16  years gone by, you are still in our minds.

Fondly remembered by

Mrs. Victoria Ande

Mrs. Susan Takure

Mrs. Hannah Mujakperuo

Mr. Solomon Adewunmi

Take time to know the major divisions major divisions of the Bible, the old and new Testaments and how they are related. In addition, be familiar with the general themes of the Bible and the specific theme of each book, who wrote the books, to whom they were written and their period of time.

Also get to know the different types of literature i the Bible-history, prophecy and poetry.

Palm 119 : 161-176

161 SCHIN. Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.

162 I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.

163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.

164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.

165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

166 LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.

167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.

168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.

169 TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.

170 Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.

171 My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.

172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.

173 Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.

174 I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.

175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me.

176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

Write and Earn. Get Started here

Leadership also involves taking reponsibility in a bad and hopeless situation.

Ezra 9

1 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. 3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. 4 Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, 6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. 8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

The right beliefs ensures the preservation of life, just as the wrong ones results in disaster. By understanding the Word of God you will avoid the wrong beliefs. 1 Kings 20 : 1,20-30

And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. 21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. 22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. 24 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms: 25 And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so. 26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. 27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. 28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 29 And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day. 30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

Defendant extradited from the United Kingdom

BOSTON – A Nigerian man has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for his role in online fraud schemes.

Happy Chukwuma, 30, was sentenced on May 5, 2023 by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to eight months in prison (time served). On April 10, 2023, Chukwuma pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. Chukwuma was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2019. He was arrested and detained in the United Kingdom in September 2022 and extradited to the United States in March 2023.  

Between November 2015 and January 2019, Chukwuma and his co-conspirators participated in a variety of online fraud schemes, including “phishing” and romance scams. They exchanged victims’ personally identifiable information, including identification and financial documents, and engaged in financial transactions with that information. Several of the victims whose information was compromised were from Massachusetts.  

Phishing schemes mimic the appearance of legitimate websites to gather victims’ online credentials, including usernames, passwords, financial account information, social security numbers and other types of personal identifiable information. In romance scams, perpetrators generally create fictitious online personas to develop online romantic relationships with individuals in the United States, and then leverage those relationships to obtain money and property.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie A. Queenin of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police National Extradition Unit provided critical assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Chukwuma.

Source-FBI

When drawing out your business plan, let the actions of customers influence your decision.
Make your business plan simple, straightforward and workable.
Adjust your plans to be in line with market feedback.

In the time of distress, rest on the Lord, and He will restore peace to your soul.
PSALM 142
1(Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.) I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.

2 I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.

3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.

4 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.

5 I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.

6 Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.

7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.

Develop the habit of watching out for good things.
Always be on the look out  for good attributes, and you are already on the way to cultivating a positive mindset.
This frame of mind will not only enhance your happiness and efficiency but that of several others.

Although keeping the 120 commandments is imperative, salvation comes from putting our trust in JESUS CHRIST, our LORD AND SAVIOR.

Romans 8 : 1-21

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Develop the habit of watching out for good things.

Always be on the look out for good attributes, and you are already on the way to cultivating a positive mindset.

This frame of mind will not only enhance your happiness and efficiency but that of several others. 

Take the pains to learn something different from the normal stream of happenings.

Opportunities arise from this source.

Discover something that is yet to be of common knowledge and start creating your unique circle of knowledge.

We must never envy the ways of the wicked because their days are numbered.

Psalm 37 : 1-20

1 A Psalm of David.) Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. 13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. 15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. 18 The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Forever in our hearts. Mrs. V.A Ande-Wife J. Ande-Daughter

15 years gone by, you are still in our minds. Bisi, Nike, Funke, Tayo

Be conscious of those with evil intentions who quietly penetrate gatherings of the gospel to counterfeit and discredit that which is of God.

Mark 9 : 35-50

35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, 37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. 38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. 39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is on our part. 41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. 42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. 43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

Timing is crucial to success in business.

Identify a project, work on it and implement it at the appropriate time.

Let your project revolve around the preferences of customers for you to achieve satisfactory results.

Cultivate the habit of meditating 12 minutes each day to develop your brain.

The benefits of this exercise include greater mental capacity, reduced stress and an increased sense of joy.

Meditation adequately prepares you for the day's activities.

For you to be assured of success, draw out your daily schedule. 

Define each task on your schedule each day and ensure you carry them out for the best results.

This will give you self-worth and a sense of accomplishment.

Believers who sustain a very close fellowship with God have all it takes to neutralize the most oppressive darkness and adverse situations.

2 Samuel 22 : 1-7

1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag; 2 It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. 3 And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. 4 And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. 5 And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? 6 And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I.

Explore the potential of listening to achieve success.

You can generate sales through listening.

When you have compassion, you will be able to listen. For you to unlock difficult situations, listen.

Listening makes a difference in every interpersonal interaction.

You have to be unique for you to make headway in your industry.

You must be creative and extraordinary to come out top in the competition.

Doing remarkable things in presentations and task delivery puts you ahead of others.

Ensure that the content of your problem solving is of the same standard as the best in the industry.

Always identify ways to be different.

For you to be effective in any endeavor, depend on God for strength, wisdom, and power. 

John 15: 1-8

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Your ability to take difficult decisions would go a long way in determining your survival in business.

There must be consistency in making decisions considered to be necessary, but unpopular and difficult, timely.

Decisions such as the shutting down of unproductive branches and the retrenchment of redundant staff should not be allowed to linger for so long.

Be observant, when you discover that any of your employee is not meeting up to the set standard, it is better to do the needful.

When you make hard decisions, wrong strategies, the wrong people and the wrong projects are put at bay.

To be successful, it is imperative you develop the ability to engage with people, and motivate and inspire them to achieve success.

Make people the first on your priority list in your line of business. Success and happiness are crucial and intertwined, for the best results in whatever you do.

However, you must not forget to give adequate attention to your family.

Interact regularly with your colleagues at the workplace as this brings about the opportunity to discuss prospects, ideas, and suggestions that would put you ahead of competitors.

Furthermore, interactions serve as forums to set goals and apportion responsibilities and re-emphasize the need for the best practices while on the field.

The first priority in the workplace is the people. Make yourself always available and accessible to your colleagues and ensure you arrive at decisions collectively.

Think of immediate solutions to personal problems while ensuring that regular meetings and discussions are held to address challenges. A sustained compassionate leadership would put you at the forefront of your industry. Finally, do not relent to maintain your standard.

Psalm 13

When you trust and obey God in everything, all will be well. Psalm 13 (To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) ''How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; 4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. 6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.''

Divine power is absolute and incorruptible, it is greater and more valuable than terrestrial and subterranean power, which usually are subject to the control of lesser forces from the created objects of beings. For man to succeed in life as a leader and in governance, he must seek the grace of God as bestowed on King Solomon in the Holy Bible. The substance of divine power are knowledge, wisdom and the power of a discerning mind, which makes man dispense with the power of authority with the fundamental respect-a follow up of due process in power dispensation. The Holy Quran 2 : 269 and the Holy Bible Proverbs 1 : 7 attest to this fact. ''He granteh wisdom to whom He pleaseth : and he to whom wisdom is granted receiveth indeed a benefit overflown ; but none will receive admonition except men of understanding.'' In the same vein, the Holy Bible Proverbs 1 : 7 emphasizes the need to rely on divine power only, most especially sourced through having respect for the dictates of God in the scripture of one's chosen religion. ''The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.'' The above statement of fact stresses the fundamentals of why human beings usually fail in choosing their leaders through the electoral process or appointments through selection. This is because we fail to allow God to truly appoint our leaders for us. The process of election is always fraught with the human factor of fraudulent practices, while appointments are most often culturally biased. However, if we can offer just worship to God, the almighty Allah, with love in our religion and make our houses of God sacred through the concept of puritanism, where adherents are the vanguard of truth only, electoral processes would be free, fair and credible. Nomination would be through the right guide of God, while the appointed or elected leaders would be set to rule by conscience for democratic norms to be meaningfully managed through the ethics of justice and the equity principle to ethrone peace because nobody would have been marignalized in the scheme of community services or nation building through the effective participation of all for sustainable development to bring about the eldorado of prosperity. Suffice it now to say that the 2023 General elections in Nigeria need to involve all stakeholders to play their roles in the fear of God or due process by applying the sense and sensibilities of the culture of integrity, civility and development of the educational system and moral discipline effects of every religious system for the product of the three spheres of life to rpoduce a relaible, sensible, rational patriotic go getters or polticalgladiators that would make the drivers to be passionate about the people they are carrying in governance.

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So many weathered it all and joined I and my family in my country home, Igboukwu in Anambra state,Nigeria, where my late wife was laid to rest on the 28th of July, 2022. So, many again joined me and my family in the outing service on Sunday, 14th of August, 2022 in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. God proved once more that He is God. He blessed the whole occasion with good weather, security and journey mercies to everyone who attended the occasion. God bless well-wishers, admirers and friends who joined us physically, financially and prayerfully. My whole family and I are very grateful.

Signed

Eze(Dr.) Alex Anozie(Ezeigbo, Ezechukwujiegosioluebube nala,Ibadan and Oyo state. Chairman Non-indigenous Traditional Heads, Oyo state

Better life revolves around justice and righteousness

Joshua 20

''The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying,

2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:

3 That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

4 And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

5 And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.

6 And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

7 And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

8 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.''

Disability is yet to be seen as a developmental issue in Nigeria because it is grossly under-represented in legislative processes and outcomes.

Instead, it has become a political weapon of campaign driven by social sympathy rather than empathy in our institutional arranegments.

The Joint National Associations of Persons with Disabilities(JONAPWD) with many advocayc groups under it has been equally influenced by the usual charity/welfare model approach to disability.

There is a need for all to develop a cultural oreintation of creating a world where the fundamental human rights of persons with disabilities including that of access is guranteed under the law and the need to create awareness on the promotion of creativity for PWDs to strenghten the voice of Persons With Disabilities through advocacy, capacity building and development networking.

This will facitiliate their participation in the political process of the nation.

Records show that some of the PWDs have been actively participating in Voter Education programs-election monitoring and observation.

They also engage in the  mobilization of people living with disabilities toward participating in partisan politics through dialogue with political parties as well as in the cause of women realizing the 35 per cent affirnmative action on representation in decision making cadre through political appointments as well as having capacity and support through the elective process into positions of power.

Doing Good now is better than doing Good later.

Matthew 21 : 28-32

28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

The lack of discipline could lead to a disintegration in society. It is imperative for leaders to live exemplary lifestyles, to become role models for others to emulate, to ensure that goodness remains in the society.

Leaders should respect the people’s perspective without been judgmental for them to accept their leaders as role models.

The Holy Bible in Matthew 7 : 1–2 emphasize this, ‘’1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.’’

The Holy Quran 5 : 8 also attests to this assertion on not been judgmental in assessing the general behavior of others. 

‘’O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah , witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do.’’

The best of human sensitivity to the plight of others revolves around the fact that an individual must look inwards and cleanse himself or herself of dirt before pointing accusing fingers at others weaknesses. Firstly, correct yourself in moral discipline before attempting to blame others.

Furthermore, the Holy Bible Matthew 7 : 3–5 sensitizes us on the essence of not to be judgmental.

‘’And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.’’

In the same vein, the Holy Quran asserts in 4 : 135 on the need for self critical examination. ‘’Believers! Be upholders of justice,164 and bearers of witness to truth for the sake of Allah,165 even though it may either be against yourselves or against your parents and kinsmen, or the rich or the poor: for Allah is more concerned with their well-being than you are. Do not, then, follow your own desires lest you keep away from justice. If you twist or turn away from (the truth), know that Allah is well aware of all that you do.’’

The Holy Bible in Proverbs 25 : 28 states, ‘’He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.’’

In summary, every evangelical mission, Jihad or Daawah, must be based on the tenets of the Holy Quran 16 : 125, ‘’Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided.’’

Let us be scripture compliant by saying it and living by it, for the world to be safe, secured and habitable.

Read-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

         -Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

         -Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

         -Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

GENERAL

The year 2022 shall witness and people shall experience the following drawbacks which must be prayed against and worked on to save the Nation from harsh effects of:

→ Ravaged economy

Political cross-carpeting

→ Tides against education

+ Challenges of religious sanctity collapse and structural disintegration + Security beef up need along some porous borders + Sports wavy performance and deeming image for Nigeria stars

On accidents or disaster:

Aviation would face some challenges — Rife in road accidents and bridge collapse

- Needs to pray against fire disaster in the Oil industry

→ Covid 19 new wave dimension shall be on for some months but cleansing solution shall be

effective towards the end of Year for normal life situation of sanitized environment to be restored and sustained.

MONTH BY MONTH

JANUARY 2022

→ Pray against policy fiery on the economy

→ Pray against a sudden collapse of one of the political parties

→ Collapse in the education sector shall create jittery experience

→ Religion dandruff shall peel off

→ Porosity in security network shall aggravate fear

→ Sports management porosity shall be experienced 

+ On accidents/disasters:

- Pray against accidents in the Aviation sector

- Be rightly guided against avoidable road accidents + Covid-10 Omicron variant shall be actively on in this month.

