A very interesting drama is playing out between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Christian Association of Nigeria. And it has all the potentials of a thriller; one that the tabloids can increase circulation by and make money from.
The story goes like this. Sometimes in September, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, Federal Minister of Finance addressed the media on why the government had to put on hold the granting of import duty waivers which was put in place by the last administration. He predicated the decision on wide spread abuse of the policy. In the process, he mentioned that some churches were among beneficiaries of the waivers through which certain importers are exempted from paying customs duty on items that would normally have attracted duties.
The Christian Association of Nigeria reacted on October 1 through National Secretary, Engr S. L.S. Salifu. Among other things, he was reported to have knocked the Minister for making unsubstantiated allegations against churches and then failing to reply his letter asking to be furnished with more information about the issue.
Apparently angered by the association’s attempt to impute untoward motives to the policy, the Minister, in a reply signed by his Special Assistant (Media), debunked the claim that he had not responded to their letter. While admitting that the reply was not prompt because the Minister was out of the country, he said a reply to his inquiry had indeed been sent.
The minister wrote: “…We were therefore shocked by your inaccurate and misleading public comments about the subject matter and the person of the Honourable Minister while efforts were on to process your request as directed...”
And in order to put the record straight, the Minister quoted what he described as the relevant portion of his statement at the media meeting as follows: “When we issue these tax incentives, what is the purpose? Are we achieving the purpose, or are we just giving up revenue? I was surprised. When you look at the list… I asked for the full list of all the waivers we’ve given from the Customs, FIRS, especially in those two areas. A lot of government departments are asking, a lot of state governments are asking for these waivers. Then some private sector parties, (you know). And even churches! Some people will say churches? Yes! Churches can get waivers but when you see the amount of money involved, you then ask, what is a church doing with such kind of money? A state government, I mean, somebody is organizing some game, and he gets a waiver to import 600 motor cars. What do you need 600 or 800 motors vehicles for? I mean, there is serious abuse in this area that has to be stopped! “
He pointed out that nowhere in his address to the press did he link the importation of 600 vehicles to any church saying that he “only expressed general reservation over inappropriate issuance of tax waivers to various levels of governments, agencies and non-corporates such as faith-based organizations – because of the massive loss of revenue involved, and the continued implication of this to our nation.”
The Minister then attached, “as a proof of his concern over the possible abuse to which they can be deployed,” two samples of such import waiver details, granted to a particular church, to show “the colossal amount involved, items imported and revenue implication to the nation.”
His conclusion: “Now that you have been adequately availed of facts of the matter, I have no doubt that as a man of God, you will take necessary measures to correct your misrepresentation of the Honourable Minister, especially in the eyes of your members – whom you said had inundated your office with requests for clarification on the subject matter as contained in your letter under reference.”
Saturday Sun, which is my source for most this, has been making a meal out of this developing story. In a front pager that was characteristically headlined, “HOLY SCAM…Obasanjo's church in N20 billion import waiver deals “, the newspaper three weeks ago, detailed some what it sub-headed as a N20billion Deal.
Identifying the beneficiary church involved as “one of the numerous by the Lagos/Ibadan highways which have created infamy for disrupting traffic flow and business activities in the nation at their functions”, the newspaper quoted from what it described as “a very valid and indisputable document obtained from a usually very reliable Presidency source” as follows:
That the beneficiary church “in 2006 got an import waiver of N9,831,109,309.00 through certificate number, BO/REV/12235/S.2/T.133 to import into Nigeria: construction materials; generators and vehicles. But the total value of the imports was N49,155,546,846.00”;
That “in 2007… through a memo number: BO/R10260/V111/161, the church was granted the extraordinary favour to import building/construction materials valued at N48,988,454,876.00 with a total waiver of N9,757,690.975.20. The two waivers total N19,588,800,284,20, while the bulk transactions amount to N98,144,347,130.20.”
Now, it must be stated that it is not unheard of for churches and registered charities to request for and be granted import waivers for goods such as medical equipment, educational materials and items for the needy donated to them from associates abroad. And if a case could be made for building materials, so be it. But the snag in this case, if Saturday Sun is to be believed, was ”that the said building materials were only a generic name used to bring in goods that should ordinarily have attracted huge tariffs.” The newspaper claimed “that some of the items purchased with the waiver include 300 cars - worth $6,923,000, 100 Jeeps (SUV) - worth $8,000,000, Video Equipment - worth $12,000,000.00, Plastic chair moulds - $769, Building materials, etc.”
The import of these – the Finance Minister’s letter to Engr Salifu and the public expose by the Sun – is that the ball would seem to have returned to Christian Association of Nigeria’s court. It now has a duty to get to the root of this matter and make its findings public, whatever that may be.
Interestingly the call to integrity in the church is not restricted to Nigeria. A similar scenario is playing out in the United States and next week we shall together examine what I see as this new move of God.
TO MY FRIEND, TUNDE
Olufemi Iyanda Omo-Baale, better known as Femi Ogunleye was the Public Relations Manager at Nigeria Airways at the time of this little tale. But this is not a piece about Omo-Baale who has since become the Baale of his Akinale, Ogun State community. He had facilitated a trip for yours sincerely to the United Kingdom and requested that I delivered a message to a certain friend of his.
Dutifully, I called up this friend of his and since he was out, left a message with his wife. On getting the message, this friend called me, wondering what I was doing in a hotel room and offered to come pick me up the following day, if it was alright by me. He did and that was how I met Stephen Babatunde Fagbenle, who you sure know simply as Tunde Fagbenle, now a syndicated columnist.
Tunde’s place, then at Tavistock Road, was in the late 70s and early 80s the alternate Nigeria House. It was a place many Nigerians found the succour, the general assistance that the Nigeria High Commission could not offer. His was that place where you could find eba, okro and cowleg at virtually any hour of the day.
We became friends and subsequently business partners, publishing together, Nigeria Banking Annual (incorporating Who’s who in Nigeria) and instituted the prestigious Nigeria Banker of the Year Award, among many other things.
