God’s Word is the spiritual mirror that shows us God’s picture for our lives—who we are in Christ , what we carry, what we can do and how to do them. As it is written: But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (James 1:25). It is knowing who we are, where we are from, what we are worth and what we carry from the Word that empowers us to become what we have been redeemed to be. Therefore, until we catch our real picture from God’s Word, we will be subjected to the hazards in the world.
There was a story told by Kenneth E. Hagin about a lion cub that was captured and made to grow among sheep. Whenever they went to the stream and sighted a lion on the other side, all the sheep fled for their lives, including the lion-sheep. Invariably, it lost its lionic identity by virtue of its environment until the day it saw its reflection on the surface of the water. That day, it regained its identity and confidence. As a result, when other sheep fled at the appearance of a lion, it didn’t. This helps us to understand that we must not allow our environment to corrupt the picture of who we really are.
Who are we? •Every child of God is redeemed a citizen of heaven: By redemption, every child of God has been translated from the kingdom of the earth to the Kingdom of His own dear Son, Jesus. That means at redemption, we are translated into another Kingdom, which is situated in the heavenly places (Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 2:6).
•We are redeemed as ambassadors of Christ on the earth: An ambassador is an official, who lives in a foreign country as the senior representative of his or her own country. Any assault against him/her is an assault against the nation he represents. Similarly, we are heavenly citizens on ambassadorial missions on the earth to reconcile the world to God. As such, we are “no go” areas for the things that torture others. Therefore, we must have a sense of immunity and an ambassadorial mentality to enhance our level of command of the supernatural (2 Corinthians 5:20; John 3:31; John 8:23).
However, to be an ambassador of heaven, you must first be a citizen of heaven by being born again. Are you born again? This means, have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord? If you haven’t, you can do so as you say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”
For further reading, please get my books: Releasing The Supernatural, Walking In The Miraculous, Commanding The Supernatural.
I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. respectively.
I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org
Tag: tongue
-
Commanding the Supernatural by the Power of the Tongue!
-
Bayelsa to protect mother tongue from extinction
Bayelsa State has attained a milestone in its efforts to rescue Ijaw language from going into extinction. The state recently mobilised teachers it trained in Ijaw language to various schools. The state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, on assumption of office, vowed to restore the dying Jaw dialects.
Dickson, through the Ministry of Culture and Ijaw National Affairs headed by Dr. Felix Tuodolor, went through the process of developing curriculum for the teaching of Ijaw languages. He inaugurated experts to conduct research on the subject matter and develop books to aid learning. He went further to send teachers to the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) to be trained in the language and art of teaching it.
Recently, in an event held at the Ijaw House, Tuodolor formally gave the teachers appointment letters to commence work in selected schools. To simplify their jobs, he also presented books, teaching and learning materials to the benefitting schools. The event was attended by representatives of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the state Ministry of Education.
He said the Ministry of Culture and Ijaw National Affairs, SUBEB and the Ministry of Education are involved in the task of teaching the language. He also said the teachers were sent to three selected schools from each local government area.
According to him, the state recently conducted interviews for different categories of teachers for employment. He said the language teachers were the first batch to be engaged, adding that other categories would be employed later.
He said: “There are specific instructions that, before any other employment, we should start with the Izon language teachers; the Nembe, Epie and the Akassa. We were asked to start with these people and give them employment before any other. Today, their appointment letters are out.
“These teachers will be posted to different schools in the state. In addition, all those schools that we are posting teachers to will receive many learning and teaching materials from our government.”
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary, SUBEB, Mr. Walton Liverpool, said 36 letters of appointment were issued to successful language teachers. He recalled that Ijaw language was almost dead when the present government came on board. He said Pidgin English and the English language dealt a deadly blow on local dialects.
He said the matter became worse in schools where persons who spoke Ijaw language were laughed at by their peers.
He said: “When this government came on board, it was a fact that our different dialects in our communities had been given a big blow by Pidgin English. We also noticed that we preferred to speak English language even during our festivals and ceremonies to the detriment of our dialects. It became worse in schools where some students were laughed at and mocked because they could not speak correct English but they can speak their dialects.
“There was that apathy. Meanwhile, if you go to other parts of the country, in lgbo land for instance, people take pride in speaking their language even in our market the lgbo man takes pride in speaking his language to you.”
He said Governor Dickson made conscious efforts to arrest the development, insisting at many forums that language remains the most important identity of a people.
“Language gives us voice. It sustains our culture and tradition,” he said.