FEBRUARY 2022

Efforts to revive economy shall be rife + Political saboteurs shall run into trouble + Revival efforts for education shall be on

+ Fraud in some houses of God shall be exposed + Month of security consciousness

+ Efforts to revive sports shall be on in this month + Need to avoid careless driving to avoid accidents must be sensitized

→ Pray against pirate operations on the waterways 

+ Need to be safety conscious at home and work place to avoid fire disaster

→ More effective vaccine may be developed against Covid 19 Omicron variant.

MARCH 2022

- Economy revival process shall be rise — An Oba in political involvement shall attract mob action

+ Education shall be visited for a boost

+ Festival season shall face-lift religion

→ Security network shall catch on a big time hoodlum + Sports on trial test in this month

+ Pray against waterways accidents and work on how best to avoid building collapse under construction.

+ The search for effective remedy to prevent epidemic spread  or outbreak of another disease shall take place.

APRIL, 2022

Relief for people through economic boost shall be experienced

 + Dividend from political activities shall be on + Education shall receive a boost

 → Disappointment in religion shall be experienced even by adherents

 → Prowess in security networking activities shall be recorded

Revival efforts for sports shall be rife + Pray and work to avoid fire disaster in road accidents due to over speeding → Pray against bush fire that may affect Agricultural boost → Hope for solution seems to be in sight on Covid 19 Omicron variant

MAY 2022                                                                                               Read-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

→ The Nation shall realize boost in the economy 

→ Pray against a sudden death of a political juggernaut in our political circle 

→ Revival efforts on Education shall be rife 

+ Only few adherents shall triumph in the religion sector 

+ On security network, there shall be active search for hoodlum → Sports revival dividend shall be realized in this month → We need to pray and work against accidents in the Aviation sector and Oil splash

through road accidents at least, a Petrol Tanker 

Timely intervention shall be needed to avoid fire disaster 

 Solution/effective remedy is already on with search for sustained state of disease control

and clean environment.

JUNE 2022

Favorable month for economic impact on the people 

+ Politicians must work against dirty and shameful clashes 

+ Sanitation in Education shall be needed in this month 

→ Some religious leaders with dubious character shall be net into the trouble of the law

enforcement agents + This is favorable month for Sports preparation + Security alert in this surveillance period shall be on + There shall be repair and renovation need in the Aviation sector while people must be

security conscious on the road. → People panic for safety and solution (Covid 19 Omicron variant) seems to be in sight

through sensitization on hygiene protocol observation as a way of healthy living.

JULY 2022                                                         Read-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

→ Loss of goodwill in politics due to power wrestle without control → Remnants due to paucity of funds and management in the Education sector shall be

experienced

 → Diabolical activities in the Religious sector shall attract attention of the people for

surveillance 

→ Pray against loss of grip by the Security outfit on the hoodlum that may throw people

into disarray 

→ Renovation need of structures in the Sports sector shall be necessary

 → There shall be focus on the safety and security need in the Aviation sector + Pray against fire disaster + Cleansing period seems to be over with heightened hope for sustainable clean environment.

 AUGUST 2022

+ Favorable month of planting season for farmers to boost the economy → Political fisticuffs that may lead to the death of a political big wig must be worked on to

be avoided → Innovation in the Education sector shall be experienced → Pray against deeming image of Nigeria sports sprinters → Pray against road accidents that may be caused due to carelessness and loosened

packaging → Pray against fire disaster in the house or workplaces → Effective cleansing brings hope on the allayed fear of Covid 19 Omicron variant upsurge.

                                                                                  -Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

SEPTEMBER 2022

→ Favorable month for economic boost + Avoid political imbroglio which may lead to party collapse and loss of lives → Favorable month for cabinet reshuffle in the Education sector → Fraudulent act in Religious sector need to be checked + Successful venture in the security work on some hoodlum → Rising hope on Nigerian sports → There shall be repair and renovation work in the Aviation sector → Relief from effective epidemic cleansing to be felt by all.

OCTOBER 2022

→ Economy buoyancy without impact on the people shall be experienced → Some politicians shall fall by the way side + Revival efforts on Education shall be on → Revival efforts for the lost glory of the sacredness of religion shall be rife + There shall be boost on security outfit. New stars in Sports shall emerge (talent

discovery dividend) → Pray against Petrol Tanker Fire Disaster → Relief from Covid 19 fear dawns on people and felt by all.

NOVEMBER 2022

“ There shall be wastage of the Economy through the usual fraud by conduit pipe

syndrome or pipeline’ leakages > Power wrestling in politics shall be rife

Education Reform shall be feasible and visible — Avoid the ploy of Satan in the Religious sector not to get into trouble + Avoid security network passivity and decay, not to go into sabotage

Avoid aircraft accident by ensuring all safety protocols are followed + Avoid road congestion by ensuring vehicle road worthiness + Avoid overloading on the waterways to avoid accidents + Avoid gas explosion by ensuring safety regulatory measures

Total relief on Covid 19 Omicron variant shall be achieved but hygiene protocol must be observed after achieved cleansing.

                                                                                                                 -Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

DECEMBER 2022

→ Government must regulate spending and fund generation to avoid shambled economy → Backsliding in politics may lead to unstable politicking + Dividend of Education Reform shall begin to yield fruit → Pray that a big time name in Religion does not die → Month of good outing for security networks + Favorable month for sports activities with accompanying freedoms → There shall be repair need on the Aircraft in the Aviation sector to avoid accident → Road repair and maintenance including drainage essence are necessary sites for ease of

transportation in this month → Avoid waterway accident due to bridge/culvert collapse → Be safety conscious to avoid fire disaster → New lease of life for people with sustained observation of necessary and normal hygiene protocol.

CONCLUSION

Divine revelations are predictive for proactive measures in Management and Administration. Therefore, rebranding for proper socialization, correct cultural and ethical value, orientation for promotion of integrity and discipline for all, must be put in place, to allow divine intervention in revamping our economy to promote healthy and stable polity, as well as principle of equity. Good governance is a function of Godly leadership (Q38 vs. 26) and bad governance is a dividend of bad leadership (Daniel 5 vs. 25–28). Therefore, the essence of this revelation is for the political class to imbibe the culture of tolerance and focus on the issue of welfare importance. The religious sector must therefore imbibe the culture of religious harmony to promote peace and be more dedicated to the cause of discipline, love and culture of patriotism to move the Nation forward.

With these, we may avoid stalemate to save our Democracy.

Without education, the whole world would have remained static in terms of civilization and development.
Unfortunately for human beings, we fail most of the time to act within the limits of the positive values for knowledge application. This is the reason for the destruction of what has been built over time.
Education, therefore, must be seen within the perspective of knowledge acquisition, wisdom for experience, and the power of a discerning mind to be able to be all-encompassing in taking the right decisions that would be accurate and precise at all times.
In the area of teaching education, the emphasis must be on the positive mindset to be able to bring out the best in the learners so that they would be positive change agents, on the issues of affecting or operating the system on the basis of justice and equity to meet up with the demands of human needs as an essential value of education if and only if we want peace, development alongside safety and security valves for the regulation and control at a sustainable level.

Education must be perceived as the process of facilitating learning or the acquisition of knowledge through skills on values, morals, beliefs, and habits.
Educational methods must include teaching, preaching, sermon, training, storytelling, discussion, critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, and directed research to manage today for a better tomorrow against all odds.
The educational domains must be explored to be able to achieve a functional education in the graduates.
Graduates must also possess the confidence, self-esteem, and positive mental attitude to be able to carry responsibilities independently to the point of engaging in the critical evaluation of issues to arrive at accurate decisions.
Furthermore, education must be adequately funded to achieve satisfactory results at all levels.
Above all, education is systematic development or training of the mind, capabilities, or character through a systematic instructional process. It is an essential tool to make every sub-system to be functional for the dynamics of the system.

Also read-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

               -Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

               -Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

               -Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

Parental responsibility is in good child-rearing nature nurturing of the youth in their adolescent stage of life as well as all-encompassing empowerment for the young adults in been well educated into professional achievement and happy marriage.

However, the Holy Bible is specific in Proverbs 31 : 3-5, ''3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.''

In the same vein, parental responsibility in showing role model virtue for children to be rightly empowered into good citizenry-social and spiritual.

The Holy Quran 31: 17-19 is a good point of reference for a universal guide.

''O my son! Establish regular prayer, enjoy what is just and forbid what is wrong: And bear with patient constancy whatever betide thee; for this is the firmness of purpose in the conduct of affairs and swells not thy cheek for pride at men, nor walk in insolence through the earth: For Allah loveth not any arrogant boaster and be moderate in thy pace and lower thy voice, for the harshest of sands, without doubt, is the gain of the ass.''

The behavioral aspects of our lives, with body language inclusive, must not comply with the quality standard of the culture in which we are born and live, it must equally be in alignment and conformity with our chosen religious creed. The overall goal is for the child to develop into a reliable and dependable status of maturity, hence, the Holy Bible Proverbs 31: 8-9 includes as part of the responsibility as parents the following wise sayings which we must work on to live a fulfilled life.

''8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.

9 Open thy mouth, judge righteously and plead the cause of the poor and needy.''

Let us remember that the man would die in that person who keeps mute in the face of tyranny. Several rulers in the world play Nero the Emperor who ruled during his time through oppressive means to impoverish the land and the people while using the resources of the land to build personal castles around himself with blatant impunity.

Only children who are thoroughly bred and well reared can play significant roles in the scheme of community service and nation-building. Let this be the challenge and focus on which we need to walk the talk.

Also read-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

The word respect is an attribute that usually manifests in mankind and animals as an attitudinal outburst that has direct bearing with humility.
Between man and God, obedience to the rule of law as dictated by the almighty is a perfect condition under which man's prayer request can be granted. This implies that respect is better appreciated by a superior person when his will is followed.
In all spheres of human endeavor, respect is a common denomination through which we can realize cordial interpersonal relationships which by extension would lead to the realization of one's desire and the creation of peace for the environment to be conducive for all in our day to day activities.
A child carries out the will of its parents to attract their love and readiness to carry out their responsibilities on such children without looking back.
In the traditional setting, age is regarded as topmost for parents and the elderly ones including siblings.
When this is violated, a situation of bad blood is created to generate hatred.
In other of our lifestyles, respect is either commanded or forced through such privileges of wealth, influence, and affluence that make one become a star or superstar or personality worthy of focus in the society.
Respect for the positions of influence such as that of the Kings, parents, Chiefs, and business persons is established naturally when the environment of ethical revolution or practices is identified in such a person's struggle or rising profile to stardom.
Hard work, self-esteem, and other attributes of good conduct always attract respect.
However, when the end cannot justify the means such as in the case of politics with deceit, wealth through foul play, positions of influence through diabolical means, certification through fraudulent means, respect is easily lost because the end must justify the means.
Today, several societies have lost the culture of commanding respect even from the people they serve because of the various diabolical ways through which they achieve their aims.

Rich people are taunted and despised and people are afraid of seeking help from them not to become a perishable material for ritual purposes.
This occurs mainly in such societies where the dignity of labor is lost and acclaimed successes are achieved and recorded through smart practices that lack merit. In this circumstance, armed robbers, ritualists, and other categories of criminals may become Obas, Obis, or Emirs and will be surrounded by charlatans who will be installed and paraded as Chiefs with an overwhelming power of control over the wealth and resources of the society.
Such personalities may be hailed by the people who would ever believe that the material wealth of the personalities is being forced on them, not necessarily as the right choice for the positions they occupy. Proverbially, the Yorubas will say that the world would continue to be in disarray when the elders are not given the accorded respect.
Parents do serve their children, teachers serve their pupils and students to give them the fundamentals of life so that in return after becoming senior citizens, the children when they grow up, would be able to take over the reins of power as regards parenting, teaching, and governance.
For every responsible parent to now have a bequeathable legacy, the children and the youth must learn correctly, to imbibe the value of respect for siblings, peer group, identified and distinguished talents, elders, and constituted authority.
We must not forget that the beauty of teaching and learning lies in our products having respect for all the above mentioned.
Let us all learn to respect ourselves by doing things accordingly based on due process and let us respect the views of others and the talents in them including age and other worthy values for us to be able to create a well-ordered society with accelerated development that is free of corruption to be able to enjoin and promote a bequeathable legacy. Respect and acknowledge others.

Tuesday(13th April)

Every human being needs to realize that all nations or societies are created by God the almighty Allah with the specific purpose of worshipping Him. (Holy Quran 51: 56).

The consciousness of every human being to realize and observe this accordingly is the import of the Ramadan fast exercise in this sacred month.

Wednesday(14th April)

Every nation or society is constituted by God the almighty Allah.

This is to be cultivated and managed by humans for our right habitation.

The need for divine intervention to make the work easy and orderly is through our realization of how best to worship Him for a perfect God/man relationship. The Ramadan fast is, therefore, meant for human spiritual rejuvenation, if rightly observed with the fear of God. (Holy Quran 2:21). Ramadan Kareem.

