On Friday 29th of July 2016, Femi Fani Kayode gave a master piece on Late Fajuyi. Read and enjoy
Fifty years ago today, on July 29th 1966, a man by the name of Lt. Col. Francis Adekunle Fajuyi gave his life in defence of our country and the then Head of State, General Johnson Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi. His killers were a group of northern army officers who participated in the so-called northern "revenge coup" of July 29th 1966. No less than 300 Igbo army officers were slaughtered that night together with a handful of yoruba soldiers, including Fajuyi.
Major General Fajuyi was a yoruba man who opted to die in defence of an igbo Head of State. This was not only honorable and courageous but it was also unique and unprecedented. He was a selfless hero and a man that we shall honor and immortalise in the new Nigeria that is to come.
Those that murdered him, General Aguiyi-Ironsi and the famous 300 in cold blood that night are still running the affairs of our country till today. They determine who is who and who gets what. They decide who our President will be and how long he will remain in power. As a matter of fact their hateful hegemony and evil intentions are even more pronounced and frightful today than they were in 1966 and their grip on the levers of power in our country is even stronger.
Today they are fully in charge and some of those that actually shot Fajuyi are fully behind them. Yet despite their intention to dominate, silence, break and destroy the rest of us one thing remains clear: the Fajuyi spirit of courage, unity, selflesness and sacrifice has been imbued by millions in the southern and Middle Belt regions of our country.
These are men and women that are prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with the oppressed of our nation, whether they be Niger Deltans, Igbos, Yorubas? Middle Belters or anything else. These are men and women that are prepared to resist the perfidious religious and ethnic agenda of the "born to rule" in our midst and that recognise the fact that they regard the rest of us as nothing but slaves. When it comes to southern rights and interests we the Yoruba particularly must learn a lesson from our own son Fajuyi and emulate his example.
Like him, if necessary, we must be ready to sacrifice our lives and liberty in defence of any or all of our southern and Middle Belt bretheren that are facing persecution, genocide and injustice at the hands of our collective slave masters. It is also time for us to appreciate the fact that if we truly want to be free we must extend our hand of friendship across the River Niger to the Igbo and we must see their bitter travails as being ours as well.
We must also feel the pain when an Igbo or Niger-Deltan youth is slaughtered by President Buhari's army in the name of "crushing all opposition and dissent" and "keeping Nigeria one". We must also feel the pain when an Igbo or Niger-Deltan youth is slaughtered by President Buhari's army in the name of "crushing all opposition and dissent" and "keeping Nigeria one".
We must acknowledge the fact that Nigeria cannot remain one as long as there is ethnic and religious bigotry, oppression and injustice. We must appreciate the fact that there can never be southern, or indeed Middle Belt, emancipation without southern unity. Fajuyi understood that point 50 years ago. Consequently he opted to resist the evil in the and and die for it. He was indeed a true martyr. He paid the supreme price for his fellow southerner and he stood against northern adventurism, oppression, domination and hegemony. 50 years later it is time for the rest of us to do the same.
It is time for us to acknowledge and honor his sacrifice and come together as one. It is time for us to stand up, look at our collective oppressors in the eye and say "no more". No longer should we bow our heads in submission, servility and shame. It is time for us to rise up, invoke the power of the Living God and be men. May the gallant and beautiful soul of Major General Fajuyi continue to rest in eternal peace and may those that murdered him 50 years ago be brought to justice.
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Saturday, 30 July 2016
Open Heavens 30 July 2016: Saturday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Child of Destiny
Topic: Child of Destiny [Saturday 30, July 2016]
Memorise: And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee. – Jeremiah 1:19
Read: Jeremiah 1:4-8 (KJV)
4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Bible in One Year: Titus 1-3 – Philemon 1, Psalms 22:22-31
MESSAGE:
According to Psalms 115:3, destiny has its origin in the sovereignty of God. It is also the plan that God had for you before creating you. It is what God says about your future. In other words, God had a purpose for your life, long before you were born. Joseph was a typical child of destiny. His brothers fought aggressively against his destiny. One good thing about destiny is that, your destiny, being the counsel of God for you, shall stand forever (Genesis 37:18-28). Joseph started his life experiences with the first and second dreams which set him at variance with his brothers and parents. The fulfilment of his destiny took him through Portiphar’s house, the prison and eventually the palace of the Egyptians.
In the text for today, the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah announcing his destiny to him. Jeremiah had been separated right from his mother’s womb to be a prophet. At times, we behave foolishly by arguing with God on why He called us; a call that is the reason for which we were born. More often than not, God’s plan for mankind does not appeal to the rational man, though it is the best for us.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” - Jeremiah 29:11
It is very important for us to embrace the truth in the above scripture. When we do, we shall not be guilty of spiritual insubordination. Jeremiah ignorantly argued:
“Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.” - Jeremiah 1:6
God called Moses to go and perform a task in Egypt but he was giving excuses of not being an eloquent speaker. Beloved, I want you to get something settled in your mind today; God does not call the qualified but qualifies the called so that He can take full glory for the success of the called.
The Lord said to Jeremiah;
“Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” - Jeremiah 1:7
The Lord further encouraged him not to be afraid of the faces of those He was sending him to. This is a lesson for those of us who are too scared to deliver God’s message in our places of work, school, community etc. The Spirit of God will always give us something of eternal value to tell His people. God has destined you to be unique; it is left for you to allow Him to fulfil His purpose for your life. May the Lord fulfil your destiny gloriously in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point: Father, please help me to fulfil my destiny in Jesus’ name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee. – Jeremiah 1:19
Read: Jeremiah 1:4-8 (KJV)
4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Bible in One Year: Titus 1-3 – Philemon 1, Psalms 22:22-31
MESSAGE:
According to Psalms 115:3, destiny has its origin in the sovereignty of God. It is also the plan that God had for you before creating you. It is what God says about your future. In other words, God had a purpose for your life, long before you were born. Joseph was a typical child of destiny. His brothers fought aggressively against his destiny. One good thing about destiny is that, your destiny, being the counsel of God for you, shall stand forever (Genesis 37:18-28). Joseph started his life experiences with the first and second dreams which set him at variance with his brothers and parents. The fulfilment of his destiny took him through Portiphar’s house, the prison and eventually the palace of the Egyptians.
In the text for today, the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah announcing his destiny to him. Jeremiah had been separated right from his mother’s womb to be a prophet. At times, we behave foolishly by arguing with God on why He called us; a call that is the reason for which we were born. More often than not, God’s plan for mankind does not appeal to the rational man, though it is the best for us.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” - Jeremiah 29:11
It is very important for us to embrace the truth in the above scripture. When we do, we shall not be guilty of spiritual insubordination. Jeremiah ignorantly argued:
“Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.” - Jeremiah 1:6
God called Moses to go and perform a task in Egypt but he was giving excuses of not being an eloquent speaker. Beloved, I want you to get something settled in your mind today; God does not call the qualified but qualifies the called so that He can take full glory for the success of the called.
The Lord said to Jeremiah;
“Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” - Jeremiah 1:7
The Lord further encouraged him not to be afraid of the faces of those He was sending him to. This is a lesson for those of us who are too scared to deliver God’s message in our places of work, school, community etc. The Spirit of God will always give us something of eternal value to tell His people. God has destined you to be unique; it is left for you to allow Him to fulfil His purpose for your life. May the Lord fulfil your destiny gloriously in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point: Father, please help me to fulfil my destiny in Jesus’ name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Friday, 29 July 2016
Open Heavens 29 July 2016: Friday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Just do it Right
Topic: Just do it Right [Friday 29, July 2016]
Memorise: And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. – 2 Corinthians 10:6
Read: 1 Samuel 15:16-23 (KJV)
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Bible in One Year: 2 Timothy 1-4, Psalms 22:1-21
MESSAGE:
A good number of people confuse service of God’s approval or acceptance. It will be profitable for people, particularly children of God, to understand that it is one thing to engage in the service of God and it is another thing for God to accept your service. The simple message for today is – “just do it right, and God will accept you and your service”. The Bible says:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” - Romans 12:1
In our Bible reading today, we read of the first king in Israel who put sacrifice over and above being obedient to God and His Word. God told king Saul to go and utterly destroy the Amalekites and everything they possessed; from the king to the least of the beasts. However, Saul went, fought and won the battle, but failed to carry out God’s instruction to the letter. When he was cross-examined by Prophet Samuel, he had the effrontery to tell Samuel that he had done what God asked him to do, except the spoil of sheep and oxen which he took to use as sacrifice to the Lord. This unfortunately cost him his throne. Samuel said:
“…Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” -1 Samuel 15:22
There is a great lesson we should learn from the story of king Saul and the assignment he was given to fight the Amalekites. Some people seem to be more spiritual than the Holy Spirit when you consider the way they claim to know everything about the ways of God. It is not unlikely that king Saul felt it would be a waste of resources by totally destroying the material resources in Amalek. It is also not unlikely that he felt it will be an act of wickedness on the part of God to have asked him to kill the king, Agag. Beloved, there are many types of Amalekites and king Agags that God will want us to get rid of in our life. The Bible lists some things that we must do away with in Galatians 5:14-21
“19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” - Galatians 5:19-21
Some so-called workers in the Church are still harbouring these things that we are to get rid of, yet they are ‘zealously’ working for God. It is unfortunate that their labour attracts no reward. Jesus said that on that day, they will come and say:
“26 We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” - Luke 13:26-27
May this not be your portion in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point: Father, please help me to be obedient, and begin to do the right thing in your sight from now onward.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. – 2 Corinthians 10:6
Read: 1 Samuel 15:16-23 (KJV)
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Bible in One Year: 2 Timothy 1-4, Psalms 22:1-21
MESSAGE:
A good number of people confuse service of God’s approval or acceptance. It will be profitable for people, particularly children of God, to understand that it is one thing to engage in the service of God and it is another thing for God to accept your service. The simple message for today is – “just do it right, and God will accept you and your service”. The Bible says:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” - Romans 12:1
In our Bible reading today, we read of the first king in Israel who put sacrifice over and above being obedient to God and His Word. God told king Saul to go and utterly destroy the Amalekites and everything they possessed; from the king to the least of the beasts. However, Saul went, fought and won the battle, but failed to carry out God’s instruction to the letter. When he was cross-examined by Prophet Samuel, he had the effrontery to tell Samuel that he had done what God asked him to do, except the spoil of sheep and oxen which he took to use as sacrifice to the Lord. This unfortunately cost him his throne. Samuel said:
“…Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” -1 Samuel 15:22
There is a great lesson we should learn from the story of king Saul and the assignment he was given to fight the Amalekites. Some people seem to be more spiritual than the Holy Spirit when you consider the way they claim to know everything about the ways of God. It is not unlikely that king Saul felt it would be a waste of resources by totally destroying the material resources in Amalek. It is also not unlikely that he felt it will be an act of wickedness on the part of God to have asked him to kill the king, Agag. Beloved, there are many types of Amalekites and king Agags that God will want us to get rid of in our life. The Bible lists some things that we must do away with in Galatians 5:14-21
“19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” - Galatians 5:19-21
Some so-called workers in the Church are still harbouring these things that we are to get rid of, yet they are ‘zealously’ working for God. It is unfortunate that their labour attracts no reward. Jesus said that on that day, they will come and say:
“26 We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” - Luke 13:26-27
May this not be your portion in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point: Father, please help me to be obedient, and begin to do the right thing in your sight from now onward.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Thursday, 28 July 2016
Updates on #SaveMayowa alleged scam by the family members in raising funds
According to feelers most especially LIB who first gave the information on what happened. Take time to read details
So a few hours ago, LIB reported that people involved in raising money for cancer patient, Mayowa Ahmed, reached out to us to say that they discovered that the whole fundraising for the sick lady was a scam. I've been in touch with quite a few people, and they insist the family knew Mayowa was beyond help but still went ahead to raise money for her. Mayowa's family have released a statement insisting it's no scam and that they are truly taking her abroad for medical treatment. (Now, it's supposedly tomorrow).
In their new statement this afternoon, they said they are taking her to a hospital in Abu Dhabi but when they started raising money for her, they said they wanted to take her to Emory hospital, Atlanta, who had given them a quote of $100k. You will find the letter from Emory Hospital after
click here to read more
http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2016/07/update-on-savemayowa-saga-family.html?m=1
So a few hours ago, LIB reported that people involved in raising money for cancer patient, Mayowa Ahmed, reached out to us to say that they discovered that the whole fundraising for the sick lady was a scam. I've been in touch with quite a few people, and they insist the family knew Mayowa was beyond help but still went ahead to raise money for her. Mayowa's family have released a statement insisting it's no scam and that they are truly taking her abroad for medical treatment. (Now, it's supposedly tomorrow).
In their new statement this afternoon, they said they are taking her to a hospital in Abu Dhabi but when they started raising money for her, they said they wanted to take her to Emory hospital, Atlanta, who had given them a quote of $100k. You will find the letter from Emory Hospital after
click here to read more
http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2016/07/update-on-savemayowa-saga-family.html?m=1
Governor Mimiko appoints Obanoyen Abiola S. Adidas SA on Special duties
Good news! The development of every mind with clear cut approach to life and humility is the opium of reality. According to source from Rufus Giwa Alumni admin officer who announced the news, This is the reason why accolades and good wishes keeps pouring in for a brother and wonderful sound personality in person of Obanoyen Abiola S. Adidas, who was recently appointed as Special adviser on special duties to Ondo State Governor Mimiko. He was a former S.U.G President of great citadel of learning Rufus Giwa Polytechnic Owo, and went to Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko for further studies. He is eloquent and vibrant. He is a voice for concerned Nigeria youths most especially in Ondo state. An astute politician who have carved a niche for himself. The Rufus Alumni Group did not left any stone unturned by been the first to congratulate him on this important appointment. This is what they say through the Admin officer of the group in person of Adebayo a.k.a Unusual: Our congratulation goes to a friend, brother, colleague, fellow comrade, combatant and articulate fellow Obanoyen Abiola aka Adidas on your new appointment as the SA on special duty to the Ondo State Governor, Gov mimiko of Ondo State. This is just the beginning of the dream we share, the vision we defined, the motion we run. You are Unusually blessed. Other great members of the group wished him congratulations. Once again, congratulations to OBANOYEN ABIOLA a.k.a St. ADIDAS
By Adefemi Lokko
By Adefemi Lokko
Amaechi – Wike made peace in River state
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State said on Wednesday he attended the peace meeting organised by the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, because of his commitment to peace and development of the state.
