The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday magazine

  • EYN: Tales of trials, triumphs as Northern Nigerian denomination clocks 100

    EYN: Tales of trials, triumphs as Northern Nigerian denomination clocks 100

    Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN), a Nigerian offshoot of the Church of the Brethren, marked its 100th year in existence on March 17.

    Despite the gale of attacks, especially, from the Boko Haram insurgents and other challenges it had contended with, the denomination also thanked God that the very insurgency attacks resulted in expanding the church to new territories.

    Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, being the English language translation of the Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria, is the Nigerian community of the global Church of the Brethren which started in the United States of America, from where missionaries came to start activities in Nigeria about 100 years ago.

    Garkida, a town in the northern part of Adamawa, which is 155 kilometres from the state capital, Yola, had the privilege of being the first to have a branch in Nigeria.

    The first service was conducted by the foreign Brethren missionaries under a now legendary tamarind tree in Garkida, on March 17, 1923.

    The Church had blossomed steadily first around the northern Adamawa zone where it remains the most subscribed denomination among Christians, and then branched out to neighboring Borno and Taraba states; to the rest of the North East, and further outwards to other parts of the North, very notably Plateau State where its headquarters moved temporarily to when the Kwarhi headquarters and main church buildings were destroyed by Boko Haram in 2014.

    Today, EYN has more than 2,000 branch congregations across the country and elsewhere.

    Giving a historical overview of the EYN with specific reference to how it has suffered in the hands of the Boko Haram elements, the President of the EYN, Rev Joel Billi, said, “At the peak of the insurgency, 36 of the then 50 EYN DCCs were completely displaced. Seven were partially closed, with only seven DCCs not directly affected by insurgency. Of the 456 local councils and 2,280 local church branches at that time, 278 LCC buildings and 1,390 LCB Church auditoriums were destroyed by the insurgents.”

    The EYN President said that so many members of the church were killed or abducted, and that abduction of church members, especially, around Borno State continued up to date.

    The EYN had said three years ago that it had lost about 8,370 members, including eight pastors, to the Boko Haram insurgents.

    Billi, giving the statistics at a news conference in the Adamawa State capital Yola, said 25,000 members of the Church were taking refuge in neighbouring Cameroun while more than 700,000 were in internally displaced person camps in Nigeria.

    Billi added that the activities of the terrorists had affected more than 1.5 million members and caused huge destruction to the denomination’s places of worship.

    Around the time of its most deadly attacks in 2014 when Hong, being the local government area where the EYN headquarters was located, became one of the seven LGAs that Boko Haram took over and wreaked unprecedented destruction to properties and human lives, and the EYN headquarters had to be relocated to the Plateau State capital, Jos.

    During his interaction with newsmen in Jos sometime after  EYN’s relocation there, the National President of the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the time, Engr Daniel Kadzai, had said that out of the over 200 Chibok school girls who were kidnapped in April 2014, 170 were members of the EYN.

    Kadzai had explained that EYN had incurred so much damage from Boko Haram because it had its dominance in the northeast where a majority of its members’ hail from.

    EYN leader, Joel Billi, giving his latest account of the origin of the EYN, highlighted how a hundred years ago the first service of the church, led by two pioneering white Christian missionaries, took place in Garkida, the fondly recognized ancestral home of the church in the Gombi Local Government Area of northern Adamawa.

    The first white missionaries were two: Reverends Stover Kulp and Albert Helser. Together, they planted the first EYN branch in Garkida and aided the further development of the church before other white missionaries and Nigerian leaders took over in subsequent years.

    The EYN Centenary celebration earlier in the month turned out to be a huge celebration indeed despite the havoc that Boko Haram has inflicted on the church in recent years.

    This was because the church has experienced growth in many directions even as it suffered losses in others.

    The EYN president recalled at the March 16 press conference that many of those who had been displaced to distant parts had facilitated the establishment of branches in such places.

    “All glory to God, because though the insurgency was orchestrated to uproot Christianity in its area of operation, God in his faithfulness used the insurgency to propagate the gospel and expand the frontiers of EYN in Nigeria and the Camerouns because those that were displaced carried their faith to wherever they went. Today, several EYN churches have sprung up in places where our members went to sojourn,” the EYN president said.

    At the main Centenary anniversary event on March 17, many members and guests also spoke on how the church has fared in the past 100 years.

    A retired justice and respected member of the church who was the Chairman of the event, Ibrahim Mahi, said the church had in the course of the past 100 years lifted many Nigerians from utter darkness to divine light.

    He said, “Africa became the white man’s grave where the white missionaries came, died of diseases they were unused to, but saved us from strange gods. We are products of the dreams of the missionaries. It’s because we did not allow their dreams to die that we can gather to mark our church’s 100th year today.”

    Although the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria is an offshoot of the global Church of the Brethren with roots in the United States, the Nigerian ‘baby’ has grown to be described as the biggest Church of the Brethren in the world.

    Mr. Erick Miller, the Director of the Global Mission of the Church of the Brethren International, said the mother church (in the US) is proud of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria.

    “The US church is proud of your resilience. You are an inspiration to us,” Erik Miller said, adding that the mother church had been happy to be a part of the sources of succour to the Nigerian church in its sufferings in hands of the Boko Haram insurgents.

    Also at the main event of the EYN’s 100th Year celebration was the Catholic Bishop of Yola, Stephen Dami Mamza who is also the Adamawa State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

    Bishop Mamza who said he represented himself on the occasion as well as the famous Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Hassan Kukah, congratulated the EYN on its birthday, adding that the EYN’s achievements over the century had dwarfed its numerical strength.

    “Boko Haram has had your area of concentrated strength as its area for destruction and you have produced many martyrs of the faith but you have expanded your boundaries and this is commendable,” he told the EYN.

    Also in hand was the Archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN), Most Reverend Panti Filibus who is also the President of Lutheran Church Worldwide.

    The foremost Lutheran leader said of the EYN, “You have a history of persecution due mostly to the brutal attacks by Boko Haram, but you have continued to grow in faith and in witnessing for God. You are a symbol of hope for the future church.”

    The EYN as well as other church denominations with originating roots mostly in Northern Nigeria, including the LCCN and Plateau State-based mega church, the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN), come under the umbrella of Tarayyar Ekklesiyoyin Kristi a Nijeria (TEKAN), rendered in English as Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria, and of which EYN’s Joel Billi is incidentally the president.

    General Secretary of TEKAN, Rev Moses Ebuga, said the EYN had shown resilience worthy of emulation.

    “The burning of your Churches and other forms of violence against you tested your resolve but you have held strongly to your conviction. Despite all the challenges, the EYN has remained an inspiration to others in the faith,” the TEKAN scribe said.

  • How nurse’s injection turned me into cripple, by physically- challenged UNILAG student

    How nurse’s injection turned me into cripple, by physically- challenged UNILAG student

    Mubarak was hale and hearty when he was born. His two legs were functional. Suddenly, he was unable to use his legs when he was two years old. VICTORIA AMADI, who spoke with the Kwara State-born UNILAG undergraduate, reports.

    WITH his birth came the usual excitement. People gathered, ate, drank and made merry. He was a little bundle of joy in his parent’s arms. His birth further strengthened family bonds.

    He was named Mubarak, the Arabic equivalent of the Latinate name “Benedict” (from Benedictus “blessed.”). His parent must have named him thus 27 years ago because they saw him as a source of blessing to the family.

    That was the picture at the home of Mr and Mrs Aremu Mubarak Olajide.

    The Olajides were understandably eager to see their child grow up well and healthy, with the prospect of becoming a responsible member of society.

    Against all expectations, however, this bundle of joy has become a source of agony for the Olajides. And it was neither the fault of little Mubarak nor that of his parents.

