The Nation Newspaper

Tag: religious

  • Religious mischief

    When some religious charlatans otherwise known as professional clerics want to be mischievous, they call Nigeria a secular state. Without being told, they, themselves know how mischievous they are. Such a controversial claim is an example of how to eat one’s cake and still want to have it.

    How can a state be said to be secular when her constitution allows for worship according to faith; when most of her public holidays are determined by religious festivals; when her government’s seat of power  (Aso Rock) accommodates official Mosque and official Church; when Muslim and Christian pilgrims boards are formally established with full time officials paid from the tax-payers money; when all government public functions start and end with religious prayers and a religious consultative forum called NAREC is put in place to advise government on religious matters?

    Shouldn’t some so-called religious leaders show good example via decorum by calling a spade a spade and not a hoe if only to demonstrate leadership in the way of God as they claim? If, for material gains, religious leaders are the ones to tell blatant lies on obvious matters, who will preach the truth to the populace especially the younger generations? Given the undeniable facts chronicled above, Nigeria is evidently a MULTI-RELIGIOUS and not a SECULAR STATE.

    Therefore, let not our children be taught how to tell lies by our so-called religious leaders. Truth is like the sun. Denial of its rays by blind people does not stop its existence.

  • Kwara CAN suspends participation in religious matters

    The Kwara State branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has suspended its participation in the state’s Committee for Religious Matters.

    The association alleged that appointments at every level in the state are in favour of Muslims.

    The state CAN chairman, Rev James Folaranmi, told reporters yesterday in Ilorin, the state capital, that the association was demanding fair representation at all levels from the government.

    The cleric threatened that “if the requests are not attended to, other actions may follow” in the next seven days.

    The Kwara CAN is asking for immediate stop to “marginalisation of Christians, either by design or connivance; a fair share of Christian chairmanship candidates in the October 26 local government election in the state; a fair representation in the State Executive Council and board appointments at the state and federal levels; a stop to “marginalisation” of Christians in the civil service and denial of employment to Christian job seekers.

    It is also asking for the use of merit in the appointment and posting of heads of government-owned schools; “depoliticisation” of the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, where it said Muslims are decide for the board and use pilgrimage slots for political patronage.

    The association called for the allocation of a Christian cemetery,which it said has been pending before the state government since 2009.

  • ‘How to prevent religious, political extremism’

    ‘How to prevent religious, political extremism’

    urists, political and religious leaders gathered in Lagos last week to explore how to collaborate for a better society free of extremism.

    It was at an annual lecture organised by Aelex, a law firm. It had the theme: In God’s name: politics, religion and economic development.

    Participants, who cut across the professions, sought an end to religious conflicts which are disrupting socio-economic development.

    At the event were former President, Court of Appeal, Justice Mustapha Akanbi (rtd); Justice Benedicta Molokwu (rtd); Justice Funmilayo Atilade and Justice Oludotun Adefope-Okogie of the Lagos State High Court; retired Anglican Bishop, Rev. George Bako; Editorial Board Chairman of ThisDay, Segun Adeniyi; Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN); Secretary, Arewa Consultative Youth Forum, Comrade Sulaiman Tijani, and Managing Partners of Aelex, Funke Adekoya (SAN) and Soji Awogbade.

    Speakers argued there must be limits at which politics and religion interfere, otherwise the nation may never get out of its present predicament.

    Participants also argued that there was need for the various religions to teach its followers the core values of the religion, as well as curb its excesses, bearing in mind that its rights and privileges stops where another religion begins.

    It was agreed that to draw a clear cut line between political and religious excesses, a new constitution that will be agreed upon by Nigerians through negotiations was inevitable.

    Participants said politics and religion work hand-in-hand, and the persecution, restrictions, harassment and marginalisation of various religious groups or communities across the world have resulted to the reprisals evident across all the continents.

    An Associate Director of Religious Freedom Project, Georgetown University, United States, Prof. Timothy Shah, delivered the guest lecture where he noted that the most violent, system-wide global security upheavals tend to arise when the fuel of radical ideology is thrown on the fire of a “revolution in rising expectations.”

