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Tag: Family

  • Obtaining rest in the family (2)

    I started this teaching last week by showing you the place of rest.  Today, I shall be teaching on ‘Rest in Time of Unrest’

    Despite the fact that unrest is prevalent in the world, there are still some people that enjoy rest in their homes, marriages, careers, jobs and lives. I want to let you know that true rest is possible, but it is only God that can give you such. There are people enjoying rest unlimited today. You too can find rest from the Word of God. The Word of God says: For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief (Romans 4:8-11). There is what you must do to enter your rest.

    Quite a large number of people today are experiencing one form of unrest or another. Some are so anxious about the future and are wondering over what it holds for them, while others are running helter-skelter, seeking money-making enterprises and getting none. Some others are still searching out an escape route from tension in their failing family lives.

    For many in the world, these are pressure-filled times and statistics have indicated that the decline of marriage and the family unit has been greater and more alarming in the past 25 years than any other quarter-century in history! There is no doubt about it that there is unrest around us today and even the world over, which has affected families economically, socially and politically. It is a global issue; so, its solution cannot come from running to another nation or location.

    Constant crisis, terrible difficulties, turbulence and pandemonium have become the order of the day. Nevertheless, this was not God’s plan when He created the world, marriage and family life. His plan was that your marriage and family life bring you tremendous joy. The question on the minds of many now seems to be: Is it possible to find rest in this time of unrest?

    Today, the Word of God is going to proffer a suitable answer to that question.

    Who are those that have rest even in times of unrest? There remaineth therefore a rest to THE PEOPLE OF GOD (Hebrews 4:9).

    Also, 2 Thessalonians 1:7 says: And to you who are troubled REST with us. The key word is, THE PEOPLE OF GOD. The Holy Scriptures reveals that being part of God’s people is the only way to obtain genuine rest from God. Are you part of God’s people? His Word tells us that, As many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (Jesus Christ)  (John 1:12).

    For the people of God, since rest is your birthright and the will of God for you; therefore, whatever does not make you enjoy the peace and rest of God is a yoke. Whatever keeps your life in anxiety is a yoke that must be removed.

    You must, therefore, find out what the Word of God says about that particular area of your life where you desire rest and hold fast to it; I guarantee, it will become a reality in your life. God’s Word says: For we which have believed do enter into rest (Hebrews 4:3). Take for example, my marital life. Before I got married, I saw from God’s Word that rest was my portion as His child in every facet of my life including my home. So, I prepared for rest not trouble. I saw it in the Word of God and I appropriated it. Today, God has fulfilled my expectation. My home is a resting-place for all.

    Rest is available to you through the Word of God, which is its source. Absolute rest is found only in Christ Jesus; any alternative that the world may offer will only be temporary. It may work for a short while but ultimately, it will fail woefully. Why not take a permanent solution then? The permanent solution lies solely on the Word of God which will guarantee you and your family all-round rest. God is on your side!

    If you are not a part of God’s people and you want to be, now is the best time. Do not postpone or procrastinate; rather, say this prayer with me: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the living God. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”

    If you prayed this simple prayer, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

    Congratulations! You are now born again! All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name. Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org; OR 07026385437 and 08141320204.

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

  • Family of five, 21 others in multiple road crash

    Family of five, 21 others in multiple road crash

    Barely 72 hours after hosting a successful traditional marriage in Nnewi, Anambra State, a family of five were involve in a multiple road crashes that occurred yesterdayin Ikorodu, Lagos.

    The family of five, who were travelling in a Peugeot 406 marked MUS 300 CP and 21 others, who were occupants of five other vehicles, were almost ran over by a trailer marked JJJ 938 XL around 3.15pm at Agric bus stop in Ikorodu.

    The driver of the trailer was said to have lost control following a brake failure.

    One of the familyof five, who was among three persons injured in the accident, was taken to Ikorodu General Hospital by officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

    Attempts by the trailer driver and his motor boy to run were thwarted by people in the area who arrested them and handed them over to the police.

    The Nation learnt that they were taken to Agric-Owutu Police Station, Ikorodu.

    The other vehicles which were damaged by the trailer included: a Lexus Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) marked BDG 545 DL, a Honda car marked DV 403 LSR, a Mazda 626 salon car marked KRD 729 AM and an 18-seater passenger bus belonging to the Young Shall Grow transport company, Code 954 and marked LND 756 XL.

    The navy-blue Peugeot 406 in which the family of five was travelling was damaged.

    The trailer, which was coming from the garage roundabout in Ikorudu, was said to have first ran into the passenger bus from the back and forcefully pushed it over the median into BRT corridor, before crushing the Peugeot 406 and the SUV.