The IGP had on Tuesday in Abuja organised a peace meeting between Wike and the former governor of Rivers State, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.
Amaechi is the current Minister of Transportation.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had announced the postponement of the legislative rerun in the state earlier slated for Saturday following the burning of its office in Khana LGA.
Wike told PDP supporters at the Rivers West Senatorial District rally in Degema LGA that his administration would implement the resolutions of the peace meeting.
Wike said the people must be allowed to elect representatives of their choice into the State and National Assemblies.
“I was at the peace meeting because we love peace and want the state to move forward. I signed an undertaking on your behalf that we are prepared for INEC credible, free and fair elections.
“It is not in our position to have crisis because we are the ones losing,” the governor added
He pledged that the state government would partner with security agencies to ensure that peaceful elections were held in the state, adding that anybody who wanted the state to be set ablaze would be disappointed.
Wike expressed regret that some politicians were celebrating that the elections were postponed.
He pointed out that his commitment that Rivers State should have representatives at the National Assembly was because the people of the state had been shut out on the deliberation of the Petroleum Industry Bill and other legislation.
The governor, however, called on the PDP members to remain vigilant while expecting the rerun elections.
According to him, Nigerians know, the world knows that Rivers State is the PDP. So shall it be forever.
He pledged to ensure that development would spread across all local government areas of the state, adding that with the successes achieved in just one year, the remaining three years would witness more development.
Earlier, Deputy Governor, Ipalibo Harry Banigo, said the massive turnout at the rally was an indication that the people would always vote the PDP candidates.
The peace meeting was brokered by the Police and the Department of State Services for the peaceful conduct of the rerun elections in Rivers State.
Flatimes
The IGP had on Tuesday in Abuja organised a peace meeting between Wike and the former governor of Rivers State, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.
Amaechi is the current Minister of Transportation.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had announced the postponement of the legislative rerun in the state earlier slated for Saturday following the burning of its office in Khana LGA.
Wike told PDP supporters at the Rivers West Senatorial District rally in Degema LGA that his administration would implement the resolutions of the peace meeting.
Wike said the people must be allowed to elect representatives of their choice into the State and National Assemblies.
“I was at the peace meeting because we love peace and want the state to move forward. I signed an undertaking on your behalf that we are prepared for INEC credible, free and fair elections.
“It is not in our position to have crisis because we are the ones losing,” the governor added
He pledged that the state government would partner with security agencies to ensure that peaceful elections were held in the state, adding that anybody who wanted the state to be set ablaze would be disappointed.
Wike expressed regret that some politicians were celebrating that the elections were postponed.
He pointed out that his commitment that Rivers State should have representatives at the National Assembly was because the people of the state had been shut out on the deliberation of the Petroleum Industry Bill and other legislation.
The governor, however, called on the PDP members to remain vigilant while expecting the rerun elections.
According to him, Nigerians know, the world knows that Rivers State is the PDP. So shall it be forever.
He pledged to ensure that development would spread across all local government areas of the state, adding that with the successes achieved in just one year, the remaining three years would witness more development.
Earlier, Deputy Governor, Ipalibo Harry Banigo, said the massive turnout at the rally was an indication that the people would always vote the PDP candidates.
The peace meeting was brokered by the Police and the Department of State Services for the peaceful conduct of the rerun elections in Rivers State.
Flatimes
Open Heavens 28 July 2016: Thursday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Thou shalt Not Covet
Topic: Thou shalt Not Covet [Thursday 28, July 2016]
Memorise: But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; – Ephesians 5:3
Read: Ephesians 5:3-7 (KJV)
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
Bible in One Year: 1 Timothy 1-6, Psalms 21
MESSAGE:
Today, we will examine one of the Ten Commandments; covetousness. The sin of covetousness is a cluster of many sins that sets man against his Maker. Upon the sin of covetousness hangs many other sins like stealing, sexual immorality and murder, hence the law:
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.” - Exodus 20:17
David, a God-fearing soldier, king and prophet fell because of covetousness. He coveted Bathsheba, his soldier’s wife; and went from one form of sin to another. Covetousness led him to adultery and adultery led him to a murderous act. When someone is caught in the sin of covetousness in the area of alcohol, he gets drunk and what next? Foolish talking and jesting that are not convenient become inevitable. The Bible says:
“31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.” - Proverbs 23:31-33
Coveting your neighbour’s possession can lead to murder. The reason for this is that when someone covets his neighbour’s estate, and is unable to get it, he may resolve to kill the rightful owner to have it. This was the case in Ahab and Naboth’s story (1 Kings 21:1-16). Ahab organised a feast where Naboth should be framed up and killed by the scheme of his wife, Jezebel. Immediately the plan was hatched, the Lord sent His prophet to go and deliver His judgement upon Ahab. It was a judgement of vengeance.
“…Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.” – 1 Kings 21:19
Beloved, let us beware of the sin of covetousness as Jesus warned in Luke 12:15-20. The man in that story was boasting about what he possessed but that same night God required his soul from him. Our Lord then asked who those things he had acquired shall be for. Think about it and you will discover that covetousness is not worth it after all.
Action Point: Think of those things that entice you to acts of covetousness, pray and avoid being possessed by them.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; – Ephesians 5:3
Read: Ephesians 5:3-7 (KJV)
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
Bible in One Year: 1 Timothy 1-6, Psalms 21
MESSAGE:
Today, we will examine one of the Ten Commandments; covetousness. The sin of covetousness is a cluster of many sins that sets man against his Maker. Upon the sin of covetousness hangs many other sins like stealing, sexual immorality and murder, hence the law:
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.” - Exodus 20:17
David, a God-fearing soldier, king and prophet fell because of covetousness. He coveted Bathsheba, his soldier’s wife; and went from one form of sin to another. Covetousness led him to adultery and adultery led him to a murderous act. When someone is caught in the sin of covetousness in the area of alcohol, he gets drunk and what next? Foolish talking and jesting that are not convenient become inevitable. The Bible says:
“31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.” - Proverbs 23:31-33
Coveting your neighbour’s possession can lead to murder. The reason for this is that when someone covets his neighbour’s estate, and is unable to get it, he may resolve to kill the rightful owner to have it. This was the case in Ahab and Naboth’s story (1 Kings 21:1-16). Ahab organised a feast where Naboth should be framed up and killed by the scheme of his wife, Jezebel. Immediately the plan was hatched, the Lord sent His prophet to go and deliver His judgement upon Ahab. It was a judgement of vengeance.
“…Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.” – 1 Kings 21:19
Beloved, let us beware of the sin of covetousness as Jesus warned in Luke 12:15-20. The man in that story was boasting about what he possessed but that same night God required his soul from him. Our Lord then asked who those things he had acquired shall be for. Think about it and you will discover that covetousness is not worth it after all.
Action Point: Think of those things that entice you to acts of covetousness, pray and avoid being possessed by them.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Open Heavens 27 July 2016: Wednesday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Assurance of Breakthrough
Topic: Assurance of Breakthrough [Wednesday 27, July 2016]
Memorise: Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. – Job 22:28
Read: 1 Samuel 30:6-8 (KJV)
6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
Bible in One Year: 1 Thessalonians 5-2 Thessalonians 3, Psalms 20
MESSAGE:
Breakthroughs are of the Lord. The earlier the children of God understand this fact, the better for them. People look around for breakthroughs as if their power will bring it to pass. It is pardonable for unbelievers but it is not acceptable to professed children of God who know what the scripture says about breakthroughs.
“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” - Zechariah 4:6
This is one of the reasons why we know that our tomorrow shall be alright. I discovered this a long time ago and the words “my tomorrow shall be alright” became our anthem in the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Not because I know how to go about things, but because I discovered that the breakthrough of a man has already been established before his creation. For example, it was not man that forced light to come, neither was it man that created the animal kingdom over which he was made king. Why should I worry about how God will bring about my breakthrough? My breakthrough is settled in Christ.
Divine guidance is the secret of breaking through obstacles and challenges of life. In our Bible reading for today, we read about the secret of the victory David had at the raid of Ziglag. After David had wept for his loss, he gathered himself together and asked God if pursuing the troops that invaded him would be a profitable one. To receive unfailing breakthrough, asking God for divine guidance is inevitable.
Moreover, a prayer of decree can guarantee assurance of breakthrough according to today’s Memory verse:
“Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” - Job 22:28
Our Lord Jesus Christ assured us of breakthroughs against all obstacles that the enemies may try to bring our way:
“...Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” - Matthew 21:21
Beloved, the Almighty God is the Source of all human breakthroughs. Therefore, bring yourself to the favour of your Maker today and you will experience the breakthrough of your dreams.
Prayer Point: Father, please remove all obstacles in my way to breakthrough and cause me to excel in Jesus’ name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. – Job 22:28
Read: 1 Samuel 30:6-8 (KJV)
6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
Bible in One Year: 1 Thessalonians 5-2 Thessalonians 3, Psalms 20
MESSAGE:
Breakthroughs are of the Lord. The earlier the children of God understand this fact, the better for them. People look around for breakthroughs as if their power will bring it to pass. It is pardonable for unbelievers but it is not acceptable to professed children of God who know what the scripture says about breakthroughs.
“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” - Zechariah 4:6
This is one of the reasons why we know that our tomorrow shall be alright. I discovered this a long time ago and the words “my tomorrow shall be alright” became our anthem in the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Not because I know how to go about things, but because I discovered that the breakthrough of a man has already been established before his creation. For example, it was not man that forced light to come, neither was it man that created the animal kingdom over which he was made king. Why should I worry about how God will bring about my breakthrough? My breakthrough is settled in Christ.
Divine guidance is the secret of breaking through obstacles and challenges of life. In our Bible reading for today, we read about the secret of the victory David had at the raid of Ziglag. After David had wept for his loss, he gathered himself together and asked God if pursuing the troops that invaded him would be a profitable one. To receive unfailing breakthrough, asking God for divine guidance is inevitable.
Moreover, a prayer of decree can guarantee assurance of breakthrough according to today’s Memory verse:
“Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” - Job 22:28
Our Lord Jesus Christ assured us of breakthroughs against all obstacles that the enemies may try to bring our way:
“...Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” - Matthew 21:21
Beloved, the Almighty God is the Source of all human breakthroughs. Therefore, bring yourself to the favour of your Maker today and you will experience the breakthrough of your dreams.
Prayer Point: Father, please remove all obstacles in my way to breakthrough and cause me to excel in Jesus’ name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Open Heavens 26 July 2016: Tuesday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Cleanliness is Practical Godliness
Topic: Cleanliness is Practical Godliness [Tuesday 26, July 2016]
Memorise: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. – Isaiah 52:11
Read: Numbers 8:5-7 (KJV)
5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.
Bible in One Year: 1 Thessalonians 1-4, Psalms 19:7-14
MESSAGE:
One truth a child of God must embrace is that cleanliness is godliness in practical terms. God pays attention to personal hygiene as much as He pays attention to the spiritual purity of His people. In the book of Leviticus 14:43-45, we read:
“43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered; 44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean. 45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.”
In our Bible reading for today, we read about how God instructed Moses to take the Levites from among the congregation and cleanse them. There are many lessons we must learn from this passage. Why were the Levites singled out for cleansing? It is because they were special to God; they were to be Yahweh’s representatives among God’s people.
“But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.” - Numbers 1:50
The Levites, being vessels of honour, were required to be cleansed to function as priests unto God. As such, children of God must be clean in and out because it required of us to be physically and spiritually clean.
“And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.” - Numbers 8:7
It is unfortunate to see that some children of God are not taking seriously the basic hygiene that can enhance their divine health. Some actually believe in divine healing, but do not live in clean environments, nor eat good food. Good food does not cost much. As a matter of fact, it is dangerous delicacies that are costly. So, in order to enjoy divine health, we must live clean lives. May the Almighty God grant us the ability to live clean lives in Jesus’ name.
Action Point: Take care of your personal hygiene and observe basic health instructions in your home.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. – Isaiah 52:11
Read: Numbers 8:5-7 (KJV)
5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.
Bible in One Year: 1 Thessalonians 1-4, Psalms 19:7-14
MESSAGE:
One truth a child of God must embrace is that cleanliness is godliness in practical terms. God pays attention to personal hygiene as much as He pays attention to the spiritual purity of His people. In the book of Leviticus 14:43-45, we read:
“43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered; 44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean. 45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.”
In our Bible reading for today, we read about how God instructed Moses to take the Levites from among the congregation and cleanse them. There are many lessons we must learn from this passage. Why were the Levites singled out for cleansing? It is because they were special to God; they were to be Yahweh’s representatives among God’s people.
“But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.” - Numbers 1:50
The Levites, being vessels of honour, were required to be cleansed to function as priests unto God. As such, children of God must be clean in and out because it required of us to be physically and spiritually clean.
“And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.” - Numbers 8:7
It is unfortunate to see that some children of God are not taking seriously the basic hygiene that can enhance their divine health. Some actually believe in divine healing, but do not live in clean environments, nor eat good food. Good food does not cost much. As a matter of fact, it is dangerous delicacies that are costly. So, in order to enjoy divine health, we must live clean lives. May the Almighty God grant us the ability to live clean lives in Jesus’ name.
Action Point: Take care of your personal hygiene and observe basic health instructions in your home.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Monday, 25 July 2016
Sacked Chairman of House of Reps appropriation committee releases more details on budget padding
The last has certainly not been heard in the ongoing fight between sacked chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abulmumin Jibrin and the leadership of the House.
In a statement he released last night, Jibrin gave a detailed account of how speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and some other principal officers of the House of Representatives allegedly hijacked the budget consideration process so as to pad it. In this statement, Jibrin alleged that Dogara an the house leadership had resorted to using some elements of the Nigeria police to kidnap, harass, blackmail and intimidate him into silence. Read his statement below...
MY ALLEGATIONS ARE AGAINST THE QUARTET OF SPEAKER YAKUBU DOGARA, DEPUTY SPEAKER YUSUF LASUN, HOUSE WHIP ALHASSAN DOGUWA AND MINORITY LEADER LEO OGOR NOT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AS AN INSTITUTION AS MR SPEAKER DESPERATELY WANTS HONOURABLE MEMBERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO BELIEVE.
