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  • Uganda explores Nigerian market

    Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) in collaboration with Ugandan tour operators will be present as the 2019 Akwaaba West Africa Travel Fair which begins tomorrow.  Uganda, with  cultural, historical and religious heritage, has lined up tourism experts from the tourism board and tour operators to market and promote its tourist potential to the West African market at the “Uganda Day” on September 22 at 2:00pm and at the expo schedule from September 22 to 24 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.

    Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa whose diverse landscape straddles the equator with Lake Victoria (world’s 2nd largest lake) forming part of its southern border. It is from the same lake that River Nile, the world’s longest river, starts its (4,258 miles)journey at Jinja 80km east Kampala.

    According to a statement from Uganda’s tourism board: “Very many wonderful things have been said about Uganda by various authors and travellers who have had the chance to visit. Some talk about the charming weather, natural resources, rich culture, and history, while others talk about the lovely people whose hospitality is unmatched. Most quickly note the numerous beautiful birds and other rare wildlife species that are only found in Uganda. All that is true but there is more.

    “Uganda is the land of martyrs in Africa. This religious story is summarized in the Uganda Martyrs Trail. The Trail is an extra –ordinary journey of faith that literally gets in the footsteps of the first Christian missionaries and converts as they walked through Uganda preaching, teaching, healing and transforming lives –finally the places of their martyrdom.

    ”Its abundant wildlife as well as a home to 1,072 bird species includes some of the world’s rarest birds. Visit the world’s Heritage site of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a renowned mountain gorilla tracking life changing experience. The white sands of Ssese Island, one of Uganda’s greatest and uncrowned beaches known for its tranquility that creates a perfect never –ending honey moon experience located in Uganda’s portion of Lake Victoria. Finally, Kampala the Capital city of Uganda – a city in East Africa that never sleeps and has earned the title of Entertainment capital In East Africa.”Fantastic wildlife and some of the friendliest people in Africa make Uganda unbeatable.”

  • We’re here to fill a void – iVOLTAGE

    With a couple of singles to their name already, music duo, David and Daniel Jenewari aka iVOLTAGE say that they are out  to fill a void in the Nigerian music space.

    The twin brothers are Afro-Pop/RnB artistes who also pride themselves as song writers, singers and dancers.

    Their musical journey started in 2010 when they formed a group known as Funky Brodaz. They released a single titled, ‘No Be 2Day’. In 2012, they released another single, ‘Wine Am Go Down.’ This was followed by another 2013 release, ‘Sisi Eko.’ Again, they also shot a video which gained airplay on local stations in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. In 2014, they released the love song, ‘I Love My Baby’, which was shortly followed by ‘Bola.’

    However, it was in 2016 that iVOLTAGE took a bold step by moving from Port-Harcourt to Lagos State to step up their musical career.

    “When we got to Lagos, we decided to rebrand,” they said.

    “That was how we came up with a new stage name called iVOLTAGE. In 2017 we released a song titled ‘Na God.’ That same year, Booty Bounce ft BClean was released. Our desire is to fill a void created by the lack of great artistes in the Nigerian music space. Our music speaks for us.”

    In 2018, ‘Erema’ was released, and then in 2019, ‘Baba Aye’ and ‘Balance’ were both released back to back.

    Born to the family of nine, the duo who hail from the Kalabari, Rivers State, started dancing professionally at the age of seven. They credit their gifts to their father who was a dancer, ballroom dance teacher and also an instrumentalist.

  • Storm in a pot revisits domestic violence

    Title: Storm in a pot
    Author: Panshak Haggai
    Pagination: 178
    Publisher: Rhymes and
    Rhythm Publisher
    Reviewer: Omolola Afolabi

    The prose resonates of domestic violence, deadbeat fathers, broken families and a number of negativities that ravage our civilization. Edivo, the antagonist and villain, is representative of absent fathers and arrant mischievousness. He drinks senseless each time and beats his wife to stupor. In short, he is the symbol of irresponsibility and impunity.

    The story opens with a striking scene of Edivo drunk as usual and being rescued from the dregs of their slum while he gave his wife and children a truckload of embarrassment .He didn’t show a dint of remorse or penitence at his unbecoming conduct.