Thursday(15th April)

The clarion call of the almighty Allah for every human to get closer to Him to enjoy the benefit of life on earth with a great reward of Janat or paradise is yet to be heeded by many. The Ramadan exercise offers us the opportunity to do things according to the wish of God and to realize a safe sojourn on earth and the blessings of the hereafter.

Ensure you imbibe the lessons from various Sermons, Lectures, and Tafsir for the right guidance. (Holy Quran 2: 201-202). Ramadan Kareem.

Friday(16th April)

Be reminded of the fact that Ramadan fast is made compulsory for the living ones who are Muslims just like education is compulsory for all to be wholesome in decision making and taking. Ramadan fast should be for 29 or 30 days, according to the injunctions of God for the training exercises in getting closer to God to be through. Be reasonable, therefore, not to abuse the privileges and the opportunities of been alive. (Holy Quran 3: 102). Ramadan Kareem.

Saturday(17th April)

The whole world is in a state of turmoil, longing to recapture the lost peace among its people. For example, insecurity is the order of the day as the greatest challenge of Nigerians. Let us all embrace the opportunity to gain the mercy of the first 10 days of the Ramadan fast, to be able to use the potential power of the fast for every heart to be touched by God into the keeping of good neighborliness, whereby love replaces hatred. Ramadan Kareem.

The design of God about creation in all spheres-celestial, terrestrial and subterranean is based on a hierarchical order. This is the basis upon which leadership and followership essence is built for system orderliness to be maintained and sustained.
However, among human beings, several factors define the due process for the realization.
Age differences within and outside the home is the primary determining factor whereby respect is naturally commanded by the elderly ones by their younger ones. This style of respect allows the elderly ones to give instructions to the younger ones to carry out certain assignments for them.
In this case, the elderly ones must pay the price for being socially responsible to the younger ones, if the line of respect manifesting in the form of obedience is to be maintained or sustained.
The husband will continue to be obeyed by his wife, primarily because of the age difference and the responsibilities of protecting and making provisions for the home.
Among the siblings, the age factor plays a crucial role in maintaining the order of obedience with the characteristic normal line of downflow current of command and upward flow charges of obedience.
Obedience, therefore, has a divine base that starts with God, the creator, demanding mankind and other creatures to swim in the ocean of obedience to His divine command.
This is, generally, followed in all systems of human administration whereby all subordinates are expected to carry out the command of instructions from their bosses or leaders.
Using the perspective of culture, the line of rulership usually follows the hierarchical order of the chiefs been respect by the people while the traditional rulers usually live by the laws of the land for the chiefs and the people to be in obeisance to his instructions.
Where the line of administration meets with the natural challenges of heterogeneous group components, the system order is always under the threat of disruptions to peaceful co-existence.
This is why all leaders must be well empowered with the paraphernalia of authority through the right capacity and capability building. to be able to weather the storm of possible rebellious acts from any of the chiefs or people of the underworld, who may hide under the guise of fighting for their rights.
There is, therefore, the need fr anybody aspiring to ascend to power or positions of authority to follow the path of due process to be able to use power wisely and enjoy the support of the subordinates.
In any organization or association, there are three major types of challenges for the leader.
Firstly, the leader must be able to identify the nature and the type of people under his leadership.
The prime movers, who easily identify with the policies of the leader to walk the talk must not be taken for granted, but with timely attention given the necessary motivation.
The second group may become a liability because of their lackadaisical attitude which may become a special hindrance factor to the system development because of their attitude of inactivity and passivity.
This is why the train the trainers' programs are usually needed periodically when such people are noticed in the system for them to be upgraded so that the fold of the prime movers is increased by better and manageable elements.
The third group is always very few, but usually catalytic to a destructive ned to the system, if not timely identified and rightly cultured through the leaders' sense of maturity and wisdom to resolve conflicts and manage a crisis.
 Suffice it now to say that obedience, from working partners and subordinates, usually moves forward because of advancement to the organization for the aims and objectives including the vision of the leader to be easily accomplished.
When obedience is lacking there would be voices of dissent which would retard the growth of the organization even to a destructive end, if not timely and rightly checked.

Obedience is, therefore a divine substance that is freely given out when leaders can respect the fundamental human rights of the people to have access to any of the good things of life.
For example, when governance does not meet the wellness standard of the people  through food insecurity, the issue of general insecurity could be likened to the response to the harshness of the time, in terms of poor governance that cannot meet with the expectation of the people's needs, disobedience to social order and the general rules of law snowballing into various crisis is, therefore, best treated and managed through doing the needful by the people in positions of authority.
Security and law enforcement agents become beasts of burden that are usually overtasked in maintaining law and order in the land when the leaders fail to do the needful on the survival need of the people.
In our various places of work, charges of insubordination may arise when the official duties are not carried out accordingly and without the show of remorse to make amends and it may lead to various unpleasant sanctions or disciplinary actions.
Obedience, therefore, is a function of self-respect, right performance, and a conducive environment for individual operations which are expected to be within the confines or ambits of the law.
Leaders across the board must, therefore, operate on the axis of justice and equity to be able to effect an environment of peace and development to avoid a state of disobedience from the people because it is only in an environment of peace, safe and secured, that we can realize prosperity and development for natural calmness to trigger obedience.

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

Human activities in our endeavor to live without starvation, keep a safe and secured environment and maintain cleanliness and sound health are always propelled into our seeking for jobs or creating jobs with a conducive environment for ease of achieving in the areas of production processes.

Fortunately, every project to be executed will always demand a test of skill as inherent in every individual. This must be developed to realize maximally good inputs and outputs through cooperative attitude and good teamwork spirit because every project will demand various skills from developed talents for ease of job completion.

A project would demand various expertise to collectively execute it.

Equally, project quality and standards are always demanded by the users who will not like to compromise in the market arena of local and global competitiveness. 

Industries or companies, therefore, in their production processes will require for the best in the recruitment of workers, who they will expect to show competence, good work attitude disposition, and responsiveness in attending challenges of emerging situations to be able to break even in their cost-benefit analysis and consciousness.

Work ethics, therefore, will demand that all workers be assessed through SMART analysis by giving out specific jobs that would be measurable and achievable for the set goal to be realistically done within specified time-bound.

The behavioral aspect of every worker, therefore, matters so much to the management in their evaluation of individual contributions to productivity, efficiency, and profitability.

The importance of been diligent at work, therefore, comes up for the workers' scoreboard not to be below the expectations of the company's or industry's goal target.

Lazy or unruly workers may face the threat of future retrenchment or situational layoff when the performances are rated over the periodical assessment of performances by the establishment.

Lazy workers are always associated with idle hours which usually may result in a loss for the company or establishment, such people are regarded as not been diligent.

Workers are expected to be careful, the way they go about their routine duties at work through been diligent always for them to be able to handle their projects and enterprises in the future, most especially after retirement or personal disengagement from government work or the private establishment.

Workers today, must always see themselves as learners on the job by been conscious or been amenable to supervision or monitoring by their superiors whose powers of recommendation can influence management decisions and determine their future endeavors.

Diligence, is, therefore, a work habit that will always attract others to call us to repeat the feat elsewhere for a greater reward.

Diligence has a direct bearing on job satisfaction to attract management motivation for robust certification as a reward for a good job well done.

In the Curriculum vitae or Resume of the diligent worker, the sky is not only the limit for a greater height but universal patronage in the world of competitiveness and global best practices.

Diligent people stand before Kings and interact with successful people in life, but they need to be very painstaking to cross the hurdles of life which are necessary to be used as tools for one's reinforcement and acquisition of higher skills. Be culturally diligent, be able to stoop to conquer the whole world as symbols of success in our voyage of life to make ends meet.

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

Truth avails the nation the opportunity to grow and develop while falsehood drives the people into madness and wretchedness to force the nation to heads towards the precipice.
Religion stands in teaching and enforcing truth to the people in order that they eschew all forms of falsehood to be able to uphold the culture of the sincerity of purpose. The failure of people to live exemplary lifestyles may be negatively infectious to other people who are yet to be taught from the houses of God, on the essentials of upholding the truth to offer just worship in their different religions.
A good reference is in Matthew 5: 43-48,''43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.''
In the same vein, the almighty Allah confirms the statement to the last letter. The creation of heaven and earth was based on truth.
The Holy Quran 29: 44 asserts, ''Allah  created the heavens and the earth in truth: verily in that is a sign for those who believe.''
The almighty God expects all interpersonal relationships and transactions among mankind to be based on the sincerity of purpose amidst the culture of truth.
Only in truth, we can realize good governance, a virile and prosperous nation, zero tolerance to indiscipline and corruption for sustainable wellness of the people, and a hitch-free development in an environment that is safe and secured with peaceful co-existence.
The Holy Quran therefore, expects all Muslims to be the vanguard of  truth for them to be good exemplars to people from other faiths such as the Jews, the Christians, and the Serbians, and any who believe in Allah or God and the last day and work righteousness with the non-discriminatory promise of a reward from their creator that they will live with all authority from their Lord of a life without fear or grief as expressly narrated in the Holy Quran 2: 62. From this set of people, we expect people from other faiths to learn and imbibe the culture of truth and non-injurious lifestyles to others, that is, keeping of good neighborliness.
In the holy Quran 2: 42, it is clearly stated and admonished for all like the people of Nigeria for example, and other nations that are struggling to live by the truth for professional ethics to be the basis of the fabric upon which the mainframe of all institutions, Ministries, Departments and Agencies and the government are to be built, in order to be progressive rather than retrogressive.
''And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when ye know what it is.''
The admonition, therefore, continues in the Holy Quran  2: 43-44 which if we can heed will solve our problems of insecurity and underdevelopment. ''And be steadfast in prayer: Give Zakat and bow down your heads with those who bow down in worship(live in humanity). The admonition now continues that we must all query our behavior and question our psyche on the level of heeding the admonition and why things go wrong with our nation. ''Do ye enjoy right conduct of the people and forget to practice it yourselves, and yet ye study the Scriptures?
Will ye not understand.''
All religious leaders need to examine their roles on the issue of been Scripture compliant and being answerable to God on making functional the religious system they uphold to be beneficial to community service and nation-building.
The Holy Quran 2: 119 is for our critical guide, ''Verily we have sent thee  in truth as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner: But of thee, no question be asked of the companions of the blazing fire.''
Let us all take heed to be the vanguard of truth.

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

Self-centeredness ensures that political office holders are observed in their own affairs to the extent of losing communication with the people.
The failure to communicate with the people brings forth challenges in governance, while the desperate bid to protect self-driven interests could pave the way for different forms of insecurity.
In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafauden-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that the self-centered nature of elected leaders is the major problem of underdeveloped nations, such as Nigeria.
Self-driven interests are now the major considerations in governance. Why is this so?
Self-centeredness falls into the lowest region of ego-building whereby a child up to the peak of its impressionable age will ever believe that every good thing must belong to him or her including his father's vehicle.
This is an Id region of human growth in which things are desired by mankind without considering the implications and consequences. They may even fight to possess what does not necessarily belong to them when found in the care of other people including their colleagues and parents.
Education is, therefore, expected for any individual to outgrow this region. When they are supposed to be regarded as been matured even though they are just entering the adolescent to puberty stage of their lives.
The exhibition of Id characteristics at this stage will attract a reaction from the society towards suspecting a psychological imbalance in such a person.
The adduced reason may be as a result of been overdependent on parents or guardians for their livelihood and upkeep.
In an unfortunate situation, it may be as a result of inherited traits from parents, such traits include stinginess.
Self-centeredness built into the ego region of any person will not only affect his or her expected contribution to society but equally affects negatively his or her relationship with others including his or her family members who are expected to be taken care of by him or her.
People with ego-based issues will find it difficult to uphold the concept of philanthropy in society for anybody including their kinsmen.
His or her expected age and opportunity of acquired wealth will cause such an individual a set-back and result in not reaching the super-ego region of life.
Such people, when given the opportunity to serve in sensitive positions of power, will easily develop the veins of Timocracy, whereby the individual would not see the essence of been in such positions of power for service, but more as an opportunity for business as usual and treasury looting. This is why the Yorubas believe that any individual acquiring wealth, illegally, to build an empire at the expense of his or her wellness, would eventually forfeit such wealth to other people after passing on to glory.
My belief is that the Scriptures also uphold this Yoruba philosophy.
The Yorubas equally teach us in their Proverbs that an elderly person who refuses to give out, most especially to the ladies and the younger ones, will not be noticed when such an individual is with tangible things on his head from the market place.
The life of charity is recommended for humankind to take care of the need of the world because the grasses are made for the purpose of the survival of the grasscutters.
The major problems of nations classified as underdeveloped or developing like Nigeria are not a result of a lack of natural resources -human and material-but because of the self-centered nature of their chosen leaders at all levels of governance.
It is rather unfortunate for any nation to have such a crop of people at the helm of affairs because under them kleptocracy would be the voice of their democracy, while the voters and the masses would reap the dividends of poverty because of the selfish nature of their leaders. A critical look into the reasons why several African nations suffer in the midst of plenty could be appreciated through the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs vis-a-vis, psychological needs, ensure safety and security needs, social needs of the people, self-esteem into the culture of integrity and actualization realm.
Expectedly, to be able to meet up, the Government must be able to effectively and maximally achieve in the areas of the provision of basic amenities for the purpose of people's wellness as well as the solid establishment of functional infrastructure for people to be dynamically productive through innovations and creativity to be able to go into job creation by people, coupled with government intervention on the issue of employment.
If this is truly achieved there would not be any form of agitations and security threat and the goal of democratic norms based on justice and equity would have produced for people the expected peace and sustainable development.

