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  • Restore LYF: Dr. Ray strand, grape seed doctor (1)

    Restore LYF: Dr. Ray strand, grape seed doctor (1)

    I am glad that, finally, I am able to write again about RESTORE LYF, one of the “hot-cake” nutritional supplements of 2021 and a potential star plant medicine in 2022. The last time I tried to put my hands on the plough last year, I limited myself to the product literature and a few ideas I gained about 20 years ago from Dr.Ray Strand, author of WHAT YOUR DOCTOR DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT NUTRITIONAL MEDICINE MAY BE KILLING YOU. This is a great book by a humble, forthright doctor who could not help his dying wife but was kind enough to let medical lay friend treat…and heal her, using food supplements. Dr.Strand openly admits that neither he nor many doctor studied nutrition at school, what a doctor did not know about nutrition may be why he/she was not curing diseases…and his/her patients may be dying. 

    Before I proceed to let us hear directly from Dr.Strand himself about the experiences which urged him to become a nutrition inclined doctor, I would like to seriously advise that, this year, you read this book, introduce it to your doctors, friends and family members as one of the health books which deserve a worthy place in their home health library. Our doctors are well-meaning and humble persons who would not mind to learn from us their patients what would help them to save our lives…and the lives of other patients. I said at the beginning I was happy finally, I could now write this column the way I wanted. That was because, when I first attempted to, Dr.Strands book was missing from my library. I had been reading it since 2002. I was interested in one case history helped by one of the constituents of RESTORE LYF, a product of NATURE’S WAY of the United States. I asked MRS OMOLARA BELLO, resident in London, if she could send a copy to me. She tried to but could not before CORDELIA DIKE called from New York to say her sister, IMMACULATE, resident in California, had purchased a copy. The hard cover bore a hole in my pocket. About 2 weeks later, another copy arrived from Mrs Bello.

    Dr strand

    This is the humble story of Dr.Strand:

    “I was not sure how much more frustration I could bear over my wife’s deteriorating health. And I wasn’t just another worried husband, I was a medical doctor. As a physician for more than thirty years, I was accustomed to having answers to medical questions. After graduating from the University of Colorado Medical School and doing postgraduate work at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, I settled into a successful family practice in a small city in western South Dakota. Along the way I met and married Liz. She had some health problems, but Liz honestly thought that if she married a physician her health would improve. Was she ever wrong! Before long our family included three children under the age of four and a busy Liz grew increasingly weary. Every mom with little children is tired, but Liz seemed unusually fatigued. Although she was only thirty years old, she told me she felt sixty.

    “As the years passed she developed more symptoms and health problems that required several medications. By our tenth anniversary Liz was so tired that most of the time she labored to put one foot ahead of the other. She experienced continual, total body pain, overwhelming fatigue, horrible allergies and recurrent sinus and lung infections. Finally, after testing and evaluation, Liz’s doctors diagnosed her problem as fibromyalgia. This medical condition involves an array of symptoms—the worst being chronic pain and fatigue. In years past fibromyalgia was called PSYCHOSOMATIC RHEUMATISM, and doctors believed the disease was all in the patient’s head… Liz was willing to try anything so that she could continue the pursuit of her passion: training and riding dressage horses. But in time her pain and fatigue curtailed all work with her beloved animals. She became so tired that she was unable to stay up much beyond 8:00pm, and she struggled just to keep up with basic domestic chores.

    “Since fibromyalgia has no cure, all I could do to ease Liz’s symptoms was load her up with medications. I had her taking amitriptyline at night for sleep, anti-inflammatories for pain, muscle relaxants, inhalers for her asthma and hay fever, seldane for allergies, and eventually weekly allergy shots. In spite of my efforts and all this medicine, year after year her health gradually worsened. In January of 1995 Liz and I concluded that more exercise would benefit us both… One infection after another left her sick and on antibiotics more often than not. In March she developed a severe pneumonia. She labored to breathe as one lobe of her lungs became completely filled with infection and closed off. The physician caring for her lung was very concerned it might not hear and could possibly even require surgery and removal. We consulted an infectious-disease specialist, and he placed Liz on intravenous antibiotics, steroids, and nebulizer treatments. Fortunately, within two weeks the pneumonia cleared. Her cough, however, persisted, and she continued on heavy medication for months.

    “Of greater concern was her fatigue, which was now worse than ever. Liz was out of bed only about two hours a day. Her asthma and allergies were raging and only with luck could she make the walk to the barn to see her horses. Liz was so sick the children took turns staying home from school to care for her. Constantly in bed, she felt too weak to even go watch TV or read. This went on month after month. Although I maintained my professional exterior, on the inside I was growing desperate. I visited several times with the pulmonologist and the infectious-disease specialist. They assured me that with Liz’s diagnosis they were doing everything possible. When I asked how long it would take for her to recover, the answer was six to nine months—or maybe never. About this time a friend of the family shared with Liz that her husband had also had pneumonia and had experienced significant fatigue during the recovery. He took some nutritional supplements, and they helped him regain his strength. Liz and her friend were aware of my negative attitude toward vitamin supplements, so Liz knew she would need my blessing before trying them. When she asked, even I was surprised at my response: ‘Honey, you can try anything you want. We doctors certainly are not doing you any good’. 

