ORAL ROBERTS: HIS LIFE AND LEGACY (2)

Marilyn Hickey, a member of Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association’s Board and one-time ORU Board of Regents chairperson, touched many hearts as she recalled Roberts' ministry and his impact in her life, including the healing of her mother while watching Oral Roberts on television. She declared: “The wonderful thing about Oral is that he was the first to blast the world with the message of healing; he really sacrificed and I remember the criticism he suffered. He sacrificed his reputation, his money, his family -- everything. Now you can go all across the world and they know the healing message."

As expected, Evangelist Oral Roberts' life and legacy were celebrated on Monday with a mix of gusto and solemnity at his home-going service at the Mabee Center on the campus of the university that bears his name. Over 4,000 persons, including a host of who's who from the evangelical and charismatic movement in the USA, were on hand to honour “a man who obeyed God and popularized the Pentecostal movement in the 20th century.”

Attendees at the event included Jack Hayford, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland; Kenneth and Lynette Hagin; John Hagee, founder, Christians United for Israel; James and Betty Robison of Life Outreach International; Marilyn Hickey, Creflo Dollar of World Changers Ministries, Pat Robertson, founder of Christian Broadcasting Network; and Fox News anchor Kelly Wright, an ORU alumnus who sang during the service. The roll call of dignitaries from around the state of Oklahoma included Governor Brad Henry, U.S. Congresswoman Mary Fallin, Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett and many local politicians.

Statements, paying glowing tribute to the pioneer televangelist, who passed on six days earlier, came from Christian leaders like Billy Graham, Robert Schuller, David Yonggi Cho, the Korean megachurch founder; Joel Osteen, founder, Lakewood Church; healing evangelist, Benny Hinn and Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Paul Crouch.
Roberts truly went home in a blaze of glory, as songs of praise and worship kicked off the event, leaving no one in doubt that this indeed was a celebration of life. Notable among the songs were “Falling in Love with Jesus”, “Amazing Grace.” and the curtain raiser, “God is a Good God”, which, reports say, the Roberts family sang together at the legendary faith healer’s bedside during his last hours. Pat Robertson then gave the opening prayer turning on the tap on, as it were, for another flood of eulogies.

Dr. Mark Rutland, current President of Oral Roberts University, in what might be the funeral oration, described Oral as a man made extraordinary because "he experienced a gracious and powerful God…He was not a perfect man; he was an extraordinary man—a giant who served a perfect God…What an interesting and historical irony that He took a young man with a speech impediment and caused him to be named Oral, healed him of tuberculosis and made him a world-changer, a healer of the sick and an inspirational leader. That is the God of Oral Roberts, and that is our God as well."

Rutland, who for ten years until last January, was President of Assemblies of God’s South-Eastern University in Florida, said of Oral’s impact through the television screen: “There was something when Oral leaned into that television and said, ‘something good is going to happen to you today.' There was something that leaped inside of us and said, ‘it’s true.'"

The missionary, evangelist and an Assemblies of God-ordained minister who had served as pastor of Calvary Assembly of God in Orlando, Florida, recalled that Roberts emerged at a time when the church was "weary and dreary, and made us believe in a God who enjoys blessing people.” He described Oral’s seed-faith teaching as "entirely biblical" …citing that “Jesus himself said, 'Give and it shall be given unto you.' Oral didn't make up those words, but he made them manageable and bite-sized."

The two surviving children of the departed faith icon – he had lost two, Ronald Roberts and Rebecca Nash, both in tragic circumstances - Richard, who used to be ORU President and his sister, Roberta Pott, an attorney, then took centre stage. They spoke separately and later, in one of the most emotional moments of the event, came together to lead the audience in one of the songs remembered so well from their father's crusades, "Don't Turn Him Away."

Remembering their father as a man who was committed to obeying God despite the fact that it often meant he was absent from home, Roberta said, "he left his family behind, knowing they would be hurt…He chose to go where God's light is dim, then he chose to build that university that God called him to build ... It hurts…(but) I know my father made the right choice. And I'm so proud that he made that choice."
Recalling Oral’s last moments, she said their father had asked to see her and Richard, and when they arrived at the hospital he was singing songs such as "Expect a Miracle" and "Something Good Is Going to Happen to You," though he could barely move. Her words: “He was singing at the top of his lungs…Then he would stop for a while and say: ‘I'm going home. I'm going home. Hallelujah.'"

Richard, on his part, recalled how after a season of rebellion, God healed his relationship with his father at age 19 and declared that to date, "I have been with him every step of the way—until he drew his last breath on earth and his first breath in heaven.” He said his father taught him "Jesus is a healing Jesus. He taught me how to walk in love. He taught me how to forgive."

Marilyn Hickey, a member of Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association’s Board and one-time ORU Board of Regents chairperson, touched many hearts as she recalled Roberts' ministry and his impact in her life, including the healing of her mother while watching Oral Roberts on television. She declared: “The wonderful thing about Oral is that he was the first to blast the world with the message of healing; he really sacrificed and I remember the criticism he suffered. He sacrificed his reputation, his money, his family -- everything. Now you can go all across the world and they know the healing message."

Hickey closed her remarks like Roberts used to close every one of his crusades, with an altar call. She gave everyone in attendance, and the countless thousands watching live around the world via television and Internet, an opportunity to make a personal commitment to Christ. The response was a fitting tribute to his life and legacy as attendees joined hands across the aisles united in prayer.

The service, which also featured a 15-minute memorial video summarizing Roberts' remarkable life, his family and highlights of his evangelistic ministry, and pioneering efforts in education, ended with a closing prayer by Creflo Dollar. Expressing thanks and praise to God for Roberts' life and ministry, the preacher said: “He kept the faith. He finished the course and left us with a double portion of his anointing…Oral Roberts was an ordinary man who knew that God could not be kept in a box." CONTINUES

ORAL ROBERTS: HIS LIFE AND LEGACY (1)

“Oral, who would have been 92 on January 24, was the founder of Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (OREA), the ministry through which he conducted crusades across the globe over six decades. The ministry birthed, among others, Hunger Needs a Voice, a humanitarian outreach delivering nutritious meals to starving children, and the famous Oral Roberts University (ORU), a comprehensive Christian university—promoting the education of the whole person—mind, body, and spirit, with alumni all over the world. The outpouring of grief and the celebration of his life since the announcement of his passing has been of almost torrential proportions. It bespeaks love, great love and appreciation from a variety of sources.”

Tomorrow afternoon, a public memorial service will hold in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the US to honour one of the greatest men of God of our time, Evangelist Glanville Oral Roberts, who went to be with the Lord last Tuesday. He had a fall in his home the previous Saturday, was rushed to hospital and although he had a couple of broken bones, his departure was attributed to complications arising from pneumonia.

Oral, who would have been 92 on January 24, was the founder of Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (OREA), the ministry through which he conducted crusades across the globe over six decades. The ministry birthed, among others, Hunger Needs a Voice, a humanitarian outreach delivering nutritious meals to starving children, and the famous Oral Roberts University (ORU), a comprehensive Christian university—promoting the education of the whole person—mind, body, and spirit, with alumni all over the world.

The outpouring of grief and the celebration of his life since the announcement of his passing has been of almost torrential proportions. It bespeaks love, great love and appreciation from a variety of sources.

Leading the cheer, naturally, was his son, Richard who described him as a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He said, he was “not only my earthly father; he was also my spiritual father and mentor. He was the greatest man of God I’ve ever known. An innovator and a modern-day apostle of the healing ministry, he was one of the first men of his generation to build a worldwide ministry, an accredited university, and a medical and research center. He had a passion to bring healing to the sick. He came along when many in Christendom did not believe in God’s power and goodness, yet his name became synonymous with miracles…”

Pastor Benny Hinn who acknowledges Oral as his long-time friend and mentor admonished that “even as we grieve Dr. Roberts’ passing from this earth, we rejoice that he is now in heaven.” He continued: “What an amazing life! He was a giant in so many ways, and I was privileged to have him as a dear, dear friend for many years. Every time I was with him, I saw firsthand a heart consumed with the love of Jesus Christ. Through the years I have often thought of the standard he has set for so many ministers and believers to follow, and on this day of his glorious home-going, it is once again a time for all of us to reflect even more upon his tremendous impact…Only heaven will reveal how many hearts he has pointed toward heaven, how many homes have been revolutionized through his seed-faith teaching, and how many ears have heard his faith-filled phrase, "Expect a miracle!" God has used him to open doors that were once considered closed to the miracle-working power of the Gospel, and wherever I travel, I have been ever thankful for the trail he blazed…”

The two major US-based Christian broadcasters, Pat Robertson and Paul Crouch were not left out. Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) founder, Robertson said, "I am grieved at the passing of my dear friend, Oral Roberts…He was a pioneer in healing evangelism and in Christian education. He inspired a generation of young people to follow his lead in the charismatic ministry. We were friends for over 50 years and I will miss him…"

Dr Crouch of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) who described Oral as “our dear friend” and “a spiritual father to millions of people both here in America and around the world,” was “thankful for the commitment he made to God to spread the Gospel message of salvation and healing. He was a sawdust pioneer who brought his tent revivals into the 20th century by means of radio and television and became the highest rated evangelist in prime time television. He opened the door for all of us who are now in Christian television.”

