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  • Ignorance as the Guiding Light

    IgWhen 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.

  • Ask God Only for all your Needs

    Prof 1By 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

  • Namibia Register 113 361 candidates For Final Secondary School Exams

    SsEdu 1The 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.

     

     

  • A Feeble Initiative

    Prof 2The 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.

     

  • Eschew Hatred and Role Model Tolerance

    Prof 1Archival 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.''

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     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 Menace of Promiscuity

    Prof 1The 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

     

  • Feeding and the Budgetary Allocation for Leaders.

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    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.

  • Parents Failure to Check Bad Habits of Children a Challenge-Prof. Olagoke

    Prof 1Good habits result in healthy living, wealth, and happiness, while bad habits direct free men into bondage.
    By system, harmony, and the forming of right habits early in life, the youth are capable of multiplying themselves many times.  Indeed,  there is no substitute for proper guidance and direction.
    Several men and women attribute their failures to fate, luck, and chance, but in actual fact, the habit formed early in life weigh them down through life.
    In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam, of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olgaoke opines that the negative habits of millions of children in Nigeria, left uncorrected by parents poses a  great challenge for society.
    In what ways do you think the habits of the Nigerian youth particularly and Nigerians in general-good or bad- have affected the scheme of things in society today?
    A habit has a direct correlation to human behavior and one is easily identified by the resulting mannerism which the society easily reacts to, most especially when it activates from the known norms. Subjectively it can be used to determine the DNA of a child born into a family.
    It is easily used as a tool to classify a home or parenting attitude by the teachers of such children in the school which equally, subjectively could be classified as been good or bad for the teachers to work on in order that the child's behavior and responses do not hinder the teacher's teaching progress that must cut across aptitude and attitude.
    Most often parents of suspected children lacking in expected correct attitude may be invited by the school counselor for a chat on such a child in an attempt to offer corrective guides to normalize the child's habits. On the home front, the primary duty of parents is to critically observe their children's habits with respect to their body language, eating habits, standing posture, facial look disposition most especially towards the elderly ones, dressing habits, and reactions to the rules of hygiene. All these must be observed and corrected right from the day he or she is born under the child custody guide before, he or she gets to the stage of having friends.
    At nature nurturing level, the pediatrics nurturing level, the counseling guide of the experts must intervene just as the pediatrics intervention dominates the childhood period.
    Some children may mimic so easily to the level of assuming the defective posture of a deformed person, if parents do not intervene on time, such a child may become deformed permanently. Such habits include the twisting of the mouth, squinting of the eyes, adjusting the shoulders to gesticulate among others.
    Parents must therefore be observant and sensitive enough to offer appropriate corrections that would suit the acceptable norms of the society.
    Some of the traits that have been exhibited by a child may be alien to the family for people to begin to suspect foul play in the biological process of bringing him or her to life.

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    This is why parents must ensure fidelity in managing their homes by having the utmost respect for the sacredness of the institution of marriage during which they swore to love and be loyal to each other.
    In those days of the good era of discipline, education was next to godliness, and children in boarding schools or away from home always lived by the wise instructions of their parents to always remember the sons and daughters of whom they are. To such children, the change of environment and the peer group effect never had a negative effect on them. 
    However today, the environment of poverty has led to cases of broken homes, single parenting, and orphanages. For example, Nigeria is having challenges such as insecurity and several parents are unable to even feed themselves and their children. There is the issue of Internally Displaced Persons and more than 13.9 million out-of-school children.
    A nation that is yet to find solutions to institutional indiscipline and corruption will ever produce restive youths, who easily would embark on suicide missions to survive. Matters are treated on the surface rather than from the root.
    Drug addicts and drunkards may either have a background that favors such indulgence or they could have been infected through some unwholesome peer group effect.
    The challenge today in Nigeria is in the persistence of the neglected negative habits of children left uncorrected by the parents.
    Unfortunately, when this ugly trend continues, the nation may be heading for the precipe. The Government at all levels must stop chasing shadows, and staring investing in youth education and job creation.
    It is only when the human physiological need is worked on to the realization point that the home can be stable and at rest with good parenting as well as the society with the youth who would be meaningfully engaged.
    This situation will curb the sponsors of militants, insurgents, bandits, and terrorists.
    Nature nurturing in the growth profile of the animal called man to be effective needs to be supported by the physiological needs and managed by role models and counselors for the children and the youth to be amenable to corrections on the issue of habits and a good attitude, otherwise, our education will continue to promote and produce human robots without a human face.

