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Tag: grace

  • Theme: His Grace will raise you!

    Theme: His Grace will raise you!

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

    • By: Henry O. Adelegan

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

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

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

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

    To enable His grace change the game for you during this season of Lent, please cry to God to forgive your past sins and surrender your life to Jesus Christ, cry to Him to help you, don’t consider that you have apprehended, forget the things which are behind, remain resolute in Christ Jesus and press on towards the goal to win the prize which has been set before you. As the Lord lives, His grace shall rest on you this month of March 2024, the game of your life will change for the best and your story shall be to His glory in the name of Jesus Christ.

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

  • You are lifted by Grace for Your Race

    Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, who was the son of King Saul and a special friend of King David. When he was five years old, his father Jonathan was killed in battle. Fearing that the Philistines would seek to take the life of the young boy, a nurse fled with him to Gibeah, the royal residence, but in her haste she dropped him and both of his feet were crippled (2 Samuel 4:4). He was carried to the land of Gilead, where he found refuge in the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar (2Samuel 9:4). He was a hopeless case but one day grace lifted him up and terminated his long years of lack, agony and misery. The King remembered Jonathan and decided to show kindness to the lame. Mephibosheth woke up in the morning depending on friends, families and neighbours to move round and eat but when grace stepped in for him, he slept at the king’s palace with servants at his beck and call.

    The race of Mephibosheth was not darkened until grace stepped in for him. It was grace that separated him from the comity of beggars, overlooked his physical status and positioned him in the palace among the league of the privileged few that eat on the king’s table. Besides that, it was grace that made power to change hands for him. Mephibosheth that hitherto depended on family members and friends for sustenance now had them depend on him to have access to the seat of power. Beloved, for a person of grace, it is not over. When grace steps in, disgrace flies out.

    Human efforts are without enviable result in the absence of His grace. It is His grace that determines human race and not efforts. Race is a subset of grace, it validates race and without grace, life is fraught with endless struggles. No wonder Solomon declared that “the race is not to the swift, battle not to the strong, riches not to men of understanding and favor not to men of skill but time and chance happens to them all.”(Eccles. 9:11). While it is good to work (2 Thess. 3:10), it is imperative to note that His grace is the needed catalyst that speeds up life reaction (Romans in 11:5, 6; Zechariah 4:6). Grace makes all things happen. Even if you are a nuisance to the society and unwanted in the polity today, your stardom shall be revealed in grace. Smith Wigglesworth was a nuisance as a plumber but grace found him out at age 48; he was called home on 12th March 1947 at 88 years but his star is still shinning not because of educational degrees or human work or efforts but by the grace of God.

    The success story of Paul the Apostle was predicated on neither his works nor his worth. In fact, his works were grievous and he was worthless of being a celebrity in Christendom but grace found him out and lifted him.  Paul told the Corinthians  that “… by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me (1Corinthians 15:10). Grace qualifies the unqualified. When grace steps in, physical disabilities are overlooked. Moses, like Apostle Paul, had a terrible background such that he was declared a persona non grata in Egypt (Exodus 2:11-15) but where he was hated and forsaken that no man came to him, grace made him a celebrity (Isaiah 60:15). He was a stammerer hence not qualified to be God’s spokesman but grace qualified him (Exodus 4:10-12).

    Esther also was a lady that was unqualified to be a Queen but grace qualifies the unqualified. She was, unlike other competitors, unskilled in the art of cat-walking, make-up or modeling but “….the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti” (Esther 2:17). Joseph too experienced that grace beginning from when he was born as a special son to his parents (Gen. 37:3), to when he worked as a special housekeeper in Potiphar’s house (Gen. 39:3-5), served as a special prisoner (Gen. 39:21-23) until he rose to become the Prime Minister in Egypt without any degree or need to be confirmed by any arm of government (Gen. 41:40-44).

    Grace puts an end to sufferings, perfects the ways of the helpless, stabilizes marriages and economy, strengthens the weak and settles the hopeless (1Peter 5:10); it disgraces disgrace and raises a person’s head above peers (Psalm 94:17-19). Grace gives direction and does exceedingly abundantly above thoughts and prayers (cf Ephesians 3:20). It therefore doesn’t matter the obstacles you are facing now at home, work or family, the grace of God has capacity to lift you above every mountain, pick you up from where you are, give value to your life and revive your lost hope ( Romans 9:15-16).