    Mubarak, at the age of two, presented signs of ill health.

    Mr and Mrs Olajide noticed that their son, who was full of life at birth, had fallen ill and they took him to a hospital where a nurse administered an injection on him. The injection, administered by the nurse, however, became a source of grief for Mubarak and his family, as it dawned on them that he could no longer walk.

    Sitting uncomfortably in his wheelchair, the now 27-year-old physically-challenged Olajide, a University of Lagos 400-Level student of Business Education, narrated his travail from childhood to adulthood. 

    How I became a cripple

    Olajide expressed disgust at how he, a child who was hale and hearty at birth with two functional legs, became a cripple as a result of a nurse’s mistake.

    He narrated how on getting home after the injection, his parents noticed that the spot on his buttocks, where the injection was administered, was swollen. They tried to give him some first aid, by applying some balm and ice block to keep the pressure down but it all proved futile.

    Eventually, his parents had to take him back to the hospital, where they were told that “nothing could be done about it because his legs had been affected, because the injection was administered on a wrong vein.

    Recalling those dark days, Mrs Aremu said: “I gave birth to him normally like every other child. After I was delivered of my baby, he was a bouncy baby, with no defects or challenges.

    “He was healthy and strong, as he had no medical problems. In fact, he was given all the necessary immunisation jabs.

    “When Mubarak was about two years old, he started standing up and tried to take some steps.

    “One day, I noticed he was running temperature and I took him to the hospital, where the nurse gave him an injection on his buttocks.

    “I took him back to the hospital, and the doctor, after checking him, gave us some drugs to use. Weeks after, there were no positive changes. Suddenly, he stopped standing on his feet and started lying on his chest, and later began crawling. I went back to the hospital, and it was then the doctor confirmed that the injection was administered on a wrong vein.

    “It was our worst news ever and we felt deeply pained. We were advised to take legal action but we couldn’t. We put our faith in God and decided to focus attention on our son.”

    Beating the odds

    Undaunted, Mubarak grew up with the firm belief that no barrier would hinder him from living life like every normal human.

    He said: “Considering my condition, I was enrolled in a primary school called Latrash Private School, which was not too far from my house. The school treated me like other children throughout my years in the school.

    “My mom and sister took turns in strapping me to their back to school every day. There was no means of transportation then to the school, due to the condition of the street of Lagos where I resided. It was very hectic for them, but they did not complain. They accepted me and showed me love.

    “During this stage of my life, I became aware of who I am and what is going on. You can imagine a kid becoming accustomed to not urinating or emptying the bowels for hours.

    “Sometimes, I would be alone and sometimes I would not talk because I decided to endure. I wanted to look like other kids; although I didn’t have a wheelchair in my primary school.

    “I finished my primary education in 2007 as one of their best pupils, although I was the only special student in the school,” he said.

    Reliving his secondary school days, Mubarak said it ushered him into a new realism.

     “In 2007, I got admission into King Ado Junior and Senior Secondary School. It was another adventurous time of my life because there was no money and no secondary school close to my house. I had to go to the nearest public school.

    “Then it dawned on me that I was at an age where everyone would see me and notice that my upper body was bigger than my legs.

    Family support sustained me

     “On gaining admission into the second

    ……

    threats. After three years of struggle in school, I graduated in November 2017.

    “In 2018, I got another wheelchair from Mrs Akindele Titilola, one of my friend’s mom and a non-teaching member of staff at the FCE’T’ Akoka then.

    “I stayed at home for one year waiting for another admission process into UNILAG. This was when I started learning graphic design on my own.

    “I then applied for direct entry to the University of Lagos, where I am currently studying Business Education.

    “However, I never gave up! I am using what I had and have chose this path of getting an education too because I am already aware of the state of our country. I make friends and join associations such as the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), and the National Association of Kwara State Students (NAKSS) UNILAG Chapter.

    “In March this year, I received an electric wheelchair from Dr. Ambassador Funmi Ayinke through the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, after I engaged in a programme tagged ‘Walk for life’ hosted by NUGA (Nigeria University Game Association) in UNILAG.

    “It is a tour around the campus, which involved students, senior members of staff and the management. I had the opportunity to use a manual wheelchair beside our Vice-Chancellor and I was selected among the five winners that day and received N10, 000.

    “I approached him and opened up on my pressing need. I told Prof. Ogundipe about the need for an electric wheelchair and he said ‘don’t worry’. I went further to say it again because I already knew how expensive it was. After two weeks, my friend informed me that my attention was needed in school.

    “On getting to school, I called the P.A. to the V-C and I was told to come to the location. On getting to the location, I was given the automated wheelchair and an endowment scholarship by Dr Ambassador Funmi Ayinke. Since then, she has been supporting me financially.

    “The automated wheelchair has helped me tremendously in navigating my way on the school premises. I call it ‘the wheel of hope.’”

    Mubarak, however, appealed to the government, philanthropists and corporate organisations to spare a thought for people living with disability.

    He advised every physically challenged person to speak up whenever they need help. He urged them to stay focused no matter the state of their condition, adding that they should be patient, contented and believe in their ability even in disability.

  • Always remember that tomorrow is pregnant

    Always remember that tomorrow is pregnant

    • Psychologist warn women who allow their unclad photos/videos taken

    Dr Leonard Okonkwo, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, speaks on the unsavoury trend of celebrity nude photos/videos going viral on the social media space.

    WHAT kind of love would make a woman, a celebrity at that; let a man take her nude photo or videos of intimate acts for keeps? Why do celebrities fall into this trap?

    What you’re seeing with celebrities is a function of what is happening in the larger society. It’s just that celebrities are who they are that theirs resonate as news. I want to say first of all that the advent of smart phones with cameras has increased such tendencies. Now let me tell you about nudity. Most people are nude when they are most comfortable. That is to say, you go to your house, you take off your clothes because you’re comfortable at home, and if you share the house or room with some people, then you are most comfortable in the bathroom where you can have your total privacy. It is at this point that people are most relaxed. And people you let into that your personal space are people you’re most comfortable with, like intimate partners and so on. So when people take such pictures or allow such to be taken of them, they are by people they are most comfortable with.

    They also send them to people they’re most comfortable with – their intimate partners. And when it gets leaked, it’s most of the time not deliberate. Of course there are people who it deliberately. Usually, people who send their nude photos out are call girls soliciting for customers. And the fact that someone is a celebrity does not mean that she has had a clean past. I just did a research on sex workers and I found out that there is a large percentage of sex workers who are corporate workers. They are into a lot of other things but still engage in sex work. That is empirical; I found it out in my research. However, in sending these pictures to persons with whom you are most relaxed, situations do change. The person you are most relaxed with today, you may not be relaxed with tomorrow. And that is where the error is. People forget that they only know about today but not tomorrow. You may fallout with the person you’re sending your nude pictures to, and he suddenly wants to get back at you. These are tools the person can use.

    I guess it gets worse with celebrities…

    Oh yes. People who are not celebrities don’t make news and people don’t really care much about them, but celebrities have a lot to lose. For the celebrity who has a lot to lose, therefore, it is definitely going to injure their pride and injure a lot of things about them. And that is the purpose the person who is perpetrating it intends to achieve.

    Sometimes also, it is for the purpose of blackmail – if you don’t do this, I will do this. And where the person tries to be stubborn, then they make good their threat.

    The case of Tiwa Savage also remains controversial, as some people still believe she masterminded it to gain more popularity.

    We don’t know that for sure. The young man could also have shared the tape with friends for the purpose of bragging right.

