The Nation Newspaper

Tag: encounter

  • An encounter with Red Indians, Eskimos of Canada

    Unknown to many foreigners, Canada, a great and influential country, has about 50 ethnic minority groups, otherwise known as Red Indians. These indigenous or aboriginal people were the original inhabitants of the land before the arrival of Europeans. According to the 2016 Canadian census, more than 1.6 million people in Canada are Aborigines. They constitute 4.9 per cent of Canadian population. Southwest Bureau Chief BISI OLADELE, who has just returned from Canada, reports.

    There are no fewer than 630 first nation communities in Canada, which represent more than 50 nations and 50 indigenous languages.

    The peoples include Inuit, Metis and Oujé-Bougoumou Cree. Interestingly, the minority groups, who speak English or French, being the official languages of the country, enjoy greater privileges to develop their languages, arts, culture and values along with those of the Whites who are the most popular. Called First Nations, they have specialised institutions preserving their cultures with First Nations University as the ivory tower offering courses on their cultures, languages, arts, religion and values, among others.

    I took a 300-Level course entitled: Contemporary English Usage in my undergraduate days at the Obafemi Awolowo University. I vividly remember how my lecturer, then Dr Olowe, explained with glee, how many Americans (then Britons)  moved upwards to found the country known as Canada today because  they did not agree with the approach of rejecting anything that bore semblance with the British culture while fighting hard to gain independence from the Great Britain around 1774. Olowe did not dig deep into the fact that the Britons (who were Americans already) conquered the inhabitants of the land of Canada and lorded their language and culture on them as they took complete control because we were only looking at the reason behind the difference in the spelling, lexicons, slangs etc between American and British English. The idea was to equip us with the history of modern English so we could have a better understanding of the contemporary use of the language in which we were to be awarded honor’s degree.

    Three years later, I stumbled on George Guest’s book entitled: The History of Modern Civilisation.  Guest did a thorough job, explaining the emergence of the US, then regarded as the New World. It was in the book I read much more about the original inhabitants of the land of America and Canada. But Guest and Olowe only called them Red Indians.

    Since then, I was imagining how the inhabitants (or owners) of the land of world’s greatest nations look like. Do they look like the Asian Indians? Are they white, black or Caucasian? All these questions never received an answer until I travelled to Canada for the first time in July.

    My host, who is a family friend, teaches Philosophy at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was conducting me through the beautiful university campus on my first day of visit when he led me to a beautiful building that stood alone from others. Then he declared: “This place is First Nations University. It is like a part of U of R (University of Regina). Their students are also our students. Here, they study about the original inhabitants of the land of Canada. They …”

    I cut in: “You mean the the Red Indians are recognised here?” I asked, curiously. He answered in the affirmative. I was so elated as if I just won a lottery as I immediately concluded in my mind that I finally got the opportunity to meet the Red Indians at the long last.

    “Are they here?” I asked.

    “Yes. Students study their culture, language, arts, values etc here in this university.

    “Are they the lecturers here?” I asked again. “Yes.” He answered. Then my interest grew bigger.

    My friend further told me that most of their staff members are indigenous people. “It’s just their university.” He said, smiling as he recognized that he was satisfying my curiosity. My friend reveled in the fact that a Nigerian was giving a fellow citizen the much information about his new country to the level of great satisfaction. Before Canada, I had visited the US severally without ever sighting a Red Indian, the country in which their history is most popular.

    With this discovery, I stepped out of the building, caught a better glimpse of the building and soaked in its architectural beauty. Then, I walked in again and prepared myself for an adventure. As we paced forward, we saw a young lady who was the receptionist. We also saw a few people descending the stairs and walking out of the building. I asked my friend’s quietly if they were the people I was eager to meet and he answered in the affirmative. “Wao! So, this is how Red Indians look like.” I told myself, Savouring my new knowledge.

    In that ecstasy, I stepped forward to interact with the receptionist. She was warm and polite, as expected. I told her that I was a visitor from Africa, and that I was interested about the university and First Nations, as indigenous peoples were officially called in Canada. She took time to give me some printed materials about the subjects and also gave me descriptions of how I could move round the various public compartments of the building.

    Eventually, I succeeded in booking an appointment with the institution’s Vice President (Academic), Bob Kayseas, for an interview about First Nations. Every bit of the interview exposed me to the history of the country. The interview also gave much knowledge about First Nations, their history, religion, language and values.

  • A chance encounter with Obasanjo

    FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has been busy lately. He is full of energy, the type that makes a young man envious. Since he announced the formation of a Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), which has morphed into the African Democratic Congress (ADC), he has been travelling, pushing hard for  President Muhammadu Buhari’s defeat in next year’s election. He had earlier advised Buhari not to run.

    Obasanjo has been in Benue to mourn the victims of the bandits’ attacks and he was in Akure to woo Afenifere leaders. While on the recruitment shuttle, the former President was hit with the allegation that his administration spent $16b on power without any result.

    Of course, Obasanjo replied in a vitriolic manner.

    Just before he settled down to do some other things, the former President was reminded of how his administration allegedly removed governors from office in a reign of sheer impunity. He is yet to reply to this. Besides, videos of his appearance on the BBC programme, “Hard Talk”, have suddenly flooded the social media – all in a bid to puncture his anti-corruption credentials.

    What are Obasanjo’s thoughts on these and other matters? What is his next move likely to be? Does he really believe that he is on the right track? Will he change his mind about Buhari?

    Nobody has answers to these and many other questions being asked in town. Will an encounter with the former president provide answers to these questions? Let us conjure up such an encounter with reporters at the Lagos Airport.

    Obasanjo saunters into the hall on his way to the Presidential Lodge. Reporters rush to interview him. He looks at them and frowns. He continues to walk away.

    Reporter: Good afternoon,Your Excellency. May we have a minute with you on some national issues?

    Obasanjo stops. He waves  at the horde of reporters and walks away. One of the reporters repeats the question. The former President beckons to him, draws him close and knocks his head twice.

    “Oya, two questions. If you ask me more than two questions, you get two more knocks. Is that clear?”

    Reporter:” Sir, this allegation about your administration spending $16b on power without result and you boasting about that; are you really proud of what you did in that sector? Don’t you smell corruption here?

    Obasanjo (Raising his right hand and pointing a finger at the reporter): “I hope nobody sent you to embarrass me or get me angry unnecessarily. What do you know about corruption? (Hmm…hmmm… hmmm. He clears his throat). You see, Mr Reporter or whatever they call you or you call yourself, for there to be corruption, there are certain conditions that must be present. There must be the bribe, the giver and the taker. Tell me, all the probes that had been conducted on this matter, have I, Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo, been indicted?

    “I have nothing to say; go and read my book. I have answers for you and people like you who, with due respect, talk nonsense about what they know nothing about.

    “If they say there is no power, let them go to the ports where the equipment were left to rot away. If they are not pleased, let them go to the various sites of the projects. If they still can’t find the power they are looking for, dat na dem toro. For me o, anytime they are ready to probe the matter, I dey kampe; I’m ready.”

    “Sir, you were in Akure the other day to plead with Afenifere leaders to join you in the rescue mission you claim to be leading. Now, people are saying, how do you want the leaders to trust you after deceiving them in 2003 when the PDP swept the Southwest and rolled back its progressive credentials?”

    Obasanjo (raising his right hand and frowning. He adjusts his glasses.) With due respect; I’m sure you were sent. How can anybody say I deceived them and that my coalition is on a mission to deceive?  Absolute nonsense. As for PDP, I resigned from their party a long time ago to become a statesman and … .

    “Yes, Your Excellency. That is the point. People say what you’re doing now is beyond statesmanship and that it is pure politics. They say you’re attempting to tell Nigerians who to choose. In fact, some say it is an attempt to cover your failure as a president.”

    “Really? I dey laugh. They say I failed? Well, let them say whatever they like. I remain a statesman. Will I say because I’m a statesman I should allow Nigeria to drift? No way. Anybody who says I should keep quiet is trying to insult me and I won’t take that. I won’t. Go and tell them at the Villa or wherever they say they are. Anybody who says I should keep quiet about Nigeria, I am ready to go konko bilo with the person.”

    “Sir, Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) is quoted as saying that if you’re put on trial for alleged corruption, heaven will not fall. In fact, he said your administration has been one of the most corrupt in Nigeria’s history, that you act like a saint when you are ‘the most stained’”.