  • COVID 19-Turkey Vaccinates 462,000 Health Workers

    Tu 2Authorities in Turkey have administered COVID vaccines to 462,000 of its health workers.
    President Recep Tayyip Erdogan got the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, as the country commenced the mass COVID-vaccination campaign.
    Furthermore, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca was the first person to receive a Chinese vaccine jab in the country after Turkey’s official drug and medical equipment body Wednesday approved CoronaVac for emergency use against the novel coronavirus.

    Following the minister, members of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board were vaccinated as well.

    The Health Ministry stated that  Turkey has 1.1 million health workers who will be vaccinated within a month.
    Two doses of the vaccine shall be administered 28 days apart. Those who recovered from COVID-19 will not be vaccinated in four to six months following their recovery.


     

  • Distrust, Action, and Inaction

    Dis 2Dis 3

    The Kano State Government has reverted to the N18,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, in these times of inflation, economic recession, insecurity among other several challenges.
    The action of the State  Government is a reflection of the poor state of finances of several state governments in the country and also an indication that workers have real cause to worry and pray.
    Interestingly, good leaders must either intend to produce good results or viable legacies.
    Is this possible in the present dispensation, considering the scheme of things. Nigerians express great doubts. 
    Making promises than what political office holders can deliver is just one of the many tragic mistakes of the people's representatives.
    The crux of the matter is that for Nigerians and the Government at all levels, trust is at a deficit.
    Sadly, in the last five years or thereabout, the country is not better off as it was in 2014 in terms of development-particularly investment, health, and education, although the forces of evil remain unperturbed.
    Surprisingly, in the middle of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government sees nothing wrong in the crowd at the National Identity Management Commission [NIMC] offices nationwide. Obviously,  the National Identity Number(NIN) is more important to the Government than the preservation of human lives.

  • The Restoration of Ethical Practices will Ensure Good Governance-Prof. Olagoke

    Prof 1Ethics are crucial to how the manpower in governance shall positively influence the scheme of things. These are principles of morality, the science of the good, and the nature of the right inclusive. The greater satisfaction in governance, except when the consciousness that comes from being good and doing right are in the minds of all those involved-elected, appointed, and employed. 
    The disregard and disrespect for professional, organizational, and institutional ethics have almost brought Nigeria to its knees. In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabiut Olagoke says that the restoration of ethical practices is a precondition for ensuring the emergence of good leadership and governance. Excerpts :
    The myriad of challenges confronting the country has been traced to the disregard and disrespect for professional and organizational ethics. Why is this so?
    The fundamental fabric for the reinforcement of human existence work together for the purpose of peaceful co-existence and development could be traced to the organized colonies of the ants, termites, and bees because of the natural respect for divine laws among them, their organized ways of doing things follow the ethical principles which are presently been eroded today by human beings, most especially in areas where underdevelopment characterize the features of their programs and efforts. If to date, observers of the ethical practices remain the secrets of their maintained and sustained organizations, human beings, therefore, must think about their follies in been irrational in doing things by resorting to the learn the lost glory from the ants, termites, and bees. The Nigeria situation was not as bad as it is today because, in the colonial era, that gave us the standard quo of the civil and public service ethics of the technical practice of officialdom, from the secretarial firmness in keeping records and auditing professional ethics emerged for the graduates of our institutions who specialized in various disciplines because they are part and parcel of feeder links for the government activities to be productive without loss of goodwill.

