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  • 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.

     

     

     

  • Disloyalty Breeds Corruption and other Vices-Prof. Olagoke

    Prof 1Disloyalty has resulted in countless incidents of unimaginable situations. Self and pecuniary interests in a sizable number of individuals have brought about the unthinkable. Disloyalty seems to be the order of the day in all spheres of human endeavors as people strive to make a living. In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that corruption and other practices are products of disloyalty. Excerpts :
    Disloyalty has now taken over space in all spheres of human life, why is this so?
    The word loyalty is an active ingredient for system dynamics in any administrative setting and strategic management structure.
    It is expected to have been learned from one's father/mother relation in the home for a proper child-rearing process to take place, demanding the undertone of Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties.
    When disloyalty happens in a working environment the hierarchical order is disturbed, while charges of insubordination between the boss and his working partners, senior or junior, are alleged with resultant insinuations of disaffection and distrust.  The lessons on loyalty and the implication of disloyalty equally ought to have been learned even by intuition in the cultural environment under which we grew up.
    Like in Yoruba land, age is a critical factor to command others respect, so also are the positions of power, wealth, and acquired influence and affluence. When there is disloyalty in this line of hierarchy, selfless service may be denied to those people that may need it.
    It is then we talk of affront and arrogance. In the house of God, the issue of loyalty and the implication of disloyalty, ought to have been taught and learned through the Scriptures.
    So also in the institutions of learning-Primary, Secondary and Tertiary institutions, our conduct towards obeying the command of the teachers or lecturers matters most,  otherwise, arrogant students may reap the bitter fruit of the allegation of bad conduct.
    Courses such as Citizenship Education, Religious Knowledge, and General Studies are expected to be dedicated to the issue of loyalty and the implication of disloyalty.
    Nigeria's case in managing our democratic dispensation for governance, whereby the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies are regulated and controlled by the civil and public service rules, in order that the due process of officialdom is enhanced to disallow remote and primitive interventions of unskilled interactions among working groups.
    MDAs harmed by the civil and public service rules have all the wherewithal to regulate and control governance activities through the dynamics of political parties.
    However, they are feeders to government activities. Sanity must prevail based on the golden principle of loyalty.
    Whenever there is an occurrence of disloyalty in the system leakages and fraud become the penalty and political interference to defraud the nation may be very, very easy.
    Disloyalty at this level, therefore, has the implication of insubordination to the immediate boss or leader who is expected to hold forth the reign of ground rules for the political class.

    Dis
    Offenders in this realm, therefore, are not only been rebellious to the management of the institution but also rebellious to the state and the nation at large. This is what is responsible for system failure, as it manifests in the way the government believes in seeking for training abroad, rather than making use of the knowledge potentials we have at home.
    Disloyalty to the constituted authority is regarded as a grievous sin in religious and spiritual parlance, this comes with very terrible consequences.
    In social parlance, disloyalty is a criminal activity as it can disrupt the system dynamics. Disrespect for the constitutional provisions on issues is a grievous form of disloyalty against the state.

  • Acknowledge Your Creator

    Hosea 6 : 3

    3 Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

    Quo 3Quo 4Quo 5

  • Entitlement of Retirees too Meager-Prof. Olagoke

    Prof 1Public and civil servants in Nigeria retire with fears of what the future holds for them after putting in 35 years of service. In recent times, gratuities are paid years after retirement, while the payment of  pensions are trailed by several challenges. In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Heads and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke says entitlements of retirees are too meager considering their years of service. Excerpts :
    Are you comfortable with the challenges confronting the payment of pensions and gratuities to retirees in Nigeria?

    The idea behind pension payments to retired employees is to ensure that the retired senior citizens continue to enjoy large sums of their approved savings in form of gratuity for him or her to be able to invest in some small scale ventures, while he or she simultaneously receives some reasonable sum in terms of percentages of what he or she used to receive previously for life to be comfortable towards the old age.