    Beloved, don’t lose hope no matter what, It is not over with you. There is greatness inside you. Your greatness is in your race and your race is hidden in His grace. Peter was a fisherman but grace lifted him (Luke 5:1-11). He was a nuisance as a fisherman but a star when grace found him and made him a fisher of men. Jesus was the son of a Carpenter but the grace upon His life lifted Him up. Jephthah was forsaken by his people because of the circumstance of his birth but grace found him out (Judges 11).

    During this time of lent, grace shall lift you up. What you need to do to obtain grace that will navigate your life to greatness and testimonies is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour (Colossians 1:27; John 6:37, 10:14) – He bought you with a price so that you will be fulfilled in life and not a servant of men (1Cor. 7:23). In addition, you must develop increasing knowledge about Him through His Word (2 Peter 1:2-3; Joshua 1:8), humble yourself (1 Peter 5:5b), have heaven in view and be a kingdom investor (2 Corinthians 9:8).

     

    Prayer: May the Almighty God make grace available to me place my feet on the chosen race and make me a blessing, in Jesus’ name

  • Of Christmas, grace and angst

    Of Christmas, grace and angst

    Here we are again, that season of bright colours is upon us again. But this year, it seems to have come like a thief-roused-you-in-your sleep! You get up groggy-headed wondering what the heck is going on; then you realize an intruder is in the house. And your medulla races rapidly from bemusement to anger, then angst – in that order.

    This is the situation for Hardball and surely, for many of his compatriots. (You may take it to the bank for this Hardball fellow has the best hunches in the land).

    For a clime that bottomed out last year and has been roiled in the muck of recession since then, it is understandable the bright, red and green colours of Christmas are dulled. No country operates at sub-optimal; at sub-zero and expects its citizens to be gay at Christmas. Which other country, a major oil producer at that, is working and living at below zero percent?

    And speaking of a major oil producer, how can citizens  spending most of the season on queues at the filling stations be happy?

    Fuel scarcity ; poor power supply; queues at filling stations spilling into the highways impeding traffic especially for travelers… they sit there for hours cursing the day they strayed into this land, hauling pellets of abuses to whoever they believe is responsible for their woes. In this cycle of angst and abuses, who says there is no mystical potency to the tongue?

    Now is it the stars of the Black man or some malevolent sprites that would not allow him make good? How come a country that’s bequeathed with billions of barrels of crude oil cannot refine the product and maximize her immense bequeathal? Hardball must have asked this same question over a thousand times in different media and at different times.

    For over three decades; yes thirty years, Nigeria has been importing the bulk of her petrol needs along with over one dozen other petroleum products! All by-products of crude oil which she exports on the cheap and imports at premium prices.

    Why has this most important solution to Nigeria’s economic ills eluded over half a dozen successive governments including the current one? Stopping petrol products importation is the magic wand any government needs to wave. Why is everyone blind to this fact?

    Refining is almost as old mankind; so is power generation technology a commonplace knowledge. Yet most cities of Nigeria are in darkness even on Christmas Day… degeneracy continues to creep in on us like evil worm. Payment of salaries becomes cardinal achievement amongst our governments…and many of my compatriots would sing the carols on empty stomach today. Angst in a state of grace…

  • Mugabe’s fall from Grace

    SIR; Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s only ruler since it became a democracy in 1980, and one of Africa’s longest serving rulers (37 years in power) finally bowed to pressure and resigned as President of the republic. It was a fitting climax to a series of events which began when the military rolled out tanks unto the streets and effectively placed Mugabe under house arrest. It also marked the end of a power struggle within the ruling ZANU-PF party between the G-40 made up of Mugabe’s wife, Grace and her allies, and the Lacoste faction made up of former Vice President and now President Emmerson D. Mnangagwa, General Constantino Chiwenga (representing the military) and the war veterans of Zimbabwe’s struggle for liberation. The struggle for power in ZANU-PF actually began in 2014 when the two factions united to oust former Vice President, Dr Joyce Mujuru from power. They later turned against each other in a bid to produce Mugabe’s successor as the 93 year old leader grew increasingly weak and frail. However, things got to a head when Mugabe sacked Mnangagwa as Vice President citing disloyalty which triggered a chain of events that eventually culminated in his outing from power. But how did Zimbabwe get to this point?

