Blog

Contentment achieved through extrinsic perspective has to do with human activities in acquiring wealth to meet up with the needs in the areas of economic, environment and the kind of people that surrounds one from friends and family perspective, whose character and general attitudinal disposition aligns with one's concept of how life should be.

When it is measured through material acquisition, achievement through legitimate means only, where elements of fraud are absent through the dignity of labor approach.

Contentment may be inheritable from morally conscious parents, who rear their children in an environment of discipline, such people naturally exhibit these characteristics to the advantage of having the ability to cope with any standard set as value norms in the places of work to the areas outside one's home, including the foreign lands, such people will never live by complaint and they will be diligent at work, with exemplary lifestyles expected of best global practices, taking into consideration the expected ethical values to follow.

Contentment as a value may be infectious through the polarization effect from those friends, peer groups, subordinates, or bosses at work, who might have upheld the concept of contentment or self-satisfaction around one.

Contentment must be entrenched as a national value where leaders are expected to role model exemplary lifestyles as the general norm.

Naturally, economic equations are not disrupted but applied to achieve maximum yield for the system because nobody will live a life of vanity and there would be no need for anybody at whatever level, he or she may find themselves, to envy others that have more, most especially those who are in positions of higher pedigree because one will realize that in the dignity of labor, your efforts or inputs must be commensurate to your earning power, even in the political setting, rivalry to usurp power or to seek for positions of leadership that do not have direct potentials of capability as may be relevant to the responsibilities of such offices will be highly minimal if not absent because people will realize the need to develop themselves to have worthy certificates that can be defended when finally one finds himself in such a position that would require expertise and some technical skills to support the mainframe of service delivery.

Where the contentment value is absent, greed and avarice naturally build up into Timocracy which usually characterizes covetousness of power, without the wherewithal to manage it because the propelling force would become a biological interference whereby you would want to wield power around yourself mainly to have undue access to the spoils of office at the expenses of the demands of such an office to care for the people and to build the system.

In such a situation, the arrays of scenes of poverty, hunger, diseases, and summarily a state of underdevelopment emerges.

Contentment as a value usually manifests at the homefront to demand parental sensitivity on their children's behavior and disposition towards material things.

It is better cured at their Id level that is dominated by the factors of an impressionable age when one can easily remove or add garbages of interferences into the lives of these children. At the ego level of development of a child, usually dominated by the adolescent stages, the manifestation of lack of contentment easily becomes pronounced as greed or a state of insatiability.

Lack of contentment, therefore, usually aids one into corrupt practices with a costly undertone of greed and acquisition of materials to live above one's means.

It is, therefore, necessary for the four domains of the spheres of life-education-culture, education, religion, and politics through the National Orientation Agency to promote contentment as a must of cultural material for the society to be conscious of the need for ethical integrity to be based on the value orientation of contentment.

This is an effective way to achieve maximally in the areas of good governance and credible leadership for the society to attain zero tolerance to corruption and sustainable national discipline since the people constitute the aggregate of many individuals who deserve to be socially responsible for the success of democratic governance to offer us a safe and secure society, tranquillity of the mind, environmental peace through the value orientation of contentment.

Aspiration through legitimate means is the only acceptable solution to improving the contentment level.

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

When the leadership at the Federal and State levels ascended the seat of power within the last six years, the goodwill and support, was not only overwhelming but total.
Presently, people are complaining bitterly in every part of the country, there are lots of frustrations everywhere, but sadly, the leadership is not listening, while its strategies remain rigid.
Potable water is now a luxury in most states of the federation, while electricity has now become a tool for extortion. Of worry is the price of kerosene, Nigerians watch helplessly as the price take an upward leap.
In the face of the absence of basic amenities for the people's survival, those in charge are sinking billions of Naira into the ''pool'' of insecurity.
An emerging fact is that ignorance, mediocrity, nepotism, indifference, and inertia have become visible signposts of the administration at all levels.