    He said a revolution in rising expectations occur when widespread popular expectations about social circumstances were rising, while actual social conditions were stagnant or declining.

    “We should not be complacent and say it cannot happen here. It is happening in otherwise peaceful communities. It is happening everywhere,” he said.

    Shah said there was a growing “gaping global religious freedom deficit”.

    “Given the dangers and pervasiveness of revolutionary religious militancy as a global security challenge, it must become a leading priority for the US intelligence and policy communities to closely monitor and pro-actively counter the radicalisation of religious groups across the world.

    “Religious freedom fosters human capital; service oriented NGOs, attracts a diversity of immigrants and builds social networks, which all promote economic prosperity.

    “There is no viable strategy in the face of the threats of religious militancy than what might be called a strategy of comprehensive religious security. That is aggressively promoting religious security for all groups in every society.

    “Such a strategy is likely to reap a wide array of benefits. On one hand, it is likely to diminish the likelihood of religious militancy, violence and political instability-dangerously interrelated dynamics that are too intense and common in our world of rapidly rising expectations.”

    Justice Akanbi who chaired the occasion, noted that the solution was not squarely legal but also moral. He said there was need for Nigerians-leaders and followers-to practice the core principles of their religion, which is love and peace.

    “We need to educate the people in the values of religion. No religion preaches war or violence. Religious leaders have to be sincere and preach the word of God to the understanding of their followers. When you get power, you must agree within yourself to be a changed man.

    “We have to sit down and talk to set standards for greatness. Nigeria has every quality to be great but people need to be educated from childhood,” he said.

    Mrs Adekoya said the law as a regu lator either through the constitution or a legislation should be employed to balance the conflicting interest of politicians and political parties, religious bodies, in order to allow for development.

    She said it was important that Nigerians sit down and negotiate on certain terms which shall be biding on all parties, and allow for economic development.

    “When there is a defining law in place which all parties agree to, then, discrimination or even child slavery will fizzle out. All parties will know the limit they can go and the economy will thrive.”

    Awogbade, in his opening remarks, said the law firm chose the topic as a result of the challenges the country was facing. He said though their duty was ‘lawyering’, they realised that many Nigerians have looked away from foundational issues, hence, they want to wake people up, especially now that religious and political violence have found their way into the polity.

     

     

  • ACF: Clark dividing Nigeria with ethnic, religious sentiments

    ACF: Clark dividing Nigeria with ethnic, religious sentiments

    The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) yesterday denied urging northern voters not to vote for other candidates except those from the region in the 2015 general elections.

    The forum said it was against what it called the seeming ethnic and religious sentiments of Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, which could divide the nation.

    In a statement yesterday by its spokesman, Anthony Sani, ACF said it has always made it clear that it does not encourage politics of religion and ethnocentrism.

    The forum explained that North’s candidates are free to solicit for votes from any part of the country.

    ACF also said it is against starting the campaigns for the 2015 elections now because it might derail the government.

    According to the forum, this is the same position of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The forum’s Chairman, Alhaji Aliko Mohammed, reportedly said northerners would only vote for candidates from the region in the 2015 polls.

    The statement said: “I know the chairman as a patriot, a nationalist and a democrat. He would not say or do anything that can cause havoc to the unity, stability, harmony and peace of Nigeria.

    “He knows that a president who is elected by only a section of the country cannot reasonably be expected to bring Nigerians together and help them live up their synergistic potential. That is to say, a president cannot preside over a divided people and expects to succeed.

    “This explains why our chairman has encouraged exchanges of visits among sister organisations and fora across the nation, in furtherance of the spirit of dialogue, which is needed to dispel misconceptions and break barriers and build bridges to enhance the unity and stability of not only the North but also the whole country. This is because the strength and unity of the country come with trust and confidence as well as with a social contract.

    “Therefore, it would be uncharitable for anybody to interpret the remarks by the chairman to mean all northern voters must vote for only northern candidates, and all southern voters must vote only southern candidates in 2015.