We've always considered Dr. Roberts a wonderful part of our TBN family…We will always be grateful for Dr. Roberts' enthusiasm and support for TBN, and will forever treasure the messages of inspiration he gave to Jan and me personally as he encouraged us to expand the vision and outreach of TBN to reach the whole wide world. His prayers and wisdom helped strengthen our faith in times of trial and difficulty. We…were blessed to see that he still had the desire to continue sharing the message God gave to him until his assignment was finished…”

Franklin Graham, President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, had this to say: "Oral Roberts was loved and admired by millions of people around the world. I always appreciated the times when he went out of his way to befriend me. He invited me to speak at Oral Roberts University when I was just starting my ministry and was an encouragement to me.”

From this avalanche of tributes, two are noteworthy as they reveal the heart of the departed man of God. Kenneth W. Hagin, whose father was a contemporary of the late faith icon, apart acknowledged that one of my greatest compliments he was ever paid came from Oral Roberts who described him as a “preaching machine” after he preached at Campmeeting one year, also recalled Oral’s letter to the Hagin family at the passing of the older Hagin. It read in part: “My heart feels the tug of Heaven as it won’t be long until I am with him (Brother Hagin) face to face in Heaven.”

The other was from Billy Graham. He remembers Oral Roberts as “a man of God, and a great friend in ministry” whom he loved “as a brother” and with whom he “had many quiet conversations over the years, recalling that he invited “Oral to speak at one of our early international conferences on evangelism held in Berlin in the 1960s”. Then he added: “Just three weeks ago, I was privileged to talk to Oral over the telephone. During the short conversation, he said to me that he was near the end of his life's journey. I look forward to the day that I will see Oral and Evelyn Roberts again in Heaven--our eternal home.” (Continues Next Week).

A TIGER TRIPPED BY SEX

But today, the media is awash with reports of his secret sex life. At the time of writing, 11 women are seeking their moments in the sun of infamy, proclaiming that they had had the honour of sharing moments of animal passion with one of the world’s most famous, most handsome, and richest athletes. Of course, it may not all be true, but what is known is that Tiger has owned up to some “transgressions” and sought the forgiveness of his wife and two children. His statement reads in part: “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family…”

We were saying last week that when the male’s God-given ego is abused it leads him inexorably to pride, which is the absence of humility. That is a veritable tool of the enemy. One of the results of pride is a self-dependence that leaves God out of our lives either entirely or partially. There is a sense in which the former is better than the latter. Trust me, it’s true!

It is better not to have God in your life entirely than to think that you have Him without really having Him. A state of unpretentious godlessness opens you to help, even if it is the prayer of do-gooders who have resolved to save your soul from afar. But to have what the Bible described as “a form of godliness” is the most dangerous state to be in. You deceive yourself and might succeed in deceiving others to believe that all is well with you. That is why Jesus says that they that are neither hot nor cold, He’ll spew out of His mouth.

That, believe me, is the unfortunate state of most of us men. Even when God in His infinite mercies reveal us to ourselves and we are convicted, our warped ego (Edging God Out, as my pastor friend, Gabriel Irokwe loves to emphasise), which is now full blown pride, prevents us from seeking help. So, the bacteria that triggered the disease transmutes to the virus that sustains it.

In no area of our lives as men is this more pronounced than in our search for relevance or significance which, make no mistake about it, is why God wired us with an ego. But as someone has famously said, when the use of a thing is not known or not fully understood, abuse is not too far off. So, our inbred drive for significance leads us to seek power to make money or money to buy power that we might boldly declare, “damn right, I am somebody!” That is why we’ll do just about anything to acquire money and power beginning with whichever one is within easier reach.

But, interestingly, we don’t have fulfilment, at whatever point we might have reached in the continuum; because power corrupts and money makes such a poor God indeed. That is why there is such a phenomenon as a powerful, influential man, awash with cash, but feeling empty. He tries to fill his emptiness with things and more things. Sex of the illicit, immoral type, more often than not, belongs on top or near the top of that list. It is so because it gives some kind of pleasure; gives an illusion of power and can be done in secret. It is this third element in the mix that makes sex attractive. But of course, as experience over the ages has shown, secrecy has its expiry date and the very best of covers are, sooner than later, blown.

Ask Tiger Woods. He is the man you want in your son or son-in-law. Or as Paul Edwards put it in a commentary during the week, “there wasn't a man on the planet who in some sense didn't want to be Tiger Woods.” He had it all. Handsome, sprightly, world champion golfer and stupendously rich, he has a ravishingly beautiful wife and two kids. And he could boast of a father who loved him and poured himself into him. To quote Paul Edwards a bit more: Tiger Woods “had a father who loved him—not just in words, but in action, pouring himself into his son, building a love that survives to this day, in many ways making Tiger the man he became. Try as we may, there aren't too many men who can lay claim to all of these elements of success at once. Tiger has it all, and it wasn't just handed to him. He came by his success through hard work and discipline. He earned it.”

And the side of him that the world saw until late November was so adorable, so squeaky clean that he was the ultimate role model. His Tiger Woods Foundation is doing all the right things; meeting the needs of the less-privileged, putting training programmes in place and generally just being a the nice guy next door. His investments have been wise. His general comportment has been exemplary. He was being considered for a Congressional Medal for his service to the game of golf and through it the society. His billion-dollar endorsement portfolio is the stuff dreams are made of.

But today, the media is awash with reports of his secret sex life. At the time of writing, 11 women are seeking their moments in the sun of infamy, proclaiming that they had had the honour of sharing moments of animal passion with one of the world’s most famous, most handsome, and richest athletes. Of course, it may not all be true, but what is known is that Tiger has owned up to some “transgressions” and sought the forgiveness of his wife and two children. His statement reads in part: “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family…”

My heart goes out to this young man who will be 34 in about two weeks and I do pray that he is able to live it all down and eventually get back to doing good with his life. But it is necessary to point out that he is not the first to get to the pinnacle, be getting it right in virtually every area of life only to be tripped by the male ego gone awry. When our ego gets bloated we believe we can do things and get away with them; we fill the emptiness that success cannot with things that do not satisfy. We do not have real friends; we do not submit to discipleship, we are accountable only to ourselves. It’s one more powerful reason why all men need to belong to a Bible-based men’s ministry. Men, please don’t allow the enemy to isolate you. Women, please encourage your men in this direction.

A MAN, ALMOST ALWAYS A MAN! (2)

For any male to mature into a man therefore, he has to be able to maximize his ego without slipping to pride; he has to learn to use his ego for the purpose for which God bestowed it upon him. To do that successfully, he has to be totally submitted to God; seek to exalt God by his actions and omissions, and avoid self-glorification. This has eluded most of us men. So, we live the “’I’m the boss” life - terrorising the family at home; oppressing subordinates at work; and pursuing narrow, self-serving agenda in public service. That is why the nation is the way it is. That is why men need to learn how to be men, real men; men who, like David, are ever willing to learn; men like Joseph, pursuing his dream with eyes firmly fixed on God; men like Jesus who did only what he saw His Father doing.

It can bear repetition that the Nigerian condition is a reflection of the condition of the Nigerian male. This, as we pointed out last week, is because wherever and whenever anything is going wrong, there is always a man. The state of our nation country last week buttresses this.

By midweek, there had been nobody statutorily in charge of Nigeria for more than a week. You know the story very well. President Umar Yar’Adua took ill and embarked on what somebody mischievously described as another medical pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. The constitution required him to formally inform the National Assembly of the situation, and then hand over to the vice-president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan. He did neither. Instead diverse officials have been playing roles which Goodluck should have played in an acting capacity. By implication we had a collegiate presidency of faceless, unelected people running the affairs of the nation.

The point has been made that because the vice president received the sallah homage of Moslem leaders, and presided over the weekly Federal Executive Council meetings, it would be incorrect to say that he is not in charge. That would be self deception. Assuming, without that the vice president was de facto in charge, he certainly wasn’t de jure, that is statutorily. In other words were he to be bold enough to take any decisions as a stand-in president, such decisions would be invalid because the due process of handing over did not take place.

The furore resulting from this situation was yet to abate at the time of writing. First was a media report stating that the vice president was being pressurised to resign his position. Vigorously denied, though it was, it certainly is in the character of our political leaders who thrive in expediency. The goal obviously would be to prevent a situation where Jonathan, a southerner, becomes president by default in case the unexpected happens; a scenario that would short change the North, which turn it currently is to produce the president in the rotational arrangement they have foisted on the nation.