He added: “So, government today is doing all that is possible for people to acquire and speak our languages. We want to become fluent while speaking our languages and then work towards having one language for all Bayelsans; a common dialect.
“We are doing this beginning with our different dialects because we don’t want any dialect to die and also we don’t want anyone to feel oppressed or marginalised. Everyone’s languages will be there but there will be a general language.
“We are going to work on all the languages then have one general language. Parents are advised to always speak their languages to their children at home so that we will preserve our culture and tradition.
“For each dialect, we have several books that cut across Mathematics, English language and other forms of reading and we have indigenous people who did great works on this. In all, we have 43 different translated books in our language here for distribution.”
-
The Tongue
The tongue is a structure that occupies a sizeable portion of the oral cavity. It has some roles carried out solely and others, in conjunction with other structures in the oral cavity.
Chiefly amongst its roles are speech, taste deciding structures called taste buds and production of saliva. There are salivary glands below and on the surface of the tongue. It is a tactile organ too. The tongue is mobile and attached in places such as the floor of the mouth and the sides by a fibrous structure known as the frenulum.
There are muscles attached within the tongue and to the sides and other locations of the tongue.
The tongue colour and pathology may be a sign of more localised or generalised conditions in the body.
A few conditions of the tongue will be discussed below.
Ankyloglossia
This is also known as tongue tie mainly because it affects the mobility of the main body of the tongue. It is a developmental problem, that is, a defect in the process of development of the tongue. The frenulum or the cord attaching the tongue to the floor of the mouth is attached too close to the tip of the tongue. It could also lead to speech problems. A nursing mother may first notice this in the child when the tongue seems tied by a thick code or tissue to the floor of the mouth, hence the descriptive name- tongue tie.
The dentist may be able to offer relief using a pair of scissors or dental incisions to release the tie, a process called Frenectomy.
Macroglossia
The prefix macro is a descriptive term to represent something large in this case; larger than normal, glossia is another term for tongue. Macroglossia will therefore, describe a large tongue than the average size tongue found in the population group. There are a lot of causes of macroglossia; it may be developmental or congenital; meaning, an individual could be born with the condition or due to a disease state and condition, or some conditions like Down’s Syndrome, also called trisomy 21, which affects children.
There are conditions of excessive production of the human growth hormone by the body (acromegaly) or tumours producing the hormones.
In most cases it is compatible with life and not treated except where there are functional and aesthetic problems. In which case a maxillofacial surgeon can carry out resection/reduction of the tongue.
The tongue may likewise be smaller than usual (microglossia).
The physical surface of the tongue may present with an appearance of fissures and furrows. These fissures can harbour bacteria and lead to bad breath- Halitosis. It could also become infected and swollen.
Hairy tongue is an appearance; a descriptive appearance and the cause is unknown.
The tongue may also be hyper-pigmented. The dentist when consulted will offer treatment which may involve scraping the surface of the tongue.
De-papilation of the tongue is another condition of the tongue. The tongue is full of papillae and in this situation the papillae are lost. They are seen in some nutritional deficiencies of vitamins and micro nutrients.
Sore tongue (Glossodyna)
The tongue may become sore sometimes and gives a semblance of burns . Some of the causes of this condition include iron deficiency, anaemia, pernicious anaemia, candidasis and vitamin B group deficiencies.
The treatment of the deficiencies causes the tongue to go back to its normal condition.
Ulcers and other swellings of the tongue
Like every structure in the body the tongue is covered by epithelium, the loss of continuity on the surface of any structure or organ gives rise to an ulcer. Ulcers of the tongue are seen in some conditions like tuberculosis, syphilis, gonorrhoea infections, viral conditions, trauma from biting the tongue. Generally, lack of oxygen in the tissues of the body can manifest in the tongue, cyanosis or blueness seen in circulatory insufficiency. Loss of taste sensation in the tongue can also occur.
Nerve damage can occur and part of the tongue supplied by the damaged nerve becomes paralysed.
The practise of putting studs , rings, bars or any ornaments, piercings and tattoos on the tongue is to be frowned at due to the danger of infections and bleeding.
The tongue needs to be cleaned regularly like other parts of the mouth
-
‘Mother tongue, solution to examination failure’
The Provost of Jigawa State College of Education, Gumel, Dr Dahiru Abubakar, has pitched his tent behind the use of mother tongue as a medium of communication and instruction for secondary school pupils.
Dr Abubakar believes the move will stamp out the negative perception of Mathematics by secondary school pupils which often leads to mass failure in major examinations.