I am compelled again for the purpose of emphasis to state categorically clear that my allegations are against the quartet of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun, House Whip Alhassan Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor not the Honourable House as an institution nor other members of the body of principal officers. The other members of the body of principal officers were to the best of my knowledge completely excluded from decisions on the 2016 budget and the budget inputs inserted on their names were exclusively carried out by these QUARTET.
I have to state this very clearly because these QUARTET have resorted to desperate moves to drag the entire House of Representatives into the case of gross abuse of office I have levelled against them as individual Presiding and Principal officers of the House. This is clearly a mischievous move to set me on collision with the entire house. They have also recruited four from the VERY FEW members of their cabal to use some elements of the Nigeria police to kidnap, harass, blackmail and intimidate me into silence.
Until yesterday, the police were laying siege by my house blocking the entrance and exit shouting that they want budget documents. They embarrassed my entire family with a nursing mother and a seven-month old baby that cried all night. The game plan was to arrest me and dump me in police net while a heavy media propaganda will be carried out to mislead the world that I have been sacked and police have picked me up as a culprit in 2016 budget. Whenever I am released, an irreparable damage would have been done to my person and that will stick for life.
As God Almighty will have it, I had travelled out of town before they could execute their evil plan. God is always with the innocent. The members in the thick of this plot are Hon Jagaba Adams, Hon Jika both chairmen interior and police affairs respectively, Hon Muhammed Bago, Hon Muhammed Zakari and the last one I need not to introduce him to Nigerians, you know him better and know what he is best remembered for. He is the one who threatened my life and the police are yet to take a single action on him. He is now the Leader of the Dogara cabal. He calls the shots in the House. He makes all the decisions of Mr Speaker. He talks down on members and gets away with it. He has SUDDENLY began living such an expensive life style. Lately, a former influential principal officer of the House complained bitterly that it is only Dogara that will hand such a committee to a person like Hon Herma Hembe of this world, chairman FCT. They have been running from pillar to post looking for evidence in their wild dream to nail me. I made a huge sacrifice to leave, shouldn’t they just leave me alone?
I therefore urge my Hon. colleagues and the general public to call on Speaker Yakubu Dogara and the 3 other principal officers to stop their desperate attempt to drag the entire House of Representatives into this matter. They should also stop using the House Spokesman Hon Namdas to issue statements in respect to these allegations because it is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public into believing that they have the backing of the entire House on this matter. They should come out and defend themselves and prepare for the investigation that will be instituted by the House on this matter. At least the Minority Leader and Whip have attempted some response which are at best lame! The House of Representatives as an institution must live above board and will continue to survive beyond people who abuse public trust like Mr. Speaker and his 3 cohorts.
Let me make further revelations in addition to the ones I have already made which are in public glare.
ONE: During the budget period, when they discovered that I was not the kind of a person they could use to perpetrate their illegality, Mr. Speaker and the 3 other principal officers took away the entire Appropriation Committee Secretariat to a secret location where all sort of insertions were made into the budget. The blackmail has always been – “Abdul people will laugh at you if anything goes wrong between you and Dogara because of the lead role you played and the many toes you stepped on to get him elected”. It’s been a painful experience.
Again the secretariat was taken away from me on Speaker Dogara’s instruction for the second time to a location I don’t know and all sort of insertions into the budgets were made and returned to me for signature. I said over my dead body! It was a massive crisis behind the scene until the early morning of the Friday that Mr President assented the budget. It was Sen Danjuma Goje that brokered a compromise that since the Deputy Speaker leads the harmonization committee, he should also sign such that the harmonization committee will share responsibility with us. Senator Goje pleaded with me so hard all night and later shouted heavily on me reminding me that he is not talking to me as a Senator but as a father. I cried heavily all night.
TWO: When the budget harmonization committee headed by Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun gave out 80% concession across board to the executive demands during the harmonization negotiation, it was agreed that the remaining 20% should go to the entire NASS. The Deputy Speaker excused himself that he wanted to go and consult with Mr Speaker. He came back after few hours and in an unprecedented display of greed presented to me a hand written note distributing the remaining 20% to only principal officers. 70% of the 20% was reserved for Mr Speaker and himself while the remaining 30% of the 20% goes to other principal officers. I am sure he will recognize the hand writing when he sees it. My colleagues didn’t know all of these.
THREE: Mr. Speaker also directed me to create what I advised him will be a controversial line item under service wide vote to introduce about N20 billion project using the name of NASS. He directed me to see a highly placed PDP politician which I did and collected the documents. I advised him repeatedly against it but he kept pressuring me until I bluntly told him I will not!
FOUR: When the Appropriation Committee received all the budget reports from standing committees, an analysis was conducted. We discovered that about 10 only out of the 96 Standing Committees of the House introduced about 2,000 (two thousand) projects without the knowledge of their committee members amounting to about N284, 000, 000, 000 (Two hundred and eighty-four billion naira). I was alarmed. But I was cautious because at our pre-budget meeting with the committee chairmen, I was clearly warned not to touch their budgets. I reported the matter to the speaker. He did nothing about it obviously because he was working behind the scene with the committee chairmen. That was the beginning of the whole budget problem from the side of House and the whole exercise had to go through several versions before it was passed.
So, is it Abdul that introduced 2000 projects into budget worth N284 billion? But I quietly bore the pain and abuses from all over the country and continued to defend the committee inputs as a show of loyalty to the institution I represent which I so much love and still have many great minds in there. Apart from Chairman Agriculture Hon Mongunu who owned up and explained his inputs at the only executive session I was allowed to attend, the other few chairmen who loaded the budget kept quiet and watched me bashed from every angle by angry Nigerians.
People have asked why did I wait this long to open up, so much was happening behind the scene. I fought the battle of my life to raise these issues internally and get Mr. Speaker to address them to no avail. I pushed so hard that I got frustrated and depressed. All my attempts met brick walls. That was why some members were always raising their voice against me because they do not have the facts. I later on realized that the Speaker enjoyed that so much and colluded with his cabal to dump everything on me. I am sure not too long some members that knew what I went through will come out and testify. I also have evidence to show my internal struggles.
In any case, under circumstances like this, and for young people like us that are lucky to have accelerated career growth, the system scares you from becoming a whistle blower. They will tell you that if you do such, nobody will trust you or have confidence in you again. They will scare you that it is not good for your image and it will affect your career progression. Many young people in different sectors are faced with such frustrating situation. Even at the moment, if I take the advice of some people, I will get deeply scared and just keep quiet, so that I can grow career wise? My usual response to them is that, isn’t that selfish? Your only luck will be if a trigger occurs then you open up. This is one such trigger! In any case, I would have opened up anyway. I have written so much about these issues and more on NASS. I posted over a month ago on my Facebook page that I will release the piece as part of my 40th birthday in September. Well, I never knew it will come much earlier.
Some people are also saying I kept quiet while it was good and now I am talking because things have gone sour. Many members of the House and Nigerians will be shocked to know that there has NEVER been good times between myself and Speaker Dogara. It took few weeks after his election as Speaker for me to realize I never really knew him well. I was hasty to judge him by his innocent looking personality. We practically disagree on everything. From when he started conducting himself like a lord, wanting everybody around him to just say yes sir and go, shutting and looking down at his colleagues, playing double game between the executive and legislature, drafting of a new house rule, senseless splitting of committees which raised the numbers of committees to 96, appointment of committee chairmen, Chairmanship of NILS, issues of bills and allotment of sponsors, chairmanship of budget consultative committee, budget process and house inputs, the PIB, his divide and rule approach, his frequent dealings with heads of MDA’s as if he is a committee chairman and so many other issues. In all of these issues, there is none that has not remained controversial till date.
All these forced me to stay away from him except on official assignment. I can count how (many)times I have been to his office or home. I stayed away completely. It was such a frustrating and depressing period for me. Who will I complain to? How do I face the world and say I got it wrong after playing such a lead role in his emergence? When you see a house you sacrificed everything to build is falling apart and the driver believes he is firmly in charge because he has 8 votes advantage, you are left with no choice than to tie your seat belt for obvious eventuality.
I must admit I made an error of judgement. I don’t know to whom and from where I will start apologising for not heeding to wise counsel. There is nothing I am saying now that I have not discussed or warned speaker Dogara on the few occasions that I sorted and got private audience with him. But he has been hijacked and surrounded himself with a small cabal of sycophants, corrupt, mediocre, money hungry, vindictive, envious, self-serving small minds who have already done an irreparable damage to his person and office.
Speaker Dogara has completely derailed, remains clueless, keeps on with an unmatched ego and surely leading the House to the biggest scandal it may ever experience. He has failed to live above the fog in public duty and private thinking, a direct opposite of what my favourite American Poet Josiah Gilbet Holland prayed Lord to grant us in leaders.
All I am asking for is my right to be heard by my colleagues which they denied me. I am calling on my colleagues to plead with Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Lasun, Whip Doguwa and Minority leader Ogor to stop obstructing justice and allow me my right to be heard by the House. It is the House that will institute a special investigation on this matter to allow me testify and provide evidence before any other external action.
I will make a more detailed statement in due course.
Source: LIB
In a statement he released last night, Jibrin gave a detailed account of how speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and some other principal officers of the House of Representatives allegedly hijacked the budget consideration process so as to pad it. In this statement, Jibrin alleged that Dogara an the house leadership had resorted to using some elements of the Nigeria police to kidnap, harass, blackmail and intimidate him into silence. Read his statement below...
MY ALLEGATIONS ARE AGAINST THE QUARTET OF SPEAKER YAKUBU DOGARA, DEPUTY SPEAKER YUSUF LASUN, HOUSE WHIP ALHASSAN DOGUWA AND MINORITY LEADER LEO OGOR NOT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AS AN INSTITUTION AS MR SPEAKER DESPERATELY WANTS HONOURABLE MEMBERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO BELIEVE.
I am compelled again for the purpose of emphasis to state categorically clear that my allegations are against the quartet of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun, House Whip Alhassan Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor not the Honourable House as an institution nor other members of the body of principal officers. The other members of the body of principal officers were to the best of my knowledge completely excluded from decisions on the 2016 budget and the budget inputs inserted on their names were exclusively carried out by these QUARTET.
I have to state this very clearly because these QUARTET have resorted to desperate moves to drag the entire House of Representatives into the case of gross abuse of office I have levelled against them as individual Presiding and Principal officers of the House. This is clearly a mischievous move to set me on collision with the entire house. They have also recruited four from the VERY FEW members of their cabal to use some elements of the Nigeria police to kidnap, harass, blackmail and intimidate me into silence.
Until yesterday, the police were laying siege by my house blocking the entrance and exit shouting that they want budget documents. They embarrassed my entire family with a nursing mother and a seven-month old baby that cried all night. The game plan was to arrest me and dump me in police net while a heavy media propaganda will be carried out to mislead the world that I have been sacked and police have picked me up as a culprit in 2016 budget. Whenever I am released, an irreparable damage would have been done to my person and that will stick for life.
As God Almighty will have it, I had travelled out of town before they could execute their evil plan. God is always with the innocent. The members in the thick of this plot are Hon Jagaba Adams, Hon Jika both chairmen interior and police affairs respectively, Hon Muhammed Bago, Hon Muhammed Zakari and the last one I need not to introduce him to Nigerians, you know him better and know what he is best remembered for. He is the one who threatened my life and the police are yet to take a single action on him. He is now the Leader of the Dogara cabal. He calls the shots in the House. He makes all the decisions of Mr Speaker. He talks down on members and gets away with it. He has SUDDENLY began living such an expensive life style. Lately, a former influential principal officer of the House complained bitterly that it is only Dogara that will hand such a committee to a person like Hon Herma Hembe of this world, chairman FCT. They have been running from pillar to post looking for evidence in their wild dream to nail me. I made a huge sacrifice to leave, shouldn’t they just leave me alone?
I therefore urge my Hon. colleagues and the general public to call on Speaker Yakubu Dogara and the 3 other principal officers to stop their desperate attempt to drag the entire House of Representatives into this matter. They should also stop using the House Spokesman Hon Namdas to issue statements in respect to these allegations because it is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public into believing that they have the backing of the entire House on this matter. They should come out and defend themselves and prepare for the investigation that will be instituted by the House on this matter. At least the Minority Leader and Whip have attempted some response which are at best lame! The House of Representatives as an institution must live above board and will continue to survive beyond people who abuse public trust like Mr. Speaker and his 3 cohorts.
Let me make further revelations in addition to the ones I have already made which are in public glare.
ONE: During the budget period, when they discovered that I was not the kind of a person they could use to perpetrate their illegality, Mr. Speaker and the 3 other principal officers took away the entire Appropriation Committee Secretariat to a secret location where all sort of insertions were made into the budget. The blackmail has always been – “Abdul people will laugh at you if anything goes wrong between you and Dogara because of the lead role you played and the many toes you stepped on to get him elected”. It’s been a painful experience.
Again the secretariat was taken away from me on Speaker Dogara’s instruction for the second time to a location I don’t know and all sort of insertions into the budgets were made and returned to me for signature. I said over my dead body! It was a massive crisis behind the scene until the early morning of the Friday that Mr President assented the budget. It was Sen Danjuma Goje that brokered a compromise that since the Deputy Speaker leads the harmonization committee, he should also sign such that the harmonization committee will share responsibility with us. Senator Goje pleaded with me so hard all night and later shouted heavily on me reminding me that he is not talking to me as a Senator but as a father. I cried heavily all night.
TWO: When the budget harmonization committee headed by Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun gave out 80% concession across board to the executive demands during the harmonization negotiation, it was agreed that the remaining 20% should go to the entire NASS. The Deputy Speaker excused himself that he wanted to go and consult with Mr Speaker. He came back after few hours and in an unprecedented display of greed presented to me a hand written note distributing the remaining 20% to only principal officers. 70% of the 20% was reserved for Mr Speaker and himself while the remaining 30% of the 20% goes to other principal officers. I am sure he will recognize the hand writing when he sees it. My colleagues didn’t know all of these.