    What I think is that there is a law concerning blackmail, which many people were not taking advantage of. You may recall the case of another musician, Salawa Abeni, whose nude picture got into some young boy’s hand and he was attempting to blackmail her. The woman came out, reported to the police and the police stepped in and arrested the blackmailer. There is also a law that prohibits people from taking people’s pictures, videos or audios without their consent, particularly sensitive photos like we’re talking about. When people begin to see that they can’t get away with these things, it will reduce.

    Many have argued that men who engage in such blackmail are not normal. What do you think?

    The truth is there are many sick people out there who don’t know that they’re sick. When you look at the five Ds, it will help you to understand who is sick or is not. To determine that a behaviour is abnormal, you look out for the five Ds of which deviation is one. Deviation or deviants means there is a normal way that people are expected to behave or accepted by most people; so any behaviour outside that is deviant. When you do something that most people would not do, it shows that you are a deviant. And when you do something that endangers your life or another person’s, it is not normal. But some people may find justification for doing things they should not do, even though it is against the law. For instance, someone whose business has collapsed and suddenly comes across such pictures may decide to employ blackmail. ‘I have these pictures; I’m going to publish them on social media if you don’t bring five million naira. In that case, the person is normal but criminal. And that is why I say that if people begin to report to the police and take advantage of the law rather than cower in their shells, it will reduce.

    The person who released Njamah’s videos was said to have relocated to Liberia, his home-country; couldn’t he still be arrested and brought to book?

    Of course, he could be arrested through the Interpol. And Liberia has a good relationship with Nigeria, so the police, if they really want to do their job, can move in there with the collaboration of the Liberian police, to arrest and bring him to the scene of the crime.

    Going forward, what is your advice to women generally on things like this?

    Avoid it. We need to caution ourselves, not just women alone. Don’t just look at the moment and forget the future. Things may be good now but tomorrow is pregnant.

    Some have argued that women who let down their guards do so because they love and trusted their partners, and should really not be blamed, but the men who perpetrate such acts.

    I don’t think people should be blamed for trusting their lovers. But that does not mean that every request by their lovers should be granted. Also, it’s not only their lovers that can release the photos. Different people hack and have had their accounts hacked. People have hacked icloud, talkless of whatsapp.

  • When celebrities let down all guards

    When celebrities let down all guards

    A purported nude image allegedly of a Nollywood actress currently making the rounds on the social media, has again brought to the front burner the condemnable habit of celebrities going unclad for their ‘lovers’ camera. Gboyega Alaka takes a look at the unholy trend, going as far as the days of the Anita Hogan saga

    VIRTUALLY everyone old enough remembers the Anita Hogan nude photos saga as published by the then evening newspaper, PM News back in 2007.

    It was the most outrageous set of photos ever published by any newspaper of such repute and spread in Nigeria, and it resonated. In quick time, the paper sold out, but many, looking back would congratulate the actress that those weren’t yet the days of internet ubiquity, else the images would have been immortalised forever.

    Nevertheless, the publication did enough damage, as it forced the talented actress out of the movies industry and indeed public view for years.

    Almost a decade after, she was quoted as saying she was suffering rejection, and it could be said that the hangover of those dark days of her life, were yet to totally clear out.

    While many were outraged that a newspaper of such repute descended as low as to take advantage of a young woman’s carelessness and vulnerability, others blamed the actress for the singular act of ‘carelessness’. Who does that? Many queried. How much love or money could have made her bare so much before a camera? Others asked.

    Not even the revelation that the photos were taken by her fiancée, who later became her husband, soothed outraged fans nerves.

    That the then rising actress, who was also a former star of Gulder Ultimate Search Reality TV Show must have been disillusioned and driven near suicide was beyond doubt, and many indeed feared she would never recover psychologically.

    Many had also thought Hogan’s bitter experience would be a lesson to other persons, more especially celebrities and public figures, who may want to toe same line in the future. But that has not been the case, as subsequent events have shown. Time after time, several other celebrities and artistes have fallen in the same trap, causing many to wonder if they ever learn.

    Tiwa’s leaked s*x tape

    In October 2021, Nigeria, and by extension, the world woke up to a viral tape of Nigerian pop singer, Tiwa Savage, making out in a romp with a male partner.

    Although the singer had somewhat prepared grounds for what she saw as an impending doom, when she told American OAP, Angie Martinez of Power 105.1 that she was being blackmailed over her sex tape, which the blackmailer was threatening to release; it still changed nothing, when it was eventually leaked and it went viral.

    In her defence in that interview, Tiwa had said: “It is not from someone working closely with me. What happened is that the person did it on Snap and he posted it by accident, but he quickly deleted it.

    “However, someone got it before he could delete it. It is a very short video, but it is me. It is going to be out there and I can just imagine the memes. I just found out yesterday. I could not sleep last night.”

    Many still felt outraged that an artiste of Tiwa’s repute would get so careless as to allow herself to be recorded in the act.

    More outrageous was the fact that she was engaging in the act without protection, which many saw as sending wrong message to young people about the danger of unsafe sex, though inadvertently.

    An outraged Nollywood actress, Sonia Ogiri, out of indignation, had exploded shortly after in an interview with an online medium: I don’t care how people want to garnish it; I don’t care about the people standing with or against her… She should be more aware of these things. People make mistakes and we learn from people’s mistakes, she has seen other celebrities’ sex tapes get leaked, so she should be smarter at this age. To me, age should come with some sense of belonging, responsibility, and wisdom. So, I expected her to be wiser than that sex tape…

    “…Tiwa or any other celebrity should abstain, they should desist from this. If it is your fantasy, handle it differently. If it is your fantasy to have a sex tape, you can do that and delete immediately or save it to a hidden file where you know that the mistake of leaking the tape would never occur. Keep it off the general public, because it’s really unfortunate. Tiwa should be held responsible but she hasn’t apologised, she needs to apologise. She owes Nigerians a big apology.”

    Ogiri went on in that interview: “Let’s analyse this, you’re having sex with someone and the person held his phone, that should tell you that something was going on, he should be holding onto something or holding onto you or touching something, but he held his phone and you were busy moaning and enjoying the moment. He was busy videoing you up to your face, showing everything that represents you as a woman. To even add salt to injury, she did what she did without a condom. What message was she passing to society?”

    Empress Njamah’s bathroom video

    Unfortunately, lessons from Tiwa Savage’s sex tape saga didn’t seem to resonate well enough, as another celebrity’s nude tapes surfaced yet again in January this year. This time it was of another actress, Empress Njamah.

    One of the tapes showed the actress nude in her bathtub, while the other showed her in her bedroom, lowering her wrapper, apparently for the delight of her ‘man’.

    The tapes were alleged to have been released by her estranged Liberian lover, George Wade, after their relationship turned sour.

    The Liberian reportedly created a whatsapp group where he added over one hundred contacts, including bloggers and posted the very private video tapes, ostensibly to spite her.

    The Nollywood actress and her boyfriend had broken up last year, with the actress accusing Wade of physically assaulting her in an Instagram livestream video.

    Laide Bakare in the eye of the storm

    Just weeks ago, another nude image, purportedly of another Nollywood actress, Laide Bakare, surfaced online.

    The photo, allegedly leaked to a whatsapp group by the actress’ American lover, to say the least, left nothing to the imagination, causing an Instagram blogger, Gistlover, to berate her for her indiscretion.

    “Dear yeyebrities, stop sending your nudes videos or picture to your partner, stop it, learn from Empress’ saga…,” the blogger had written.

    However, the actress, who initially maintained a silence, later reacted, insinuating that the unclad image was not of her.

    Laide Bakare has made the news over claims that her unclad photos spread on social media

    According to Bakare, she is a well-known actress, and she has never accepted a movie role that will make her go unclad.

    In reaction to the claims, Bakare took to her official Instagram page to debunk the news that the unclad photo was hers.

    She stated that she had initially wanted to ignore the false news but on a second thought decided to debunk it in clear terms in the interest of her family and fans.