Scholars, Abubakar emphasised, should be encouraged to conduct more researches towards translating relevant textbooks, particularly in sciences and instructional materials into selected major languages, thereby aping countries like China and Japan which today use their mother tongues official language, and as a means of communication in schools.
Abukakar made the observation at the ninth yearly conference of School of Language, held at the Federal College of Education, Kano. It was themed: ‘A reflection on language and literature, education and the Nigeria centenary’.
He suggested that the Guidance and Counseling unit of schools should be assertive in selecting best language and literature for prospective teachers.
Mastery of a subject matter alone, according to him, is barely sufficient to impart knowledge, adding that the medium of communication must be mastered by teachers to enhance further effectiveness.
Abubakar noted that the essence of language is communication which is the life blood of teacher education.
He argued that many students, especially in the teacher training institutions lack effective communication skills, adding that this deficiency affects their understanding and assimilation of other subjects they study in their various courses.
He stressed that if the use of mother tongue is encouraged to teach most subjects in primary school alongside the English language, it will enhance and stimulate accurate understanding of many subjects at the rudimentary stage of education.
The Provost, Federal College of Education, Kano, Hajiya Rabiu Jubrila Muhammed, in her contribution, emphasised quality understanding of the art of communication as the best tool to enhancing education, which is capable of moulding students for greater future challenges.
-
That our mother tongue may thrive
By compelling teachers and lecturers to teach several subjects in English Language, the government has, inadvertently, relegated our native dialects or mother tongue in our national life.
For many in post-colonial Africa, the local language is for uncivilised people, still attached to their “inferior” roots. The rapid advancement in science and technology does not help the situation. In this age, the ambition of the world is to unite all people under one language and cultures, which are rooted in western civilisation.
Perhaps, in years to come, speakers of local dialects would be seen as nomads of pre-civilisation period. Or a local people, as we always call rural dwellers in this part of the world.
However, language is the nutrient that nourishes the tree of civilisation and culture. In countries, such as India, the native language is the cohesive force that binds diverse nationalities of people, who share common folklore. Instead of the official language inherited from the British colonialists, Indians speak Hindi and conduct the affairs of government in the same language so that citizens that did not understand English can know what is going on.
But this is not the case in Nigeria and many African nations. I remembered my elementary school when one of my teachers would say she could never speak other language except her dialect, which she used to speak. What made her to have such belief was not clear to us – her pupils – but now, the woman’s conviction has made people to respect her through her outspokenness.
In Nigeria, as a child grows up, he will pick up varieties of languages through formal and informal learning process. Apart from his mother’s tongue, any language a child is able to speak, according to one of my lecturers, is called second language.
We have English language as official language in Nigeria. This is the same in Ghana Republic and some Anglophonic African countries. In Ivory Coast and other Francophone countries, French is the official language. Alas, all these languages are alien to our culture but we give them relevance and make them as language of communication among ourselves.
The nub of this discourse is to expose how people ridicule their languages and classify them as local. What is local in my Yoruba language, for instance, when some set of people in South America speak the language with pride?
Maybe that is the reason why majority of students are failing in indigenous language examination. Nowadays, hardly can we see educated parents speaking their dialect to their children. This makes me remember short Yoruba prose that we used to recite during my primary school days.
The text was about an elderly woman who carried one of her grandchildren on her back for an outing. Unfortunately, the old woman could not understand the language of child when he wanted to defecate. Frustrated, the child used different signs to demonstrate what he wanted to do but the old woman could not understand; she thought the child was looking for his shoe. Before the woman could understand her grandchild, the kid had embarrassed her by defecating everywhere.
This, in a simple way, explains why parents must speak their dialect to their children and allow the children to also learn the so-called local language. The origin of mother’s tongue is based on the notion that linguistic skill of a child is honed by the mother. Therefore, the language being spoken by the mother will be the first language that the child will learn.
In 2006, locals in a city in Australia, Sydney, gathered together to celebrate International Mother Language Day in a colourful way. Can we also start something like this to prevent our dialects from going into extinction?
Research carried out in several countries on the place and role of mother tongue in education and learning has lead UNESCO to conclude that: “Children who begin their education in their mother tongue make a better start, and to continue to perform better than those for whom school starts with a new language.”
In a nutshell, mother’s tongue or native language should be encouraged to flourish among Africans. It favours a sound educational development of a child, thus laying the good foundation for intellectual and economic development. It gives a sense of identity to human being in a globalised environment and lays a solid foundation for the cognitive development of those who speak it.
The mastery of one’s mother’s tongue can go a long way in producing a world-class personality.
Akinola, NDII Mass Comm., OFFA POLY