    “This is because the chairman is in the know of the trite that such approach to politics can divide the country along regional lines, which contradicts what he stands for and promote: a united, strong Nigeria that is socially diverse, economically empowered and politically active…”

  • Promoting religious unity

    Captains of industry, eminent politicians and Muslim leaders graced the 50th anniversary of the C & S Salem Evangelical Church of Christ (Model Parish) in Ilupeju, Lagos. DADA ALADELOKUN writes

    IT was incredible, but it happened. Islamic clerics and their Christian counterparts gathered inside a church to worship together. It was at the C&S Salem Evangelical Church of Christ (Model Parish) in Ilupeju, Lagos, which celebrated its 50th anniversary. Popular Muslim songs interspersed with Christian numbers and members of both faiths danced to their hearts’ content.

    The atmosphere was electric.

    The Shepherd-in-Charge, Superintendent Apostle Abraham Babatunde Odele, former Chairman of Mushin Local Government, described the occasion as a day the Lord specially made.

    What appeared the highpoint of the occasion was the frenetic “dance contest” between Alhaji Sulaimon Opeyemi, Chief Imam Jamiu of Mushin Central Mosque; his Ilupeju counterpart, Alhaji Gafar Shittu – both Spiritual Guests of the day – and Odele (aka PawPaw)ww.

    The congregants rose in delight when both Islamic giants took turns to render some Christian songs. Odele followed suit, and the dancing spree began full-scale. The church choir added spice to it all with the rhythm of their drums.

    Many ascribed the inter-faith rapport to Apostle Odele’s relationship with both faiths before, during and after his tenure council chair in Mushin and later, Ifako-Ijaiye areas of the state. Some others recalled that his Ikorodu-born parents were Muslims.

    “He (Odele) is an outstanding advocate of robust Christian-Muslim rapport to cement the unity of Nigeria,” the Church Secretary, Special Apostle Noah Sipebi said.

    “Thank you, Lord, this tradition of tolerance is still alive today,” obviously delighted, 84-year-old Baba Aladura John Olufemi Philips seemed to say to himself. Roundly adjudged a man with awesome spiritual anointing, he is said to be the first male child to be christened by the late Saint Moses Orimolade Tunolase, the founder of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, at its birth.

    He was said to have stood solidly behind the Salem parish in times of its tribulations.

    Apostle Odele, who echoed the admonition of Arch Bishop Magnus Atilade, the preacher, in his sermon, reiterated the need for religious leaders to emulate his church and embrace tolerance to put the nation on the path of oneness, unity and genuine progress.

    The church service was not the only programme line up for the celebration. Earlier on Thursday, same week, Apostle Odele had, with his brethren, taken the church’s trademark philanthropy to the SOS Village and the Old People’s Home.

    What could be described as “lavish” reception for guests took place at the premises of Odi-Olowo Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Town Planning Way, Ilupeju, after the service. It turned out a gathering of loyal friends of Apostle Odele and, indeed, the church.

    Officials of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) were on hand to ensure sanity in the neighbourhood. It was said to be at the instance of Commissioner for Transport, Comrade Kayode Opeifa.

    A 15-man musical band welcomed guests into the arena with sonorous tunes. Ably in charge was Princess Folake Adebayo Dada. She doubles as Vice President, Association of Juju Musician of Nigeria (AJUMN) and notable member, Dorcas Band, in the church. Her performance was enthralling. And she was paid back with good dance, words of commendation and of course, wads of naira notes!

    All eyes were on her for about two hours after the session rolled off the ground. Another music star, Mentor Kay, later hit the band stand. Everyone rose to dance, except perhaps, former people’s governor of the state, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, who for his age, sat and watched in delight.

    Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, was represented by Opeifa; Senior Special Adviser (SSA) on Religious Matters, Princess Akintoye Braimoh and SSA on Christian Matters, Pastor Sam Ogedengbe.

    The First Military Governor of the state, Brig-Gen Mobolaji Johnson (rtd), with his wife, Olufunmilayo, and Senator Anthony Adefuye, the Olugbon of Lagos, who chaired the reception, attended the ceremony. Members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) were also there.

    Well represented at the event were: Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, Hon Abayomi Dauda Kako-Are of the House of Representatives; Lagos State Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye and the Chairman, Odi-Olowo-Ojuwoye LCDA, Aremo Adeyemi Ali.“They have over the years, proved to be reliable pillars of the church,” Apostle Odele told The Nation.