    “I am an actress, movie producer and role model of international standing with over 2 decades of hard-earned reputation. In defence of this profile and in order not to grant victory to evil doers, I am now taking steps to bring in law enforcement and cyber security experts in Nigeria and internationally to get to the root of this malicious act and bring the shameless perpetrators to justice,” she wrote.

    Do her fans believe her defence? That is a matter for posterity.

  • The Place His Grace is your Race

    The Place His Grace is your Race

    • Text: “.. by the grace of God I am what I am…..” 1 Cor. 15:10

    By Venerable Henry O. Adelegan

    The Grace of God in human race is what qualifies the unqualified for higher posts, glorious positions, enviable honour etc. Whenever grace stepped in, physical disabilities are overlooked. Moses, like Apostle Paul, had a terrible background (Exodus 2:11-15) but when grace stepped in for him, his  story changed (Isaiah 60:15). Esther also was a lady that was unqualified to be a Queen but the grace of God in her race qualified the unqualified and made her Queen over Babylon. Joseph too experienced His grace from the moment he when he was born as a special son to his parents (Gen. 37:3), it was grace that lifted him to become the Prime Minister in Egypt, without any certificate in Economics or a degree in either Law or Public Administration, and made him a celebrity(Gen. 41:40-44).

    When grace steps into the race of a man, it puts an end to sufferings, it perfects the ways of the helpless, it stabilizes tumultuous relationships, it boosts weak economies, it strengthens the weak and it settles the hopeless. 1 Peter 5:10 attests to it that, “the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, shall make you perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you”. It is pertinent to note that human efforts are without enviable result in the absence of His grace. It is His grace that validates your race; and without His grace on you, your life, endeavors and struggles shall be fraught with endless struggles and end in disgrace. No wonder Solomon declared that “the race is not to the swift, battle not to the strong, riches not to men of understanding and favor not to men of skill but time and chance happens to them all.” (Eccles. 9:11). When His Grace steps in for you beloved, the power of God shall give you direction and do exceedingly abundantly above all that you are thinking or asking for (cf Ephesians 3:20). When His grace is on you, there is no height you cannot scale, there is no position you cannot attain and there is no possession you cannot acquire.

    This explains why the Psalmist said in Psalms 127:1 that except the Lord gives grace to build a house, they build in vain that took a loan to buy a land and that if the Lord does not keep you, your human security is a mere social status symbol and amounts to nothing. Why? It is His grace that has capacity to change the game of life and turn an underdog to a celebrity and turn challenges of life into testimonies! Jesus Christ said in Matt. 6:33 that when you seek first the kingdom of God and pursue His righteousness, grace shall be provoked on your behalf, the game of life will change and you shall have more than you bargained for because all your physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem and self actualization needs shall be added unto you. Why? It is His grace that has capacity to change the game! It therefore doesn’t matter the challenges you are passing through in your race now, I have good news for you: the grace of God in your race shall change the story. I therefore declare that the grace of God shall speak for you in the race of your life today and grant you mega miracles that shall astound your enemies and friends in the name of Jesus Christ.

    Saul was a man with a heinous antecedent before Jesus Christ encountered him on his way to commit more atrocities against the early church in Damascus. It was following that incident that his name was changed from Saul the persecutor to Paul the Apostle (Acts 9:1-19,13:9). From our text, Paul the Apostle informed the church in Corinth that he towered above the other disciples and echoed it that his elevation to that high pedestal was not affirmed on neither his works nor his worth but by the grace of God. The grace of God found him out, the grace of God changed his life story and the grace of God lifted him up. I am confident that your story of lift up by grace shall be next in the name of Jesus Christ.

    To enable His grace change the game for you during this season of Lent, please cry to God to forgive your past sins and surrender your life to Jesus Christ, cry to Him to help you, don’t consider that you have apprehended, forget the things which are behind, remain resolute in Christ Jesus and press on towards the goal to win the prize which had been set before you. As the Lord lives, His grace shall rest on you, the game of your life will change and your story shall be to His glory in the name of Jesus Christ.

    Prayer: Oh Lord, let your grace change the game of my life for your glory in the name of Jesus Christ.

  • It is not over with you, says the Lord!

    It is not over with you, says the Lord!

    • Text: ” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back…. the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground…” – Exodus 14:21,22

    By Venerable Henry O. Adelegan

    Have you gotten to an end of the road financially, politically, physically or matrimonially? Have you lost out in the electioneering process? Is the path before you blocked and there are threats of death from your rear? Does it appear that you are helpless and hopeless? Please be informed that with God, there is no road closed. It is surely not over you. You are going to bounce back. The blocked roads shall soon be opened for you. With Him, all things are possible (Matt. 19:26). When He decides to bless anyone, He suspends protocol and changes the red light to green. In Genesis 21:1-5, Doctors and nature confirmed that the 89 years old woman will never have a baby, when God stepped in however, He reversed the laws of nature and turned her menopause to ‘menostart, and she gave birth at age 90 without any complications. It is surely not over with Nigeria and it is definitely not over with you. Roads that were closed before shall be opened by the power of God into an expressway and you shall have an easy passage to your Promised land. 

    The Almighty God is the creator of heaven and earth; He is the One that makes a seemingly bad case perfect and “…. by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist”. (Col. 1:16-17). When He decides to visit your life, He would give you a testimony of awe, such that people who knew you before will be amazed at the turnaround of your situation; He would take the weeping of the night time away from you and give you an endless morning of joy (Psalm 30:5); He would orchestrate a circumstance that will compel people assigned to lift you up to overlook your educational gap, to suspend your no experience issue, to close their eyes to your family background, not to remember that you are younger or older, as it played out with Jephtah the Gileadite in Judges 11:1-8 when people that previously rejected him returned to beg him to be their leader. 

    In a local community years back, a man made a steamboat which was the first to be constructed in the area. When he was through, he called everyone to come and see ‘what the Lord has done’. The people of the community followed him to the bank of the river, but skeptically and with disdain. In a sarcastic manner, they requested him to put the steamboat to work. With excitement, the innovator puts his hand to ignite the steamboat to get it working. It was very unfortunate that the innovator tried countless times but the steamboat didn’t come on. The community people burst into uncontrollable laughter and started mocking that, “Henry’s steamboat will not start”. The man was undaunted and continued to try while they were all giggling. Suddenly, the engine came on and Henry jumped in with great excitement and was driving the steamboat all over the water. The people were startled, but they refused to give up with their pessimism. So, they changed the level of their mockery to another level and were all chorusing that, “Henry’s steamboat will not stop. Henry made a steamboat that wouldn’t stop”.  Eventually, and in the face of the mockers, Henry brought the boat safely to shore and they now gathered hugging him and saying “Henry has performed a miracle. Wow, Henry is a miracle worker”. 

    From our text, the Israelites after their deliverance and departure from Egypt were faced with a Red Sea cul-de-sac at their front and death from their former captors was hot on their trail, they complained very bitterly to Moses and were downcast. Moses encouraged them to stand still and see God’s power in action but God told him that they should match on to the Red Sea. And as he stretched forth his rod over the sea, their hopeless situation was turned around. Instantly, the Red Sea parted sideways, the waters piled on their right and left hands such that they could scoop water from their sides and when they got to the other side, the army of Pharaoh got into the same path they followed, the water returned and the soldiers, their chariot-men, their weapon of warfare and their horses were consumed by the sea.