This is the basis of comparison between the acclaimed developed world and the underdeveloped nations, Nigeria inclusive.
Furthermore, the animal called man grows from Id to the level of the super-ego, is expected to be rational in making policies and decisions that would be beneficial to others.
This is expected to reflect in the way we rear our children from their baby class to that of responsible adults.
Unfortunately, the degree of success rate is crystal clear at the peak of Maslow's hierarchy of need, that is actualization realm which dwells mostly on personal achievements which the ignorant society celebrate overwhelmingly without considering the impact of such achievements on others.
The in-built self-centeredness into the actualization realm manifests most when such people have the opportunity to be in positions of power.
Ego-centeredness characteristics then dominate his management and administrative dispensation.
Such people may end up being richer than the state or nation or the business empire they are saddled to manage in trust for the purpose of building the people they are meant to serve.
Sensitization, therefore, needs to be mounted against self-centeredness through Olagoke Attitudinal Hierarchy of Needs, whereby people should be made to realize at the entry point of having the opportunity of admission into the academics and recruitment into establishments, on the need to shun selfishness, indiscipline, and corruption, but focus on the goal of productivity, goodwill, and profit for the establishment and that their main concern should be service to the people without living above their means otherwise the promotion exercises would be meaningless.
The Olagoke Hierarchy of Attitudinal Needs professes that the actualization realm of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs must be the bae value for mentorship essence followed by ethical practices, role modeling role through exemplary lifestyles, altruistic philosophy to enhance the concept of charity and philanthropy among the people who are lucky to be rich to complement the efforts of the government in satisfying the yearnings of the people.
Above all, for true statesmanship to be achieved, experienced senior citizens must struggle to get into the class of total personality when the characteristic value of integrity, forgiveness, love, selfless service, and conflict resolution facilitated by wisdom would create the natural class of distinction for such an elderly person.
Under this condition, selfishness will pave way for the keeping of good neighborliness as well as the culture of philanthropy will emerge to sustain the people and their nation.

Sychophants are present at all levels of Government. Their activities have become a stumbling block to development and economic prosperity.
A one-time president of Nigeria, the late Alhaji Sheu Shagari while commenting on the reason why Nigerian leaders failed in their office of responsibility, had said ''any leader who wants to succeed must check the activities of sycophants...... sycophants within the corridors of power have to a great extent made it difficult for a leader to be aware of the problem facing their people and what to do to alleviate their suffering.''
In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that the negative culture of bastardization, insincerity, and destruction revolving around the activities of sycophants, have already crept into all the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies at all levels of government in Nigeria. Excerpts :
The insinuation among Nigerians is that sycophancy is the foundation for bad governance in the country. Do you agree?
Sycophancy is regarded as obsequious behavior towards someone of importance in order to gain an advantage. It is unfortunate that this is what has characterized the general features of our governance style in Nigeria. This has affected our ability to meet up with the standard of governance as propounded by the United Nations Development  Program, that is, people's participation, respect for the rule of law, transparency in governance, responsiveness to people's yearnings and sense of want, equity in the distribution of our commonwealth most especially to the nationalities that constitute Nigeria. Other factors that have been traced to the activities of sycophants include
efficiency in productivity against the general loss of goodwill leading to our inability to pass the test of corporate governance perception index,
accountability as against the present records of treasury looting and corruption and strategic vision as against the present fire brigade approach in managing the affairs of the country and 
lack of good governance due to sycophantic behavior of subordinates most especially those put in positions of responsibilities to feed the presidency or the State Governors has always been a grievous setback in achieving sustainable development in Nigeria.
Expectedly, democracy must stand on the two legs of justice and equity to give peace a place in the present state of insecurity claiming lives and property as well as impoverishing the people.
Democracy is expected to make those put in positions of power responsive and responsible in focusing on the wellness of the people.
Governance and democracy must therefore focus on the well being of the citizens to ensure that the eight-point component are intrinsically present in every person been governed through the following assessed wellness indices: sound mind, physically fit individuals, community participation for progress and development, good work attitude for high efficiency and productivity, safe and secured clean environment, emotional balance, high and pious spiritual state as well as finances that can support and sustain an individual and his dependants.

Sycophancy, therefore, has to do with bootlicking, trading in lies, deceit, propaganda for the person in charge of leadership, management, or governance to a misleading state of affairs.
Sycophancy often breeds anti-societal behavior to the amazement of the people in charge of the affairs of the state as could be witnessed in various processes of elections and appointments. 
Sycophants in government, also constitute fifth columnists, they either work for the government in power or the opposition, without any consideration for the consequences on the development of the nation and the wellness of the people-the cartel and the cabal.
There is, therefore, the need for a paradigm shift from the culture of sycophancy to that of competence and merit, good work attitude, and appointment for people that would be responsive and responsible, fair and objective. This is because the negative culture of bastardization, insincerity, and destruction revolving around the activities of sycophants, have already crept into all the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies at all levels of government, besides this, it has destroyed the fabric of peaceful co-existence as well as all aspects of the general society, thereby, making sycophancy to be endemic and dangerous enough to pull down the nation.
Failure of leaders in a democracy to ensure good governance, the provision of functional infrastructure, and basic amenities for the wellness of all Nigerians, irrespective of their economic class will ever create a state of anarchy. Stop sycophantic acts.

The Holy Quran 30: 41-42, states that ''Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of the need that the hands of men have earned, that Allah may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back from evil. Say: Travel through  the earth and see what was the end of those  before you: Most of them were idolators (hypocrite, liars, infidels, etc.)

From the perspective of the Holy Bible, Mathew 10: 20, then Jesus criticized the cities where he did most of his miracles. Jesus criticized those cities because the people there did not change their lives and stop sinning.''
On a serious note, Nigeria is blessed with several Churches, Mosques, and other faith-based houses of God, but their religious leaders neither fear God nor are Scripture compliant, for them to have the necessary impact on their people, the high and the low.
Although daily, they conduct services with music, funeral services inclusive, yet the people's behavior are yet to change for the better.
If the Holy Prophet Mohammed happened to be alive today,  the regret would not spare all the Muslims for not ben able to use the Holy Quran to effect the necessary changes.
For Nigeria to be prevented from heading for the precipice, all the houses of God must be made to be alive to their responsibilities of teaching the Scripture for people's true followership and practice, to be able to live exemplary lifestyles that would be bequeathable as a legacy to the future generation.
We must allow God to illuminate all houses of God for worshipers to radiate light into the society and for sanity to reign supreme so that the mechanics of al the machinery of operation are allowed to work without hindrance to promote competence and work attitude that is efficient and for everybody to be responsive and responsible. Citizens on the issue of patriotism for true development, the best solution is to follow a divine path of honor, whereby the religious systems are alive to their responsibilities of educating, admonishing, and processing al adherents onto the path of righteousness to be spiritually charged enough into a state of trust, reliability, and dependability when challenged with the social responsibilities of management and administration, transparency and accountability for the purpose of good governance.
The Holy Quran 30: 43 states, ''But set thou thy face to the right religions before there come from Allah  the Day which there is no  chance of averting: on that Day shall men be divided in two, those who reject faith(doing things aright) will suffer from that rejection: and those who work  righteousness will make provision for themselves(even in heaven).''
Let us avoid underutilization of the potentials in our religions because human failure to tap the anointing will eventually deactivate them into a ruinous end. God forbid.

Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

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

In the middle of dwindling oil revenue, the Federal and State Governments in Nigeria have resorted to loans and bonds to promote national prosperity, efficient, dynamic, and self-reliant economy. Sadly, the details, repayment plans, terms, and conditions of the loans taken are not in the public domain, as regards accountability. The insinuation is that the government intends to trade off the assets it used to secure the loans. Of worry is the fact that the management and operation of the major sectors of the economy are in bad shape, with most states looking up to the center for their survival. In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines the Federal and State Governments should publish the terms and conditions of all loans to allay the Fear of Nigerians on the country's debt status. Excerpts :

Do you think the decision of the Federal and State Governments to resort to loans and bonds to promote national prosperity, efficient, dynamic, and self-reliant economy is in the best interest of Nigerians?

For Nigerians to be dynamically buoyant into prosperity, the structure on ground that is full of loopholes and leakages for corruption and self-enrichment may not be feasible if the crop of people in governance to date continues to be recycled.

Taking loans and bonds in and environment of indiscipline, impunity and corruption may not make the dream to be feasible. The socio-divine principle of transparency and accountability in transaction calls for public knowledge of government finances-domestic or foreign loans-and any aspect of government business activities.  If we allow this in governance, it would create an enabling environment to criticize decisions in the offing. In the process, such as the Nigeria/Cina loan conditions, questions like the following would arise to save the next generation of government from possible future embarrassment. 1) Feasibility of the payback period. 2)Payback conditions-stringent or otherwise. 3) Respect for the Nigerian content law. 4) Due process demand on follow up questions must be examined too.

The Federal Government is, therefore, required to go through the protocol of the Debt Management Office(DMO) which represents the position of the Nigerian constitution.

Section 21(1) of the Act(2003) is clear on this: That no external loans shall be approved or obtained by any Minister unless its terms and conditions shall have been laid before the National Assembly and approved by its resolution: Anything different from the above-stated process should be regarded as been fraught with hidden agenda by the organs of process operations that are not playing their roles well. It is unfortunate that Nigerians, generally, to date are facing economic hardships amidst accumulated debts, perhaps because of corruption. For example, our debt profile rose from $12.18 Trillion in 2015 to $27.40 Trillion in 2019. In the year 2020 alone, the total debt incurred as approved by the National Assembly for the President is about a total of $28 billion, but without a commensurate improvement in the quality of lives of the people of Nigeria.

We are yet to have economic liberation and political freedom if we are to go by all the lacks and no access, even of basic needs.

The country is now divided into a democratic process with two extreme dividends-kleptocracy by the few rich and poverty by the majority of the population!

  The following considerations are sacrosanct to taking the loans-1) Consider the needs of the people, seek for their consent, and carry them along on the implications of the terms and conditions attached to taking the loans. 2) Respect the local content agreement that some type of jobs that are no too technical and the aspects that do not require the transfer of technology must be handled by Nigerians to solve our unemployment challenges. The need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to publish the status and the terms and conditions of repaying outstanding loans, collected and inherited, including the China/Nigeria loan deal that is currently attracting controversial reactions with clear monitoring mechanism in place to monitor the way and manner it is to be spent on the various projects attached to the loans. Ii would be of interest to Nigerians if this template could be extended to all outstanding loans that have become the country's debts. This will allay the fears or give all Nigerians the reason to reject further borrowing by the present administration or the next, so as to have a bequeathable legacy of sustainable development rather than a game of deceit that would continue to impoverish the masses and the environment. 

Peace and development are highly essential in achieving peaceful co-existence  among people of diverse opinions,  tribal inclinations, ethnic leanings and segregated economic classes. Social justice and regulatory policies are equally vital enabling environment for development and peaceful co-existence. Unfortunately, they hardly exist in many nations where we experience insurgence, war, agitations and violence that not only lead to value erosion  and disruption of ethical principles.  The summary of it all, is individual attitudinal challenges bothering on moral laxity of institutional indiscipline.

Reviving all agents of socialization on this to help arrest the situation and restore values is a task that must be given attention by every stakeholder, parents, religious houses and the media are inclusive. This will help us have disciplined people with high moral consciousness in all our challenging leadership positions, civil servants and government in particular, to role model organizational and professional ethics into people's psyche for the purpose of achieving and putting in place the culture of ethical practices to be able to live exemplary lifestyles. The Holy Bible, Prov. 25 : 28, emphasizes that  without moral discipline one becomes  vulnerable to acts of waywardness and frivolities just like Nigeria  with porous borders, where foreigners come in with ease to take up sensitive positions  of power, in the process looting without conscience and raping with impunity, in addition to maiming and killing defenseless Nigerians.

The Holy Prophet Mohammad from the Islamic perspective emphasizes that the bedrock of any jihad is that of moral discipline. On this submission, Jesus Christ in Matt. 5 :19 asserts  that good citizenship reflects in the ability to obey   the rules of law and live by its code of conduct; otherwise one would become anti-societal  and would be vulnerable to punishment  in the hands of the l;aw and that such a person will equally be rejected in the kingdom of God.