Into the fray came a group of opposition politicians and activists with a call on Yar’Adua to resign from office on account of inability to discharge his duties due to ill health. As with such things, the list of signatories to that statement has had its share of controversy, with some denying involvement. But the group, whether of 57 or 54, did pack quite a punch with such irrepressible, veterans of political struggles like Dr Tunji Braithwaite and Alhaji Balarabe Musa firmly on board.

Now, take a good look at the dramatis personae in this melodrama. They are men. The president who swears by the rule of law but omitted to do what the law prescribed is a man. The vice president whose position is being rubbished and doesn’t have the courage to walk is a man. Both wings of the Legislature, which should have taken a stand against the vacuum illegally foisted on the nation is led and dominated by men. Yes, it is also true that the group that has spoken out against the situation is also dominated by men, but even so those chickening out are also men.

It is possible to get statistical about this issue and seek to explain the dominance of men in this hall of infamy with the preponderance of men in the public space; but that would be lead to inappropriate comparison. Apples and oranges may be fruits, but how do you compare them?

That was the point made last week about the role God, in His sovereign wisdom, chose to assign to men. The man is the leader. He is assigned to lead at home, at work and in the community. He is specifically wired for the task. That is why the male ego is one of his most prominent attributes. As Evangelist June Newman Davis, put it in one of her books: “The male ego is what God bred into man to catapult his desires, motivations and attitudes. His ego makes him want to take initiative, be the leader, the provider, the protector of his domain. These are traits God created in all male species of life, therefore an important part of his nature.”

Ironically, it is this very important distinguishing nature of the male that’s at the root of most societal problems. The male in his immature stage misapplies and abuses this God-given attribute. So, it degenerates to pride, which Davis succinctly defines as, “a boastful assurance of one’s own resourcefulness eliminating his need for God…exalts a man and shows a covetousness for adulation, the very opposite of humility.” For any male to mature into a man therefore, he has to be able to maximize his ego without slipping to pride; he has to learn to use his ego for the purpose for which God bestowed it upon him. To do that successfully, he has to be totally submitted to God; seek to exalt God by his actions and omissions, and avoid self-glorification.

This has eluded most of us men. So, we live the “’I’m the boss” life - terrorising the family at home; oppressing subordinates at work; and pursuing narrow, self-serving agenda in public service. That is why the nation is the way it is. That is why men need to learn how to be men, real men; men who, like David, are ever willing to learn; men like Joseph, pursuing his dream with eyes firmly fixed on God; men like Jesus who did only what he saw His Father doing.

That is why we need men’s ministry. For ten years, Christian Men’s Network Nigeria has been at it vigorously. For all of those ten years, I have had the privilege of being involved, thanks to the confidence that my senior pastor, Dr Tunde Joda has in me and the team. Now, I feel called upon to do a bit more – in addition. That explains the birth of Kingdom Men, an independent ministry to men taking off this Saturday with a Men’s Breakfast Roundtable on the “Irresistible Husband”. Join us at 8am at CTEM Plaza, Ogba Bus Stop, if you can. If not, please join us in prayer.

A MAN, ALMOST ALWAYS A MAN!

The headline derives from a passage in this column two weeks ago, “Olabode Ibiyinka Judged”. The relevant paragraph read: “It works like this. A man (almost always, a man!) corruptly enriches himself. The law catches up with him and when he eventually manipulates his way through the system, his handlers organise a massive rally to welcome home their “illustrious son” – in a show of ‘People Power’”.

Who is chiselling at the foundations of our nation through all kinds of malfeasance? Who has warped up our democratic aspirations? Who is at the forefront of the desecration of our social values? Who are the serial violators of corporate governance ethics in banking, finance and other sectors of our economy? Who is responsible for most of the breakdown in marriages? A man, almost always a man! Or, a group of men.

It is unfortunate, but true, isn’t it, that wherever and whenever something has gone, or is going wrong, there’s a man - oftener than not. Contemporary Nigerian history bears this out with such blinding glaringness. Episode after episode of the Nigerian story reveals the sad and saddening condition of the male species in our land.

Who is chiselling at the foundations of our nation through all kinds of malfeasance? Who has warped up our democratic aspirations? Who is at the forefront of the desecration of our social values? Who are the serial violators of corporate governance ethics in banking, finance and other sectors of our economy? Who is responsible for most of the breakdown in marriages? A man, almost always a man! Or, a group of men.

Ah, yes, you might counter that at the forefront of resisting many of these ills is also more oftener than not, another man. Or, that wherever these ills rear their ugly heads, there’s also always a woman somewhere in the chain. And you would be correct, on the surface of it. But this issue is more than skin-deep.

Let’s begin with a basic understanding of the role of the man in God’s master plan, as revealed in the Bible, the life manual of this columnist, the column, and hopefully a preponderance of its readers. God’s first being was a man He named Adam. It was from one of his ribs that He chose to make the woman, describing her as a “help meet for him.” It was to the man that he gave the assignment to tend the expansive Garden of Eden (see Genesis 2: 8, 18, 21-23). To be sure who was in charge, God gave Adam the right to name His wonderful new creation, the same way he named other creatures. This explains why the Almighty directed his query to the man after he had joined his wife to eat the infamous forbidden fruit.

The point here is that God expected and still expects a lot more from the man than He does from the woman. Examples abound. Whenever God had a major assignment, He almost always looked for a man. There is a famous verse of Scripture in the book of Ezekiel: “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none (22:30). The word “man” here derived from the Hebrew root word “Iysh” which is man as male, a carrier of the “Y” chromosome; not man as in mankind. Of course, most of the greatest people in the service of God in the Bible were men. In God’s sovereign wisdom, Jesus also had to come as a man. In short, man is God’s gender of choice for manifesting His will on earth.

Flowing from these truths, therefore, is that the extent to which the men in a community or nation recognize the responsibility God Has trusted into their hands, and fulfill it His way, is the extent to which that community or nation will grow, develop and prosper.

Unfortunately, scant attention is paid to issues affecting men specifically. You have people and institutions concerned with women, children and youth issues, the disabled, widows etc. But who looks out for the men? Who teaches the man how to be a man or, more correctly, who teaches the male to become a man? Any wonder that things are the way they are?

Dr Patrick Morley, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Man in the Mirror, a men’s ministry based in Orlando, Florida in the USA told a story that illustrates the absurdity of the situation in his best selling book after which his ministry is named. One of the donors to the ministry one day called to inform him he was going to stop supporting, Man in the Mirror. Asked why, the donor told him he had decided to channel his giving to two other causes. One was a prisons ministry, while the other was a group dealing with teenage pregnancies. Morley was shocked at the shallowness of the thinking. But he politely pointed out to his caller that he was abandoning the cause to deal with the effects.

Think about that. Who dominates the prison population? Isn’t it men who have personally failed in their manhood and/or have been misled or lured into crime by this category of men? Who is responsible for teenage pregnancies? It’s mostly men! It’s men, who lured young girls to bed; men who failed in their duties as father either to the girls or to boys who end up in premarital sex.

That same scenario is playing out here in Nigeria. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) exist for many critical socio-political, economic and even cultural issues – which is a truly welcome development. But if men don’t come to the fullness of who they are created to be, they would continue to serve as production lines for the problems these NGOs are tackling.

The churches aren’t doing much better. They all have children and youth ministers. Many have women ministries, courtesy of the pastor’s wives. Very few have men’s ministry worth the name. Where men are encouraged to gather, they soon become welfare fellowships and business clubs with little or no manhood development content. I know there a number of exceptions to this general rule. I have been involved with one such ministry, Christian Men’s Network Nigeria in the last ten years. But this nation needs hundreds of well organised ministries like CMN - if we are going to even begin to confront the challenges. And dear reader, you have a role to play. (Continues Next Week)

PIX: Dr Patrick Morley, Chairman/CEO, Main in the M1rror

THE SON IS THE FATHER OF MAN

Does this imply that we are not supposed to work? No! It simply implies that we are workers in the family business like Adam in the Garden of Eden and like Jesus going about “my father’s business.” It means that we see whatsoever job that we have as a calling, an assignment within our father’s vast conglomerate. If we grasp this truth, we would not put the assignment above the assignor; we would not do despicable things to get and keep our jobs, and we would not cut corners on the job. We would understand that God, as our father has responsibility to provide for us and he’s not about to shirk his responsibility… Be a son, brother and you’ll never have to worry about your manhood!

The Christian man would typically like to see himself as either a mighty man of valour, or aspiring to be one – understandably. Gideon, the poster mighty man of valour, was a success story. He started out an unknown, belonging to a poor family in the least of the tribe and in his own words “the least in my father's house.” Called to battle by the almighty through an angel, he at first declined, until God patiently showed him through the signs he himself requested, that He would be with him. One thing led to the other and he eventually became conqueror of Israel’s colonial tormentors, the Midianites. His epitaph may as well be this passage of Scripture in the book of Judges: “Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.”

