The Nation Newspaper

Category: Lekan Otufodunrin

  • Oyedepo: Facts are sacred, comments are free (2)

    I am compelled to write a second part of my last week’s piece following the observation of most respondents that I should have included what Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel said during the recent visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to the church.

    In the article, I had insisted that contrary to the widespread claim that the Bishop threatened to open the gate of hell on those opposed to President Jonathan’s second term ambition, he never said anything of such.

    I took it for granted that one week after the controversial visit, there were enough counter claims online to leave no one in doubt that the statement attributed to Bishop Oyedepo was false.

    I gathered that before last Sunday, video and transcripts of what transpired during the visit were available for those willing to hear the other side of the story as required in a circumstance like this.

    Even after my column in which I indicated that I witnessed the event, sent out tweets, wrote a report published in The Nation, many readers were not convinced that I was not, as one put it, not defending a defenseless case because I am a member of the church.

    Coincidentally, Winners Chapel last Sunday officially responded to the controversy with a press statement and advertorials on what the Bishop said and did not say during the visit. Full video of the third service attended by Bishop Oyedepo has been uploaded on the church website and social media accounts.

    For the benefit of those who are yet to see the refutal, here are Bishop Oyedepo’s exact words:

    “I only had an idea of the president’s visit just yesterday morning. The information was not there last Friday when we had the One Night with the King. So, we are going to be praying for our president. Let prayers and supplications and intercessions be made for all men; first of all, for kings, and for them that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

    “I like us to be on our feet and lift the president up to God. Whatever you desire to see God bring about in his life; bring about in our nation; begin to pray that prayer right now. Father, release your grace upon the president to match the demands of his office. Release unusual grace in increasing dimensions, to match the demands of his office. Cause your face to shine upon him. Lord, grant the desires of his heart. Grant Nigeria peace! Under him, grant Nigeria greater advancement. Thank you, Father; in Jesus’ Name we pray”!!

    “This entire church proclaims the president blessed today; blessed with divine wisdom to match the demands of his office; blessed with peace to see the miraculous in his life; blessed with grace that will advance His (God’s) cause on our nation. Every time we pray here, God hears. The Bible says wherever two or three are gathered, I’m there in their midst, and if we agree concerning anything, it is done for us. Therefore, in the name of Jesus, our president is declared blessed. His going out is blessed; his coming in is blessed. The will of God is blessed in his life. Thank you Father; blessed be your name; in Jesus’ precious name!”

    For the originators of the false report, Jesus’ prayer for those who crucified him is very appropriate; “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

  • Oyedepo: Facts are sacred, comments are free

    The origin of the controversial statement credited to Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel in which he allegedly threatened to open the gate of hell for anti-Jonathan supporters is one of the wonders of  social- media.

    An activist who was nowhere near Cannanland, Otta where President Goodluck Jonathan worshipped last Sunday sent out a tweet claiming that a source told him Bishop Oyedepo made the statement.

    A popular blogger simply shared the shocking tweet on her platform and asked “Can this be true?”.

    What followed was the typical frenzy of re -publishing of the quote and comments of all kinds, majority of which were not only unjustifiably critical but abusive.

    For those who have been angry about the alleged preference of the Bishop for President Jonathan in the presidential election, they found the statement a good excuse to lash out at him as hard as they could irrespective of his revered position.

    As a journalist, though also a member of the Church, who witnessed the visit and shared live tweets on statements by both President Jonathan and Bishop, I was shocked by the slant of reporting of the visit.

    I found it difficult to understand how such a quote could be fabricated and attributed to the Bishop when he said nothing close to it at all. I concede to those who do not think it is right to allow the President or any other politician mount the pulpit for any reason, but attributing a statement the Bishop did not make to him was the height of mischief.

    What those who originated the falsehood did for reasons known to them was an abuse of the freedom offered by the social media. While anybody should be free to share information and comment on the social media, it is wrong to deliberately mislead others on the platforms.

    What I find more disturbing is that, even when every evidence has shown that the Bishop did not make the statement, the originators and many promoters of the falsehood have refused to admit their error and apologise for engaging in what has been rightly described as social media terrorism.

    I salute some facebook commentators who have withdrawn their comments on the matter and regretted being misled.