    Prince Bayo Osiyemi, who succeeded Odele as Chairman of Mushin Council, graced the occasion with the chair, Olatunde Adepitan. Oba Fatai Irawo Odunsi of Odi-Olowo was also present. Other eminent politicians, including Mrs Awodogan, popularly addressed as Iya Oniyan, made it there. Women in the church, in customised Ankara fabric, under the aegis of Esther Band, gave an impressive showing.

    Celebrity lady, Joko Oni, President/Chief Executive Officer, Gold Rush Ltd, was the Spiritual Mother of the day. There were other influential Nigerians from across all spheres of life, including the Etal Hotel & Events Centre boss, Olufunke Olowe, who handled part of the catering services at the event. Earlier in the church, she has stunned many pleasantly as the eloquent interpreter for the Guest Preacher. Fashion and Style buff, Adebayo Harstrup. Harstrup, one of Nigeria’s Fashion and Style Ambassadors, with his wife, Lara, who owns the popular catering outfit, Roving Pepper Ltd, humbly served guests with rice, pounded yam and other comestibles.They remained on their toes while the segment lasted.

    The anniversary cake, designed by Biola Adebayo, cut the image of the church’s cathedral. It was said to have been sponsored by Apostle Odele, a builder, who, The Nation learnt, designed the church’s structure at its inception.

    In turns, the guests joined Apostle Odele for photographs after the cake-cutting session under Adefuye’s supervision. As the merriment continued as the curtain appeared being drawn on the outing, for Apostle Odele, it was a final moment for warm embrace and hand-pumping with guests who, in turn, joined him in appreciating God for a God-ordained journey in the Lord’s Vineyard.

  • Religious freedom under attack

    Religious freedom under attack

    Violations of religious liberties have increased in some areas of the world, a U.S. State Department report says, singling out Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China, even Belgium.

    “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

    So says the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. But a voluminous report issued by the State Department last week demonstrates that those lofty principles continue to be widely dishonored. In some areas, the violations of religious liberty have increased, with a rise in sectarian violence, an increase in anti-Semitism and a proliferation of blasphemy laws that are used to suppress not only religious but political dissent.

    The International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, which was released by Secretary of State John F. Kerry pursuant to a 1998 act of Congress, is unsparing in describing violations of religious freedom even in countries allied with the United States. For example, the report notes that Pakistan has been the scene of violence against Christians, Hindus and Shiite Muslims, and it accuses the government there of enacting intolerant laws. In Egypt, it says, there has been little accountability for perpetrators of religious violence. In Saudi Arabia, “the public practice of any religion other than Islam is prohibited, and the government enforced restrictions on religious freedom.”

    Not all of the offenders were Islamic states. In China, one of eight nations designated as “countries of particular concern,” the government’s respect for religious freedom declined during 2012, according to the report, particularly in Tibet and the Xinjiang region, home to Muslim Uighurs. The report’s inventory of restrictions on religious freedom even included Belgium, where courts upheld a ban on face coverings that made no exception for Muslim women.

    A major theme in this year’s report was the enactment of laws making it a crime to insult religion, which, as Kerry noted, “are frequently used to repress dissent, to harass political opponents and to settle personal vendettas.” Ironically, the same U.N. General Assembly that approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights encouraged the enactment of blasphemy laws by voting three years ago to condemn the “defamation of religions.”

    In the aftermath of the report’s release, some questioned its utility because it is primarily an exercise in information-gathering and does not trigger any sanctions. The same complaint is leveled against the State Department’s annual report on the state of human rights in various countries. But there is value in an objective and open-eyed accounting, even if U.S. diplomacy sometimes must be guided by factors other than a foreign nation’s respect for individual rights. And sometimes, though not often enough, governments can be shamed by the truth into changing their behavior.

    – Los Angeles Times

  • A lesson in religious tolerance

    A lesson in religious tolerance

    SIR: As Christians celebrated Easter, commemorating the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, I will like to call the attention of different religion bodies all over the world to the Scottish church which showed love to their Muslim counterparts.