Tunde does nothing by half! He is a full time husband, father, friend, club member, tennis player whatever! Whatever Tunde does, including being your friend, he does with all his heart. He and his wonderful wife, Buki, last year played parents to our dear son during his graduation at Richmond, (the American International University in London). He as usual did so with all his heart. He’s probably going to scold me for all of this, but I feel so good doing this. I once sent him a text in which I said that his life preaches more effective sermons than many fiery preachers do from their pulpits. He mildly rebuked me for it, but that about sums up my feeling about this wonderful man who turned 60 recently.
I could not be part of the celebration in London, and somehow never got to hear about the Nigerian “edition” until it was over and done with. Here then is my toast to a man with a heart of gold. God bless and keep you Tunde, and reveal himself to you in an even greater dimension in the years ahead.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
Tuesday, 20 November 2007
INTEGRITY CHECK FOR THE CHURCH
KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
E-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
A very interesting drama is playing out between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Christian Association of Nigeria. And it has all the potentials of a thriller; one that the tabloids can increase circulation by and make money from.
The story goes like this. Sometimes in September, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, Federal Minister of Finance addressed the media on why the government had to put on hold the granting of import duty waivers which was put in place by the last administration. He predicated the decision on wide spread abuse of the policy. In the process, he mentioned that some churches were among beneficiaries of the waivers through which certain importers are exempted from paying customs duty on items that would normally have attracted duties.
The Christian Association of Nigeria reacted on October 1 through National Secretary, Engr S. L.S. Salifu. Among other things, he was reported to have knocked the Minister for making unsubstantiated allegations against churches and then failing to reply his letter asking to be furnished with more information about the issue.
Apparently angered by the association’s attempt to impute untoward motives to the policy, the Minister, in a reply signed by his Special Assistant (Media), debunked the claim that he had not responded to their letter. While admitting that the reply was not prompt because the Minister was out of the country, he said a reply to his inquiry had indeed been sent.
The minister wrote: “…We were therefore shocked by your inaccurate and misleading public comments about the subject matter and the person of the Honourable Minister while efforts were on to process your request as directed...”
And in order to put the record straight, the Minister quoted what he described as the relevant portion of his statement at the media meeting as follows: “When we issue these tax incentives, what is the purpose? Are we achieving the purpose, or are we just giving up revenue? I was surprised. When you look at the list… I asked for the full list of all the waivers we’ve given from the Customs, FIRS, especially in those two areas. A lot of government departments are asking, a lot of state governments are asking for these waivers. Then some private sector parties, (you know). And even churches! Some people will say churches? Yes! Churches can get waivers but when you see the amount of money involved, you then ask, what is a church doing with such kind of money? A state government, I mean, somebody is organizing some game, and he gets a waiver to import 600 motor cars. What do you need 600 or 800 motors vehicles for? I mean, there is serious abuse in this area that has to be stopped! “
He pointed out that nowhere in his address to the press did he link the importation of 600 vehicles to any church saying that he “only expressed general reservation over inappropriate issuance of tax waivers to various levels of governments, agencies and non-corporates such as faith-based organizations – because of the massive loss of revenue involved, and the continued implication of this to our nation.”
The Minister then attached, “as a proof of his concern over the possible abuse to which they can be deployed,” two samples of such import waiver details, granted to a particular church, to show “the colossal amount involved, items imported and revenue implication to the nation.”
His conclusion: “Now that you have been adequately availed of facts of the matter, I have no doubt that as a man of God, you will take necessary measures to correct your misrepresentation of the Honourable Minister, especially in the eyes of your members – whom you said had inundated your office with requests for clarification on the subject matter as contained in your letter under reference.”
Saturday Sun, which is my source for most this, has been making a meal out of this developing story. In a front pager that was characteristically headlined, “HOLY SCAM…Obasanjo's church in N20 billion import waiver deals “, the newspaper three weeks ago, detailed some what it sub-headed as a N20billion Deal.
Identifying the beneficiary church involved as “one of the numerous by the Lagos/Ibadan highways which have created infamy for disrupting traffic flow and business activities in the nation at their functions”, the newspaper quoted from what it described as “a very valid and indisputable document obtained from a usually very reliable Presidency source” as follows:
That the beneficiary church “in 2006 got an import waiver of N9,831,109,309.00 through certificate number, BO/REV/12235/S.2/T.133 to import into Nigeria: construction materials; generators and vehicles. But the total value of the imports was N49,155,546,846.00”;
That “in 2007… through a memo number: BO/R10260/V111/161, the church was granted the extraordinary favour to import building/construction materials valued at N48,988,454,876.00 with a total waiver of N9,757,690.975.20. The two waivers total N19,588,800,284,20, while the bulk transactions amount to N98,144,347,130.20.”
Now, it must be stated that it is not unheard of for churches and registered charities to request for and be granted import waivers for goods such as medical equipment, educational materials and items for the needy donated to them from associates abroad. And if a case could be made for building materials, so be it. But the snag in this case, if Saturday Sun is to be believed, was ”that the said building materials were only a generic name used to bring in goods that should ordinarily have attracted huge tariffs.” The newspaper claimed “that some of the items purchased with the waiver include 300 cars - worth $6,923,000, 100 Jeeps (SUV) - worth $8,000,000, Video Equipment - worth $12,000,000.00, Plastic chair moulds - $769, Building materials, etc.”
The import of these – the Finance Minister’s letter to Engr Salifu and the public expose by the Sun – is that the ball would seem to have returned to Christian Association of Nigeria’s court. It now has a duty to get to the root of this matter and make its findings public, whatever that may be.
Interestingly the call to integrity in the church is not restricted to Nigeria. A similar scenario is playing out in the United States and next week we shall together examine what I see as this new move of God.
TO MY FRIEND, TUNDE
Olufemi Iyanda Omo-Baale, better known as Femi Ogunleye was the Public Relations Manager at Nigeria Airways at the time of this little tale. But this is not a piece about Omo-Baale who has since become the Baale of his Akinale, Ogun State community. He had facilitated a trip for yours sincerely to the United Kingdom and requested that I delivered a message to a certain friend of his.
Dutifully, I called up this friend of his and since he was out, left a message with his wife. On getting the message, this friend called me, wondering what I was doing in a hotel room and offered to come pick me up the following day, if it was alright by me. He did and that was how I met Stephen Babatunde Fagbenle, who you sure know simply as Tunde Fagbenle, now a syndicated columnist.