    “Sagay? Who is that? He said that? When? You see, that is absolute nonsense. I fought corruption. I set up the EFCC and put that boy, emm…emm Nuhu, Nuhu Ribadu in charge. I set up also the ICPC. How then can you say I’m corrupt? I’m the only leader who has been examined by the anti-corruption agencies and found to be clean. Yes.”

    “Your Excellency, people allude to the Halliburton scandal over which some people have gone to jail in the United States. They say it happened under your watch and it was a monumental case of corruption.”

    “Halliburton? Yes. Did they mention my name? If it happened under my administration nko? Did anybody find any bribe in my sokoto pocket? Am I responsible for the corruption of every Nigerian? If they say Nigerian officials collected Halliburton bribe, tell me, is that Obasanjo? Please, don’t annoy me. With due respect, can you see a former European leader and ask him such questions? Halliburton my foot! Besides, that is an allegation. I don’t dwell on allegations, but solid, concrete evidence. If anybody has such evidence, a proof of my involvement, let him bring it up. I’m ready to face him in any court.”

    “Is it true that you said those supporting the Buhari administration are morons?”

    “Are you a moron? If you are not a moron, why bother about that? Why do you want to know what I said and what I did not say? Don’t I have a right to say what I like?”

    “Sir, what people are saying is that that is hate speech, which is unexpected of a statesman like you.”

    “Hate speech. What do you know about hate speech?  How old are you? Once I have spoken, I just move on. Chikena!. If anybody is offended, that is not my problem. In any case, what is your problem; are you a moron?”

    More questions, but Obasanjo walks away. No smiles and no byes as the reporters turn back.

     

    Love conquers all

    HOW do you assure and reassure a woman that you are head over heels for her? Do you just sing some romantic songs or compose some moving poems? Do you take her on a walk, holding her by the hand and telling her beautiful stories, laughing and blowing kisses? Or sit there in a restaurant, dimmed lights, slow songs wafting softly through invisible speakers and half-filled wine glasses? Hugs and kisses?
    That was then. Love has since found its love in more seductive phenomena. Call it cash or materialism or whatever suits your fancy.

    Davido
    Davido

    When songster Davido decided to give his girl Chioma “assurance”, he rolled out a N45m Porsche for her to drive round town. Then some busybodies said it was a used car that cost far less than the announced price. The musician reached for the receipt and flaunted it in the social media. Were they pleased? No. They said the crooner may have been scammed.

    Davido has held his peace. Why not? After all, Chioma has got the “assurance ” she wanted and the singer has got the love he badly desired. All is well that ends well, according to the Bard, who himself was love-struck at one point or the other.

    Another public figure, also love-struck, has given his woman “assurance”. On her birthday, he landed her a brand new G-Wagon that cost a fortune. The lucky woman and her excited friends were happy. They danced and danced.

    The limo was said to have cost N100m. The social media was on fire: Why should he do that in a country where many go to bed hungry and angry, their tummies rumbling and their hearts grumbling? Why that when many are out of school for lack of school fees?
    It is to his credit that House Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila has taken it all on the chin. He has remained tight-lipped in the face of the unwarranted assault on his freedom of choice. Who is he who has never been in love? Let him cast the first stone.

    Love conquers all! Ask Samson, the biblical superman. Ask Clinton. Ask the former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Khan. Ask former World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz. Ask former United States President Bill Clinton. Ask President Donald Trump.

  • Encounter with a Nigerian immigrant

    HE looks well fed, hale and hearty. Dressed in a pair of blue jeans trousers, a yellow T-shirt and a fine leather jacket, he is quite different from many of those hanging out at a public park nearby and smoking like a chimney- apparently in a desperate attempt to ward off the cold tearing at their dark faces.

    He has some shopping bags in both hands. Beside him is a young white woman. We enter a shop and there he is right behind us. “Hallo, hallo! Where are you guys from?” he asks and drops his bags. “We are Nigerians. Is anything the matter?” “No. I’m Yoruba and I heard you speak the language and I was excited. My name is Ola. This is my wife (a friendly smile lights up her face as she stretches out her hands). “Buongiorno (good morning),” she says in Italian.

    “I suspect that you are new in this city. Whatever I can help you with, let me know. I’m off work today,” Ola says with the confidence of an indigene of this historic city. And so we hit it off right away. We struck a friendship not because he showed me the city; nor because he offered me “banku”, the local staple; nor because he got me onto the tramp without hassles and took me to a shop for some good bargain.

    Ola is an immigrant full of real life stories that sound like fiction. He symbolises the can-do spirit of the Nigerian youth, who is full of anger over the conspiracy of the elite that has constrained his talents and boundless energy.

    I have read many stories on the horrors of illegal migration. Death in the Sahara Desert and at sea after several hours of travelling on turbulent waters that seem to be furious at those who won’t let it be at peace. Detention camps, rejection and frustration. For the illegal immigrant, the lot is a full package of horrendous experiences.

    I got a first-hand account of it all from my new friend, Ola whom I met last week in Messina, the alluring Italian town in Sicily, which is famous for its link to the mob. “How did you get here?” I ask him. “Ah, baba, it is a long story, but we thank God.”

    He looks at me, smiles and begins to reel off a long tape of incredible tales. A barber, he used to live in Ibadan with his mother. A customer of his, who found him likeable, promised to help him get to Europe. Ola was excited. His dreams – a great time in the West, good food, 24 hours electricity, security, jobs, health care and more – will, at last become real. He plunged into it with his life savings. After a short prayer from his mother, our man was set for the dreamland.

    “I noticed that she was crying, but her tears were just dropping inside her; her face was dry. She was saying, I learnt people die on this kind of journey, but you won’t die. You and I will see again -alive – and laugh, so long as I have not done  evil to any man.”

    Ola landed in Libya on the first leg of his journey to Europe and discovered a hellish and brutish life. There is little law and order. Guns are dirt cheap. And so is life. Even kids carry sophisticated rifles just like toys. “I was on my way home one evening when I saw some boys a few metres away. I was carrying a poly bag of rice, my dinner which I planned to share with an army of boys in the rundown apartment that had been my home since I got there. I wanted to turn back, but that would have encouraged them to shoot at me. They were all armed,” says Ola, his voice quaking.

    He detoured to a nearby food shop and got out a few minutes later to shake off his would-be assailants. “I walked fast; I dared not run. Anybody can shoot, believing that one is a criminal. As I tried to turn a bend, a shot rang out. Another. Yet another and another. I kept walking fast, even as I was scared stiff. In fact, I thought I had been hit,” Ola recalls.

    At the dungeon of a home he shared with others who are also seeking the El Dorado, he announced soberly that he had been shot, but no wound was found. On the bag of food, just four big bullet holes gaped at them. The bullets tore through bag but spared Ola’s body. A miracle.

    “I saw many strange things. People were being sold as slaves. Women were raped with impunity. It was one huge jungle of wild animals tearing at one another,” Ola recalls.

    When he had saved enough money to embark on the journey to Europe, he joined others on a boat meant for short trips with about 50 people. They were over 150 onboard. “A good friend of mine, an Ijaw man, was in charge. It was not really a boat; just a raft. We all prayed before setting out very early in the morning. In fact, we agreed to fast. All was well for a few hours. It was very cold. The boat nearly capsized several times. People would scream and shout prayers to God. Then we realised that we were adrift. The journey had become perilous. We’d lost our way,” Ola says, his voice shaking and his face betraying some emotion.

    “Baba, it was a day of tears. We lost hope. And my friend (I had paid his way several times), the Ijaw man, suddenly started misbehaving, I think the myth that evil spirits inhabit the seas is real. He had been seized by a strange spirit of the water. He would not listen to anybody, including me. He threatened to kill us all and swim ashore. People started crying. Many broke their fast. We had many packets of biscuits in the boat.

    I said my prayers, my last, I had thought. And I broke my fast. I thought it would not be nice to meet God with an empty stomach.”

    But, help seemed to be on the way. A ship showed up some kilometres away, but the immigrants’ boat captain kept drifting away onto the high seas. Says Ola: “Unknown to us, he was targeting a red light that glimmered in the far distance. We later discovered that we would just have disappeared at that place, which all experienced sailors avoid. The light was a sign of danger.”