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    The laws of the land, based on our culture were respected by all even before the intrusion of religions such as Christianity and Islam. Nigerians who accepted these religions then were happy to discover in the Holy Bible and Quran based on their chosen faith; that they had been following the right path in their culture, at least in the area of the culture and tradition, with respect to good character and the best attitude. For example, there had been keeping of good neighborliness on the ground as well as a high-level power of accommodating visitors. The dignity of labor was part of our grandparents and society will never condone any form of laziness from people. The Hard work principle was their watchword. This was the reason why it was easy for them to be good Christians and Muslims, after accepting Jesus Christ and Allah respectively.
    The only snag with people then was idolatry which could be encouraged to be discouraged because of the fatalistic consequence whenever occasion warranted abuse or misuse of power for those who could not manage their anger or control their temperament.
    One now wonders why the present-day educational rejuvenation and evolution of the emerging houses of God are unable to tame the weirdness of the present time that is dirt-filled of all who had condemned by the tow Holy books, our religious adherents who dominate the entire population is following.
    Today, there is moral disintegration among the people who claim to uphold our culture and traditions.
    There is a need to challenge the relevance of the Mogajis, village heads, and traditional rulers such as the Obas, Emirs, and Obis, on the need to restore human dignity through effective sensitization of the people for the essence of integrity in the society and purposive leadership.
    If this can be achieved, it would be a matter of shame to the adherents of Islam and Christianity, who are used to claiming the superiority of their religions over others, if they cannot restore for us the sacredness of the Bible and the Quran as relevant articles of faith for human survival.
    For in these books or curricula, attitudinal values dominate the subject matter to be instilled in the adherents to be thoroughbred professionally,  with role modeling characteristics of been ethically responsible to save the places of work and the society at large.
    Corruption and institutional indiscipline are now the order of the day, not only among the politicians but also among civil and public servants, religious leaders, and the elite with good academic background and certain traditions, such people must have passed through some schools to attain some degree of educational relevance.
    Each one of them equally must have faith-based organizations he or she attends in the name of religion before finding themselves in any political party or as technocrats in the civil or public service and must have belonged to particular professional bodies before been appointed or elected into various leadership positions to manage in trust our sovereign wealth.
    Lack of ethical practices will ever lead to a loss of goodwill in industries, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, and the government as a whole for the nation to bear the brunt of underdevelopment.
    It is, therefore, a common problem of monstrous dimension for the nation to have clusters of frivolous and wayward people as the best of citizens.
    This is because all problems emanating from murdering merit will bounce back to undermine the need for excellence in our various efforts-be it the community or the nation.
    We must equally remember that character attestation and our acquired aptitude determine our altitude or height of desires in life.
    If we, therefore, continue to make money or create wealth through fraudulent practices, Nigerians will not be able to meet up with global competitiveness or global best practices which may make us be species of inferior quality, who will ever be found wanting outside the shores of Nigeria.
    Equally, when we have defective clusters of agents of socialization the wherewithal to effect changes would be very much difficult starting from the perspective of our culture and tradition, our traditional rulers must embrace merit, good attitudinal values, and value-laden records of antecedents as primary considerations to anybody they want to recognize by giving chieftaincy titles.
    Religious people must teach the scriptures and role model the best characters and moral excellence to their adherents and in society as their contributions to the restoration of ethical practices by all and sundry. The educational pedagogues must live by the behavioral objectives of what they teach, while the government must for effectiveness, fund our education appropriately and accordingly in line with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) and United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) recommendations. The institution of marriage must promote good parenting of responsible biological and social responsiveness for the children's wellness to be sustained in an environment of sustainable marriage.
    The issue of fidelity and increasing profile of love must be primary in the areas of managing proposed couples by the counseling psychologists, these are the only way e can have credible people in government who will rather shun business as a usual syndrome in governance, but uphold credibility in leadership, the sacrifice of personal pleasure for the success of the state and proactive measure in policy formulation and implementation.
    The focus of the government must therefore be on the promotion of an inclusive society in an environment of social justice, for the nation to progress and produce strong institutions rather than strong individuals and people of high intellect, who are disciplined.
    The restoration of ethical practices at the individual, organizational, and professional levels are sacrosanct to achieving the leadership desires and the people's expectations in governance.