    The Federal Republic of Nigeria pensions reform act 2004 was signed into law on Friday 25th, June 2004, after several reviews of the 1979 pensions reforms act which had to give way for a new contribution scheme for employees both in the public and private sectors in Nigeria, this was then after in June 2014 amended by the National Assembly whereby the contributory pensions scheme would involve the gradual retirement planning for any employee.

    It made provisions for the deduction of the minimum of eight percent of the employee's monthly emolument, while the employer pays a minimum of 10 percent for the employee into the retirement savings account. The word minimum allows the dubious head of some institutions to defraud members of staff under them. For example, observations show the disparity in the pay packages of the members of staff in the same category of the same salary scale grade, receiving different amounts as take home from one institution to the other within the Federal Polytechnic system, not to talk of the big differences between such members of staff in the states and Federal Polytechnic system.

    This led the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics(ASUP) union leaders to compare not while some of them were silenced by the management bodies of their institutions for probing too much into what was regarded as an issue between management and the Federal Government.

    The grey areas which need a categorical statement of fact from the Federal Government and managements of institutions is to clarify whether the individual contribution to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) is contributed from the source or by individual management of each of the institutions concerned.

    Some polytechnic management made their members of staff believe that between 7.5 percent and 15 percent of their salaries go to the PFAs from the management of the institutions and that the government on behalf of the individual concerned staff paid between 7.5 percent and 15 percent.

    Most retires were dumbfounded upon collecting their shares of the lump sum which they considered to be too meager to what their calculations over the years should be.

    Pensioner

    The unions and management of the institutions are always are loggerheads over the issue of transparency.

    The challenges, therefore, confronting the new senior citizens are arrays of puzzles which the government needs to give urgent attention.

    In Oyo State, pensioners became frustrated and some of them died in the process because of the challenges of embezzlement of the accrued pension funds.

    Several retirees suffered from great delay over the years while some died in the process. There were equally some allegations that the government used to tamper with such funds to the level of no remittance to the PFAs.

    Common setbacks on the issue of pension funds are 1)the delay of the government to pay pensioners and non-compliance by several universities. It is equally embarrassing to read on the pages of newspapers, the payment of pension funds into private accounts, fixed deposit accounts, and in unauthorized banks. From my personal experience, I retired in 2017 but received by the pension fund in 2019, my home was on the verge of disintegration due to my inability to fund domestic projects, if not for my wife and support from friends, one could have imagined what would have happened.

    The question that should be on every person's lip is on the monitoring of the flow process involved in the payment of the pension funds via the government's side and the institutions' side, through a transparent and accountable mechanism to avoid unnecessary doubts from the clients of the PFAs, unnecessary delay in receiving the pension funds for the retirees to be able to use it meaningfully and beneficially in our economic environment that is not stable. For instance, any pensioner that may put his money into a fixed deposit will eventually suffer a setback through the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) directive that reviewed downward the accrued interests by almost two-thirds between January till date.

    The pensions scheme from Act 2004 2014 and 2017, ought to have been very uniform to be respected by all institutions, universities, State Governments, and the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. Proper orientation with clarity of purpose of the amount been deducted from the salaries of the staff and the corresponding mode of sourcing for it from the arrived salaries in the institutions, the Treasury Single Account directly should be clearly stated, so that the members of staff are not thrown into unnecessary darkness between the union leaders and their management.

     

    Pension managers who embezzled pension funds must be prosecuted in accordance with the enabling law, this will assist in overcoming some of the challenges in pension funds administration-contributory and non-contributory.

    There is a need to control the influx of ghost pensioners through an effective anti-fraud process and control of pension fraud using appropriate Information Communication Technology(ICT), biometric capturing machines, independent central data management authority, census of all informal employers and contributors, the establishment of the basic registration system.

    Institutions found wanting on the issue of pensions funds scam must be exposed, while the personalities involved must be allowed to face the full wrath of the law.

