Thursday 27 December 2007

God's Great Grace for 2008

Compliments of the season to everyone here.
I have not been able to send in posts for a while now due to some other engagements but I have made it a point of duty to get this one across as we gradaully come to the end of this year and thereafter step into a new one.

I pray that the coming year will be one of God's Great Grace for all of us. When God's Grace accompanies a man, his 'efforts' yield results 'effortlessly'.

A time like this, 3 days to the end of year, should be taken as a time of reflection and projection. A time to review the year, note the pitfalls and strategize for the next twelve months with new vigour and commitment. In all, we must continue to realise the place of the Lord in all our plans.
Only Him can guarantee good success.

I wish you all the very best in the coming year as I promise better and more life-transforming posts from this stable.

Friday 14 December 2007

Make ‘The Best’ your aim

Greatness does not come from what you do but how you do what you do. So, there is nothing you cannot make it big from. All that is required of you in whatever is it that you do is to work hard at it that you become the preferred choice in it. Always look for better ways to do the same thing others are doing and stay ahead.

‘Do you see a man that is diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men’. Rather than looking at what another man is doing and feeling disadvantaged, stick to what you have placed on your hands; go extra miles in developing yourself on the new trends in that discipline, set goals, be focused, be disciplined and be determined to make the most out of it & become the best. ‘Whatever your hand finds to do, do it well.’

Many a people have been into things that are relatively unrecognized but today they have become celebrities because they gave their best to what they have chosen to do. They remained consistent on purpose, added value to themselves by way of skills acquisition, exploited opportunities within their reach and pushed through challenges.

Don’t just do things for the sake of just being there, adding to the number; you have the capacity to stand out and set new records. So, why settle for anything else? Listen, the world couldn’t have been what it is today, if some people have not developed an inner indignation for ordinary results. And the world can still be a lot better if we can have those who will step out of the usual, go the extra mile, do the extraordinary and as such make new discoveries and create new directions.

The best results only occur one step past where most people give up. And that step is across the dividing line between the ordinary and the extraordinary. Only a few people cross this mark and make remarkable difference in their field of endeavour. It requires inner strength, that personal power to attract what we choose to have in life and surpass the average.

Even when you are not being appreciated on your job, don’t decide to do it haphazardly. All we do today will be part of history and I’m sure you will, tomorrow, want to be among those who made a difference in the world of today. So, look beyond the limitations & the unfriendly environment and passionately seek to be the best in whatever is it you’re doing. Do not allow yourself to be looked down upon. You can make it, so go for it. The Best.

Thursday 13 December 2007

solutionNigeria 1: Mobilizing the People on Knowledge

In the last blog I wrote on the task of making Nigeria, I had dwelt on the personal/individual change culture we all must imbibe, particularly the youths of this age, if indeed the country must become what we desire of her. In other words, if the country must change, it will begin with each individual; we must become the change we want to see. Now going a step further, I will be dwelling on the need to exploit the capacity of the people of Nigeria as a group in the indispensable duty of building this nation.

Three keywords: mobilizing, the people and knowledge. Nobody can truly build the nation except the people and by this I mean the mass of the people. I have always made people to realise that the true division of people we have in the country are not at all along ethnic or religious lines but the only two divisions of people we have are the elites and the masses. The elites are quite few and are in control but the masses have inherent power to create the environment they want. In the words of Ronald Regan, ‘we must realize no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women’. In other words, power lies in the people, the masses. And the truth is that unless and until the masses take up its own responsibility in the polity, putting their power to use in putting the ruling elites on their toes to deliver, the imbalance will continue and the country will continue her downward slope into extinction.

As a group of people, we owe it a duty to our maker and posterity to STAND UP and place our collective destiny in our hands as guided by the author of creation and not just leave it in the hands of those who do not mean well but have held on to the reins of power. As a people, we must determine what we want for ourselves – the admirable Nigeria – and vigorously work towards ensuring its emergence. Our government must answer to our wishes; we must set the agenda. Things don’t just happen; they are made to happen. And as in the words of Regan quoted above, the power that lies in us to be able to deliver on this responsibility of ours is such that cannot be quenched by the powers of gun and machineries of governmental power. This manifests in the power of resolve, the power of collective action and the power of persuasion.

On the other hand in our country and just like these words reflect, ‘my people perish because of the lack of knowledge’, we have remained groping in the darkness of underdevelopment because the knowledge of this - the responsibility of the masses and its existing power to realise it - is in a very short supply to the people, the mass of the people, the masses. In place of knowledge in this respect, the majority of our people are filled with mediocrity, which reflects in making thin gods of those in power and exploiters as in the cases of the likes of Adedibu and Saraki; as well as filled with fear, cynicism and outright lack of hope in the country, which have all led to wrong mind-sets and mentality – poor perception of life, poor thinking, poor orientation. This is what has brought us to our knees for ‘as a man thinks, so he is’.