    “Presuppositions to the test

    To be honest, I knew next to nothing about nutrition or nutritional supplementation. In medical school I had not received any significant instruction on the subject. I was not alone. Only approximately 6% of the graduating physicians in the United States have any training in nutrition… As I mentioned in the introduction, the education of most physicians is disease-oriented with a heavy emphasis on pharmaceuticals—we learn about drugs and why and when to use them. Because of the respect people have for doctors, they assume we are experts on all health-related issues, including nutrition and vitamins. Before my conversion experience with nutritional medicines, my patients frequently asked me if I believed their taking vitamins produced any health benefits. They brought their bottles of supplements into the office and let me look at them. I’d wrinkle my brow and, with my most astute professional expression, would carefully examine the labels. Handing the bottles back, I’d say that the stuff was absolutely no use at all.

    “My motives were good: I just didn’t want people wasting their money. I truly believed that these patients did not need supplements and could get all the vitamins they needed from a good diet. After all, that’s what I had learned in medical school… What I did not share with my patients was that I had not spent a minute evaluating the hundreds of scientifically conducted studies that proved the value of supplementation to health. But what was I to do about my sickly wife? I might be able to pull off professional magic at the office, but at home I was just another husband looking on helplessly as his wife wasted away. I really had no choice, so I said to Liz, ‘Go ahead, try the vitamins. What do you have to lose?’ Her friend brought a collection of vitamin supplements to our house the next day—heavy on the antioxidants: nutrients like vitamin E, vitamin C, and beta-carotene that protect the body against the harmful effects of oxidation. Liz eagerly swallowed them and downed two health drinks as well. To my amazement, within three days she obviously felt better. I was happy for her but confused. As subsequent days passed, Liz gained more energy and strength and even stayed up later in the evenings. After three weeks of faithfully swallowing many pills and consuming those strange-looking drinks, Liz felt so good that she stopped taking the steroids and nebulizer treatments.

    “Three months passed, all bringing gradual improvement, and Liz never looked back. She was stronger than she had been in years and exuded a renewed outlook on life. I saw the sparkle in her eyes when she returned from training and caring for her horses. She not only could do the work in the horse barn but also was no longer fearful of suffering from allergic reactions to the hay, mold, and dust. Instead of limping off to bed shortly after dinner, she was staying up until 11:00 and 12:00 at night. I was now the one who headed to bed before my mate. What had happened? If I had not been an eyewitness to this transformation, I would have never believed it. Was it possible that some ‘weird vitamins’ had restored my wife’s health when all the medical expertise and medications could not help? Not only had Liz’s lungs recovered from the pneumonia, the symptoms of her fibromyalgia had improved dramatically. Since there really is no medical treatment for fibromyalgia, what was going on? Was this one of God’s mysterious miracles or was it possible that Liz’s newly recovered health was due to those—HORROR—nutritional supplements? For a person trained in medical science I did what comes naturally: I decided to run my own clinical trial. I culled my records to find five of my worst fibromyalgia patients and asked them to visit my office. (How’s that for a twist—a doctor calling a patient to make an appointment?) I shared Liz’s story with all of them and suggested they consider taking nutritional supplements. I told each patient that I had no idea whether this ‘alternative treatment’ would help… 

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    “Typical fibromyalgia sufferers are despondent, so each of my five subjects was very eager. After a period of time ranging from three to six months, without exception each patient reported improvement after taking the vitamin supplements. Not everyone had as dramatic a health rebound as my wife, but all were encouraged and had fresh hope. One of these women’s cases was particularly severe. She had sought answers at the Mayo Clinic and two different pain clinics, but because there really is no effective medical treatment for fibromyalgia, she found no consistent relief. A year earlier pain had so beaten her down that she had attempted suicide. Now, after taking these vitamins, she called and left a message on my home answering machine. Obviously in tears and struggling to speak, she said: ‘Dr.Strand, thank you for giving my life back to me’. Every doctor loves to hear words like that… Since I knew that my preliminary study with five patients was not enough to reach scientific certainty on nutritional supplements, I needed to dig deeper.

    “My research on supplementation

    While browsing through a bookstore a week later, I saw a book by Dr.Kenneth Cooper called THE ANTIOXIDANT REVOLUTION(Thomas Nelson, 1994). Since I had always admired Dr.Cooper for his expertise on aerobic exercise and preventative medicine, I was inquisitive about his opinions on antioxidants. Dr.Cooper explained a process called ‘oxidative stress’, which he indicated was the underlying cause of chronic degenerative diseases—essentially a ‘who’s who’ of the health problems plaguing humanity today… We all know that oxygen is essential for life itself. Yet oxygen is also inherently dangerous to our existence. This is known as the oxygen paradox. Scientific research has established beyond a shadow of doubt that oxidative stress, or cell damage by free radicals, is the root cause of more than seventy chronic degenerative diseases. The same process that causes iron to rust or a cut appple to turn brown is the underlying initiator of diseases like coronary artery disease, cancer, strokes, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s dementia, and macular degeneration. That is right: we are actually rusting on the inside. Evey chronic degenerative disease I have mentioned is the direct result of the toxic effects of oxygen. Infact oxidative stress is the leading theory behind the aging process itself. In addition to this, our bodies are under constant attack from an army of pollutants in our air, food and water. Our stress-filled lifestyle also take a toll. If we do not counteract these processes, the result is cell deterioration and ultimately, disease. This is why the truths revealed in this book are so critical to our health.