  • Acknowledge Spiritual Security

    Prof 1Security issues have a double dimension of social and spiritual significances. Unfortunately, the Government faces the social security issue by voting heavily on the effects rather than the causes of security votes that may not necessarily be accounted for and mass mobilization of security agents to quell emerging crises.
    Unfortunately too, the ugly events claiming the lives and property of the people would later remerge in a more monstrous form, like recurring decimals in Mathematics.
    From esoteric research of spiritual exploration, the causes were usually triggered by diabolical energy of satanic influences which always possess the perpetrators of dastardly acts converting sins into heinous crimes.
    One would expect the Churches and Mosques to fight and shame the devil through the aura of divine inspiration, but for most of them who patronize the devil itself, for the reasons of economic prowess and fame, the faith-based organizations are usually found wanting in wrestling power with satan.
    The people and the nation, therefore, are always at a loss for them to be eager to have a true messiah that would be able to stand the test of time, such as the case of Elijah, Moses, and the Holy Prophet Muhammad, who stood firmly with the words of God as the vanguard of truth to save the people of their time from the wreck of diseases, oppression, and hypocrisy. Thye remains the legends of achievers and change agents of their time with a sustainable legacy that would be followed by subsequent generations to curb the excesses of the rulers and affront of the weak.
    They left the legacy of moderate and the fear of God for me and you to imbibe as a culture of self-esteem and integrity to promote better world order.
    Unfortunately, how many of us are taking after them in the real sense of it to have a better community accelerated, development, and good governance without default.
    Where religious people fail, the government institutions equally stumble, most especially in the areas of controlling social misdemeanor and spiritual set back! Ritual killings in Nigeria started with bad elements in our cultural setting, whereby they would traditionally search for strangers to be sacrificed to their gods and goddesses because it was not timely checked and for the reason of the attached socio-economic enhancement, the elite including the religious people condemned the act by the propaganda of the words of the mouth, but accepted the dastardly act to maintain and sustain the derived gains of power, wealth, influence and affluence from it.
    The Holy books warned vehemently that human beings should dissociate themselves from the antics of satan but get closer to Him to tread the right path of contentment of the mind for the comfort of life and bliss of heaven(paradise or janat)
    The Holy Quran  4: 117-121 refers,'' The people living God(but using religion as a cover-up ) call but upon female deities: They call but upon satan, the persistent rebel, A; Allah did curse him, but he said I will take of thy servants a portion marked off: I will mislead them, and I will create in them false desires, I will order them to slit the ears of cattle and to deface the fair nature created by Allah. Whoever forsaking Allah, takes satan for a friend, hath of a surety suffered a loss that is manifest. Satan makes them promises and creates in them false hopes, but satan's promises are nothing but deception. Those who follow the path of satan will have their dwelling in hell and from it, they will find no way of escape.''
    None of the people we have in positions of power or as elite in affluence can claim to be ignorant of the scriptures of his or her religious faith and all Church or Mosques goers can claim not to know about the demand of God for mankind, why is it them that we are not tapping into spiritual security to wrestle power from satan and cleanse the land for peace restoration. The victims of ritual killings through direct human sacrifices by the herbalists and their collaborators suffer greatly from the cruel process through which their blood was shed and their lives were taken.
    What of the parts of their body that were later mutilated and sold through the human parts contractors who help the rich and powerful to maintain and sustain their wealth and positions of power.
    The Government is expected to beam its searchlight on these wicked acts of spiritism sardonic and the use of the heavy hands of the law on the perpetrators, with consideration for their positions in the society to be able to regulate and control the social challenges of corruption and kidnapping.
    The Holy Bible on the issue of justice, rewards, and punishment states in a clear term in Ecclesiastes 8: 11-13,'' Sometimes people are not immediately punished for the bad things they do. Their punishment is slow to come and that makes other people want to do bad things too. A sinner might do a hundred evil things and he might have a long life, but I know that it is still better to obey and respect God, so those people won't really get good things. Those evil people won't live long lives(except for reasons of the miserable reward). Their lives won't be like the shadows that would become longer and longer as the sun goes down.''
    It is imperative that we must make the four major spheres of life to be functionally alive to their responsibilities vis-a-vis the culture and the traditional rulers to enforce moral discipline for the sanity of society.

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

  • Human Defiance and Religious Impotence

    Prof 1The great challenge between divinity and humanity is that of promiscuous acts which the creator God or almighty A\llah detests, but humanity takes as a form of their own pleasure to pass time.

