings – individually or a group – can know Him. Through Abraham’s grandson Jacob (renamed Israel), the history of Israel as a nation began, and through the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham, the family and nation that came from the stock of Abraham became God’s people. He proved this when He rescued the children of Israel from the Egyptian bondage, meeting their needs for food and water and cared for them in spite of their rebellions.

As time went on, there arose divergent opinions and other developments in the last centuries before Christ. It was a time when the Law was studied, and extended, as never before. And during this time various religious and political groups sprang up. There were the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes – in the New Testament. Other sects nit mentioned had tremendous effect on the Jewish religious ‘climate’ of the New Testament times. Their actions and teaching of religious observances (a matter of ritual) affected the progress of their nation greatly. Their religious patterns were not matched by right behaviour. This annoyed God and He dealt with them severely. God categorically stated that the nation that forsakes God shall be turned into hell, together with all its inhabitants. When we follow the ways of God, things go well with us, but when we abandon God, we risk calamity.

Nigeria as a nation should however learn from history. Righteousness is what exalts a nation and its people, but when SIN is introduced, the nation and its people are reproached. When any nation allows a group of disorderly people to dictate the tune of its government in the name of religion, trouble is about to begin. So many atrocities have taken place in Nigeria in the name of religion. The truth of the matter is that no religion, in the context of that word ‘religion’ will ever tolerate evil. “Pseudo” is the right word, and when you hear people complain about evil in the cover of religion, be careful to know where those actions belong.

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Mar 16

Nigerian Stock Market – The Impact of Information Technology

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by johnm

The big change brought was live trading on computers and crediting the transactions into investors’ account within four days. This revolutionary change brought transparency into the sector. More and more Nigerians at home and abroad got involved in Nigerian Stock Market activities. Also the use of information technology in helped to curb fraudulent schemes from issuing houses.

Central Securities Clearing System was introduced this monitors the stock exchange activities in a computer based environment showing all transactions and hence providing to all investors a fair trading system. With the launch of Automatic Trading System the automation of NSM was done. Subsequently e-bonus, e-allotment, e-dividend and e-IPO were introduced and implemented. The GSM operators were of great effect in increasing the credentials of this sector. In 2006, phone based alert program was introduced which increased the trust of investors in Nigerian stock Exchange commission.

The impact of Information Technology would be incomplete if the mention of internet effect is not done. The internet has added to the transparency and means of investing in the stocks as one can use online facility to be part of day to day transaction in stock trading. Additionally one can have the complete information about share index, volume and value of stock traded.

With so much of information technology getting into trading and information about the Nigerian stock market, every investor should have awareness about how to use it for the maximum benefits in terms of getting the most out of it. This is just an information to intending investors to know how best to maximize their potentials in the Nigeria stock market.

However,the impact of technological advancement has in no small means contributed to the development of this unit of the economy,hence investors could take advantage of the low extreme fall in stock prices to build an investment portfolio in the African biggest capital market since this comply with the principle of buy low sell high that is the anchor of feature trading anywhere in the world.

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Mar 16

Legal Blogs – The Nigerian Phenomenon

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by johnm

In the past two decades, blogs have almost completely taken over the World Wide Web. Most internet users find themselves going to blogs for information and articles on practically any topic as there are niche blogs in virtually every field. This explosive revolution has swept through every region of the world from Addis Ababa to Zurich.

Browsing through the internet in search of legal blogs from Africa, it is interesting to note that those coming out of Nigeria are pretty non-existent. Compared with countries such as Egypt, South Africa and Kenya, the indication is disheartening. The paradox lies in the fact that as of June 2009, Nigeria had the second largest number of online users, next to Egypt (internetwolrdstats.com). With over 40,000 qualified legal practitioners, it becomes a little mystifying why there is such a dearth of legal blogs coming out of Nigeria. A number of factors are responsible for this.

The rapid development of internet technology is a major factor. Even though Nigerians spend a lot of time on the internet, many have not evolved beyond the use of emails, Chat Rooms and a handful of websites although with the popularity of facebook, quite a number have made the migration to social networks. Nevertheless, blogging remains shrouded in obscurity.