The implication of this, is that apart from becoming sinful, the society would perceive the individual as a criminal.

Unfortunately in Nigeria, criminals are  celebrated and they mostly preferred to occupy sensitive positions  of power, by this, we murder peace and development. 

The Holy Prophet Mohammad was admonished by Allah  in the Holy Quaran to be scripture compliant  as an exemplar and this is attested to in the various verses of the Holy Quaran. For example Quaran 6 : 162-163,''''Truly my prayer and my service, my life and my death, are all for Allah, the Cherisher of the world no partner art He : this am I commanded and I am the first of those  who submit to His will to be  qualified and regarded as a Muslim. The almighty equally commanded that the whole world must follow the foot steps of  the Holy Prophet Mohammad as an exemplar''. In Quaran 33 : 21 and 33 : 46, the almighty Allah identifys  himself with im that he is the one who made Mohammad ad one  who invites  to Allah's grace by His leave, and as  a lamb spreading light. For the above reasons the Holy Prophet Mohammad was able  to declare the following as parting gift to mankind, '' two things I am leaving behind, the Holy Quaran which a a compendium of  the word of God for human affairs  to be well regulated (Sunnatallahi). I am equally leaving behind my Toreeq or Sunnat, if you follow the two religiously, that is to the letter, you will never be misguided neither will you go astray. Al these are the challenges before I and you  as mortals, to live exemplary lifestyles without impunity but consciously based on moral discipline. We are supposed to be either true Christians or true Muslims as well as  adherents of all considered worthy religions whose doctrines or tenets are based on God and Godliness, light and good character that can present us as a race living upon the principle of love  they neighbor  as thyself. Be morally conscious.

Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

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

The issue of discipline is divinely recognized to be a significant portion of the ethos of man’s existence. For example from the Islamic perspective, the Holy Prophet Mohammed emphasized that jihad would be empty and satanic if the adherents do not uphold the principle of moral discipline because jihad of self discipline would make the counselor or preacher to be credible and worthy of admonition he or she may want to give his audience or listeners.

From the Christian perspective, Proverbs 25 : 28 asserts that ‘’a person that cannot control himself or herself(that is without self discipline) is like a city without walls to protect it.''

The society equally rests its fabric of harmonious existence on the culture of the core values of integrity starting from self esteem for teachers, clerics and government officials to successfully produce for the society, reliable and dependable goal getters, in terms of successful ventures in the scheme of nation building, the equation of educational goals must be religiously pursued, that is Attitude=Aptitude+Attitude.

Academic credentials must be based on the curriculum for the course or the pursued discipline which must be rationally graded without academic fraud, examination misconduct and examination malpractice for the certificate to be worthy of the accredited grade or class. The use of this certificate would only be meaningfully enjoyed through the in built good character which always forms the basis of interpersonal relation for positive work attitude that would enhance productivity to meet up with the profit making goal of the organization bearing in mind the need for high efficiency.

The attitudinal value must therefore translate to moral discipline .

When the educational institution fails to operate upon the axis of this value, the schools produce troublesome monsters as graduates or alumni for the society. When religious institutions fail to educate, enlighten, admonish and furnish her adherents onto the path of righteousness, the moral discipline essence upon which the fabric of the fear of God rests is lost, for the society to suffer under the misguided elements, who will rather profess profanity in place of the sacredness essence of clean state of piety ; the society will now be at the mercy of wicked people in governance and bad people in business-the cabals and the cartel. Admonition based on moral values and disciplinary measures is therefore a universal tool to promoting good ideals of life, organizational and professional ethics for the society’s moral fabric to be intact, for the purpose of peaceful co-existence, good governance and well divinely sanitized society which would result in peace and development to be achieved under an environment of justice and equity.

From any source talks on moral discipline may come, it is imperative that the people and the society must follow to benefit the nation.

This is why , we must practically recognize and follow divine statements in the holy books to uphold virtues and progressive moves.

Let us therefore meditate on this verse of the Holy Quaran, that emphasizes self discipline as a function of promoting peaceful co-existence and fraud free society. The Holy Quaran 3 : 104 refers ‘’ let there arise out of you, a band of people inviting to all that is good enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong : they are the ones to attain felicity.’’ Let us walk the talk.

Saturday 9th May 2020

The significance of prayer is best thought and understood during Ramadan fasting session. Prayer itself is a bridge builder between man and God. It is the most powerful communication tool that easily transmits the divine energy from God to man, when articulated through a profile body free of sins and crimes and a preserved soul that is free of evil thoughts. These two factors are fundamental basic requirements for man/God cordial relationship.

However, even among the religious people of the world these conditions are trivialized if not neglected, making them to be mere hypocrites with empty boasts about God.

This is equally responsible for the poor state of piety in the land. Let us learn correctly how to be scripture compliant. Ramadan Kareem.

Sunday 10th May

Prayer efficacy has three modes before supplicants can be rest assured of divine acceptance. Meditation allows for reflections into the past activities for possible amendments into the weak areas. It allows esoteric voyage into self reality and exploration into the impact of the environment.

The next one is sermon that appeals to the soul, admonition the body to heal the diseases of the heart in order that one is readily guided through the mercy of God.

Counseling is the third module to perfect translated ideas into suiting the realities of life to be one of example in the odd world of confusion.

Learn to be just in your prayer as a sincere worshiper to be successful in life. Ramadan Kareem.

Monday 11th May

Be reminded that only the prayer of the just would be energized into meeting up with the purpose of desire for which an individual is tendering his request to God(James 5 : 16).

In His declaration the almighty Allah asserted ‘’to him is due the true prayer of those without faith is nothing but vain prayer. ’’(Quaran 13 : 14).

In this category of faithless worship, even the majority of the worshipers in all religions find themselves.

Derisively on this, the almighty Allah said ‘’any other media called upon besides Allah, hear them, know more than if they were to stretch forth their hands for water to reach their mouths.

It would not be possible for water to reach them as it would be easier for water to climb a mountain from the ground floor. Let us be people of full understanding, otherwise we may remain ungrateful to God for life. Ramadan Kareem.

Tuesday 12th May

Computer programming for efficacy can be likened to the stand of God in Isaiah 41 : 17–18, ‘’the poor and needy people look for water, but they can’t find any, they are thirsty. Their tongues are very dry. I will not leave them and let them die. I will make rivers flow on dry hill. I will make springs of water flow through the valley. I will change the desert into a lake filled with water. There would be spring of water in that dry land.’’

These undoubtedly would be the foot of just worship.

The computer programming format of the above lies in Quaran 2 : 186.

1. Prepared people of God in high state of piety.
2. Worried souls consult trusted and tested clerics.
3. God the almighty Allah shows mercy through the counseling guide of the cleric.
4. Requirement from God to answer prayer request in sincerity of purpose and just worship.
5. Once item number is satisfied the prayer is answered without hitch of barrier.
6. Manifestation of God shows divine intervention in the supplicant’s life. Let us follow this to live a just and self fulfilled life. Ramadan Kareem.

Wednesday 13th May

Two things need to amaze using Nigeria as an example. In the 21st century, Government is still discovering the poorest of the poor, demanding like Almajiri beggars for COVID 19 monetary support from individuals whose source of money are never known or attested to.

The second awe is that the divine intervention is left aside by Government in tackling the COIVD 19 pandemic. This may be as a result of the fact that no qualified cleric using the quality and standard measurement of God can be identified or found around.

Jonah saved his nation, Nineveh. Prophet Mohammed founded a new Saudi Arabia and better strategic world order through the rules of law and promotion of God/man relationship.

Jesus Christ counseled and healed all with no economic costs attached while at the same time leaving behind a legacy of peace and the promotion of good God/man relationship.

Nigeria’s clerics can source their strengths from all these by been scripture compliant as role models on the issue of connecting every individual, as a free born, with his or her creator.

For the nation to be able to enjoy free divine intervention let us therefore realize that to seek the glory of God, we must believe that all prayers belong to Him. To Him we mount up all words of purity e call prayers, but avoid trivializing it into mere wishful thinking. Be reminded that God will require a high level of state of piety from an individual before entertaining your requests. or crowning it with success. Remember that an individual will be faced with a lot of resistances from the people of the underworld, including the principalities of darkness. We cannot therefore, allow recess of divine strength, so as not to be punctured by the nails of wicked people on earth. God is able. Ramadan Mubarak.

Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

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

Monday, 4th May

Ramadan Mubarak, let  us learn to cultural acceptable level, the essence of been our brother's keeper. For example, the third pillar of Islam is on giving out of a specified  percentage of the accrued profits of our acquired  wealth and when it is in terms  of farm products, there are equally percentages that we must part with for donations, for the purpose of poverty alleviation and hunger eradication. This is about Zakat operation. This is inline with the need to get fulfilled  to the scripture compliant level   to gain the favor of God. Quran 92 : 5-7 refers ''So he gives in charity and fears Allah and in all sincerity testify to the best, that is the essence of caring and sharing and been philanthropic . Almighty Allah, He will indeed make smooth for him, the path to Ease.'' The period of Ramadan offers us the opportunity  to build a positive mindset in this direction. Ramadan Kareem.

Tuesday, 5th May

The concept of charity affords the rich to be philanthropic in nature, as being experimented under Sodaqat, that is voluntary alms giving as a normal way of life. But this must be done to the empowerment level of the needy.

The almighty Allah identified    some troubled spots that must be addressed to have a normal, safe and secured society. For example in Quran 9 : 60, it is declared ''Alms are for the poor and the needy and those employed to administer the funds. To institutionalize this, the apex body of the Islamic  family need to take this up as a project for the  rich individuals and Islamic sects to follow. Such funds mus be extended to those whose hearts have been recently reconciled to truth; for those in bondage and in debt; those in the cause of Allah;  and for the wayfarer : thus it is ordained by Allah. And Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.''

To prevent violence  and insecurity, this must be a task that must be culturally entrenched. Ramadan Kareem.

 Wednesday, 6th May

During this  Ramadan, redemption feeding is another source of  reaching  out to the poor(Fidyatu Toham), which the rich can use to atone for its inability to fast. This equally must extend to the  level of empowerment.

Crisis and challenges of eradicating the Almajiri is now  a monstrous challenge  for Government and the society because of the socio-economic and sociological challenges associated to its eradication.

However, the concept of been our brother's keeper whereby the rich ones support Government 's efforts may effectively address this area this is because  rehabilitation without vocational training support and engagement will never be sustainable and satisfactory  for the victims of this social menace.

Religious leaders must place emphasis on how to make operational  Sodaqat, Zakat and Fidyatu Toham, that is voluntary alms giving, to become our natural ways of life, for the needy and the poor to be effectively taken care of. Ramadan Kareem.

Thursday, 7th May

Zakat L' Fitri, that is alms giving to climax the Ramadan fast, may be in monetary terms or food materials, most especially grains by the family for the purpose of reaching out to the poor through  the coordinating Imam, who must be God fearing in the distribution.

Muslims must continue to recite Quran 90 to get acquainted with the importance of making charity as an atonement of sins that have not been criminalized.

The excerpts from this chapter refers '' But man has not made haste on the path that is steep and what will explain to thee the path  that is steep, it is freeing the bound man or the giving of food in a day of deprivation, to the orphan with claims of relationship or to the indigent down in the dust. Such giver must equally be of those who believe in God, enjoying patience, constancy  and self-restraint and also enjoying deeds of kindness and compassion.''

Decide to be one today. Ramadan Kareem.

Friday, 8th May

Every nation where kleptocracy characterize governance, self centered thoughts  dominates the  lives  of the elite, always records poor  tales of poverty, hunger, homelessness, armed robbery and characteristic state of insecurity.

The almighty Allah therefore warns against miserly behavior in the Holy Quran 92 : 8-12. '' But he who is greedy miser and thinks himself self sufficient and gives the lie to the best, that is (charity), he will indeed make smooth for him the path to Misery nor will his wealth profit him when he falls headlong into the pit. Verily will take upon us to guide.''

This is why the Holy Quran 13 : 18 declared ''for those who respond to their lord  are all good things, but those who respond not to Him, even if they had all that is in the heaven and on earth and as much more in vain offer it for ransom. For them will the reckoning  be terrible, their abode will be hell,-what a bed of misery.''

The ravaging coronavirus pandemic attests to this.

Uphold charity and shun miserly life to eradicate poverty and hunger for ensured peace in the land. Ramadan Kareem.

Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

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

Over 300,00 trained and registered Teachers in Kenya are without jobs.

According to well informed sources in the Education Ministry, schools in the country are short of 96, 00 Teachers, with with primary schools  having  about 10 million pupils being short of 38,054 tutors and Secondary schools, with about 2.8 million students, have vacancies for 58,291 teachers.

Following Government aggressive campaigns to achieve 100 per cent transition from primary school, there has been a high enrollment rate coupled with  the fact  that 9,472 women and 6,950 men applied for government teaching positions but were not employed.

 6,872 of  the applicants posses  Bachelor of Education while   1,596  had diplomas. Certificate holders seeking jobs in primary and pre-school schools accounted for  5,686.