By the nature of our creation as mankind, we will continue to live by the sense of want using the yardstick of human physiological needs for his or her wellness.
Human nature while still alive will continue to live by the following factors that determine his or her state of wellness: The mind that must not be troubled needs the spiritual tranquillity of the mind which is most often derived from our social satisfaction.
The body needs a balanced diet or good nutrition to grow and the health services to have and maintain sound health.
Fairness in the participation of one in his community, the work through ethical practices for productivity and profitability needs rational efficiency to be able to deliver. Finances determine social symbols and status in society to be classified as responsive and responsible.
Human emotional outbursts and essence of control to keep down possibilities of having stress, frustration, or depression. 
Considering the above, man will continue to be in a sense of want while he gropes in the darkness of the world to make ends meet.
There is, therefore, a limit to what man can achieve in life in his pursuit of social desires without divine intervention. This is why the Almighty God admonishes all humans to do His will and get closer to Him. This is the basis upon which all religions are built.  All faith-based houses of God, therefore, must teach aright the scriptures for the adherents to imbibe the spirit of moral discipline as a basic condition under which he can have the opportunity to have access to divine communication which all religions offer as the prayer aspect of religious exercises.
For a man to have unrestricted and unhindered access to dialogue with God, he must be ready to culturally adopt and adapt to the conditions laid down by God in the scriptures.
For instance, Psalm 24 :3-4 refers, ''3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.''
In the same vein the Holy Quran 12: 108 equally shows us the way to be very close to God while doing His will.
Say thou, '' This is my way. I do invite onto Allah: with certain knowledge. I and whoever follows me(Prophet Muhammad). Glory to Allah and never will I join gods with Allah.''
Both verses of the Holy Quran and the Holy Bible emphasizes the need to accept and live by the holiness of Allah through pure hearts.
The Holy Bible, therefore, teaches us that we should continue to ask God for all our needs even when we are very hardworking for ease of maximally achieving our social desires.
Matthew 7: 7-12 refers, ''7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.''
However, the most important role that will usually facilitate human requests to be answered by the almighty God is that we must do to other people the same thing we want them to do to us, this is a reminiscence of the law of karma for natural social justice. This is the meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets. We need to realize that our religious sects or denominations are nothing more than a school of a faith-based building where we learn about how best we can have a perfect streak of God/man relationship.
Religious sentiments must not becloud our sense of judgment and recognition of our creator as the source of our strength which cuts across our pursuit of wellness through social desires while alive and our struggles to enter the kingdom of God.
In every religion, the factor of God and godliness exists even beyond our views and perception of the prophets, gods, and goddesses. Onto God, therefore, we must be very close to having direct access to divine communication.
The Holy Quran 2: 186, equally stands on these categorical statements upon which every mortal must stand, without waiting for the period of travail that will demand our running helter-skelter to seek the favor of God for the cure.
''When My servants ask thee concerning Me. I am indeed close to them. I respond  to the prayer of every supplicant when he calleth on Me: That  they may walk in the right way :(Nutrition, Health issues and Wellness assured).''
To be wise, let us ensure body preservation from sins and criminalities as well as soul purification from the devilish thought processes to be wholesome. 
For us to be close to God, the almighty Allah, not to lose the opportunities of having access to His grace with pure hearts to continue, therefore, to ask God for all need.

Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

The Ministry of Education in Namibia has registered 113 361 candidates for the 2021 National Secondary School Certificate Examinations(NSSCE)
The Ministry made this disclosure in a statement by its executive director Sanet Steenkamp.

''This year 113 361 candidates, comprising of 21 648 NSSC ordinary level (new), 23 118 NSSC higher level, and 68 595 NSSC ordinary level (old) candidates, have been registered'', the statement disclosed.

The declaration of the Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) relating to armed men within Nigeria is not only misleading but also devoid of visible professionalism.
The series of criminal incidents involving gunmen based in the forests in different parts of the country punctures the declaration of the NIS, which seems to be a feeble effort to shield those in charge from the glaring inability to bring the activities of its creation under control.
Those who are in the service should undergo retraining to bring them abreast of modern trends. The same applies to others with related functions, which revolve around the protection of lives and property.
Of great worry, however,  is the unbroken loyalty of a  sizable number of uniformed personnel to criminals, who, despite all odds ensure that the former have an unhindered flow of patronage and funding.

Archival documents from various standard museums always point to man's state of primitivity to be an improvement of its earlier stage of savagery.

Sociologists in their study of human behavior and interpersonal relationships often notice some characteristics of hatred and intolerance among people in a community or society at large.

Educationists affirmatively believe that application of the affective domain on attitudinal molding and building may resolve the challenges of hatred and intolerance among the people of the world, if effectively taught.

However, surprisingly, observations of history have comical records of street brawling, gangsterism, vengeance in various public places, the situation is the same among the elite, matters that ought to have been resolved amicably, have torn communities apart, and pushed the state Houses of Assembly, those at the Federal level inclusive, into chaotic situations.

Despite the claim of been graduates of various institutions of learning the issue of hatred and intolerance, therefore, deserves from every person a clear understanding of the Scriptures that upholds the fabric of existence of every religious denomination. Suffice it now to say that teachings on virtues must cut across the spheres of culture, self-esteem, integrity, and education on character building, while religion must be used to focus on the harmonization of the essence of culture and education on the issue of tolerance and love for every one of us to be able to eschew hatred and violence while the culture of tolerance must be socio-spiritually established.

From the teachings of Jesus Christ about fighting back, every nation must learn and domesticate the teachings for its substance to be imbibed into our character for ease of having good human relations.

Matthew 5: 38-42 refers. , ''Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.''