    Are you jobless despite degrees from the university? Is it that you are of marriageable age and their is no suitor. Are you or any of your children trusting God for the fruit of the womb and time is going towards menopause? Is it that you are trusting God for elevation at your place of work or ministry? Is it that people that ought to help you have been turned against you? Please note that God is alive. He is the same yesterday as He is today and shall be forever (Hebrews 13:8). What He did yesterday, He is going to do in your life this season, your cast down shall turn to your lifting up and you shall testify to His goodness? God is going to step into your life. He would send an angel to liberate you from ‘Herod’s captivity’, all that the captors have taken from you shall be restored to you with great interest, doors that have been shut shall open unto you of their own accord and the Herods running after your life shall make mistakes that will end their lives in the name of Jesus.

    To be a candidate of His awesome miracle during this time of Lent, you must surrender your life to Jesus Christ, confess your sins to Him, ask for His forgiveness, be determined not to return to sin again, be reconciled with all that have wronged you, live peacefully with all men, put on the garb of holiness, have faith in Him and pray for a miracle that “eyes have not seen, that ears have not heard and not come to the imagination of men” (1 Cor. 2:9). As He lives, you shall testify of His faithfulness soon and your miracles shall be proclaimed in your tabernacle and heralded for the world to hear about in Jesus’ name. 

    Prayer: Oh Lord arise and turn my challenges into testimonies in the name of Jesus Christ

  • Mothers as destiny changers

    Mothers as destiny changers

    • Text: “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with….. She said, Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom”. (Matthew 20:20, 21)

    By Venerable Henry O. Adelegan

    Are things very difficult for you? Are you experiencing a wilderness journey life? Are you tossed about by the vagaries of life? Are you finding it very difficult to make ends meet? Are you traversing from one failed business venture to another? Are you in same position for years without progress or promotion? Are you tired of living in a rented apartment without a means to build your own house? Is your health failing you? Have you been going from one hospital to another? Have you tried all to no avail? Are you disillusioned? Have you prayed and it is obvious that your prayers are not answered? Do you feel as if your life will soon end? Dear beloved, please note that it is not over with. There is hope for you. Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Your morning of joy is here and I can confirm that you shall bounce back to good health and prosperity. In your life, the name of God shall be exalted in the name of Jesus Christ. What you need to do is to return to the mother figures in your life (your aunt, biological or adopted mother, spiritual mother etc) and celebrate them, not only yesterday which was Mothering Sunday, but always.

    From our text, Salome, mother of James and John, came to Jesus Christ with her two sons, James and John. She made a plea not for herself or for any personal benefit but for seats in His kingdom for her two sons. She was selfless, good and kind. As a result of her plea, the destinies of the sons were changed for good. John was the beloved of Jesus Christ (John 21:20) and the one who used to lean on Him (John 13:23-25). At death, he was the one who Jesus entrusted the care of Him mother to, and not to any of his biological brothers. Finally, it was John who wrote the book of John and Revelation. I pray that the destinies of all that are precious to you too shall experience revival in the name of Jesus Christ.

    Beloved, what determines the humongous benefits which are obtainable for man is the investment of mothers into their divine responsibilities. Motherhood is an awesome privilege; it is a responsibility and a blessing, if rightly invested into. God created mothers as changers of destinies and agents of national rebirth and blessings. Nigeria was blessed in the beginning because mothers took their responsibility as mothers with seriousness. The country is unfortunately filled with loafers, louts, thugs, drug addicts etc as evidenced from the Gubernatorial and State Assembly election of last Saturday because of failure of motherhood and their misplaced priorities. Elders in their wisdom say that, a bad child is the mothers child while the good child belongs to the father. Motherhood is not in age but in maturity, responsibility and sacrifice. Destiny changing mothers are compassionate, endearing, intuitive, protective, mindful, dutiful, selfless, responsible, caring, loving and Godly. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the US said, All that I am, I owe to my angel mother. Motherhood is a full time job, motherhood is tasky, motherhood is sacrificial, motherhood is demanding and motherhood is rewarding.

    It is however pertinent to ask: how are you treating the mother figures in your life. Do you realize that grace to change destinies is in the hands of mothers? While it is good to pray and fast for prosperity and a long life, while it is not out of place to visit the mountain top, while it good to go for camps and retreats, observe vigils and the likes, the needful step that facilitates children to prosper, move forward, to celebrate and be celebrated, to live a healthy life, be promoted and live long is to honour mothers. “Honour your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise so that it may go wel, with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:2,3). Prayers are mere noise in the ears of God without due attention of fathers to mothers. If you desire that your prayers should have express attention, it is incumbent on you to reverence and honour your wife. “Husbands in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7). A man who honors his wife is wise and shall have great dividends for that act. Why? Women are the agents of good things and the means to receive favour from God, and a life of ease and peace as needed icing. “Whoso finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour”. Proverbs 18:22.

    During this Lenten season, and as the Mothering Sunday was celebrated yesterday, God is calling on mothers, the changers of destinies, to return to Him and plead for mercy where they have failed God, pray for forgiveness where they have abdicated their divine responsibilities of care for their husbands and children as a result of their lure for pecuniary issues of life. Mothers are called upon to take the issues of their children to Jesus Christ like Salome, the mother of James and John, they are to take care of their homes and be concerned about the progress of their children shall change and the name of God alone shall be exalted in the name of Jesus.

    Prayers: Lord, make our mothers sources of blessings and agents of divine changes for the world in the name of Jesus Christ

  • Girls, don’t let the world damage you- virginity doesn’t end at age 18-20!

    Girls, don’t let the world damage you- virginity doesn’t end at age 18-20!

    Dear Mummy Temilolu,

    I’ve been following your articles for some time now and every one of it encourages me to remain chaste until marriage! Your advice has been helping me so dearly, I can remember many times when I want to have a second thought about keeping myself but my senses gets back to normal whenever I come across your advice. You’ve played a motherly role in my life and I’m so grateful. May God bless and keep you for me!

    I’m 18years old and something has been bothering me since I knew myself! When I was around 6-9 years(can’t really remember the exact age), I was sexually abused by my father’s servant then, he was a teenager. He would  come to sleep with me. Then, I never knew what he was doing as I didn’t know anything about sex. I didn’t even find it necessary to tell anyone, I was just allowing him have his way. But I can still remember that I never saw anything like blood whenever he got into the act. I don’t know if he was having the sex in the right way because he was young then and probably did not know how to do it but in every of this I never saw anything like blood and it makes me more confused as to if I’m still a virgin or not.

    When I started growing into fully knowing myself, I hated me. I started regretting why such thing ever happened. I wished I was able to speak up, I wished my dad never had servants, I wished I was conscious of what I was doing then and I always wished then was now. I always cry whenever I remember such scenario because deep down I wanted to be pure from birth, I wanted to make sure that no one has ever touched me, like no one. But right now ma’am, I don’t know if my virginity is still intact, I’ve said that I will go for virginity test when I will have to. I haven’t told anyone not even my parents are aware of this till now, I promised to keep it to myself but I was persuaded to talk to you about it. Since my childhood experience, I promised never to get involved in premarital sex and I haven’t engaged in it up till now! I’ve been keeping myself and I will continue keeping myself, I want to remain chaste but I’m only sad about my childhood experience ma’am.

    Also, people tell me that it’s because I’m still young that’s why I’m still remaining chaste, that it will get to a stage where the urge is much and I will get tired and give in, that they always believe that virginity ends at 18-20 years. I always oppose their opinions and tell them how false it is but they keep on telling me that I’m just saying it because I’m yet to grow older to understand what they are saying. What do you think ma? Because sometimes I try to reason with them but later on I will refuse to be deceived, it’s giving me a double thought. In all of this, I remain chaste and God has been helping me. I actually have alot more to talk to you about, I really need your advice in other areas of my life, but first you have to reply to this one.

    Joy A.