THREE: Mr. Speaker also directed me to create what I advised him will be a controversial line item under service wide vote to introduce about N20 billion project using the name of NASS. He directed me to see a highly placed PDP politician which I did and collected the documents. I advised him repeatedly against it but he kept pressuring me until I bluntly told him I will not!
FOUR: When the Appropriation Committee received all the budget reports from standing committees, an analysis was conducted. We discovered that about 10 only out of the 96 Standing Committees of the House introduced about 2,000 (two thousand) projects without the knowledge of their committee members amounting to about N284, 000, 000, 000 (Two hundred and eighty-four billion naira). I was alarmed. But I was cautious because at our pre-budget meeting with the committee chairmen, I was clearly warned not to touch their budgets. I reported the matter to the speaker. He did nothing about it obviously because he was working behind the scene with the committee chairmen. That was the beginning of the whole budget problem from the side of House and the whole exercise had to go through several versions before it was passed.
So, is it Abdul that introduced 2000 projects into budget worth N284 billion? But I quietly bore the pain and abuses from all over the country and continued to defend the committee inputs as a show of loyalty to the institution I represent which I so much love and still have many great minds in there. Apart from Chairman Agriculture Hon Mongunu who owned up and explained his inputs at the only executive session I was allowed to attend, the other few chairmen who loaded the budget kept quiet and watched me bashed from every angle by angry Nigerians.
People have asked why did I wait this long to open up, so much was happening behind the scene. I fought the battle of my life to raise these issues internally and get Mr. Speaker to address them to no avail. I pushed so hard that I got frustrated and depressed. All my attempts met brick walls. That was why some members were always raising their voice against me because they do not have the facts. I later on realized that the Speaker enjoyed that so much and colluded with his cabal to dump everything on me. I am sure not too long some members that knew what I went through will come out and testify. I also have evidence to show my internal struggles.
In any case, under circumstances like this, and for young people like us that are lucky to have accelerated career growth, the system scares you from becoming a whistle blower. They will tell you that if you do such, nobody will trust you or have confidence in you again. They will scare you that it is not good for your image and it will affect your career progression. Many young people in different sectors are faced with such frustrating situation. Even at the moment, if I take the advice of some people, I will get deeply scared and just keep quiet, so that I can grow career wise? My usual response to them is that, isn’t that selfish? Your only luck will be if a trigger occurs then you open up. This is one such trigger! In any case, I would have opened up anyway. I have written so much about these issues and more on NASS. I posted over a month ago on my Facebook page that I will release the piece as part of my 40th birthday in September. Well, I never knew it will come much earlier.
Some people are also saying I kept quiet while it was good and now I am talking because things have gone sour. Many members of the House and Nigerians will be shocked to know that there has NEVER been good times between myself and Speaker Dogara. It took few weeks after his election as Speaker for me to realize I never really knew him well. I was hasty to judge him by his innocent looking personality. We practically disagree on everything. From when he started conducting himself like a lord, wanting everybody around him to just say yes sir and go, shutting and looking down at his colleagues, playing double game between the executive and legislature, drafting of a new house rule, senseless splitting of committees which raised the numbers of committees to 96, appointment of committee chairmen, Chairmanship of NILS, issues of bills and allotment of sponsors, chairmanship of budget consultative committee, budget process and house inputs, the PIB, his divide and rule approach, his frequent dealings with heads of MDA’s as if he is a committee chairman and so many other issues. In all of these issues, there is none that has not remained controversial till date.
All these forced me to stay away from him except on official assignment. I can count how (many)times I have been to his office or home. I stayed away completely. It was such a frustrating and depressing period for me. Who will I complain to? How do I face the world and say I got it wrong after playing such a lead role in his emergence? When you see a house you sacrificed everything to build is falling apart and the driver believes he is firmly in charge because he has 8 votes advantage, you are left with no choice than to tie your seat belt for obvious eventuality.
I must admit I made an error of judgement. I don’t know to whom and from where I will start apologising for not heeding to wise counsel. There is nothing I am saying now that I have not discussed or warned speaker Dogara on the few occasions that I sorted and got private audience with him. But he has been hijacked and surrounded himself with a small cabal of sycophants, corrupt, mediocre, money hungry, vindictive, envious, self-serving small minds who have already done an irreparable damage to his person and office.
Speaker Dogara has completely derailed, remains clueless, keeps on with an unmatched ego and surely leading the House to the biggest scandal it may ever experience. He has failed to live above the fog in public duty and private thinking, a direct opposite of what my favourite American Poet Josiah Gilbet Holland prayed Lord to grant us in leaders.
All I am asking for is my right to be heard by my colleagues which they denied me. I am calling on my colleagues to plead with Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Lasun, Whip Doguwa and Minority leader Ogor to stop obstructing justice and allow me my right to be heard by the House. It is the House that will institute a special investigation on this matter to allow me testify and provide evidence before any other external action.
I will make a more detailed statement in due course.
Source: LIB
Open Heavens 25 July 2016: Monday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Righteousness is not Optional
Topic: Righteousness is not Optional [Monday 25, July 2016]
Memorise: As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death. – Proverbs 11:19
Read: Hosea 10:12 (KJV)
12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Bible in One Year: Colossians 1-4, Psalms 19:1-6
MESSAGE:
It is interesting to note that the righteousness that mankind has detested from generation to generation, right from the fall, is not optional! Many scholars have endeavoured to explain away what righteousness entails and play down its importance to the point that sermons that encourage righteous living are now scarce. Sweet and pet talks have replaced sermons that demand righteous living. This is why St. Paul admonished his spiritual son, Timothy thus:
“2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” - 2 Timothy 4:2-3
There are some lessons to be learnt from the above scripture; firstly, sermons that will produce righteous living must contain reproof, rebuke, exhortation and doctrine. Secondly, there is a time in the life of a Christian pilgrim when he will have to make himself intentionally available to reproof and rebuke. This is because, after a long stay in the Church environment, which might have earned him titles, he might no longer be teachable. Thirdly, righteous living requires indoctrination; doctrines that are sound. In other words, there are doctrines that are not sound. So, believers must beware of doctrines of the devil.
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;” - 1 Timothy 4:1
Today, some children of God make righteousness an optional virtue to their own danger because the scripture cannot be broken. It says:
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” - Hebrews 12:14
Beloved, it is true we shall be ultimately saved by grace. This is why we must pray for that grace to live righteously without struggle, because there is no grace in struggle. This is what makes the Christians faith unique. Our God is able to help us live for Him if we are willing and obedient. If we will not rationalise sin but admit it as it is and cry to God for help. The Bible says:
“11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” - Titus 2:11-12
I pray that as you desire righteousness today, the grace of God will bring it upon your life in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point: Father, let your grace abound in my heart so that I may begin to live life pleasing to you as from now in Jesus’ name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death. – Proverbs 11:19
Read: Hosea 10:12 (KJV)
12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Bible in One Year: Colossians 1-4, Psalms 19:1-6
MESSAGE:
It is interesting to note that the righteousness that mankind has detested from generation to generation, right from the fall, is not optional! Many scholars have endeavoured to explain away what righteousness entails and play down its importance to the point that sermons that encourage righteous living are now scarce. Sweet and pet talks have replaced sermons that demand righteous living. This is why St. Paul admonished his spiritual son, Timothy thus:
“2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” - 2 Timothy 4:2-3
There are some lessons to be learnt from the above scripture; firstly, sermons that will produce righteous living must contain reproof, rebuke, exhortation and doctrine. Secondly, there is a time in the life of a Christian pilgrim when he will have to make himself intentionally available to reproof and rebuke. This is because, after a long stay in the Church environment, which might have earned him titles, he might no longer be teachable. Thirdly, righteous living requires indoctrination; doctrines that are sound. In other words, there are doctrines that are not sound. So, believers must beware of doctrines of the devil.
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;” - 1 Timothy 4:1
Today, some children of God make righteousness an optional virtue to their own danger because the scripture cannot be broken. It says:
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” - Hebrews 12:14
Beloved, it is true we shall be ultimately saved by grace. This is why we must pray for that grace to live righteously without struggle, because there is no grace in struggle. This is what makes the Christians faith unique. Our God is able to help us live for Him if we are willing and obedient. If we will not rationalise sin but admit it as it is and cry to God for help. The Bible says:
“11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” - Titus 2:11-12
I pray that as you desire righteousness today, the grace of God will bring it upon your life in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point: Father, let your grace abound in my heart so that I may begin to live life pleasing to you as from now in Jesus’ name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Saturday, 23 July 2016
Open Heavens 23 July 2016: Saturday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – It is Finished
Topic: It is Finished [Saturday 23, July 2016]
Memorise: For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. – 2 Corinthians 8:9
Read: John 19:28-30 (KJV)
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Bible in One Year: Ephesians 4:17-6:24, Psalms 18:29-42
MESSAGE:
When our Lord Jesus Christ cried, “It Is Finished”, He really did mean that it is finished. However, some children of God do not know the important of that statement. Some believe that the wages of sin have been fully paid and so we are on our way to Heaven. Correct. Some people believe that all the misfortunes that came upon human race as a result of the fall have been paid for. This is equally true. The problem we must however fix in our devotional reading for today is irregularity in the doctrine of the atonement of Jesus Christ. We must get it right and perfect.
Some believe that when Jesus Christ said “it is finished” He meant that He had paid the debt of sin in full and do not believe that they are missing a gem in the work of redemption. This category of disciples focus on the spiritual aspect of redemption, without paying close attention to the physical. It is needful here to say that the atonement of Jesus Christ is all-encompassing – spiritual, physical, material, emotional, psychological and what have you. For example, when Adam sinned, it was not only the spiritual aspect of his life that was affected; his career as a gardener was affected because he had to labour more for less. Even his wife had to undergo the rigours of labour at childbirth. In the same vain, when the cure for sin came, it came in full. So, if you have been redeemed by His death at Calvary, I say congratulations because your ailing business, marriage, health condition etc are now redeemed! The Bible says:
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” - 2 Corinthians 8:9
The Irregularity on the other hand, has to do with the belief in some quarters that because Christ has paid our debt in full, we can indulge in sin. This is not correct. Jesus Christ paid it in full to cater for actual and habitual sins. This is why the Bible says:
“9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest….” -1 John 3:9-10a
On her encounter with Jesus Christ, the woman whose sin of adultery was forgiven her was told to “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11). So also was the impotent man that was healed by Jesus (John 5:4). Beloved, Jesus paid it in full for your deliverance for spiritual and physical calamities; sin, sickness, poverty and all, but He did not pay for you to continue in sin.
Prayer Point: Father, I thank you for sending your Son, Jesus to pay the debt He did not owe on my behalf. Please let this atoning work deliver me from all woes of sin in Jesus’ name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. – 2 Corinthians 8:9
Read: John 19:28-30 (KJV)
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Bible in One Year: Ephesians 4:17-6:24, Psalms 18:29-42
MESSAGE:
When our Lord Jesus Christ cried, “It Is Finished”, He really did mean that it is finished. However, some children of God do not know the important of that statement. Some believe that the wages of sin have been fully paid and so we are on our way to Heaven. Correct. Some people believe that all the misfortunes that came upon human race as a result of the fall have been paid for. This is equally true. The problem we must however fix in our devotional reading for today is irregularity in the doctrine of the atonement of Jesus Christ. We must get it right and perfect.
Some believe that when Jesus Christ said “it is finished” He meant that He had paid the debt of sin in full and do not believe that they are missing a gem in the work of redemption. This category of disciples focus on the spiritual aspect of redemption, without paying close attention to the physical. It is needful here to say that the atonement of Jesus Christ is all-encompassing – spiritual, physical, material, emotional, psychological and what have you. For example, when Adam sinned, it was not only the spiritual aspect of his life that was affected; his career as a gardener was affected because he had to labour more for less. Even his wife had to undergo the rigours of labour at childbirth. In the same vain, when the cure for sin came, it came in full. So, if you have been redeemed by His death at Calvary, I say congratulations because your ailing business, marriage, health condition etc are now redeemed! The Bible says:
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” - 2 Corinthians 8:9
The Irregularity on the other hand, has to do with the belief in some quarters that because Christ has paid our debt in full, we can indulge in sin. This is not correct. Jesus Christ paid it in full to cater for actual and habitual sins. This is why the Bible says:
“9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest….” -1 John 3:9-10a
On her encounter with Jesus Christ, the woman whose sin of adultery was forgiven her was told to “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11). So also was the impotent man that was healed by Jesus (John 5:4). Beloved, Jesus paid it in full for your deliverance for spiritual and physical calamities; sin, sickness, poverty and all, but He did not pay for you to continue in sin.
Prayer Point: Father, I thank you for sending your Son, Jesus to pay the debt He did not owe on my behalf. Please let this atoning work deliver me from all woes of sin in Jesus’ name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
FG explains why they refused to release Sambo Dasuki
Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Prosecution has said that the Federal Government is not detaining Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) indefinitely.
Obono-Obla said on Friday in Abuja that a media propaganda was being staged to “give the impression that the Federal Government has refused to release him on bail’’.
“I can assure you that nobody is detaining Dasuki indefinitely.
“There has been a lot of manipulation, media propaganda giving the impression that the Federal Government has refused to release him on bail.
“It is not true; what happened was that he has several charges against him.
“The first charge was unlawful possession of fire arms which he was arrested and arraigned in the Federal High Court.
“He was granted bail and he met the bail conditions, but before he was released, the SSS arrested him for an offence that is unrelated to that one of unlawful possession.’’
Speaking on the alleged detention of suspects without trial, Obono-Obla said detaining suspects for more than 48 hours without trial amounted to a breach of the provisions of the Constitution.
“People are arrested they know their rights, they do not know their left from right, they know what to do, they do not go to lawyers to help them out.
“In civilised Countries, people go to lawyers when they are arrested immediately they would tell you they want to talk to their lawyers.
“Basically that is the law and that is the constitutional provision which is superior to any other law.”
The Presidential aide said counsels to defendants always used frivolous motions to delay trials because the judges were not firm.
“If you look at the Administration of Criminal Justice Act there is supposed to be collaborations between the Courts, the Law Enforcement Agencies and persons and authorities.
“If you look at Section 1 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015 to ensure that there is compliance of that law.
“And what is the essence of that law, the essence of that law is to protect society from crime, to protect the rights and interests of defendants, suspects and society.