    A few hours later, an Italian Navy ship showed up to rescue the troubled boat and its cargo of dejected people. They were taken to a camp for profiling. Our man explained why he was escaping from home. He was lucky. His story hit a sympathetic chord. He got papers to stay.

    “But, baba, many are unlucky. They are still being put under watch. Some died on the way.  Others are doing dehumanising jobs to survive. Many want to return home, but they can’t raise the fare. Besides, they are afraid and ashamed; what will they say upon their return to Nigeria?”

    Ola goes on: “I’ve seen girls who were tricked to come here. They were told of a life of bliss; some paradise on earth. Now they are being forced into prostitution to buy their freedom at a price they can never pay.”

    The Oba of Benin cursed the kingpins of human trafficking. “Yes, it’s working,” Ola notes, adding: “I’m told that some of them have repented. They want to look for another trade. But the big issue is that our leaders should find out why youths want to escape from Nigeria. They need to convince them that there is hope.”

    In Napoli (non-Italians call it Naples) stands a monument built in memory of thousands who perished at sea after embarking on the “one chance” journey to Europe. It is a moving testimony to the disillusionment that has gripped our continent.

    Again, the leadership question. We need to rebuild our economy and get our politics right. Nigeria remains the hope of the Black man. It should lead the way – to prosperity and growth. Should this country lose it ,we have had it, as they say.

     

    Chaos in the Senate

    Security chiefs got yesterday a 24-hour deadline to retrieve the mace from hoodlums who stormed the Senate to seize its symbol of authority. The Senate described the action as treason.
    The invasion is unacceptable, but senators brought it upon themselves. There have been so many attempts to ridicule the institution by those who swore to uphold the fundamental reasons for its creation – making laws for the well-being of the society and acting as a check on the Executive, among others.
    The Senate has constituted itself into a stumbling block to almost everything good that has come from the Executive. It has been carrying on as if all senators belonged in the opposition party. Some members have been everything but good representatives of their people, behaving like kindergartners crying for ice cream. Any voice of dissent is muzzled in a chamber that should be the beacon of free speech. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (Warri no dey take last) was suspended for exercising his right to free speech.
    When will our pampered and overpaid senators grow up?
    The Senate needs a sincere and bold self-assessment.

  • Encounter with fresh oil through praise!

    We understand from scriptures that fresh oil (the anointing of the Holy Ghost) is the master key to a world of exploits. Also, as long as the oil remains fresh, continuous and unstoppable breakthroughs are guaranteed. Interestingly, among the mysteries in praise is an encounter with fresh oil. This is why only praiseful believers enjoy fresh oil.

    Obviously, God the Anointer is also the custodian of the anointing. For instance, we saw how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him (Acts 10:38). However, the journey to having fresh oil begins with seeking access to God’s presence and there is no other way to access His presence except through praise. As it is written: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing (Psalm 100:1-2; 92:10, 14).

    This implies that we can’t access His presence by bombarding His gates with complaints and murmurings. If we must enjoy fresh oil, we must understand the protocols of how to get across to His presence. In order words, we must follow the divine protocol of giving thanks, praise and worship which ushers us into His presence where we are anointed with fresh oil. This is what makes praise a covenant platform for encounter with fresh oil.

    Why do we need fresh oil?

    • To silence the enemy and the avenger: We live in a wicked world and as such it takes the anointing to stop the wicked from harassing our lives (Psalm 74:20; 1 John 5:19; Psalm 92:10).
    • To have dominion above sickness and diseases: We understand that most of the sicknesses and diseases are direct oppressions of the devil, hence; we need fresh oil to live above all manner of sicknesses and diseases (Matthew 10:1; Acts 10:38).
    • To be exempted from all the evils of the day: Fresh oil is a mark of exemption against the evil of the day. Also, Fresh oil makes you indestructible and unmolestable (Ezekiel 9:5-6; Ephesians 1:13).
    • Access to deep revelations: Every provision in scriptures is only accessible by revelation. It is by revelation we possess our possessions in Christ. If we don’t have the spiritual understanding of the scripture, we may never live to experience the benefits therein. However, through the anointing, we see what others can’t see in scriptures, thereby putting an end to every struggle of our lives.
    • Access to divine wisdom: We understand that divine wisdom is only accessible by inspiration. As it is written: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). This implies that God’s word is God’s wisdom in print and it takes inspiration to experience it, but praise is the facilitator of inspiration.
    • Among the content of this fresh oil is supernatural joy: Fresh oil is the custodian of supernatural joy and unstoppable gladness. On the other hand, just like there is the spirit of joy, there is also the spirit of heaviness, which is one of the devil’s acts of spiritual wickedness to put the spirit of heaviness upon a man, so as to disqualify him access to God’s presence, where his solution lies. This is because until the oil comes, the yoke cannot be destroyed. Therefore, by that oil, I decree an end to every air of depression around anyone’s life, in Jesus name! (Isaiah 61:3; Acts 2:13; 1 Peter 1:8).

    However, you don’t have access to fresh oil if y)ou are not born again. Are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”  For further reading, please get my books: *Understanding the Power of Praise and Wonders of Praise. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

     

  • Encounter with destiny via prophetic ministry!

    The destiny of every generation anchors on the ministry of the teaching priests (Prophets) who unfold God’s laws to the people. As it is written: And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved (Hosea 12:13). From the above scripture, we understand that God sends us teaching priests, who receive from God and show us what it takes for our destinies to be preserved.  However, many of us know the true God, but very few bother about the teaching priests. In Isaiah 12:10, God said: I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.

    This means visions are unleashed through the ministry of God ordained prophets. They are vision provokers who help us to see what our natural eyes and minds cannot see or comprehend. Also, Prophets are God’s spokesmen through whom God speaks, to unfold what He wants to do, and when we believe what they say, we simply commit God to perform it in our lives.

    Essentially, engaging Prophetic ministry is not strange to us as it has been like that since the time of old. For instance, the Bible records that through the ministry of Moses, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and Honey. Furthermore, Elijah brought supernatural prosperity through divine supplies to the widow of Zarephath. As a result, while others were famished, she flourished in the midst of famine. Another prophet named Elisha changed the financial status of the widow of a prophet, whose creditors came to take away her two sons. Furthermore, God sent Elisha to Naaman, the leper, and he was cleansed of his leprosy (Exodus 12: 31-51; 1 Kings 17:8-16; 2 Kings 4:1-10, 5:1-15).

    From the examples above, there is no doubt that prophets are agents of change through whom God opens new chapters in the lives of His people. This implies that God is committed to what He says and therefore, everything He has spoken prophetically to us this year is already a done deal. All we need to do is to take delivery of them by faith to commit Him to perform.  It is therefore of utmost importance to understand the requirements for connecting with prophetic blessings so as to benefit maximally from their ministry.

    Requirements for Connecting With Prophetic Blessings

    • Receive their person: The prophet we don’t receive can never be a channel of blessings to us (Matthew 10:41). This means that until we receive the person of a prophet, we cannot be beneficiaries of what he carries.
    • Believe them: In actual fact, there are a lot of fake prophets playing games with the destinies of people in the world today. However, the Bible admonishes us that when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and it comes to pass, we should believe him (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). We must, therefore, believe wholeheartedly in the ministry of prophets, before the blessings can flow into our lives. This is because it is with our hearts that we believe and connect to their blessings (Romans 10:10).

    Importantly, when we mock a prophet, we become a mockery. For instance, in an account of scriptures, Elisha the prophet declared: To morrow about this time [shall] a measure of fine flour [be sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria (2 Kings 7:1). At this point, a lord on whose hand the king leaned, an intellectual, said, even if God opened the windows of heaven, it is not possible. Elisha turned to him and said, “…… Behold, thou shalt see [it] with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof” and it was so.  The Bible records that he saw the miracle happened, but was trampled to death. Also, many years ago, while I was ministering in one of our Churches in Kaduna, a woman, who was a lawyer passed by and hissed at the ministration.  Instantly, God plagued her with a stone in her tummy that made it impossible for her and her husband to have marital affairs. Thereafter, she sought for solution and was told by a prophet that: “You spited a man of God sometimes ago and until the man is willing to lay hands on your tummy and forgive you, this plague will remain.” That was when she remembered what she did and came to the office crying for mercy with her confessional statement; and that day, God removed the stone. The woman despised the prophet in 1987 and carried the plague till 1989. That is why the Bible says: Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm (Psalm 105:15).