    “Learning about how unhindered oxidative stress damages the body drastically changed my perspective on chronic degenerative diseases. For example, since oxidative stress can actually cause damage to the DNA nucleus of the cell, it may be the actual villian in cancer. This opens up the tremendous possibility of using antioxidants in cancer prevention. Since oxidative stress also causes arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, macular degeneration, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and Crohn’s disease, nutritional supplements may also combat and control those illnesses. In his book Dr.Copper reported on some studies of patients done at his aerobics center in Dallas concerning the cause of ‘overtraining syndrome’. Surprisingly, Dr.Cooper discovered that some athletes who trained intensely ended up later struggling with serious chronic illness. They all showed signs of having oxidative stress, and the list of the symptoms associated with the syndrome were eerily similar to those of fibromyalgia patients. I began to wonder, could oxidative stress cause fibromyalgia too? Is this why my wife and several of my patients are getting better by taking high-quality antioxidants? This marked the beginning of my investigation into the ‘dark-side’ of oxygen… In the past year alone, I have examined more than thirteen hundred peer-reviewed medical studies involving nutritional supplements and how they affect chronic degenerative diseases. These studies are double-blind, placebo-controlled medical studies show a significant health benefit to those patients who take nutrients at optimal levels, which are significantly higher than the RDA(recommended daily allowance) levels.

    Vitamins and you

    When you understand the tremendous damage that oxidative stress inflicts during normal daily life on the human body, you realize how important it is to optimize your own natural defense system. Your health and life depend on it. Through my research I learned that the strongest defense against these diseases is our bodies’ own natural antioxidants and immune systems. These are far superior to any drugs I can prescribe. I concluded after much study that using nutritional supplementation on patients is not alternative medicine but is instead complementary medicine. Infact it may represent the very best in mainline medicine because it is true preventive medicine. Taking nutritional supplements is not about eradicating disease, it is about promoting vibrant health. After reviewing medical research studies, I have absolutely no doubt that my patients who take high-quality nutritional supplements have a health benefit over those who don’t. Although a patient may have a particular health problem, in recommending supplements I am not necessarily treating that particular disease. I am simply enabling the patient to provide the nutrients to his/her body at the optimal levels that studies have shown to provide a health benefit based on medical research. This approach to health I have labelled CELLULAR NUTRITION, which enables the body to do what God intended. The personal case histories that I present in this book are ones I have documented in my office…

    “… Almost all of these true-stories are about patients who had lost their health too. With much encourage and determination they continued to seek answers, and after testing the principles presented here, they regained their health. Liz is my best case study. By the way, her health remains robust—even though she married a doctor! Instead of spending many hours of everyday on pain and weakness in bed, she now lives the full life of her dreams. She had the energy to fully enjoy being a wife and mother. And her passion for training and showing horses is no longer just wishful thinking but a daily reality”.ent from Yahoo Mail on Android

  • Emirates to restore second Lagos, Abuja daily flights 

    There are indications that Emirates Airlines  may restore its second daily flight on Lagos and Dubai route.

    The airline reduced its twice daily flight on the route last year due to financial and operational reasons.

    Apart from cutting Lagos flights, the airline stopped operating into Abuja.

    Emirates Regional Manager, West Africa Commercial Operations, Afzal Parambil, said in Lagos last week that the airline had opened discussions with teh government on the matter.

    The airline said it was working on restoring the flights following studies on operational viability of the affected routes.

    He said: ”We stopped our second flight between Lagos and Dubai because of operational reasons. We are discussing with the  Minister to restoring the routes. Very soon, you will hear from us on the matter.”

    Describing the route as the airline’s second largest market in Africa, he said operations in the country were not without some inherent challenges.

    He  cited trapped funds from ticket sales and other issues, which forced Emirates to stop flights into Abuja.

    He said: ”In the last years that we have operated flights into Nigeria, it has had its many challenges. Though our second largest market in Africa, it was painful last year when we stopped operations into Abuja, due largely to operational and economic reasons.

    “But, to sustain any flight operations, it must be operational viable. There is indeed possibility to return to Abuja.“

    He backed the plan by the Federal Government to float a national airline, saying the model to be adopted depends on the sustainability of the proposed carrier.

    “There are several models that a national carrier can follow, saying Emirates is an example of state owned carrier.”

    On the plan to get a huge chunk of the Chinese market, Parambili said the airline plays a huge role of bringing and taking passengers from Nigeria and add value to the Nigerian economy. We want to promote Nigeria as an investment destination.”

    Meanwhile, Emirates Airlines is offering its Nigerian travellers special fares on return Economy Class and Business Class tickets to select destinations across its network, including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

    The airline is rolling out the special fares to celebrate what it termed a milestone in aviation history when it welcomes the delivery of its 100th A380 aircraft later this year.

  • Govt urged to restore investors’ confidence in power sector

    To achieve sustainable stable power supply, the Federal Government has been urged to restore investors’ confidence in the power sector by creating an environment that will encourage investors to invest, while ensuring the safety of their investments and profitability.

    The Global Business Director, Future Energy Nigeria, Ade Yusuf, gave the advice in Lagos.

    He said the recession or paucity of funds should not deter the government from encouraging investors to come into the sector.