    My darling Joy,

    Why are you grieving over a past that has gone with the wind and allowing the devil oppress you for what you no nothing about? Why in the world would you go for a virginity test? I doubt the guy slept with you because at such a young age, you’d have felt so much pain and seen a a lot of blood except you weren’t born with a hymen. Even then your body would have reacted with a lot of pain. I take it that you’re still a virgin and most of all I believe God sees you as one! Please face your fantastic future and stay chaste till marriage! May God empower you in Jesus name!

    My darling, precious, glorious, dignified, world-famous and heavenly celebrated Nigerian sisters,

    I pray for you with all my heart that you will not miss the wonderful rewards that’ll fall on the laps of the sexually-pure on a platter of gold this year in Jesus mighty name! I have so much to share with you that’ll change your mind set and believe me transform your lives forever this year. However, to start with, I’d like to let you know that you should mind the type of counsels you take and the sort of people who influence you! The world gets worse by the day and i tell you if you start engaging in sex by 18, I can assure you, you’ll turn to “nonsense” before you’re 21! I KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! Please stay tuned!

    To be continued

    •I invite you to follow me on Facebook –TEMILOLU OKEOWO Instagram @Okeowotemilolu

  • Farmers lament massive losses as naira scarcity keeps buyers away

    Farmers lament massive losses as naira scarcity keeps buyers away

    • •Farmers sell off remnants at cheap prices to recoup investment as food items rot away
    • •Farmers, Bank of Agriculture battle over N.1billion controversial loan application funds

    In the past few weeks, farmers across the country have helplessly watched their produce rot away as the challenge of cash scarcity bedeviling the land crippled the purchasing power of citizens. Not only are the farmers unable to sell their produce, they also lack access to cash to purchase materials and hire workers needed for further production. There are fears that the deplorable situation could spell doom for the country as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had earlier warned that about 25 million Nigerians risk hunger between June and August 2023 if urgent action is not taken, INNOCENT DURU reports.

    ARAMOLA Toluwalope, a poultry farmer based in Agege, Lagos State, early this year looked forward to taking her business to the next level. She was not frivolous about it. She had her plans perfectly laid out and looked forward to having a healthy balance sheet at the end of the year.

    Shortly after the Menitos Deport Farms CEO started executing her plans, the challenge of naira scarcity occasioned by the CBN naira redesigning policy crept in and shattered her plans.

    “The cash scarcity shut down our production. I cannot afford to produce. Where am I going to get funds from, especially with no sales?  Chickens will not want to hear wait till tomorrow. They want to eat now. Knowing that I can’t sustain their feeding, I had to stop production,” she said as she vociferously decried the apex bank’s policy that has crippled many startups. 

    “We normally get credit facilities from the feed suppliers. When the cash scarcity problem started, many of them withdrew the credit facilities and started insisting that we must pay to pick up the feeds.

    “A good number of the electronic transfers that were done to them did not go. When we finished the batch we had taken from them, we just stopped production completely.

    “We don’t produce anymore. We only managed to finish the birds we had and that was basically at a loss,” she said. 

    She noted that it was not easy selling the ones “we processed because people were managing their money. A client that was buying a carton reduced it to half of a carton.

    “There was a food vendor who used to patronise us. She stopped using chicken because the price went as high as N2,500 per kg.

    “Now, when we process chicken, all the accessories like the legs, the neck will go, but people will not buy the full chicken.  We can’t say that we are not selling but the sales are nothing like before.”

    Following the unexpected setback, she said she has had to go back to the business of web designing.

    Toluwalope said: “I am a US-trained web designer. Because of the cash crunch, I am back fully into IT to sustain myself, because the sales from chicken are barely sustaining the shop itself. I have had to rely on my job, web designing, and others to get by. If I am to rely on the sales from the produce, may it not happen that somebody will just collapse on the road.”

    Speaking on why she didn’t resort to buying cash to fund her business, she said: “I refused to buy naira to fund my business. If I buy money to buy feeds for the chicken, it is still a loss. We are talking about a business that was having issues because of the price of feeds and transportation; if I now have to buy money to buy the feeds again, I am already running at a loss.”

    “Sometimes,” she said, “it is better not to do anything than to do something at all, and this is one of those situations. If I buy money to buy the feeds when already at this price people are complaining it is expensive, how much will it come to if I now have to use bought money?

    “Let’s say for N100,000 I will buy for N120,000, I can’t afford to do that. I went to bank around 8:30 and left a few minutes to 12, and all I was able to get was N20,000. What will that do in a business?

    “If I were still producing, it means I would have to spend about four hours every day in the bank to get N20,000 to buy feed and attend to other things.

    “The government has sabotaged everything they said they have done for farmers by their own policy because I don’t see how this one will work.”

    The challenge of naira scarcity has also robbed Tanimu, an Abuja based crop farmer and his colleagues of the usual vivacity they used to savour among themselves.

    They had invested hard earned money and laboured on their farms with expectations of good harvest, but all that appeared to have been a wasted effort.

    “Last week,” Taminu said, “we harvested 10 bags of garden eggs but none was sold. Later, some people came to offer us N1, 000 for a bag because they said the garden eggs were already spoiling. We couldn’t argue with them because we saw it with our eyes that the garden eggs were rotting away. “A bag of garden egg will ordinarily go for between N6,000 and N7,000, but we had to collect N1000 because people didn’t buy and they were spoiling. It was a big loss for me and my people.”

    Continuing, he said: “Many of our colleagues have had their produce they wanted to sell rot away. If you go round our markets, you will see how the produce that farmers laboured very hard to plant and harvest are rotting away.

    “I have a friend who has a big vegetable farm. He couldn’t sell anything from it. Even if he had taken it to the market, he would not be able to recoup the money he would have spent on transportation.

    “It has affected us terribly. It has caused untold setbacks for our business. Most of our members don’t have bank accounts. When they take produce to the market, some buyers will request to pay through electronic transfer. How can someone who does not have a bank account accept electronic transfer?” 

    In the face of the demoralising challenges, he is worried that there is no way of getting help to raise funds to go back to the farm.

    “Now if you want to hire workers on our farm, they will ask for cash. And when you have things to sell you will not be able to sell them because people don’t have cash.

    “Those of us who are into irrigation farming are worse hit by this unpleasant development because we don’t have cash to buy the things we need to take care of our farms.

    “As irrigation farmers, we have to water our farms every three days.  We have to buy chemicals and other things, but there is no cash to do that.

    “Our people cannot do or accept electronic transfer because they don’t have bank accounts.

    “I have a bank account. I gave my produce to people for them to transfer money to me. Out of five people only two transfers came in. The other three didn’t come and I don’t know those people. I gave it to them because there were no sales and I needed to get the goods off my hands.”

    His kinsman, Mohammed, said the challenge of cash scarcity affected his farm badly as he could not buy fuel and fertilizer to work on his farm.

    “I was moving from one place to another begging for money to buy fertilser to sustain my crops. With the way things are, we can only put our hope in God concerning what the harvest will look like. The situation is too bad.

    “There is one of our friends who has a large farm of maize. To sell it is a problem and he needs to sell them now that they are fresh in order to get his money back and start planting afresh. The corns are drying up. Those who used buy in large quantities are not buying because they are complaining that their customers are not also buying from them.

    “People who used to buy five bags struggle to buy a bag. If the corns he planted using irrigation method dry up, he will not recoup half of what he spent on the business. If he manages to sell them now that they are fresh, he will get his money back.”

    More farmers lament

    The President of Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria, Chief Dan Okafor, said with what the farmers have gone through, “we don’t know where we are going.

    “We harvested and sent our produce to Lagos, the people we sent couldn’t sell them because of cash scarcity. They are spoiling.

    “Many of our members are having their goods not just rotting away but they have no money to convey them to the market to sell. They are spoiling there on the farms.

