The Nation Newspaper

Tag: glorious

  • Glorious 80 years of God’s good times (1)

    In all ways and at all times, our lives persist as a leaf meandering upon a bottomless and capricious lake. We are all rolling stones drifting from high up the mountain top to unknown roads that rupture in furtive directions which blend the menacing challenges of living with the wondrous realities that forge our daily experiences into our very eccentric world.

    All of life is pure perplexity, and nothing is sure except that which God gives. The most extraordinary sensation in life is our connection to the immensity of the powers of Almighty God. The wisdom and caution that manage human spirituality is vast and endless. And so baffling is the awesomeness of God’s goodness that we may never be able to comprehend nor understand Him. God is beyond us all and it is needless to even try to understand Him. What we need do, and must always do, is to never shift from Him, and ever praise Him. God is beyond compare! We must heed all His laws especially His significant counsel that declared that “whoever is strong must lend help to, and take care of the weak”. I ask, are you doing this? If not, start now!

    The Holy Bible invaluably interpreted the realities of life to us when it thus cautioned, “Test all things, hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). This profound exhortation forever intrigues me. For real, human history and religion would have been erased without trace if faith had not established itself as the pre-eminent controlling force that connect our mystifying motions through life to the beauty of meaningful spiritual composure that wrought the flawless human march to blissful salvation.

    If we wish to purposely travel through life, we must embrace unshakeable faith and be insatiably pre-occupied and absorbed by our spiritual convictions. We must permit faith to occupy its deserved space in our lives so that we may acquire a comforting immunity from the despairing calamities that decimate human hope and confidence. None can live without faith. And we must not even contemplate such a sad and ruinous eventuality.

    Our lives can only begin to feel important, delightful and meaningful when it is ensconced in faith that forever arouse our praise and honour for Almighty God. The immensity of God’s powers are immeasurable, mysterious, and boundless. We thus must strive ceaselessly and relentlessly to help one another. It is the law of God. Every person of faith that abides by this rule has everything at his fingertips and the contours of his life are cemented to the abundance of God’s love and His perpetual favours.

    Our journey of life is daunting, fearful and convoluted. Just as no person can step into the river and retrieve dry feet, so it is that no one can travel through life without faith and claim victory. Only the graces of God and His compassion can assuredly deliver triumph.

    As we trudge on through life’s mystic trek, we are co-travellers. But we also are in real and sensible terms, adversaries and competitors for myriad material blessings of the world. It is simply impossible to attain triumph without real and cherished faith. Whoever lacks faith has brutally diminished the chances to attain his goals in the way he had hoped for, and his whole life is immersed in great burden.

    As we seek God’s mercy and grace, so must it be a spiritual compulsion that  we must do good always. This is what gives God the greatest pleasure. It is also what begets God’s ordained favours. Those who ignore doing good often confront savage disappointments in life. Those who have capacity to do good but fail to do so earn as reward a harsh life of depressing humiliation.

    Daily, as long as we tread upon the soil of the earth, God alone is He who both sustains and enlivens us as we endure the beauty as well as the unrests of this vain and dangerous world. None is a solitary wanderer. It is thus the spiritual mystery attached to the enigma of our living that caused my life to collide with that of our brother, big brother, uncle, father, grandfather and worthy humanist, Dr. Charles Oladeinde Williams, who wondrously stepped into the grand old age of 80 today.

    No matter how we measure it, 80 is by far an advanced age. We thank God for the life of our good doctor. Most times, old age makes human beings succumb to a vast array of geriatric aliments that quickly decimate and even terminate lives. All of human affairs are pretty much set on a wheel, and as the wheel turns around, it does not permit the same people who are already on deck to always prosper, nor even survive. Life is a great feast of nothingness and those who attain 80 must possess exceptional blessings of God. Whoever is 80 must also have done a great deal of good and virtuous deeds in the enduring sojourn that brought him to a magisterial and commanding point of God’s good fortune that lent him longevity that was, all along, preserved by sound wellness.