    The accident caused traffic gridlock from the two ends of the road, including the BRT corridor for several hours, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at garage and AgricBus Stop on IkoroduRoad.

    The driver of the Peugeot, Mr Ugochukwu Okonkwo, who lives in Surulere, said he was coming from Nnewi with his late elder brother’s wife and son, who reside in FESTAC Town, his elder sister’s son and a nephew, from the traditional marriage of his late brother’s daughter which held last Wednesday.

    He said the traffic gridlock on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway forced them to take the Ikorodu route.

    Okonkwo recalled: “We were inside the car, the glass was wound up because the air condition was on and we were thanking God for bringing us safely back to Lagos from Nnewi.

    “Suddenly, we heard the braking sound of a vehicle behind us and before we knew it, we saw the trailer coming at us and rammed into our vehicle from the rear. I saw my elder brother’s wife and her son, a 12-year-oldboy, who were sitting in the back seat, about flying out through the windscreen. Though, I was still strapped to my seat behind the steering but something propelled me and I grabbed both of them and pulled them back into the car.

    “The way the trailer crashed into us, our car could have gone under a luxurious bus in front us but it didn’t because of the other car hit by the trailer. It was a miracle. I don’t know how it happened. I think God did it for us”, he said, adding that his elder brother’s wife, who had minor injury, was treated at Ikorodu General Hospital.

    The SUVdriver, Mr. TunjiAyeni, said the trailer rammed into his car barely three minutes that he joined the road from his street.

    “All I can say is that I just heard this crushing sound and I looked back and saw the trailer coming at me. I thank God that I survive”, he said.

    Mr. John Udegbunah, who drove the luxury bus said they departed Onitsha around 10am yesterday and that the journey was smooth until they got to Agric in Ikorodu.

    “We were moving slowly in traffic snarl when suddenly we heard the trailer hitting our bus. The trailer continued pushing us until we went over the median into the BRT corridor. I thank God nobody died. But a lady was injured in the hand but she has left”, he said.

    Another victim, Mr. Obi Oluchukwu, who was seen massaging his right shoulder and arm, said he was answering a call on his phone when the trailer hit their bus from the rear.

  • Obtaining rest in the family (1)

    Dear Reader,

    This is a glorious day. It’s a day of rest, laughter, rejoicing and fulfilment. I am so excited today about what God is expounding to His people. He says in His Word that there is a place of rest in Him. He also says, “You have been battered and wounded long enough, come and obtain rest for your soul” (Hebrews 4:9-11). That means, there is rest reserved for you concerning your family-life, career, business, children and finances.

    Therefore, your running around is over. You have carried that burden long enough; an end has come to it. You have been running helter-skelter just to survive; today marks the end of every form of unrest in your life. God says, “For the remaining part of this year, He has prepared a place of rest for you and your family.” I pray that you will see it and enter into it in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

    Today, I shall be examining “The Place of Rest.” Where is this place of rest? How do you get there? What does it take to get there? These are the things God wants to expound to us today. I pray that your eyes of understanding will be enlightened and every unrest in your life and family will be destroyed.

    What is rest? How can you say you are restful? A state of rest means to be at peace or at ease; a state of tranquillity. Jesus said: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

    Rest is obtainable, but only in Christ. You have been battered by the happenings all around you; Jesus invites you to come unto Him, if you desire rest. I don’t know what has been responsible for your unrest; but I know you can be free today. No matter the mountain or how big the burden has been, Jesus, the burden-bearer, invites you to come. The Bible says: Whatsoever the Lord doeth shall be forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14). When Jesus carries your burden, you can be rest assured that the case is settled forever. All He requires of you is to come to Him. Come with the faith that He can do it and with the hope that He can never fail. That thing that causes you heartache, makes you sigh and shed secret tears, I see Jesus walking by your side to lift those burdens off you and give you eternal liberty. He says, “He will do it”, not He may or that He would try. That means it is His absolute desire to give you rest in life.

    He said: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10). It is the thief (devil) that is giving you unrest. His ministry is to steal, kill and destroy. However, Jesus, the Author of life says that if you come to Him, He will give you what the devil cannot access.

    Maybe, as a student, you have been writing a particular examination several times and the result is always the same. It has become a yoke in your life and a burden to you. Maybe, yours is in the area of finances; you wake up every morning with no breakfast or lunch in view not because you are fasting, but there is nothing to eat. I want you to see Jesus take off this yoke from you to be free. All it takes is to come to Him. See what the Bible says: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (Isaiah 55:1-2). Stop running helter-skelter, come to Jesus. Who is Jesus? He is the Word of God made Flesh (John 1:1-14).