     

     

  • High cost of Cement a Threat to Homeless Nigerians-AWC

    Quote 9The All Workers Convergence(AWC) has declared that the increase in the price of cement poses a great threat to homeless Nigerians.
    The AWC made this declaration through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.
    ''It is quite unfortunate to note that 2020 has been a year of endless torture for workers and Nigerians generally. There is definitely no reason for a bag of cement to be sold for about 4,00 Naira. The high cost of a bag of cement constitutes a great threat to the millions of Nigerians who are yet to have their own homes.''

     

     

  • Greed is the Major Cause of Poor Governance-Prof. Olagoke

    Prof 1Greed is a vice that has brought in its wake unpleasant situations of damaging consequences.

    The insatiable appetite of the actors in Government-appointed, elected and employed-has resulted in underdevelopment, stagnancy, and retrogression. Greed has prompted those in power to involve private hands in governance under various guises. In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke insists that greed has resulted in failure governance in most countries, Nigeria inclusive. Excerpts :

    Greed has been identified as a major catalyst for underdevelopment and retrogression? Do you agree?

    Ther success recorded by the lesser animals and insects in their kingdoms is usually traced to be based on collective responsibilities and division of labor with sincerity of purpose and due process.

    This is most observable in the ways the dogs of the hunter kill their prey without devouring them but delivering the dead prey to the hunter. This action is expected from the leader or the boss and his or her subordinates in dispensing services for the purpose of building themselves and the institution they represent. The dog will rather go hungry than consume the prey, in addition, it would be patient until it is fed by its owner.

    In the kingdom of the termites, the tradition is that the Queen is worked for and passionately protected by the soldier ants, while the workers with consistent efficiency work for the Queen and will never take anything out of what they produce without been instructed to do so.

    Among the bees, honey is produced in the built honeycomb by the collective responsibility of the scavengers, workers, and soldiers in the areas of protection and production activities ensuring that quality and standard are maintained at a sustainable level, interestingly humans search for the products of the bees with a lot of risks involved.

    When the production ability of the Queen is noticeably low, as a result of aging, the insemination of other females occurs and eventually they replace the Queen, not for the purpose of ambition but for the purpose of keeping up with continuity in production.

    The question now is, for humans endowed with superior faculties of reason and with all the guides from their chosen Scriptures, this is aside from their educational advantages, why do humans hate instead of love, backslide in place of obedience and impoverish others when offered opportunities to be in positions of power making the system to retrogress.

    Leadership essence depends on professional capability before been entrusted with to be in charge of positions of responsibility. It equally depends on one's loyalty to the establishment in question offering the opportunities to serve as well as to protect the image of one's alma mater and the name of the family.

    he reason behind records of failure in countries in Africa, Nigerian and Ghana inclusive, have always been traced to greed in power and greed among aides which by implication usually leads to the impoverishment of the people and kleptocracy by the few in government, hence, the present culture of corruption and indiscipline that is already endemic. It has made the sacred valued of education to be eroded, whereby people seek education for money rather than to acquire knowledge and wisdom.

    This situation has created an environment of anti-societal behavior and the desperate drive towards quick money-making initiatives.

    The dignity of labor has been sacrificed for ritual killings, known as Yahoo plus, with kidnapping and banditry as other means to ends.

    For a solution to the present worrisome state of things, all spheres of human endeavor should be overhauled completely, the houses of God inclusive.

    Greed 2
    Greed 3

    Greed is usually exhibited by people who have the blood of Timocracy running through their veins, such people usually go beyond what they need to survive, to the level of having what they will keep for their next generation. This is in contrast to the teachings they received from the Scriptures,. that upholds their chosen religion, that we must be modest, decent, disciplined and non-destructive to any system we work in and the society that produced us, in order to leave a bequeathable legacy to our children and the future generation.

    Nigeria is not making use of religious houses to be relevant in the scheme of nation-building while the government equally underutilize the potentials of our universities and the experts already produced in the areas of intervention need to choose leaders and help the government achieve maximally, to provide the home ned to stem down over-reliance on foreign people and goods with the consequence of our low human development index and continuous devaluation of the Naira to an embarrassing state.

    For the culture of greed to give way for development, there is a need for the government to respect the professionals in promoting organization and professional ethics, in addition to ensuring that the Ivory Tower, has the freedom to intervene in training and choosing leaders at all levels of governance.