Needless to say, there are a lot of lawyers in Nigeria who are internet savvy and some who have even delved into the world of web development but are still ignorant of the workings of blogs. Because they have no idea how a blog works or where the advantages of blogging lie, they have developed little interest in the blogosphere as a whole. This laissez-faire attitude has contributed far more to the near absence of legal blogs in Nigeria.

When all is said and done though, there are a few legal blogs around, although not enough to adequately represent the legal profession in Nigeria — but as the Nigerian Bar Association has gone digital, it might not be long before its members follow suit.

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Mar 16

A Nation At Fifty, Nigeria

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by johnm

On the 1st of October 1960 the whole world stood still because a giant was born. Nigeria became an independent nation and we gained political independence from our colonial masters thanks to the nationalists who fought with the whole of their hearts. Nigeria, our beloved country, gained her independence and this year, the “giant of Africa” will be celebrating her 50th birthday. I have taken my time to look at the journey of our beloved country since independence and I ask, how far have we gone as a country?

This question is not a question that I expect us to give an immediate response to. Personally for moments I was thinking about this question and will encourage you to do the same looking at every area of that make up Nigeria as a country. I ask again has the dreams of our heroes past seen the light of day, how well have we journeyed the last fifty years as an independent country. With patriotism and enthusiasm our founding fathers charted a course for the greatness of this country refusing to be discouraged until they saw the birth of their dream. But the key question remains, have we kept the dream alive.

In the academic sector have we made our founding fathers proud of us, have we kept their dream alive. What is the standard of our education after fifty years of independence compared to other countries of the world? Several years back our standard of education was ranked 6th in the world but today sorry is the case, we have half-baked graduate; graduate who cannot defend their certificate not talk of contending with their peers from other parts of the world.

We have graduate roaming the streets in search of job after spending years in the university and other tertiary institutions. Unlike what we had years back where federal government jobs would have been waiting begging for them to accept but the situation is not the same today. The number of graduate is far more than the jobs available, while the number of graduate is increasing at geometric progression; job vacancy is increasing at the speed of a snail.

In the economic sector have we made our heroes proud or have we fallen their hands and have killed their dreams. According to an online report on Nigeria’s national flag the white stripe in the center signifies peace; the green stands for agriculture, which remains the backbone of the national economy. Fifty years after independence we have succeeded in abusing the intent of the national flag the I ask, where is our pride in the national flag? The focus of our economy has totally shifted to petroleum and instead of building a multi-dimensional economy system; we have succeeded in focusing one and have successfully become a mono-economy independent state. Agriculture our initial economy pride has fallen to the background and has faded what a pity.

Our leaders are concerned about nothing but their pockets, all they want to do is enrich the masses and enrich their pocket. We no longer have leaders of the masses but leaders with selfish interest have you not made the labor of our heroes past be in vain? The national treasure has now become a personal treasure meant to enrich the pockets of selfish public holders what a pity and the I ask again, is this what it means to be fifty years old?

How well have we upheld peace? The resent Jos crises has done no good to our beloved country it has along with other crises making us one of the countries on the terror list, is that what fifty years is all about? Abia state has become the headquarters of kidnappers what a pity for the giant of Africa at fifty. Is this the kind of dream our founding fathers had for at independence, have we made their dreams a true dream or a nightmare?

The power sector is a no go area, it has become a situation of fetching water in to a basket. All effort to resuscitate the power sector has yielded no positive result instead it keeps getting worse and just like a friend once said,” the federal government should sell the power sector and distribute the money realized from the sale to all citizen to do whatever they like with their share”. A giant at fifty that we can’t boast of fifty days of uninterrupted power supply. This is the journey of fifty years.

We keep claiming to be the giant of Africa yet the humble ones have overtaken the self acclaimed giant. In football we claim to have attained the height no African country has attained. At the recently concluded world cup in South Africa, we could not go past the first round what an unfortunate experience. Apart from football let’s look at other sports; we use to be a force to reckon with.