    The Word of God is the water of life. So, take refuge in the Word from all odds of life and every form of unrest. Is it a spouse’s ungodly behaviour or action? Is it a child’s unruly behaviour that is bothering you? Or is it in the area of your finances? All you have to do is turn to the Word. There is no rest in any other place; true and absolute rest can only be found in the Word of God. God has declared this year as your own year of turning point. A genuine turning point only comes from a restful soul. God cannot lie; it is your duty to allow His Word to produce in your life. As many families as will care to find rest in God’s Word this year, they shall experience turnarounds on every side.

    Do you look through the window more than ten times every night before going to bed? Do you do more work in your sleep than when you are awake because every bit of noise you hear wakes you up? That is not rest. Your protection is not in your looking out, neither is it in your jumping out; rather, sure protection comes from the Word of God. The Word says when you sleep, it shall be sweet and nothing shall make you afraid. God cannot lie (Psalms 127:2).

    Maybe you are the type that each time you are on the road travelling, all kinds of picture come to your mind and you begin to picture every form of accident. Then your heart begins to pant and skip a beat; this ought not to be so. Jesus says, “Come unto me…” That means it is in coming that you have total rest either on the road, in the air or on the sea. Come to Him today; dedicate your family to Him and hand over all your children to Him. So that, whenever your children travel or go to school, you will not imagine all sorts of evil, accident, kidnap, immoralities, etc. As a result, your mind will be at rest. When you and your family members come to Jesus on the basis of His Word, you all have a sure covering in His Blood! By so doing, you can be rest assured that your children, business and all that belongs to you would not suffer what the people of the world suffers.

    How do you come to Jesus? The Bible Says: If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10). It doesn’t take more than this to have perfect rest all around you. Make a wise decision today; accept the Lord Jesus as your own personal Lord and Saviour. Make Him the Lord of your entire household and you will be at rest in every aspect of your life.

    The Scripture above says you should confess with your mouth, and then believe what you have said in your heart. The time for you to do that is right now. Wherever you are reading this article, kneel down and with conviction in your heart that you desire the rest that comes only from God for you and your family, say: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the living God. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”

    If you prayed this simple prayer, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

    Congratulations! You are now born again! All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name. Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org; OR 07026385437 and 08141320204.

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

  • ‘Ondo APC is one family’

    ‘Ondo APC is one family’

    Steve Otaloro is the Director of Media and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Ondo State. He spoke with DAMISI OJO on the preparations for the governorship elections, the rumour of endorsement and other issues.

    How prepared is the APC for  the governorship election in Ondo State?

    Naturally, the ultimate desire of any person or team taking part in a competition is to win and bring home laurel. In the last governorship election in Ondo State, the defunct ACN that formed part of the present APC went into that election with all available resources to wrestle power from the then Labour party that sponsored Dr. Mimiko for his second term but unfortunately, the ACN lost.

    You know the failure of the ACN then was not due to weakness or unpreparedness. To me, the loss of that contest was due largely to the inability of the party to reduce itself to the level of the electorates in Ondo State. Mistakenly, the APC placed itself above the level of the voters by assuming that the genuine programmes rolled out for implementation to better the lot of the people on assumption of office were enough to win the election, rather than the artificial incentives packaged for voters on the election day by the Labour Party (LP).

    Unfortunately, the role played by poverty in the last election in Ondo State was enormous. You can imagine a funny slogan in the state some few days to the election when you find on the lips of most prospective voters the slogan of “Edibo ese bee”, vote and cook soup,  which sadly meant vote for Mimiko and be given money to enable you prepare soup for your meal. If you ask us how much were the voters given by the Labour Party then, I will tell you that the token was as ridiculously low as N500.

    While that N500 meant so much to some people at that material time, the ACN overrated these set of people who were largely the actual voters in the State by conceding to them the ability to vote rightly even if they decided to take the money earmarked for buying their votes and see it as their share from the common patrimony.

    The APC has since gone back to the drawing board to see where things went wrong with the ACN in that election in 2012 and strongly tie the loose ends to approach the coming election with more pragmatic objectives; one, by educating the people more on the consequences of allowing material incentives to influence their voting and two, by designing programmes that will bring relief to already improvished homes and promoting such with all sense of sincerity.

    In a nutshell, I’m assuring you, the APC is honestly ready for the November election in Ondo State. God bless the appointed date of November 26, 2016.

    With governorship aspirants in the party, how do you intend to manage the primary?

    The high number of aspirants in our party showing interest in the governorship is meant to demonstrate the strength and the quality of available human resources in the party. If you care to look at the background of these party members jostling for the nomination as the party’s flagbearer, you’ll no doubt see that they are all worthy materials, eminently qualified individuals who can win an election for the party at any given time.