Tunde’s place, then at Tavistock Road, was in the late 70s and early 80s the alternate Nigeria House. It was a place many Nigerians found the succour, the general assistance that the Nigeria High Commission could not offer. His was that place where you could find eba, okro and cowleg at virtually any hour of the day.
We became friends and subsequently business partners, publishing together, Nigeria Banking Annual (incorporating Who’s who in Nigeria) and instituted the prestigious Nigeria Banker of the Year Award, among many other things.
Tunde does nothing by half! He is a full time husband, father, friend, club member, tennis player whatever! Whatever Tunde does, including being your friend, he does with all his heart. He and his wonderful wife, Buki, last year played parents to our dear son during his graduation at Richmond, (the American International University in London). He as usual did so with all his heart. He’s probably going to scold me for all of this, but I feel so good doing this. I once sent him a text in which I said that his life preaches more effective sermons than many fiery preachers do from their pulpits. He mildly rebuked me for it, but that about sums up my feeling about this wonderful man who turned 60 recently.
I could not be part of the celebration in London, and somehow never got to hear about the Nigerian “edition” until it was over and done with. Here then is my toast to a man with a heart of gold. God bless and keep you Tunde, and reveal himself to you in an even greater dimension in the years ahead.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
with Remi Akano
E-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
A very interesting drama is playing out between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Christian Association of Nigeria. And it has all the potentials of a thriller; one that the tabloids can increase circulation by and make money from.
The story goes like this. Sometimes in September, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, Federal Minister of Finance addressed the media on why the government had to put on hold the granting of import duty waivers which was put in place by the last administration. He predicated the decision on wide spread abuse of the policy. In the process, he mentioned that some churches were among beneficiaries of the waivers through which certain importers are exempted from paying customs duty on items that would normally have attracted duties.
The Christian Association of Nigeria reacted on October 1 through National Secretary, Engr S. L.S. Salifu. Among other things, he was reported to have knocked the Minister for making unsubstantiated allegations against churches and then failing to reply his letter asking to be furnished with more information about the issue.
Apparently angered by the association’s attempt to impute untoward motives to the policy, the Minister, in a reply signed by his Special Assistant (Media), debunked the claim that he had not responded to their letter. While admitting that the reply was not prompt because the Minister was out of the country, he said a reply to his inquiry had indeed been sent.
The minister wrote: “…We were therefore shocked by your inaccurate and misleading public comments about the subject matter and the person of the Honourable Minister while efforts were on to process your request as directed...”
And in order to put the record straight, the Minister quoted what he described as the relevant portion of his statement at the media meeting as follows: “When we issue these tax incentives, what is the purpose? Are we achieving the purpose, or are we just giving up revenue? I was surprised. When you look at the list… I asked for the full list of all the waivers we’ve given from the Customs, FIRS, especially in those two areas. A lot of government departments are asking, a lot of state governments are asking for these waivers. Then some private sector parties, (you know). And even churches! Some people will say churches? Yes! Churches can get waivers but when you see the amount of money involved, you then ask, what is a church doing with such kind of money? A state government, I mean, somebody is organizing some game, and he gets a waiver to import 600 motor cars. What do you need 600 or 800 motors vehicles for? I mean, there is serious abuse in this area that has to be stopped! “
He pointed out that nowhere in his address to the press did he link the importation of 600 vehicles to any church saying that he “only expressed general reservation over inappropriate issuance of tax waivers to various levels of governments, agencies and non-corporates such as faith-based organizations – because of the massive loss of revenue involved, and the continued implication of this to our nation.”
The Minister then attached, “as a proof of his concern over the possible abuse to which they can be deployed,” two samples of such import waiver details, granted to a particular church, to show “the colossal amount involved, items imported and revenue implication to the nation.”
His conclusion: “Now that you have been adequately availed of facts of the matter, I have no doubt that as a man of God, you will take necessary measures to correct your misrepresentation of the Honourable Minister, especially in the eyes of your members – whom you said had inundated your office with requests for clarification on the subject matter as contained in your letter under reference.”
Saturday Sun, which is my source for most this, has been making a meal out of this developing story. In a front pager that was characteristically headlined, “HOLY SCAM…Obasanjo's church in N20 billion import waiver deals “, the newspaper three weeks ago, detailed some what it sub-headed as a N20billion Deal.
Identifying the beneficiary church involved as “one of the numerous by the Lagos/Ibadan highways which have created infamy for disrupting traffic flow and business activities in the nation at their functions”, the newspaper quoted from what it described as “a very valid and indisputable document obtained from a usually very reliable Presidency source” as follows:
That the beneficiary church “in 2006 got an import waiver of N9,831,109,309.00 through certificate number, BO/REV/12235/S.2/T.133 to import into Nigeria: construction materials; generators and vehicles. But the total value of the imports was N49,155,546,846.00”;
That “in 2007… through a memo number: BO/R10260/V111/161, the church was granted the extraordinary favour to import building/construction materials valued at N48,988,454,876.00 with a total waiver of N9,757,690.975.20. The two waivers total N19,588,800,284,20, while the bulk transactions amount to N98,144,347,130.20.”
Now, it must be stated that it is not unheard of for churches and registered charities to request for and be granted import waivers for goods such as medical equipment, educational materials and items for the needy donated to them from associates abroad. And if a case could be made for building materials, so be it. But the snag in this case, if Saturday Sun is to be believed, was ”that the said building materials were only a generic name used to bring in goods that should ordinarily have attracted huge tariffs.” The newspaper claimed “that some of the items purchased with the waiver include 300 cars - worth $6,923,000, 100 Jeeps (SUV) - worth $8,000,000, Video Equipment - worth $12,000,000.00, Plastic chair moulds - $769, Building materials, etc.”
The import of these – the Finance Minister’s letter to Engr Salifu and the public expose by the Sun – is that the ball would seem to have returned to Christian Association of Nigeria’s court. It now has a duty to get to the root of this matter and make its findings public, whatever that may be.
Interestingly the call to integrity in the church is not restricted to Nigeria. A similar scenario is playing out in the United States and next week we shall together examine what I see as this new move of God.