But, for whatever it is worth we must not forget that many of the men referred to as mighty men of valour were not necessarily great men. Some were little more than ciphers, pawns on other’s chess boards, without personal achievements of their own. But given our antecedents in the Christian Men’s Network in Nigeria, it can safely be assumed that our “mighty man of valour” is simply the Christian Man in pursuit of Christ-likeness. And that shall form the basis of what I am bout to say on the “Coping with the Challenges facing the Mighty Man of Valour”.

Incidentally, my take on this subject shall be based through and through on what I sincerely is the biggest challenge facing us as Kingdom persons today – that of being who we are. And this challenge is far greater among us men because of the critical nature of our roles in the churches, families, communities and nations. It is the challenge of sonship.

The need and the process of transiting from boys to men have both been very soundly and biblically articulated by the previous speaker. The man of God, Rev Ademola Iroko has identified absolutely correctly that the Christian male who would become a man has to be able to identify and seize opportunities. He must be disciplined because the bridge between goal and achievement is discipline. He must learn to prioritize. And he must also be a good time manager. Time wasted, he said poignantly is life abused. These are nothing but nuggets of wisdom based, as they are, upon the word of God.

However, I wish to suggest that the reason many of us do not have these attributes; the reason we are having to “cope with challenges” of being real men, is essentially because we are not being who we profess we are. Let me explain. Ask any one of us who we are, we would unhesitatingly declare that we are sons of God. Asked how we know, we would quote the Bible. But are we living as sons of God? I have my doubts. In fact, if truth be told, most of us are not. You see a major part of sonship is the impartation of the divine nature, the very essence of God, His love nature, his holiness and faithfulness. If we really know that we are and are being sons of God, rather than people who just know about its possibility, we would manifest these attributes and the items listed above by the man of God would simply be part of the territory! They would be fruits of sonship rather than the root of it.

To appreciate the point I am trying to make, let’s refresh our memories about creation and the divine plan as revealed in the Bible particularly as regards work and money which is one of the enemy’s most powerful tools for robbing us of sonship consciousness. We saw in the book of Genesis that God set out to create a kingdom of sons on earth through Adam. Like the good father that he is, God provided for everything that this first son would ever need. All that this son had to do was be a son! Take care of the family business including the family estate also known as the Garden of Eden, which he was told to “dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). The original plan of God did not include today’s “work to eat” situation. God never tied Adam’s continued well-being to his success or failure in the family business. They were totally unconnected. Proof of that was that it was after the fall that God made the declaration that “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread…(Genesis 3:19). This was one of the curses that Jesus, the second Adam, by his death and resurrection and therefore reinstatement of what lawyers call the status quo ante, came to repeal. So, if we are still seeking to eat bread, by the sweat of our brow, we are still living under the curse!
Does this imply that we are not supposed to work? No! It simply implies that we are workers in the family business like Adam in the Garden of Eden and Jesus going about “my father’s business.” It means that we see whatsoever job that we have as a calling, an assignment within our father’s vast conglomerate. If we grasp this truth, we would not put the assignment above the assignor; we would not do despicable things to get and keep our jobs, and we would not cut corners on the job. We would understand that God, as our father has responsibility to provide for us and he’s not about to shirk his responsibility. We would grasp the full import of these famous verses in Romans 8: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God…The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” Be a son, brother and you’ll never have to worry about your manhood! (Derived from Ministration at CMN Ojokoro’s Men’s Retreat at Ota on Saturday, November 14)

OLABODE IBIYINKA JUDGED

It works like this. A man (almost always, a man!) corruptly enriches himself. The law catches up with him and when he eventually manipulates his way through the system, his handlers organise a massive rally to welcome home their “illustrious son – in a show of “People Power”. But ex-Governor and retired top Naval Officer Olabode George took it one step further. After gorging on the resources of the Nigeria Ports Authority, on which board he served as chairman, and for years escaped justice, he finally had his day in court. He turned every hearing into a carnival, with aso-ebi clad supporters singing and dancing in the court premises. It was clearly a veiled attempt to use corrupted “People Power” to intimidate the judiciary.

The first day of August has come to acquire a certain significance in my life since that Monday, 26 years ago, when I became a father. We had had to wait more than two years, two years that seemed like eternity, two years during which questions were already being asked and accusing fingers being furtively pointed in the usual direction! Thank God, nobody needed to publicly recant of their opinions. The rapidity of the “follow-ups” took care of that.

This August 1, however, registered a different kind of significance. One of my favourite international figures died. The woman died. The woman you could say gave the world “People Power” died. Corazon Aquino, one time President of the Philippines died, felled by colon cancer at 76.

The woman Filipinos liked to call “Cory” and “People Power” came to my mind during the week as I reflected on the trial, conviction, march to jail and, refusal of bail (for now, at least) of Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George, well-known chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by a Lagos High Court. Wondering about the connection? Here goes.

Corazon was married to a certain journalist turned politician, Benigno. As leader of the opposition in their country, he had become a threat to the status quo. So, Ferdinand Marcos threw him into jail and assumed full dictatorial powers in 1972. Undaunted, Benigno, with the full backing of his wife, became the icon of democratic struggles in the Philippines. Some seven or so years later, he went on exile to the United States, where he continued the struggle. On August 22, 1983, he began the fateful journey home from exile to continue the campaign for democracy. He never made it. He was shot right on the gangway of the aircraft on landing at destination. Dream determined? No way. It was dream deferred. Deferred for about two years; the period it took the devout catholic wife of the murdered hero, to acquiesce to the will of the people that she stepped into the shoes of her husband.

She finally did, when Marcos, the over-confident dictator, called a snap election in November 1985. Cory became the opposition candidate, filling her nomination form as a housewife. The election which held three months later was called for Marcos. Cory’s supporters knew differently and would have none of it. They poured into the streets, a million strong, clad in their candidate’s favourite yellow colour. Led by rosary-wielding nuns, they stared down Marcos’ armoured tanks chanting “Cory! Cory!! Cory!!!” Four days of sustained, but peaceful street protests later, the military joined the masses and the dictator scampered out of Manila to exile in Hawaii. Cory assumed leadership of her country and “People Power” was born – with a lot of help from the Church, the dominant catholic wing of it.

“People Power” in several variants, has in the 23 years since Cory inspired it, been put to effective use against vote-rigging and dictatorships in many places – from Poland, former Czechoslovakia and Thailand to, Taiwan, Mongolia and Ukraine. But, although apartheid fell to it in the Republic of South Africa, it is yet to chalk up much success on the continent.

In Nigeria, in spite of several attempts, including the recent series of marches put together in several cities by the Nigeria Labour Congress and its civil society allies, in opposition to government’s planned downstream oil sector deregulation, canvassing increase in the minimum wage for workers and electoral reforms; “People Power” is yet to chalk up any major victory. The “whys” of that would have to wait another day. “People Power” of the manipulated kind, however, seemed to be catching on in this nation. The Abacha million-man march easily comes to mind here. But, there’s an even more nauseating manifestation of this variant and that is the reason for this musing of mine.

It works like this. A man (almost always, a man!) corruptly enriches himself. The law catches up with him and when he eventually manipulates his way through the system, his handlers organise a massive rally to welcome home their “illustrious son – in a show of “People Power”. But ex-Governor and retired top Naval Officer Olabode George took it one step further. After gorging on the resources of the Nigeria Ports Authority, on which board he served as chairman, and for years escaped justice, he finally had his day in court. He turned every hearing into a carnival, with aso-ebi clad supporters singing and dancing in the court premises. It was clearly a veiled attempt to use corrupted “People Power” to intimidate the judiciary. It failed, thanks to the courage of a judge who chose to align with the dictum of the progressive school of adjudication – “let justice be done, even if the heavens fall.” Would that there were more judges like him – particularly on the higher benches!

It was a clear demonstration of these wise words of the Bible: “They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them” (Proverbs 28:4). A section of the people, obviously suborned, forsook the law and celebrated the wicked. But mercifully, a judge chose justice and contended with the wicked. “George Cross” is a decoration that the English used to award to civilians who exhibit bravery. Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, who judged George, deserves such a medal. So, by the way, does the as yet not-widely-accepted Mrs Farida Waziri, current chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, who in spite of “threat, blackmail and pressure” treaded where predecessor Nuhu Ribadu dared not. And Nuhu, legend has it, was a brave man!

TELECOMS: A NIGERIAN STORY WITHOUT NIGERIANS? (3)

We emphasised, however, “that the issue of integrity is critical…because…if there is a grave national drought in Nigeria; it is in the integrity department. And I am sure you and I know it. I know also that Dr Omolayole knows it; otherwise, he would not have raised it...So, whilst we debate the glass ceilings and the consumer statistics, I wish to state that we need to take a closer look at the subject of integrity in the work place, at ALL levels. This is because, I believe in the injunction of the Bible that says, ‘…if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged’ (1 Corinthians 11:31).”