As the administration of  Zimbabwe President,  Emmerson Mnangagwa prepares to deliver good governance   women of  Mashonaland  province  have called on government to ensure that the process of decentralizing powers is bereft of political considerations.

This call was made recently by  women from the rural province during an interactive session organized by the Institute for Young Women Development,  for women of Mashonaland and their   representatives in the Parliament , at  Bindura .

 One of the participants from Guruve, stressed that the discussions on devolution must be apolitical saying  "What is required in particular is for national officials (both political and administrative) to commit to a devolution process that respects the rules of the game. Importantly, if devolution is to succeed it should be a shared objective supported by both those with and without power as well as by the general citizenry." 

 Another participant, Margret Chimombe from Shamva  suggested that the lawmakers should educate the women on the aims and objectives of the proposed devolution of power, adding ''"It's only a few people who are aware of what this is about. Some are in the dark so it should the duty of office bearer to come down to us and tell us what this animal is all about before any other engagements."

 In her submission, Member of Parliament for Women's Quota Bindura-Shamva constituency, Dorothy Mashonganyika  warned the women to be wary of politicians who might want to use the process to feather their nets saying ''We do not want political involvement but let us respect political structures as they also play a part in representing our views''.

 President Mnangagwa had indicated that his administration would implement  decentralize power.during his  2018-2022  tenure, but the people of Zimbabwe  have been expressing fears that politicians  would hijack the process  to further their political  agenda.

Even though it is post humous, Nigerians have continued to applaud President Muhammadu Buhari for deeming it fit, to confer the country’s highest honors of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic(GCFR) on the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential elections, late Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.

In addition, Nigerians believe that if the bank accounts of the Late Bashorun Abiola frozen by the late Military despot, Gen. Sanni Abacha, are unfrozen and reparations paid to his family, justice would have been seen to have been done.

Also, all those who one way or the other lost their lives during the period ought to receive compensation through the families they left behind.

However, the body language of President Buhari is not in tandem with the peoples’ belief, even as a cross section of Nigerians argue that declaring June 12 Democracy Day emanates from gaining political mileage, if consideration is given to the fact that the incumbent President was part and parcel of the late Gen. Abacha military regime.

In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that conferment of the highest honors in the land in not enough, but ought to also include paying reparation and compensation to Bashorun Abiola’s family, else Nigerians may think otherwise. Excerpts :

In commemoration of June 12, the day the freest and fairest general elections in Nigeria’s history was annulled, what do you think is the best compensation for the late Bashorun M.K.O Abiola’s family ?

The issue surrounding Bashorun M.K.O Abiola is a milestone of an historical record and antecedent in which Nigeria in particular, and the whole world in general, need to learn a lot from. He happened to be a victim of unholy friendship and treachery by his kinsman.

Besides this, his life depicted to the whole world, that even the pinnacle of affluence has a lot of limitations to the expected influences that may accompany it.

Despite God’s favor on him to win the Presidential elections, with outstanding performance over the National Republican Convention(NRC) candidate, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, based on what nature could give any man, in terms of what would have been the barriers-barriers of Muslim/Muslim ticket, Southern candidacy and the possible environment that is fraught with Ethnic, Tribal and Religious differences, the atmosphere was not only favorable, but the people put aside their differences to ensure that Bashorun Abiola emerged as the winner.

However, some household enemies and the hidden ones among his friends, became a deadly clog in the wheel of his destiny.

The funny aspect, is that of the failure of successive governments after, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, to revisit his case,and the eventual Democracy that ushered in a total departure from the erstwhile military rule.

His kinsman, the then President Olusegun Obasanjo and his successors, who happened to be the direct beneficiaries of Bashorun Abiola’s struggle for Democracy, equally failed to revisit his state incarceration and dehumanization.

Fortunately, an opposition political party, in the name of the All Progressives Congress(APC) and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(rtd.)eventually revisited what the whole world helplessly claimed to be an act of injustice, hence the post-humous conferment of GCFR to the late Bashorun Abiola and by extension the largesse of the peak of recognition for his supposed deputy, in the name of Alhaji Babagana Kingibe, as well as the conferment of one of the highest honors in the land on the unforgettable activist, late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, who lived all his, life for the enthronement of Democracy and died without fulfillment of the struggle, to address the injustices meted out to Bashorun Abiola.

Mr. President deliberately refrained from giving his national address on May 29, during his inauguration, and I believe he must have reserved his speech for June 12, which he has been courageous enough to declare as Nigeria’s Democracy day, in fulfillment of the agitations of the progressives to recognize Bashorum Abiola as the symbol of Nigeria’s Democracy and the pathfinder of how the freest and fairest general elections ought to be conducted in Nigeria.

Most of Nigerians expect that the highest honor conferred on Bashorun Abiola as his right, shall be followed by his family having access to what Nigeria and our government owe the late business mogul, most especially in the aspect of unfreezing his numerous bank accounts, as the first step towards reviving his ‘’dead’’ chains of legacies. All these shall be to the benefit of the family he left behind and this shall serve to reunite them.

Recently, one of his oil companies of international repute was affected by the recent government policy through which some oil companies’ licenses were revoked.

Government owes Nigerians an explanation on why Bashorun Abiola’s business concern was affected and possibly work on how he would be exempted.

However, recognition through the conferment of the highest national honors in the land shall be meaningless, without supporting it with the attendant freedom for the family to have access to what he had spent all his life to acquire.

I have the belief that the Federal Government is waiting for June 12, for favorable declaration on this, otherwise, the stiff opposition against them may use any lapses on the side of the Federal Government to gain sympathy of the generality of Nigerians to turn the table against them as they did in many states lost by the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in the people’s court and parliament during the recent general elections.

Both chambers of the 9th National Assembly shall be inaugurated next week and Nigerians are hopeful that the elected representatives of the people shall make laws that shall impact positively on impoverished Nigerians who have not seized to contend with insecurity.

Nigerians are also hopeful that the lawmakers shall not in any way or circumstance become rubber stamps for decisions from the Executive that are anti-people and dictatorial in content.

In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke says that the expectations of Nigerians revolve on a people driven Legislature that would not massage the back of the Executive, but enact enabling laws that will not only regulate and control the excesses of the Executive, but emancipate the masses from the vicious cycle of poverty and insecurity. Excerpts :

What do you think the lawmakers of the 9th National Assembly should embark upon, considering the performance of the lawmakers of the 8th National Assembly ?

The 8th National Assembly’s performance was hostile and antagonistic considering its relationship with the Executive, this later affected the people negatively and harshly.

When bills are passed into law, there must be corresponding enabling empowerment programmes and projects on it, for the law to have impact on the society.

To an average Nigerian, the last four years of the National Assembly, has been more of orchestrated ceremony of wealth, rather than that of enabling the people that gave them the mandate to serve.

It had been more of celebrating trivialities, that have ever failed to articulate development.

It is unfortunate that Nigeria is yet to address several issues. For example, we failed to learn from the experience of secession by placing emphasis on the problem of the fall in the international price of oil as it affected the budget, rather than looking inward on the country’s style of management and the structure of the payment of salaries and allowances which tilts favorably more to the side of the political class, while the civil and public servants continue to groan and grumble with the given token because of the corresponding low purchasing power of the Naira.

A suggestion to review the wages of the political class downward, to cushion the effect of the recession, was met the deaf ears of government.

Despite the heavy weight of the salaries and allowances of the political class, corruption and institutional indiscipline continued unabated, rendering the efforts of the Federal Government in this direction ineffective, specifically for Nigerians to turn a new leaf.

The aspect of plea bargaining for the big wigs and no deterrence record for the offenders had made the exercise to become a laughing stock, to the favor of the opposition that eventually rose from their ‘’dead’’ state to compete and win in a number of states and to pose a major threat to the’ almighty’ Federal Government during elections.

If all these issues are not addressed, Nigerians would not yet be happy, in celebrating the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly.

Characteristically, on record of history there had always been downward profile of performances on goodness and rising profile of moral decadence from one session to the other as the players exchange batons from one dispensation to the other.

From the look of things, although the mistake of the past whereby the All Progressives Congress(APC) government was not cohesive enough for the leadership of the National Assembly, to favor the Executive is still lingering.

Now that they are struggling to have their way, the fear must be on the effectiveness in serving the people, rather than rubbing the back of the Executive.

The expectations of the people generally, at home and abroad is that objectivity should be the axis of operation, based on global best practices that is incorruptible Judiciary, people driven legislature on the issue of their welfare through enacting enabling laws that will not only regulate and control the excesses of the Executive, but directed purposely to emancipate the cause of the masses on the issues of their welfare and well being.

The Executive, on their harnessing power for resources, is expected to serve the people sincerely through transparency and accountability to promote inclusive governance through the principle of equity.

If the APC government is to be sincere then, no member is expected to run foul of these goals because change of government is expected to address areas of heresies, weaknesses and failures of the outgoing dispensation, which visibly was responsible for the failure to effectively and completely achieve anything reasonable on the subject matter of zero tolerance to corruption and institutional discipline.

Irrespective of still controlling power, the arms and tiers of government which the ruling members of the ruling party are the occupants, now need to unite to achieve these fundamental aspects of heresies which happen to be the bane of our democratic disposition for worthwhile development.

The signing into law of the N30,000 new national minimum wage by President Muhammadu Buhari was received with joy by all Nigerians, especially workers and their dependents. Even though workers are not too comfortable with the consensus method of picking leaders of their unions.

The leaders who emerged via consensus and the 36 state Governors would in the coming weeks,to a great extent, determine how long this joy will last.

In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that Nigerian workers think of only themselves at the detriment of retirees and other Nigerians. Excerpts :

Do you think workers in the states of the federation have any cause to rejoice over the signing into law of the N30,000 new national minimum wage by President Buhari ?

Generally workers are expected to celebrate the so called N30,000 new national minimum wage in the preciseness of unsustainable economy with poor growth rate, that has no impact on the general lives of the people.

Workers are expected to be holistic, fighting for the cause of the welfare of the people and the structural effects of our democracy, that is yet to be achieved.

Injustice and inequality, marginalization and equity challenges are supposed to be in place before Nigeria and its states can have peace and development that may be sustainable and beneficial to all.

I would have expected that the workers’ unions fight the cause of the retirees and the issue of unpaid salary arrears, before vigorously embarking the satiation for the increase in the minimum wage.

This is because fighting for an holistic cause is expected to be step wise and developmental, which implies that we expect that no state government should be able to stay in power without been confronted every week with the workers’ agitation on these issues; to force them to reason that it was only through the peoples’ mandate in democracy that they had been able to get into the juicy positions of power.

Unfortunately, Nigerian workers became selfish, limiting themselves to the cause of those people in service only, at least ensuring that all states comply rationally with the old minimum wage would have made a good level playing ground to fight for the increase.

State Governors under our democratic dispensation have only succeeded in impoverishing the people, most especially their children-graduates-majority of whom are made to roam the streets aimlessly thereby becoming nuisances.

 Banditry, killings, kidnapping, armed robbery and violence now characterize daily living in different parts of Nigeria.

The feeble response by government has further aggravated the almost helpless situation.

The impression Nigerians have, is that the present administration does not have the know how to restore normalcy.

In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke says Nigerians no longer trust their leaders who neither transparent nor accountable, which has resulted in the clamour for secession. Excerpts :

Banditry, killings, kidnapping, armed robbery and violence are the signposts of living in Nigeria, what do you think is the way out ?

 Naturally, in a system of mankind, poverty takes the most  percentage of what can fuel crisis and violence.

This is why the major challenges to be managed by government, revolve on the provision of basic amenities and  functional infrastructure. As regards this, successive governments have failed.

For example the Boko Haram issue would have been a thing of the past, if not for the accumulated destitution among  most of the youth in the Northern part of the country.

The same fundamental enabling environment  for violence and impatience cuts across all states of the federation, with varying degrees of poverty, gaining prominence.

Secondly, since the inception of democracy, we  have been running governments that have been insensitive to the peoples' plight, contrary to the dictates of  section 16 of  the 1999 amended constitution, which harps on the responsibilities of government to the welfare of Nigerians.

Apart from this, our political management has assumed an extreme dimension of ethnic and tribal coloration, where nepotism is the basis for getting jobs and contracts.

When government fails to manage the issue of corruption effectively, the wealth of the land goes into the hands of the privileged few in positions of power.

Unfortunately, the mitigation measure on ground, rests with our security agencies, which are being weighed down by lack of motivation.

Furthermore, capacity building in the areas of training with modern equipment is equally lacking, which would have enabled them to stem the ugly tide of insecurity.

 The world standard of work ratio of all the security agencies to the population, they are supposed to serve, is extremely low.

This is why the clamor for state police may hold water, although with reservations.

Are we civilized enough to the level of upholding professional ethics in this respect ?

Certainly, the answer is no, because all tiers of government in Nigeria are still vindictive on the opposition, hence the security agencies may be manipulated for selfish purposes by any government in power. We need to work on this area of civility challenge.