    After many festivities were borne out of religious systems have been celebrated with all seriousness, most people including the adherents always resort to thanksgiving through the celebration of anti-scriptural events, to mark the beginning of rubbishing the forgiveness essence that always underlines the observance of such activities.

    The roles of the religious leaders, who profess to serve humanity and God and also pretend to keep all the ordinances of God by teaching them to the adherents as well as playing a pedagogue role model on it, are called to question. For example, the Holy Quran, 5: 90 strongly warns, 'Oh ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, sacrificing to stones, and divination by arrows are an abomination: of satan's handiwork. Eschew such abomination that ye may prosper.''

    The almighty God unmistakably emphasized this issue as a statement of challenges. The Holy Quran refers, 'They asked thee concerning wine and gambling.' Say,'' in them is great sin and some profit for men''; but the sin is greater than the profit. They asked thee how much they are to spend. Say ''What is not beyond your needs. Thus doth Allah make clear to you His signs, in order that you may consider their bearings on this life and the year after.'' For us as mere mortals, the almighty Allah admonished us in Quran 17: 32,''nor come nigh to adultery for its is an indecent deed and an evil way.''

    And the Holy Bible corroborates this in Mathew 5: 27-28,'' You have heard that it was said don'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.''

    This is why every parent must groom his or her children in ways that would be uplifting.

    Let us, therefore, heed this admonition from Quran,'' When we make mankind taste of some mercy after adversity has touched them, behold! They take to plotting against Our Signs! Say to plan is Allah, verily, Our messengers record all the plots that they make.'' Let us all stop been defiant to admonitions and corrections-social or spiritual.

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

  • Law Enforcement : Groom Police Personnel to be Role Models-Prof. Olagoke

    Prof 1Globally, the impression is that the Police force was established to maintain peace and order in society and also ensure the safety of lives and property. Sadly, several incidents around the world have indicated that the opposite is the case. This situation is worrisome and a source of concern to the citizenry. Interestingly, unscrupulous police personnel in connivance with members of the public, who are also members of communities in the country, extort innocent Nigerian by proxy.In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that all police personnel should be groomed to be role models on the issue of the rule of law to enable effective enforcement of the laws of the land. Excerpts :

    What ought to be the roles of the Nigeria Police Force in a democracy?

    The structure of democracy vis-vis justice, policy-making, and implementation that should be inclusive to the term of equity. These are expected to give the society a stable polity in an environment of respect for the fundamental human rights of all without discrimination or socio-classification for the purpose of achieving the streak of sustainable development. Any alteration to this arrangement will constitute a threat to the security of the state and its prosperity. The extreme can lead to a state of anarchy. To be able to achieve maximally, police personnel from the lowest to the topmost ranks need to be properly trained in recognizing the state of the environment with all readiness to offer selfless service which must be sustainable to prevent a crack in the wall of the state. The people, generally, must equally be sensitized to see the police as their immediate neighbor. The roles of the Nigeria  Police Force, therefore, must be clearly stated as defined and must be incorporated into the school curricula. For example, the prevention of crime is fundamental to the protection of lives and property. They must therefore be role models on the issue of the rule of law to be able to enforce it. The Police must be an embodiment of peace and must be trained not to be bullies, but humane and polite in going about the statutory charge of maintenance of peace and public order.It is unfortunate to note that the environment under which the Nigeria Police Force operates is a hostile one and the recruitment process is faulty. This is a set back for the police force because criminally minded people will easily join the force without detection for future havoc. Another problem that is equally intrinsic to the under-performance is government underfunding. Also, the environment of corruption and extortion has by polarization affected negatively the constitution and working operations of the police to the level of institutionalized corruption and extortion.The inadequate number of police personnel are shared among the state and the rich as most of them are attached to several political office holders and the elite, at the expense of the state.Police brutality and harassment of innocent citizens have made them become pawns of politicians, who sew or borrow police uniforms from them for the thugs to appear as government agents to deal with political opponents, maim and kill perceived enemies.

  • All About Light and Darkness

    Colossians 1:13-14

    13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

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