“The lawyers take advantage of the fact that they are senior members of the bar and the judges are not firm on them, so they come out with all manner of excuses to get adjournment to prolong the matter.
“So if the lawyers are alive to their responsibilities as ministers in the temple of justice then they cannot do that because the law is very clear even if it would adverse to your client’s interest.’’
Obono-Obla stated that the President is depending on the National Prosecution Coordinating Committee to improve the standard of prosecuting public officers that have looted the country’s treasury.
He, however, said the anti-graft war should be seen as a collective fight, adding that the President needed the support of the judiciary, legislature and the public to succeed.
- NAN
Obono-Obla said on Friday in Abuja that a media propaganda was being staged to “give the impression that the Federal Government has refused to release him on bail’’.
“I can assure you that nobody is detaining Dasuki indefinitely.
“There has been a lot of manipulation, media propaganda giving the impression that the Federal Government has refused to release him on bail.
“It is not true; what happened was that he has several charges against him.
“The first charge was unlawful possession of fire arms which he was arrested and arraigned in the Federal High Court.
“He was granted bail and he met the bail conditions, but before he was released, the SSS arrested him for an offence that is unrelated to that one of unlawful possession.’’
Speaking on the alleged detention of suspects without trial, Obono-Obla said detaining suspects for more than 48 hours without trial amounted to a breach of the provisions of the Constitution.
“People are arrested they know their rights, they do not know their left from right, they know what to do, they do not go to lawyers to help them out.
“In civilised Countries, people go to lawyers when they are arrested immediately they would tell you they want to talk to their lawyers.
“Basically that is the law and that is the constitutional provision which is superior to any other law.”
The Presidential aide said counsels to defendants always used frivolous motions to delay trials because the judges were not firm.
“If you look at the Administration of Criminal Justice Act there is supposed to be collaborations between the Courts, the Law Enforcement Agencies and persons and authorities.
“If you look at Section 1 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015 to ensure that there is compliance of that law.
“And what is the essence of that law, the essence of that law is to protect society from crime, to protect the rights and interests of defendants, suspects and society.
“The lawyers take advantage of the fact that they are senior members of the bar and the judges are not firm on them, so they come out with all manner of excuses to get adjournment to prolong the matter.
“So if the lawyers are alive to their responsibilities as ministers in the temple of justice then they cannot do that because the law is very clear even if it would adverse to your client’s interest.’’
Obono-Obla stated that the President is depending on the National Prosecution Coordinating Committee to improve the standard of prosecuting public officers that have looted the country’s treasury.
He, however, said the anti-graft war should be seen as a collective fight, adding that the President needed the support of the judiciary, legislature and the public to succeed.
- NAN
Friday, 22 July 2016
Nigerian Soldiers go missing after Boko Haram ambush in Borno
A few of the soldiers were missing after the ambush. The injured soldiers have been evacuated and are responding to treatment while a search and rescue party comprising of Special Forces personnel has since been dispatched to establish contact with the missing soldiers.
The statement however adds that some of the missing solders have started returning to their defensive location. The Army says no stone would be left unturned until every person involved in the operation has been accounted for
Talented Actress Doris Simeon releases beautiful new photos to celebrate her birthday
Open Heavens 22 July 2016: Friday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Not a Virtue!
Topic: Not a Virtue! [Friday 22, July 2016]
Memorise: As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. – Proverbs 26:11
Read: Proverbs 15:20-21 (KJV)
20 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
21 Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
Bible in One Year: Ephesians 1:1-4:16, Psalms 18:20-28
MESSAGE:
Foolishness is not a virtue; rather it is a vice that costs its victim eternity in hell fire. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). In other words, lack of the fear of God is the beginning of foolishness. So, when someone decides to live without the fear of God, he does whatever he pleases without consideration for the Word of God, he feels he is free to do whatever he likes with his life, he behaves as if he owns his life, but in actual sense, his life is borrowed and the Owner may ask for it anytime. Our Lord Jesus told a parable of a prosperous farmer who did not reckon with God in all his dealings. Considering the wealth he had possessed he said:
“19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” - Luke 12:19-20
Some people who claim to be children of God behave foolishly sometimes. Our memory verse for today says: “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” Some brethren who had been modest and holy are now regretting their past pure Christian life! Those vanities they forsook in the past are now back in full force. This scripture is now fulfilled in their lives. Jesus said when a demon is cast out of a man, he goes away but after sometime he comes back to check whether that life is still empty. If he finds the life empty he goes back to take seven more powerful demons to take possession of the life (Luke 11:24-26). It is foolishness to go back to your old lifestyle after you have been cleansed from your former sins and impurities. The Bible says:
“For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” - 2 Peter 2:20
In the past, you could identify a child of God from afar off (with the few exceptions of those who were pretenders). Many things that are now being celebrated were abominations in those days. It is unfortunate that a wholesale return to those vanities is now in vogue. Some Christian scholars were brought to me in my office by their leaders many years ago and I saw assorted wild paintings – red, green, silver, brown, pink etc on their faces and lips. I could not help but tell them that was the first time I would see Bible scholars in such a wild exhibition of vanities. Their leader then promised that he would do something about it and that when Lazarus came out from the dead he was gradually striped of the grave clothes he had on. Theologians know how to explain things away. Beloved, going back from your first love is not a virtue; it is rather a vice. Repent today, tomorrow may be too late.
Action Point: Check your life and see if there is any foolish act of sin, unrighteousness or backsliding. Repent.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. – Proverbs 26:11
Read: Proverbs 15:20-21 (KJV)
20 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
21 Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
Bible in One Year: Ephesians 1:1-4:16, Psalms 18:20-28
MESSAGE:
Foolishness is not a virtue; rather it is a vice that costs its victim eternity in hell fire. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). In other words, lack of the fear of God is the beginning of foolishness. So, when someone decides to live without the fear of God, he does whatever he pleases without consideration for the Word of God, he feels he is free to do whatever he likes with his life, he behaves as if he owns his life, but in actual sense, his life is borrowed and the Owner may ask for it anytime. Our Lord Jesus told a parable of a prosperous farmer who did not reckon with God in all his dealings. Considering the wealth he had possessed he said:
“19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” - Luke 12:19-20
Some people who claim to be children of God behave foolishly sometimes. Our memory verse for today says: “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” Some brethren who had been modest and holy are now regretting their past pure Christian life! Those vanities they forsook in the past are now back in full force. This scripture is now fulfilled in their lives. Jesus said when a demon is cast out of a man, he goes away but after sometime he comes back to check whether that life is still empty. If he finds the life empty he goes back to take seven more powerful demons to take possession of the life (Luke 11:24-26). It is foolishness to go back to your old lifestyle after you have been cleansed from your former sins and impurities. The Bible says:
“For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” - 2 Peter 2:20
In the past, you could identify a child of God from afar off (with the few exceptions of those who were pretenders). Many things that are now being celebrated were abominations in those days. It is unfortunate that a wholesale return to those vanities is now in vogue. Some Christian scholars were brought to me in my office by their leaders many years ago and I saw assorted wild paintings – red, green, silver, brown, pink etc on their faces and lips. I could not help but tell them that was the first time I would see Bible scholars in such a wild exhibition of vanities. Their leader then promised that he would do something about it and that when Lazarus came out from the dead he was gradually striped of the grave clothes he had on. Theologians know how to explain things away. Beloved, going back from your first love is not a virtue; it is rather a vice. Repent today, tomorrow may be too late.
Action Point: Check your life and see if there is any foolish act of sin, unrighteousness or backsliding. Repent.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Thursday, 21 July 2016
Open Heavens 21 July 2016: Thursday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Vital ingredients of Prayer
Topic: Vital ingredients of Prayer [Thursday 21, July 2016]
Memorise: And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. – Mark 11:25
Read: Mark 11:22-26 (KJV)
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Bible in One Year: Galatians 4-6, Psalms 18:1-19
MESSAGE:
Our Lord Jesus Christ did not only give us an outline for prayer in what is popularly called “The Lord’s Prayer” (Luke 11:2-4), He also gave us some vital ingredients of prayer. The first in our consideration is faith. The Almighty God demands that we have faith in Him. A man that prays without faith cannot get anything substantial from the spiritual exercise of prayer. When we pray, we should be assured that God is capable of doing whatever our desires are. Doubt is a grievous offence before the Almighty God. The children of Israel that doubted the capability of God were consumed by the fiery anger of the God who had been erstwhile benevolent to them, however, as many as believed in His Almightiness received great recompense for their faith.
“6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” - James 1:6-7
Another vital ingredient of the prayer that God will answer is forgiveness. This is a two-edged sword. Blessed is he that is forgiven, sin a hindrance to prayer. Unless we are forgiven, our prayer cannot be answered. This is why our Lord Jesus put an aspect of confession of sin in the prayer outline (Luke 11:4). No matter how old we may be in the Lord, if we discover any sin ranging from lying, outburst of unwarranted anger etc in our lives while we are getting set to pray, we must confess that sin first. The Bible says:
“8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:8-9
On the other hand, our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” - Mark 11:25
Many of us come to the throne of mercy without the milk of mercy in our hearts. We come for mercy while we are not merciful; we come for forgiveness and we are not forgiving. What an irony? In Matthew 18:32-35, our Lord told the parable of the wicked servant who jailed his fellow worker that owed him a little after he himself had received pardon for a greater debt. His forgiving spirit made him forfeit the pardon for the debt he earlier received. Beloved, let us cultivate the habit of forgiving one another, at least for the fact that our Father in Heaven forgives every of our sins.
Prayer Point: Father, please increase my faith and put in me the spirit that freely forgive.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. – Mark 11:25
Read: Mark 11:22-26 (KJV)
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Bible in One Year: Galatians 4-6, Psalms 18:1-19
MESSAGE:
Our Lord Jesus Christ did not only give us an outline for prayer in what is popularly called “The Lord’s Prayer” (Luke 11:2-4), He also gave us some vital ingredients of prayer. The first in our consideration is faith. The Almighty God demands that we have faith in Him. A man that prays without faith cannot get anything substantial from the spiritual exercise of prayer. When we pray, we should be assured that God is capable of doing whatever our desires are. Doubt is a grievous offence before the Almighty God. The children of Israel that doubted the capability of God were consumed by the fiery anger of the God who had been erstwhile benevolent to them, however, as many as believed in His Almightiness received great recompense for their faith.
“6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” - James 1:6-7
Another vital ingredient of the prayer that God will answer is forgiveness. This is a two-edged sword. Blessed is he that is forgiven, sin a hindrance to prayer. Unless we are forgiven, our prayer cannot be answered. This is why our Lord Jesus put an aspect of confession of sin in the prayer outline (Luke 11:4). No matter how old we may be in the Lord, if we discover any sin ranging from lying, outburst of unwarranted anger etc in our lives while we are getting set to pray, we must confess that sin first. The Bible says:
“8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:8-9
On the other hand, our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” - Mark 11:25
Many of us come to the throne of mercy without the milk of mercy in our hearts. We come for mercy while we are not merciful; we come for forgiveness and we are not forgiving. What an irony? In Matthew 18:32-35, our Lord told the parable of the wicked servant who jailed his fellow worker that owed him a little after he himself had received pardon for a greater debt. His forgiving spirit made him forfeit the pardon for the debt he earlier received. Beloved, let us cultivate the habit of forgiving one another, at least for the fact that our Father in Heaven forgives every of our sins.
Prayer Point: Father, please increase my faith and put in me the spirit that freely forgive.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Kanye West wife Kim Kardashian West was paid $700,000 for an appearance at a party
US Ambassador fails to honor House of Reps investigating panel again over alleged sexual misconduct
According to LIB, The investigation by the House of Representatives Joint Committee on
Ethics and Privileges and Foreign Affairs into the alleged sexual
misconduct by three lawmakers, Samuel Ikon, Mohammed Gololo and Mark
Gbillah, in the US in April this year, was again stalled today as the
outgoing US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle failed to honor the
panel's invitation.
Buhari Orders Probe over Minister meeting with militants
Meeting With Niger Delta Avengers: Minister In Trouble, Buhari Orders Probe
*Dalung disguised, sneaked into Oporoza
*Community denies minister’s visit
*Ex-Supreme Court Justice’s son facilitated trip
Days after his acclaimed meeting with the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), Sports and Youth Development Minister, Mr. Solomon Dalung, appears to have run into trouble as President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the probe of circumstances surrounding the parley.
“Mr. President has ordered that the minister provides an answer as to whether or not he actually met with Avengers, and if truly he did, he wants to know from him who authorised the meeting,” a presidential aide told our correspondent.
This development came, as it emerged that one Jude Tabai, the son of a retired justice of the Supreme Court, facilitated Dalung’s trip to Oporoza.
But the minister did not disclose his identity to the host community during his visit as he introduced himself as the head of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working for development in the Niger Delta.
*Dalung disguised, sneaked into Oporoza
*Community denies minister’s visit
*Ex-Supreme Court Justice’s son facilitated trip
Days after his acclaimed meeting with the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), Sports and Youth Development Minister, Mr. Solomon Dalung, appears to have run into trouble as President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the probe of circumstances surrounding the parley.
“Mr. President has ordered that the minister provides an answer as to whether or not he actually met with Avengers, and if truly he did, he wants to know from him who authorised the meeting,” a presidential aide told our correspondent.
This development came, as it emerged that one Jude Tabai, the son of a retired justice of the Supreme Court, facilitated Dalung’s trip to Oporoza.
But the minister did not disclose his identity to the host community during his visit as he introduced himself as the head of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working for development in the Niger Delta.
What do you know about Turkey 'coup' ? BBC Report compiled by Tunji Light Ariyo
1. More than 15,000 education staff in Turkey have been suspended after last week's failed coup.
2. More than 1,500 university deans have also been ordered to resign by Turkey's high education board.
3. 6,000 military personnel have been arrested, with more than two dozen generals awaiting trial
4. 9,000 police officers have been sacked
2. More than 1,500 university deans have also been ordered to resign by Turkey's high education board.
3. 6,000 military personnel have been arrested, with more than two dozen generals awaiting trial
4. 9,000 police officers have been sacked
Open Heavens 20 July 2016: Wednesday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Called unto Greatness
Topic: Called unto Greatness [Wednesday 20, July 2016]
Memorise: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. – Luke 5:10
Read: Luke 5:1-10 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
Bible in One Year: Galatians 1-3, Psalms 17
MESSAGE:
There is something special about the call of God from generation to generation and from dispensation to dispensation. For example, in Genesis, when God made a call among the Trinity about the creation of man, something great came out of that call and that is the uniqueness of man as a special creation. It should be remembered that there was no call at all when other creatures were being created. After the fall, there were many generations up to the time of Abram and when God called Abram and changed his name to Abraham, his life never remained the same.