    Circa 1980, Mugabe came to power as a hero beloved not only by Zimbabweans but by the whole of Africa. He was regarded as a hero, liberator, emancipator and an African statesman. He transmuted from Prime Minister to President and everything went on smoothly for him and the country until Britain repudiated the terms of the Lancaster House Agreement which was signed in 1980. The Lancaster House Agreement stipulated that Britain would pay a certain amount of money to Zimbabwe annually as compensation to enable Zimbabwe redress the inequitable distribution of land in the country. The money would then be given to Black farmers to buy back land from the White settler farmers; land which originally belonged to their ancestors. Everything went on as planned with Britain making the payments annually and Mugabe even receiving a Knighthood from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II until Tony Blair came to power as Prime Minister in 1997 and put an abrupt end to the payments citing lack of finances even when Britain was not known to be experiencing any recession of any sort at that time. Three years later, under pressure from the war veterans, Mugabe ordered the forced seizure of lands from White settler farmers and the redistribution of such lands to the blacks most especially to the war veterans. This attracted sanctions from not only Britain but also from her allies-America and other European countries, which effectively crippled Zimbabwe’s economy turning the once bread basket of Africa into a basket case-apologies to Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

    Every effort by the West to remove Mugabe from power failed as he enjoyed maximum support from the triad of the party, the military, and the war veterans. But that was until 2014 when his wife Grace who had hitherto remained incognito became increasingly active in public life. Her vaunting ambition to succeed Mugabe as President is at the heart of the political crisis that has engulfed Zimbabwe since 2014. As a matter of fact, it will not be wrong to posit that Mugabe’s fall from grace was due to his wife Grace as her active involvement in public life including her incendiary statements alienated Mugabe from his power base. A similar situation in the 18th century led to the downfall of a French king and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. We have also had two similar cases in Nigeria, one more recently which led to the downfall of two Nigerian presidents. Indeed, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it’s mistakes.

    • Peter Ovie Akus,

    Ifo, Ogun State.

  • Mugabe, Grace “ready to die for what is correct”,says nephew

    Mugabe, Grace “ready to die for what is correct”,says nephew

    President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and his wife Grace are “ready to die for what is correct” and have no intention of stepping down, his nephew, Patrick Zhuwao, said.

    Speaking to Reuters from a secret location in South Africa, Zhuwao said Mugabe had hardly slept since the military seized power on Wednesday but his health was otherwise “good”.

    The leaders of Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party are set to meet on Sunday to approve the dismissal of President Robert Mugabe, the only leader the southern African nation has known since independence 37 years ago, two party sources have said.

    An extraordinary meeting of the party’s central committee is expected to convene around 10:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) to consider removing the 93-year-old, four days after a military seizure of power ostensibly aimed at “criminals” within his entourage.

    Separately, state television said Mugabe would meet military commanders on Sunday, quoting the Catholic priest who has been mediating in negotiations with the president.

    On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Harare, singing, dancing and hugging soldiers in an outpouring of elation at Mugabe’s overthrow.

    ZANU-PF’s central committee is also expected to reinstate Emmerson Mnangagwa as party vice-president, resurrecting the political career of the former security chief, nicknamed The Crocodile, whose sacking this month triggered the military’s intervention.

    Mugabe’s wife, Grace, will be fired as head of the ZANU-PF Women’s League, the sources told Reuters, completing the demise of a 52-year-old former government typist who just a week ago stood in pole position to succeed her husband after Mnangagwa’s dismissal.

    The pair’s stunning downfall is likely to send shockwaves across Africa, where a number of entrenched strongmen, from Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni to Democratic Republic of Congo’s Joseph Kabila, are facing mounting pressure to step aside.

    In scenes reminiscent of the downfall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, men, women and children ran alongside the armoured cars and troops who stepped in this week to oust the man who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980.

    Under house arrest in his lavish ‘Blue Roof’ compound, Mugabe has refused to stand down even as he has watched his support from party, security services and people evaporate in less than three days.

    On Harare’s streets, few seemed to care about the legal niceties as they heralded a “second liberation” for the former British colony and spoke of their dreams for political and economic change after two decades of deepening repression and hardship.