Having now realized this, there’s the need for concerned citizens to evolve the means of countrywide ingraining of this knowledge in the mass of the people and getting them to STAND UP unto their responsibility and thus begin the way out of this present quagmire. For an example, our people must have it sunk into them that rather than collect N200 to secure their votes, they should vote objectively for credible candidates and as such stop mortgaging the good governance they deserve for a ‘plate of porridge’.

This will come by way of conducting campaigns in our schools and other public places & avenues to make our people understand the scope of the society & governance; the meaning and essence of existence; and ultimately the responsibility of the people towards ensuring what the society becomes as well as the power that lies in the People alongside enlightenment on ‘Personal Economic Empowerment Strategies’, which would guarantee sustenance in the course of the ‘battle’. It is in spreading knowledge as this while also emphasizing the right attitude & values at the campaigns and in the process, securing the allegiance of the people in creating a platform for action; lies the beginning of the emancipation of Nigeria. It is Mobilizing the People on Knowledge.

This is the onerous task to which the emancipation-Nigeria Project (e-NP) has been committed. It is a task of adopting ‘enlightenment’ as a mechanism to galvanize and gather the people towards creating a platform for mass action that would secure for us a nation where the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity is guaranteed.

And for this, the ‘Nehemiahs’ of Nigeria really need to emerge. I mean those who will be undaunted with the seeming overwhelming situation of things but would pursue the agenda with utmost commitment.

The task is to gather our people to take our destiny in our hands and evolve the Nigeria of our dreams. The Nehemiahs are needed to spearhead the task. Will I be counted?

For further inquiries on the activities of the e-NP, write to emancipation_nigeria@yahoo.com

Thursday 6 December 2007

You may lose all but this

I'm careful in making reference to this but the story of John Prescott, former Deputy Prime Minister of the UK, is one that accentuates the need of keeping one’s integrity intact, against all odds. The man was reported to have lost his department in a cabinet reshuffle following the exposure of his untoward affair with his private secretary; an affair, according to another report, that would eventually cost Mr. Prescott the chance of becoming the Prime Minister when Tony Blair had to leave.

A man may lose everything but must jealously safeguard his integrity. When you lose your integrity, you’ll soon lose everything else; whereas if you lose everything but still have your integrity in place, it will make you regain all you have lost and still have more. When anyone descends so low as to drag his or her integrity in the mud (and in this regard, I will elevate two areas: as regards the opposite sex and money), such a man or woman will be rubbishing all he or she may have laboured for all his or her life (his/her past up to his/her present) and at the same time be doing an irreparable damage to his or her future. No wonder the Psalmist in Ps. 25: 21 earnestly prayed, ‘Let integrity and uprightness preserve me’.

Integrity is adherence to moral and ethical principles. And it is demanded in every facet of human endeavour. It shows up when you keep your promise, honouring your word. In trade, it is referred to as the soul of business. It is simply keeping your honour, having your ‘white garment’ unblemished. It is demanded in relationships as well as in positions of trust. In fact, integrity or the lack of it defines you.

To keep your integrity requires a conscious effort on your part. It requires you to ‘watch & pray’ because one can indeed be weighed down by the ‘flesh’ to such an extent that one would do what one would not believe of himself.
Watch: be vigilant, be transparent in all your dealings, run from every appearance of evil, confide in trusted friends, and be sincere, let reason prevail upon emotion.
Pray: “As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”Romans 7: 17-19. “. . . For without me ye can do nothing.”John 15: 5. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”Phil.4: 13.

To hold the flesh responsible when you fall short of integrity, with respect to Romans 7 quoted above is quite untenable. Hence, the provisions of John 15 and Philippians 4 as quoted above.

And finally, when those moments of temptation come, always remind yourself of this: the temporary pleasure you will derive will be insignificant when compared with the irreparable damage that would follow (let reason overcome emotion).

You may lose everything but always ensure you safeguard, defend, maintain & uphold your integrity.

Tuesday 4 December 2007

Making a life

One of the most powerful words I have ever come across is this, ‘we make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give’. It is sure better to make a life. It is to outlive one’s earthly existence by way of one’s impact continuing to affect lives positively long after one is physically no more. And this is by our contribution, our giving to our world.