    • Honour them: Jesus repeatedly said: …a prophet is without honour except in his

    own country and among his own people (Mark 6:4; see also Ephesians 4:11-13;Luke 4:24-27). This helps us understand that prophets are entitled to honour before what they carry is permitted to flow. This implies that we must receive, believe and honour the prophets God has assigned over our lives, for their virtues to rob off on us.

    • Follow them: From scriptures, we saw how Elisha followed Elijah until the mantle of Elijah dropped for him (2 Kings 2:1-15). I equally followed prophet, Kenneth Copeland, among others, for 30 years before I had the opportunity of sitting one-on-one with him. As a result, I possess his Mantle visibly and practically. That is why the virtues and exploits in the Ministry are undeniable.
    • Obey them: Prophets are divine instructors, because they are the mouthpieces of God. For instance, Naaman was not healed from leprosy, until he obeyed Elisha’s instruction to go and dip himself seven times in River Jordan (2 Kings 5:10-14). Since prophets speak by the Spirit of God, we must obey their instructions. However, we must understand that it is not enough to obey them; but the obedience must be prompt. As recorded in scriptures, if Naaman had delayed his journey to Jordan, he wouldn’t have been healed. Therefore, prompt obedience is key to partaking of our covenant blessings through God’s prophet.

    In conclusion, by redemption, we belong to the top, but only covenant blessings, through the ministry of prophets, can get us there. Nevertheless, prophetic blessings are only reserved for the redeemed. Are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood.. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”  For further reading, please get my books: Understanding Vision, Understanding Divine Direction and In Pursuit of Vision. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

  • Encounter with a fellow Nigerian

    Few days back, I was engaged in a discussion with a fellow Nigerian, someone a bit older, around Surulere area of Lagos. The discussion centred around the goings-on in the country. At some point, the issue of Democracy Day which has become an annual ritual, following the return to civil rule in 1999, with Nigeria having endured torrid era on the back of the infamous annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, came to the fore.

    I would never have thought that the issue of which day between June 12 and May 29 should be regarded as Nigeria’s Democracy day could still stir up such raw anger in Nigerians. As soon as I struck that cord by just mentioning that this last Monday, May 29, had been declared as public holiday to mark this year’s Democracy Day, tempers flew.

    You could vividly notice the anger in the arena particularly in one man’s face as he looked casually at me and exclaimed: “Hmmm, Nigeria is a funny country. We like deceiving ourselves.”

    I quickly cut in and asked him: “Sir, I cannot understand your concern over this issue?” The man cleared his throat, and with subdued anger, he said: “You see, to be frank with you, Nigeria’s Democracy day is June 12 and not any other date all these political adventurers want to enforce on us.”

    He went further: “Obasanjo is the architect of this whole grandiose confusion. He was a direct beneficiary of the pains, the labour and the anguish of a fellow Egba man, the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale, (MKO) Abiola. As we all know, Abiola won the June 12, 1993 presidential election but the powers that be at that time, prevented him from reaping the fruit of his labour by annulling, in the most brazen and callous manner, that election. That threw the country into total political darkness for which we are still to extricate ourselves till date.”

    I listened attentively to the man without making any attempt to interrupt him whatsoever, until he got to a stage where he took a deep breath, fixed his eyes permanently on me for a while and then shook his head as if in regret. It was then I summoned courage to say one or two things. I told him point-blank that many Nigerians including yours sincerely, share in the agony of that unjustifiable annulment which plunged the country into a serious political crises and further divided the country.

    At this point, the man cleared his throat once more and exploded: “You see, I am sure you will agree with me that (Olusegun) Obasanjo was foisted on Nigerians as president in 1999 in order to placate the South-west. Not only that. He was considered a good replacement for a fellow Egba man who had been cheated. What then would you have expected from a person like that? The least anyone could have expected was for him to give honour to whom honour was due. That he never did. Instead, he went into a long roller-coaster and never, for once, acknowledged the great contributions of the prodigious MKO to national political development.”

    “To add insult upon injury, the ungrateful Obasanjo or OBJ as he is fondly called, turned his own swearing-in date of May 29, as Nigeria’s Democracy Day. From then on, attempts were made to erase June 12, 1993 from Nigeria’s political calendar, Mind you, the date, June 12 means much more to the average Nigerian than May 29 which was just the beginning of another political jamboree in the country. So, if I may ask you, who actually is fooling who?”

    Honestly, the man’s admonition over the issue of which date deserves to be declared as Democracy Day in Nigeria brought back a feeling of nostalgia over the way and manner the late MKO was shuffled into Nigeria’s ever lengthening political casualty list. At the time of that election, I was a staff of Tell Magazine, Nigeria’s foremost magazine at that time that was involved in the struggle for the emancipation of the country from the iron rule of the jackboots. So that annulment was another stab in the back of those of us who believe in democracy as a system of government that can guarantee equal opportunities for Nigerians to compete in the market place of ideas.

    In MKO, was a man loved by many across the spectrum of the country. He touched lives. He demonstrated humility and uncanny love for humanity. Though, as a human being, he may have had his own frailties because, as they say, no one is perfect, but it was obviously clear that his perfections and good deeds overwhelmed whatever imperfection anybody could attribute to him. That was why from the south, east, west and north, people trooped out in their large numbers to cast their votes for him only for his trusted friends to betray him at the end of the day.

    The story of MKO and the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election result will forever remain a sore thumb in the political evolution of the country. It is quite clear that there are some anti-democratic forces masquerading as pseudo-democrats who, rather than see democracy practiced and nurtured to an acceptable political culture in Nigeria, will continue to cut corners and attempt to propagate their own concept of democracy which is centred on “chop-I-chop”. It is these adherents of chop-I-chop democracy and their faceless collaborators all over the place that are the real enemies of the people. They will never allow any democratic structure to take proper roots in Nigeria as long as they continue to milk our common patrimony without any consideration of how to replenish and re-energize it.

    The nature of the political terrain in which we operate is infinitely more complex, requiring more transparency than it was when we embarked on a fresh path of nation building on May 29, 1999. The challenges facing us in the pursuit of that same task today are daunting. Obviously, there is a new global dynamics of increasingly interdependent nation-states. This means that specific questions of governance and society, the criteria of determining the source and focus of political power, its limitations and ends, require the highest level of intellectual acuity to analyse.

    Paul Kennedy, a famous analyst once described Nigeria as a member of the Third World’s ‘third world’. We should, therefore, bear it in mind that this would seem to render the task of the country’s political thinkers even more challenging at this point of our evolution as a nation.

    Regrettably, what we experience on a daily basis in the country today is the call for restructuring that is taking a defaming turn all over the place. There are dissidents everywhere with each one calling for a good bargain under the country’s sovereignty. Many have turned it into their major pre-occupation sowing seeds of discord everywhere at every available opportunity. Yet, our leaders are standing akimbo as if waiting for divine miracle to come and right the wrongs in the society. It is high-time that the political merchants or political entrepreneurs in our midst gave way to genuine discussions over how to build a virile and united nation where every nationality will find identity.

    My fellow countryman’s vituperation were clearly not off target. They were straight to the point. In fact, he said quite a lot of other unprintable things which I cannot feature here but one could see the concern and patriotism in him. He is one of the many Nigerians out there who are rightly very concerned about the way the country is being run or the way we are going. It is quite obvious that unless we carry out a quick, prompt and timely surgical operation on this entity called Nigeria, rather than deluding ourselves, we might be headed for Golgotha or a catastrophe of very high magnitude.

    By the way, why do we continue to have impositions in our democratic culture in Nigeria?

  • ‘My encounter with the late Idi Amin’

    ‘My encounter with the late Idi Amin’

    Asiwaju Babatunde Olusola Benson (SAN), was the Vice-Chairman of Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association and the founding President of the African Bar Association (ABA). He was also the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) between 1978 to 1980. In this interview with Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, the 84-year-old elder statesman went down memory lane to explain why he chose to retire from legal practice fifteen years ago.
    He also spoke on his encounter with the late Ugandan President Idi Amin while in that country on a fact finding mission over the disappearance of the Chief Justice of Uganda. The octogenarian also spoke on life in retirement and many other issues. Excerpts:

    In your prime, you were an active legal practitioner who rose to the very top of the profession and served as President of both the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Africa Bar Association (ABA) . What is it like being an octogenarian and a retiree?