The paradox of a burgeoning telecommunication sector in Nigeria with no Nigerian in the cockpit of the top corporate players was recently highlighted by IT& Telecoms Digest. We have said that the situation brought to the fore by the recent replacement of ‘the last Nigerian standing’, Zain’s Bayo Ligali, with a foreigner, is a powerful reminder of the situation among the multinationals, about which Dr Michael Omolayole raised issues early last year.

In drawing attention to the development, Omolayole, a one-time CEO of Lever Brothers Plc, a multinational now known as Unilever, had raised a number of questions similar to those being raised or implied by the IT journal as it affects the telecoms sector. We had encapsulated the questions into two main ones, namely: “Is a glorious chapter of Nigerian history being written without Nigerians and if so, should we be worried?”

Given that even companies in the sector owned by Nigerians have not proven nationalistic in their choice of helmsmen, however, we thought to beginning by asking why? The ‘why’ question became even more important with the magazine’s expose of the fact that many of the companies that have closed shop, unable to benefit from the boom in the sector were Nigerian-run. This was why we found ourselves asking these questions: Could it therefore be that a fear of losing their investments or of failing to maximise their returns is the reason Nigerians are not being considered as CEOs? Is such fear founded on empirical evidence? If it is, is it the result of paucity of technical expertise, or competence, or experience or integrity, or a combination of some or all of these? Or are there other factors?

It is incontrovertible that no rational group of investors will put someone at the head of their management team without consideration of his/her ability to ensure healthy returns on their investment. It is therefore certain that in choosing CEO, protection of investment and maximization of profit, rather than any primordial consideration have pride of place. So, it stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if a preponderance of Nigerians who have executive-managed telecoms outfits have ran them aground, business barons would avoid them, plague-like?

Now, if it is implied that more Nigerian helmsmen have failed in this booming sector; what factors are responsible? I make bold to say that it cannot be technical expertise because, as the telecoms digest explained, most of the foreigners in charge do not have engineering knowledge being mainly of either management and accounting pedigree. Also, competence, as in capability and effectiveness can hardly be a problem. Competent Nigerians abound in virtually every aspect of life. Many have and continue to make their marks internationally. Ligali, for instance, was head-hunted by Celtel, which became Zain Nigeria, from Unilever where he had headed its operations in a number of countries. There may well seem to be a bit of challenge with industry experience, which cannot be of great moment, since corporate management expertise is supposed to be industry-blind. That leaves our ‘why’ checklist with only one item, integrity. And that is one issue about which, I truly wish I could be as dismissive as I have been with other factors.

In our commentary on Dr Omolayole’s 2008 newspaper article lamenting the displacement of Nigerians from multinational companies executive suites, we noted that the most critical of the posers he raised was the one he couched in these words: “Are all Nigerian top managers non-performing or adjudged by expatriates to be bitten by the bug of lack of integrity?” (Emphasis added).

We aligned then with Omolayole’s other concerns articulated in these questions: “What future projections can we make? Has it occurred to multinational owners of large manufacturing outfits, that 99 per cent of the consumers of their products are Nigerians? Is economic nationalism dead, killed by globalisation? Is there now an artificial glass ceiling in the Corporate Boardroom for nationals? That is, a level beyond, which nationals cannot rise. What answers could we possibly give to such questions from our children and grandchildren with regards to this phenomenon?” We also found no fault with his conclusion that: ‘The future of our great country still lies in its ability to harness the potential of its abundant human resources (Human Capital) at the very top levels, be it in Management or Public Service”.

We emphasised, however, “that the issue of integrity is critical…because…if there is a grave national drought in Nigeria; it is in the integrity department. And I am sure you and I know it. I know also that Dr Omolayole knows it; otherwise, he would not have raised it...So, whilst we debate the glass ceilings and the consumer statistics, I wish to state that we need to take a closer look at the subject of integrity in the work place, at ALL levels. This is because, I believe in the injunction of the Bible that says, ‘…if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged’ (1 Corinthians 11:31).”

We align, in the same way, with IT & Telecoms Digest’s concerns about the implications of shutting Nigerians out the cockpit of one of the most successful sectors of the economy and do wish that it be roundly addressed. But we also emphasise today, as we did then, that there is a need to check the “integrity quotient” of the Nigerian executive class - across the board. The corporate governance issues thrown up by the current controversial banking sector “reform”, as yet unproven as they are, do make it imperative that we take a look at this critical area of our national life. And this is not a job for governments; at least not exclusively. A vast majority of our political class is yet to demonstrate immunity to the “bug of lack of integrity.” This is therefore a job for the Church – where the bug, thanks to the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, cannot acquire viral proportions. Then would Nigerians be the heroes of their own glorious story.

TELECOMS: A NIGERIAN STORY WITHOUT NIGERIANS? (2)

He followed his observations with a number of posers: “What has gone wrong and still going wrong? What exactly is happening? Have the majority owners of multinationals lost confidence in Nigerians? A situation where the two biggest Confectionery Companies, two biggest Breweries and two largest detergent companies are being managed by expatriates is worrisome. Are all Nigerian top managers non-performing or adjudged by expatriates to be bitten by the bug of lack of integrity?” There were more: “What future projections can we make? Has it occurred to multinational owners of large manufacturing outfits, that 99 per cent of the consumers of their products are Nigerians? Is economic nationalism dead, killed by globalisation? Is there now an artificial glass ceiling in the Corporate Boardroom for nationals? That is, a level beyond, which nationals cannot rise.

As we were saying, the Nigerian telecommunications sector has been so successful in the last eight years that many of us have had to occasionally pinch ourselves to reassure us that we are not indulging our fantasies! When I see the things that we now routinely do on phone, including “flashing” your children within the home to summon them, I wonder how we ever lived without the mobile phone. Add to the hardly calculable utility value these humongous numbers – 70 million lines from a maximum of 500,000 in 2001; foreign direct investment (FDI) of up to $12billion or N180 trillion at today’s exchange rate; hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs etc and you’ll agree we have nothing short of a miracle.

Here comes the puzzle. Why is the fastest growing telecommunications sector in Africa, and one of the top 10 in the world, run largely by foreigners? IT & Telecoms Digest, the magazine which triggered this had raised the puzzle in these words: “ironically, in spite of this monumental leap forward that the country has achieved in so short a time, it remains a puzzle why there are no Nigerians occupying the chief executive officer position in any of the telecoms companies in the country…In all, the percentage of CEOs of Nigerian extraction is less than 30 percent of the country’s industry total.” It is against this background that we pose the questions: “Is a glorious chapter of Nigerian history being written without Nigerians? If so, should we be worried?”

Before we attempt to find answers to these questions, however, it is pertinent at this juncture, to recall a piece, mentioned here last week, “Omolayole and Integrity in Corporate Governance”. It was a commentary on an article by Dr Michael Omolayole, a highly respected management expert and consultant titled, “Corporate Management: More Questions Than Answers.” In that piece the erudite management scholar had raised similar questions about the dominance of foreigners in the leadership cadre of major companies, particularly multinationals in Nigeria. He recalled how during “the last quarter of the 19th Century to the early 70s of the 20th Century” conglomerates and multinationals in Nigeria “were managed by expatriate personnel especially at the top” and how “the Indigenisation Act in Nigeria in the 70s helped in no small measure to change the status quo.” As a result of that law, he said that “where there was only one Nigerian CEO of a Multinational Company quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange” in 1973, “by 1980, the picture had changed. The country had four or five Nigerians who were CEOs of multinational companies quoted on the Stock Exchange. By 1990, the country probably reached the highest number and quality in terms of progress made”.

Omolayole then noted, much like the writers of IT &Telecom Digest’s current cover story now do about the their sector: “However, between 1990 and 2000, some large multinationals somehow did not seem to find it easy to sustain an indigenous management succession or decided outright to turn back the hand of the clock. Some of these companies are Guinness Nigeria Plc, Unilever Nigeria Plc, and Nestle Nigeria Plc. We are now more than half way into the first decade of the 21st Century and the picture is more gloomy. Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, WAPCO and PZ Industries have joined the groups that are now managed at the very top by expatriates”.

He followed his observations with a number of posers: “What has gone wrong and still going wrong? What exactly is happening? Have the majority owners of multinationals lost confidence in Nigerians? A situation where the two biggest Confectionery Companies, two biggest Breweries and two largest detergent companies are being managed by expatriates is worrisome. Are all Nigerian top managers non-performing or adjudged by expatriates to be bitten by the bug of lack of integrity?” There were more: “What future projections can we make? Has it occurred to multinational owners of large manufacturing outfits, that 99 per cent of the consumers of their products are Nigerians? Is economic nationalism dead, killed by globalisation? Is there now an artificial glass ceiling in the Corporate Boardroom for nationals? That is, a level beyond, which nationals cannot rise. What answers could we possibly give to such questions from our children and grandchildren with regards to this phenomenon?”