    “In our potato and vegetable section, if you don’t remove the produce this week, by next week it will spoil.”

    Following the inconsistency of the government on withdrawal of old notes from circulation, Chief Okafor said: “The only notes that our members are collecting now is N20, N50, N100, N200 and the new notes.

    “They said even if the government asks them to take the old notes that they will not take it because tomorrow they can stop using it and the money will become useless. We are suffering a great deal.

    “Many of them are living in rural areas where there are no banks. Many of them don’t have bank accounts.

    “There was a place I went to in Zamfara State. There is no bank in that area. You must come to Gusau to open an account, and that means you will have to drive for three hours to cover the distance.

    “There is no money for our members to buy inputs. There is no money to transport goods to where they will be sold. We are all crying.

    “When they are making any policy, they should let us know so that we can inform the farmers on time.”

    Former Chairman Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI), Agric and agriculturist, Wale Oyekoya, told our correspondent that the cash crunch caused by the CBN policy “made it impossible for me to pay my farm workers with cash or transfer.

    “No cash to pay for raw materials. No cash to pay for petrol and diesel. It erodes our profit and reduces productivity.

    “The cash crunch affected so many things including businesses, especially the small business that did not have access to our cashless policy system.

    “Farmers were hard hit because of the nature of their perishable food stuff. Visiting some markets will show how lack of cash affects both the sellers and buyers as some of the farm produce got rotten because of the scarcity of cash.

    “At the farms, farmers cannot pay the farm workers as it is difficult to get cash and some of them don’t have bank accounts. The few that have accounts cannot get paid because of bad network  to transfer money.

    “Buying inputs or raw materials is a big problem, and this affects farmers in a negative way. It is also difficult to pay back bank loans by the farmers as the cash crunch adversely affects income.

    “To buy petrol or diesel is a big challenge for the farmers as most of our operations depend on these essential products as most farms don’t have access to electricity and to bring farm produce to the markets needs vehicles to transport them.

    “Post- harvest loss is on a high side for lack of storage facilities. This has compounded this problem as most of this produce get spoilt and damaged.”

    An agripreneur, Opeyemi Adeyanju, noted that most local farmers were badly affected because they don’t have accounts. Many of them lost their perishable goods. Besides, they didn’t have access to cash to buy things that they needed to grow the farms.

    Most of them depend mainly on daily income. They do this five market days and because people didn’t have cash, they didn’t go to markets to buy things. The farmers took their goods to the markets and returned home with them.

    Because some of them wanted to sell, they had to bring down their prices. The goods they could not sell spoilt in their hands.”

    To assist some of the farmers, he said, “we were able to innovate and adjust our business a bit. I am an agripreneur. I deal with farmers and consumers in the city.

    “What we have been able to do is to help the farmers within our community with cash from the city in a little way.

    “We have been affected in the area of having to buy cash at higher rates to give to the farmers. Some of the farmers had to release their goods for us to take to Lagos to sell and return money to them.”

    Farmers wary of taking loans

    With the losses that farmers have suffered, it is expected that they would be open to taking loans to resuscitate their business, but checks among them showed that is not in their thinking.

    President of Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria, Chief Dan Okafor, said he had earlier advised his members not to take loans because it doesn’t work for them here in Nigeria. 

    “Before you take the loan, the bankers will steal your money.  The rate they will give you loan is not the rate the government asked them to give them.

    “I have decreed that nobody should take loans from the government or bank because it doesn’t work. They are wicked, very, very wicked set of people.  I have told them to save money through contribution.

    “There is a case I have with one bank here in Abuja. I arranged about 50 groups to take loan from Bank of Agriculture. They asked our people to pay N1000 each for form. After doing all the necessary things, they didn’t give out the loan, and they had collected about N1 million from the sales of forms.

    “This thing happened throughout the federation. There was a meeting we had and I said at that meeting that Bank of Agriculture should be scrapped.

    “President Buhari should listen to us. All this policy they are making is not to our benefit.  Many of our members are ageing so what does the government want them to do?

    Bank of Agriculture reacts

    Reacting to the allegation, the spokesman of BOA, Akile Bologo, said the organisation does not take money from people to apply for loans.

    Bologo said: “We don’t collect money to give loans.  We don’t collect money for forms. What an applicant does is to open an account with us, put his money in the account, and if there is any charge we want to do, it goes to the account.

    “To say that money was collected by BOA, I don’t think that is part of what we do.”

    Asked why the farmers didn’t get the loan they claimed they applied for, he said it is not automatic for applications to be approved. “Even as an individual, if you come to me for a loan, I have conditions you must meet. I have to be sure you will pay back and there should be a purpose for which you want to take the loan, and it must be verifiable.

    “We have our conditions too. So, loans cannot be automatic. Even to an individual you cannot go and expect that you will get it.”

     Way out

    Proffering solution to the farmers’ predicament, Wale Oyekoya, said: “The government needs to wake up from their slumber as our nation’s fragile economy is in a shambles and needs immediate surgical repair before things start falling apart in the country because we are not ripe for this junta approach of cashless policy.

     This policy is anti-people, anti-progress, anti-good economy. The government deceived its citizens to deposit their old currency notes and the same government shut its door for the same citizens not to withdraw the same cash or new one as speculated. Economy does not grow on sentiments or political interference.”

     Also giving possible ways out for the farmers, Opeyemi Adeyanju advised the government to look into the policy very well because the country is not yet ripe for it.

    “Technologically, our system is not yet prepared for it. It is a good policy no doubt, but the system is not yet prepared for it. We still have a lot of work to do especially in the rural areas. “They need to enlighten the rural farmers because most of them don’t have bank accounts to even receive electronic transfers.

    “The rural areas believe they can’t operate the transfer by themselves and that they can be easily cheated or have their account hacked.  The USSD codes need to be well activated. If the rural farmers can’t use apps they should be able to use USSD code for transactions.”

    He added: “From time we have always agitated for support for farmers.  Some of the state governments have been doing it before but they need to look at the process that will make the little support they want to give to farmers to get to the right hands.

    “Some of these things have been there before but they don’t get to the right hands. They need to look at the process and make sure that what they have lost can be recouped.

    “They should give grants to farmers through their associations and not just through people who are just sitting in the office and reallocating the money to friends and families.

    “If you go to major markets in the big markets in Lagos, like Mushin, you will see plantains rotting away. I had some farmers crying to me and I was forced to take their plantains off them and provide them with cash.  They are really frustrated and government should find a way of supporting them.”

  • ‘We came face to face with death’

    ‘We came face to face with death’

    • Lagos BRT bus/train accident survivors share their near-death stories

    Following Thursday, March 9 train/bus accident in Lagos, in which six persons died and many sustained various degrees of injuries, some of the survivors have been sharing their stories. The victims, who also have divergent opinions on the driver, spoke to Gboyega Alaka on phone

    PRAYED for the bus not to break in two or go up in flames –survivor

    “What happened that day was beyond everybody’s comprehension. I was sitting two rows from the driver and a sienna bus ahead of us had just gone across the rail lines, even though the train was already in sight and coming at full speed. Instinctively, some of us sensed that our driver, we call him Oluomo, would want to follow suit; so in that split second, we all tried to stop him by calling out to him to stop. I even got up from my seat to further appeal to him to stop, but by that time, he had already stepped on the accelerator. Before I knew it, we were on the rail and at the mercy of the train. Even the speed at which he accelerated almost threw me off balance. By this time, the train was really close and we knew it would take a miracle for us to get pass unhurt.”

    These were the words of Kunle Ajibade (not real name), a staff of the Lagos State Government, who works at the Secretariat in Alausa and commutes to work from Isolo every work day, using the ill-fated bus. As a civil servant, he is not allowed to speak to the press, hence the pseudonym.