    “These are tears of joy,” said Frank Mutsindikwa, 34, holding aloft the Zimbabwean flag.

    “I’ve been waiting all my life for this day. Free at last. We are free at last.”

    The crowds in Harare have so far given a quasi-democratic veneer to the army’s intervention, backing its assertion that it is merely effecting a constitutional transfer of power, which would help it avoid the diplomatic backlash and opprobrium that normally follow a coup.

    The U.S., a long-time Mugabe critic, said it was looking forward to a “new era” in Zimbabwe, while President Ian Khama of neighbouring Botswana said Mugabe had no diplomatic support in the region and should resign at once.(Reuters/NAN)

  • Kwankwaso: Of character and grace

    Scholars in leadership have since concluded that the most important attribute of leadership is not power but character. According to this school of thought, every leader is only as safe and secure as his character. Indeed, character matters essentially because it preserves a leader’s cause and legacy.

    Adjunct to the above perspectives is also the view that the currency of true leadership is trust. In other words, trust is the product of character. As noted by Theodore Roosevelt, character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.

    Thus as Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso turns 61, this background is a fundamental basis for looking at his life and essence especially as regards his leadership. One is particularly interested in this interrogation of Kwankwaso’s celebrated life at this point in time in relationship with the concept of ubuntu, thereby factoring in his contributions (ideas and actions) to society and development as we can also possibly learn from his leadership ethos.

    Ubuntu as explained by Nelson Mandela in his preface to the acclaimed intimate work on him by his autobiographer and former editor of Time magazine, Richard Stengel, is the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others. Yes, this is crucial in understanding Kwankwaso’s leadership principles.

    From a humble beginning in 1956 to his ascendancy as a top bureaucrat in the civil service of Kano State to his foray into politics where he has made a distinct mark and legacy, there is a subsisting evolvement of clear correlation between Kwankwaso’s enigma and substantive leadership. A correlation encompassing in the main, the critical values of character, vision, humanity and a general sense of what and how a better society should be.

    A scion of the Mallam Aminu Kano School of politics, Senator Kwankwaso has so far carried on with impressive record of achievements, building on that remarkable footprint of Aminu Kano as a spirited public servant devoted to the talakawa, making it very important to tailor public policies to properly address pro-poor agenda for development.

    In achieving this altruistic goal, we come face-to-face with his modern day political philosophy otherwise known as Kwankwasiyya, a model which emphasizes the core of human development as a function of government’s sincerity to the people and in the process making trust the fulcrum of leadership.

    In an article published in 2014, I had advocated that Kwankwasiyya be made a national ideology based on first-hand experience of vast development initiatives during a visit to Kano towards the end of Senator Kwankwaso’s second term as Governor of Kano State. I joined senior editors who were taken round several projects across the state for two days and at the end, it was too clear to all that Kano had actually witnessed a major renewal: from sterling education to infrastructure, roads, bridges and underpasses, modern housing, power, integrative agriculture,  creative empowerment and a general sense of societal regeneration. What we also saw and assessed was the methodical way the then governor carried out his duties, anchored on the true spirit of Kwankwasiyya that ensures prudence, transparency and accountability. The results were everywhere and we saw how Kwankwaso’s noble deeds had elevated his accomplishments in the minds of the people, casting him in the mould of a messiah and hence his huge popularity and followership. Thus beyond the ubiquitous symbolic red caps, Kwankwasiyya was and remains a workable model the nation could borrow to rejig our national development paradigm with the main focus on two basic parameters:  leadership trust and true development.

    Grippingly, the leadership question subsists as a national albatross. But the situation is not insurmountable if we as a people are ready to confront the dilemma squarely and conquer our collective fear. Of course, we must necessarily break from our past by reckoning with and taking decisive steps towards practicable and effective leadership which also transcends the enlightened self interest of the elite formation in the society. But certainly this mentality cannot take us far, not even in the least towards making a meaning of what really should constitute the basics in our search for a new direction.

    The crux of my thoughts in the foregoing were reflective in Senator Kwankwaso’s manifesto of revival tagged “Change is Possible” which also formed the kernel of his address during his declaration for president in October 2014. And until we are ready to tackle the inherent issues in our leadership odyssey as encapsulated in that major address, the jarring cries of national rot may yet remain a constant.