    According to him, Nigeria’s energy sector and economy have a bright future.

    Future Energy Nigeria is a platform for stakeholders in the power sector. Yusuf was in Nigeria to meet decision makers to discuss the way forward for the Future Energy Nigeria’s event scheduled for November.

    Yusuf, who spoke with The Nation in Lagos, said the exited recession should have motivated the government and industry operators to ensure that basic measures to stimulate economic growth were put in place, adding that reliable and affordable power supply would drive the expected growth.

    He said the Nigerian Power Sector Recovery Programme was an important message to the world  that there would be significant improvement in power, and the achievement of the desired economic change with a more diversified and inclusive economy.

    According to him, sustainability of recovery programmes creates an important foundation to showcase the enormous business and investment opportunities that the sector provides.

    He said: “I am excited about Nigeria’s energy future. Future Energy Nigeria initiative wants to boost government’s drive to achieve sustainable energy security for the populace. We all know that there is a lot of work to do. We have to restore investor confidence, showcase the myriad of opportunities in the sector; from gas to renewable, from generation to distribution and from building projects to providing specialised services, but there is need for us as stakeholders including the government to stand together and make it happen.”

    Formerly West African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC), Future Energy Nigeria is supported by the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, Distribution Companies and prominent generation companies, among others.

  • ‘We ‘II restore stability in Edo Assembly’

    ‘We ‘II restore stability in Edo Assembly’

    Hon. Osagboivo Iyoha is the lawmaker representing Oredo East Constituency in the Edo State House of Assembly. In this interview with OSAGIE OTABOR,  he rules out any further change of the Speaker.

    What can you say about the current Assembly making history by having four Speakers within two years?

    It is the beauty of democracy. What is constant in life is change. We have four Speakers in two years because of the situation we find ourselves. We realised that, base on the political tripod, the slot is zoned to Edo Central. If you look at the dynamics of politics, Edo Central among the three senatorial districts is the most disadvantaged, in terms of the lawmakers we have in the APC from that zone. There are three members of the ruling party from Edo Central in the House. In Edo South, all the lawmakers are from the APC. In Edo North, we have almost 100 percent lawmakers. There are limitations in the choice of candidates we can pick from Edo Central. In the scenario, there is bound to be issues.

    Why the use violent means?

    This is parliament. There is nothing that happened there that is out of the ordinary. We have had worst fights in other assemblies. Fighting in the Assembly happens across the world. It is bound to happen where you have people from diverse areas coming together. In democracy, minority will have their say while the majority will have their way. It is normal.

    There are allegations that the constant leadership change was as a result of the new lawmakers like yourself who want to make quick money and not to serve the people.

    These are the figment of the imagination of whoever is propelling that analogy. Before veering into politics, I am a business man. This Assembly has the highest number of people that already carved a niche for themselves either in business or politics. It is not a case of the new lawmakers coming in to enrich themselves. The new lawmakers did not get elected to make billions of naira. The House of Assembly is not where you expect to make money. It is about sacrifice. Nobody has come into the Assembly to make money. This new Assembly has men who came to serve after establishing themselves. You know we have 24 lawmakers. We did not expect to have four speakers within two years. I am a businessman before coming into politics. I believe in firing an employee that did not meet up to standard. You keep on firing until you get the right person.

    Are there plans to succumb to the agitation to return the Speaker’s seat to an Esan lawmaker?

    I believe this will be the last leadership by this Assembly because you have to worry about public perception. You don’t have to be the head of an organisation to change the lives of the people of Esanland. I believe there are other ways. We are 24 members. We are all qualify to become Speaker as majority of us are members of the ruling party. Nobody was elected as a speaker. The issue to worry about is not about balancing of power but impacting on the people of Esanland. I do not think the people will be too worried if without being Speaker they can get the dividends of democracy. We are here as lobbyist trying to drag projects to our people. It is good we have a stable house. We are here to make laws for them and not for rancour. Under the new leadership, we will make sure we impact on their lives with good laws. We just wanted to make sure our House is the type that can work with the executive. The present administration is focused on delivering the dividends of democracy to the people. Governor Obaseki has spent barely eight months in office and you can see the kind of project he has embarked on. The people are already feeling him. If we have such a leadership with a corrupt House of Assembly, we will never be able to fully transmit the vision of the governor to the people. We are the first representatives of the people. We are in constant touch with the people. The last leadership was self serving. If the people are happy with the governor, for what reason will the lawmakers said they are not happy.

    Why was Okonoboh removed from office?

    The former Speaker, Okonoboh, was removed for abuse of office. He allowed himself to be used by other principal officers. He was grossly incompetent. Our procurement laws in awarding contracts were abused. A lot really went bad under Okonoboh. If you are managing 24 people, you should be able to leave above board. There was a vote of no confidence on the past leadership. The issues are now before a committee.

  • CCC: ‘Time to rebuild and restore’

    Mother Celestial Victoria Olusola George was the cynosure of all eyes at the 66th Adult Harvest Thanksgiving Service held at the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Makoko, Yaba, Lagos, on August 6. The church at Makoko is the “National Headquarters – The Cradle of Celestial Church of Christ in Nigeria and Overseas.”