  • Show Love to Nigeria-Cleric to Nigerian Leaders

    Nig 2The leadership at all levels in Nigeria have been advised to show love to Nigeria as a step towards salvaging the country.
    This advice was given by a Christian cleric, Pastor Opeyemi Ajayi in a chat with Poverty Line.
    ''Deceit and treachery is the order of the day, our leaders at the Federal and state levels should first show love to the country. Our leaders should love Nigeria, if they do not want the nation to be ruined, our leaders must salvage the country from collapse, by showing love to the country,  this will make Nigerians show love to one another'', Pastor Ajayi stated.

  • Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

                                                             

                                                                                       Christmas

                                                                   This is wishing you a merry christmas  and a prosperous new year

  • Don't Introduce Policies that Shall Further Impoverish Workers-AWC to Govt.

    Ni 14The  Federal and State Governments have been warned not to introduce policies that shall further impoverish workers in Nigeria in the face of dwindling revenue and economic recession.
    This warning was handed down by the All Workers Convergence(AWC) through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.
    ''The Federal and State Governments should not contemplate introducing policies that would further impoverish workers in these times of dwindling revenue and economic recession. Presently, the salaries of Nigerian workers cannot take them home considering the continuous devaluation of the Naira'', Comrade Emelieze lamented.

     

     

     

     

  • Police Brutality- Oyo Panel Yet to Sit-Victims

    Human 2Victims of police brutality in Oyo state have expressed worries that the Panel of Enquiry set up by the state government is yet to commence sitting.
    The victims in a chat with Poverty Line, lamented that several weeks after the inauguration of the Justice Badejok Adeniji led panel, mum is the ord.
    ''We are disturbed that the panel is yet to commence sitting. We are also surprised that several weeks after the inauguration of the panel by the state Governor nothing encouraging has been heard. This should not be the attitude of the State Government'', they stated.
    However, a lawyer and human rights activist, Barrister Femi Aborishade insisted that the panel has not been given any terms of reference, saying,'' they have no office, no place of sitting and no funding''.

  • Agenda for the Benefit of a Few

    Na 2Nigerians are of the impression that their representatives at the Senate, House of Representative, and the State Houses of Assembly are there to line their pockets and that of their paymasters.
    Indeed, they insist that most lawmakers in the state Houses of Assembly would eternally be grateful to the State Governors for facilitating their emergence as the representatives of the people, the same applies for at the center.
    Without a doubt,  the National Assembly in the second republic was a lot acceptable to the people than what obtains today.
    During this period, the then President, Alhaji Sheu Shagari intensively lobbied without success, to pass his executive bill recommending salaries for himself, his Ministers, Presidential advisers, other functionaries, Senators, and members of the House of Representatives.
    The third arm of Government meticulously and cautiously debated Alhaji Shagari's bill in the twilight of 179 and the early months of 1980.
    The lawmakers relied on responses from the frontliners in Government and the private sector to justify their insistence on higher salaries as against the President's recommendations.
    At the end of it all, the then President of the Senate, Dr. Joseph Wayas counseled his colleagues on the dangers of allocating higher salaries for themselves and other public officials.
    Subsequently, the lawmakers approved 30,000 Naira , excluding allowances for the President.
    Interestingly, when President Shagari was told that the lawmakers had approved 5,000 Naira more than his salary recommendation, the President announced that he would allocate the 5,000 Naira extra to several charity organizations in the country.
    In the second republic, gifts were rejected by the lawmakers and labeled ''greek gifts'', but presently it is an ''all-comers affair''.
    Encouraged by a desperate executive at the Federal and State levels, a self-first driven legislature, go all the way to implement an anti-people's agenda for the benefit of a few.

  • Put God's Kingdom First

    Prof 1The beastly nature of man tends towards more of the flesh with little faculty input in making decisions to act.

    The Id in a person paly a significant role in controlling the psyche and wish of the infants to the impressionable age level, children will ever wish the best from their parents and arrogate to themselves the achievers' materials of their parents and those who have made it in the society-may car, my house-this is the period beastly manifestation of behavior.

     He later develops into an ego region, when he is conscious of what he says and what he wishes.