    One of the lessons of this unfortunate incident is that more than ever before, social media users have to be more careful about the information they get online. In a situation where some people can choose to spread falsehood as truth, there is need for more restraint before commenting on what is attributed to people.

    As the campaign for the general election continues, supporters of candidates should refrain from heating up the polity through social media postings that make it seems that the February 14 presidential election is a do-or- die battle.

    Everybody should be free to support whichever candidate he or she prefers. The acrimony generated over choice of candidate is unnecessary.

    Democracy is about freedom of choice and nothing should be done to deny that freedom.

  • Need we over celebrate?

    I wrote this piece on Friday while trapped in traffic  on my way to the University of Lagos to drop my son who was resuming his second year in the institution. Although we left home in Abule Egba on what I like to call the ‘outland’ of Lagos about 10.30 am and I had hoped to return to my office in Mushin by at most 1.00pm, we were still in the traffic within the campus by 3.30pm.

    The cause of the gridlock was the matriculation for fresh students.

    All roads leading to and out of the institution were jammed, no thanks to the students, parents and well wishers who thronged the campus for the celebration.

    At a point, I had to park somewhere, while my son and his colleague took his luggage to the hostel.

    Considering how though it is to get admission into high institutions in the country, especially UNILAG, reputed to be the University of first choice, I can understand the joy of new students and their parents. What I can’t comprehend is the kind of elaborate celebrations to mark the occasion.

    As I sat in the car feeling very frustrated by the ‘owambe’ celebration playing out on the campus to mark the matriculation, I could not but wonder why we love to over celebrate at the slightest opportunity.

    Why should a matriculation which is just the beginning of the academic sojourn for new students turn out to be a nightmare for other road users in and around the campus? Why should not only few people, parents and immediate family members at most, come to wish the fresh students well and leave as soon as possible?

    Matriculation should not be turned into yet another carnival, the kind I witnessed last Friday.  I did not make it out of the campus until about 6.00pm. Maybe the “University should have made better parking  and restricted guests like during convocation. But the truth is that the matriculation should not have resulted in the type of chaos it did last Friday.

    I have no problem with celebrating major events, but more than ever before, we need to be more modest about them. The kind of elaborate celebrations one sees around these days does not indicate the economic reality of the times we live in.

    Simple ceremonies that should not cost much have become very expensive with many trying hard to live up to unrealistic public expectations.

    Money that should be utilised for more important needs are wasted in wild celebrations that leave the majority poorer.

    In some cases, people have to borrow to pay for the celebration. Long after the events, they are stuck with debts which they should not have incurred in the first place but for our culture of ‘over celebration’.

    I don’t understand why almost every occasion requires that one buys the celebration uniform the Yorubas call Asoebi , caps for men  and headgears for ladies,  which most times are not useful after the events.

    When celebrants don’t force asoebi on invited guests, they come up with colour codes for dresses to wear to such events.

    We seem to have perfected the art of inflicting unnecessary financial burden on ourselves all in the name of celebrations. It is time to begin to take a second look at the things we do in the name of celebration and maximise our resources.

  • Ensuring non- violent election

    Amidst the cross fire and acrimony that have so far characterised the electioneering campaigns for the February general elections, the outcome of the workshop on non-violence held in Abuja last Wednesday provides a ray of hope that the exercise may not witness the scale of violence witnessed in the past.

    With the tension in the country over the likely outcome of especially the February 14 presidential election, it is necessary to call all political candidates to order and remind them of the need not to engage in activities or make utterances that could lead to violence before, during and after the election.

    Instead of engaging in issue-based campaigns, focused on their past performances and their plans if elected, some candidates and their supporters have been engaged in all manners of name-calling and are threatening to take the laws into their hands.

    There have been veiled threats by supporters of President Jonathan to shut down the refineries if their candidate is not re-elected while pro-Buhari supporters have also said the APC will form a parallel government if there are proven cases of electoral malpractices.

    In some states, political violence has already assumed alarming proportion with clashes between supporters of rival parties resulting in deaths.

    It is against this background that the organisers of the Abuja non-violence workshop has to be commended for getting the presidential candidates of political parties in the country to sign the five points accord.

