25042021 - B/Haram bandits almost succeeding in their mission CAN president warns

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Fellow Nigerians, jawjaw is better
than warwar
“War is only a cowardly
escape from the problems of
peace” – Thomas Mann,
1875-1955, VANGUARD
BOOK OF QUOTATIONS,
p M267.
ikhail Gorbachev,
born in 1931, of
mixed Russian and
Ukrainian parents, was the
last President of the Union
of Soviet Socialist
Republics, USSR, the
Communist bloc forcefully
created by Russia after
World War II as a rival to
the power of the United
States. But, by 1991, the
Union had passed into
history as each of the
nations brought under the
USSR umbrella went their
separate ways – along
ethnic lines based on
language. The USSR
military was powerless to
prevent the break-up of the
country because the forces
themselves were sharply
divided along ethnic lines.
Today 15 different countries
exist in the same
geographical space
occupied by only one until
1991. There is a lesson for
all Nigerian leaders as they
gradually
and
inadvertently push our
country to the brink of
blow-up and break-up
similar to that of the USSR.
As an incurable optimist
who believes that we can
still renegotiate our
collective existence as one
Nigeria, I must confess my
increasing alarm
concerning the slide
towards the brink of
national disaster. Indeed,
this will constitute the
Mother of all Disasters to
befall Nigeria in our own
life time and it will usher in
a period of instability
which will overwhelm all of
the Economic Community
of West African States,
ECOWAS – as well as other
African countries. READ
ALSOUnited States
promises sanctions against
human rights violators in
Libya We urgently need to
find our way back to peace;
before the horrors of an
endless civil conflict
overtakes us. Then, peace
will be more difficult to
achieve – if it is ever
attained. The break-up of
India into India and
Pakistan and the perpetual
conflict between the two
countries should caution
us. “In times of victory,
prophets are unnecessary
distractions” – Professor
Trevor Roper, 1914-2003,
VBQ P 204. This article
could easily have been
titled, PRESIDENT
BUHARI, NIGERIA IS ON
THE BRINK OF
NATIONAL CIVIL WAR,
and it would have been
appropriate. But, I have
chosen instead to approach
the matter from the angle
of promise – the possibility
that disaster can still be
averted. The conflicts,
which will erupt
nationwide, will certainly
consume most of us in one
form or another. The
reader is entitled to ask at
this point if I am a prophet.
The answers are Yes and
No. Permit me to address
the No first. Nigeria, today,
is inundated with ‘prophets’
Kaduna State is not
only central to any
effort to achieve
peace in the North in
particular, it points to
the problems Nigeria
as a whole will have
to restore peaceful
co-existence
– Christians, Muslims and
traditional religion
adherents. Invariably, the
well-advertised ones,
unlike the prophets of old,
are in business to make
money out of their
predictions. Almost always
their predictions are so
vague (“Someone among
my listeners will get a new
job this month”, “A lady will
get married before the year
ends”) they constitute
nothing more than spiritual
419. And they quickly pass
the envelopes for donations
or provide bank account
numbers to which gullible
followers will pay. I don’t
belong in that class. The
prophets of old never asked
for a kobo. Elisha rejected
the offer of reward after
finishing his task. He, like
all true prophets, was
specific about his
predictions and the
consequences that would
follow if ignored. Yes, I
belong to that class and it
will require several articles
to remind our readers of the
specific warnings given on
these pages which have
turned out to be true. Three
will help before moving on
to the substance of today’s
article. In 1992, when the
Babangida administration
initiated VISION 2020;
and everybody jumped on
the bandwagon of
forecasting that Nigeria
would become one of the
world’s top 20 economies
by 2020, there was one lone
voice saying “it won’t
happen”. The voice was
mine. With only a few weeks
left to the end of 2020,
Nigeria, instead of being
among top 20, is now the
Poverty Capital of the
World. Nobody else can
now repeat what he said
about VISION 2020.
Early in 1998, shortly after
my fourth trip to detention
under General Sani
Abacha, and when the
media was under siege by
the regime, I wrote the
following in one article in
May 1998: “We, the media,
shall write the obituary of
all those in power today –
whether they like it or not.”