Dearth of adequate personnel and professional training requirements, need to be addressed with utmost urgency to avoid wasting the  lives of the few that are ready to stop further bloodshed that would have been found to be highly unwarranted.

Running an inclusive government, rather than the winner takes all syndrome, will not only promote amity and memorandum of understanding, between the President and the governments at the state and local levels, but will also allow for timely intervention to quell riots or any acts of violence.

Nigeria is  presently enjoying, a graveyard peace.

The people do not trust their leaders who neither transparent nor accountable, this has caused a lot of disaffection to the point of hiding under restructuring motives to achieve secessionist agenda.

Most of the regions are waiting for Nnamdi Kanu to achieve his aim, for others to say '' to thy tents Oh Israel''.

 With the foregoing as the situation on ground, Nigerians should naturally expect pockets of killings and anti-societal acts inimical to any reasonable development.

However, making the country ungovernable for the government in power, is never a solution, but an act of retrogression, that all Nigerians must condemn.

Nigeria ought to learn from the civilized way the issue of BREXIT is being handled.

Dialogue is the best option to adopt to further the peaceful co-existence that still keeps the country together.

The service chiefs and the Professors of conflict resolution, would continue to be indicted for incompetence and lack of patriotism, if the the President could not be rightly advised to do the needful, with all sincerity of purpose.

What is government doing with the reported $1 Billion it collected for the purchase of arms and equipment for the military ?

What are the security agencies doing with the reported N 350 million worth of arms and ammunition intercepted at the nations' borders ?

We must know fully well that a cracked wall, would ever harbour reptiles, to the detriment of the people in the house.

 Inter-religious and ethnic  disaffection been promoted by the President Muhammadu Buhari led government must stop, because government needs the support of all Nigerians.

The Nigerian Publishers Association(NPA) has raised the alarm over the unabating activities of book pirates in Nigeria.

The NPA made its position known through its Executive Secretary,Mr. Emmanuel Abimbola.

‘’Book piracy is a major problem in Nigeria. Piracy is on the increase, these pirates print abroad and the quality of their work is alarming. We as an association are working with the Nigeria Copyright Commission, to reduce it to the barest minimum. These pirates are not our members, they come from outside. We embark on anti-piracy campaigns to alert the public on the activities of book pirates’’, Mr. Abimbola dislcosed.

Nigerians will on Saturday go to their various polling units to vote for candidates of their choice in the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.

Although the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) and the security agencies have assured Nigerians that the elections would be free, fair, credible, devoid of violence and killings, as was the case in the Presidential and National Assembly elections, the electorate are taking this assurance with a pinch of salt, just as they rest their hopes on God.

In this interview with Federationews2day, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof, Sabitu Olagoke appeals to INEC and the security agencies not to subvert the electoral process, while asserting that voters should be given the free will to vote for candidates of their choice without regard to any overbearing influence. Excerpts :

What are your words to the electorate as they prepare to vote for candidates of their choice in the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections  on Saturday ?

Firstly, let's talk about the lessons that have been learnt from the outcome of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, which serves as a warning to the politicians in general and those elected into various offices to serve, that performance matters most, most especially in the area of service to humanity, which places emphasis on the electorate and the environment.

The failure to recognize this fact and meditate on it, was majorly responsible for the fall of some erstwhile political giants and their political parties at the polls. For example, after eight years in office, some state Governors fell by the way side, in their bid to get to the Senate. Those who did not fall, have been seen to be unpopular among the people.

This answers the questions that disturbs the mind, on their questionable success.

For the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, two episodes will play out, some will be voted for, by virtue of their credentials of credibility, even when the party is not liked and some will be voted for through party leanings, even when the substance of credibility is lacking in the candidates. Whatever way it occurs, Nigerians must be very careful not to lose their heads out of unnecessary passion.

So, we must not turn the situation into that of violence, because according to Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar(rtd) Nigerians must embrace peace.

It should be noted that none of the politicians, the electorate will vote for, including their children would be affected, if the unexpected happens; rather the masses who constitute the majority of the electorate, would kill themselves, without any hope for compensation.

Nigeria must not play the fool of the tower of Babel, which was built with rigour and vigour, but got destroyed without the completion of the project, due to skirmishes, a fall out of disorganized information system and communication lag.

The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) must not be bought over for posterity sake, while the commission must retain its role as a credible umpire.

The issue of logistics and functionality of the Smart Card Readers(SCR)ought to have been resolved before the day of election, which is March 9, 2019.

The Ad Hoc staff hired by INEC must not be late in reporting to the various polling units and they must not be compromised.

In the case of the Observers, local and international, on ground for the election, Nigerians should take care not to wash their dirty linens in the open glare of the international community.

For the security agents who will protect the electorate, INEC staff and Ad Hoc staff, they must display a high level of maturity and professionalism.

They must be able to disarm trouble makers without the use of firearms. They must be able to provide adequate security at the various polling units, while also ensuring the safety of electoral materials and the offices of INEC.

Politicians have continually embarrassed their followers and supporters through the buying and selling of votes.

The implication of this ugly practice, is that our children may now imbibe pilfering as a culture, while also embracing examination malpractice as a way of life. 

We must not forget that the mirror image of the society, which we are bastardizing through ungodly acts is a fall out of our attitudinal challenges, which is already having a direct effect on the psyche of the youth !

Is it not paradoxically funny that the political scientists continue to remain as fathers of politics in the Ivory Towers, even though they have failed to produce exceptional politicians for the society.

This is a direct challenge to the functionality of our educational status.

Above all, voters must not be harassed, intimidate, threatened or misled into voting against their conscience.

What should be of paramount importance to Nigerians today, is credible leadership and good governance, which can only emerge through voting according to the dictates of the voters' conscience and the fact that the votes must count.

My appeal therefore to Nigerians, is to give peace a chance, so that we can turn our various communities into environments of peace, where justice, equity peace and development shall be paramount in the minds of the emerging leaders for the states, whose activities in government shall be people oriented.

Nigerians woke up on Monday morning to receive the news that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu had declared President Muhammadu Buhari  the candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC)the winner of Nigeria's  presidential election, a few minutes to 4.00 AM, while they were still in bed.

The re-election of President Buhari is purely divine, because according to our yearly predictions from Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, it was revealed that the party and some of its big names would fall by the wayside, despite the efforts they might put up to save their faces, but President Buhari would be re-elected against all odds, the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and other retired Generals factors notwithstanding.

President Julius Bio of Sierra Leone  has declared that those found guilty of rape and defilement of minors would  be jailed for life.

"With immediate effect, sexual penetration of minors is punishable by life imprisonment."

The United States stands by the millions of Congolese voters who went to the polls across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on December 30 to participate in presidential, legislative, and provincial assembly elections. Since independence in 1960, the DRC has never experienced a peaceful, democratic transfer of power. The December 30 election was therefore one of the most important elections in DRC history.

The United States was deeply concerned by the DRC’s National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) decision to deny accreditation to several international election observers and media representatives. We also noted that confusion on election day over the location of polling stations, the posting of voter lists, the late delivery of some election materials, and CENI's unfortunate decision to cancel elections in Beni and Butembo in eastern DRC disenfranchised voters. Nevertheless, despite these challenges, millions of Congolese citizens turned out peacefully across DRC on election day to cast their ballots and make their voices heard. ‎CENI must now ensure that these voices and votes are respected.

As the Congolese people, the region, and the world await patiently for the results of these elections, the internet must be restored and the media allowed to report freely. We strongly urge the CENI to ensure that votes are counted in a transparent and open manner, with observers present, and that the results reported by CENI are accurate and correspond to results announced at each of DRC's 75,000 polling stations. We support the African Union Election Observation Mission to DRC’s expectation, expressed on January 2, that the announced results align with votes cast by the Congolese people. As official results are tabulated and reported, we continue to urge DRC government officials, leaders of the DRC security forces, opposition party leaders, civil society representatives, and stakeholders from all sides to respect the law and reject violence.

There are moments in every nation’s history when individuals and political leaders step forward and do the right thing. This is one of those moments for the DRC. Those who enable a peaceful, democratic transfer of power out of respect for DRC’s constitution and the results of this election will be hailed, while those responsible for undermining democratic institutions and processes, threatening the peace, security, or stability of DRC or benefiting from corruption ‎will be held accountable. Those who undermine the democratic process, threaten the peace, security or stability of the DRC, or benefit from corruption may find themselves not welcome in the United States and cut off from the U.S. financial system.

On December 30, millions of Congolese went peacefully to the polls. Now is the time for CENI to affirm that these votes were not cast in vain by ensuring the accurate reporting of election results.

United States Department of State Washington DC

The National Bureau of Statistics has disclosed that 20.9 million Nigerians are unemployed. Indeed, unemployment is the major discussion among Nigerians.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari has opined that the figure reeled out by the NBS, is a reflection that his administration is making progress in governance.

Nigerians are shell shocked by the President's remarks and the fact that rice farmers have contributed about N1.7 Billion for the President's re-election, even though rice as a foodstuff has gone beyond the reach of the common man.

In this interview with People, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke says that the misinformation of the Federal Government's paid agents gives it the impressions that it has  fulfilled its promises. Excerpts :

The National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) has stated that 20.9 million Nigerians are jobless, what is your reaction to this figure ?

The Federal Government is only focusing on the 30 areas it has made progress without taking into consideration the impact level on the people. And because most of our leaders  depend solely on the information of their paid agents, such as the Ministers, Commissioners, Governors and retinue of Personal Assistants, they are rather misled into believing that the yearnings of Nigerians have been met.

The best way for self assessment on governance is to have direct pulse of the nation by physically going to some of the market places to see the reality of things.

When the Queen of England visited, during ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo's tenure, she refused to be locked  in the nation's luxuries, but told the President to take her round some of the market places. After going round the Queen told the President, that he should take the issue of poverty alleviation serious, as she stated that she observed  suffering on the faces of the people.

This is a nation where  the unemployment rate has jumped from 14.2 per cent in 2016 to 23.4 per cent in 2018 and 20. 9 million Nigerians has been declared  as the figure of unemployed Nigerians in 2018, while the record of those who are underemployed has made the figure to rise to 40 per cent of the total population.

Let us remember that the spate of killings have made nonsense of more than 1040 schools, with between 400,000 and 500,000 students affected.

What about the increasing number of  Nigerian Children, who are out of school, in 2010 it was 10.5 million and presently it is 13.9 million.

The President must believe less in the paid agents and ensure he uses SWOT analysis to restrategise in order that his desire for good governance, that would be beneficial to all , most especially those who gave him the mandate to rule, are met.

The SWOT analysis on the Nigerian situation reveal our areas of strength and opportunities in the abundance of endowed resources, natural and human to be in abundance.

Our areas of weaknesses duel more on competence for the desired astute management and classical administration to operationalize  functional Democracy based on justice and equity for peace and development to reign.

Our areas of threats are on security issues that bothers on conflict management, as well as the fifth column role in government and the state apparatus making  progress too difficult to come by.

Mr. President, therefore, needs to realize that his immediate challenge is on his ability to identify the true elements in his cabinet and government, that is, he must motivate  the prime movers not to lose them into another party.

He must build the capacity of the lackadaisical, to be able to contribute meaningfully to government's business of building the nation while the catalytic elements, that is the rebellious ones must be managed with maturity and transformed into useful elements for the party and government.

No government with in-house problems and inconsiderate opposition can stand the test of time.

To avoid driving people to an hopeless state of despair, there is need for Mr. President to restrategize into visionary leadership that would be proactive in taking decisions to fix things, purposeful leadership that would be directional in operation and sacrificial to make things work.

My candid advice to the others in the All Progressives Congress(APC) is for them to imbibe the essence of togetherness in sharing visions  for government to be able to deliver beneficial services to the people, who are now more well informed in the spirit of globalization.

Above all, the fear of the potential of the opposition to damage and remove must be the beginning of wisdom, to mend fences within and creditably deliver the expectations of the People of Nigeria.

Medical Stores Department(MSD) in Tanzania is set to commence the  delivery of medical services and drugs to remote parts of the country through drones.

Thsi disclosure was made byt the MSD Director, Laurean Bwanakunu, in a chat with journlaists.

“We will soon announce tender for the company that will enter into agreement with MSD to supply the drones''.

A community  in Sierra Leone is  hopeful  that a court ruling which ordered an international palm oil company to return a big block of land to its owners  would be a source of empowerment for them to retake control of their land and resources.

In the course of the case the court discovered that the land in Port Loko district, northern Sierra Leone, was leased to a Singapore-based palm oil company, Siva Group, in 2011, but  for three years it failed to fulfill its rent obligations to  landowners.

In its judgment the court ordered the return of the 41,500 hectares (103,000 acres)to the community and a imposed  $250,000 fine.

 Lawyers for the case disclosed that this was the first time in the  history of Sierra Leone that a community would  win back land leased to a foreign company.

Helpless Nigerians have raised the alarm over the continuous implementation of the policy of casualization by both the public and private sectors.