    However, the best of growth and development in a man is best achieved through the developed superego, when he has the characteristic senes of control and regulations over the thoughts, wishes acts, and deeds.

     For a man to achieve the superego level, he needs spiritual nutrients in form of inspirational energy with which he would drive the vehicles of his social desires.

    As expressed in the Holy Quran 94: 4-8, (94:4) And did We not exalt your fame? 3

    3. This was said at a time when no one could even conceive how the renown of the one unique individual, who had only a few followers confined only to the city of Makkah, would be exalted throughout the world and what high fame he would achieve. But Allah Almighty gave His Messenger (peace be upon him) this good news under those very conditions and then fulfilled it in a strange way. In the first place, he took from his enemies themselves the task of exalting his renown. One of the methods that the disbelievers of Makkah adopted to defeat his mission was that in the Hajj season when the pilgrims from every corner of Arabia were attracted to their city, they would visit them at their halting places and would warn them to beware of a dangerous man called Muhammad (peace be upon him), who they alleged, worked such magic on the people that father was separated from son, a brother from brother, and husband from wife; therefore, they should keep away from him. The same thing they said to all other people, who visited Makkah on other than Hajj days in connection with pilgrimage or on other business. In this way, although they were trying to defame the Prophet (peace be upon him), yet the result was that his name reached every nook and corner of Arabia and the enemies themselves took him out of his seclusion in Makkah and introduced him among all the tribes of the country. After this, it was but natural that the people should become curious to know as to who this man was, what he preached, what was his character like and who were the people influenced by his magic, and what sort of effect his magic had on them. As the propaganda of the Makkan disbelievers spread, the people’s curiosity also grew. Then, when as a result of this curiosity the people came to know of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) morals, his character and conduct when they heard the Quran and found what teachings it presented and when the people saw how different the lives of those who had been influenced by what was being described as magic had become from the lives of the common Arabs, the bad name started being changed into the good name. So much so that by the time the Hijrah took place, there was perhaps no tribe left anywhere in Arabia from which one or another person, one or another clan had not accepted Islam and in which at least some people had not developed sympathy and interest in the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his message. This was the first stage of the exaltation of his renown. Then from the Hijrah started the second stage in which, on the one hand, the hypocrites, the Jews and the prominent polytheists of Arabia were actively engaged in defaming him, and, on the other, the Islamic State of Al-Madinah was presenting such a practical model of God-worship, God-consciousness, piety, and devotion, purity of morals and community life, justice and equity, equality of man and man, generosity of the rich, care of the poor, the fulfillment of pledges and promises and righteousness in dealings, which was conquering the hearts. The enemies tried by resort to war to impede the growing influence of the Prophet (peace be upon him), but the party of the believers, trained and developed under his own leadership, proved its superiority by their discipline, their bravery, their fearlessness of death, and their adherence to restrictions of morality even in the state of war, so convincingly that entire Arabia had to recognize it as a power to be reckoned with. Within ten years the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) renown become so exalted that the same land in which the opponents had exerted their utmost to defame him, reverberated with the slogan of Ash hadu anna Muhammad ar-Rasul Allah from one end to the other. Then the third stage commenced with the establishment of the righteous Caliphate when his holy name started being mentioned and praised everywhere in the world. This process continues till today and will continue till Resurrection if Allah so wills. Wherever in the world there exists a settlement of the Muslims, the apostleship of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is being proclaimed aloud in the call to the Prayer five times a day, blessings of Allah are being invoked on him in the Prayers, and his sacred remembrance is being made in the Friday Sermons. There is no moment in the 12 months of the year and in the 24 hours of the day when at one or another place in the world, the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) name is not being mentioned. This is a clear proof of the truth of the Quran that when in the initial stage of the Prophethood Allah proclaimed wa rafana laka dhikrak, no one could estimate and imagine with what esteem and to what great extent the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) renown would be exalted. In a Hadith, Abu Saeed Khudri has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Gabriel came to me and said: My Lord and your Lord asks, in what ways have I exalted your renown. I submitted: Allah alone has the best knowledge. He said Allah says: Whenever mention is made of Me, you too will be mentioned along with Me. (Ibn Jarir, lbn Abi Hatim, Musnad Abu Yala, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Hibban, Ibn Marduyah, Abu Nuaim). The whole later history stands witness that this prediction has proved literally true.