    Even if, as some have noted, the two main presidential candidates – President Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari, whose picture embracing each other has gone viral – were playing to the gallery, it is significant that they openly pledged to abide by the accord.

    It is up to the leaders to send the right signals to their followers that election into political offices should not be a do-or-die contest. While there may be personal selfish interest, contestants are not supposed to be permanent enemies.

    To ensure peace, winners must be magnanimous in victory, while losers should be gracious in defeat. What is important is that there should be a level playing field for all contestants and electoral regulations complied with.

    If for any reason, losers are not satisfied with the result, there are legal options to seek redress instead of resorting to violence.

    Good enough, there are enough cases to cite where those who secured electoral victory by the back door were sent packing. To a large extent, our judiciary has proved/proven that though justice may be delayed, it would not be denied if any complainant is able to prove his or her case.

    Party members should have by now accepted the fact the political ambition of their candidates is not worth dying for as President Jonathan has repeatedly stated.

    Why should supporters take up arms against themselves when those they are fighting for may someday reconcile their differences as we have seen in recent political party membership realignments in the country?

    As former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, warned that, with Nigeria’s strategic position in Africa, we cannot afford to have an election whose outcome will be violently disputed and throw the nation into chaos.

    Despite the imperfection of the electoral process, all parties concerned should do everything possible to guarantee the continued peaceful coexistence of the country.

  • Long live Charlie

    Is it true that a journalist can be killed in the course of doing his or her work?” A student journalist once asked me at a seminar. I wished I could tell him no, knowing that a yes response would further convince him that the journalism profession is too risky for anyone who doesn’t believe anything is worth dying for. Unfortunately, I couldn’t deny his fears considering that chances of being killed on the job is one of the hazards of the profession, especially those covering crises situations like war and others.

    According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 61 journalists were killed worldwide in 2014. The breakdown of the beats of the victims indicates that 59 percent of them covered war, 69% politics, 54% human rights, 15% corruption, 16% crime and 5% culture. The percentages add up to more than 100 because more than one category applies in some cases.

    Although no Nigerian journalist was among those killed on duty last year, we have had cases in past years, like the journalists killed while covering the bomb blasts by the Boko Haram insurgents in Kano and Maiduguri.

    Last Wednesday’s killing of 12 persons, including four cartoonists of a French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, by masked gunmen in Paris has again confirmed how dangerous journalism can be.

    The suspected Islamic militants who carried out the attack were reported to have claimed that they have avenged anti-Islamic publications by the newspaper.

    Like every other terrorist attack which has claimed hundreds of lives, the killing of the cartoonists, policemen and others is condemnable.

    There is no justification for the attack on the newspaper, notwithstanding how provocative their publications could have been. In a world where freedom of expression by everybody is guaranteed, the attack is an assault on individual rights and press freedom.

    The action of the gunmen and whichever group they may belong to is typical of their intolerance for the views of others regarding their religious beliefs. Like they have always done, they have taken the laws into their hands to unleash yet another round of terror which is gradually becoming the order of the day globally.

    As long as terrorists continue their endless killings in the name of defending a prophet or religion, those who regularly lampoon and expose them for the evil which they truly represent – like cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo – will have every reason not to spare them.

    The terrorist groups worldwide have wrecked so much havoc that the media cannot afford to keep quiet about their unjustified violent activities. Journalists will be failing in their duties to be the voice of the voiceless against extremist Islamic tendencies which most adherents of the religion do not subscribe to.

    While anybody or group may disagree with any publication, resorting to killing journalists should not be the option. Killing of the cartoonists cannot stop the media from reporting the heinous crimes by terrorists.

    The gunmen might have succeeded in killing the cartoonists, but cannot kill the driving force behind the principles Charlie Hebdo stands for. The newspaper will be back on the newsstands soon to continue to haunt the terrorists and their cohorts.

    From the reactions of journalists in particularly France, there is no killing Charlie. Journalists have declared ‘Je suis Charlie’ meaning ‘I am Charlie’.

    Long live Charlie!

  • How bleak is 2015?

    A reader of my last column titled If 2015 comes was apparently not pleased with Bishop David Oyedepo’s declaration of the New Year as that of Heaven on Earth which was cited in the piece. He was more worried that, according to him, I believed the Bishop’s ‘fairy tale’.