    The question of managing these aspirants, to me, for the primary does not even arise because they themselves are quite aware that only one of them will be eventually picked to fly the party’s flag at the election and they know that whoever wins will have to be supported to win the election itself. You are no doubt aware that after the primary which will be free and fair, the structures of the rest aspirants will be collapsed to a single one to present a strong and common front to face whoever emerges from the camp of other political parties.

    Why are some chieftains protesting against the party chairman, Isaac Kekemeke?

    It is normal in any political process. The chairman had denied the allegations and clarified all issues raised. The few aggrieved members and the state exco have been invited to Abuja by the National Secretariat where the disagreement would be settled amicably. It is a family issue. Kekemeke remains the chairman of the party.

    Do you think your party has what it takes to take over the state from the PDP that is currently ruling the state?

    Let’s thank God for the fact that the ruling party in Ondo State, the PDP, has divinely shot itself in the foot to become incapacitated, thus, loosing the energy to match the APC with the required confidence at the poll. If you look back at the way Dr. Mimiko has been steering the ship of the State in the last three and a half years after securing his second term, you will see that his policies have turned many homes to graveyards, husbands to wives, children to beggars, in spite of the huge mineral and economic resources that abound in the State.

    Today, all the workers and pensioners who gave him the open support during the last campaigns/election are groaning in pains, regretting their support because he has refused to make them happy partners  by refusing to pay them their monthly salaries for a record of five months.

    When you leave the workers’ camp, come to the entire populace in the State, Dr. Mimiko has touched their lives negatively with many obnoxious policies, throwing them into a state of hopelessness by utter neglect and introduction of various levies without commensurate service to make the people live a meaningful life.

    How will the governorship candidate of your party emerge?

    The governorship candidate of the APC will emerge through the traditional primary. I can assure you that there will be no imposition from any quarter as reiterated and reinforced severally by the Chairman, Hon. Isaacs Kekemeke. As you had earlier identified, we have many candidates showing interest in flying the flag and you can see that all of them are already in the field talking to members throughout the length and breadth of the state.

    In a contest like this, some will make it to the top while some will opt for re-alignment for one reason or the other. Eventually, when the primary comes, based on individual candidate’s effort, industry and acceptability, a candidate will emerge and I believe, whoever emerges would be the one that will be acceptable to all of them in the contest because of the level of transparency and neutrality that will be displayed by the party and its leadership.

    There are speculations that your party may not conduct the primary election.  How far is this true?

    This view is not for the enlightened and sophisticated members of the All Progressives Congress. Our primary has been fixed for  Saturday, September 3. You see, our party is not a party of deceit, it is not a single man’s business empire where anybody can just wake up one day and give instructions and that instruction will be binding. That is dictatorship. We say this is APC where there’s equality. For your information, if it is the desire of the Party to impose candidate, there will be no reason to allow all the interested aspirants to throw up their resources, the resources that can be deployed to further develop the Party to run after non-existent or already compromised position.

    I, therefore, plead that our aspirants should simply ignore this unfounded and irritating view of the opposition aimed at maligning the party and pursue their ambition with the view that their party will never toy with their ambition or disappoint them with any hidden agenda to truncate their ambition. Let me assure you that the positive way we conduct our primary will push other parties to turn and learn from the APC for guidance.

    Is it true that the National Leader of your party, Senator Bola Tinubu, has a preferred person among the aspirants.

    This is clearly one of the many amusing behaviours that some people employ in an occasion like this just to demoralise others in the race. You remember, the National leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, has never proclaimed anybody as his candidate. Of course, candidates, like in the days of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, were dropping his name to achieve their political ambition without the knowledge or the express permission of the great Awo. And this time around, with the level to which God has helped Asiwaju to attain politically in our country, I won’t be surprised if any of the aspirants or just anybody even outside our party is using his name to achieve one or two things for self aggrandisement.

    In a nutshell, the National Leader has no anointed candidate. To borrow from Mr. President’s popular words, “Asiwaju is for everybody and for nobody”. His position is for everybody to face the primary and whoever emerges will then be the party’s standard bearer and be supported by the Party.

    How will you assess the Mimiko administration  in the last seven and half years?

    You see, I will describe Dr. Olusegun Mimiko as an exceedingly lucky man who came into the life of Ondo State when fate actually beckoned on him and when the people were yearning for a change, either consciously or unconsciously, but largely due to orchestrated conspiracy against Dr. Olusegun Agagu, the then governor of the state.

    What is the take of the APC on the zoning of Governorship position in the state?