    She was celebrated in the event programme under this attention-grabbing heading:  “One of the Miracles performed by Jesus Christ through Rev. S. B.J. Oshoffa – Extract from C.C.C. Constitution Sections 53 – 57.”  Her picture had an equally attention-grabbing caption: “Mother Celestial Victoria Olusola George – Raised from the dead after the third day by Jesus Christ through Rev. Pastor S.B.J. Oshoffa. She is still alive and with us in this Harvest Thanksgiving Service.”

    These striking documented details provided elaboration:

    1. “The miracles performed by our Lord Jesus Christ through me were numerous. I shall now make particular reference to that of the young woman named OLUSOLA who died and whom Jesus raised from the dead after the third day.
    2. “A young member of the Church who was fond of saying ‘Please say Halleluyah with me’ and who, for short, was nicknamed ‘Halleluyah’ came one Sunday morning and reported the death of a woman at 3.00 p.m. the previous day (a Saturday) in a house which belonged to him. He said that in view of the many miracles performed by Jesus through me right there in Makoko, particularly those of IIUNSU and THERESA, he felt sure that OLUSOLA could be raised from the dead. He first spoke to me at ten o’ clock on the Sunday morning as service was about to start. Service finished at three o’clock in the afternoon and he kept on worrying me but I still did not answer him. Owing to his persistence, however, at 4 o’clock that afternoon, I sent Evangelist BADA (then a LEADER) with one of my robes to follow the man called ‘Halleluyah’ to the house and put the robe on the dead body and tell the relatives that if and when the body moved, it should be brought to the Church. On the way there, ‘Halleluyah’ was to go in front and Evangelist to follow behind.
    3. “Evangelist returned and reported that he had carried out my instructions. At about five thirty that afternoon, they brought the dead body in a car because they were amazed to see the body actually turn over although it was still lifeless. I asked that the body be placed in the Church vestry for women.
    4. “Now there was a young man from Ondo who came with them. He belonged to one of the other spiritual Churches, but I do not know which. When he saw that we left OLUSOLA’s dead body in the vestry for hours without bothering to pray or go near it but that we went on talking generally, he came to me and counselled that instead of doing nothing we should pray for the dead body as it was already stinking. I replied that I was not the one going to bring OLUSOLA back to life and that he should be very careful and not go near the dead body. I told him that if he did, he would have to accept responsibility for whatever happened to him. But he would not listen. He continued to pace up and down. Finally at about twelve midnight, he suddenly went to have a look at the dead body. He ran back to me startled, and reported that he had seen a man clad in white with his hair parted into two standing at the head of the corpse. I retorted to him that I had warned him not to go near the dead body. He ran away and I went to bed. OLUSOLA’s mother also went to bed. I did not bother about the dead body. These miracles are not done with my own power I am no more than a servant for HIM that sent me. There was therefore no need for me to go into a bout of prayer or staying up all night or fasting or such flagellation.
    5. “In the morning of the third day of OLUSOLA’s death, her mother, watching the hours go by, became restless. At nine o’clock in the morning she came to me and said in despair that as the body of OLUSOLA was still as dead, stinking and lifeless as ever, and already covered with ants, she should be allowed to take the body home for burial. As she said this her loin cloth fell off her. This aroused my sympathy and I got up and followed her to where the dead body lay. I asked her the name of her daughter and she replied that her name was OLUSOLA. I struck the body and called ‘OLUSOLA’ and the dead girl replied ‘SIR’. I struck her again and said: ‘In the name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk’. She immediately got up and walked. She is still here with you, you all know her. Her younger sister is Sister IPADEOLA-”

    It is interesting that the Celestial Church of Christ, founded by Rev. Samuel Bilehou Joseph Oshoffa on September 29, 1947, will celebrate its 70th anniversary next month. It is said that Nigeria is the country where the church enjoys the highest popularity.  The journey to this milestone has been eventful, and it is worth celebrating as the church marches on.

    After S. B. J. Oshoffa’s death in 1985, at the age of 76, the church faced a succession crisis that tested its resilience. Today, under the leadership of Rev. Emmanuel Mobiyina Friday Oshoffa,   there is the calm after a storm. The 68-year-old Pastor is recognised by many members of the church as its Spiritual Head.  He got a master’s degree from the University of Biological Science, Nancy, France, in 1977.

    It is a historic occasion in the history of the church, and a historic stage in the priestly progress of E.M.F. Oshoffa. It is significant that the theme of the celebration of the church’s 70th anniversary is: “Time to Rebuild and Restore.” It is also time to focus on the future, and this requires all hands on deck.

  • ‘Government should restore confidence in Nigerians’

    ‘Government should restore confidence in Nigerians’

    Convener of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER) Ayo Opadokun, in this interview with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, explains why government must restore confidence in the people and tackle other urgent challenges facing the country.

    The Britain administration has been criticised for non performance. What is your assessment?