Political instability has been another greatest undoing for us in the last five decade impacting us negatively on institutional development, which is necessary for advancement. Our structure of governance had barely been developed when we ran into series of political obstacles shortly after independence which consequently resulted in the unfortunate 30-month civil war which is certainly not the dream of those who fought for the independence, our heroes past; we have no doubt disappointed you in the first fifty years after independence.

However, my fellow compatriot, the journey of another fifty years has just begun. The opportunity for us to correct our mistakes and focus on how to wipe away the tears of our founding fathers that are definitely not happy with what we have done in the last fifty years. We have to come together and focus on the strength in our diversity, let’s focus more on our strength and pay less attention on our mistakes and weaknesses.

The journey to another fifty years has just started and how well we will fare depends a lot on what we start doing now, all hand must be on deck and we must come together with one purpose in mind which is how to make Nigeria the country everybody around the world wants to be. In the next fifty years we should be happy that we made mistakes and have learned from them and have become better. We should stop apportioning blame and pointing accusing fingers. We should have renewal of heart and attitude towards national issues and make Nigeria the pride of our founding fathers in the world beyond.

Regarding the power sector which is very key to national development, we should seek the hand of foreign experts that will help improve the power supply in Nigeria. It should however be noted that the coming of foreigners does not automatically guarantee the improvement hence, we must all work together to make the situation by contributing our individual quota to improve the present situation.

Let’s begin to see and focus on the strength in our diversity and put a stop to this inhuman act of killing one another all in the name of religion and tribe. Nigerians are known as people with uncommon strength and hardworking let’s focus on this positive attributes and make Nigeria the pride and giant of Africa in deed and just like Obama’s slogan, “yes we can”.

And just like the president said on the 1st of October during his independence/jubilee speech, “the greatest resource we have is the youth; we have the greatest stake in transforming our nation. It is time for us to answer the call and contribute to Nigeria’s foundation of freedom. This is how this generation will make its mark. This is how we will make the most of these opportunities. This is how we will ensure that five decades from now, as our children and grand children celebrate our nation’s independence centenary, we will be remembered as having contributed to the great history of Nigeria.

Personally I commit myself to this course of nation building and making our founding fathers proud of what they fought for. The journey begins now so let’s start work, God bless Nigeria.

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Mar 16

Ecological Development to Save the Planet

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by johnm

Our world is moving ahead with the progress of human civilization, modernization, advancement of technology etc. But the crude reality is that we are still at least hundred years away from creating a planet which understands and encourages ecology friendly methods of living. We ignorantly use raw sources of energy and perform chemical processes which have the power to wipe out our entire civilization. In terms of technological development we are still in our infanthood.

What the world needs today urgently is an ecological development. Ecological development means an all round advancement of the people to construct an environment where progress is done keeping in mind the society, its economy as well as nature as all three should be interdependent. Unfortunately ecological development has been neglected from a long time and its consequences can be felt in the form of ‘Global warming’ which is gradually spreading to engulf the entire planet. ‘Global warming’ is also a result of deforestation, burning of fossil fuels which produce carbon dioxide of such a vast amount that even if we stop blazing them right now still the harmful gas will be present in the atmosphere for several years. This rise in global temperature will result in melting of glaciers, permafrost, sea ice, rise in sea levels causing floods which can wipe away many regions from the face of the earth, drastic change in temperature affecting agriculture, extinction of forests and many species.

Researches reveal that industrial revolution also has a big role to play in augmenting the amount of green house gases present in the atmosphere which caused in the rise of radioactive forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs, and nitrous oxide. Other factors responsible for ecological crisis are air pollution, the key culprits being industrial gases, transports emitting poisonous gases, and the breakdown of certain consumer products discharges a large mixture of toxic wastes into the air we breathe. No wonder now-a-days people suffer so much from respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer. Asbestos is another material causing cancer to many of the shipyard and building workers. Per year the death rate is rising higher such that in France alone more than 100,000 people died because of asbestos. Severe objections have been raised against its usage in richer nations but as its alternatives are expensive hence under developed countries are still using asbestos in a large amount.