     

    (94:5) Indeed, there is the ease with hardship.

     

    (94:6) Most certainly, there is the ease with hardship.4

    4. This has been repeated twice so as to reassure the Prophet (peace be upon him) that the bad times he was passing through at that time would not last forever, but we're going to be replaced by good times in the near future. On the surface this appears to be a contradiction that hardship should be accompanied by ease, for these two things do not co-exist. But the words hardship with ease instead of ease after hardship has been used in the sense that the period of ease is so close to it as if it were a concomitant of it.

    (94:7) So, whenever you are free, strive in devotion,

     

    (94:8) and turn to your Lord with longing.5

    5. So when you have finished (your duties): When you are free from other occupations, whether occupations in connection with the preaching of the divine message, or teaching and training of the new converts, or domestic occupations of mundane nature. The commandment means: When you are no more occupied, you should spend your time in the labor and toil of Allah’s worship and turn all your attention exclusively to your Lord.''

    This is why the Holy Quran 51: 56, categorically made this submission, ''I have only jinns and men that they may serve Me.

     This is why the Holy Bible in Psalm 53: 1-3 submitted with all authority that only a fool thinks there is no God, People like that are corrupt, evil, malicious and they don't do anything well.

    There really is a God in heaven watching over us. God is looking for wise people who are looking for God! But everyone has turned away from God. 

    Every person is bad, no person does anything good. No, not one person.''

    Let us all be reminded that without God those who labor do so in vain(Psalm 27: 1).

    The Holy Bible, therefore, needs to be followed on the issue of putting God's kingdom first, as the Holy Quran equally emphasizes the essence of being alive. In the Holy Quran 2: 201-202,''(2:201) There are others who say: “Our Lord, grant us what is good in this world and what is good in the World to Come, and protect us from the chastisement of the Fire.” (2:202) They shall have a portion from what they earned; Allah is quick in reckoning.''

    The teaching of Jesus Christ, therefore, in Matthew 6: 25-34(please take patience to read and digest to the application realm to suit the true-life situation) ,''25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

    26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

    27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

    28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

    29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

    30 Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

    32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

    33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

    34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.''

     To all people from all nations, therefore, starting from me and you the almighty Allah admonishes through the Holy Quran 49: 13 on the essence of love, unity, keeping good neighborliness, and abstinence from all acts that may bother one into the deluge of discrimination or despise for others.

    This is for me and you to avoid the situation of losing the kingdom of God which only our closeness to God can guarantee us to have as paradise or Jannat-''O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. The emphasis here is on our ability to understand and internalise the subject matter of the Scriptures or curriculum to comprehension and application level that would suit to resolve issues and control any emerging situations for good, alongside strategic efforts on peace initiatives.

    Let us equally be reminded of the following, Romans 13: 13 is about a triangle of successful and sustainable exemplary life-styles: Faith is about the religion of your choice with the dividend of hope through just worship with sincerity of purpose and that the two would only be functionally beneficial only in an environment of love. '' Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.''

    Let us develop the culture of forgiveness for hatred to be replaced with love for a hitch-free voyage of life. Compulsorily, therefore, we must all submit to the design of God as contained in Quran 15: 99, ''And serve thy Lord until there come unto thee the Hour that is certain.

    Once again, but God's kingdom first.

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

  • Lives of Pensioners No Longer Matter to Govt-AWC

    PensThe lives of pensioners who served the Government at all levels during their productive years no longer matter to their employers.

    This assertion was made by the All Workers Convergence(AWC) through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emlieze.
    ''We are in a very horrible situation where workers and pensioners' lives no longer matter to the Government at all levels as citizens who worked for 35 years and retired to wait almost indefinitely to receive their gratuities, is ridiculous. If the Government at all levels are focused and accountable, the pension funds administrators and the Government ought to have commenced the preparation of retirement benefits six months before the affected workers retire and pensions a month after retirement, sadly, this is not the case in Nigeria,'' Comrade Emelieze lamented.