Abacha died on June 8 of
that year. We are still writing
the obituaries of those who
collaborated with him. The
third warning is more
recent than others – as
recent as 2016 as a matter
of fact. In that article,
Nigerians were warned
about how the Governor of
Kaduna State had
deliberately ignited unending
conflict in the state
and had fractured Kaduna
along religious and tribal
lines as never before in the
state’s history. Please read:
‘EL-RUFAI TAKING
KADUNA TO ALEPO AND
NIGERIA TO SYRIA – 1’
“It makes a great
difference by which causes
and under what authorities
men undertake the wars
that must be waged” – Saint
Augustine. Foreword It is
probably the first time that
a column appearing on this
page would start with a
foreword. There is an
urgent reason. It is also
probably the first time in
Nigerian history that a
columnist would be the first
to alert all Nigerians to a
war, already underway in
Kaduna State which might
eventually engulf at least
the entire North and
perhaps all of Nigeria. It
is a religious sectarian war
that had its origins in the
Middle East since the death
of Prophet Mohammed
(Peace Be Unto Him) and
which is at the bottom of a
great deal of the bloodletting
in Syria and Iraq
today. President Buhari
has been criticized for his
silence on the events in
Kaduna since the clash
between the army and
SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 25, 2021, PAGE 11
Shi’ites which claimed
thousands of lives. The
Head of State has my
sympathies, for reasons you
will read later. But, his chief
handicap lies in the fact
that he is a Sunni called
upon to take a stand in the
conflict between Sunnis
and Shi’ites. One elected
official who had not been
reluctant to act is El-Rufai,
the self-righteous, selfadulating
Governor of
Kaduna State. Last week, he
called some reporters and
handed them a bundle of
partisan sectarian halftruths
about the Shi’ites.
He had earlier proclaimed
the sect banned in Kaduna
State. By so doing, El-Rufai
had brought to our door
steps in Nigeria the main
cause of Islamic sectarian
wars in Syria and Iraq. The
rest of us innocent
bystanders will feel the heat
of battle.” That article was
published in December
2016. Since then, Governor
El-Rufai has added ethnic
partisanship to the
religious conflict engulfing
Kaduna State. The once
most congenial state
capital in the North and the
former regional capital is
now a hell on earth for its
dwellers. The carnage was
foretold. Attention has
been drawn to the warnings
on Kaduna for the obvious
reason. Kaduna State is
not only central to any
effort to achieve peace in
the North in particular, it
points to the problems
Nigeria as a whole will
have to restore peaceful coexistence.
It is daunting
task but not an impossible
undertaking if we want to
continue as a united
country. I remain an
optimist that we can avert
disaster. But, the windows
of opportunities are closing
gradually. What happened
to the USSR under
Gorbachev becomes
relevant as a lesson for us
which we ignore at our own
peril under Buhari. Here is
why. ‘IBB, Abdulsalami
Declare Support for North-
Central People’s Forum’ –
DAILY INDEPENDENT,
November 19, 2020, P 2.
Unlike most Nigerians, I
read several newspapers
every day. Until that report
by DAILY INDEPENDENT
was published, nobody
could have convinced me
that former Heads of State
– Babangida and Abubakar
– would ever enlist in any
sectional or regional
forum. In fact, in the
concluding part of my
article two weeks ago –
‘FACED
WITH
IMMINENT DISASTER,
WHERE ARE THE
NIGERIAN LEADERS’ –
the two former military
leaders had been suggested
along with some others who
might help Buhari to rescue
us. I laboured under the
impression that they have
both successfully warded off
requests to join the North
Central of Middle Belt
crusade for fairness. The
DAILY INDEPENDENT
report and the statement
credited to IBB in
particular broke my heart
as it revealed how close we
are to the brink of disaster.
Here is part of what he
said:“ I have always
wondered when I hear
groups from the North-
West, North-East, South-
South and South-West, and
I kept wondering where we
in the North-Central
belong…” Babangida was
speaking to a delegation
from the North-Central
People’s Forum led by Lt
General (rtd) Jeremiah
Useni. The Forum, which
has been busy lately, is the
indisputable proof that the
North has become openly
divided. Those parading
themselves as northern
leaders will now have to
define which part of the
North they are leading. The
Forum also visited Saraki,
former Senate President,
who chipped in this bit of
complaint about
marginalization of the N-
C: “If you talk about the
unity of this country, you
must factor in the North
Central".
•This article was first
published November 2020.
Joyfulhomes
2015@gmail.com
Refuse to be limited
Glory be to God. Today is
the last Sunday in the
month of April. Brethren,
many of us had ups and downs
but we still give God glory
because we are alive.
More importantly, Jesus
lives and that is our assurance
that we shall over come.
Brothers and sisters, is there
anything that has been
limiting you? Limitation
comes in various forms. Some
are physical and others are
spiritual. As a believer, I expect
that you know that the spiritual
controls the physical.
Therefore, we must focus more
attention on the spiritual.
Unfortunately, only those
who are in Christ, have a
deeper understanding of the
Spiritual. May the Lord guide
us all. Limitations manifest as
incurable or curable illness,
poverty, financial stagnation,
barrenness, troubled
marriage etc.
In the last two weeks, this
column discussed our attitude
to prayer. One area we have
mentioned but not discussed
deeply is the area of giving.
While Christianity is not
opposed to giving alms, we are
not talking about giving alms.
Giving for a Christian must
be focused. It is not about
throwing money at
Beggars on the streets. Not
at all. How should a Christian
give, to whom and sometimes
for what purpose?