More questions than answers, no doubt, but let’s at least attempt answers to our earlier posers on the telecoms industry and see if it illuminates our path through this valley of decision. Is a glorious chapter of Nigerian history being written without Nigerians? It is easy to respond to this in the affirmative, because for the moment, from ownership to management, the industry is dominated by foreigners.

Interestingly, even most Nigerian-owned companies in the sector are executive-managed by foreigners. But to answer the second question, we must contend with the question: why do the investors prefer to install expatriates in their executive suites? This is a particularly important question because even the IT& Telecoms Digest article contained this unflattering piece of information: “Many telecom companies started the communications journey but few have survived the telecom boom period. In the same market where some companies have been reaping their gains in bounties, others have faltered mid-way into the race. They have either gone extinct or are barely clutching on to floating straws on the water surface for survival. These companies have a common denominator – they were once run by Nigerians!”
Could it therefore be that a fear of losing their investments or of failing to maximise their returns is the reason Nigerians are not being considered as CEOs? Is such fear founded on empirical evidence? If it is, is it the result of paucity of technical expertise, or competence, or experience or integrity, or a combination of some or all of these? Or are there other factors? (CONTINUES)

TELECOMS: A NIGERIAN STORY WITHOUT NIGERIANS?

Now - back to the issue at hand. In the words of the IT & Telecoms Digest report, “ironically, in spite of this monumental leap forward that the country has achieved in so short a time, it remains a puzzle why there are no Nigerians occupying the chief executive officer position in any of the telecoms companies in the country…In all, the percentage of CEOs of Nigerian extraction is less than 30 percent of the country’s industry total.” Is a glorious chapter of Nigerian history being written without Nigerians? If so, should we be worried?

One of the most important items on my monthly reading fare is IT & Telecoms Digest; an all-gloss monthly magazine published by Ikeja, Lagos-based, Belmang Limited. It is a world-class publication that covers the information technology and telecommunications sector globally from an unabashedly Nigerian perspective. Proactive on issues affecting the sector and reasonably relaxed in its presentation, it manages to educate and inform me about Nigeria’s most deservedly celebrated success story. Now and again, it also sets me thinking about the Nigerian condition, our vast potentials and possibilities and our tendency to self-immolation. Its current cover choice did just that.

Headlined, “Black Versus White; Indigenous Versus Foreign, Picking CEOs for Nigerian Telecom Operations”, it highlighted the current situation in that vibrant sector as it applies to headship of the major operators. Obviously triggered by the departure of the only Nigerian CEO among the top-six companies, Mr Bayo Ligali, until September 18, CEO of Zain Nigeria, the report should at least restart a debate on an issue we had raised in a piece, “Omolayole and Integrity In Corporate Governance” (March 26, 2008).

But first a few facts and figures as gleaned from the magazine. With about 70 million telephone users, Nigeria is the undisputed leader in subscriber numbers on the continent of Africa. This is a phenomenal rise from the paltry under-500,000 lines in use before the communication revolution of 2001, which began with the introduction of the global system of mobile telecommunication (GSM) that year. The growth is such that it has changed the face and turned the fortunes of the global industry. Admitting that much recently was no less a person than the incumbent Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union, Dr Hamadoun Toure. On a visit to Abuja, Nigeria last month, Toure, a Malian and first African to hold that office, proudly declared: “For the past five years and the first time in 144 years, Africa was recognised as one of the best carriers of the ICT sector. Nigeria is currently the continent’s largest market. This did not just happen by chance. It required good leadership by government, good regulation that is independent and committed”.

Toure’s reference to good leadership and good regulation is incidentally one of the most important single achievements of democratic governance yet. Beginning with the issuance of licenses through an auction that was universally acknowledged as one of the most transparent ever, the National Communications Communication, NCC has continued to attract commendation internationally. This might explain why current Nigerian Information and Communications Minister, Professor Dora Akunyili, in spite of the widely known frosty relationship between her and Engr Ernest Ndukwe, Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, had to join the praise choir.

Receiving Toure in her office in Abuja, she was reported as saying: “I don’t want to miss congratulating the EVC of the NCC for the good job NCC has done in this country since 2001 – during the GSM auction which is still being celebrated in this country and the way they have ensured that growth is steady…” Interestingly, she had a cultural and statistical explanation for the unprecedented growth of telephony numbers in the country. After explaining that her motivation for wanting to “continue to work to ensure that we improve services,” was “so that we have service that Nigerians can smile and be happy about”, she noted that “the average Nigerian is ready to skip lunch to buy airtime (because) we spend a lot of time on telephone. In fact some people culturally pick up the telephone and praise God first, which is wonderful, and then ask after your family before discussing the issue. That is why 10 subscribers in the US or Britain equals one subscriber in Nigeria.”

The success story in this sector, however, goes beyond the number of telephone users or any ministerial mathematics. Nigerian operators have begun to think beyond that. Globacom, a wholly owned Nigerian company is leading penetration into other countries in the West African sub-region with presence in Benin Republic, roll-out imminent in Ghana and, Cote d’Ivoire a near possibility. The same company recently landed Glo-1, its submarine cable system in Nigeria, a world first by a single company; existing such systems being consortia affairs. Another submarine project Main One by another full-blooded Nigerian company, Main One Technologies is on the way. These are massive heavy data capable systems that will connect Nigeria to virtually every part of the world. Within the country itself thousands of fibre optic cable lines are being laid including MTN Nigeria’s 3,400 kilometre Y’ello Bahn launched much earlier.

Nor is Nigeria’s newfound ICT leadership in Africa only region-deep. At international ICT forums, the country provides leadership. In a preview of the ITU WORLD 2009 in the magazine, Dennis Onwuegbu recalled how the Nigerian pavilion at the ITU Africa congress in Cairo, Egypt last year drew one of the highest numbers of visitors. He wrote in part: “the green and white colours of Nigeria which was conspicuously hoisted inside the expansive Cairo International Conference Centre became a major attraction throughout the four-day event. And the presence of Nigerian government officials, operators including the country’s two leading computer manufacturers – Zinox and Omatek; industry regulator, NCC; a financial institution, Access Bank; and an overwhelming number of ICT journalists were all that the country needed to make the difference at the event.”

Now - back to the issue at hand. In the words of the IT & Telecoms Digest report, “ironically, in spite of this monumental leap forward that the country has achieved in so short a time, it remains a puzzle why there are no Nigerians occupying the chief executive officer position in any of the telecoms companies in the country…In all, the percentage of CEOs of Nigerian extraction is less than 30 percent of the country’s industry total.” Is a glorious chapter of Nigerian history being written without Nigerians? If so, should we be worried? (CONTINUES)

BETWEEN SURVIVING AND THRIVING

Now, there are many reasons why we are a surviving rather than a thriving nation. One of them is the dearth of people-loving leadership. The golden age of Nigeria was the era of Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Ahmadu Bello and they succeeded because they loved their people enough to want the very best for them. It is that kind of leadership that we must seek to enthrone if we will have anything to celebrate next year.

FIFTY weeks from now, Nigeria will be 50, if the Lord tarries. You can be sure that the golden milestone would be celebrated with considerable fanfare, regardless of the achievements, or lack of it, of the nation over the period. If media debates about the state of the nation at 49 offer any guide, there are probably as many people who think we definitely have reasons to celebrate as think otherwise.

I personally agree with those who say we do not have any cause to celebrate the last anniversary, particularly because, it would have been insensitivity at its worst for us to roll out the drums with our universities shut to industrial dispute, among other socio-economic challenges. But, shall we have cause to celebrate our golden jubilee in October 2010? Frankly, I think it would depend on what we do or fail to do in the brief intervening period? For those with a statistical bent, that is to say, we have one week to redeem each year of our national life yet! And that’s almost ludicrous, isn’t it? But haven’t there been famous injury time redemptions as in football before? Besides, I am a Bible-believing Christian - I believe in miracles.

But I am not going to talk about miracles today. I want to talk about authority, my authority and yours as believers to change things around us. Many of us might recall the four-part series, “Open Letter to Kingdom Persons” published here recently. In it, I tried to draw our attention or remind us, as the case might be, of the unfortunate prevalence of sons of God living the lives of servants. We pointed out that God’s Kingdom is a kingdom of sons, not servants or slaves; that everyone who you are a son of God if you are led by the Holy Spirit. If you are born again, you are open to the leading of the Holy Spirit already, because without the Holy Spirit working on your heart, you wouldn’t have accepted the lordship of Jesus Christ, in the first place. Implicit in sonship is authority; the kind that servants do not have.