    Well, while I would say I really enjoyed my active years as a legal practitioner. I must tell you life as a retiree is also active in its own ways. As a human being, if you have missions and visions set out for yourself in life, you will divide such into the various sections of your life. That is what I have done. After fifty years as a legal practitioner, and having practised all over the world, I retired at the age of 70. Many people back then asked me why I was quitting law practice so early and I reminded them of what the bible said about we having only three scores and ten as our years to live and that the years after are very uncertain and unpredictable in terms of what can befall us.

    I made up my mind early as to what I want to do after seventy years on earth. And I must say I am enjoying every bit of my life as an octogenarian. I asked God to allow me live up to 90 and I can tell you he has answered my prayers. Now I’m over 80 already, so I believe I will live to be 90. My father lived to be 98. One day, I asked him if it is good to pray for long life and he said, ‘Son, life after 70 is uncertain.’ To buttress his point, he reminded me that one of his sons died while he, my father, was already over 80. So, life as an aged person is a mixed bag.

    There are many good sides to it. Now, I have about nineteen grandchildren. These are very fantastic grandchildren anyone would be proud of. I feel great to have lived long enough to see these children doing great. It is a great privilege. My mother died while I was just a little boy. She never saw me doing great as a man not to talk of seeing my children. So, I see the opportunity to see my children as the greatest blessing of a long life. It is a great feeling. One day, I was here when one of them called me and asked if I was home. I said yes. A few minutes later, he was here with a car worth about N5.6million. I felt glad seeing that and I thanked God for the opportunity.

    But of course there are also some other sides to it. Since about two weeks now, a lot of people close to me, and many of them younger than me, have been dying. That is a very sobering side to old age. Few days back, the wife of the first Governor of Lagos State, Brig-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson died and I had to go and greet him. Both Johnson and his wife are very close friends and they are both younger than me in age. But she died and I felt really bad. I have had to bear the death of many loved ones both relatives and friends. It is a very unsavory side of old age but that is what we had to live with.

    Also, I feel good when people come here and consult me on many issues. They come here and tell me that they have nowhere or nobody else to go and consult on those matters. Even when I ask them to allow me rest, they tell me I am the one they can come and see. At such times, I also thank God for blessing me with old age. I arbitrate on many matters right here in my house and help find solutions to many problems. But as for going back to court, never again; but sometimes I make appearances in Court not as a lawyer, like I did during the recent Kingship tussle in Ikorodu.

    I was in the court seated and one of the lawyers told the Judge that a legal icon is in the courtroom. The judge asked who and he was told it was me. She immediately recognized me and poured accolades on me as a father in the legal profession. I felt elated and proud. At the end of the presentations by both parties, the Judge told the open court that she is of the opinion that since they have someone like me in Ikorodu, both parties should meet me for us to find ways of resolving the matter out of court. She said she is very confident that I am in a position to help resolve the matter. I really felt honoured and recognized that day.

    What was it like back then doing the same thing every day for fifty years?

    It was very interesting. Practising law is a very interesting experience for those who are committed to the profession. That was how it was for me. I love the legal profession, so doing it for fifty years was just as much fun as it was when I started. I practised all over the country; all over Africa and even in Europe and many other parts of the world as an arbitrator. I enjoyed every bit of it and I still laugh to myself today whenever I remember some very creative things I did back then as a lawyer. No serious legal practitioner can ever get tired of practising law.

    I recently read one of my books titled “B. O. Benson Jottings”, and I came across some cases I handled, I laughed at the creativity I employed in some cases. I read some lectures I gave to law students in the past and I asked myself if it was me saying those things. There was the case we had against one man who was a tailor in Isale Igangan. The man had called my clients unprintable names and I was determined to bring him to book. Someone told me the man had been jailed before but there were no evidence to prove it. Determined to let the court know he was an ex-convict, I deplored a way of saying it without calling him an ex-convict to avoid slander.

    I asked him if he knew the building painted white opposite the General Hospital on Broad Street. Mind you, that used to be a prison in those days he screamed and refused to answer the question. His lawyer too objected to the question. But the Judge, a white lady, saw nothing wrong in the question and told him to answer it. He said yes, I asked him if he had been inside it. Again, he shouted, but the Judge told him to answer. He said yes. I told the Judge I had rested the matter. That way, I was able to tell the court that he is an ex-convict without saying it directly since I had no evidence. When I look back at all these today, I smile.

    Why did you choose law as against any other profession as a young man?

    I was influenced to practise law by some of the finest lawyers we’ve had in this country. I will tell you about some of them. My Uncle and benefactor, Chief T.O.S Benson, was one of them. He was a very flamboyant lawyer. He later became a very prominent politician but growing up and seeing him practise law influenced my choice of profession. Incidentally, he was the one that sponsored my education. But it was my choice to become a lawyer. I loved his flamboyance and I wanted to be like him. There was also Chief F.R.A Williams aka ‘Timi the Law’, was another great influence on me. I was very close to him and I loved him as a lawyer. Though I was not moved to stay on as a practising lawyer till old age the way he did, I still respected him as a great influence on my career.

    There was S. O Lambo. We called him S.O.L back then. He was a Judge. I was close to him too. A fair complexioned man, he was very social too. He drove one of the best cars in Lagos back then. I was influenced by people like this to become a lawyer and to practise law. For me, there was never the thought of doing something else. It was law, law and law right from the time I could decide what I wanted to do. All these people influenced me in different ways. I learnt different things from each one of them and the things I learnt from them helped my career greatly.

     

    And what was it like as a young struggling lawyer back then?

    I was fortunate that I had an Uncle like T.O.S Benson who was already a successful lawyer by the time I was called to the Bar. He was the one who educated me. Again, on being called to Bar, he simply sent words to me to come back home. And by the time I got back, a car, a bungalow and a job in a big chamber with plenty of cases to handle, was waiting for me. I didn’t have to struggle for cases at all. It was around the time he was getting fully into politics, so I handled the chamber for him. So I was opportune. I had a good start and I built on it.

    But it took my determination and relentless effort to make the best use of the opportunity. I had a friend who had the same opportunity I had but made the worst of it. His Uncle, like mine, handed him a big chamber. But he grounded the place instead of building on his Uncle’s successes. But in my own case, I was determined to improve on how the chamber was left in my care. I worked hard and saved hard. Later, I had my own chamber and deplored the same seriousness into building it into a household name.

    Within three years of working in my Uncle’s chamber, I built my own house. I also did a lot of other things. Soon, family jealousy crept in and I had to resign from T.O.S Benson’s chamber. I used my house on Ogunlana Drive as my chamber and a friend who was then the Chief Judge of Lagos State sent me a typewriter and some books to start with. That was how I started out on my own. I could recall then that I made a rule that whoever steps into my chamber must pay N25,000 irrespective of what he was there for. It worked; my first client was one Alhaji Olowo referred to me by a friend. He came and we charged him N25,000 and he paid. I was elated. It was around the time I was preparing for my daughter’s wedding. That was how I set out on my own. So, I pegged my fee at N25,000.

    Giving that retirement is not a common thing amongst lawyers, what informed your decision to retire when you did?

    Psalm 90 says “Three score and ten years are your years, anything after that is full of ups and downs”, I simply followed God’s advice on how to live and live well. I prepared well for my retirement. I knew I was going to retire from legal practice unlike many of my colleagues. I wasn’t ready to practise law till death or infirmity force me to stop like many chose to do. One day, I saw Pa F.R.A Williams sitting on the step in a court and I asked him if I could help him with the matter he had on the third floor of the building as the lifts were not working, he said no and I left but I wasn’t happy. He was by then a very old man. But he was still willing to keep practising. He was definitely enjoying it but I felt I wasn’t going to go on and on like that.

    I prepared well for retirement. I built this house in 1974 here in Ikorodu. When I hosted a group of legal practitioners, including Pa Williams and Prince Bola Ajibola amongst others here some years ago, one of them said he wished to be like me. Another said he could then understand why I was always in a hurry to get home from meetings. According to him, anybody with a compound like mine will always want to be home. I built it to my taste in preparation for the time I would have to stay home more.

    Another reason was that I wanted to have time to serve my God and my community before I die. Law practice didn’t allow me to serve God. Though I was going to church, whenever there was need for me to be somewhere, I simply do. So, I wanted to spend more time serving God with more commitment without hindrance from my profession. I also felt I should give back to my community from my time and resources. In Lagos, I lived on just a plot of land in Surulere, I couldn’t serve my people well. But here, we have all the space and time. This is about an acre of land.