Our guide is found in 2nd
Corinthians 9 vs.6 & 7 (KJV):
“ But this I say, He which
soweth sparingly shall reap
also sparingly; and he which
soweth bountifully shall reap
also bountifully.
Every man according as he
purposeth in his heart, so let
him give; not grudgingly, or
of necessity: for God loveth a
cheerful giver.”
Brethren, let me start with a
testimony. A couple that had
IVF seven times but failed.
They married in Laughter
Foundation Ministry but
when the problem of delay in
child bearing persisted, they
returned there.
They were convinced that
the problem was spiritual.
On getting here, they made
Giving cheerfully
brings in joy
unspeakable
a huge donation. Money that
was meant for their rent in
England was used as a seed.
Barely, two months after that,
the woman got pregnant. Lo
and behold, she was
confirmed to be carrying a set
of triplets. Their landlord
surprisingly, didn’t make
trouble with them.
Today as I write, the triplets,
two boys and a girl are about
five years old. Not only did the
Lord break the yoke, God
removed every issue that
limited them from having
children. God wiped out those
spiritual issues that made IVF
fail.The lesson here is
sacrificial offering.
Let’s see the conversation of
King David and Araunah as
recorded in 2nd Samuel 24
vs. 24: “ And the king said
unto Araunah, Nay; but I will
surely buy it of thee at a price:
neither will I offer burnt
offerings unto the LORD my
God of that which doth cost
me nothing. So David bought
the threshing floor and the
oxen for fifty shekels of silver”.
The key word for us here is
quality offering.
However, we must note that
purposeful offering popularly
called seed must not
necessarily be in cash. It could
be in kind.
I’ll give an example. A lady,
who had been waiting on the
Lord, went to the children’s
hall. She looked around and
saw that the walls were dirty.
She went to the Parish Pastor
and told him that she wanted
to send a painter to re-paint
the hall and she would bear
the cost.
The Pastor agreed. The work
was done and the one who
had been barren for over 20
years was first blessed with a
boy and then a set of twins.
Three children in two years.
What took her mates six years
to achieve, God gave her in
15 months.
Brethren, what kind of
offering do you give? Please
understand me. I’m not
suggesting that you give your
pay packet as offering. Before
you make a significant
offering, please pray about it.
Be guided by the Holy Spirit.
Once guided, please do so
cheerfully. Giving cheerfully
brings in joy unspeakable.
People who didn’t know when
you gave will rejoice with you
when the Lord blesses you in
return.
King David was a man who
offended God many times and
many times did the LORD
forgive him. The Holy Bible
describes him as “a man after
God’s heart”.
Another example of the way
we should give is found in the
life of King David.
2nd Samuel 24 vs. 20&21:
“ And Araunah looked, and
saw the king and his servants
coming on toward him: and
Araunah went out, and bowed
himself before the king on his
face upon the ground.
And Araunah said,
Wherefore is my lord the king
come to his servant? And
David said, to buy the
threshing floor of thee, to build
an altar unto the LORD, that
the plague may be stayed
away from the people”.
Note that David invested so
much to build an altar for the
Lord that the plague may not
affect the people.
You too can make a
meaningful seed so that the
yoke of barrenness will be
broken. Your sacrificial lamp
may be the key to your break
through. Make no mistake;
I’m not suggesting that God
is in need. Not at all.
Giving cheerfully, giving to
the work of God is another
way of unlocking locked
destinies.
Brothers and sisters, make
up your mind to break all
limitations. Prayer, praise
worship, thanksgiving even
for expected miracles,
sacrificial giving, makes us
receive Divine Attention.
Anyone that receives the
attention of the LORD cannot
be limited by anyone or forces.
However, the decision to
break all limitations is yours.
The Pastor may pray with
you but you may need to take
certain steps that could lead
to your break though.
If you don’t believe, let’s
check the life of Cornelius as
recorded Acts of Apostles 10
vs. 1-4 but for our purpose,
we’ll consider verses 2&4: A
devout man, and one that
feared God with all his house,
which gave much alms to the
people, and prayed to God
always”.
He saw a vision and in verse
4 it is stated: “ And when he
looked on him, he was afraid,
and said, what is it, Lord? And
he said unto him, Thy prayers
and thine alms are come up
for a memorial before God”.
The story of Cornelius
simply tells us that though
God gave us all that we have,
the Lord appreciates those
who give cheerfully.
What is the project in your
local church? Participate.
Make a contribution not to
show off but to appreciate the
goodness of God in your life
and before you realize it, your
blessings will overflow.
Tears of joy will soon replace
tears of sorrow in your life in
the name of Jes
Need I say more?
Whatever is your heart’s
desire, hold unto the Lord, stay
away from sins and be a true
Christian in word and deed.
Shalom!