It is this theme that struck me as I reflected on the potentials of our nation as we approach 50. As I write this, ours is a surviving nation. A survivor, as Pastor George Pearson of Kenneth Copeland’s Eagles Mountain Church recently said, is only one step above the dead. In other words, any deterioration in a survivor’s case automatically leads to death. Yet, given the abundant resources it has pleased God to locate within our geopolitical boundary, we should be a thriving nation. We should be that land flowing with milk and honey, far, far, far above death.

Now, there are many reasons why we are a surviving rather than a thriving nation. One of them is the dearth of people-loving leadership. The golden age of Nigeria was the era of Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Ahmadu Bello and they succeeded because they loved their people enough to want the very best for them. It is that kind of leadership that we must seek to enthrone if we will have anything to celebrate next year. How to do it? Let’s enforce our spiritual authority as sons of God to speak what we want into manifestation. No other strategy can beat that.

RE: A NATION DOUBLY BEREAVED
When Nigeria’s Flying Eagles crashed out of the Under-21 World Cup last Wednesday night, my mind flashed to an article “A Nation Doubly Bereaved” (Kingdom Perspective, September 13, 2009), the conclusion of which was lost to gremlin, the printer’s devil. I think the last few paragraphs of the piece can bear repetition. So, here goes:

Interestingly, it is not often that they (football administrators) manifest ineptitude. Sometimes they even strive to get it right, throw money around, organise friendly matches etc, yet things don’t work. Take the (Super Eagles’) match against Tunisia. Do you think those boys didn’t know what was at stake? Do you think they do not want to go to the World Cup - with all that it would do for their career? Are they not experienced enough to know what to do to defend their one goal advantage five minutes to a crucial match? Think again.

Dr Adeleke Olaiya, President, Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF), I believe, put his finger right on it, when he said during the week “that our football problem is intricately spiritual and we must apologise to Ibrahim Galadima, former Nigeria Football Association (NFA) boss for all Nigerians wronged him by disgracing him out of office with just no cause. If he was unable to take us to the World Cup, who will? This is the bitter truth and I stand to be challenged. Nigeria must not be careless with her spiritual life by taking things for granted, we must be sensitive in our public life and ask for forgiveness from God. Then our football will wake up with genuine developmental agenda. God will be with us and give strength to our leaders.”

Save for the fact that the injustice in our football predated the Galadima episode, and has not ceased since, I am absolutely in agreement with Olaiya. The point is this. It is an inviolable moral and spiritual law that you cannot build something on nothing. One of my dear readers, Mr Akintunde Makinde once put it very powerfully on this page in a similar context. Quoting Charles Spurgeon he said “You cannot steal a goose and offer God the gosling” and added “Amalekite oxen are unacceptable as burnt offering. Might is not right but right is right. This is the way forward for the country.”

Gani (Fawehinmi) died a day before our World Cup dreams died. Gani was a source of succour and hope for the common man. So is football. While we can keep Gani’s essence alive by picking up the gauntlet against greed, which is the father of virtually all other vices, we can resuscitate our sports by exorcising the spirit of greed that has held it bound. Are we going to even try?

THE SABOTEUR AS CITIZEN

A very critical element in the mix is the place of companies and individuals with vast investments in the sole substitute to public power source. These are principally generator manufacturers’ agents and importers, diesel importers and generator maintenance and servicing outfits. This alternative industry must be worth hundreds of billions of Naira; offering employment to thousands of Nigerians and expatriates, and contributing to the tax coffers. Yet, to my knowledge, no power policy has factored them into the equation, except perhaps as saboteurs to be dealt with by the military, Nigeria Police and other paramilitary outfits.

Chief Ajibola Ige, of blessed memory, it was, who once said, “Blessed are those who do not hope, for they shall not be disappointed.” An ironic statement, if ever there was one, particularly coming from one of Nigeria’s hope-inducing politicians of his era. Bola Ige, as you probably remember him, or Uncle B to many of his younger followers, died in the service of the nation as Attorney General and Minister of Justice. He was allegedly shot in his bedroom in Ibadan by unknown assailants as his security details “went out to eat.” The assailants remain unknown to date – at least to “we the people” whom he was supposed to be serving. But like all unsolved mysteries, it is a matter of time for as Holy Writ puts it: “… there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known” (Luke 12:2).

As I sit here reflecting on Nigeria at 49, hope and the Cicero of Esa-Oke sprung into my consciousness. When in 1999, Bola Ige, who had wanted to run for the Presidency, but was denied the opportunity by his party, the Alliance for Democracy (AD), was appointed Minister of Mines and Power in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s government of rival Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), two emotions were rife – shock and hope. Shock, because Bola Ige, deep-dyed in the old Awolowo school of party supremacy seemed to have acted out of character. But hope sprang in the hearts of pragmatists who felt that if anyone could fix the daunting electricity power problem the nation faced, Uncle B was the man. National service trumped political discipline and the man took office.

The former Oyo state governor did nothing to douse expectation; indeed with a Mr Fix-It attitude, he raised all hopes by announcing a time-table. But in the end, it was hopes dashed; expectations unfulfilled, chalking up, to my knowledge, his first and only failure in an illustrious career in public office spanning over forty years. That was why he subsequently moved to the Ministry of Justice, where the man died.

Several ministers and billions of Naira later, Mr Lanre Babalola, said to be an internationally reputed specialist in the field, is still grappling with the problem. Numbers have been churned out again and again, targets set and reset. The Nigerian understandably has settled for late Bola Ige’s other maxim “siddon look,” even if he cannot help hoping against hope that someday his nation would one day achieve the uninterrupted power feat of her less-endowed neighbour, Ghana.

The power problem is however beyond the bolt and nut approach of successive governments and their technocrats. Its intractability is not the result of bad planning, design and execution of plants, transmission lines etc, even if we’ve had our fair share of those. A very critical element in the mix is the place of companies and individuals with vast investments in the sole substitute to public power source. These are principally generator manufacturers’ agents and importers, diesel importers and generator maintenance and servicing outfits. This alternative industry must be worth hundreds of billions of Naira; offering employment to thousands of Nigerians and expatriates, and contributing to the tax coffers. Yet, to my knowledge, no power policy has factored them into the equation, except perhaps as saboteurs to be dealt with by the military, Nigeria Police and other paramilitary outfits.

This is the crux of the matter. Successive governments have failed to think outside the box. Look at it this way. Government’s inept policies over time have created this burgeoning subsector into which people have invested legally and legitimately, including many youths who went to universities and polytechnics with a view to servicing that sub-sector on graduating. They have become stakeholders in the power sector. Then government wakes up from its long slumber to redress the situation, which implies wiping out the sub-sector. Yet they are ignored. The risk to their investment is not considered; their future immaterial to policy makers. In desperation, they seek to protect themselves – by instigating illegal and immoral activities to stay in business. So they get correctly labelled saboteurs and outlaws to be resisted by all the forces at the government’s disposal, which happens to be inadequate. Business Hallmark in one of its July editions carried a lead story it headlined, “Unseen hands behind power crisis,” which sought to highlight the problem. Of course, tried as the trio of Victor Bassey, Chika Nwabueze and Obinna Chima did, mum was the word from the generator marketers they approached. It’s a survival thing, man.

A new approach is needed. Has it occurred to anyone to study the extent of this sub-sector to determine the size of investments, the number of jobs and the general socio-economic impact of a successful resuscitation of the public power sector on this section of it? Can stakeholders in the subsector get a piece of the action in the emerging scenario? Are the massive iron and metal contrivances capable of being integrated into the system or are they convertible to other uses? What becomes of those scraps, when they do become so?

What applies to the power sector is equally applicable to the transportation sector. Where do the trailer and tanker vehicle owners and operators fit in the scheme of things as we seek a revitalization of the rail sector? What becomes of the massive investments in the long haul vehicles and their thousands of minders? If cries of sabotage are not yet being heard there, they will.

While not encouraging lawlessness, I commend this wisdom of the Lord Jesus to our leaders: “…If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? (Matthew 18:12). Governments exist to take care of the interests of all its citizens, including those whose minority interests might be hurt in the process of meeting the needs of the majority. Otherwise the road to majority satisfaction will be unnecessarily elongated, as is currently the case.

OLD ENOUGH TO DIE? (2)

For those statistically inclined, who might want to know what could be considered as the scriptural long life, the following truths of the Bible should be of help. I might as well address the famous “threescore and ten years” or “fourscore” years supposed Biblical prescription oft-quoted from the Psalms. It reads: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10). Over the years I’ve heard this verse quoted as God’s idea of long life today. I am sure you’ve heard it too! But is it true?

I did not plan to return to the subject of longevity and death when I signed off the column last time. But as the last week wore on, I kept getting the feeling that I was a wee bit facetious about a serious matter or isn’t that how issues of life and death are described? I sensed that those who, upon reading the headline might have expected a deeper Scriptural perspective on the subject were probably underserved. My sincere apologies.