    His unremorseful stance is even more shocking than his act of getting intoxicated. He still abuses his poor wife whose only offence was marrying him and bearing him children.

    The writer ultimately crafts his story to reflect the way and manner poverty messes up with people’s psyche and how it adversely affects their mental, psychological and social health and wellness. Poverty, state of lack and impoverishment is the invisible grotesque that gnaws at people’s insides and eats all sensibilities out of them. The reality bites hide and never leaves even the innocent ones, the children out of the conundrum.

    Hagai’s Storm In a Pot would have been your regular prose fiction but the twists and turns and the spontaneous turn of events sure puts the book in a class of its own and holds the readers in such a suspense you would not contemplate going to  bed without reading its concluding pages .It progresses with unfolding of plot one would least expect.

    The narrative reeks  of the inhumanity of patriarchy and its consequence negativity and influence on the family of procreation. Hagai, who has a background in law was motivated by the resilience in the human heart and societal themes which amplify faith in humanity. Haggai bears his ardent love for the creatives while he speaks some vital didactic reality at the same time

    Hagai is deliberate with words as he carefully minces lexemes and brews them in a most skilled and compassion-laddened and dexterous manner. The pains of  motherhood reeks in an acute profoundness .The African woman is revealed to the reader through Sikimi, the protagonist whose ordeals are typical of the African woman who unwittingly and doggedly battles psychological, social and economic hardship. Sikimi deals with Edivo,an absent husband and a deadbeat father. She survives various forms of humiliation and weathers the turbulent matrimony seas because of the deep love she has for her children.

    However, Sikimi suffers betrayal from her husband when the story twisted to unearth a daughter Edivo has with another woman but it later turned out to be to her great advantage All in all, Panshak Haggai’s “Storm in a pot” represents every battle a typical African woman fights, how she remains undaunted even in the face of all disenchanting aridity. Although, Sikimi is unfulfilled but, unbelievably strong and relentless.

  • BBNaija: Fake nominations put Cindy, Diane, Frodd and Mercy up for eviction

    THE BBNaija ‘Pepper Dem’ season is at fever pitch with only 10 housemates left in the competition.

    During last Sunday’s eviction show, BBNaija host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, revealed that there would be no evictions the following week. The housemates, unaware of this latest twist, made their way to the diary room on Monday night to nominate two of their fellow housemates for possible eviction as usual.

    With the ‘nomination’ process complete, Cindy, Diane, Frodd and Mercy were revealed to have had the most nominations. However, fans of these housemates will be heaving a sigh of relief as all housemates have been marked ‘safe’ by Biggie this week.

    Read Also: BBNaija: Housemates party with 2baba on his birthday

    Earlier in the day, surprise housemate, Elozonam, won the Head of House Challenge for the first time this season after battling fellow housemates during the sweets and straws challenge which earned him exemption from fake nominations.

    Meanwhile, the Ultimate Veto Power game of chance continues. Throughout this week Biggie will provide the housemates with a total of 60 random pictures in which they will have to make individual decisions on the image they think might be the same as the one hidden inside a red mystery box. Then on Sunday, 22 September, a key to unlock the red box will be made available to the housemates and the winner will be granted with the Ultimate Veto Power.

  • Alternative narrative

    Title: I AMYESHUA
    Author: Chidimma Osuchukwu
    Reviewer: Kunle Abrahams
    Publisher: SMP International
    Pagination: 109

    The dramatic and evocative tone of this new revolutionary book is truly a wake-up to every Christian. The presence is so pungent that each time a reader holds the book in his hand it is like Yeshua (Jesus) himself announcing his presence, which has all along been deluded and beclouded by our fixation on wrong doctrines and beliefs. So here, I welcome you to the world of I AM YESHUA written by Chidimma Osuchukwu.

    The book is not your typical religious book written for the purpose of making money out of a congregation. The situation in the Christendom deserves more seriousness and that is one of the flaws this book has come to address. What is the state in the Christendom? Many are aware of obvious flaws, but due to Mental lethargy and flagrant complacency, we would rather remain with the statusquo. No one should blame we Christians, especially Christian theologians and opinion leaders.

    Such challenge also comes with untold toll on finances and even one’s prestige, but should we all keep quiet fold our arms, while we continually wallow in obvious ignorance? Someone has to step forward in the mould of Martin Luther to fight this cause and gladly, Chidimma Osuchukwu has released himself for this onerous task.