    According to the Daily Mail of London, a Scottish church became the first in the UK to share its premises with Muslim worshipers. Last month, St John’s Episcopal Church, Aberdeen welcomed hundreds of Muslims to pray five times a day in their building as the nearby mosque was so small that they were forced to worship outside.

    The minister of the church, Rev Isaac Poobalan, handed over part of the church hall to Chief Imam Ahmed Megharbi who led prayers in the main chapel. Rev Poobalan said that he would not be true to his faith if he did not offer to help.

    He said: “Praying is never wrong. My job is to encourage people to pray. The mosque was so full at times, there would be people outside in the wind and rain praying. I knew I couldn’t let this happen – because I would be abandoning what the Bible teaches us about how we should treat our neighbors… It’s a big building and it remains empty on a Friday lunchtime which is when they need the place most as that’s when they are at their busiest”.

    Rev. Poobalan said he wanted the move to help build bridges between Christians and Muslims after some initial resistance from his congregation.

    It’s also worthy of mention that the mosque received the help the church offered in good spirit. Sheikh Ahmed Megharbi reportedly said: “what happens here is special and there should be no problem repeating this across the country. The relationship is friendly and respected.”

    I urge different religious bodies all over the world to learn from this. We must learn to live together in harmony and in love and try to even help another in time of need. I believe there is no religion that preaches violence, therefore the religious leaders must preach peace, tolerance and friendliness among their members so that there can be peace in our world.

    Religious leaders must learn from Pope John Paul ll who was the first Pontiff to visit the Ummayad Mosque in Damascus in may 2001, when he embarked on a pilgrimage that took him from Greece to Syria to the island of Malta. I believe it is the same God who created all of us in different religions; therefore we must love our neighbor as ourselves regardless of our religion differences because our God is love.

     

    • John Tosin Ajiboye

    Osogbo, Osun State

  • Obadare: Exit of a religious colossus

    The Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) worldwide is bereaved. Death sneaked into the vineyard of God, snatching a legendary labourer, Prophet Timothy Obadare. The Ijesa-born founder of the World Soul Winning Evangelistic Ministry (WOSEM) and disciple of the late foremost evangelist, Apostle Joseph Ayodele Babalola, died yesterday He was 85. The late prophet was a renowned radio and television preacher, revivalist and spiritually fulfilled priest.

    Prophet Obadare left without a legacy of scandals. For over 60 years, he was a travelling evangelist; winning souls for Christ, feeding the faithful with the bread of life, preaching the word of God, baptising people and founding churches in the nooks and crannies of Yorubaland. Throughout his life time, he lived by example, shunning ostentatious lifestyles, opulence and pursuits of transient worldliness.

    Every Sunday night, at 7.30 pm, people usually gather around the radio sets to listen to his weekly sermon. The late Obadare was a blind man, but he knew the Bible chapters and verses, and if a wrong chapter or verse is read, he would instantly correct the reader, to the amusement of the listeners.

    The man God usually hosted a huge congregation for the monthly Ipade Oluwa Olorun Koseunti at the WOSEM Headquarter, Agbala Itura, Akure. Nigerians from the 36 states, and with different ailments and problems, would throng the revival centre for three days, before returning home with their faces lit up with smiles.

    Unlike modern aristocrat-churchmen and spiritual entrepreneurs, who perceive the pulpit as another avenue for private accumulation, the great pastor never departed from the path of his mentor and role model, Apostle Babalola. It is a common saying in the C.A.C circle that Apostle Babalola literarily handed the evangelistic baton to Prophet Obadare, shortly before he died in 1959 at the age of 55 years. During the great apostle’s last outing, he was said to have directed Obadare to sit on his seat when he rose up to deliver the sermon and conduct the prayers. He never returned to the seat.

    However, the C.A.C of old was a conservative church nurtured on the code of succession based on seniority. Thus, following the death of the pioneer C.A.C General Evangelist, Babalola, the church founder who had refused to become the church’s President, Pastor D.O. Babajide became the second General Evangelist. In the evangelical wing, the late Pastor S.O. Akande (Baba Abiye of Ede), Obadare, and the late Pastor Olukayode, were next in rank to Babajide as the Assistant General Evangelist.