    When I moved in here, there was no light in the communities around here. But after a year of staying here, I got my own transformer. Later, people from a nearby village we call Abuja came and requested I should help them get light into their homes. I was glad to help. I went about it and soon with the help of Lt. General Oladipo Diya, I got them a transformer. Diya had been here in my house before then. He just sat down somewhere there and enjoyed himself without attracting much attention. When I called him later, I told him ‘do you know that we don’t have light in that place you visited me’, he said what! Immediately, he ordered that a transformer be brought down the next day. The villagers got it and they were happy. I was happy too that I was able to serve my people.

    This was the type of thing I had in mind when I decided to retire and return home to my people. I also influenced the construction of this Ibeshe road after my retirement. The road down here was terrible. I remember that one of my daughters once threw a birthday party here and only about half of her invited guests could get here due to the terrible state of the road then. My people came here and begged that I should use my connection to call on the government to come and fix the road. But I told them I am not one to write letters to any government official. This is because I don’t want anybody to claim I wrote him or her to beg for contract.

    But after a while, I bulged and told them I will do something. I wrote a letter here in my office and we sent it by e-mail to the then Governor Raji Fashola. The very next day after he got the mail, he replied that ‘Sir, the contract for that road has been awarded.” I was shocked. I prayed for him. Soon after, the contractors moved to site and you can see how beautiful the road is now. Fashola, whom I had met once before then when he was a Chief of Staff, did this road. When the road was completed, people from all over Ibeshe land came here with drums and trumpets to celebrate me. I felt good that I was useful to my community.

     

    Why did you choose to return home to Ikorodu to stay after your retirement?

    I had always wanted to return to live amongst my people. I remember that when I built my first house and my people came to bless it, as it is the practice amongst us Yoruba, the Priest asked me what I wanted from God. I told him that my desire is to return home to live in Ikorodu in less than ten years. They prayed and the Priest assured me that God had answered the prayer. At a time, my wife retired and wanted us to build a school. We decided to do that in Ikorodu. I bought 21 acres of land and that was how we established Ikorodu High School in 1970. Many people wanted me to name it Benson High School, but I said no.

    To encourage the students back then, I even promised them that I was going to send anyone of them that could make Grade One in the final examination to the University on scholarship. At the end of the day, it was only my cousin, Gbenga Benson, who made Grade One.  After just six years in our care, the school was compulsorily acquired from us in 1976 by the then Military Government.

    My intention was to increase the number of secondary schools around here from just only one to at least two. Before then, we had just Oriwu Model College here. Ironically, Oriwu Model College was also founded by my father, the late Papa Aladura C.O.S Benson. He was moved to start the school after he had an experience when I was trying to get admitted into a secondary school on completion of my primary education.

    I took the entrance examination of C.M.S. Grammar School and although I was sure I passed, I was not invited for admission. After a while, my father took me to the school to find out what happened. When we got there, we discovered that although I passed, I was not offered admission because I was not an Anglican. In those days, the missionaries who were the owners of the schools had specific quotas for students who were not members of their church. Although the then Principal, who ironically was a former classmate of my father’s, got me admitted, the experience made my father saw the need for a community school in Ikorodu.

    Some schools were returned to their original owners by the state government few years back. Why didn’t you re-acquire Ikorodu High School?

    Many people came here to urge me to take the school back. Even the former Head of Service still called me recently to discuss the matter with me. But I told them all I am no longer interested. The initial motive was to give my community a new school. That has been achieved. Now, I am an old retiree. I cannot begin to run around over a school. Secondly, my wife later founded her own school. So, there was no need for us to re-acquire the school. It is better to leave it in the hands of the government.

    You are a chief in your community, what role does this confer on you?

    I am the Asiwaju of Ikorodu. Let me tell you how I became the Asiiwaju. You may find it interesting, the late Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Oyefusi, was a classmate of mine in primary school, when he became king, I became very close to the palace. So after a while, he said he wanted me to become a chief, I immediately turned down the offer. I can recall that he jokingly told me that people used to come and beg for chieftaincy and here was I, his friend, rejecting it because he gave me on a platter of gold.

    When I met my father, I told him the king wanted to make me a chief and I rejected, he told me I shouldn’t have rejected the offer. He encouraged me to go back and accept the offer. So, I went back to the king and said, ‘Ok, I want to be a chief. He asked me to name the title I wanted, I said Asiwaju. He said ok, so be it. But later, the issue became very controversial as it turned out that my late Uncle and benefactor, T.O.S Benson, had wanted the title all along.

    On the day I was to be given the title, he came early to the palace to ensure that the ceremony was not held. It was a very controversial incident. On learning of the seriousness of his desire for the title, I told the king to give him and make me the Otun Asiwaju. That was how I became a chief in the palace. And when my Uncle died, I was named the Asiwaju of Ikorodu. This is the story of how the Asiwaju titled caused serious controversy in Ikorodu back then.

    You were in the forefront of the agitation for Lagoon State. What became of this quest?

    The quest for Lagoon State, I believe, is still very much alive. Although it is being attacked by those who do not want the creation of an indigenous state from the present Lagos, Lagoon State, if created will be a purely indigenous state because it is to comprise of Ikorodu and Epe divisions. This is why some prominent people are up in arms against it. They kicked against it at the national assembly and they campaigned against it at the national conference. But we still believe in its creation.

    It may not come to pass now, but I know Lagoon State is a realistic quest. Even some people here amongst us are for reasons best known to them, opposed to it. I recall that when we started, we wrote to all Obas in the two divisions on our quest and one Oba in Ikorodu here replied us that he is not in support of the creation. We were surprised, his people have been here on many occasions to retrieve the letter but I refused to give them. Let it be in the records.

    But I know it will come to pass one day. Ogun State became a state with about three million people; we are talking about five million people here. The last government was working on state creation but a new one is there now. Soon another government will come and maybe the issue of state creation would be revisited.

    Some people ask me why I worry myself about Ikorodu issues and I tell them I grew up there. My mother died when I was a little boy, so her father raised me. I was always following him to the festivals and the meetings. So I am a very indigenous Ikorodu man. I moved with the elders back then. So, I got to know a lot about Ikorodu and its people this informed my interest in matters affecting the town and the division. So when I retired, I got deeply involved in community activities.

    Can you recall your days as NBA and ABA President?

    I started out in NBA as the Secretary-General that was in 1968. Before then, we had had to stage what was like a democratic coup to insist that NBA presidency should be tenured. F.R.A Williams was in office as President for about eleven years. I was among those who protested this and ensured we had a tenured arrangement for the association’s leadership. In 1978, exactly ten years after I became Secretary, I was elected President of the association.

    During my tenure, we staged the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Conference here in Nigeria with about 3,000 legal practitioners from all over the world attending. It was a great event. I always recall the efforts and organizational skill that went into putting together the conference with nostalgia.

    I was also the Regional Representatives of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Conference (CLC) in Africa. We later had a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya where it was resolved that we form the African Bar Association (ABA) so that we also can have a bloc in the CLC. It was at the meeting I was elected the President of ABA. It was a huge task of coordinating all the lawyers in the Anglo-phone countries of Africa.

    However, it was a great and interesting opportunity to serve. I got to know all the nooks and crannies of the continent. I was honoured and respected everywhere I went. I recall one incident, I was on my way from Sierra Leone and I stopped by in Ghana, a television crew came to interview me at the airport and I was highly elated. It was one of the greatest moments of my service to the ABA. There were many occasions like that.

    There were also some dark sides too. I recall my visit to Uganda back then, the late Idi Amin had just come to power and the Chief Justice of the country went missing. Fingers were pointing at the government the story was that he had just come back into the office when he was abducted by unknown people. The ABA was called upon to come and intervene. We were to also hold a conference in the country.

    When we met Idi Amin, he welcomed us and I introduced myself as the President of the ABA. He got angry and asked me if I was not told that there was only one President in Uganda? He urged me to introduce myself as the Chairman instead. Many of us were taken aback because we never knew the stories we heard about him before then were true.

    During the discussion, someone said a missing person would have to be declared dead after seven years. Idi Amin said he would have to change the law in Uganda to read three months because of the missing Chief Justice. We all stole glances at one another in surprise. It was a very queer encounter I must say.