    At times to other proliferation of false doctrines that many have grown to embrace may not be due to willful pursuit of it, but due to historical exigencies of translations and misinterpretation, which has distorted the truth in the Bible for most believers.

    Unfortunately, many including many religious leaders have followed the complacent path of doing it as it has always been and that is why we are where we are today-a generation steamed in biblical false doctrines and beliefs, with untold toll on the core of our faith as Christians.

    In this 8-chapter expository book, Chidimma takes the reader through a journey of exposing and correcting some endemic foundational truths in the Bible, chronologically following the birth of the Messiah up to His death.(Lessons from birth and earthly ministry-It must have been love, it is not over until the very end). It is not just merely presenting the arguments, but also copiously supporting them in a compelling way, such that the reader is left with no option than to know the truth.

    The first person narrative style of the writer makes the book a smooth reading, as it personalizes, the message, making it seem Christ himself is right beside you talking to you. The style however does not throw the truth in your face blatantly, but as Christ would say ‘lets’ reason together’ attitude. This is one of the beauties of this thought-provoking book.

    In an age where many are afraid to standup for the truth due to its many attendant persecutions, kudos must surely go to the writer of this 109page revolutionary book, for once waking us from our biblical wrong doctrine lethargy and also doing it with insightful research and deep knowledge behind him.

    A subtle warning however: If you are not comfortable with the truth and if you would follow the crowd even if they are wrong, this book may not probably be for you!

  • My horrible experience in police cell —Detained Rivers vendor about to complete her Master’s degree

    Miss Blessing Iyenemi, a newspaper and magazine vendor, is an indigene of Rivers State and she is about completing her Master’s programme in one of the four universities in Rivers State. Iyenemi, who has been in the business since year 2000, used the proceeds to finance her first degeee at the Rivers State University (RSU), Port Harcourt, while her Master’s programme is also self-sponsored. She was arrested on September 4 by officials of the Rivers State government’s Taskforce on Street Trading, Illegal Markets and Motor Parks. Its coordinator, Mr. Bright Amaewhule, who is also a Special Assistant to Governor Nyesom Wike and earlier assured that vendors and newspaper distributors would not be arrested. However, Iyenemi was detained overnight and forced to pay a fine before she regained her freedom in the evening of September 5. In this exclusive interview with Southsouth Bureau Chief, BISI OLANIYI, she relives her unpleasant experience. Excerpts:

    On September 4, you were arrested by officials of Rivers State government’s Taskforce on Street Trading, Illegal Markets and Motor Parks, in spite of earlier assurance by the coordinator, Mr. Bright Amaewhule, that vendors would not be arrested. What went wrong?

    I was surprised about my arrest. The officials of Zone Nine Taskforce of Rivers State government arrested me at Second Artillery Junction on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, while selling newspapers and magazines on a table, very far from the road and in front of a fast-food outlet just before the Catholic church.

    The owner of the fast-food outlet gave me and other persons the space to operate from. I am the only vendor at the spot, while other persons were selling bread and other items, but since the taskforce officials began operations in Port Harcourt and its environs on September 2, the other persons left the spot. I decided to stay back, since I am rendering essential service and with the earlier assurance by the coordinator of the taskforce, Mr. Bright Amaewhule, that vendors would not be harassed or arrested.

    I was shocked when two officials of the taskforce in a white Toyota Hilux van came around 1 p.m. on September 4, 2019, accompanied by policemen and they arrested me, after destroying most of my newspapers and magazines, in spite of selling at that spot for over 10 years.

    Read Also: Police cells are like hell fire

    I was then dragged to the nearby mobile court, presided over by a female magistrate, who interrogated me and made me to pay a fine of N5,000 for alleged assault. The magistrate also stated that since I could not produce an operational permit for selling newspapers and magazines at the newsstand, I should be moved to the nearby Elelenwo Police Station in Port Harcourt, and to be detained overnight. I politely informed the magistrate, taskforce officials and the policemen that the coordinator of the taskforce (Bright Amaewhule) earlier gave an assurance that vendors should not be harassed or arrested, but my explanation was not considered and my detention journey to a police cell, for the first time in my life, began.