    I sympathised with Nigerians for understanding of the situation. I believe that people have good reasons to be unhappy with the situation. But, I also understand from my knowledge of the state of the country, when President Muhammadu Buhari took over power, that the degeneration in the living condition of our people and state of poverty had become so worrisome. Perhaps, if the last administration had remained in power for another six months, only God know what could have happened. As for President Buhari and state of the economy,  it is a fact that the measures being put in place have yielded immediate positive dividends. I think the government recognizes this fact and sympathized with Nigerian people, who are clamouring for a better deal. Therefore, economically, I think they need to think outside the box, to rescue the situation. That is not unmindful of the fundamentals that were not within the control of the Buhari’s government. It was not the Buhari’s government that instigated the upstaged agitation of the Niger Delta Avengers, that totally brought about the only mean of foreign exchange to the nation to the lowest ebb. When they broke pipes, they made it impossible and difficult for the economy to proceed as it ought to be. If that is the major means of the earning of our foreign exchange, the consequence could only be imagined. To make matters much difficult again, Nigeria operates a money economy as a result of the dubious, irresponsible and criminally minded economic policies of past administrations; Nigeria was only exporting crude oil which is responsible for over 80 per cent of its earnings. The price is controlled by the international market and whatever happened is due to market forces which Nigeria could not determine. So, we can understand that why such consequences are being faced by Nigeria each time the price of oil goes down at the international market. The recession that we are in now, I just want to sustain the hope of our people, what they claim is being done with 2017 budget, if it is judiciously implemented, perhaps we shall see Nigeria will be gradually lifted from recession. There are some Nigerians in the Buhari’s administration that can deliver and are already doing so. The Lagos State government for instance has been able to strike an anchored with the Kebbi State government to the extent that we now have the LAKE Rice. I can only image that if they continue and what Dangote Conglomerates are bout doing in rice, the Abakiliki rice production, I believe that matters of domestic food supply will be well tackled.

    What is your personal assessment of Buhari?

    The Buhari we used to know as military head of State can no longer be said to be the same Buhari. One can understand that there is a difference in age when he first came on board in December 1983 and he came back 2015. So, one can understand the gap. My first from all that I have seen is that perhaps he is no more in control of his government. What has happened over the confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is an indication that perhaps President Buhari is no more in control of his administration and he has a divided Presidency. We are all being treated as nonentity as a result of the disastrous consequence we had in the rejection the nomination of Magu by the Senate, in respect of one panel headed by the Attorney General of Nigeria (AGN). What this means is that Buhari did not do enough background check on Magu before he nominated him. That is an indictment on his leadership. Secondly, it does not help his image, that the Presidency sent a name to the Senate and yet, another arm of the Presidency went ahead to write very pretentious and dubious report on the nominee of the President. They should not imagine that some of us are fools, the AGN is part of the divided Presidency and you are asking him to the report of your divided Presidency. That is one part of the story, again when I look at the way President Buhari has handled security matter and people being beheaded, people being killed massively who say they are herdsmen in some instances like in Benue, Adamawa, Taraba and Kaduna, it is like ethnic cleansing. They will set fire to the homes of the indigenous owners, when they try to escape, they shot and kill them or slaughter them like fowls. They carried out this heinous act for many months until the belated action of the General Officer Commanding the First Division of the Army came to the rescue of the people of Southern Zaria. They have been telling us that they are on top of the situation, being in there normal rhetoric. The most important function of government in any modern state is the protection of lives; if it get to a situation where people had to resort to self help them government must have lost value.  You can understand the kind of agony some of us undergo because of the need to bring about decent society. The current republic we are in did not come so easy, some of us paid with their lives. Some paid with their blood, some with their liberty, and some with a lot of sacrifices. Because of our dedication to the restoration of democracy in Nigeria, we fought better living condition for our people. There is no doubt we have had a raw deal with the Nigerian Army generally. When they are not there directly, it is their agents, accolades, loyalists that they have sponsored. So, they are still in control and have done so much damage to our country.

    The President anti-corruption stance has been criticized as one-sided. Where did government get it wrong?

    Let President Buhari be reminded that the only worthy consideration he presently enjoys from both the international and the domestic community is the significant view that he has established commitment to fight corruption, as a marathon runner rather than a relay-racer. No doubt, his government economic policy measures have not produced expected positive results. We remain within the bracket of war ravaged areas of the world in spite of our being the 8th largest exporter of crude oil for almost 25 years. We exported averagely 2 million barrels per day at 100 USA. Yet Nigeria’s Human Development Index statistics and our GDP analysis is within that of countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Burundi, Congo etc. Thus, Buhari should appreciate that throwing out Magu, the leader of the Anti graft agencies to be so humiliated by the Senate leadership cadre whose membership are being prosecuted for criminal offences by the EFCC is counter-productive and unhelpful to the president’s image.

    Buhari gave many former governors and other politically exposed persons an undeserved platform to vent their anger against a productive public officer. Who else will want to be so vilified for helping Nigeria to tackle the menace that corruption has caused all of us. That the Nigerian state cannot provide any commensurate social services and infrastructure is because of corruption.

  • ‘How to restore Ondo’s lost glory’

    ‘How to restore Ondo’s lost glory’

    How economically viable is Ondo State? Why is it not living up to expectation as an oil-producing state? Does the state has a future? These were some of the questions a politician, Light Tunji Ariyomo, tried to proffer solutions to at the ‘Trace Annual Lecture’ held in Akure, the state capital, recently.

    The theme of the lecture was: Ondo in 2017 and beyond: Building a strong economy driven by 21st century technology and innovations. The guest lecturer said for Ondo to become a strong technology-driven economy, the developmental gaps that tend to stifle its growth must be closed.

    Ariyomo, an engineer and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain said the incoming government should maintain a clean break from the past and make a difference in the Sunshine State.