    The situation is really sad. A nation so endowed is now practically run aground with mind-boggling revelations of scandalous graft in high places. Tell me what an individual needs 56 houses for, more so when we realize these houses were built from our common patrimony by virtue of being in public office!  Obviously we are very sick as a nation. Thus a reordering of our values is basic to a new sense of direction in our national life—the beginning of the healing process. This is why the concept of ubuntu referred to in the beginning of this piece needs a closer look so that we can share a sense of sanity, brotherhood and togetherness as no one is an island. We must begin to believe that we exist for others as others also strive to serve a noble cause in our shared humanity. In this kind of consciousness, the resort to such brazen kleptomania in high places will probably be reduced to a tolerable level in our national life.  This is the higher purpose we can also pick from Kwankwasiyya as a leadership model. Admittedly the leader of this movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso continues to inspire, matching noble character with realism and grace.

    Succinctly, we need to inculcate a new ethic of responsibility and selflessness in public service and go beyond platitudes and tokenism in our resolve to tackle the scourge of corruption and underdevelopment. We owe ourselves a duty to enthrone men and women of integrity who can actually commit themselves to a new set of social contract— binding and altruistic.

    We have so far seen in our national history that power itself does not guarantee good governance; hence we need to place emphasis on the character of the office holder, men or women of distinguished character who will do us proud as patriots, who see public office as a TRUST. These are solemn thoughts for national rectitude as we celebrate with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on the occasion of his 61st anniversary.  Change is possible!

     

    • Olutomiwa, a journalist and public affairs analyst writes from Lagos.
  • Alibaba, others grace JCI TOYP gala

    Alibaba, others grace JCI TOYP gala

    It was a night of glitz and glamour when legendary Nigerian entertainers, Alibaba and Daddy Showkey joined several dignitaries and members of Junior Chamber International, Nigeria to honour recipients of the JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons (JCI TOYP) award 2017 at the organisation’s 60th Anniversary TOYP Gala.

    The event which had over 600 guests in attendance was held recently at Glitz Events Centre in Lekki, Lagos, and was hosted by comedian and actor, Lafup.

    Among other notable guests who graced the occasion were Prof. Sidi Osho, pioneer Vice Chancellor, Afe Babalola University, Mr. Isaac Orolugbagbe, Former MD of FedEx, and Mr. Dele Adeyinka, CDO, ALAT Digital Bank by Wema.

    The 2017 JCI Nigeria TOYP awardees are Mark Okoye, Adepeju Jaiyeoba, Imrana Alhaji Buba, Oluyomi Ojo, Akomaye Peters-Benson, Ukinebo Dare, Mayowa Adegbile, Ayodele Dada and Affiong Williams.

    Interestingly, Imrana Alhaji Buba and Adepeju Jaiyeoba have also been named as recipients of the World JCI TOYP awards, the first time 2 Nigerians will appear together in the global top 10.

  • Celebrities grace The Voice Nigeria, as live show begins in Lagos

    Celebrities grace The Voice Nigeria, as live show begins in Lagos

    The newly built Terra Kulture Theatre played host to what looks like its biggest crowd so far, when the first live episode of The Voice Nigeria Season 2 aired on Sunday, August 27.

    Spotted at the event were Celebrities like Akpororo, Linda Ejiofor, Kemi Lala-Akindoju, MawuliGavor and some finalists from last season of the reality show.

    Hosted by popular television personality OzzyAgu, the show went live at 7pm, with ecstatic audience who, obviously, savored the thrilling performances from contestants.

    The live shows involve four members of each team performing, with the coach choosing to save one contestant and the three remaining contestants put up for public voting. One lucky contestant who amasses the most votes ends up being saved.

    The red carpet at the screening kicked off at 6pm local time, and guests were seated by 7pm as the live show began. #TeamPatoranking got the show rolling as the contestants took to the stage one after another. Kessydriz performed Tina Turner’s What’s love got to with it, whilst Afolayan sang J Martin’s E No Easy. Hightee thrilled with Lauryn Hill’s Doo Wop and Voke sang Reekado Bank’s Ladies and Gentlemen. Patoranking saved Hightee.