In our Bible reading for today, we read about the call of Peter into the office of apostleship. When at the lake of Gennesaret, Peter had no idea of awesomeness of the call when Jesus said to him: “Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” (Luke 5:10). Peter, an ordinary fisherman, became great as a result of this ‘simple’ call. Many Cathedrals have been built and named after Peter, the frustrated fisherman before his encounter with Jesus. One can see that a single encounter with Jesus can make a great difference in one’s life. Jesus is calling someone today as you read this devotional and He is saying:
“28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” - Matthew 11:28-29
To have a profitable encounter with Jesus, certain things must be done. You must answer His call. He is calling you to follow Him, but you must not just follow Him, you must learn of Him, and all the ideals He brought from His father must be imbibed by you. Jesus said:
“16…My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” - John 7:16-17
Learning of Jesus entails living according to how He lived here on earth. His life of obedience to the will of His Father must be emulated. The Bible enjoins us to have the same mind like Christ (Philippians 2:5-11), and we shall experience great elevation like Jesus did. God is calling us to be like Him; He wants to make us great. May we not refuse His call today; firstly for salvation and secondly for service.
Action Point: What area do you think God is calling you into? Answer Him now and be blessed.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. – Luke 5:10
Read: Luke 5:1-10 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
Bible in One Year: Galatians 1-3, Psalms 17
MESSAGE:
There is something special about the call of God from generation to generation and from dispensation to dispensation. For example, in Genesis, when God made a call among the Trinity about the creation of man, something great came out of that call and that is the uniqueness of man as a special creation. It should be remembered that there was no call at all when other creatures were being created. After the fall, there were many generations up to the time of Abram and when God called Abram and changed his name to Abraham, his life never remained the same.
In our Bible reading for today, we read about the call of Peter into the office of apostleship. When at the lake of Gennesaret, Peter had no idea of awesomeness of the call when Jesus said to him: “Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” (Luke 5:10). Peter, an ordinary fisherman, became great as a result of this ‘simple’ call. Many Cathedrals have been built and named after Peter, the frustrated fisherman before his encounter with Jesus. One can see that a single encounter with Jesus can make a great difference in one’s life. Jesus is calling someone today as you read this devotional and He is saying:
“28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” - Matthew 11:28-29
To have a profitable encounter with Jesus, certain things must be done. You must answer His call. He is calling you to follow Him, but you must not just follow Him, you must learn of Him, and all the ideals He brought from His father must be imbibed by you. Jesus said:
“16…My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” - John 7:16-17
Learning of Jesus entails living according to how He lived here on earth. His life of obedience to the will of His Father must be emulated. The Bible enjoins us to have the same mind like Christ (Philippians 2:5-11), and we shall experience great elevation like Jesus did. God is calling us to be like Him; He wants to make us great. May we not refuse His call today; firstly for salvation and secondly for service.
Action Point: What area do you think God is calling you into? Answer Him now and be blessed.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
ENROL FOR McPHERSON UNIVERSITY PRE- DEGREE PROGRAM TODAY
ENROL FOR McPHERSON
UNIVERSITY
PRE- DEGREE PROGRAM TODAY
AVAILABLE COURSES
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Big names in football world battle ready for UEFA best player of the year (Full list)
The football family is going to be excited once again as Real Madrid/Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo,
Barcelona/Argentina's Lionel Messi, Barcelona/Uruguay's Luis Suarez and
Atletico Madrid/France's Antoinne Griezmann have been named as the top
contenders for this year's UEFA Best player in Europe award.
On Monday,
UEFA announced their top 10 players in Europe during 2015/2016 and also
the shortlist of 37 players that all gained votes and on August 25, 2016, UEFA will announce it's best player in Europe.
This is a must read as Man shares his experience on a relationship that lasted for few years
LIB
Former President Jonathan Will Be At US Nigerian Lawyers Awards Dinner, To Give Address
Former Nigeria President, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan, will give the keynote speech of the United States Nigerian Lawyers Association (NLA) Merit Awards Dinner, scheduled for October 29 in New York.
An announcement signed by Nexus U. Sea, President of the association, said tickets for the event at on sale on the NLA website
“Early Bird tickets are $100 for NLA Members and $130 for Non-Members. We recommend that you purchase your tickets before Standard Rates apply. The Early Bird period will expire on August 31, 2016 at 11:59PM. Standard Rates are $130 for NLA Members and $160 for Non-Members. The ticket price for everyone at the Door will be $180.”
Popular Denrele In Abeokuta Wearing Ladies attires
When it comes to displaying of talent and showcasing natural talent....Denrele is always on point.... Though I thought
he said sometimes around last year that he would be getting married
this year. Where is the marriage plans? Who is the lady? And does he
want to be competing with the wife on women's clothing.
You wouldn't believe this was Denrele, but it is him. He was in Abeokuta, Ogun State over the weekend with friends. And he took the liberty to try out ladies clothings. The funniest thing about the dressing is the socks in high heels, this is real craziness, if the ladies wear it this way, then no one would turn to ask them out.
You wouldn't believe this was Denrele, but it is him. He was in Abeokuta, Ogun State over the weekend with friends. And he took the liberty to try out ladies clothings. The funniest thing about the dressing is the socks in high heels, this is real craziness, if the ladies wear it this way, then no one would turn to ask them out.
Omo baba olowo: Davido took to social media to heap praises on his father Dr Adeleke
Talented singer and Pop star, Davido took to social media to heap
praises on his father Dr Adeleke after the graduation ceremony at his
school, Adeleke University. In a post, Davido said that over 200
students graduated from the school with more than half of them under
scholarship.
Dr Adeleke who is a well known philanthropist, also grants Scholarship to dozens of students in other private university which include the one his son recently graduated from, Babcock University.
Dr Adeleke who is a well known philanthropist, also grants Scholarship to dozens of students in other private university which include the one his son recently graduated from, Babcock University.
Ghen ghen... Freeze Apologizes To Basketmouth, Fayose, TB Joshua and others
Wonder they say will never end in entertainment world. OAP Freeze went into an apology spree last night
that totally shocked his fans. He admitted he has been jealous of
Basketmouth and begged him to bury the hatchet, and also asked Pastor
Fatoyinbo, Fayose, Prophet TB Joshua, two ladies he once called out,
Festus Keyamo for forgiveness.
He had eaten the most delicious Egusi soup ever cooked with smoked catfish fish, okporoko head, grass cutter, 'tozo' meat from a mature cow, along with some wholesome Eba, got into a quarrel with Noble Igwe and came out of it a totally changed man.
He had eaten the most delicious Egusi soup ever cooked with smoked catfish fish, okporoko head, grass cutter, 'tozo' meat from a mature cow, along with some wholesome Eba, got into a quarrel with Noble Igwe and came out of it a totally changed man.
Don’t Give Up! (3) by Pastor Faith Oyedepo
Author: Pastor Faith Oyedepo
Topic: Don’t Give Up! (3)
Dear Reader,
Welcome to this week’s teaching. In the previous editions, we examined how to use prayers and a life that speaks to help get your unbelieving spouse saved. I see God turning your challenges into cheap miracles, as you put to practice those things that you have learnt, in Jesus’ name.
This week, we shall be examining the use of FASTING in getting your spouse saved. “Fasting” means doing away with food for the purpose of concentration. It is a way of seeking the face of God, earnestly bringing the flesh under your control in order to be more sensitive to God. God knew that there would be challenging situations that will prove a little difficult for us; that was why He recommended fasting. Mark 9:29 confirms that: “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. Set some time apart to fast for the salvation of your loved ones. This must be coupled with prayer and the Word of God. When fasting is void of prayer and the Word of God, then it is hunger strike or mere dieting! Your fasting must also be done in wisdom. It is not how long you fast that matters, but how well and effective your fast is.
I once met an elderly woman who became born again after she was married. Apparently, her husband was deep into the occult. This woman took up the challenge and started praying for her husband, breaking the power of the devil over his life. At a point in time, she started sacrificing her breakfast for her husband’s salvation. According to her, she would prepare her breakfast and give it to the needy. She did this for two years!
Meanwhile, she was in a different city from where her husband was. Unknown to her, God had sent someone to cross path with the man and he gave his life to Christ. When this woman met her husband he was born again! We serve a God of miracles! Can you imagine her joy that day? But she had to pray, practise patience and fast about it. Yours will be the next testimony in Jesus’ name!
Fasting has several advantages in helping to get your spouse saved. Fasting is an added plus to prayers. When fasting is done effectively along with prayers using the Word of God, the result is always an immediate success. Some impossible situations recorded in Esther 4:3, Matthew 17:29 and Acts 14:23 in the Bible, experienced a turn-around through fasting and prayers.
God’s Word in Isaiah 58:6-7 says: Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thin own flesh? This means that fasting can set one lose from any kind of bondage and break every kind of yoke, when it is done effectively (Isaiah 58:8-14). It is not just abstaining from food or drink, but abstaining with a major purpose of seeking God in prayers via His Word, while maintaining a good Christian life that speaks.
This is an ‘all-round package’ for answered prayers that covers every area of need, including the salvation of your spouse! I see God answer your prayers according to the desires of your heart, as you simply put the above-mentioned points to work, in Jesus’ name! Don’t give up on your spouse; your own testimony is at hand.
However, the first thing to do for your fasting to be effective is to surrender your life to Christ and become a child of God. God will only listen to His children. God’s children are those who have accepted Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Saviour. If you will like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and become born-again, please say this prayer: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the living God. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”
If you prayed this simple prayer, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).
Congratulations! You are now born again! All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name. Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org; OR 07026385437 and 08141320204.
For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).
Topic: Don’t Give Up! (3)
Dear Reader,
Welcome to this week’s teaching. In the previous editions, we examined how to use prayers and a life that speaks to help get your unbelieving spouse saved. I see God turning your challenges into cheap miracles, as you put to practice those things that you have learnt, in Jesus’ name.
This week, we shall be examining the use of FASTING in getting your spouse saved. “Fasting” means doing away with food for the purpose of concentration. It is a way of seeking the face of God, earnestly bringing the flesh under your control in order to be more sensitive to God. God knew that there would be challenging situations that will prove a little difficult for us; that was why He recommended fasting. Mark 9:29 confirms that: “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. Set some time apart to fast for the salvation of your loved ones. This must be coupled with prayer and the Word of God. When fasting is void of prayer and the Word of God, then it is hunger strike or mere dieting! Your fasting must also be done in wisdom. It is not how long you fast that matters, but how well and effective your fast is.
I once met an elderly woman who became born again after she was married. Apparently, her husband was deep into the occult. This woman took up the challenge and started praying for her husband, breaking the power of the devil over his life. At a point in time, she started sacrificing her breakfast for her husband’s salvation. According to her, she would prepare her breakfast and give it to the needy. She did this for two years!
Meanwhile, she was in a different city from where her husband was. Unknown to her, God had sent someone to cross path with the man and he gave his life to Christ. When this woman met her husband he was born again! We serve a God of miracles! Can you imagine her joy that day? But she had to pray, practise patience and fast about it. Yours will be the next testimony in Jesus’ name!
Fasting has several advantages in helping to get your spouse saved. Fasting is an added plus to prayers. When fasting is done effectively along with prayers using the Word of God, the result is always an immediate success. Some impossible situations recorded in Esther 4:3, Matthew 17:29 and Acts 14:23 in the Bible, experienced a turn-around through fasting and prayers.
God’s Word in Isaiah 58:6-7 says: Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thin own flesh? This means that fasting can set one lose from any kind of bondage and break every kind of yoke, when it is done effectively (Isaiah 58:8-14). It is not just abstaining from food or drink, but abstaining with a major purpose of seeking God in prayers via His Word, while maintaining a good Christian life that speaks.
This is an ‘all-round package’ for answered prayers that covers every area of need, including the salvation of your spouse! I see God answer your prayers according to the desires of your heart, as you simply put the above-mentioned points to work, in Jesus’ name! Don’t give up on your spouse; your own testimony is at hand.
However, the first thing to do for your fasting to be effective is to surrender your life to Christ and become a child of God. God will only listen to His children. God’s children are those who have accepted Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Saviour. If you will like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and become born-again, please say this prayer: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the living God. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”
If you prayed this simple prayer, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).
Congratulations! You are now born again! All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name. Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org; OR 07026385437 and 08141320204.
For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).
NFF: Paul Le Guen is the new Super Eagles coach
The Frenchman takes over from Sunday Oliseh as Eagles' handler, and he will be expected to qualify the country for the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia
The Nigeria Football Federation technical committee has recommended Frenchmen Paul le Guen as next Super Eagles coach.
He will be assisted by Salisu Yusuf , Imama Amapakabo and Alloy Aguwho will serve as goalkeeper trainer.
Flatimes
The Nigeria Football Federation technical committee has recommended Frenchmen Paul le Guen as next Super Eagles coach.
He will be assisted by Salisu Yusuf , Imama Amapakabo and Alloy Aguwho will serve as goalkeeper trainer.
Flatimes
Open Heavens 19 July 2016: Tuesday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Habitation of the Lord
Topic: The Habitation of the Lord [Tuesday 19, July 2016]
Memorise: If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. – Job 8:6
Read: Psalms 97:10-11 (KJV)
10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
Bible in One Year: 2 Corinthians 10-13, Psalms 15-16
MESSAGE:
The characteristics of the habitation of the Lord attract our attention because of the blessings awaiting us there. The qualification of those who can be part of the habitation of the Lord is worthy of note. Our memory verse says:
“If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.” - Job 8:6
The habitation of the Lord is the place where God blesses His people with diverse kinds of blessings – spiritual, physical and material. Only the pure and upright can enjoy the blessings of God’s habitation, one of which is security.