Other key ecological problems arise from water pollution and soil degradation. We are just bothered to keep our home clean but have we ever given a thought as to where do all the industrial, household and agricultural wastes go from these massive drains? All these unwanted materials are disposed easily into the world’s waters transforming them into large cesspit. Rivers and lakes carry these wastes and throw them into the sea causing accretion of heavy metals, mercury, cadmium, and extremely lethal untreated compound; these get deposited on the ocean floor, riverbeds and lake beds. Some fertilizers consisting of nitrates and phosphates have led to the uncontrollable growth of algae and water plants. All these situations have resulted in continuous exhaustion of oxygen which is dissolved in the water, needless to say that a large number of marine lives are getting extinguished every year. Abandoning of chemicals and radioactive wastes, petroleum leakage are some of the heinous crime man is committing everyday. Soil degradation is another source of ecological crisis and this is caused by over cultivation of land, monoculture, crops which will reap huge profits are grown regardless of their harmful effects on the ecosystem and weather.

With the heightening of ecological crisis the countries worldwide are becoming aware of the immediate necessity to take some serious measures for controlling the situation before it is too late. In 1992 the United Nations held a conference in Rio dealing with Environment and Development. Its main focal point was to attract attention on subjects such as environmental degradation, poverty, development and their relations. Ecological movements are held throughout the world which is bringing a deep rooted transformation in public awareness towards our environment. People are raising their voices against even the most powerful nations who are achieving economic gains while deteriorating the entire ecosystem. It is not the question of one nation’s malpractices which can be easily ignored since the consequences of the constant depletion and worsening of ecology will be felt by the entire planet. During a world war one can immediately see the disastrous result of massive destruction but here the obliteration of the environment cannot be felt or seen instantly but its end result is far more dangerous than a nuclear war.

Via Campesina is an international peasant movement supported by members from countries like Latin America, Asia and Africa, their main motto is to attract attention to the relation between climate change and crop failure, and the link between food sovereignty and climate justice. This movement raises its voice against the production of junk food which is harmful to the fertility of the land, removal of industrialized agriculture, it encourages solar and biogas as energy sources to be used in farms. Oilwatch is another international network located in Ecuador, Nigeria, Thailand and Costa Rica which insists to stop the usage of crude oil by promoting renewable forms of energy like the wind and the solar. The GAIA (Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance) is a global organization which focuses on the diminution of production of crude wastes like the dioxins. They promote the concept of “zero waste” which means that by bringing certain changes in the production process both the solid waste and the noxious wastes can be brought down to zero level.

Ecological development unlike any other development does not relate to urbanization and industrialization, instead it refers and strongly recommends the eco-friendly path which points towards going back to nature. Nature has made everything so perfect but it is a plight that we greedy humans in order to satiate our desires have exhausted mother earth of all her natural resources. It is an irony that only when something becomes unachievable to us then we realize its true worth.

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Mar 16

Nigeria: Dealing With The Issue Of Sham Religion

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by johnm

I read a story of a street preacher in London who was preaching to a crowd that had gathered around him. It was at the time of the Shamrock races, and everyone was talking of the event. A ruffian on the edge of the crowd thought he would have a little fun, so he called three times, “Mr. Preacher! What do you know about the Shamrock?” Finally, the fourth time, not to be silenced, the ruffian called again, “Mr. Preacher! I am asking you what you know about the Shamrock”. This time the preacher paused. The crowd became very still. Pointing upward, with one hand he said, so clearly and distinctly that everyone could hear him, “On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand; all other rocks are – Sham rocks!”

The action of the ruffian reminds me of something very important. He recognized the presence of a preacher, the people who were busy listening to his message, as well as those who were busy talking about the Shamrock races. It is understandable that those who gathered to listen to the preacher have little or no regard for the Shamrock races. Along the line, someone was concerned about the two important events – the preaching and the races!