    The politician alluded to a cloud behind the sunshine. Ondo gets N976.5 million Internally Generated Revenue monthly. The monthly personnel cost is about N2.26 billion. The allocation from the Federation Account monthly is N3.61 billion. Last year’s budget was N131 billion. Recurrent expenditure was projected at N76.7 billion, which was N6.39 monthly. In the face of various liabilities, including unpaid salaries, Ondo drew N14.69 billion bailout. At the end of 2014, the state’s domestic debt stood at about N19.26 and foreign debt was $52.68 million.

    But, the politician noted that Ondo’s potentials cannot be ignored. Its bitumen deposits are in commercially viable quantities and they are critical to the infrastructural development of the country. The state is also blessed with vast arable land, which can make cocoa farming thrive. “This means Ondo should have no business being in the company of states needing to borrow to pay debts associated with personnel costs,” Ariyomo added.

    In his view, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti states are historically known for commercial cocoa production, being the power house of the Southwest economy in the sixties. Therefore, the watchword is diversification. As Ariyomo put it, “Ondo will need to come up with new fiscal strategies, including how best to diversify its crude oil powered revenue.”

    The state is not insulated from the national economic stress and strains. The decline in oil earnings has affected its share of allocation from the centre. With a debt profile of N36.88 billion by 2015, government also owed five months salaries to workers. Also, Ariyomo pointed out that “Obligations to contractors were threatened, many projects were stalled; some were abandoned.”

    The implication, said Ariyomo, was that Ondo hovered on the verge of not being viable. “Ondo State faces serious challenges, including the collapse of industries, unpaid salaries and pensions, and a high level of unemployment among the youths and the general population. The ability of the state to continually meet its obligations I crucial o its survival and the limit of its aspirations,” he added.

    For the state to remain competitive, the former governorship aspirant suggested five solutions. The state, he said, should gradually grow its stock of infrastructure to meet its current needs and make allowance for the future generation. The infrastructure refers to the critical social and public utilities that serve the needs of the common man, including transportation, education, health, security. “This is important to make life comfortable to the people,” he stressed.

    The state should also confront what Ariyomo described as the “paradox of energy poverty” and creatively fixed what has become a perpetual national embarrassment. “There are parts of Ondo State that have never witnessed five seconds of electricity in the last seven years. The politician did not elaborate on the mechanism for achieving durable power by the state. Power is within the purview of the Federal Government.

    However, his suggestion on agricultural development is lucid, but not new. “For food security and gainful employment, Ondo should embark on a deliberate and ambitious agricultural revolution programmes with the active support of the private sector, thereby taking the advantage of the natural agricultural value chain,” Ariyomo said.

    The former aspirant said Ondo should revisit and fast track the attainment of the original vision for the littoral part of the state as represented by the abandoned Olokola FTZ project and its deep seaport initiative, the Liquefied plant and refinery. “This will require adjustments to the original plan in view of extant realities and investment climate,” he added.

    Also, Ariyomo said the state should deliberately grow indigenous capability in technology and technology-enabled businesses through well-crafted initiatives that can spur the private sector as an effective enabler of growth.

    When is the right time for the stat to aspire big and unleash its creative capacities to attain these lofty dreams? Can this be done in this period of recession? Should the state wait for another period of oil boom? Ariyomo urged the people of Ondo State to learn from history. He said while it may be good or easy to achieve greatness in the period of surplus, history is replete with examples of nations and states that rose from the ruins of desolation and implosive challenges.

    “Japan rose from the ruins of World War 11 to become an industrial giant. Ruins and desolation became catalysts and enablers of growth. Our current challenges are disguised opportunities that can catalyse unprecedented growth. Our development will evolve steadily in the direction of our imagination,” said.

    What is the role leadership in all these? Ariyomo said the next governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) should be courageous to take the bull by the horn. He added:  “It is a function of the patriotic disposition of the leader, the strength o his imagination and the extent to which he or she would love to engage in unusual to attain unusual results.”

    Under Akeredolu, Ariyomo said the next budget must reflect the developmental needs of the people. He maintained that Ondo, and other states, can only survive, if they grow “indigenous capacities,” especially in the areas of meeting local and national needs and being globally competitive. “The current initiative whereby certain states and the Federal Government invite China for help in crucial areas is good as a temporary measure. We, like Malaysia, must however, maintain a robust contingency plan for learning and acquisition of the required capabilities of international standard to prevent the country from becoming or remaining a giant renter-property of China, whereupon China rakes in dividends of wise investments on a yearly basis and our people pay rents in perpetually on their soil,” he added.

    But, he urged him to implement the constructive proposals of the committee when the report is submitted. “I must commend the governor-elect for his vision in setting up a blue-print committee ahead of his inauguration. This is an indication the governor-elect is proactive and has no-go areas and he is ready to hit the ground running as the people’s governor from day one. It is my string belief that the committee will come up with the right solution,” Ariyomo added.

  • Imansuangbon promises to restore Edo’s glory

    Imansuangbon promises to restore Edo’s glory

    Ahead of the September  gbernatorial election in Edo State, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ken Imansuangbon, has promised to restore the lost glory of the state, if elected into office.

    Imansuangbon spoke yesterday when he visited the APC National Secretariat, Abuja, to pick his Expression of Interest form.