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” - Psalms 91:1
The issue of holiness is not a subject of debate for those who know that they stand to gain by living holy. If you live holy, you live holy for yourself as the Lord watches over the righteous (Psalms 5:12). Also, there is promotion for those who abide in the habitation of the Lord (Hebrews 1:9). Moreover, the Bible says;
“1 LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” - Psalms 15:1-2
In other words, the habitation of the Lord is not an “all comers” affair, even though whoever chooses to be there can be there if the fellow is ready to pay the price. The price of living holy is what those who want to abide in the habitation of the Lord must pay. Our text for today emphasises the necessity of righteousness vis-a-vis divine protection:
“10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” - Psalms 97:10-11
Nobody is careless about his precious possession. Anybody who chooses to live a consecrated life will enjoy divine protection. Such are precious stones in the sight of the Lord. The Lord watches over His heritage, i.e. His saints. This is why Psalms 125:3 says:
“For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.”
He keeps them under His protection and ensures no evil befalls them. My prayer is that you will live under the watchful eyes of the Almighty.
Action Point: Search the scripture and find out all you must do to be able to abide in the habitation of the Lord.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. – Job 8:6
Read: Psalms 97:10-11 (KJV)
10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
Bible in One Year: 2 Corinthians 10-13, Psalms 15-16
MESSAGE:
The characteristics of the habitation of the Lord attract our attention because of the blessings awaiting us there. The qualification of those who can be part of the habitation of the Lord is worthy of note. Our memory verse says:
“If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.” - Job 8:6
The habitation of the Lord is the place where God blesses His people with diverse kinds of blessings – spiritual, physical and material. Only the pure and upright can enjoy the blessings of God’s habitation, one of which is security.
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” - Psalms 91:1
The issue of holiness is not a subject of debate for those who know that they stand to gain by living holy. If you live holy, you live holy for yourself as the Lord watches over the righteous (Psalms 5:12). Also, there is promotion for those who abide in the habitation of the Lord (Hebrews 1:9). Moreover, the Bible says;
“1 LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” - Psalms 15:1-2
In other words, the habitation of the Lord is not an “all comers” affair, even though whoever chooses to be there can be there if the fellow is ready to pay the price. The price of living holy is what those who want to abide in the habitation of the Lord must pay. Our text for today emphasises the necessity of righteousness vis-a-vis divine protection:
“10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” - Psalms 97:10-11
Nobody is careless about his precious possession. Anybody who chooses to live a consecrated life will enjoy divine protection. Such are precious stones in the sight of the Lord. The Lord watches over His heritage, i.e. His saints. This is why Psalms 125:3 says:
“For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.”
He keeps them under His protection and ensures no evil befalls them. My prayer is that you will live under the watchful eyes of the Almighty.
Action Point: Search the scripture and find out all you must do to be able to abide in the habitation of the Lord.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Monday, 18 July 2016
Open Heavens 18 July 2016: Monday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Not a Hindrance!
Topic: Not a Hindrance! [Monday 18, July 2016]
Memorise: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28
Read: Philippians 1:12-21 (KJV)
12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Bible in One Year: 2 Corinthians 5:12-9:15, Psalms 13-14
MESSAGE:
While man does not have a way of getting solutions to his problems, God has uncountable ways to solving universal problems. This is because He is the Almighty. Another thing about the ways of God is that it does not appeal to the natural man. This truth is what Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ tried to convey to us in our memory verse for today when he wrote:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:28
Paul wrote to encourage believers by telling them that the hardship he was going through was for the advancement of the gospel. It takes the eyes of faith to come to terms with this type of truth. In chains, he was moved from one place to another as a criminal under trial. However, at every given time and opportunity to speak, he preached the gospel. In Acts 24 & 25 alone, he addressed three different very important personalities namely Felix, Festus, King Agrippa. It was King Agrippa that said to Paul:
“Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” - Acts 26:28
Then Paul said:
“I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.” - Acts 26:29
This is a level all children of God must reach if we will enjoy our walk with God. This same truth helped Joseph from misbehaving when he came to power in Egypt and his brothers were afraid of revenge. He told them:
“19….Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." - Genesis 50:19-20
In all these, we must learn that challenges will not be a hindrance if God is with us, rather, it will be a stepping stone to our destiny. Some children of God attributed their failure to certain hindrances. This should not be, because the Captain of our battle never lost any battle. As a matter of fact, we are more than conquerors and all things will always work together for our good if we believe. I pray for someone using this devotional; all the seemingly hindering situations on your way to success will become a stepping stone to your breakthrough in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point: Father, I command all hindering mountains in my life to give way today in Jesus’ name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Memorise: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28
Read: Philippians 1:12-21 (KJV)
12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Bible in One Year: 2 Corinthians 5:12-9:15, Psalms 13-14
MESSAGE:
While man does not have a way of getting solutions to his problems, God has uncountable ways to solving universal problems. This is because He is the Almighty. Another thing about the ways of God is that it does not appeal to the natural man. This truth is what Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ tried to convey to us in our memory verse for today when he wrote:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:28
Paul wrote to encourage believers by telling them that the hardship he was going through was for the advancement of the gospel. It takes the eyes of faith to come to terms with this type of truth. In chains, he was moved from one place to another as a criminal under trial. However, at every given time and opportunity to speak, he preached the gospel. In Acts 24 & 25 alone, he addressed three different very important personalities namely Felix, Festus, King Agrippa. It was King Agrippa that said to Paul:
“Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” - Acts 26:28
Then Paul said:
“I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.” - Acts 26:29
This is a level all children of God must reach if we will enjoy our walk with God. This same truth helped Joseph from misbehaving when he came to power in Egypt and his brothers were afraid of revenge. He told them:
“19….Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." - Genesis 50:19-20
In all these, we must learn that challenges will not be a hindrance if God is with us, rather, it will be a stepping stone to our destiny. Some children of God attributed their failure to certain hindrances. This should not be, because the Captain of our battle never lost any battle. As a matter of fact, we are more than conquerors and all things will always work together for our good if we believe. I pray for someone using this devotional; all the seemingly hindering situations on your way to success will become a stepping stone to your breakthrough in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point: Father, I command all hindering mountains in my life to give way today in Jesus’ name.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.
Sunday, 17 July 2016
Buhari should stop acting like grandfather of corruption – Fayose
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has urged President Mohammadu Buhari to stop acting like the grandfather of corruption in Nigeria by shielding his men from probe, just as he asked Nigerians to demand the release of the authentic report of the Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces.
He described claim by the federal government that the probe panel only looked into procurement and contracts awarded by the military between 2011-2015 because documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010 were not available as a clear indication of his support for corruption.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said “it is now obvious to the entire world that anyone that is in President Buhari’s good books can never be adjudged as corrupt even if such a person is caught looting the entire money in Nigeria’s treasury.”
The governor said it smacked of sheer hypocrisy and nepotism for anyone to accept that fraud could have been perpetrated on procurement and award of contracts in an establishment without the involvement of the director of procurement.
"There are many petitions relating to the defence from 2007 that are been discarded, the question is why? There are several petitions against APC leaders that are not being looked into, the question is why?
"Fghting corruption and targeting only opponents of the president is in itself corruption," he said.
He said; “Buhari’s’ Minister of Interior, Major General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) was Chief of Army Staff between 2008 and 2010 and the current Chief Of Army Staff, Major General Tukur Buratai served as Director of Procurements, Defence Headquarters, from 2012 till May 2015.
“It is a fact that the committee in its terms of reference said it queried all procurement from 2007 to 2015. Even the Press Release issued was titled; ‘Third Interim Report of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement from 2007 to 2015.’
“First paragraph of the committee report also indicated that it used 2007-2015 as reference, stating that the committee ‘analysed procurement contracts awarded by or for the Nigerian Army between 2007 and 2015.’
“Questions Nigerians must now begin to ask President Buhari and his government are; where is the report of Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement relating to 2007 to 2010? Who doctored the committee report and why?
“Lai Mohammed said the Committee would commence the audit of procurement from 2007 to 2010 ‘as soon as the necessary documents are available’, it is necessary that Nigerians are told who the custodians of the documents are. Why were documents on procurement from 2011 and 2015 available and those of 2007 to 2010 not available?
"Early this year, we were told that an ally of President Buhari and chieftain of the APC, Brig. General Jafaru Isa (rtd) refunded N100 million of the N170 million he allegedly received from ex-NSA, Sambo Dasuki.
"Jafaru Isa who was a member of the 19-man Buhari Transition Committee was released after he was allegedly assisted by the Presidency to refund N100 million to the anti-graft commission and since then, nothing has been heard about the case. He was not charged to court like others.
"It took the Ministry of Defence and the Code of Conduct Bureau only one week to clear Buratai but others from the opposition party would be languishing in prison while EFCC go about fishing for evidence against them.
“Like I and other well-meaning Nigerians have maintained, fighting corruption is a good idea but the moment documents of probe panels and being doctored to shield those seen as the President’s men, the entire purpose of the corruption fight has been defeated.
“The international community must therefore prevail on President Buhari to stop acting like the grandfather of corruption in Nigeria by making the anti-corruption war all-inclusive instead of this clear persecution of his perceived political enemies, and the first step to demonstrate that will be the immediate release of report of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement covering 2007 to 2015.”
LIB
He described claim by the federal government that the probe panel only looked into procurement and contracts awarded by the military between 2011-2015 because documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010 were not available as a clear indication of his support for corruption.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said “it is now obvious to the entire world that anyone that is in President Buhari’s good books can never be adjudged as corrupt even if such a person is caught looting the entire money in Nigeria’s treasury.”
The governor said it smacked of sheer hypocrisy and nepotism for anyone to accept that fraud could have been perpetrated on procurement and award of contracts in an establishment without the involvement of the director of procurement.
"There are many petitions relating to the defence from 2007 that are been discarded, the question is why? There are several petitions against APC leaders that are not being looked into, the question is why?
"Fghting corruption and targeting only opponents of the president is in itself corruption," he said.
He said; “Buhari’s’ Minister of Interior, Major General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) was Chief of Army Staff between 2008 and 2010 and the current Chief Of Army Staff, Major General Tukur Buratai served as Director of Procurements, Defence Headquarters, from 2012 till May 2015.
“It is a fact that the committee in its terms of reference said it queried all procurement from 2007 to 2015. Even the Press Release issued was titled; ‘Third Interim Report of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement from 2007 to 2015.’
“First paragraph of the committee report also indicated that it used 2007-2015 as reference, stating that the committee ‘analysed procurement contracts awarded by or for the Nigerian Army between 2007 and 2015.’
“Questions Nigerians must now begin to ask President Buhari and his government are; where is the report of Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement relating to 2007 to 2010? Who doctored the committee report and why?
“Lai Mohammed said the Committee would commence the audit of procurement from 2007 to 2010 ‘as soon as the necessary documents are available’, it is necessary that Nigerians are told who the custodians of the documents are. Why were documents on procurement from 2011 and 2015 available and those of 2007 to 2010 not available?
"Early this year, we were told that an ally of President Buhari and chieftain of the APC, Brig. General Jafaru Isa (rtd) refunded N100 million of the N170 million he allegedly received from ex-NSA, Sambo Dasuki.
"Jafaru Isa who was a member of the 19-man Buhari Transition Committee was released after he was allegedly assisted by the Presidency to refund N100 million to the anti-graft commission and since then, nothing has been heard about the case. He was not charged to court like others.
"It took the Ministry of Defence and the Code of Conduct Bureau only one week to clear Buratai but others from the opposition party would be languishing in prison while EFCC go about fishing for evidence against them.
“Like I and other well-meaning Nigerians have maintained, fighting corruption is a good idea but the moment documents of probe panels and being doctored to shield those seen as the President’s men, the entire purpose of the corruption fight has been defeated.
“The international community must therefore prevail on President Buhari to stop acting like the grandfather of corruption in Nigeria by making the anti-corruption war all-inclusive instead of this clear persecution of his perceived political enemies, and the first step to demonstrate that will be the immediate release of report of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement covering 2007 to 2015.”
LIB
What they won’t tell President Buhari – By Dele Momodu
Fellow Nigerians, reactions to my column last week were not unexpected. As anticipated, they were indeed varied. Some people were impressed that anyone could tell President Muhammadu Buhari what most people would never dare. Others felt I could talk because I don’t work with the President and therefore do not feel the pressure of those that do. A few more simply dismissed my contribution as they usually do without any good reason.
It could be true that more often than not, aides usually misread their bosses and idols and so feel under pressure not to irritate, annoy or even antagonise their Boss. I have had the privilege of working and interacting with bigwigs at home and abroad and noticed that many of their employees treat them with awe, fear and trepidation but not necessarily with respect. On my part, I have tried to remain truthful, respectful and loyal to my bosses without being fawning or uncritical. Sometimes, they would love and appreciate these attributes. On other occasions, they’ve chosen to live in denial and bury their heads in the sand like ostriches do. Even when they have discovered the truth, ego has sometimes denied them the chance of accepting the fact that you were right and they were wrong.
So I wasn’t surprised that some Abuja guys were not impressed about my recent article titled HOW THEY MISLEAD OUR LEADERS. I won’t be surprised if our President did not read that important article because it was kept away from him. The easiest way to fail as a leader is to be shielded from reality by cronies who tell you all is well when all is far from being well. The other way to invite failure is when a leader allows sycophants to invite and amass enemies for such leader. I witnessed both of these first hand during the seeming deification of President Goodluck Jonathan by those who felt he was beyond reproach. But after his government collapsed, most of those who fought imaginary enemies on behalf of President Jonathan simply vamoosed and left the former President to his personal ordeal. Ironically, it was those of us considered his enemies that came out boldly to defend him and to protect his rights under the rule of law given the statesmanship that he had demonstrated in the twilight of his administration.
What I find baffling is the fact that man never learns any didactic lessons from history. Less than two years ago, many of those who have somehow found themselves in power today hailed the critics of Jonathan’s administration. They found our pens more powerful than machine-guns. They called to thank us for our patriotism and gallant battle to restore hope to a dangerously bleeding nation. I remember one particular gentleman, who is currently a Minister; he used to phone me to commend my maturity in attacking issues rather than personalities. Today he has stopped calling and I’m sure he is no longer comfortable with the same level of patriotism and maturity that he praised.