    “I live in the Niger Delta and there is mass arms build-up. Same for north. Your Bishop tells you a fairy tale and a columnist like you falls for it. This means you don’t even read your paper,” the unnamed reader stated in one of his four text messages on the column.

    “Did you not read from your paper Professor Akinyemi’s warning? It was splashed in all the major tabloids last Monday. Time to grow up, Lekan. People of goodwill are urging restraint and your Bishop is luring you to complacency,” he added.

    I concede to the faceless reader his right of reply to my column. I also understand his concern about an optimistic prophecy in the face of myriads of challenges facing the country which as rightly noted by the reader include the plummeting naira, high unemployment rate, violence and the continued abduction of Chibok girls.

    Who would not be worried that the situation in the country has degenerated to a state of hopelessness on many critical issues? The country seems to be faced with a bleak future with the uncertainty of the outcome of the general elections scheduled to hold in February and its aftermath.

    Notwithstanding, Bishop Oyedepo and other clerics who have been optimistic about the future of the country this year are entitled to their views which are spiritually inspired. The fact that Professor Akinyemi and some others have either been warning against or predicting post election violence is not enough to dismiss clerics as fairly tale bearers.

    We don’t all have to agree with their prophesies but those who want to believe them for whatever reason should be free to do so. The clerics are not unaware of the dire straits we have found ourselves as a country and have at various times been urging political office holders and politicians  at all levels to address the various issues requiring urgent attention.

    I am aware that religious leaders across the divide have been campaigning that their members become more politically active by getting registered to vote the right persons for political office.

    The political climate of the country may be gloomy like it has been in some past election years, but just as the clerics predicted then, we survived and this year may not be different. The charged political atmosphere in the country is understandable given the stiff opposition by the All Progressives Congress (APC) but it is not enough not to be hopeful about the future of the country.

    No matter the outcome of particularly the presidential election of February 14, governance in the country has to change for Nigerians to really get the long expected dividends of democracy and improvement in the standard of living.

    If the APC succeeds in sending President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration packing, it will have to prove that it is a better option capable of bringing the expected change. If for whatever reason the PDP manages to retain office at the federal level, it will have to respond to the loud cry for better governance.

  • If 2015 comes

    In the Church I attend, Living Faith Church Worldwide, popularly known as Winners Chapel, 2015 has already been declared the year of Heaven on Earth.

    I can’t wait for the new year to commence to begin to experience the heavenly realm on earth as declared by my Bishop.

    Won’t it be nice to enjoy eternal bliss, where there is no sorrow, pain, anguish and many other harrowing experiences that have become the present earthly reality for many?

    We live in troubling times that can shake the faith of even the most faithful of men and women.

    Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri, Rev Oliver Dashe Doeme in his Christmas message last Thursday highlighted the questions that must be going through the mind of victims of the Boko Haram insurgency  in the North Eastern parts of the country who have been injured,  lost family members and their property.

    ” At this time a lot of questions are being asked by many of us including myself: where is God? Has God abandoned us?  Are we being punished because of our sins? How can God allow the agents of the devil to destroy his innocent children? Is God weak? Can evil triumph over good? Etc.”

    Despite the harrowing experiences, Rev Doeme urged Christians to keep their faith alive and should never get discouraged.

    ” Our faith should make us see beyond the immediate experience and look at the future – that is, after this temporal life with its pains and suffering, we shall share in the eternal glory of our Lord.”

    With so much gloom worldwide; terrorism, economic depression, wars and rumours of war, that has left many in a state of despair, some are already wondering if what we are experiencing are not end time signs.

    Hopefully, the world will not end before December 31, 2014 and we will all be alive to hope for the best in the new year.

    2015 promises to be a crucial year for our country with the general elections scheduled to hold in February . The success or otherwise of particularly the presidential election will determine the future of the country.

    Nigerians will have to vote to either retain the Federal Government headed by President Goodluck Jonathan whose performance has left much to be desired or vote for the change promised by the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC).

    The tension in the country over the presidential election and others is palpable with threats and counter threats by groups on how they will react to the outcome of the election if it does not favour their candidates.

    We hope that the a Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) will do its best to conduct a free and fair election, while politicians will accept the verdict of the voters and seek legal redress where necessary instead of resorting to violent protests.