    Zoning? Is there anything like that in APC? If there is, it is not to my knowledge. Don’t forget, the APC is a party that believes in democratic process. Like I said earlier, the APC will never have any clandestine arrangement in place to pick its candidate and allow other aspirants to deploy their resources to unproductive venture. That is wickedness and that is even capable of making members to loose confidence in any party that does that. On this note, I am reiterating that whoever emerges at the APC primary among the aspirants will  be supported by the rest of the aspirants to represent the party as our standard bearer at the poll and he will win the gubernatorial election and become the next governor of Ondo State by God’s grace.

  • When killer herdsmen visited my family

    Nothing prepares you for that kind of news. Nothing. Bedlam upon bedlam. Heart-wrenching tears and rage simply greeted the modern day war brought to our homestead. To my own blood.

    For several years now, I had joined the loud campaign railing against the slaughter of innocent lives by Fulani herdsmen- from Plateau, and louder still when the marauders moved their sceptre of genocidal dance to my home state of Benue, leaving in their wake hundreds of innocent dead, including women and suckling infants, especially earlier this year. Then Enugu, then elsewhere… I had no idea that my family or any of its members would be their next target.

    Friday, August 5, my elder brother, Obekpa James Onuh, same-father-same-mother as we put it in Nigeria, was macheted by two Fulani herdsmen during his visit to our village, Orokam in Benue State. He was riding on a motor bike and going on a visit to a cousin in a nearby village around Adupi, and was just leaving our village Ukalegwu, when two men he identified as middle-aged, gangling Fulani men (near one of their camps in the village), attacked him on the lonely path, one with a big stick, felled him from his bike and the other with a sharp machete, proceeded to hack at his neck as he lay struggling on the ground. He fended off several blows with his left hand and sustained deep cuts to his arm. But before he could make an escape to a nearby house, the machete man gave him a big blow to his forehead. How he managed to run to a nearby house, how he survived the profuse bleeding especially from several severed veins in his arm in a rickety village health centre till the next day and has held on to life in a hospital in Otukpo where he lives, has remained a miracle to us.

    So, compatriots, so this is it (deep breath): we are no longer safe even in our ancestral homeland. Place of our peaceful childhood visits, play grounds, farmlands, innocent mischiefs and sacred land of our ancestors around which we have jealously nursed so many sweet reminiscences and visited from time to time. Fulani cattle-rearers have set up camps all across our small village after being sent away from the nearby Okpoga village after a series of murder and rape cases followed by incessant clash with locals. But my village as I know it since childhood is a sedate, laid-back land with locals who greet you quietly and smile from ear to ear. A poor, agrarian community sandwiched between Enugu and Kogi State and claimed by Benue, cocooned by a million and one palm trees, perennially short-changed by pot-bellied politicians and long forgotten by government, yet no one wants trouble.

    But life sometimes is unfair, so, true to type, the herdsmen, on arrival, came with their baggage of trouble. Besides annexing ancestral lands with the connivance of a local chief, farmlands have been ravaged by their cows, our women have been raped and locals fear the Agatu ‘treatment’ (massacre) may befall them, so they hardly say ‘pim’. I now learnt some murders have occurred but many bury their unfortunate dead in silence, not wanting further trouble, until in recent times when the cattle rearers and the criminal elements among them appeared to have upped their murderous game, become emboldened and clearly stretched their hands beyond the tolerant limits of the fragile elbow. But clearly, no one knows what next to expect. Scary.

    My brother’s case was obviously not a robbery incident: nothing was taken from him. The bike which belonged to the wife of another cousin was found the next day at the spot. It is a criminal gang bent on unleashing terror for reasons that absolutely beggars belief, leaving with you with several puzzles.

    The security agencies? They are basically looking the other way. Though the case was reported at the local police post, no arrests have been made so far.

    Dear compatriots, why are herdsmen allowed to bear arms (including AK-47, automatic rifles in daylight) and in clear violation of the laws of the land and after so many cases of murder of their hosts across the country?

    Why has no one been arrested, tried and brought to book over the series of carnages across the country at least in the last one year? Why has the Presidency yet to issue a strong word of condemnation against these herdsmen for the heinous crime against humanity they commit across Nigeria?

    Why does the presidency choose to be silent in the face of most of these attacks that have left hundreds dead in their wake in some instances but would offer profuse tear-soaked condolences to other countries after terrorist attacks on their citizens?

    Why has the president ordered the Minister of Agriculture to go to governors, asking that ancestral lands be annexed to cattle rearers, when fellow Nigerians who are involved in similar private businesses like chicken, pigs, goats and rabbits rearing are not extended same privilege (meanwhile a bill on Grazing Rights that would also set aside special fund for the grazing reserves sits majestically in the National Assembly waiting to be passed to give legitimacy to it all)?