    Prior to my being moved to the police cell on September 4, some media professionals of The Nation newspaper gave me Mr. Amaewhule’s mobile number and that he would be expecting my call to intervene.

    I immediately called Mr. Amaewhule, the President-General of Gov. Wike’s Campaign Organisation, the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), and he asked me to give my phone to the chairman of Zone 9 of the taskforce, which I quickly did, but I was not released. When I asked the Zone 9 chairman the outcome of his telephone discussion with Mr. Amaewhule, he ignored me and asked me to join the vehicle to Elelenwo Police Station, Port Harcourt, where my jewellery, phone and other valuable items were collected before I was moved into the dirty and smelly female cell. There, I met a middle-aged woman, who had been in the cell for three days.

    I was so worried in the cell, but the lady of about 36 years that I met was admonishing me to calm down. We both sat on the bare floor throughout the night, but I could not sleep. It was a very horrible experience. That was my first time of entering a police cell.

    Were you offered food in the cell?

    I was asked by the policemen on duty if I wanted to eat or drink, but I said no, because I had no  appetite.

    What happened at daybreak on September 5?

    In the morning of September 5, members of my family came to the police station and the policemen on duty brought me out of the cell to the counter, where I sat till 4 p.m.

    When the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) arrived in the morning of September 5, he asked the policemen on duty of my offence, since he saw me at the police station the previous day, and the DPO was informed that the taskforce officials brought me.

    The DPO became angry and he asked the policemen on duty to call the chairman or coordinator of the taskforce to immediately come and pick me, but they did not come until 4 p.m. on September 5, making the DPO, a man, to use his mobile phone to also call the taskforce boss to quickly come and pick me, warning that he would no longer tolerate the abuse of human rights and dignity, stressing that they should no longer bring suspects to the police station, if they refuse to stop the indiscipline and lawlessness.

    When the taskforce officials observed that the DPO was livid, they appeared at the Elelenwo Police Station and returned me to the magistrate at the mobile court at Second Artillery Bus Stop. I was asked to pay another fine of N5,000, for not having an operational permit, before I was allowed to go. The magistrate added that she was not aware that vendors should be exempted from persons to be arrested and prosecuted.

    I was informed that the Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, called Mr. Amaewhule on September 4, to let me be released unconditionally, but the former Chairman of Rivers State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ (Nsirim) was not respected.

    Is it true, as alleged, that you assaulted the taskforce officials?

    How would a young lady like me have assaulted two hefty taskforce men, who were backed by policemen? We only had an argument when the taskforce officials were destroying my newspapers and magazines. I was surprised when I was accused of confronting the taskforce officials.

    I am pleading with media houses in Nigeria to provide vendors in Rivers State with branded umbrellas and tables to prevent further harassment from the taskforce officials.

    What is your message for Gov. Wike, who put the taskforce in place?

    I want to plead with Gov. Wike to please allow the vendors to continue to sell newspapers and magazines on newsstands throughout Rivers State.

    With your unpleasant experience, will you continue as a vendor?

    I am not discouraged at all. I will continue with the business of selling newspapers and magazines. I have been able to employ two persons, who are still working with me. I intend to employ more persons to expand the business.

    You have been speaking good English. What is the secret?

    I am a Banking and Finance graduate of Rivers State University (RSU), Port Harcourt (full-time) and I graduated in 2007. I took part in the national youth service in Sokoto State in 2008/2009. I am currently on full-time Master’s programme in one of the universities in Rivers State, studying Accounting and I am about rounding off. By God’s grace, I will top it with a doctoral degree.

  • A perfect BBN host

    THE first time you met Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, he was like Jon Snow. You could say he knew nothing about show business. But did that stop him from being relaxed and having the time of his life on TV in front of the entire African continent? Heck, no.

    This was in 2006. And Ebuka’s Westeros was the Big Brother Nigeria house. Ebuka was charismatic, brimming with fun energy, and, of course, charming. Many viewers easily assumed the prize money was for him to lose.

    But that was before Biggie threw a spanner in the works. Big Brother unleashed Katung Aduwak on the housemates 21 days into the competition and everything went to hell—well, that’s a story for another day.