    Prophet Obadare was not a nominal pastor in the C.A.C from the onset. He had a calling. A vocal Bible teacher and orator on the pulpit, he was destined to be a roving evangelist. He fulfilled his spiritual destiny when, through God’s inspiration, he founded WOSEM for the sole purpose of expanding the horizon of evangelism in the C.A.C. Obadare was endowed with the gifts of the spirit. In various towns and villages, after preaching and prayers, witches and wizards would voluntarily step out to confess their sins and embrace Jesus publicly. Idol worshippers would dump their idols and join the fold in holy communion.

    The late evangelist achieved fame through the dint of hard work in God’s House. In the eighties, he founded the WOSEM braches in United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Europeans and Americans marveled at the rare gifts bestowed on a blind man quoting the Bible copiously and healing the sick at revivals. In numerous interviews to both local and foreign media, he also used the media as a platform for evangelism.

    WOSEM, his initiative, is a registered entity, although Obadare submitted to the C.A.C rules as one of its leaders. The church hierarchy could not perceive any tension between the mother C.A.C and its evangelical extension, WOSEM, under Obadare when Pastor Elijah Latunde and Pastor J.B. Orogun were the Presidents of the church. However, when Orogun was shoved aside as the President, there arose an inexplicable feud between the Supreme Council of the C.A.C and WOSEM over the basis for its corporate existence and financial status.

    Pastor Orogun, his deputy, the C.A.C. General Superintendent, Pastor Joseph Olutimehin, the National Secretary, Pastor N. Udofia, Pastor Babajide, Pastor Joseph Olu Asaju, Pastor Adegoroye, and Obadare were men of the old order who objected to the move to ease them out of office as members of the C.A.C Supreme Council and Executive Council. To them, retirement for priests was alien. They believed that the non-profit missionary work, which they had embraced since the days of Babalola, must continue, until they die. Orogun, Olutimehin, Asaju and Babajide later accepted their fate when they were retired.

    When Pastor Elijah, a reformist, became the C.A.C President, Obadare’s juniors in the church hierarchy, Pastor Alokan and Pastor S.O. Abiara, who became the General Evangelist, still paid respect to him.

    However, Udofia, Adegoroye and Obadare resisted the move to impose retirement on them. They insisted on the succession patter, urging younger elements to wait for their turn. This disagreement led to the split in the C.A.C and protracted litigation that followed. Until the resolution of the court case, C.A.C had two factions.

    The crisis that engulfed the church did not slow down Obadare. Although he did not accept the leadership of Pastor Elijah Oluseye, who recently stepped down as the church President, he did nothing to pull down the edifice erected by the patriarch, Babalola. Before his demise, he took the title of an apostle, which the church did not dispute because of his contributions to the growth of the organisation.

    Obadare’s death will, no doubt, create a vacuum that will be difficult to fill. With his death, Nigeria has lost a pious priest, a charismatic church leader and great revivalist who left his footprints on the sand of time.

  • Address religious extremism, urges Mark

    Nigeria yesterday demanded immediate and sustained global action against religious extremism in some parts of the world.

    Senate President David Mark made the demand at the 127th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Quebec, Canada.

    Mark said steps should be taken to address the crippling effects of ethnicity.

    The Senate President said tackling religious extremism and ethnicity would help to reduce divisive tendencies in some parts of the world.

    He reiterated that “though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we want.”

    He restated that more than ever before humanity has come to understand that despite language, ethnic, cultural, race, religious, gender as well as political inclination and economic diversities, it is in brotherhood that progress could be achieved in the world.

    Mankind, he said, has also come to appreciate the more that no community, whether local or international, is an island to itself.

    The Nigerian High Commissioner, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, said the crippling insecurity in the country can be resolved.

    Maduekwe noted that with a vibrant parliament, option for peaceful resolution of the country’s challenges remains bright and potent.

    He said the Nigerian National Assembly is the most robust, the most visible and the most structured indication that democracy is not only surviving in country but will also transform the nation.