    Why is the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, seat of Federal Government now being besieged by herds and herds of cows eating away at flowers and ornamental plants, disrupting traffic, threatening commuters’ safety and messing up every corner with their ‘expensive shit’ while all the enforcement agencies headquartered in the same city look shyly away? The same city which chased away hawkers and Okada riders to enforce and ensure the sanity deserving of capital cities?

    I believe that President Buhari would be doing himself a lot of good, now and in the ever-hovering face of posterity, to rein in the cattle rearers and dispel these dangerous rumours and perceptions making round. He must put in every effort to dispel the general perception around his discriminatory treatment of his Fulani cattle rearer-kinsmen, run Nigeria like the secular, multi-ethnic state that it is. He must act, and must be seen to be president of ALL NIGERIA and not just of his Fulani rearer-kinsmen, or of the North alone.

    These extremities, these impunities are eating away quietly and steadily at the very fabrics that hold us together as a nation. An eventual conflagration would do no one, including the President himself, any good.

    The security of my peace-loving and soft-spoken teacher brother and indeed EVERY NIGERIAN is government’s preeminent duty as enshrined in our Constitution. It must be upheld. Nigerians and Nigeria must be safe!

    The governor of Benue and indeed of all the governors have a duty to protect their citizens. Random condolence visits and endless donation of relief materials are not enough. These are avoidable human disasters, avoidable deaths. The world is watching this silly and soulless spectacle unfolding in Nigeria. Some of us may be canvassing for non-violent solutions but can’t say of the same for our restless youths who witness this carnage all the time. There is certainly a limit to all forms of provocation. All lives are precious, much more than cows.

    I thank God for my brother’s survival. We have fears if he would ever be able to make full use of his left arm considering the level of injury but at least he is alive with us. If we his siblings and our parents are still in this deep shock, I can’t even imagine those who lost entire families in Agatu and several other communities across Benue, Enugu, Plateau, Adamawa and in several other states visited by these crazy fellows and in such gruesome and unprovoked manners.

    It is just crazy, crazy, crazy!

     

    • Abah is a citizen journalist and activist.
  • Family debunks rumoured release of kidnapped Lagos Oba

    Family debunks rumoured release of kidnapped Lagos Oba

    Contrary to Friday night rumour of the release of the Oniba of Iba, Oba Yishau Gorioila Oseni, The Nations can authoritatively reveal that the kidnapped monarch is still in the custody of his abductors.

    Social media at the weekend was abuzz with news abut the alleged release of the 73 year-old monarch, who was kidnapped by unknown gunmen on Saturday the16th of this month.

    Our reporter, who was at the palace of the monarch shortly after the monthly environmental sanitation yesterday, met some of the town’s high chiefs, who expressed surprise and disgust at the rumour.

    One of the Chiefs who pleaded not to be named, said: “It’s (release) all rumours. We wonder where those people got their information from. We were all here (palace) yesterday. We want to thank you for coming here to find the truth yourself.

    The family’s spokesperson, Saheed Oseni, told our reporter yesterday that he was shocked when some people, including journalists bombarded him with calls to confirm the rumour.

    Nonetheless, Oseni said he is optimistic that when such rumour breaks, it is an indication that something positive about their breadwinner is underway.  “We were also shocked when we heard the rumour yesterday,” Oseni told our reporter.

    “Shortly after the rumour, people including journalists started calling me to confirm if the information was true and I said no. I enjoin you to look around yourself and also see if you see smiles on the faces of people to show that something good had just happened in the palace.

    “There is no way a king can be released without people seeing signs to confirm it.  You would have seen the entire community and outsiders coming here to confirm and congratulate us. It is not possible; we can’t hide him.

  • Family to bury Keshi

    Family to bury Keshi

    • Shuns govt’s request to shift burial till after Olympics

    The final burial rites for the late  Stephen Keshi will begin on Thursday in Benin City even as the Nigerian government said it will stage a hero’s funeral for him after the Rio Olympics later next month.

    The  government has now said it will play its own part for the late soccer icon after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games because of a combination of factors.

    “We don’t want a haphazard burial for such a great patriot, that is why the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, has said the Federal Government will play its own part after the Olympics”, declared ministerial Special Adviser, Nneka Ikem Anibeze.

    “We will unveil details after the games.”

    The Keshi family is however going ahead with the burial plans beginning with a church service on Thursday, July 28 at St’ Paul Catholic Church, Benin City by 9am.

    After that the late ‘Big Boss’, as Keshi was fondly called in his playing and coaching days, will be moved to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium,  where a novelty match will be held in his honour, followed by his body lying-in- state for his numerous admirers to pay their last respect.

    The match is being organised by his former teammates led by Austin Eguavoen, who has also captained and coached the national team.