    #TeamYemiAlade was up next with Chris Rio performed Stiches by Shawn Mendes. Ifeoma touched a few nerves as she sang Andra Day’s Rise up. Jahnomso followed with Show me love by Robin S and Bunmi sang YemiAlade’sWant you. YemiAlade eventually made a call and saved Ifeoma.

    Following this string of impressive performances was #TeamWaje with Efezino kicking off with a rendition of Clean Bandit’s Rockabye. Glowrie gave an emotional performance of Adele’s Hello while Favour sang Tiwa Savage’s All over and Wow, the 80s man, raised the bar with his performance of Kool and the Gang’s Get down on it. Glowrie was saved by Waje.

    #TeamTimi had Bada who sang Sean Kingston’s Beautiful girls while Amarachi (sister to Dawn from Season one) performed Meghan Trainor’sNo. Wolei sang Brymo’sAraand finally the strong voiced Precious regaled the coaches and audience with his lovely performance of Whitney Houston’s Nothing. Preciouswas saved by Timi.

    Public voting opened immediately after Sunday’s show and closes on Thursday, August 31, 2017. To vote, organisers urge fans to send the sms numbers of their favourite contestant to 32052. Each contestant’s number is advertised on the show’s website and television.

  • Graceless Grace

    Among the encumbering tribe of African power denizens, Zimbabwe’s First Lady Grace Mugabe flaunts her place with peculiar hubris. She is perhaps the most notable consort in power now who can’t wait to personally take over the reins. And that might well just be to formalise a function she is widely noted to already have appropriated for herself in proxy capacity. Because with her nonagenarian husband, President Robert Mugabe, being Africa’s oldest political ruler and by reason of age obviously fraying in lucidity, Madame Grace is reputedly the power behind the Harare throne and de facto lord of the Zimbabwean manor.

    But Her Imperial Ladyship may have pushed her arrogance of power beyond her own safety limits with the alleged assault, penultimate Sunday, on a 20-year-old South African model. Grace Mugabe was reported to have battered Gabriella Engels with an extension power cord upon finding her waiting in a hotel room in Johannesburg’s upmarket suburb of Sandton, in company of another lady  to meet up with her two adult sons, Robert and Chatunga. Both Mugabe boys, in their 20s, are resident in South Africa – a country that apparently offers a more luxuriant lifestyle than deprived Zimbabwe, which has been presided over for more than a whole generation by their father.

    Indications were that Gabriella was waiting to tag with Chatunga (and possibly the other lady with Robert) when the First Lady walked in to deliver her jungle justice. “We were chilling in a hotel room, and (the sons) were in the room next door. She came in and started hitting us,” the model told local media early last week. “She walked in with an extension cord and just started beating me with it. She flipped and just kept beating me with the plug, over and over…I needed to crawl out of the room before I could run away,” the media quoted her saying.

    That narrative was modified somewhat at a press conference last Thursday where Gabriella said she and four others, two of whom were the Mugabe boys, were “having pre-drinks” when Madame Grace walked in, looking for her sons. “The only people that were in the room with us were her bodyguards and they were standing back while she was beating us…I don’t understand why she attacked us like that,” she told journalists.

    Puritans could raise a red flag that a model and her friends, meeting up in a hotel room with male companions could well be scarlet damsels. And if so, it should be expected that the wife of famously ‘Old School’ President Mugabe, with his legendary advocacy for antediluvian ethics, would feel morally affronted. But even at that, her judgment on who to bear the brunt of her moral umbrage was specious, because the Mugabe boys at their age were self-accountable. Actually, they might have arranged the very rendezvous and footed the bills entailed in view of their privileged parenthood. The apparent nuance here is that rather than confront the seeming default by her sons on parental credo, the First Lady found it convenient to scapegoat Gabriella and her squad in that showpiece of primitive conduct.

    Well, South Africa isn’t a part of the Mugabe fiefdom. And so, as at the weekend, Madame Grace’s alleged aggression had rendered her a virtual hostage within that country’s borders. Following Gabriella filing a formal charge against her, the South African police required that she turn herself in for arraignment; but she did not and rather stayed out of sight, even forfeiting chances to give her side of the incident. But she also couldn’t leave South Africa because the police posted a red alert at the country’s borders to thwart her fleeing justice.