The action of the ruffian is a clear indication that masses of people today flock into religious organizations wrapped up in falsehood and ignorance. There are false teachings and ideologies that can never change the heart of man. They pretend to be worshipping God but more often than not they exit those places of “worship” no better off than they were when they went in. The truth of the matter is that God is good to those who have honest hearts and desire to seek Him and know His truth. Good religion is not cheap, and cheap religion is not good. Our world today is replete with cheap religion, which ultimately will fail at the end. A religion which its adherents perpetuate evil and still remain very important personalities is nothing but a sham!

Nigeria is as nation has experienced so many evil acts of sham religions – religions whose top priority is to laugh when others are crying, and to cry when good things are happening to people. As a result, they go to devise means of inflicting injury on them so that their joy will be cut short. The Bible made me to understand that it is only witches and wizards that are known to exhibit such characters, and so commanded that we “suffer no witch/wizard to live” (Exodus 22:18). Sham religion is tantamount to witchcraft. It is pretending to be good while going against the rules. Apostles of sham religion are everywhere. Christians maintain that no true Christian can participate in anything that can cause others harm. The Muslims too believe the same, even the pagans on their own part are not left alone. They believe in the law of retributive justice. Who then is behind the religious troubles that we see everywhere in Nigeria today?

If every religious body denounces man’s inhumanity to man, then some people are professing sham religion. In Christianity, God’s children are those who not only have believed in Him through Christ, but those who have broken fellowship with unbelievers, abhor fellowship with unrighteousness, communion with darkness, concord with Belial, part with infidels, agreement with idols and the likes. These also, recognize that they are the temples of God, that God dwells in them, walks in them, and that He is their God. They are those who have come out of the world. They are separate and no more touch any unclean thing (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). They delight themselves in the LORD, His projects and His people. These can never be they who go out for destruction.

At the time of the recent Nigerian general elections, Christians too were observing the Holy Week – a commemorative period before Easter. As Nigerians go to elect their political leaders into office and the celebrations that precede Easter on the way, people woke up one morning to behold Churches, shops, houses and offices being set ablaze. As others could wish “Happy Easter” to their neighbours, corpses have filled the whole street and those that still have their heads standing scamper for safety. The death and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated on Easter Day. This is to remember how Jesus shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary to save sinners. In twist of history, the enemy of the Christians covering himself as ruffians of a sham religion took to the streets of Nigeria shedding innocent human blood simply to mock God. Those who turned back to kill us are they who always approach us for assistance, visit and discuss their problems with us.

You can trust Nigeria with her equally “sham” security network. People were being killed while soldiers and the police look on. I truly see the uselessness of having the security agents in almost every household when they cannot protect the lives of the people. It was even heart-breaking for a security agent to gun down a young man that ran after the rioters to prevent them from doing further destructions, whereas the rioters were having a field day. That looks so much like a planned deal! Do we also suspect the security network in this country? Then we are truly divided – the people, the security, and the country! The 2011 Nigerian post-election violence is a clear indication that the country is no longer one.

One of the national newspapers had on its cover page of Monday 18th April, 2011, a divided map of Nigeria which helped in tracing the boundaries between the two countries of Nigeria – the South and the North. This is an answer to Gaddafi’s “friendly” advice sometimes back, that Nigeria should split according to religious/or ethnic lines. Indeed, Nigerians have truly seen the fact that while politicians were busy campaigning for leadership positions, other people were also busy campaigning for a religious candidate. This country is truly standing on the legs of clay. Apostles of sham beliefs can never see any good in Nigerian politics, and so other beliefs must go with it to balance it up. Talk about good governance, free, fair or credible elections, they are not interested, except a person from their own religion or ethnicity becomes the leader. Are we not divided in the minds already, only waiting for the paperwork to be done?