I have always known, also, that a life lived well is an accumulation of days lived well. Ps. 90: 9-12 dwells on the shortness of our existence and shows us the need to have a daily countdown if we are to tread the path of wisdom. There’s the need for daily accountability on our lives. We need to end each with an appraisal of our contribution or otherwise in the day. And ultimately, we need to know if our undertakings in the day have in any way contributed to the overall purpose of God for our lives.

So, is there any contribution from my life today? It is as we give that we add meaning to our lives. And everyone sure has something to give. You don’t necessarily need to have so much before you could give. We can still recall the poor widow in Luke 21: 1-4. We must look for an opportunity to make a contribution each passing day, an opportunity to put smile on someone’s face and make the world a better place. Don’t wait till you can start an NGO.

Indeed on a daily basis, we set out to do one or two things that we might brighten our chances of making a decent living but we must realize that life is not about what we get only but what we give in return. If we are sensitive enough, we will notice several opportunities that pass us by on a daily basis by which means we could actually give. Give a smile, give a helping hand, take time to have a heart-to-heart talk, give out physical items of need, etc, etc.

To cap it all, what you give has a way of coming back to you. An adage goes thus, ‘when you point a finger at someone, the remaining fingers are directed to you.’ So, not only are you adding colour to the world, not only are you setting yourself to earn a life but when you give, you are indeed sowing a seed from which fruit you will surely have a portion. Luke 6: 38 says, ‘give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you mete withal it shall be measured to you again.’

Seize an opportunity now to make a contribution and surely, your life is being extended.

Monday 3 December 2007

The task of making Nigeria

I will want to aver that the task of making Nigeria GREAT, a nation we can all be proud of, is that of the people of Nigeria. The people must take responsibility and whatever it becomes of the country is what the people, consciously or unconsciously, have made it.

As a people, we cannot afford to be on-lookers, folding our arms doing nothing, concerning issues that affect our lives. The nation belongs to everybody of this origin and that places the responsibility on us. Wherever we might find ourselves, we must live with a sense of responsibility about the lot of our country. We must be concerned. And like someone rightly said, ‘if you are not a part of the solution you must be a part of the problem’.

Nigeria’s problems are multi-faceted and seem insurmountable but the truth is there’s always a way out. Nigeria can indeed be a success story. All that is required are genuineness of purpose and commitment on our part, particularly the youths of this age.

Before looking at the bigger picture of various aspects of our national existence that require attention whilst providing solution ideas, I will want to re-iterate the following 3 as areas we can begin to ACT.

One, I will draw our attention to the capacity in us to recreate ourselves, becoming instruments of change and thus anchoring positive change in our neighbourhoods. We need to explore the capacity in us to reinforce the values of Patriotism, Responsibility, Truth, Standard, Objectivity, Contentment, Knowledge, Prosperity and National interest as we conduct our daily business. We must be different if we must make a difference.

Furthermore, we need to create in ourselves a heart for the nation. It must continue to resonate in our hearts that ‘I have a part to play and I must not jettison the responsibility if Nigeria will ever make it’. You only get results in any endeavour when your heart is in it. We must become passionate about this nation.

Lastly, we must realize the need to stand up for the truth at all times, in all things and in all places. This will come with a great price of laying down our lives or opportunities we should have but we must realize that there is no Prize without a Price.

To sum it all, the change we want to see must begin with us from within us.

Friday 30 November 2007

Allow yourself to dream

One truth is this: whatever you cannot conceive, you cannot achieve. Ideas are the bedrocks of achievement and ideas are products of imagination. Conceive; let it become real in your imagination. Then, you can hope to have it really real.

Some call it daydreaming and some say it is building castles in the air; and so it is discouraged. But if you will not allow your imagination to be stretched, you will never have the release of ideas that could change the course of history.

We all know too well that many of those who eventually went down in history as the greatest inventors were actually ridiculed at the outset of their exploits. So, let nothing and no one disallow you from thinking and imagining wild. The truth is: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.

The reason why many people have not been able to realize their dreams is simply because they stopped at the point of dreaming. They could not connect their dreams with reality. The bridge between ‘dreamlands’ and reality is COURAGE. Courage to draw up a plan of action; courage to initiate the first step; courage to face up to the challenges; courage to deny oneself of pleasure in the pursuit of one’s dream; COURAGE.

One power of dream is that as you continue to have a repeat of it from time to time, it gradually starts becoming real and the possibilities become more visible. In a way, your thoughts attract the elements of your desire to you and before you know it, the means are there to begin the first steps towards attaining the high point of the dream.

Dare to dream! At least, you cannot be arrested for doing so.