    Back to Ebuka. He was great, and his personality stood out. And spoiler alert: Ebuka didn’t win that edition of BBNaija.

    That was 13 years ago and, as you know, the dude is still here, more famous than the winner of that contest and Ebuka has been hosting BBNaija itself for three seasons now.

    If you think about it, you’re likely to conclude that Ebuka and Big Brother Naija are a match made in TV heaven. And I’ll absolutely agree with you. The thing, though, is that I’ve figured out the secret to Ebuka’s success with BBNaija.

    Read Also: BBNaija: Housemates party with 2baba on his birthday

    Let’s break it down:

    He embodies the original idea of BBN

    Big Brother Nigeria has consistently rewarded authenticity. The trick is always how the players parlay that authenticity into riveting TV. Ebuka, even though he didn’t win the game, was judged to be authentic. Plus, nothing justifies the existence of BBN than ex-housemates, even those who didn’t win, becoming stars on the back of the reality show.

    He has the looks TV needs

    Ebuka once told The Punch newspaper that his first choice of work was as a radio presenter. That would have been a waste of face, wouldn’t it? Thanks to Big Brother, though, he found his mojo on TV and that first appearance has birthed more TV gigs. From Friend or Foe on and the Glo Show on NTA to The Spot and Men’s Corner on Ebony Life as well as Rubbin’ Minds on Channels, he’s been a permanent fixture on the small screen.

    Ebuka takes chances

    Now, we must talk about that time Ebuka broke the internet with one picture of him in that agbada. The funny thing was, before him, others had tried on that style of agbada he wore to Banky W’s wedding but on those people, the concept just didn’t take.

    He plays the crowd the way a virtuoso would

    If you go on Google right now, there’s Ebuka with answers to frequently googled questions about him. In one he says, “I speak English fluently, Igbo fluently, pidgin English, and sarcasm.” Ebuka has been a popular Big Brother Naija presenter, not because of what he says per se, but how he says what he says.

    He’s a dream Nigerian youth

    Ebuka, 37, is quite well educated. He studied that course your parents wanted you to study aside medicine: LAW. A graduate of the University of Abuja and the Nigerian Law School, he also holds a master’s degree from the American University Washington College of Law. He’s successful. He’s scandal-free and, obviously, he gets paid to do what he loves to do. Anyone who gets a chance to live in the House would want the exact same thing, so it makes sense that they also get the chance to have Ebuka to look up to.

  • Caribbean for Akwaaba fair

    The Caribbean Tourism Organization will exhibit at Akwaaba Travel Market and host the Caribbean Panel discussion at Eko Hotel, Lagos. The Akwaaba travel fair kicks off tomorrow and will end on Tuesday, September 24.

    The topic of African Heritage of the Caribbean Connecting the Dots takes centre stage at the fair where the Caribbean Tourism Organization has been invited to lead a high level panel discussion.

    During the session, the keynote address will be delivered by Dr Kerry Hall, Director of Tourism Product Development in the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, Barbados. Dr Hall will share historical facts on the English-born settlers living in Barbados who required more land to expand the island’s thriving sugar industry.

    They sailed to North America, bringing along enslaved black Barbadians and white Barbadian indentured servants. Not only did the plantation-based system of enslaved people define the economy of the American South, but Charleston in South Carolina still reflects the African and Barbadian Heritage and proudly maintain Gullah traditions.

    Dr Hall declared the connection between Africa, Barbados and Charleston is a story that needs to be showcased to the world. “I am honoured to have the opportunity to share the fascinating yet little known linkages which bind Barbados and Charleston. We recently launched the documentary ‘Beyond Barbados: The Barbados Carolinas Connection’ and will also showcase the documentary during Akwaaba Travel Market.

    Other esteemed panel members include His Excellency Wendell De Landro, High Commissioner for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and His Excellency Esmond Reid, High Commissioner of Jamaica to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    High Commissioner De Landro will discuss how the Africa Caribbean Heritage has influenced diaspora and international tourism in Trinidad and Tobago and the impact that this has had on establishing Trinidad Carnival as one of the most renowned carnivals in the world.

    High Commissioner Reid will talk on how Jamaica’s music and heritage have been strongly influenced by Africa and the Rastafarian movement. These influences have enriched Jamaica’s position as a leading destination for travellers seeking an authentic cultural experience.