Let us believe that this is a huge joke. Let us believe that Nigeria is, and remains the ONE NIGERIA that our fathers fought for. Let us believe that what happened is the handiwork of sham believers. Otherwise, how do we reconcile the massive support that a Christian candidate received, which is far bigger than that of his Muslim counterpart? Or do we accept the rumour making rounds that the election figures represent the number of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, that is, if we use the votes of those who voted against their religion to cancel themselves? The gap is too much – 22 million:12 million! Can that be the reason why some ruffians took to the streets to cut down the overgrowing Christian population? You know that can’t be true. My grouse here is how people take laws into their hands. So many people today have shunned the true religion and creating their own gods. They believe many things, whether good or bad, but the truth remains that God’s Word will not have to change because of what they have chosen to believe.

If you let sin come into your life, you may try to hide it, but sin will keep you down longer than you want to stay. Are you holding your life on something? If it is not on Christ, the Solid Rock, it is on sham! You can decide to be sectional in discharging your duty, but there is a promise for you: one day you will wake up to lose your job. I mean, your services will no longer be required. Nigeria deserves the blessings of God, not curses. At a time like this, what we need is true service because Jesus, the servant of all, performed His duty selflessly.

Easter is a period to trust in the power of God for deliverance. As we wish Nigeria and indeed the whole world “Happy Easter”, may God constantly smile on all of us and root out completely wickedness and satanic manipulations, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

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Mar 16

Nigerian Economy: Sleeping While Being Looted

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by johnm

It is stomach-turning when one reads or takes notice of how government and corporate bureaucrats abuse their positions of office in Nigeria. The country is dreadfully notorious in that respect and citizens have come to recognize and accept this as a way of life. As one observer put it…”sleepwalkers”- Nigerians more often use the notion; “follow – follow.”

It is an ignominy not just for the culprits that coddle in the crooked behavior of misappropriation of resources but for the citizens that appear brain washed and seem to accommodate the status quo. Could it be that society that have been subdued over the years now accept this as a way of life? A major problem for Nigeria is that the populace does not understand the mess the country is in – yet they opt to follow. A miserable and depressing situation.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with population @ 154.7 million (UN, 2009).

A major oil exporter and a member of OPEC (The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). Life expectancy is about 47 years (men), 48 years (women) (UN). Income per capita is @ US $1,160 (World Bank, 2008) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $339 billion (2009 est. – CIA World factbook.) Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserve as of September 2010 was at $34.57 billion and diminishing. A 15% drop from same period last year.

The mainstream population lives on acute poverty, surviving on less than $1.00 a day whilst less than 2% of the economy lives extremely wealthy boasting billions of dollars as net worth. Most of these billionaires are products of swindlers of Nigerian treasury and corporate bank accounts. This billion dollar precedence was set by previous treasury plunderers: Alhaji Umaru Diko (a former minister), Gen. (Rtd) Ibrahim Babaingida (a former military leader) and the late Gen.Sani Abacha (a former military leader). In recent year’s bankers, government officials and politicians followed suit using this number as a benchmark to enrich themselves, ransacking and looting companies and the country of their reserves as the economy decays.

The amount stolen over the years, by government officials total over $40 billion. The money robbed by corporate officials in recent years is estimated at $18 billion. The 2009 banks bailout at $4 billion. These numbers total over $62 billion and mounting. Nigeria’s annual oil revenue is circa $60 billion. The country is on a binge of accelerating its domestic and foreign debt for the next generation. The leaders and their associated plunderers appear to embrace the situation but trickling down to the average Nigerian – no one seems to have a clue. The ones that do choose to ignore. In the eyes of the international community, Nigeria has become a laughing stock.

A recent and well popularized case was the conviction of Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, an elite name in Nigeria. She was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a well-known Nigerian bank- Oceanic bank that was financially bailed out by the Nigerian treasury together with eight other banks in 2009. While at the helm of the bank, she was said to have embezzled money to further her lifestyle. The indictment and conviction in a Nigerian court revealed money laundering and stolen assets that ran into almost $2 billions (the ones that could be traced). She owned two private jets, multiple single homes and streets listed as assets in the United States and Nigeria. These assets were allegedly masked in family and accomplices names. In a plea bargain struck with her investigators and prosecutors she agreed to forfeit these assets for a six month jail incarceration. A yarn for a crime this magnitude. There are other akin pending cases that the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor (Lamido Sansui) has acknowledged are worse and awaiting trial.