    In 2015, there will be need for more determined efforts to curb the activities of the terrorists groups who have continued to unleash unimaginable violence on parts of the country with the fear that they may soon strike in other states.

    It is very sad that the whereabouts of the over 200 girls kidnapped by the Boko Haram group in Chibok and many others have remained unknown. We cannot afford to continue to live with the fear of where the next bomb will explode and hundreds of persons will be killed.

    The military must be sufficiently armed to contain the insurgency and  prevent the terrorists from having  a field day in their operations.

    In 2015, the positive impact of the economic measures by the government must be felt in practical terms and not in terms of indicators that has continued to make the average Nigerian poorer.

  • The governors we want

    Although last Thursday’s  gubernatorial primaries of the All Progressive Congress ( APC) was supposed to be an internal affair of the party, it is understandable why many Nigerians  stayed awake all night to know the outcome of the exercise in many states.

    Both party and many  non- party members were interested in knowing who will get the  tickets in their states to slug it out with those who will  eventually be  chosen as the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP)  candidates.

    Their interest is informed by the high expectations of the general public who want the right candidates to be chosen to give them good options to chose from  during the gubernatorial election in 2015.

    While what citizens want are capable candidate who will be able to provide the right kind of leadership the states need, party leaders and members have other considerations which sometimes doesn’t ensure that the right candidates get elected.

    Ethnic, religious, zoning arrangements, vested interests of leaders and other factors usually come to play in deciding who gets party ticket. What we sometimes get is not necessary the best candidates to choose from, but those forced on us by the parties for reasons best known to them.

    While the parties have the right to elected their candidates, they need to appreciate that only the best should be good enough for the voters to choose from.

    The situation where good candidates who have what it takes to govern the states  don’t get elected for other reasons than merit is not in the overall interest of the states and the country.

    States,  like other levels of government, should be governed by governors who have clear vision to transform them, the experience and  acumen for the very important task.

    What we have witnessed in many states since 1999 indicates that many of the elected governors have not lived up to expectations. Many states have not recorded significant progress except propaganda of questionable claims of achievements by the governors,

    The resources of many states have been mismanaged and looted by some governors and their aides under various guises. Instead of recording sustainable massive developments in various sectors based on their  monthly federal allocations and internally generated revenue, not much has been achieved.

    If this is not the case, how can some state governors justify the state of dilapidation of infrastructure in their states? Why are so many states roads, where they exist,  in bad shape? Why are many state government schools and hospitals operating below standard.

    What is the justification for some states owing civil servants for months when some state governors, their wives and aides live large?

    It is common for some state governors to accuse the federal government of not meeting their obligations to them, but what have state governments done with the resources they have?.

    The priorities of some governors are clearly wrong as some of their top projects are not in the overall interest of their citizens, while some projects are so poorly executed that they do not not last long to serve the purpose they are meant for.

    The next  governorship election in 2015 provides yet another opportunity for the parties to present candidates who can do better than what we have been witnessing in many states. It is also up to the voters to make the best choice irrespective of party platforms or other mundane considerations.

    More than ever before, we need governors who have a clear sense of purpose. We need governors who have blueprints for turning the states around for better.

    We need governors who have the ability and the will to leave  the states better than they met them.

  • Today at 1:33 PM Bombing unlimited

    At the rate at which the Boko Haram bombers are  carrying out their dastardly acts, it is difficult to know how many people have so far been killed in attacks in some states in northern parts of the country.

    Just when we were beginning to believe the dummy sold to us by the federal government about a possible ceasefire by the insurgents,it turned out that we were no where near the end of unending attacks in which many innocent persons have been killed, others injured and properties destroyed.

    Just last Friday, the terrorists struck again with a deadly triple explosion at the a central Mosque in Kano  midway into the Jumat prayers.  Not less than 120 persons  were reported dead  and numerous others injured. The casualty figure is said to be the highest in any single attack by the terrorists in the country.

    A similar attack  by the same sect was thankfully  averted in Maiduguri, Borno State after vigilante youths alerted the police about two Improvised Explosive Devices planted at the popular Custom market.