    Fabien Anthony, co-founder and Chairman of the Pan-African Council, will address the Caribbean roots of Pan-Africanism, including opportunities to foster connections and strategic partnerships between Africa and its diaspora in the Caribbean and North America that will lead to impactful opportunities for youth and communities.

    Anthony will also promote Diaspora tourism as a lever for education, cultural exchange, community leadership and economic opportunities. Sharon Palacio, Chairperson from In2Belize Travel and Tours and leading Garifuna Specialist from Belize will discuss the African Heritage of the Garifuna people, enslaved West Africans who washed ashore on the Caribbean Island of St Vincent around 1635 while likely on their way to the mines and plantations in the Americas.

    Palacio will also highlight how their legacy is preserved today through culture and heritage.The panel organised by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) will be moderated by Carol Hay, CTO’s Director of Marketing UK & Europe.

    Hay said: “We welcome the opportunity to participate in Akwaaba Travel Market with such a dynamic panel of speakers. The theme for the travel market, ‘The Year of the Return’, commemorates 400 years since the first Africans were enslaved, taken from their homeland and brought to the Caribbean and the rest of the Americas.

    “We have a vibrant story to tell, a rich heritage to share and really see this as an opportunity to connect the dots on all levels, including the opportunity to promote tourism and trade between Africa and the Caribbean.”

  • Enjoy rest in marriage

    Dear Reader,  this is a glorious day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. It will be a day of rest, laughter, rejoicing and fulfillment for you. I am so excited today about what God is expounding to His people. He says there is a place of rest in Him. He says, you have been battered and wounded enough, come around and obtain rest for your soul. In your family life, career and businesses, children and finances, there is rest for you.

    You have run around enough. You have carried that burden for too long and you keep running helter-skelter just to survive. God says for the remaining part this year, He has prepared a place of rest for you and your family. I pray that you will see it and enter into it in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    For instance, every night, when you go to bed, you look through the window more than ten times you do more work when you sleep than when you are awake. Every bit of noise you hear wakes you up. This is not rest. Your protection is not in your looking out, neither is it in your jumping out, rather, sure protection comes from the Word of God. The Word says when you sleep, your sleep shall be sweet and nothing shall make you afraid. God cannot lie.

    Maybe you are the type that each time you are on the road travelling, all kinds of picture come to your mind and you begin to picture every kind of accident. Then your heart begins to pant and skip a beat; this ought not to be so. Jesus says, “Come unto me.” It is in coming that you will have total rest either on the road, in the air or on the sea. Come to Him today. Dedicate your family to Him. Hand over all your children to Him. When your children travel to school, your mind is not at rest again. You begin to imagine all sorts of evil, accident, kidnap, immoralities, etc. When you and your family members come to Jesus on the basis of His Word, you all have a sure covering in his blood! You can be rest assured that your children, your business, all that belongs to you would not suffer what the people of the world suffer.

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

    The Scripture above says you should confess with your mouth, and then believe what you have said in your heart. If you are not yet born again and you desire to do so right now, please pray this prayer with faith in your heart: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now born again and a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

    With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name! Call or write to share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

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

  • Residents thrown into panic as Igbo traders, youths clash

    Residents of Ekpan community, Uvwie council area of Delta state have been thrown into panic, following a clash between Igbo traders and suspected youths of the area over payment of development levy, popularly known as “deve”.

    The incident reportedly occurred around the Udumoto area of Ekpan along the NNPC Housing Complex road.

    The Nation learnt that trouble started when the Igbo traders declined to pay the youths a certain sum of money they had demanded from truck drivers who were offloading goods owned by the traders.

    The Igbo traders who had earlier agreed to pay the illegal fee later refused to pay after the youths increased the fee and turned down the amount offered by the traders. This according to both parties.

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    The traders, it was gathered, challenged the youths, pursuing them with cutlasses and other objects. But the youths had promised a reprisal attack by mobilizing back to the area.

    Sources stated that the traders had also brought in other members from Warri and Uvwie to the scenario.

    Although it was not clear how many sustained injuries, witnesses alleged that both parties had their share of wounds during the fracas.

    However, men of the Nigeria Police have been deployed to the area to prevent further conflict between the groups.