TO MY FRIEND, TUNDE
Olufemi Iyanda Omo-Baale, better known as Femi Ogunleye was the Public Relations Manager at Nigeria Airways at the time of this little tale. But this is not a piece about Omo-Baale who has since become the Baale of his Akinale, Ogun State community. He had facilitated a trip for yours sincerely to the United Kingdom and requested that I delivered a message to a certain friend of his.
Dutifully, I called up this friend of his and since he was out, left a message with his wife. On getting the message, this friend called me, wondering what I was doing in a hotel room and offered to come pick me up the following day, if it was alright by me. He did and that was how I met Stephen Babatunde Fagbenle, who you sure know simply as Tunde Fagbenle, now a syndicated columnist.
Tunde’s place, then at Tavistock Road, was in the late 70s and early 80s the alternate Nigeria House. It was a place many Nigerians found the succour, the general assistance that the Nigeria High Commission could not offer. His was that place where you could find eba, okro and cowleg at virtually any hour of the day.
We became friends and subsequently business partners, publishing together, Nigeria Banking Annual (incorporating Who’s who in Nigeria) and instituted the prestigious Nigeria Banker of the Year Award, among many other things.
Tunde does nothing by half! He is a full time husband, father, friend, club member, tennis player whatever! Whatever Tunde does, including being your friend, he does with all his heart. He and his wonderful wife, Buki, last year played parents to our dear son during his graduation at Richmond, (the American International University in London). He as usual did so with all his heart. He’s probably going to scold me for all of this, but I feel so good doing this. I once sent him a text in which I said that his life preaches more effective sermons than many fiery preachers do from their pulpits. He mildly rebuked me for it, but that about sums up my feeling about this wonderful man who turned 60 recently.
I could not be part of the celebration in London, and somehow never got to hear about the Nigerian “edition” until it was over and done with. Here then is my toast to a man with a heart of gold. God bless and keep you Tunde, and reveal himself to you in an even greater dimension in the years ahead.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
CORPORATE NIGERIA & THE BOGEY OF SECULARISM
KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
E-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
There is this matter arising from the recent Real Men Luncheon of the Christian Men’s Network Nigeria that space constrained me from mentioning last week. It came up during the interactive session and it is the issue of event and project sponsorship by the big spending companies in the country. And it subdivided into two.
First was the aspect of certain unwholesome practices by officials of many of these companies. The contributor puts it somewhat like this: You have an event requiring corporate sponsorship to fly. You have done your homework by tailoring your proposal to suit the needs of a particular product or service. You present the proposal to the appropriate official and he finds it worth his while. Several meetings later, he finally says to you: “congratulations, your proposal has been accepted.’
Of course you are happy. You shake his or her hand and ask, ‘when are we signing the deal?’ Not so fast, he replies, and he begins to state his terms. First you will go back and repackage your N20 million proposal to read N30 million and second you will commit to paying the extra N10 million to him as his ‘cut’ from the deal. You are shocked and it shows in your countenance. He notices and reminds you the budget you presented has not been tampered with and that in any case that is standard practice in his department! He didn’t say it in too many words, but the picture is clear: do it my way or no deal.
The gentleman who painted the scenario then asked guest minister, Elder Felix Ohiwerei who had just delivered a powerful, thought-provoking message on the theme, “Wanted: Men of Character”: what should a man of character do in such a situation?
Now, Ohiwerei was eminently qualified to answer this question having served in marketing and product management positions on his way to the CEO’s position at Nigerian Breweries Plc, one of Nigeria’s biggest spending companies in sponsorships.
And he did not mince words. In my time, I never made any such demands. Once a proposal met the needs of the products in my charge, that was it! And on what to do in a situation like that, his admonition was something like this: you should simply say no. mean it and stick by it! Any fear that you might lose the sponsorship is unfounded; nobody can take away what God has given you. If the marketing official can rob you of it, then it was not meant to be yours in the first place. A child of God must be prayerful; if you are, don’t worry, you’ll get whatever is yours, even if some people have to be sacked or just taken out of your way by some other means.
The other aspect of the issue pertains to the attitude of brand and product managers to sponsorship of religious projects and events. To paraphrase the words of the gentleman who raised the issue: this people simply refuse to sponsor Christian programmes. Ohiwerei, who is of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, did not see why. In his opinion, if a proposal meets the needs of a product or brand; there is no reason why it should be rejected. It depends on the disposition of the helmsman, he said.
Time, unfortunately did not allow for a thorough discussion of this issue which incidentally, yours sincerely feels very strongly about. Let me share my experience in this respect.
A few years ago, I set out to formally launch a Christian magazine. The idea was to bring the magazine into the market with a bang, because I had felt rebuked for sneaking the publication into the market during the first attempt. So we packaged a launch programme. We were to have what we called “Joy in the Kingdom Luncheon” with as many men of God from across the denominations as possible invited. It was to be followed later by a more public “Joy in the Kingdom Concert”. I won’t bother you with the details. The Marketing Team was led by my dear departed friend, Tony Alenkhe, one time Promotions Manager for Sony Music, the company that made superstars like Shina Peters, Mike Okri, Wasiu Ayinde and many more. By this time, he was born again, and like me, eager to put all his knowledge and experience into the service of a kingdom project like KINGDOMPeople magazine.
Wherever he went with the team, the answer was the same. The response went like this: We are secular; you see and so cannot touch events like this! If we sponsor a Christian event, we will incur the wrath of Moslems! Counter arguments that they could simply balance things out by seeking Moslem projects to sponsor did not impress them. Some even encouraged us to divert our energy and creativity into something secular so they can do business with us! So, days rolled into weeks, weeks into months and months into years and finally the project was rested to await better times.
Meanwhile, under the garb of secularism, most of Corporate Nigeria has been busy spending a sizeable percentage of their sponsorship budget on programmes and projects that are, to put it plainly, simply satanic. They spend hundreds of millions of Naira every year bringing in musicians of doubtful morality; who sing songs that are value-corroding and whose costumes do nothing to encourage decency in the sartorial choices of our youth.
Most of the big spenders love to exploit seasons of religious festivities to sell their products and services but do not want to associate with the religions. The closest that Corporate Nigeria gets to doing positive things is through their budgets for corporate social responsibility (CSR) which is miniscule compared to what is spent under the guise of marketing, most of which warps up our values.