    Meanwhile, Her Ladyship stirred a diplomatic rift between both countries. Because Zimbabwe moved to invoke diplomatic immunity cover for her, whereas she was reported to be on a private medical visit and had not even used her diplomatic passport for the trip. But you could as well see the dilemma faced by South African authorities: besides being the wife of President Mugabe, with whom South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma is reportedly chummy, Grace is in her own right a potential president-in-waiting for Zimbabwe. She is in dead heated contest with Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa to take over the presidency after Mugabe leaves, and only last July pressed the 93-year-old to name his preferred successor in an apparent gambit to upstage Mugabe’s long-held position that the ruling Zanu-PF should choose a successor.

    The Mugabe camp as at the weekend was reported making overtures to buy out Gabriella and her family in a civil settlement. And it could succeed at some point with doing that. We wait to see what would remain of Madame Grace’s gracelessness when she is let off the tangle.

    Adventures of Area Fada

    Maverick entertainer, Charly Boy, and like-minds in the #Resume or Resign Coalition would perhaps have recognised by now that every cause has its cultural morality. In other words, no matter how necessitated or well intentioned a pursuit is, it needs to be first processed through the mill of cultural morality – more so in a dominantly traditional society like ours.

    Nigerians are typically nearly fetish about occasions that underscore human mortality – like deaths and debility by ailments. And so, even if it seems quite awkward, though not by any means illegal, that a serving President has been away from office on indefinite medical leave for some 100 days and counting, there is an inhering cultural mentality of forebearance and accommodation in most Nigerians because it could well be anybody else. In any event, the said absence has not in any significant way impaired the processes of governance.

    Charly Boy and his gang apparently didn’t think their mission through when they hit the streets last week, purportedly compel the resumption or resignation of ailing President Muhammadu Buhari. They had it coming to inevitably hit a dead end. What was evitable was the crude sleigh of hand by security agents against the group early in its campaign, and the mob attack on Charly Boy at Abuja’s Wuse Market that compelled calling off the campaign. Lynch mode, in my view, is never a justifiable disposition to any stimulus – even alleged ethnic incitement.

    Charly Boy did say the group was only backing down to re-strategise; I would say: perish the thought! There are more than enough counter-foot soldiers to bootleg your rallies and set the stage for violent confrontations.

    But that isn’t saying there are no issues with Mr. President’s continued stay in the United Kingdom, which I think symbolises submitting Nigeria’s sovereignty to that country, and a damning no-confidence vote in Nigerian medicare. It says nothing of the curious economics of the officially acknowledged parking fees for the presidential jet in London, which by now has topped a sum that could catapult the Nigerian medical system, if not indeed the entire economy, into the First World. And it says nothing of the seeming official tack now of crassly blackmailing any criticism of government with an accusation of corruption hugging, even where the critic by a long stretch hasn’t been near the public treasury in his/her dealings.

     

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  • Grace, not work, will save Christians, says Okonkwo

    Christians need absolute faith in the finished works of Christ to overcome the challenges of life, Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Dr Mike Okonkwo, has stated.

    He spoke recently as the lead guest minister at the Superfest Miracle crusade of the Abundant Life Church Agege, Lagos.

    Speaking on the importance of visions God gave Gideon, Moses, Abraham, Joshua, David and others; he pointed out that they overcame by sheer vision.

    He urged worshippers to follow their examples to realise their prophetic destinies.

    He said: “Many of you carry books in your chests. Some of you   have ideas that can change the world. Don’t trivialise what you have. You are loaded and cannot fail.”

    Espousing on the famous miracle of Jesus in John 5:1-9 concerning the bedridden man at the pool of Bethsaida, the fiery preacher said only grace saved the situation.

    “Out of the multitude, grace spotted the sick man and he was delivered. It wasn’t by his effort, prayer or fasting,” Okonkwo pointed out.

    He explained how his faith took a leap recently.

    “For years, I thought that my faith could draw down the miracle and appropriate divine blessings until God opened my understanding.

    “How faith works is that, it apprehends what God has already done through the finished work on the cross by Christ Jesus.”

    He added: “Faith only connects with what Jesus has given to us as born-again Christians. No one is ever saved by what he did but by the mercy of God.”