    Asked if the driver had always been that reckless, Ajibade said, no, but admitted that, like every other driver, he sometimes took some risks, which he got away with.

    “I’d say he’s a good driver, but you know how drivers always have this mentality that they could get away with any stunt on the wheels. That was the kind of scenario, except that this was a far more dangerous one.”

    How far was the train?

    “If I should talk about the distance in meters, it was not much. I’m not sure it was up to 100meters.  Anyway, that was the least of my problems at the time. Besides, my eyes were shut. All I can say is that it was an extremely risky situation. The truth is, once you’re opportune to sight a train approaching, the only option open to a driver is to stop. On that basis, he is guilty as charged. But for the years he has been driving us, I can’t remember him taking such risk.

    Moment of impact

    “Even before the train hit our bus, I had already closed my eyes. Don’t forget I had already lost balance while trying to reach the driver to stop. So at that point of impact, I had given up, honestly. As a result of the way the train was pushing our bus, it almost broke it into two; so, even though I wasn’t directly impacted, I sustained a broken arm. When it finally stopped and I opened my eyes, I found myself very close the driver.  I also heard him profusely telling me ‘sorry’. And the next, he jumped out through the driver’s door.

    “All the while the train was pushing our bus, I was quietly praying for the bus not to go up in flames and for the train to break the bus into two. Because if that happened, maybe I would be safe based on my location but many people would likely die. And if the bus was a petrol vehicle and not diesel, it could have gone up in flames, in which case chances of survival of any of us would be near zero. This is because doors of BRT buses are controlled by the drivers only. So those were the things that were crossing my mind.

    “I also thought of my family; my wife, my young child, but I placed everything in the hands of God. I thought: would this be the end of the journey for me? However, something kept telling me that so long as God lives and still has some things for me to accomplish, I would not die.”

    Rescue exercise

    “I’d say it was swift. Even at the hospital, the personnel responded well and quickly, even though we were many. You know it was an emergency, so all the doctors and nurses on ground left all that they were doing to attend to us. Priority of course, was given to those who could not hold themselves. I must also confess that we are yet to use our money to buy anything. Not even a bottle of drug or water. Government has taken full responsibility. My fracture is on my left hand; I am feeling better, just that they still need to operate on the hand. Hopefully, that would be done this week.”

    ‘The driver once tried something similar and got away with it’

    Paul Mobolaji (not real name) in his early thirties recalled how virtually all the passengers shouted at the top of their voice to the driver to stop to no avail.

    In his early thirties, the gentleman, who is still at LASUTH receiving treatment, would neither give his real name or ministry, where he works. His job does not avail him the liberty to talk to the press, he told The Nation.

    Recalling the horrific experience, Mobolaji said, “This is how it happened. I boarded the bus at Cele-Egbe. The bus was coming from Ikotun and the driver normally picked passengers from every bus stop where staff awaited him. He also picked up school pupils from Ejigbo. Most of them would come down at Isolo. Sometimes, he picked people at random, which was not supposed to be so. Anyway, by the time we got to the rail crossing at PWD, I remember seeing someone in front of the bus, holding, I think, a red flag and flagging him to stop – because the train was really very close and it was clearly not safe to venture.

    “At that point, most of us in the bus were also calling out to him to stop, that it was not safe to go. His name is Oluomo, and everybody was frantically pleading at the top of their voice for him to stop, but still, he went ahead.  Somehow, as he ventured, it seemed some magnetic force slowed down the bus until the train hit it with full force.

    “If you ask me, the fault is the driver’s. Clearly, it was something he could have avoided. I think what emboldened him was the fact that he had done something similar before. Yes, he once pulled that stunt successfully.  I’m sure he thought this would be another successful one. But this was clearly a far more dangerous risk. In fact, I don’t know what possessed him that day.

    “I was standing on this fateful day because the bus was full, about 80 passengers, when I boarded. Incidentally, the middle where I was standing was where the train rammed into the bus. So I would say I was really lucky to be alive. I was holding onto the railing for support and the moment the train hit the bus, my only option was to hold on tighter to the iron, as it pushed us all the way, otherwise I would have been thrown out of the bus. In the process, my elbow was smashed. It was that iron that saved me, literally. Meanwhile, my eyes were wide open and I saw all that happened within those minute of horror. That perhaps is why I sustained injuries on my face. I have a couple of stitches on my face as we speak.”

    Did he think the end had come?

    No. While the train was pushing us, all that was on my mind was for it to stop. I knew it would eventually stop. If my memory serves me right, I think the train pushed us for about 100 meters before finally coming to a halt.

    Recalling the horror, Mobolaji said, “When the train hit the bus, the impact was massive. Two people died instantly. Some sustained serious injuries. All the while, not many people were shouting, because the shock was too much for everyone. But when the bus finally stopped, they found their voices and started crying and lamenting. Those without serious injuries were now trying to rescue the injured.

    “Of the two who died instantly was one Alhaja, who works at STO (State Treasury Office) and an IT student. The others gave up at LASUTH. The corps member that died lived in the same area with me at Agodo in Cele-Egbe near Ikotun. We usually boarded the bus together. She was serving at the Ministry of Education and only had three months to finish her service. She was a very nice, easy-going person. The few times I knew here, she made an impression on me. She only started riding with us about three months ago.”

    Verdict on the driver

    “To be honest, the driver can be reckless. Sometimes, even to board the bus, we would have to be running after the bus, because he would not stop. Nobody was able to talk to him, and if you decide to speak up against his excesses, he may decide not to come and carry us for the next two days. Most of the Alausa secretariat drivers are like a cult; you can’t talk to them and they are always on each other’s side, no matter what. If you ask me, there is need for a control system. Sometimes, they even drink, although I don’t know if they take drug. Rescue operation?

    They were very swift. I can say that they did well at LASUTH. Everybody was on ground, and they attended to everybody well. All the cost has been borne by the government. Even water, we have not had to buy. As we speak, my hand is in POP. They told me it only needs casting. The deep cuts on my face and legs have been stitched, but I still go through pain.

    I thought death had come –Lasisi

    According to Oluwatoyin Lasisi, 25, a graduate of the National Open University, who works at Dynamic Recovery, a loans company in Alas a, Ikeja, “What hap pened that day was beyond our understanding. I believe the train magnet the bus; otherwise we should have been able to pull through.

    “We all tried to stop him, shouting Oluomo, Stop! Oluomo Stop! But I don’t know what came over him on that day. Before we knew it, he had moved onto the rail. Half of the bus was gone, remaining the other half. By this time the train was fearfully close and we knew there was no escape.

    “Once the train hit the bus, it just started pushing our bus and everybody was at its mercy. Everybody was shouting and calling onto God in the language they knew…  until we got to a point and it now stopped. I was seated in the front. That explains why I had little injury and was discharged three days after.

    “I was like ‘Iku dee! (Hey death has come). God please come and help us stop this train – because we didn’t know what could happen next. Interestingly, I was conscious all through the time it pushed our bus, but I was scared stiff. The bus was just vibrating. A couple of persons jumped off the bus in the process, and sustained broken legs and other injuries.

    “Two persons died instantly. I knew the Alhaja that died very well.  I ride with them because it helps me save money and because I knew a couple of people in the secretariat. I sustained bruises on my hands and legs, but I thank God it wasn’t more than that. I was also admitted but was discharge after two days. Even the fact that I’m not a Lagos State staff did not change anything, as Lagos State government took charge of all expenses.

    “All glory to God”, a visibly grateful Toyin exhaled.

    About the driver

    About the driver, Lasisi said, “Contrary to what people think, that’s the first time he’d be behaving like that I know off. I had been riding in his bus for the past three months and he has never behaved like that. If you ask me, he is not a bad driver. “