    As usual, President Goodluck Jonathan has offered his condolences over the attack and promised to ensure that the culprits are apprehended. While the family of those killed are mourning and the injured are battling to get treatment, life goes on in Kano and in other parts of the country until the terrorists strike again.

    Gradually, the terrorist attacks have become so regular in the county that the casualty figures no longer seem to mean much.

    Even for the media, Boko Harram attacks is no longer a major story. Readers according to feedbacks from marketing staff are tired of reading about the killings that newspapers cannot risk giving too much prominence to the repeated frequent attacks.

    So many unknown persons have been killed and injured in past incidents that it will probably take some prominent personalities  or officials  becoming victims  for everybody concerned to wake up to the reality of the killing field which the affected states have become.

    The Kano attack would have been more devastating if the Emir of Kano who was not in the country was killed in the incident, but every life matters and we cannot wait till a ‘VIP’ dies till an all out war is launched against the insurgents.

    Even the state governments of the victims have become overwhelmed of the situation that they have been unable to meet the medical needs of those injured, talk less of compensating families of those killed.

    I have no doubt that the federal government is concerned about the deteriorating security situation in the country,  but more than ever before, we need more than assurances and promises that have not stemmed the wave of attacks.

    Too many people are being killed and injured in the senseless attacks while many others  are living in fear,  not sure when the next attack will be. Even for those of us who supposedly live far away from the targeted areas, only time will tell  if we will not become as endangered as those who are presently caught in the crossfire.

    Time is running out and an urgent solution must be found before we are all consumed. This is not the time for any blame game or name calling.

    The federal government should admit whatever error of judgement it could have made in tackling the the crisis before now and be open to options that can halt the endless killings.

    If the soldiers deployed to combat the insurgents are not as adequately armed as claimed, they need to be provided what they need to defend the country against the ceaseless onslaught of the terrorists. Their welfare and that of the their families have to be taken care of if they must risk their life at the battle front.

    It is a shame that our soldiers have to flee to Cameroon once in a while when they are confronted by superior firepower by the insurgents.

    The government needs all the support it can get from everyone concerned about the unity of this country irrespective of political, religious and tribal affiliations.

    The recent meeting of Christian and Muslim religious leaders in Abuja is timely.

    Hopefully,  some concrete decisions were taken at the meeting concerning the religious dimension of the insurgency and necessary steps would be taken over the matter.

    We are all in this together until a permanent solution is found. Divided we stand, united we will fall.

  • Munroe: Maximising potentials

    The President of Bahamas Faith Ministries International, Dr Myles Munroe, who died last Monday in a plane crash along with his wife and seven others, will be remembered for his teachings on many practical issues of life.

    In this tribute to him, I wish to share one of his very inspiring messages on maximising potential.

    Everything in life has potential

    It is a tragedy to know that with over five billion people on this planet today, only a minute percentage will experience a significant fraction of their true potential. Perhaps you are a candidate for contributing to the wealth of the cemetery. Your potential was not given for you to deposit in the grave. You must understand the tremendous potential you possess and commit yourself to maximising it in your short lifetime. What is potential, anyway?

    Potential is dormant ability, reserved power, untapped strength, unused success, hidden talents, capped capability.

    All you can be but have not yet become. All you can do but have not yet done. How far you can reach but have not yet reached. What you can accomplish but have not yet accomplished. Potential is unexposed ability and latent power. It is also important that you never let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life that never realised its full potential. You must decide today not to rob the world of the rich, valuable, potent, untapped resources locked away within you. Potential never has a retirement plan.

    To simplify this concept, let us look at one of the most powerful elements in nature, the seed. If I held a seed in my hand and asked you, “What do I have in my hand?” what would you say? Perhaps you would answer what seems to be the obvious, a seed. However, if you understand the nature of a seed, your answer would be fact but not truth.

    The truth is I hold  a forest in my hand. Why? Because in every seed there is a tree, and in every tree there is fruit or flowers with seeds in them. And these seeds also have trees that have fruit that  have seeds, that have trees that have fruit that have seeds, etc. In essence, what you see is not all there is. That is potential. Not what is, but what could be. God created everything with potential, including you. He placed the seed of each thing within itself (Genesis 1:12), and planted within each person or thing He created the ability to be much more than it is at any one moment. Thus, everything in life has potential.