There is absolute need for a rethink. I believe this has to start at the Board level where policies are either made directly or endorsed by default. Christians in these places have to stand up for their faith. Well, I would expect Moslems to do the same. That can only lead to taking the resources away from the kingdom of darkness .More Marketing Naira has to be put into clearly edifying projects and, truth is, for such projects to be really effective they have to have spiritual grounding. This is not antithetic to meeting the promotional needs of any product. Enough creativity resides in the kingdom to ensure that the products don’t suffer. After all, haven’t things gone so awry, with creativity in such small supply that a soft drink range’s television commercial has to feature scantily-dressed “blondes” to be effective? Must every product, non-alcoholics inclusive, be sold on the wings of seduction? The fixation with sex seems to be partly responsible for the boycott of events and projects without it! That is why even malt drinks would not advertise in a Christian magazine.
Where are all the young men and women we see in churches and at other conferences? Aren’t some of them brand or product and marketing managers? How are they serving their faith if they let all of these things happen right under their noses? What about the script and copy writers; the directors and producers? Is it a case of keeping your faith away from the workplace? No, things cannot go on like this.
I am a practical person, however, and so, I believe the place to start is to begin to engage ourselves on these issues. Seminars and workshops may be necessary for Christians in these professions to prayerfully find solutions to this game of the evil one.
Recently, journalists held a workshop about evangelism and the media and I think that is wonderful. You see, many editors, for instance still have to be weaned from the orientation that issues of religion should be confined to Sundays (for Christians) and Friday (for Moslems). True religion is a way of life and therefore an everyday affair! The question, of course is who will bell the cat? The answer for now, as the saying goes, is blowing in the wind. But, not for too long, I assure you.
TIME TO GET UNDER THE WORD, MADAM
And so, Mrs Patricia Olubunmi Etteh finally ate humble pie. She resigned her office as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria. You may recall that we said in “Madam Pharaoh as Goddess Artemis” (October 28) that “… not even a hurried, peremptory adjournment of House plenary for more than a week can save this woman’s job. But as I say that I know that she and her handlers still have a lot of fight in them. So I can see them not giving up even at this stage.”
We were right on each score. She did lose her exalted position, but not without a fight! Even after a motion of impeachment against her and her deputy had been moved and seconded, Etteh still had to be persuaded, even pleaded with before she agreed to take the path of honour. I wish her well in the next phase of her political career, but whatever else she does or fails to do, she should please go back to church and sit under the word for a season. It is not for nothing that the bible said: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105). It will do her a world of good and who knows, she may yet bounce back.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
with Remi Akano
E-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
There is this matter arising from the recent Real Men Luncheon of the Christian Men’s Network Nigeria that space constrained me from mentioning last week. It came up during the interactive session and it is the issue of event and project sponsorship by the big spending companies in the country. And it subdivided into two.
First was the aspect of certain unwholesome practices by officials of many of these companies. The contributor puts it somewhat like this: You have an event requiring corporate sponsorship to fly. You have done your homework by tailoring your proposal to suit the needs of a particular product or service. You present the proposal to the appropriate official and he finds it worth his while. Several meetings later, he finally says to you: “congratulations, your proposal has been accepted.’
Of course you are happy. You shake his or her hand and ask, ‘when are we signing the deal?’ Not so fast, he replies, and he begins to state his terms. First you will go back and repackage your N20 million proposal to read N30 million and second you will commit to paying the extra N10 million to him as his ‘cut’ from the deal. You are shocked and it shows in your countenance. He notices and reminds you the budget you presented has not been tampered with and that in any case that is standard practice in his department! He didn’t say it in too many words, but the picture is clear: do it my way or no deal.
The gentleman who painted the scenario then asked guest minister, Elder Felix Ohiwerei who had just delivered a powerful, thought-provoking message on the theme, “Wanted: Men of Character”: what should a man of character do in such a situation?
Now, Ohiwerei was eminently qualified to answer this question having served in marketing and product management positions on his way to the CEO’s position at Nigerian Breweries Plc, one of Nigeria’s biggest spending companies in sponsorships.
And he did not mince words. In my time, I never made any such demands. Once a proposal met the needs of the products in my charge, that was it! And on what to do in a situation like that, his admonition was something like this: you should simply say no. mean it and stick by it! Any fear that you might lose the sponsorship is unfounded; nobody can take away what God has given you. If the marketing official can rob you of it, then it was not meant to be yours in the first place. A child of God must be prayerful; if you are, don’t worry, you’ll get whatever is yours, even if some people have to be sacked or just taken out of your way by some other means.
The other aspect of the issue pertains to the attitude of brand and product managers to sponsorship of religious projects and events. To paraphrase the words of the gentleman who raised the issue: this people simply refuse to sponsor Christian programmes. Ohiwerei, who is of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, did not see why. In his opinion, if a proposal meets the needs of a product or brand; there is no reason why it should be rejected. It depends on the disposition of the helmsman, he said.
Time, unfortunately did not allow for a thorough discussion of this issue which incidentally, yours sincerely feels very strongly about. Let me share my experience in this respect.
A few years ago, I set out to formally launch a Christian magazine. The idea was to bring the magazine into the market with a bang, because I had felt rebuked for sneaking the publication into the market during the first attempt. So we packaged a launch programme. We were to have what we called “Joy in the Kingdom Luncheon” with as many men of God from across the denominations as possible invited. It was to be followed later by a more public “Joy in the Kingdom Concert”. I won’t bother you with the details. The Marketing Team was led by my dear departed friend, Tony Alenkhe, one time Promotions Manager for Sony Music, the company that made superstars like Shina Peters, Mike Okri, Wasiu Ayinde and many more. By this time, he was born again, and like me, eager to put all his knowledge and experience into the service of a kingdom project like KINGDOMPeople magazine.
Wherever he went with the team, the answer was the same. The response went like this: We are secular; you see and so cannot touch events like this! If we sponsor a Christian event, we will incur the wrath of Moslems! Counter arguments that they could simply balance things out by seeking Moslem projects to sponsor did not impress them. Some even encouraged us to divert our energy and creativity into something secular so they can do business with us! So, days rolled into weeks, weeks into months and months into years and finally the project was rested to await better times.