We concluded last week that David Livingstone, the explorer, hit bull’s eye when he said: “I am immortal until my task is accomplished.” And that is simply the truth for those who have a revelation of their true position in Christ Jesus. I might as well just explain this perspective at its most basic. The Bible says we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for certain pre-assigned tasks. My favourite rendition of the relevant verse of the Bible is from the New Living Translation and it says: “…we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10). The Bible also quoted God the Father as saying in Psalm 91:16: “With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” The Hebrew root word translated “satisfy” here is sabea, and it connotes “enough”, or “suffice,” in addition to “satiate.” The combined effect of these two verses of scripture is that God has assigned each of us to certain tasks, equipped us for them and provided us enough “length of days” to accomplished them. That is the reason Livingstone could boldly make the assertion he was quoted as making. That is the reason; every child of God can make the same claim.

For those statistically inclined, who might want to know what could be considered as the scriptural long life, the following truths of the Bible should be of help. I might as well address the famous “threescore and ten years” or “fourscore” years supposed Biblical prescription oft-quoted from the Psalms. It reads: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10). Over the years I’ve heard this verse quoted as God’s idea of long life today. I am sure you’ve heard it too! But is it true?

The direct answer is “No”. If it were it wouldn’t have been said of Aaron: “And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor (Numbers 33:39). Nor would the Bible have recorded of Moses himself: “And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated “(Deuteronomy 34:7). And remember Miriam? She was believed to be the sister who “stood afar” watching what would happen to her baby brother, Moses as he laid helplessly in “the ark among the flags” in Exodus chapter 2. Yet, she outlived both Aaron and Moses.

More important however is the historical context of Moses’ declaration in Psalm 90. Studies have located it at shortly after God had pronounced judgement upon the rebellious children of Israel in the book of Numbers. He had told Moses pointedly: “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun… (Numbers 14:27-30). It was the curse of the Law foreshadowed at its deadliest, and Moses was simply echoing the status quo in his prayer recorded in this Psalm. It was a status quo limited to a season of unconscionable, mindless repudiation of God’s faithfulness and omnipotence, by a people who, above all else had tasted of both.

But the enemy had sold the lie for so long and so successfully that a vast majority of us Christians begin to wind down our activities from age 60, fully persuaded that it would take a miracle to go beyond the next 10 or 20. Yet 60 is but middle age! No, don’t laugh. It’s the truth of God’s word, if you’ll check out the sixth chapter of the book of Genesis. The Lord God, the Source of life, said in verse three: “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” Yes, God’s life span floor for his children is 120 years, not 70 or 80. And if you consider the circumstance against which this floor was set, you’ll see that it was a big come-down, the result of the then on-going perversion.

You see, brethren, we need to renew our minds to the truth of Scripture, reject the lies of the enemy, no matter how long entrenched; so we can come into the fullness of our inheritance in God. That is what the likes of Evangelist Otis Clark, approaching 107; unbent, medication-free, clear-sighted enough to thread a needle, certified as having the heart of a 35-year-old, prove conclusively. And all it takes, says this man who still enjoys cooking his “own breakfast of steak and eggs or bacon and eggs…and make a pot of beef stew with garlic cloves, tomatoes and potatoes” is, “get on God’s side and stay there. No matter how many times you mess up, repent and stay on the winning side.”

OLD ENOUGH TO DIE?

Incidentally, the oldest person that ever lived, according to GRG records, was another female. Jeanne-Louise Calment was aged 122 when she passed on in August 1997 in Arles, France. This is not surprising because the top ten persons on the longevity table are all women, while the oldest man alive, Walter Breuning who will be 113 tomorrow (September 21) is number 15. In fact, of the 72 persons confirmed aged 110 and above, only four are males. This raises the question: Will a man ever be confirmed the oldest person on earth? Well, current statistics suggest that this is unlikely in the nearest future. But check out the man, Otis Clark.

Dr Mrs Joe Okei-Odumakin, president, Campaign for Democracy (CD), does not need any introduction. She’s the First Lady of Civil Society in Nigeria. No less a person than Professor Wole Soyinka once described her as "a tireless fighter whose frail bearing belies an inner strength and resilience of purpose…an inspiration to men and women, old and young." Among this Amazon of democratic struggle’s many attributes is her “straight-from-the-hip” rhetoric. This was demonstrated amply in the days since the departure of the late legal icon, Gani Fawehinmi. At one of the many events preceding Gani’s burial, she said of his adversaries: they shall “die unsung”. The teeming crowd of the masses at the event must have responded with a deafening chorus of “Amen!”

But it is a phrase in her tribute on behalf of CD that indirectly triggered this piece. In a brief moving oration in which she noted that “the last 11 days have witnessed a festival of grief that has not been witnessed in recent years even for a departed Head of State”, she said among other things: “The oppressed people whose cause Gani fought for years have been thrown into the deepest mourning, not because Gani was too young to die (emphasis added) but because in him they have lost a worthy friend, a trusted defender and a selfless advocate who sacrificed all for their sake.”

That got me thinking. Was Gani, at about 71, old enough to die? When is a man too young to die or old enough to die? Let me state from the onset that my interest in the subject has nothing to do with me, as a person. By the time this is published, I shall have been three days into my 62nd year and if the Lord tarries, I have no doubts that I shall be around for a long while yet. How do I know that? My Bible assures me that with long life will God satisfy me and I am not anywhere near “long life” yet. Which brings us back to the issue: when is a person old enough to die or, to relate it to the word of God, what is long life?

The Gerontology Research Group seems to consider people below 110 as not yet there! They classify this group of people as super-centenarians and they are given close attention, not just with an eye on the statistics, but more importantly as some kind of guinea pigs in the study of longevity- promoting lifestyles. That explains why in announcing the death on September 11 of the former world’s oldest person, Mrs Gertrude Baines at over 115years, the world was regaled with tales of her love for crispy bacon and fried chicken and disdain for drinking, smoking and fooling around. Her doctor, Dr. Charles Witt was quoted as telling Associated Press: "I saw her two days ago, and she was just doing fine…she was in excellent shape. She was mentally alert. She smiled frequently."

Baines, who became the world's oldest person in January when erstwhile title holder, Maria de Jesus died in Portugal at the same age of 115, however never did attribute her longevity solely to her lifestyle preferring to give the credit to God. She has since been succeeded by Japanese, Kama Chinen whose birthday is recorded as May 10, 1895 and is therefore 114.

Incidentally, the oldest person that ever lived, according to GRG records, was another female. Jeanne-Louise Calment was aged 122 when she passed on in August 1997 in Arles, France. This is not surprising because the top ten persons on the longevity table are all women, while the oldest man alive, Walter Breuning who will be 113 tomorrow (September 21) is number 15. In fact, of the 72 persons confirmed aged 110 and above, only four are males. This raises the question: Will a man ever be confirmed the oldest person on earth? Well, current statistics suggest that this is unlikely in the nearest future. But check out the man, Otis Clark.

Otis, an evangelist, was born on February 13, 1903, in Oklahoma, USA, which means that he’s already about five months shy of his 107th birthday, which in turn means he’s a mere three years to the super-centenarian club. But it is not just Otis’ age; it’s his state that marks him out. He caused a stir when he showed up at the Fort Worth Convention Centre in Texas, USA for the South West Believers’, hosted annually by Kenneth Copeland Ministries on August 5, 2009. Brother Copeland, a man not given to frivolities, interrupted what he was doing to acknowledge him. He had been warmly introduced to the crowd at the 2008 edition.

Evangelist Clark, who participated in the Azusa Street Mission, which was started by William J. Seymour in 1906, still lives independently and has his own car. He is not on any form of medication and has all but one of his teeth intact. He was quoted as saying that the dentist who pulled the missing tooth did not know what he was doing! He does not wear glasses except for reading purposes and he is not on any special diet; he eats anything and everything put before him. He recently told the Believers Voice of Victory magazine: “I enjoy cooking my own breakfast of steak and eggs or bacon and eggs. I like to make a pot of beef stew with garlic cloves, tomatoes and potatoes…I work in the yard and exercise in the pool. I take walks and always stop to smell the flowers. The doctor says I have the heart of a 35-year-old man. I can still thread a needle and mend my own clothes.”

Asked what the single most important step toward long life is, the world’s oldest travelling evangelist who was in Zimbabwe in 2006 and 2007 where he ministered at several meetings said: “Getting on God’s side! If you’re going to live long, get on God’s side and stay there. No matter how many times you mess up, repent and stay on the winning side.”

So, when is a person old enough to die? I believe the answer is: we are never old enough to die; we are ready when we have finished your God-given assignments. David Livingstone, the explorer, was famously quoted as saying: “I am immortal till my work is accomplished…” He was right and still is.