    Both parents of Dr. Deinde Willaims never attained 80. Neither has anyone in his immediate nuclear family lived up to 80. It is the benevolence of God that gifted this uncanny and prestigious history of conquest to His beloved son,  Dr. Deinde Williams.

    Also, being a medical doctor has nothing to do with how long the personal life of an individual shall endure the brutalities of our risky life adventures. No matter how lavishly our lives may be appointed, dying or living is a transcendental matter that is strictly ordained by God who loves equally those who die young as well as those who die in the distressing twilight of their lives

    To understand life as clearly as I could, I always rely on the scriptures of our two great religions, Christianity and Islam. It is from Islam that is now so unimaginably demonised by faithless extremists and cruel jihadists that I would take wisdom to speak to our conversation of today.

     An irrefutable Islamic argument propounds that our two big religions are decorous and often enrich one another. God listens and agrees with all manner of prayers without a moment hesitation. It is bigotry, alone and by itself, that is always tormenting human souls. I implore you, kindly hear this Islamic adage: “others fear what tomorrow may bring, but I am afraid of what happened yesterday”.

     All the feuds that ever descended upon the earth and enforced great calamities could directly be traced to needless but fierce arguments that occurred yesterday.

    • To be continued next week

    • Adewale Adeeyo, OON, Lagos
  • Glorious day for three Ekiti teachers

    Glorious day for three Ekiti teachers

    It was a glorious day for three teachers of St. Mary’s Catholic Nursery and Primary School, Irona, Ado-Ekiti who  were honoured at an impressive ceremony to mark their retirement from public service.

    Former Head Teacher, Mrs. Rebecca Moradeke Ogundare; Assistant Head Teacher Mrs. Janet Leye Ojo and class teacher Mrs. Deborah Olufunmilayo Adelusi were honoured after putting in the statutory 35 years in careers that dated back to old Ondo State.

    Teachers, non-teaching members of staff and pupils of the school, teachers and pupils from other schools, family members, well wishers and other members of the public thronged the school’s sport field to witness the event. The event featured songs, recitation of poems, cultural dance, choreography by pupils and special song from the teachers of the school.

    Teachers of the school were resplendent in their pink lace ‘aso ebi’ and sky blue headgears. They defied the scorching sun to sing for the retirees with whom they enjoyed good working relationship.

    The three retirees and their spouses wore grey lace materials with orange headgears to match.

    The retirees were also showered with gifts from individuals and the schools where they served during their careers.

    The chairman of the occasion, Senator Bode Ola, in his speech congratulated the trio on the retirement from public service.

    He advocated an enhanced welfare package for teachers, noting that teaching is the foundation of all other professions.

    In her address, Head Teacher of the school, Mrs. Modupe Ajayi, said that it is a thing of joy to work for 35 years and retire without any blemish.

    She said the teachers’ efforts must have produced important persons in the society.  But added: “Sadly enough, the society does not accord due recognition to teachers and this calls for a rethink.”

    “The retirees of today had paid their dues and are bowing out with their heads held high. They have contributed in no small measure to the education of many pupils in the last 35 years and have left their indelible prints on the sands of time.

    “There is nothing done for them that can match what they have put in. We can only ask God to compensate them appropriately. While in service, they were dedicated, committed, hardworking, compassionate, painstakingly thorough.

    “All these attributes marked them out as thoroughbred administrators, a legacy they bequeathed to their successors. As they were successful at work, they were equally successful on the home front as virtuous women. The staff and students cannot thank you enough for your contributions and we will ever remain grateful”.

    Mrs. Ajayi also hailed what she called the “unparalleled cooperation and support” of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) in the success story of the school.

    Responding on behalf of the honorees, the retired head teacher Mrs. Ogundare expressed delight for the “great honour” done her and the two other retirees which she noted would remain indelible in her memory.

    Mrs. Ogundare described teaching as the best profession in the world saying she and her co-retirees were fulfilled being teachers as the profession gave them an opportunity to mould the future of the nation’s future leaders.

    She said it was a rare privilege to serve for 35 years and quit when ovation was loudest commending the staff and pupils of St. Mary’s Catholic Nursery and Primary School for their cooperation during her tenure as head teacher.