Meanwhile, under the garb of secularism, most of Corporate Nigeria has been busy spending a sizeable percentage of their sponsorship budget on programmes and projects that are, to put it plainly, simply satanic. They spend hundreds of millions of Naira every year bringing in musicians of doubtful morality; who sing songs that are value-corroding and whose costumes do nothing to encourage decency in the sartorial choices of our youth.
Most of the big spenders love to exploit seasons of religious festivities to sell their products and services but do not want to associate with the religions. The closest that Corporate Nigeria gets to doing positive things is through their budgets for corporate social responsibility (CSR) which is miniscule compared to what is spent under the guise of marketing, most of which warps up our values.
There is absolute need for a rethink. I believe this has to start at the Board level where policies are either made directly or endorsed by default. Christians in these places have to stand up for their faith. Well, I would expect Moslems to do the same. That can only lead to taking the resources away from the kingdom of darkness .More Marketing Naira has to be put into clearly edifying projects and, truth is, for such projects to be really effective they have to have spiritual grounding. This is not antithetic to meeting the promotional needs of any product. Enough creativity resides in the kingdom to ensure that the products don’t suffer. After all, haven’t things gone so awry, with creativity in such small supply that a soft drink range’s television commercial has to feature scantily-dressed “blondes” to be effective? Must every product, non-alcoholics inclusive, be sold on the wings of seduction? The fixation with sex seems to be partly responsible for the boycott of events and projects without it! That is why even malt drinks would not advertise in a Christian magazine.
Where are all the young men and women we see in churches and at other conferences? Aren’t some of them brand or product and marketing managers? How are they serving their faith if they let all of these things happen right under their noses? What about the script and copy writers; the directors and producers? Is it a case of keeping your faith away from the workplace? No, things cannot go on like this.
I am a practical person, however, and so, I believe the place to start is to begin to engage ourselves on these issues. Seminars and workshops may be necessary for Christians in these professions to prayerfully find solutions to this game of the evil one.
Recently, journalists held a workshop about evangelism and the media and I think that is wonderful. You see, many editors, for instance still have to be weaned from the orientation that issues of religion should be confined to Sundays (for Christians) and Friday (for Moslems). True religion is a way of life and therefore an everyday affair! The question, of course is who will bell the cat? The answer for now, as the saying goes, is blowing in the wind. But, not for too long, I assure you.
TIME TO GET UNDER THE WORD, MADAM
And so, Mrs Patricia Olubunmi Etteh finally ate humble pie. She resigned her office as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria. You may recall that we said in “Madam Pharaoh as Goddess Artemis” (October 28) that “… not even a hurried, peremptory adjournment of House plenary for more than a week can save this woman’s job. But as I say that I know that she and her handlers still have a lot of fight in them. So I can see them not giving up even at this stage.”
We were right on each score. She did lose her exalted position, but not without a fight! Even after a motion of impeachment against her and her deputy had been moved and seconded, Etteh still had to be persuaded, even pleaded with before she agreed to take the path of honour. I wish her well in the next phase of her political career, but whatever else she does or fails to do, she should please go back to church and sit under the word for a season. It is not for nothing that the bible said: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105). It will do her a world of good and who knows, she may yet bounce back.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
CHARACTER, MEN & THE "LEGION"
KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
E-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
In “Dinning with Heroes” (October 21), I had spoken about the privilege my involvement with the men’s ministry affords me to join with “a crop of men, some young and starry-eyed; some burnt but wiser, to together work on our manhood.” I had also expressed joy that the process gives me the opportunity of meeting with and sometimes even dinning with truly great men. These truly great men, I described as “real men; men of integrity and character; men who strove in private and public life to be Christlike – and are of course still striving”
I identified Elder Felix Ohiwerei as one of such people, announced that he would be speaking at the then impending Christian Men’s Network Nigeria’s event and then gushed:
“…it will feature one of my heroes, Felix Ohiwerei, former Chairman and Chief Executive of Nigeria Breweries Plc. A man who ran an alcohol beverage company successfully and didn’t come out with a “beering” reputation; a man who has not been the darling of the soft sell magazines in spite of his fame and fortune; and whose preoccupation with service to God some have seen as zealous. That’s the man I and my brothers would be having lunch with…and it would be his pleasure and ours to have you join us!”
Of course, not many men accepted my open invitation and a sizeable percentage of those who even had direct invitation either came very late or could not make it at all, which is hardly surprising. It rained that day, you see; and being a Saturday, an environmental sanitation day when Lagosians are “gated” till 10am, the reasons are legion! But I shall come back to that later.
Elder Ohiwerei was billed to speak on “Wanted: Men of Character” and he began by acting the man of character that he is by arriving the Sparkles, Ikeja GRA venue of the event from his Ikoyi home a quarter hour before the schedule take-off time of 12noon. Of course that got everybody straightened out, as it were. And when he began to speak, you sought in vain for any airs; no posturing, no affectations; nothing but down-to-earth heart-talk from a father to those he saw as the hope of our nation. And what he had to say was so inspiring that on conclusion the fifty-something or so men, who had the priviledge of hearing him, gave a spontaneous prolonged standing ovation.
For space constraints and the nature of the forum, this is not the place to recount all he said, but let me attempt a snapshot of the highlights. He began by stating what looked like the obvious, but which is certainly fundamental to the understanding of the subject. You are a man, he said, “you think, you speak and you act. What you think influences what you say and do. Your thoughts, your words and your deeds determine what you project; so it all begins with the heart.” He therefore defined character as “the personality of a man as determined by his thought, his word and his deed.”
Standing as sprightly as ever at age 70, Elder Ohiwerei took his audience down the memory lane. He recalled those days when it was his practice to simply leave the doors of his house open for an expected visitor while he leaves for work…when the most heinous crime anyone ever committed to his knowledge was the removal of the four tyres of a car while the owner slept blissfully in it!
He posited that the Nigerian civil war was the turning point; when all values nosedived and character became the exception, leading to a leadership crisis. This of course was not a rationalization of the state of affairs, but a simple statement of cause. Nor was his speech just a litany of what had gone wrong; this was a ministration about what needs to be done. It was not a just a call for moral reawakening, but a call to return to God and his ways of doing things. So, inevitably notable examples were given from the Bible. From the Lord Jesus to Samuel to David to Joseph, the man of God who is a top member of Redeemed Christian Church of God made a number of prescriptions.