They lament that the companies  are  both local and foreign  owned, while stressing that the high unemployment rate was the source of inspiration of these companies.

The companies hide under the guise of outsourcing the recruitment of casual workers to promote slave labour.

Recently aggrieved casual workers of a biscuit and poultry products factory located in Ibadan, Nigeria protested at their respective places of work to bring to the notice of the public their harrowing  experiences.

One of the  workers at the biscuit factory speaking incognito, painted a pitiable picture.

''In this factory we work on three shifts of eight hours, there is no break. And the pay is so meagre. The management treats workers like slaves, we are not allowed to take our phones into the factory, we are not allowed to eat, if a worker has an accident while working such a workers would be queried. For the eight hours work, a worker must not sleep. As at now, three workers, who had accidents while working in September are still coming to work with their injuries. And our salaries are between N14,000, N16,000 and N17,000 per month. For me my salary is below N12,000'', the mpoverished worker lamented.

Another worker at the poultry products factory disclosed that for several years ,casual workers have been shortchanged in the name of outsourcing the recruitment of casual workers.

A man at the factory, who simply gave his name as Emmanuel  disclosed that the contract of the  company in charge of the casual workers had been terminated, while stressing that the workers wages had been increased by N300.00.

In his reaction to the development , the Natonal coordnator of the All Workers Convergence(AWC)Comrade Andrew Emelieze casualization was also the trend in government owned establishments.

''It is unfortunate that Nigerians workers have been maltreated all these years, this has been the case all the while, it did not start today. The issue of casualization does not only affect the private sector, but also the public sector.''

'' The postion of AWC is that workers should continuously protest their pilght and other workers should also protest in solldarity to end slave labour and slave wages. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Prodcutivity should initiate policies to save  Nigerian workers from casualization.''

At the University of Ibadan, non academic staff lament that management staff of the institution, compel junior workers to work after the official closing hours of 4.00pm for personal purposes without extra wages.

In his reaction, the branch Chairman of the Non Academic Staff Union(NSAU)Comrade Oluwasegun Arojo maintained that it was unethical for any staff of the university to subject to such an inhuman treatment.

''I think it is unethical for any staff to compel his surbordinate to work etra hours with compesation. The  extant rule permits that when you do extra work, you must receive  over-time pay. If at all it is happening it is barbaric. And those involved should desist from such act  forthwith. It could lead to crisis. Anyone affected should report to the union leaders in the university'', Comrade Arojo stated.

Nigerian workers are increasingly giving up hopes of owning their own homes, as issues of unpaid salary arrears, unfavourable working environment and conditions trail the present administration up till the last lap of its four year tenure.

 Mot workers have for long contended with the exploitative tendencies of house owners, who increase rents randomly.

This in in addition  to the soaring costs of  land and  building materials.

For the National Vice President Western zone of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities(SSANU)Comrade Alfred Jimoh, workers have taken their destinies in their own hands, when it  comes to the fundamental issue of housing.

''The future of workers are in their own hands, as far as owning houses is concerned. I have not seen any meaningful assistance from the management of the University of Ibadan and the Federal Government in particular. The only effort I know, is a revolving housing  loan, but I don't know how effective it is. Workers are making efforts to own their houses with the assistance of cooperative societies and their unions. SSANU acquired some plots of land and distributed same to its members. Also, cooperative societies in the University of Ibadan assist their  members with loans and deduct this from their salaries, As far as Government and our employers are concerned nobody cares'', Comrade Jimoh lamented.

In the views of Comrade Oluwasegun Arojo, the Chairman of the Non Academic Staff Union(NASU), University of Ibadan branch, the beauty of working is to retire into one' own home, with the assistance of government.

''Our members should be able to afford to build their own houses. Let government provide the loans  and direct workers to pay instalmentally, not that when we retire, shelter becomes a problem'', Comrade Arojo stated.

However, the All Workers Convergence(AWC) frowns at the National Housing Fund(NHF), just as it describes fund as a method government introduced to evade its responsibilities.

This position  of the AWC was made  known by its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze in a chat with Federationews2day.

''The National Housing Fund is an imposition by the Federal Government of Nigeria, in a bid to run away from its responsibilities to provide either affordable housing scheme for Nigerian workers or giving out housing loans  to the workers. The NHF is used  to scoop cash from the already impoverished workers because the  deductions are mandatory and almost non-refundable until probably after retirement''.

''The interests on the deductions collected from the workers is equally ridiculous. More painful is the fact that the process of obtaining the housing loans are very cumbersome and workers are usually frustrated, making them resign to fate and allow the deductions to continue  without attempting to take the loans''.

'For workers, generally, we feel cheated and because we don't have options, and because we  are not well protected by our industrial unions, we at most time resign to fate. In fact the NHF has never given account of the contributions  and balance of workers on a monthly basis. 

''And if no worker  in the scheme has collected loans within the last 10 and 15 years, and the NHF is not giving reasons why this is so, it means the National Housing Fund is a fraud'', Comrade Emelieze concluded.

Three Journalists were injured when  an explosion disrupted last Saturday's  ZANU-PF  political rally at the Bulawayo White Stadium in Zimbabwe.

The political rally had in attendance President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was there to campaign, ahead of the July 30 general elections in the country.

The three Journalists who were injured work for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation(ZBC), they are Cameraman Coster Thole, Technician Chipo Five, and Producer Forget Tsododo.

Although President Mnangagwa escaped unhurt, the source of the blast has not yet been uncovered, while security agencies step up investigations

The recently suspended nationwide strike action embarked upon by health workers in Nigeria has exposed how the Federal Government has destroyed the essence of trade unionism in the country.

Some days before the strike was called off, the management of the University College Hospital(UCH) Ibadan, had issued a circular directing all workers in the hospital to resume within 48 hours or risk dismissal. This, it was gathered, was with the knowledge of some union leaders in the hospital.

Indeed, workers in Nigeria have for long called to question the sincerity of their union leaders, in representing their interests, transparently.

Not long ago, Non Academic Staff in Nigerian universities suspended their industrial action.

According to the Chairman of the University of Ibadan, branch of the Non Academic Staff of Union, Comrade Oluwasegun Arojo, although the government threatened to invoke the ''No work No Pay rule'', the workers were paid for the duration they were on strike.

''Government was threatening not to pay us, but after the whole threats, the matter was resolved amicably. And government decided to pay our members for all the period that they downed tools. Even though our major demands have not been met, we hope that the government will change its style of leadership and do the needful'', Comrade Arojo disclosed.

Interestingly, a circular issued by the Head of Hospital Administration, Dr. J.O Amedu, for the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, announced that all salaries would not be paid to those who embarked on strike. The circular referred to the provision of section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act CAP 18, Law of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and  International Labour Organization's principles concerning employers' rights during strike in essential services, to justify its action.

However, the National Coordinator of the All Workers Convergence(AWC)Comrade Andrew Emelieze opines that workers have the right to go on strike.

''To the issue of the pronouncement that workers' salaries, who went on strike would not be paid for the period that the strike lasted, this is an aberration, more of an abnormality, especially when the labour act allows for legitimate strikes been a tool for negotiation. Workers have the right to get paid. Even in line with the International Labour Organization's position, strikes are legitimate, it is a legal tool to make demands and encourage productivity''.

''Hence, as such workers pay within that period is guaranteed. More so, government was the cause of the strike and should be held accountable for all the shortcomings concerning the lock out, whereby government refused to meet the demands of the workers, thereby making it impossible for them to be at work. On this note, government must pay their salaries or else government should be ready for another dispute'', Comrade Emelieze concluded.

Interestingly, workers of the UCH, Ibadan are yet to be paid for April and May, according to the  Chairman Joint Health Sector Union(JOHESU) of the hospital, Comrade Olusegun  Sotiloye.

''The circular issued by the UCH management was not enough to scare us, right now we are yet to receive the April and May salaries, while we wait patiently for the intervention of the Senate President, as he promised. Workers should remain calm, while we wait for the dividends of the strike'',.Comrade Sotiloye stated.

Sadly, health workers in Oyo state insist that thy are at a lose, over why the strike was suspended. 

''We have a number of demands that are yet to be met by the Oyo state Government, and yet we are back to work'', they lamented.

They also argue that their union leaders have been compromised by the state  government, that was why there has not been an headway in the agitation for their demands to be met.

''The routine is becoming monotonous, our leaders will call us out on strike and after sometime, such strikes are suspended, without meeting our demands. If Nigerians are saying our leaders have been compromised, they are correct'', the workers speaking incognito revealed.

However, an attempt to get the response of the JOHESU Chairperson, Comrade R.A. Afonja met a brick wall at the unions secretariat at Yemetu, in Ibadan, as the Chairperson's response was '' is it by force to speak, please excuse us''.

The coming days and weeks, would only serve to outline how the some officials of the present administration and union leaders in the country have systematically destroyed trade unionism and hope for an improved and efficient workforce. 

The All Workers Coverngence(AWC) has declared that the Federal Government does not have any intention to increase workers' salaries.

The AWC made this declaration through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze, in a chat with People.

''It is a delibrate attempt to dash the hopes of the Nigerian workers, who have been underpaid in the past years. And so it is as if, it is also a delibrate attempt to deceive the Nigerian workers, having continually promised since last year, ever since the committee was set up and the promise that the new minimmage will see the light of the day in Septmber, for government to now say it is no longer possible, confirms the fact that government is deceiving the workers and it is the most irresponsible thing to do''.

''In the light of this, the AWC, is calling for immediate radical action from the Trade Union Congress(TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC),  the two unions should  as a matter of urgency, confront this pronouncement with a nationwide strike action, as this remains the only therapy that can help workers in the struggle for a new antional minimum wage '', Comrade Emelieze stated.

The Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Nigige, has a few days ago, disclosed that by September, the committee on new antional minimum wage would be submitting its report, and as a result the implementation would be moved forward.

Training and Retraining of Workers : Oyo Govt Has not Done Enough for us-Chairman JNC

Similarly, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress(TUC), who also doubles as the Chairman Joint Negotiation Council(JNC) in the state, Comrade Emmanuel Ogundiran, has disclosed that the state government has not done enough in the area of training and retraining of the state's workforce in the last seven years.

''Training and retraining that could have improved our productivity  has been embargoed. This is not good for the workers. However, the state government is trying its best in the payment of salaries, we are only been owed for May, as at now, the government has the will to pay. But in the area of facelift to our work environment, government started well, the Governor's office is a sight to behold, but same cannot be said of our offices'', Comrade Ogundiran noted.

Senior staff of Nigerian universities have expressed reservations over the release of N1.3 billion out of N8 billion the Federal Government agreed to pay as earned allowances to only the academic staff of the University of Ilorin and the University of Nigeria Nsukka(UNN).

The position of the university workers was made known by the Vice President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities(SSANU)Western zone, Comrade Alfred Jimoh.

''The information of the release of the allowances to the academic staff of the University of Ilorin and University of Nigeria Nsukka, has got to us. The truth of the matter, is that we have not heared anything about the release of non academic staff allowances. N1.3 billion was released to ASUU, out of N8 billion. The Federal Government has taken care of ASUU and left us in the cold. Government ought to be sensitive enough to take care of us and not the ancillary staff'', Comrade Jimoh concluded.

In the same vein, Chairman of the Non Academic Staff Union(NASU)University of Ibadan branch, Comrade Oluwasegun Arojo has expressed hopes that government would soon release the allowances of the non academic staff.

''We are hopeful that anytime soon, our portion will be released, how soon the money will be released, nobody can tell. We are patiently waiting for government to do the needful'', Comrade Arojo stated.

A systematic dismembering of the  manpower structure in Nigerian universities has began in earnest.

The plot engineered by some politically exposed Academics, according to investigations is designed to ease out all senior and junior staff in the universities, for the benefit of the academic staff.

If the plot sails through, the affected staff will then become the financial responsibilities of the Federal Ministry of Education.

Carefully contrived by a number of academic staff presently enjoying political patronage from high ranking political office holders, the plot will ensure that only lecturers are on the payroll of the universities.

Well informed sources, insist that senior and junior staff are to be redeployed  to the Federal Ministry of Education, while a few of them would be seconded   to the universities.

This according to the sources would pave the way for a special salary scale for the  academic staff, while salaries of the others would be determined by the government.

However, educationists warn that such a plot could destabilize the university system, just as they insisted that those behind the plot were only promoting their selfish interests.

They berated the President for engaging the services of professionals, who had already led government astray.

The Rwandan Government has  introduced Information and Communication Technology(ICT) education in schools in the country.

The policy ''smart class rooms" seeks  to incorporate ICT into various aspects of the country's education system and reform teaching and learning systems.

According to the Director General of Rwandan Education Board(REB),  Dr Irénée Ndayambaje, who made this known , recently, in  a training session for teachers on the use of ICT in schools in Kigali, the policy is also intended to  integrate technology in all education processes such as preparation, delivery of lessons, assessments, research among others.

He stressed that the  target is to have  1,500 schools equipped with smart classrooms. Presently, only 645 schools are equipped in the country.