    “Today is a glorious day for us, serving for 35 years is rare privilege and we want to give God the glory for sparing our lives to witness today in which we are being honoured by all of you who are here.

    “We are all fulfilled being teachers and teaching still remains a noble profession. Its contributions to nation building cannot be quantified and we are glad that the pupils who have passed through us are making their marks all over the world.

    “On behalf of the retirees, I want to thank you for honouring us today and we are grateful for these wonderful gifts you have showered on us. We will continue to remember today and thank God for the rest if our lives”, she said.

     

  • North’s glorious state of ignominy

    SIR: It is like the beautiful sky is falling in the North.  The serene landscape of man’s harmony with nature is burning like a desert fire all in the name of fighting for a cause.  Some say it is political.  Some say it is religious.  The spilling of human blood like the slaughtering of rams to appease an unknown god reduces humanity to a glorious state of ignominy.  The nation buries its head in the sand like an ostrich and presumes ignorance of the genesis of the crisis. The responsibility is on all Nigerians to find a solution to remedy the idiosyncratic anomalies oppressing the country.

    Nigeria must grow in unison.  It is fundamentally unacceptable in this modern time for any part of the country to lag behind in any critical form.  Historically the North has been viewed as the region with the less inclination for modern schooling.  It is understandable that there might have been structures in place that necessitated this condition.  Today, it is in the best interest of Nigeria that the North is educated in equal pace with other regions.

    The reckless destruction of lives in the North cannot possibly be disassociated from the brutal consequences of group thinking – them against us – that may not allow for intellectual articulation of the facts.  No matter how one looks at the insurgency, it is the North that is being physically, morally and economically decimated.  One fears reason has been trounced.  If there is going to be an end to this fiasco, who gains?

    Viewing from a broader angle, the nation cannot afford to go backward while the rest of the world is moving forward especially when some regions are advancing in this state of modernism.  It is one’s understanding that a universally educated mind can be able to process the facts around its existence and push forward the best ideology for the betterment of humanity.  One is not canvassing for the abandonment of parochial philosophies but rather an alignment with the moving universe.

    The supervising minister for education, Nyesom Wike recently announced the re-location of students from five federal government colleges in the North-east to safer ones in the area.  Evidently, even the government expects escalation of the insurgent murderous attacks.  One would think that the government should fortify the schools against these aggressions.  But since life has no duplicate, perhaps the government should spread the umbrella of protection to cover free education for any student in the crisis prone areas who is willing to continue schooling in the safer states around the country.

     

    • Pius Okaneme

    Umuoji, Anambra State.

  • And a glorious passage in Benin

    While we are still on the subject of death and its icy mischief, it is meet to report the glorious passage of the beloved mother of our friends, the late Madam Wuraola Eniye Alonge, relic of High Chief Joshua Alonge, the late industrialist and giant entrepreneur. She was laid to rest in Benin at the weekend after a Service of Songs on Thursday at St Peters Anglican Church, Lagos street.

    As we pray for mama’s blissful repose, here is wishing Chief Femi and Yemisi Akinrinade, Eunice Obaro, Ayo Alonge, Imaden Eze-Iyamu and Arese Alonge the strength to bear the loss of their mother-in –law and mother respectively. As mama joins her ancestors in eternal rest, here is wishing the living long life and more fruitful endeavours.

    It is obvious that it has been a celebration of life rather than mournful sorrowing. When snooper put a call through to Benin city on Thursday from faraway New York, it was obvious that Chief Femi Akinrinade, our look alike twin brother, was in high spirit and fine fettle. “Bros”, snooper began with his usual opening gambit for reluctant veterans. “Tani bros e, you this stupid upcountry boy?” the chief from the Yakoyo interior shot back. Snooper may be a country bumpkin, but it was not long ago when our man confided in snooper that as a youth he used to be sent from Yakoyo all the way to Ita Akogun in Ile-Ife to buy dele, a village delicacy, by the stern, no-nonsense father of all generals, the late Chief Akinrinade himself. May they all rest in peace.