Among these is the need to pursue only things of eternal value. Understand, the fallacy that “everybody has a price” does not apply to you. You are made in God’s image and after his likeness, so how can you have a price! Never forget that a true leader seeks to serve and not to be served; he is other-centred, not self-centred. The Lord Jesus exemplifies this. That is why he said the son of man has come to serve and not to be served. That is why he washed his disciples’ feet just before the last supper. That is the origin of the concept of servant-leadership which the President has offered to Nigerians.
Elder Ohiwerei climaxed his ministration with the forthright declarations of Samuel when he handed over rulership of Israel to their first king, Saul. In this respect, he quoted the first few verses of Chapter 12 of the first book of Samuel: “ And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand. And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt (verses1-6).
How many of our leaders can boldly stand before the people after their stewardship and make such a declaration, he asked. How many can boldly declare that they have not stolen from the commonwealth; that they have oppressed no one; that they have met the needs of the people? About how many of our leaders can the people truthfully, honestly, without equivocation say as they did of Samuel: “Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand.” The only charitable answer, you and I know, has to be “few, very few, indeed.”
The interactive session which followed afforded men in the audience the opportunity to ask questions and make observations. This proved really revealing. In answer to one of the questions on his experience as a born-again Christian at the helm of a big company like Nigeria Breweries, he recalled one of his encounters with corruption at one of Nigeria’s seaports.
According to him, the top man in charge of raw materials was for some reasons not available and so he was contacted on the need to “do something” (euphemism for paying some bribes) about clearing their consignments at the port. He refused. Things began to drag and raw material stock was running low with possible adverse consequences for production. He knew he had to do something else! So he instructed that fresh orders for raw materials be made and air-freighted into the country. This was done. Production was not affected and he virtually had to be begged to come and clear the earlier consignment.
Needless to say, this sent signals to people in certain quarters and the rest, as they say, is history!
What Elder Ohiwerei was saying was I did not just talk the talk, I walked the walk. It could not have been easy, but he had the courage to do what had to be done. One of the most important components of character therefore is courage; courage to stand for what you believe; courage to pursue your dream and vision.
And this incidentally brings me back to the “legion” of reasons I identified earlier as possibly responsible for the level of attendance at the Luncheon; the same courage is required to give whatever it takes to be at places we need to be on time, rain or not; environmental sanitation or not. But one has been around for a season on this beat and knows that the “legion” that keeps men away from events like this is similar to the one that had held bound that demon-possessed man set free by the Lord Jesus, as recorded in Mark 5: 1-18. I know because, time and time again, you can pack halls to overflowing with of men were the subject business or prosperity; but mention character, sex or purity, the “legion” bares its fangs! Men and brethren, these things not ought to be so.
Thanks Elder Ohiwerei for pointing the way.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
with Remi Akano
E-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
In “Dinning with Heroes” (October 21), I had spoken about the privilege my involvement with the men’s ministry affords me to join with “a crop of men, some young and starry-eyed; some burnt but wiser, to together work on our manhood.” I had also expressed joy that the process gives me the opportunity of meeting with and sometimes even dinning with truly great men. These truly great men, I described as “real men; men of integrity and character; men who strove in private and public life to be Christlike – and are of course still striving”
I identified Elder Felix Ohiwerei as one of such people, announced that he would be speaking at the then impending Christian Men’s Network Nigeria’s event and then gushed:
“…it will feature one of my heroes, Felix Ohiwerei, former Chairman and Chief Executive of Nigeria Breweries Plc. A man who ran an alcohol beverage company successfully and didn’t come out with a “beering” reputation; a man who has not been the darling of the soft sell magazines in spite of his fame and fortune; and whose preoccupation with service to God some have seen as zealous. That’s the man I and my brothers would be having lunch with…and it would be his pleasure and ours to have you join us!”
Of course, not many men accepted my open invitation and a sizeable percentage of those who even had direct invitation either came very late or could not make it at all, which is hardly surprising. It rained that day, you see; and being a Saturday, an environmental sanitation day when Lagosians are “gated” till 10am, the reasons are legion! But I shall come back to that later.
Elder Ohiwerei was billed to speak on “Wanted: Men of Character” and he began by acting the man of character that he is by arriving the Sparkles, Ikeja GRA venue of the event from his Ikoyi home a quarter hour before the schedule take-off time of 12noon. Of course that got everybody straightened out, as it were. And when he began to speak, you sought in vain for any airs; no posturing, no affectations; nothing but down-to-earth heart-talk from a father to those he saw as the hope of our nation. And what he had to say was so inspiring that on conclusion the fifty-something or so men, who had the priviledge of hearing him, gave a spontaneous prolonged standing ovation.
For space constraints and the nature of the forum, this is not the place to recount all he said, but let me attempt a snapshot of the highlights. He began by stating what looked like the obvious, but which is certainly fundamental to the understanding of the subject. You are a man, he said, “you think, you speak and you act. What you think influences what you say and do. Your thoughts, your words and your deeds determine what you project; so it all begins with the heart.” He therefore defined character as “the personality of a man as determined by his thought, his word and his deed.”
Standing as sprightly as ever at age 70, Elder Ohiwerei took his audience down the memory lane. He recalled those days when it was his practice to simply leave the doors of his house open for an expected visitor while he leaves for work…when the most heinous crime anyone ever committed to his knowledge was the removal of the four tyres of a car while the owner slept blissfully in it!
He posited that the Nigerian civil war was the turning point; when all values nosedived and character became the exception, leading to a leadership crisis. This of course was not a rationalization of the state of affairs, but a simple statement of cause. Nor was his speech just a litany of what had gone wrong; this was a ministration about what needs to be done. It was not a just a call for moral reawakening, but a call to return to God and his ways of doing things. So, inevitably notable examples were given from the Bible. From the Lord Jesus to Samuel to David to Joseph, the man of God who is a top member of Redeemed Christian Church of God made a number of prescriptions.
Among these is the need to pursue only things of eternal value. Understand, the fallacy that “everybody has a price” does not apply to you. You are made in God’s image and after his likeness, so how can you have a price! Never forget that a true leader seeks to serve and not to be served; he is other-centred, not self-centred. The Lord Jesus exemplifies this. That is why he said the son of man has come to serve and not to be served. That is why he washed his disciples’ feet just before the last supper. That is the origin of the concept of servant-leadership which the President has offered to Nigerians.