 By the foregoing, we would have eschewed hatred and acts of intolerance for the teachings to be effectively feasible, religious leaders, Christians and Muslims alike, must role model these virtues as well as our political leaders as perfect examples for the people, by polarization, to follow suit.

This is the only way by which we can have a stable government to develop the people amidst system dynamics without molestation.

In the same vein, the Holy Quran 41: 32-36 admonishes us on the issue of the culture of harbouring no hatred but eschewing the acts of intolerance as the only way towards which we can secure the favor of God since life is sweet and prosperous only when the culture of symbolism exists.

The teachings from all the houses of God, must, therefore, be based on the exemplary lifestyles of all holy prophets as it is based on the following injunctions of 41: 32-26 of the Holy Quran, '' A hospitable gift from One oft-Forgiven, most merciful! Who is better in speech than one who calls men to Allah(God), works righteousness, and says ''I am of those who bow in his life(surrender onto God)? Nor can Goodness and Evil be equal. Repel evil with what is better(no bitter retaliation): Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thine friend and intimate! And no one would be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint,-none but persons of the greatest good fortune and if at any time and incitement to discord is made to thee by Satan seek refuge in Allah. He is the one who hears and knows all things.''

The emphasis is on the need to promote love to foster understanding and to eschew hatred to avoid violence even at the height of provocation. Muslims and Christians are, therefore, admonished to live exemplary lifestyles and be Scripture compliant.

Since all these virtues are professed by our Scriptures, there is a dire need to walk the talk for our environment, home, community, society, and the nation at large to avoid bitter experiences of insecurity and terrorism which always have their root in the untreated wounds of hatred, intolerance, and violence.

This is the only way by which we can avoid setbacks in the development or destruction of lives and property which must stop for our children to be able to lay claim to a bequeathable legacy of justice, peace, and sustainable development. Eschew hatred and role model tolerance.

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

The difference between human and animal kingdoms has a divided line of unguarded freedom and organized interpersonal relationships in the area of mating the two kingdoms have consideration for stages of development, minor stage considered as the immatured and upper cadre of puberty considered as the matured stage.

Distinctively, the human kingdom has a way of monitoring nature's distribution of guide, but surprisingly the animals naturally respect the guiding principles for the mating stage.

The weaver bird is a typical example of the lesser animals who naturally respect, fidelity rules, both during and after the courting stage.

Remarkably too, the horse has never been found guilty of incest in their annals of history.

However, among human beings, the controlling guides seem not to hold as expected despite all the apparatus of control starting from the home where the two parents are expected to be the Chief Security Officers, whose primary duties are to ensure the children keep up with the principles of fidelity among themselves whereby any form of abuse should not be recorded.

However, the contrary is the case in many of our homes: most especially where we have girls and boys as siblings perhaps due to carelessness and the nonchalant attitude of the affected parents, who will later run helter-skelter to carry out illegal abortions.

The question now is on why we as parents degenerate with all lack in our social responsibilities to watch over the growth and progress of our children.

What have we be doing when they are found watching blue films or hiding in their phones pornography, despite the fact that we know that all these are injurious to their mental and emotional well being.

Homosexuality, sodomy, and gay practices are commonplace in society today.

Apart from the social stigma, spiritual sanction as divine penalty goes beyond the rules of law as it may culminate into a jinx for the family, in the process creating low divine immunity for the affected family or by extension the community around which it happens.

Bestiality has to do with primitivity while mating has to be dignified through organized rules of law that should uphold the sacredness of the Scripture and cultural setting of every society that recognizes and acknowledge the sacredness of marriage and the processes of entering into the holy matrimony including the fidelity factor that should herald in courtship period of attraction and the marriage period of reality checks.

The spiritual state of the youth today is so poor for the reasons of frivolities and waywardness in their affairs.

If religion fails to salvage them on this, humanity may go down into the bestial level of existence, with a dire consequence of lack of trust and sincerity of purpose which will continue to negatively affect the human psyche. 

The Holy books assert that all these hard drugs negatively affect the mental state of the young ones which of course extends to their spiritual lives.

The Holy Bible Matthew 5: 27-28 refers: '' You have heard that it was said that doesn't do the sin of adultery, but I tell you if a person looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, then that person has already done that sin with the woman in his mind.''

Any form of erotic fantasy not only affects the psyche, it equally disturbs the whole body to erode away the spiritual substances.

This is why the Holy Quran warns in 17: 32,''Nor come nigh to adultery: For it is an indecent deed and an evil way''.

Let us all work to achieve decency in our children and the society for ease of friendly interpersonal relationships with an injury.

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

It is an incontrovertible fact that the President and Vice President can fund their feeding with their salaries and mindboggling allowances.

Since this is the case, the 2021 budgetary allocation for the same should be reviewed because such is not only frivolous but also reckless and insensitive. 
In the same vein, other budgetary allocations that smack of wastefulness, such as the one for travels should also be reviewed.