Some observers see her sentence as fair comparing it to white collar crimes committed in the United States and other western countries. Others seem to confuse it with the adage “Follow the money” principle that I perceive is used in the wrong context. The phrase “follow the money” is not associated with bank robbers and government/political thieves that embezzle from company /country coffers. “Follow the money” (smart money) would not want to be tagged in this manner. A ghastly stigma. It should be labeled – “follow the loot.”

Some have compared her crime to the recent Robert Moffat IBM hedge fund inside trading scandal of $50 million and Martha Stewart inside trading conviction of 2004. Both cases were in the United States and are laughable comparisons. In Moffat’s case he pleaded guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Authorities acknowledge his action (tips) resulted in no profits to him. Lawyers on both sides agreed. He was sentenced to six months jail term and ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 by the District Judge.

Martha Stewart in 2004 was convicted of lying to investigators about a stock sale and served five months in prison with a fine of $30,000. According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission she averted a loss of $45,673 by selling all her shares of her ImClone Systems stock on December 27, 2001. This is after receiving inside information from her broker at Merrill Lynch – an investment bank.

Mrs. Cecilia Ibru’s crime is in the enormity of Bennie Maddoff and his ponzi scheme, Mr. Bernard J Ebbers – World Com, Jeffrey K Skillings of Enron and Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco. The first three names swindled investors billions of dollars. D. Kozlowski abused hundreds of millions of dollars of shareholders money. Bennie Maddoff got sentenced 150 yrs in jail and forfeited properties. The other three convicts received at least 25 yrs incarceration and forfeited properties for embezzlement. Compare the punishment. Nigeria’s privileged lawbreakers and criminals are normally set free after a short while and are released into the wild to continue their blitz raiding of accounts.

The current status quo of financial abuse is a dishonor and demoralizing for the country. The Berlin based agency; Transparency International (TI) that carries out the Transparency International index on corruption, ranks countries according to the attitudes of analysts and public officials and defines corruption as abuse of power for private gain. It rates Nigeria as one of the most corrupt and scandalous in recent years where massive misappropriation of public money by members of government is seen as common practice. The retired General Ibrahim Babaingida and the late General Abacha’s regime present a typical example where billions of dollars were siphoned out of the country’s coffers for private gain.

The country appears on the edge experiencing severe emotional distress through no fault of its own. It’s highly regarded human resources that can be applied locally to further the economy are scattered globally. The ones that are in Nigeria seem to be unreservedly confused. Doctors, lawyers, economists, accountants and other professionals crave for a political post. Several yearn for a bank manager assignment or associate of bank manager. The failed ones resort to 419 or drug smuggling. The successful ones become ‘fund managers’ for the Nigerian treasury and disperse accounts for self-seeking reasons. Some become bank robbers, conspiring with bank managers to raid accounts. Reason – easy access to money and greed. The naive and the hardworking tag along for the ride. There is a disconnect.

With this entire said, the country major sectors for growth are diminishing fast. Nigeria suffers from a deprived infrastructure. Sectors that are supposed to drive the economy are pooped. These segments: energy, financial, transport and agriculture are exhausted and begging for the right investment. Adding to these includes a depleted excess crude account, a tired and worn out currency, defective electoral process, a blemished health care sector, poor security, bombings and kidnapping. The country was recently linked to a slavery and prostitution ring in a neighboring country of Mali.

There is no visible growth although the treasury and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) claim otherwise. People on the ground find this assertion laughable and are demanding proof. No doubt IMF and other donors have capital they can lavish on developing countries. A country like Nigeria fits the bill. Obviously this comes at a cost-no free lunch. Current leaders have to be made accountable and society should carry a “big stick” to enforce it. With its current egalitarian leadership, the country still faces the threat of breaking away from each other down ethnic and religious lines. Nigeria appears on the brink of collapse and time is of the essence.

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