Elder Ohiwerei climaxed his ministration with the forthright declarations of Samuel when he handed over rulership of Israel to their first king, Saul. In this respect, he quoted the first few verses of Chapter 12 of the first book of Samuel: “ And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand. And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt (verses1-6).
How many of our leaders can boldly stand before the people after their stewardship and make such a declaration, he asked. How many can boldly declare that they have not stolen from the commonwealth; that they have oppressed no one; that they have met the needs of the people? About how many of our leaders can the people truthfully, honestly, without equivocation say as they did of Samuel: “Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand.” The only charitable answer, you and I know, has to be “few, very few, indeed.”
The interactive session which followed afforded men in the audience the opportunity to ask questions and make observations. This proved really revealing. In answer to one of the questions on his experience as a born-again Christian at the helm of a big company like Nigeria Breweries, he recalled one of his encounters with corruption at one of Nigeria’s seaports.
According to him, the top man in charge of raw materials was for some reasons not available and so he was contacted on the need to “do something” (euphemism for paying some bribes) about clearing their consignments at the port. He refused. Things began to drag and raw material stock was running low with possible adverse consequences for production. He knew he had to do something else! So he instructed that fresh orders for raw materials be made and air-freighted into the country. This was done. Production was not affected and he virtually had to be begged to come and clear the earlier consignment.
Needless to say, this sent signals to people in certain quarters and the rest, as they say, is history!
What Elder Ohiwerei was saying was I did not just talk the talk, I walked the walk. It could not have been easy, but he had the courage to do what had to be done. One of the most important components of character therefore is courage; courage to stand for what you believe; courage to pursue your dream and vision.
And this incidentally brings me back to the “legion” of reasons I identified earlier as possibly responsible for the level of attendance at the Luncheon; the same courage is required to give whatever it takes to be at places we need to be on time, rain or not; environmental sanitation or not. But one has been around for a season on this beat and knows that the “legion” that keeps men away from events like this is similar to the one that had held bound that demon-possessed man set free by the Lord Jesus, as recorded in Mark 5: 1-18. I know because, time and time again, you can pack halls to overflowing with of men were the subject business or prosperity; but mention character, sex or purity, the “legion” bares its fangs! Men and brethren, these things not ought to be so.
Thanks Elder Ohiwerei for pointing the way.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
MADAM PHARAOH AS GODDESS ARTEMIS
KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
E-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
Anyway, I wasn’t playing Afghanistanism; I was not avoiding any issues, not least of all, the inelegantly tagged “Ettehgate”. No, I just wrote as I felt led. And that has to be the pattern for as long as this column shall last. So, please believe me; I seek to prove or disprove nothing by returning to the crisis at the lower house of the National Assembly today.
You see, I’ve been at great pains over the matter because I sincerely wanted Mrs Etteh to succeed as much as, if not much more than, our other sisters have done in the various assignments they have handled, particularly at the national level. Deep inside me, I believe that the continued success of the “Esthers” in our land would rouse the “Josephs” from sin and pride-induced slumber. But here we are, unfortunately, faced with the myth-shattering spectacle of a female Pharaoh!
If you are wondering what makes Mrs Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria, a kind of throw-back from the ancient biblical days of
Do you see any similarities? Madam Speaker has had several opportunities to demonstrate honour; to reflect her Christianity, if as her name would seem to suggest, she is one, by letting God fight her battles; to display exemplary leadership, but she let them all pass.
When the story first broke that she had authorized a whopping sum of N628 million for the renovation of her official residence and that of her deputy, she was outside the country; granted. But what happened when she returned? She maintained what her handlers might have touted as “dignified silence” but which, with the benefit of hindsight must now be seen as contemptuous “I dey kampe” silence! When the House finally convened and the issue was tabled, she could have dignified her office by not presiding at the session to select members of the panel being established to probe the allegations. She chose differently. Then if she thought she could ride the tide and coast home unscathed, the resort to violence by her colleagues on the day she was billed to testify before the Idoko Panel should have wiped out all such illusions. It did not.
One might excuse that by positing that as a pretty woman, she was probably no stranger to knights in shinning armour fighting to become the exclusive apple of her eyes; particularly as that legislative “roforofo fight” did not left no broken limbs and no flying dentures; and so no hospitals or surgeries were required. But how do you explain what happened when thing went several notches up and we had a lifeless body, hospital and a grave? Someone with half a heart would have been so remorseful as to simply walk away from the tragic drama. But what do we have? This woman is sitting not-so-pretty on the Speaker’s seat. She sure must have a stone where God originally located a heart!
Those who in the name of installing the “first female Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives” foisted this woman upon an unsuspecting nation sure produced after their kind, didn’t they?
I can imagine one question racing through your mind: Pharaoh’s heart was said in the Bible to have been hardened by God; is it the same with Madam Speaker? No, I don’t know for sure, but I can guess that if God allowed, it is so that evil may not triumph. For, had she played honourable and decent earlier, she might have swayed opinions in her favour to the detriment of our nation.
Now what next, you ask. Again, I do not claim to have the answer, but this much I would say, not even a hurried, peremptory adjournment of House plenary for more than a week can save this woman’s job. But as I say that I know that she, and her handlers, still have a lot of fight in them. So I can see them not giving up even at this stage.
All of which reminds me of a drama involving some of the early evangelists, goddess Artemis and the people of
“A certain silversmith, Demetrius, conducted a brisk trade in the manufacture of shrines to the goddess Artemis, employing a number of artisans in his business. He rounded up his workers and others similarly employed and said, "Men, you well know that we have a good thing going here-- and you've seen how Paul has barged in and discredited what we're doing by telling people that there's no such thing as a god made with hands. A lot of people are going along with him, not only here in
The “Demetriuses” amongst us who want to die or kill for this modern day Artemis had better take to heart the warnings of the Town Clerk as contained in the last two sentences but one of this long passage which strike me as uncannily applicable to the current situation. Please read those sentences again with the following suggested insertions. In the place of “our city” put, “our democracy”; in place of
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