    He said the APC in Edo is united and ready to ensure that the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is torn to pieces.

    He said: “I am the number one person to pick the form and God willing, I will be the number one person throughout the general election.

    “I have been consistent since 2004 because, basically, I believe that the people of Edo State need an experienced person to create jobs and address other issues. All my life I have been committed to creating jobs. Since I left university 25 years ago, I have been creating jobs and that is my cardinal objective when I take over from Adams Oshiomhole.

    “Secondly, my duty would be to strengthen our school system. Our school system is very weak. Governor Oshiomhole has done his best, but that is not where we want to be as a people. I am well-equipped as an educationist to make schools work and give teachers hope and restore their pride. When I come in, schools would be very interesting to students in Edo state.

    “Thirdly, we would go back to till the land. I will boost agriculture. I will be the chief farmer in Edo state. I will take everybody back to farm. We will create farm industries. There will be rice plantation in Auchi, Agenebode to be precise and other reverine areas across the three senatorial districts.

    “Rather than arm the police, I will arm our young ones to be in the farm”, he said.

    Imansuangbon promised to send, at least, 1, 000 youth to Thailand to understudy its rice farming system, with a view to replicating same in the state and exporting the produce back to Thailand.

    On how he would source the finance for his programmes, he said his administration shall plug all revenue leakages and that having been in the private sector for years, funding would not be a challenge to him.

    He said his mission is to improve on what Oshiomhole has done “so that we would have a better state for our children and grand-children”.

    On the issue of zoning, Imansuangbon said he is not an apostle of zoning, but a believer in the need to get responsible and credible people into political offices.

    He hailed the leadership of the party for providing a level-playing field for all aspirants, saying if that continues, “I will become the governor”.

  • How to restore security, by Opadokun

    How to restore security, by Opadokun

    Convener of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER) Ayo Opadokun has urged the government to adhere to the constitutional provisions to attain lasting  peace.

    He spoke at a national summit on Peace Building and Conflict Prevention, organised by Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER) in collaboration with Ford Foundation.

    Opadokun explained that it is the gross disobedience of the constitution that resulted in various incidences of violence, noting that constitutional breaches has further divided the polity.

    He said: “Lack of adherence to the constitution is affecting the state. Again, corruption as a national calamity has overrun the nation to the extent that no public institution has been spared. All essential public organs that can develop, sustain democracy and the rule of law have been significantly subverted.

    “To make matters worse, Nigerians have always allowed the military to run to barracks on their own terms, whenever they recognised that they could no longer be allowed to remain directly in charge of political administration.”

    Opadokun said many politicians are surrogates of the military, noting that they are stinkingly rich in the face of the highest national poverty and economic mystery.

    He urged the media to adhere to its constitutional role of holding government accountable, stressing that it must also promote the cause of unity in the country.

    “If the Nigerian state understands the wide implication of the cattle herdsmen of deliberate grazing their cattle by feeding on native farmers crops and the consequently reported support and backing of the Nigerian security forces against native farmers, perhaps they would have a rethink.

    “The law could be amended to give greater sense of belonging in the country. If the sensitivity to the feelings of others is promoted, it can always reduce incidences of violence. Many boundary disputes that have resulted to violence and too many lost of lives are avoidable.”

    Speaking on sustainable peace, Coordinator of JODER Wale Adeoye said. The issue of security has been confined to the domain of government for too long, adding that everybody must rise to the occasion.

    “There are too many killings going on and these have been happening since 1960s, to  the extent that we had a civil war that lasted 30 months. Except the people on their own come together and agree that they want to put a stop to the incessant killings going on around the country, it might escalate.

    “In the past, we used to have government unleashing violence on the people, but these days it is the people unleashing violence on themselves. There must be a platform for constructive engagement among ethnic group to stop the unnecessary blood letting scenario in the country.”

    He called on warring ethnic groups  to consider the lives of innocent people being killed in thousands because of the quest for power, stressing that what the country needs at the moment is unity in order to achieve socio-political and economic progress.

  • Ogun to restore agric’s lost glory

    The Ogun State government’s goal is to re-engineer the agricultural sector to boost its industrial base and restore its lost glory as the main source of the nation’s revenue base.

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun stated this at the kick off and distribution of agro-input to the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF)-supported beneficiaries of the cassava project at the Ijebu North and Ijebu North East Local government areas of the state.

    Amosun represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry  of Agriculture Lanre Bisiriyu, said it was in realisation of this that his administration was providing adequate facilities, appropriate input, extension services and incentives which will greatly improve the level of agricultural production, productivity and well being of its citizens.

    He praised the Foundation for supporting cassava a value chain which is one of the six priority crops of his administration with others been rice, cotton, cocoa, kola nut and oil-palm.

    Earlier, the General Manager of the Foundation, Miss Abimbola Okoya, said the choice of the four beneficiaries – Ijebu Igbo, Ago Iwoye, Imewuro and Idode in the two local government – was as a result of extensive deliberations with their partner, the Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme.

    She added that the aim was to strengthen the capacity of farmers, cooperatives and agro-enterprise associations to participate in innovative economic activities, adopt renewable and energy-efficient technology, and implement practices of soil health.

    The farmers would also be supported with farmland preparation, provision of modern agricultural extension services, timely supply of improved agricultural input, provision of storage facilities and facilitation of access to open institutional markets.