    And when Idi Amin told us he was going to offer us lunch, many people became scared. We had all read about the alleged man-eating habit of the Ugandan President and when he added that he wouldn’t be eating with us because it was Ramadan month, we wondered.

    During the lunch, a colleague from Nigeria whispered to me that he wasn’t feeling like eating as he was scared the meat in the sauce could be human flesh. Jokingly, I told him to voice out his feelings aloud and see if he wouldn’t be the next meal for the day!

  • Encounter with power through prayer & fasting!

    Encounter with power through prayer & fasting!

    We are in the last days in the body of Christ, which are characterized by the manifestation of God’s power. This is when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of God before the arrival of Christ. It is also an era where the power of resurrection shall be in manifestation more than ever before. Furthermore, in these last days, the redeemed of the Lord shall be manifesting the messianic order of anointing (Mark 9:29; Acts 2:16-20; Psalms 110:1-3; Revelation 11:15; Philippians 3:10; Acts 14:11).

    HOW DO WE ENCOUNTER THIS POWER?

    Through a desperate desire: From scriptures, ‘desperation’ is interpreted as a thirst, a crave, a longing and a panting (Psalm 63:1-2; Isaiah 44:3-4; Isaiah 41:17-18).

    Through the prayer altar: Empowerment answers to demand, not wishes and that is why the altar of prayer is the altar of empowerment. Jesus said: If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:13). We must recognize that empowerment is impossible without prayer. It is through prayers that we move from power to great power. For instance, when the apostles prayed in Acts 1:14 and Acts 2:1-4, they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. However, when they prayed again in Acts 4:32-33, they were re-empowered into the realm of great power (Luke 3:21-22, 9:28-35, 43). Likewise, we can pray for the release of God’s power on our lives for greater exploits.

    Through fasting: We discover from scriptures that fasting is primarily ordained for spiritual empowerment, not for making requests. In other words, fasting empowers us to be in command of our needs (Isaiah 58:6). It is important to understand that though we pray to be empowered, we need fasting to walk in power. That’s why Jesus said, “When ye fast… when thou fast…” Fasting is a matter of ‘When’ not ‘If’. That means fasting must be our lifestyle and must be scheduled, just like prayer, in order to walk in the reality of empowerment (Matthew 6:16-17).

    It is also important to note that fasting and prayer enhances our access to the Word which actually empowers us. For instance, it was a Word encounter that empowered Jacob into realms of exploits (Isaiah 58:8, 10; Isaiah 9:8; Romans 1:16). That is why no Word-lazy believer is a candidate for empowerment. Therefore, we must always pray to God to open our eyes to behold wondrous things out of His law (Psalms 119:18; Jeremiah 33:3).Everyone who desires to walk in power must subscribe to the demand of fasting. For instance, Jesus fasted for 40 days and the Bible records that He returned in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14). Moses also fasted for 40 days twice. As a result, he was a spirit being in human form. That was why he said: The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken (Deuteronomy 18:15; see also Exodus 7:1). He was Christ in a figure and he carried the messianic anointing on him (Exodus 24:18, 34:28). Similarly, Paul the apostle also prayed and fasted often. He said: …in watchings often… in fastings often… (2 Corinthians 11:27; see also 2 Corinthians 6:5). As a result, he was a man imbued with God’s power. No wonder it was said concerning him: …The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men (Acts 14:11).

    Unfortunately, many people do not crave for empowerment because they believe that they are already empowered. However, it is important to understand that empowerment is in levels and we understand from scriptures that we can grow from one level of power to an overflowing realm. As it is written: Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over (Ezekiel 47:1-5). ‘River’ in the above scripture connotes the Holy Spirit or anointing. That was the realm of immeasurable anointing under which Christ operated. Remember, Jesus was anointed without measure and that is God’s target for us. This is why it is wisdom to take spiritual responsibility in order to increase our levels of empowerment to command dominion over situations and circumstances in our lives (Proverbs 24:10; John 3:34, 7:37-39).

    However, dominion over situations and circumstances in our lives begins with being born again. Are you born again? To be born again means to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord? If you haven’t, you can do so by saying this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”

    For further reading, please get my books: Anointing For Breakthrough, Understanding the Anointing, Anointing For Exploits, Release of Power.

    I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively.

    I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

  • Obasanjo: A chance encounter

    Obasanjo: A chance encounter

    FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo loves drama. Consider the histrionics of his parting of ways with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He called a meeting of his ward members, who were singing his praise- T’Obasanjo lawa o se (To Obasanjo is our loyalty) – and dancing excitedly. As soon as he succeeded   in working the crowd into a frenzy, he announced that it was all over. For full effect, Obasanjo asked his ward leader to shred his membership card.

    He launched into a blistering criticism of the Dr Goodluck Jonathan administration, accusing it of running down the economy. In the PDP camp, it was as if an earthquake of the most calamitous proportion had struck. Party chiefs were struggling to regain their breath. Some of them said Obasanjo would not be missed. Others simply went into the kind of sober reflection many thought the party was incapable of indulging in. Baba should have taken it easy, the charitable ones said. The hawks derided him for alleged disloyalty. In fact, the Ogun State chapter, at an emergency press briefing, announced Obasanjo’s expulsion. But it was too late. The arrow had left the bow. The old fox had beaten them in their own game.

    Besides the little he told his former ward members, Obasanjo has not spoken on his sensational exit from the party on which ticket he was president for two terms. How does he see the reactions to his exit? What is the “untold” story of the former President’s action? How will a reporter’s chance encounter with Obasanjo go? Let’s attempt a conjectural rendezvous with the Balogun of Owu. Here we go:

    The reporter greets the former president and introduces himself, calmly. Obasanjo, frowning, looks away. Suddenly, he turns in the reporter’s direction, grabs him by his shirt’s sleeve.

    Mr reporter, oya, two questions only. I won’t take more than that. I have a flight to catch.

    Sir, why are you angry with your party, PDP and…( Obasanjo cuts in sharply).  Hmmm…hmmmm(He clears his throat, raising his right hand).

    Please, stop! Point of correction. I’m not a PDP man. Neither am I a politician. All that stopped on Monday. I’m now a statesman. So, if you’re looking for PDP people you know where to find them. Obasanjo is not one of them; they know themselves.

    Baba,what exactly is the problem? Why did you slam the reconciliation door in such a dramatic manner?

    You see, young man, there was nothing to reconcile. Some people have started destroying Nigeria and I will never be in a party that will destroy Nigeria. Never. Me? I belong to no party; my party is Nigeria. Any person or group of persons, by whatever name they are called, should not be allowed to destroy this country for our children. If you advise them and they see you as an enemy who must be crushed, won’t you leave them? That is what I, Obasanjo, have done and I have no apologies for that.

    President Goodluck Jonathan visited you recently. We all thought you had settled whatever issue you might have had.

    It is true he came. He wanted me to endorse him, to support him. And I said it was too late. All the promises he made, how many of them did he fulfill? No jobs, no light and no security. What message will I be sending out to the world – that we should condone mediocrity? Nobody can use me. That is my message.

    Sir, don’t you think people will see your action as personal and …(he cuts in, frowns and then smiles).

    Tell me, what is personal in asking that the right thing be done? What is personal in asking a man to leave a legacy? What is personal in advising the President and Commander-in-Chief to wake up and retrieve the huge chunk of Nigeria that has been taken over by lunatics? You see, if you have taken up a job, an appointment or whatever…whatever. And you discover that you can no longer cope, that things are crumbling, that people are saying they no longer want you, you know the honourable thing to do; don’t you? Now you say you must carry on in office, haba!

    But, Baba, people have not forgotten your role in the emergence of this administration.

    Yes. I won’t deny that, but let me tell you, young man, you can enthrone a king, you can’t reign for the king. No. When I saw the way they were going, I quickly withdrew. I have a name to protect – internally and externally.

    Sir, Chief Anenih said PDP will not miss you.

    Chief what? (Smiles). Tony Anenih? When you see him, tell him that I won’t miss them all, that I still dey kampe.  We know ourselves. I know him; he knows me. As they say in Benin, ‘me I no dey follow follow anybody in power.’ Whether as a leader or a chairman, I will never try to fix the ‘unfixable’. You’re trying to run away from a man but he pleads that we wait for him at the other side of the river.