    After that the body moves to Asaba, the Delta State capital, where his body will again lie in state at the Stadium named after him by former Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, on Nnebisi Road.

    From Asaba, the body will leave for Illah, his homestead.

    On entering Illah, the body will be received by the Obi of Illah, HRH Obi Gbemudu along with his high chiefs. Keshi was a high chief of the Illah kingdom. After that the body will move to St’ John, The Evangelist Catholic Church for a requiem mass.

    Next port of call will be his home in Illah, where the body will again lie in state for an hour before internment at the same venue.

  • Court grants Bayelsa family request to remove Globacom’s mast

    •Damages awarded against communication firm

    The High Court of Bayelsa State, sitting in Sagbama, has granted the prayers of the Agbereowei family of Bolou-Orua community in Sagbama to repossess their land and dismantle Globacom’s mast, accessories and fence on their property.

    The family, in a suit filed by Miss Justina Agbereowei and Mr. Wednesday Agbereowei (claimants), sued Globacom (defendant) for failing to pay 10-year rents on the land housing its base station.

    The claimants prayed the court, presided over by Justice E. G. Omukoro, to declare that they were entitled to the right of occupancy in and over the parcel of land, measuring approximately 40 feet by 40.5 feet, where the defendant’s base station was located.

    They also prayed the court to declare that the possession of the piece of land, where the Glo base station with code number BLO 001, was built, is their property.

    The claimants asked the court to compel the defendant to remove its communication mast, accessories and fence from the parcel of land.

    They requested for N100 milion as special and general damages they suffered because of the defendant’s failure to pay for the rent for the leased piece of land.

    The claimants urged the court to invoke an order of injunction restraining the defendant from remaining on or in any way interfering with their right of ownership and occupation of the aforesaid parcel of land.

    A copy of the judgment, which was delivered on March 23, showed that Justice Omukoro ruled that he had no difficulty in reaching the conclusion that the declaration sought to the right of occupancy in and over the piece or parcel of land in issue was merited and hereby granted.

    He ordered the defendant (Globacom) to pay N32.5 million, representing N24 million unpaid rents at N3 million per annum from 2008 to 2016 and N8.5 million as damages for distress and hardship caused the claimants.

    Justice Omukoro said: “With respect to the reliefs for possession of the land and removal of the communication mast, accessories and fence thereon in the reliefs, the said structures were put up on the claimants’ land with the understanding and agreement that rents would be paid therefore for an initial period of 10 years at the rate of N3 million per annum.

    “That the representation by the defendant has clearly not been kept except in the breach. In the circumstances, the continued occupation of the claimants land by the defendant has become unjustifiable. It is for this reason I grant the prayers of the claimants for possession and removal of all structures on the land.

    “On relief for special and general damages, the sum of N18 million claimed as arrears of rents at the rate of N3 million per annum for six years from 2008 to 2014 in line with the parole understanding reached with Mr. Apollo as agent of the defendant is granted.”

    The judge also granted N6 million, at the rate of N3 million per annum, for the two years (2015 and 2016) for which rents had further accrued.

    He granted additional general damages of N8 million for the distress, hardship and pain the defendant caused the claimants by holding on to their land and using same for commercial purposes and profits whilst refusing to meet their corresponding obligations to the claimants.

    Justice Omukoro added: “I also make an order of injunction restraining the defendant from any form of interference with the claimants’ rights of ownership and occupation of the aforesaid piece of land.

    “Cost of N500,000 only is awarded against the defendant in favour of the claimants.”

  • DIG, lawyer, family in land row

    A Lagos family has accused Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) Jubril Adeniji and a lawyer, Paul Ogundele, of using thugs to drive them out of their land.

    In a petition to Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase and the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), the Wahab Lemomu family of Ita Pampa village in Ibeju-Lekki claimed that Adeniji Ogundele and the Eleku family are sponsoring some people to threaten them and destroy their properties.

    The family said it was granted an excision by the Lagos State government in 2007, which was gazetted, adding that it built on parts of the 25 hectare-land and sold some.

    It claimed that in 2012, the family and Oba Tajudeen Elemoro were taken to a Lagos High Court in suit LD/1946/2012 by Tajudeen Eleku, Segun Eleku, Korede Ayo, Lateef Eleku and Femi Bakare over a land at Oko Olomi.

    The Imams accused Adeniji and Ogundele of selling their land and threatening those who bought land from the family, asking for the IGP’s intervention to protect their rights to own properties.

    “After the court processes were served on us, Ogundele abandoned this case and some land grabbers backed by Adeniji and Ogundele invaded our properties at Ita Pampa with guns and other dangerous weapons and started destroying them.