Let me reiterate that I love President Muhammadu Buhari but mine is not a fake or blind love. I was taught by my very traditional mum that “a mother chastises a child she loves” and I have translated that to mean that conversely, a child must offer true words of advice to parents he treasures. This is why I talk about our President with such respect and decorum but at the same time I boldly analyse his policies and actions and candidly offer advice as I see fit. I believe we can help in supporting him by telling him the true state of affairs and painting the real picture of things. Nigeria is much more complex and complicated than some of those in power today wish to admit. I suspect they have also assumed that they know the mind-set of the President who they perceive as stubborn and unyielding and would rather play along in order not to invite his wrath. The impression out there is that Baba is mean and vengeful and can trample on and injure anyone in his line of fire. When I tell people I met a soft, gentle, humble and caring man once in 2011 and twice in 2015, they tell me that was all a façade and I couldn’t judge him on those accounts. It may be necessary for the President to free his people from this self-manacled bondage they have chosen for themselves, as I once advised. The unfounded fear of Buhari may stultify the progress of this government. And only the President can help his men and women overcome this dangerous paranoia. The world has moved beyond the type of maximum rulership which this suggests and the President is not such a person in any event.
I have have been seeing posts on social media indicating that some aides have been telling Baba that majority of Nigerians are satisfied with his government and that only the disgruntled elements, otherwise nicknamed “wailing wailers”, are complaining. But this is not true. Nigerians are complaining about many things and Baba needs to know. Of course, not everyone is lamenting like the Biblical Jeremiah. There are always new beneficiaries in every new government. And those who have crossed the bridge, or ladder, of pain into comfort don’t usually see the misery they left behind. That was the anecdotal case of the French Empress who asked why people could not eat cake when there was scarcity of bread. Little did she realise that bread and cake belong to the same family of flour and that the issue was one of poverty not merely famine or supply.
Nigerians are complaining about the slow pace of work. They want Baba to jazz things up. Not that they expect him to do it all but they are hoping he can rejig this government and bring in proven and tested Nigerians from any part of the world and whatever political or religious background. It is the prerogative of every government to hone its engine of governance regularly by discarding worn-out batteries, plugs and pumps. You may need to flush dirty engine oil and replace with premium lubricant. It should be obvious that what we have at the moment is far short of the speed and stamina required to take Nigeria to the next level.
Nigerians are complaining about the seeming Nothernisation of the key sectors of the Nigerian economy and polity. I am personally not very worried about ethnic sentiments as a completely detribalised Nigeria but there are those who feel very strongly about this and the President may need to allay their reasonable fears of being extinguished and exterminated from the national politics of Nigeria. My honest suggestion is that Baba should come out to tell Nigerians the criteria he uses in arriving at his choices. He should confront his critics with superior logic and the mathematics of appointment distribution. He should not just dismiss this as a non-issue. That is the burden placed on him by Constitutional democracy. Every controversial action and decision must be explained tirelessly and endlessly. As I have said several times nothing beats merit, not even primordial ethnic sentiments.
Nigerians are complaining about the high cost of governance especially in this era of dwindling national fortunes. Many are telling us that we persuaded them to vote APC because we flaunted the credentials of Buhari as a frugal and simple man not susceptible to frivolous spending or profligacy. They are taunting us that they have seen no evidence of the reduction in the extravagant spending on presidential jets and the upkeep of government personnel and their families. Again it may be necessary to update and educate the Nigerian people on how government has concretely worked on cutting costs in these austere times. It is always good to talk to people who may not know the facts and those who feign ignorance deliberately. The government communicators should, please, not be so dismissive lest they are accused of being standoffish. No effort should be spared at carrying everyone along including known and unknown troublemakers.
Nigerians are complaining about the religious sensitivity of this government. They believe that Northern Christians are being studiously marginalised and this should be urgently addressed. In a country where the President was blackmailed in the past about his religious antecedents by being described as an Islamic fundamentalist it is only appropriate for the President to sensitise people and propagate his commitment to secularism. A good example of this is the fact that whilst he may have felt the need to pick Christians as his running mate in the past two elections he was not forced to pick Pastors as his running-mates. It is clear that he did this out of choice and to show that he was willing to work side by side with Christian fundamentalists in the task of nation building. Baba should not jettison the principle of religious tolerance he has imbibed and displayed. It would be politically rewarding if he gives every Nigerian that same sense of belonging. Nothing is more volatile than religious conflagration and it is always a handy weapon in the hands of enemies of State.
Nigerians are wondering what direction the economy is headed with the incessant free-fall of the naira despite all efforts at arresting the kamikaze plunge. Added to this is the deregulation of the price of petrol and the pains being felt by these twin policies can only be described as untold hardship.
While Nigerians are highly impressed that Baba is fighting looters to standstill they want to know what is happening to all the humongous cash already recovered. Many states are still in financial mess, unable to pay their workers. Like someone joked on Twitter yesterday, the hope is that Baba would not keep the money in savings for the next government that will come and redistribute to the looters again. That should be food for thought.
It would be fantastic if we can do what President John Dramani Mahama is doing in Ghana, by investing heavily in legacy projects that will definitely outlive his government and launch Ghana into the big league of modern nations. Nigeria should borrow a leaf from Ghana by revamping and upgrading our schools, hospitals, roads, airports, railways, oil facilities, seaports, and so on. It would be sweet victory for Nigerians and President Buhari if they can enjoy the fruits of some of the recovered loot in the very near future.
Nigerians are also talking about the spate of agitations for the breakup of the Nigerian State, especially the renewed call by the pro-Biafra groups of South East Nigeria to carve out an Igbo nation. While we may not understand the exact mission of the Niger Delta Avengers, one of the most lethal militant groups in Nigeria today, it is not likely to be too far from that of the Biafrans ultimately. The groups must be delicately handled. Their leaders may have personal and selfish ulterior motives but what is clear is that they are echoing the sentiments and yearnings of their people for self-determination borne out of frustration in being marginalised in the Nigerian power game. At the end of the day, there is nothing violence can achieve that dialogue cannot handle better and faster. It is time to tone down the drums of war and set Nigeria on the path of restoration, peace and progress.
There are simply too many distractions and Nigerians are suffering as a result. I have no doubt about President Buhari’s patriotism and zeal and his desire to improve the lot of Nigerians. It is about time that he demanded the same of his lieutenants and require them to put national interest over and above personal or party interests.
It could be true that more often than not, aides usually misread their bosses and idols and so feel under pressure not to irritate, annoy or even antagonise their Boss. I have had the privilege of working and interacting with bigwigs at home and abroad and noticed that many of their employees treat them with awe, fear and trepidation but not necessarily with respect. On my part, I have tried to remain truthful, respectful and loyal to my bosses without being fawning or uncritical. Sometimes, they would love and appreciate these attributes. On other occasions, they’ve chosen to live in denial and bury their heads in the sand like ostriches do. Even when they have discovered the truth, ego has sometimes denied them the chance of accepting the fact that you were right and they were wrong.
So I wasn’t surprised that some Abuja guys were not impressed about my recent article titled HOW THEY MISLEAD OUR LEADERS. I won’t be surprised if our President did not read that important article because it was kept away from him. The easiest way to fail as a leader is to be shielded from reality by cronies who tell you all is well when all is far from being well. The other way to invite failure is when a leader allows sycophants to invite and amass enemies for such leader. I witnessed both of these first hand during the seeming deification of President Goodluck Jonathan by those who felt he was beyond reproach. But after his government collapsed, most of those who fought imaginary enemies on behalf of President Jonathan simply vamoosed and left the former President to his personal ordeal. Ironically, it was those of us considered his enemies that came out boldly to defend him and to protect his rights under the rule of law given the statesmanship that he had demonstrated in the twilight of his administration.
What I find baffling is the fact that man never learns any didactic lessons from history. Less than two years ago, many of those who have somehow found themselves in power today hailed the critics of Jonathan’s administration. They found our pens more powerful than machine-guns. They called to thank us for our patriotism and gallant battle to restore hope to a dangerously bleeding nation. I remember one particular gentleman, who is currently a Minister; he used to phone me to commend my maturity in attacking issues rather than personalities. Today he has stopped calling and I’m sure he is no longer comfortable with the same level of patriotism and maturity that he praised.
Let me reiterate that I love President Muhammadu Buhari but mine is not a fake or blind love. I was taught by my very traditional mum that “a mother chastises a child she loves” and I have translated that to mean that conversely, a child must offer true words of advice to parents he treasures. This is why I talk about our President with such respect and decorum but at the same time I boldly analyse his policies and actions and candidly offer advice as I see fit. I believe we can help in supporting him by telling him the true state of affairs and painting the real picture of things. Nigeria is much more complex and complicated than some of those in power today wish to admit. I suspect they have also assumed that they know the mind-set of the President who they perceive as stubborn and unyielding and would rather play along in order not to invite his wrath. The impression out there is that Baba is mean and vengeful and can trample on and injure anyone in his line of fire. When I tell people I met a soft, gentle, humble and caring man once in 2011 and twice in 2015, they tell me that was all a façade and I couldn’t judge him on those accounts. It may be necessary for the President to free his people from this self-manacled bondage they have chosen for themselves, as I once advised. The unfounded fear of Buhari may stultify the progress of this government. And only the President can help his men and women overcome this dangerous paranoia. The world has moved beyond the type of maximum rulership which this suggests and the President is not such a person in any event.
I have have been seeing posts on social media indicating that some aides have been telling Baba that majority of Nigerians are satisfied with his government and that only the disgruntled elements, otherwise nicknamed “wailing wailers”, are complaining. But this is not true. Nigerians are complaining about many things and Baba needs to know. Of course, not everyone is lamenting like the Biblical Jeremiah. There are always new beneficiaries in every new government. And those who have crossed the bridge, or ladder, of pain into comfort don’t usually see the misery they left behind. That was the anecdotal case of the French Empress who asked why people could not eat cake when there was scarcity of bread. Little did she realise that bread and cake belong to the same family of flour and that the issue was one of poverty not merely famine or supply.
Nigerians are complaining about the slow pace of work. They want Baba to jazz things up. Not that they expect him to do it all but they are hoping he can rejig this government and bring in proven and tested Nigerians from any part of the world and whatever political or religious background. It is the prerogative of every government to hone its engine of governance regularly by discarding worn-out batteries, plugs and pumps. You may need to flush dirty engine oil and replace with premium lubricant. It should be obvious that what we have at the moment is far short of the speed and stamina required to take Nigeria to the next level.
Nigerians are complaining about the seeming Nothernisation of the key sectors of the Nigerian economy and polity. I am personally not very worried about ethnic sentiments as a completely detribalised Nigeria but there are those who feel very strongly about this and the President may need to allay their reasonable fears of being extinguished and exterminated from the national politics of Nigeria. My honest suggestion is that Baba should come out to tell Nigerians the criteria he uses in arriving at his choices. He should confront his critics with superior logic and the mathematics of appointment distribution. He should not just dismiss this as a non-issue. That is the burden placed on him by Constitutional democracy. Every controversial action and decision must be explained tirelessly and endlessly. As I have said several times nothing beats merit, not even primordial ethnic sentiments.
Nigerians are complaining about the high cost of governance especially in this era of dwindling national fortunes. Many are telling us that we persuaded them to vote APC because we flaunted the credentials of Buhari as a frugal and simple man not susceptible to frivolous spending or profligacy. They are taunting us that they have seen no evidence of the reduction in the extravagant spending on presidential jets and the upkeep of government personnel and their families. Again it may be necessary to update and educate the Nigerian people on how government has concretely worked on cutting costs in these austere times. It is always good to talk to people who may not know the facts and those who feign ignorance deliberately. The government communicators should, please, not be so dismissive lest they are accused of being standoffish. No effort should be spared at carrying everyone along including known and unknown troublemakers.
Nigerians are complaining about the religious sensitivity of this government. They believe that Northern Christians are being studiously marginalised and this should be urgently addressed. In a country where the President was blackmailed in the past about his religious antecedents by being described as an Islamic fundamentalist it is only appropriate for the President to sensitise people and propagate his commitment to secularism. A good example of this is the fact that whilst he may have felt the need to pick Christians as his running mate in the past two elections he was not forced to pick Pastors as his running-mates. It is clear that he did this out of choice and to show that he was willing to work side by side with Christian fundamentalists in the task of nation building. Baba should not jettison the principle of religious tolerance he has imbibed and displayed. It would be politically rewarding if he gives every Nigerian that same sense of belonging. Nothing is more volatile than religious conflagration and it is always a handy weapon in the hands of enemies of State.
Nigerians are wondering what direction the economy is headed with the incessant free-fall of the naira despite all efforts at arresting the kamikaze plunge. Added to this is the deregulation of the price of petrol and the pains being felt by these twin policies can only be described as untold hardship.
While Nigerians are highly impressed that Baba is fighting looters to standstill they want to know what is happening to all the humongous cash already recovered. Many states are still in financial mess, unable to pay their workers. Like someone joked on Twitter yesterday, the hope is that Baba would not keep the money in savings for the next government that will come and redistribute to the looters again. That should be food for thought.
It would be fantastic if we can do what President John Dramani Mahama is doing in Ghana, by investing heavily in legacy projects that will definitely outlive his government and launch Ghana into the big league of modern nations. Nigeria should borrow a leaf from Ghana by revamping and upgrading our schools, hospitals, roads, airports, railways, oil facilities, seaports, and so on. It would be sweet victory for Nigerians and President Buhari if they can enjoy the fruits of some of the recovered loot in the very near future.
Nigerians are also talking about the spate of agitations for the breakup of the Nigerian State, especially the renewed call by the pro-Biafra groups of South East Nigeria to carve out an Igbo nation. While we may not understand the exact mission of the Niger Delta Avengers, one of the most lethal militant groups in Nigeria today, it is not likely to be too far from that of the Biafrans ultimately. The groups must be delicately handled. Their leaders may have personal and selfish ulterior motives but what is clear is that they are echoing the sentiments and yearnings of their people for self-determination borne out of frustration in being marginalised in the Nigerian power game. At the end of the day, there is nothing violence can achieve that dialogue cannot handle better and faster. It is time to tone down the drums of war and set Nigeria on the path of restoration, peace and progress.
There are simply too many distractions and Nigerians are suffering as a result. I have no doubt about President Buhari’s patriotism and zeal and his desire to improve the lot of Nigerians. It is about time that he demanded the same of his lieutenants and require them to put national interest over and above personal or party interests.
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