    And the party chairman in Ogun said you had been excommunicated from the party.

    Hehhh! Heeey! I dey laugh o!(His face lights up with a boisterous laughter). Excommuniwhat? And who is so called? Chairman my foot. You see, this is part of what we’re saying. I don’t want to talk o. I have said it, if politics will disturb me from contributing my own quota to the future of this country, I quit. No more.

    The other day, I complained about the kind of leadership they had, nobody listened. How can a drug baron and wanted man be my leader? I would rather stay in my house, leaderless.

    Some people believe that since you have access to the President, some of those things you tell him in public could have been said privately. They say you play to the gallery.

    Gallery, which gallery? The other time I wrote a letter; instead of replying, they started looking for motor park touts, saying all manner of jagbajantics as if that is what will solve the problem. Nobody can embarrass me and you can’t intimidate Obasanjo. I said the rate of corruption was too much; have they addressed that? If I counsel you and you fail to listen, what will I do? I will just leave you. Whatever you see, dat na your toro. Look at the foreign reserve. By the time I was leaving office, we had $59.37b. Now, everything don pafuka.  What happened to the power projects? Today, people are spending billions to charter jets and nobody can confront them. Is that how to fight corruption? Boko Haram has become a monster that drinks blood everyday. In a country that has a leader? No. That is unacceptable. But, as I have said, I don’t want to talk. There will still be time to talk.

        But, sir…(Obasanjo’s phone rings and he stands up, goes to a corner to receive the call. Coming back, he begins to dance in light, calculated steps, his face wreathed in smiles).

          Bi ere bi awada, PDP n wo’le lo

         Bi ere bi awada, PDP n wo’le lo

         (Like joke, like joke, PDP is sinking)

    (like joke, like joke, PDP is sinking)

    Sir, what can you say about Nigeria’s future?

    I, look, let me be frank with you. Huuu…hmmm( Obasanjo clears his throat. His face wears a strikingly sensitive countenance). I just hope the man will not go for broke and just say, dammit, that is, a kind of t’oba le ya, ko ya( I don’t give a damn even if it all gets torn), putting this country in a constitutional crisis, the kind of crisis they call ‘one chance’ on Lagos streets. I just hope it won’t get to that stage. I hear they are shopping for somebody to head an interim government. And I said, interim ke; na wa o!

    What’s your comment on the postponement of the elections?

    Distasteful. A student who has studied hard won’t tell the teacher to postpone his exam; no be so? But, you see, like one fellow said on TV the other day, ‘you can postpone the funeral, but you can’t wake up the dead body’.

    The Defence Headquarters issued a statement, condemning your actions and…

    Which defence? I remember the statement you’re talking about. It was an unsigned statement and you journalists fell for it. If the writer was sure of himself, why didn’t he sign it? Are you sure DHQ wrote it? I doubt it. You see, it is part of what we are saying. The other day, they brought the army to declare Buhari’s certificate missing. And I said, ‘how’? This is not the military that I used to know, the military in which I, with several other eminent Nigerians, served. They want to add the military to all those institutions that they have touched and ruined. I trust the boys there, they are wise enough to know that these are not people to trust.

    But, Mr Reporter or whatever you call your name. We agreed on two questions; now you have taken all my time. You can go in peace before I change my mind.

    Thank you sir.

        

      

     

  • Ugwuanyi: A personal encounter

    There are two things, in my view, that define a man: his spirit of philanthropy and sense of community. A man who gives freely of his possessions to others does the will of God and is always on top (as the late MKO Abiola would say, the hand that gives is always on top).

    Similarly, a successful man is actually one who easily connects with and does things for, or the will of, his people. Such a man has a strong, powerful kindred spirit, a keen sense of community and is almost always called upon to lead.

    Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, PDP consensus candidate for the Enugu governorshiprace next year, a grassroots politician and a cheerful giver, fits this bill very well. He is one of the few men in his generation in our part of Igboland about whom the people can veritably say “here is our leader in whom we are well pleased.” I am yet to see a politician in Enugu State whose choice as a governorship candidate has generated such widespread interest and acclaim as Ugwuanyi’s.

    When Dr. Ike Abugu, an engineer and small and medium enterprises scholar died in the ill-fated Dana Air crash of June 3, 2012, it fell on some of us his relatives, friends and associates living with him in Lagos, to organize a befitting burial for the Russian-trained metallurgical engineer. We formed a burial committee where one was appointed chairman of the publicity sub-committee. The publicity sub-committee processed and produced the burial programme brochure, posters, banners and T-shirts. It also made radio/TV announcements and placed adverts in newspapers. Emma, Ike’s younger brother, a chartered accountant and a former bank executive director, is a well-heeled young man and could easily have financed his brother’s burial. But, chairman of the burial committee Bishop Oscar Ossai, founder/pastor of the City of Refuge, Ogudu GRA, Lagos, and co-chairman Dr. Nick Okonkwo Idoko, lecturer, peace advocate and radio presenter, had reasoned that the job of the committee was not just to come and draw up budget for the burial but to raise money to support the burial effort as well.

    On that note, we started reeling off names of Ike’s friends and associates to contact. Quickly, we ticked off Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, Dikeora Ogidi and a senatorial aspirant on the platform of PDP for Anambra Central; Vita Abba, chairman PDP, Enugu State; Okey Ezea (IdekeNsukka), Labour Party governorship candidate for 2011in Enugu State and chairman of Ideke Holdings; Senator Ayogu Eze, chairman Senate Committee on Works;  Charlie Ugwu (Onowu Igugu), a lawyer and estate magnate, Abuja; Olisaemeka Ugwunze of MESCANA Holdings Lagos and Prince Emeka Mamah, Chairman Ifesinachi Industries and Ifex Couriers (Nigeria Ltd), among others. One of the committee members, Hillary Ogili, a freight forwarder, public affairs analyst and politician, then whispered into my ears: “O’l boy, put down Gburugburu (Hon. Ugwuanyi’s) name.” Okay, I said, but I didn’t have his number. And in any case, I didn’t know how familiar he was with Dr. Abugu…the names we had written down were people with whom we shared friendship with Abugu. But Larry assured that he would provide Gburugburu’s number, stressing that going by Abugu’s gregarious nature and Hon. Ugwuanyi’s penchant for connecting with people, especially with members of his Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, how sure was I that he didn’t know Ike personally? So, I put down his name.

    To be sure, we got very encouraging responses from the aforementioned people and much more. But, the interesting thing about Ugwuanyi’s contribution was that it was the only one made largely in blind trust—he didn’t know me very well and it turned out that he wasn’t quite familiar with Dr. Abugu either. But he was moved by the fact that such a prominent person from his constituency had died in such horrible circumstances, to make a generous contribution. He was in South Korea attending to his official assignment as chairman of the House Committee on Maritime when all this was happening. Could I kindly meet him at the airport on Saturday (he sent the text on Thursday evening), to collect his own contribution? The rest is history, as they say.

    Before, then I had met Ugwuanyi briefly at a function in a very telling circumstance. In November 2009, my club, Ezike Diamond Club had, in collaboration with the Movement for the Creation of Adada State, organized a lecture at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, with the theme State Creation: Imperative of Adada in the South East, to which many prominent people from the South-east, Enugu State in particular, had been invited. Hon. Ugwuanyi, a tall, huge man, had come in quietly and sat in the crowd: no frills, no fanfare, and no airs. I was introducing guests to the high-table as we waited for the official compere to arrive without even looking towards the direction where Hon. Ugwuanyi sat when club chairman Ted Ojimba, feeling very uncomfortable, ran to me and asked why I hadn’t introduced Gburugburu; did I not know him?

    Of course I knew him by reputation, but I had hitherto not met the PDP consensus candidate for Enugu 2015 governorship election, and so didn’t know he was the one sitting where he sat. I was later to discover that he constantly signaled to people who went to greet him not to hail him loudly so as not to disrupt proceedings, otherwise the hall would have broken out in thunderous Gburugburu!

    Two character traits are obvious here: empathy and humility. Ugwuanyi is typical of the biblical concept of the good man, one who rejoices with those who rejoice and mourns with those who mourn. He is also the type that humbles himself that the good Lord may exalt him. If a leader has these two qualities in good measures, he is certain to excel. Think of Bill Clinton and you have the portrait of Enugu Governor-in-waiting.