    “They threatened to kill us and waste our lives should we fail to vacate the land for them. We and all those we sold our land to have been sent packing by force for the past three years. Ogundele and the thugs are still occupying our properties till date without any court order to that effect.

    “Since this problem started, we have reported at the Elemoro Police Station but one Alli who is the DCO (Divisional Crime Officer) there has always blocked our ways. The DPO (Divisional Police Officer) and DCO at Elemoro have refused to protect us and our properties from destruction but have instead protected the thugs backed by Adeniji and Ogundele,” the Imams claimed.

    The family said it petitioned the Area J Command when the division did nothing, adding that it learnt there was “an order from above” stopping the division from intervening in the matter.

    “We had to petition the AIG Zone Two at Onikan to investigate the officers at the Elemoro division, but it was the same result we got. As a result of the helplessness, we decided to investigate who was giving the “order from above” and “we found out it was DIG Adeniji”.

    The petitioners urged LPDC to probe Ogundele for alleged professional misconduct, indiscipline, inciting violence and defrauding.

    They accused the lawyer of continuous and flagrant disregard of the rule of law.

    Reacting, Ogundele said the case has been assigned to Justice Christopher Balogun, describing the petitioners’ claim as falsehood.

    Abiodun Imam is at large at the “moment because he was arrested for malicious damage and subject likely to cause breach of peace.

    “He was granted administrative bail at Elemoro Police Station and the case was charged to court because he destroyed 14 properties. When the case was charged to court, he absconded and was declared wanted.

    “Instead of coming to answer the charges against him, he ran to the Federal High Court and filed a fundamental rights suit against the IGP, myself and Okomi Eleku family. The case has been struck out for lack of diligent prosecution. They are running from the civil case before Justice Balogun. They went and filed another fundamental rights suit at the Lagos High Court.

    “Ita Pampa is 1.44km to Oko Olomi. It is a long distance to my client’s land.

    “I have responded to the petition against me they forwarded to LPDC. I have used the instrumentality of the law to fight my case. I have not at anytime resorted to violence. We are in court. I am making arrangements to sue them for libel because they are attempting to malign my reputation that I have built for the pass 24 years. I will sue them for N100 million damages,” he said.

    Adeniji denied the allegations against him, insisting he has nothing to do with the parties.

    He said: “I do not know any of them and I don’t know the type of support the other party is alleging me of. I have no dealings with any of the parties.

    “I was at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) before; I do not know if any such matter came before me. But if it did, am sure I handled it the best way I thought and moved on.

    “I was surprised when I saw the petition that I was supporting land grabbers. I do not have any land in that area. I have no business there at all. I am a police officer. I think they are just looking for somebody to embarrass.

    “Please, I need them to come forward with the kind of support they alleged I am giving. If they say their case is in court, am I a judge? I have absolutely nothing to do with them. I don’t know them and so, I leave them for God.”

  • Family petitions police over land

    The Onafonyin family of Isiu in the Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State has appealed to the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Mr. Kakwe Christopher Katso, to save it from an unprofessional and illegal investigation carried out by some policemen to pervert justice and prevent the family from reaping the fruit of its labour on its land.

    In a petition, written by the solicitor to the family, Mr. Tunji Busari, dated Thursday, May 2016, sent to Mr. Katso, the family frowned at the way the policemen shoddily and maliciously handled a land matter belonging to it brought by the proprietor of a private university.

    According to the petition, the way and manner the Imota Police Division carried out its investigation of the complaint of the proprietor was to obstruct the judgment creditors, which is the family, from reaping the fruit of the judgment delivered by Hon. Justice H.A.O. Abiru of High Court of Lagos State, Ikorodu Judicial Division, dated September 11, 2008 in favour of the Onafonyin  family.

    Mr. Busari noted that based on a ruling empowering the judgment creditors to take possession of the land dated May, 19 2015, the family engaged the services of surveyors to conduct the perimeter survey of the said land adjudged to belong to the family.

    He said, to his dismay, when the surveyors mobilized their men to work on the said parcel of land, the university’s men came with the police to arrest “our clients, workers and surveyors on site.”

    “On getting to the Imota Police Station, our clients’ men were directed to vacate the said parcel of land within five days, otherwise our clients and their workers shall be dealt with brutally without even considering the fact that our clients had a judgment declaring them owners of the said parcel of land absolutely.”

    According to the family solicitor, the action of the proprietor of the university with full support and assistance of the police was a gross violation of the principle of law and contempt of law “but our clients being law-abiding citizens decided that the matter be investigated by your honourable office which is full of capable and proficient force men an investigators into this matter.”

    In the light of this, the family appealed to Mr. Katso to use its good offices to wade into this matter “to save our clients from being the victims of an inept, unprofessional and illegal investigation”.