I started experiencing the CK essence when I and my colleagues on the coordinating team of Christian Men's Network Nigeria invited him to speak at one of our quarterly outreaches early this year. He spoke on the subject, "It's a Heart thing." His emphasis was on love - love for God - saying that it is that love that should be the propellant for every action that we take wherever we may find ourselves whether in private or public life. Even the anti-corruption crusade that was at its peak then, he said must have the love for God as its primary motivation. You can read my report of that meeting on the weblog, http://thegreatcompany.blogspot.com. But it should suffice to say here that he received an unprompted standing ovation from the men-only crowd that listened with rapt attention to him that wonderful afternoon.
Since then, I have had the privilege of seeing and listening to him at close quarters at the monthly Breakfast with the Lord outreach of Managing Business For Christ (MBFC) of which he is founder and chairman. At every one of those encounters I have had no doubt that this is a man completely sold out to God. His commitment to the vision of that ministry, which is to bring business people and business practices to Jesus Christ, is simply is total. Except on one occasion when he was abroad, he attended all the sessions and was usually among the first to arrive. Even on the occasion that he was absent, he was ministering at a similar meeting of MBFC, in London.
The godly people in the land are my true heroes!
I take pleasure in them! (Psalm 16:3)
When I started this exercise of selecting one or more persons as KINGDOM Perspective Hero(es) last year, I said I was operating a principle espoused by the late Edwin Louis Cole, the famous founder of Christian Men's Network. He had declared in one of his teachings that only the godly would be his heroes, that he would expose himself and his family members to the influence of only such people. I was later to discover the scriptural basis of his declaration, thanks to the New Living Translation of the Bible's rendition of Psalm 16:3 quoted above. This has further strengthened my conviction that what I had been led to do was actually a spiritual exercise, based on scripture. That then is why I can boldly continue this year.
As a reminder, apart from the qualification clearly spelt out in the theme scripture above, the only other qualification is that that hero had caught the attention of this column to warrant a write-up or more during the year. That, admittedly, is limiting, but it shall suffice for now.
Dr Christopher Kolade, Kingdom Perspective Hero 2008, needs little introduction, if any. He is well known as a very successful public officer, who served as Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and crossed over to the private sector. He subsequently became Managing Director/Chief Executive and later Chairman of multinational food and beverages giant, Cadbury Nigeria Plc. On retiring from Cadbury he went into private business, only to be called and to public life, this time as a diplomat. And his diplomatic posting was to the revered Court of St James's as Nigeria High Commissioner to Great Britain. His spectacular performance in the Unuited Kingdom is already the subject of a book by a UK-based Nigerian journalist, Mrs Pamela Chinekwe. I shall return to that presently.
CK, as he is fondly called, has in all of his assignments been a godly man; by which I mean a man who puts God first in all his activities. His success at both FRCN and Cadbury has been attributed, by those who should know, to an acute awareness that everything he does must be "as unto God". His extra-curricular activities included leadership roles in such institutions as World Association of Christian Communication, Nigerian Institute of Management, Nigerian Institute of Personnel Management, among many others. He still teaches Corporate Governance and Human Resources Management at the Lagos Business School.
I started experiencing the CK essence when I and my colleagues on the coordinating team of Christian Men's Network Nigeria invited him to speak at one of our quarterly outreaches early this year. He spoke on the subject, "It's a Heart thing." His emphasis was on love - love for God - saying that it is that love that should be the propellant for every action that we take wherever we may find ourselves whether in private or public life. Even the anti-corruption crusade that was at its peak then, he said must have the love for God as its primary motivation. You can read my report of that meeting on the weblog, http://thegreatcompany.blogspot.com. But it should suffice to say here that he received an unprompted standing ovation from the men-only crowd that listened with rapt attention to him that wonderful afternoon.
Since then, I have had the privilege of seeing and listening to him at close quarters at the monthly Breakfast with the Lord outreach of Managing Business For Christ (MBFC) of which he is founder and chairman. At every one of those encounters I have had no doubt that this is a man completely sold out to God. His commitment to the vision of that ministry, which is to bring business people and business practices to Jesus Christ, is simply is total. Except on one occasion when he was abroad, he attended all the sessions and was usually among the first to arrive. Even on the occasion that he was absent, he was ministering at a similar meeting of MBFC, in London.
As I said earlier, Dr Kolade's achievements as Nigeria's envoy in the UK was so impressive a book was written about it. It's the story of how he did what many Nigerians and Britons alike had thought was impossible – run an embassy that works! In closing this brief piece, I wish to quote from one of the testimonials in the concluding chapter of the book, now published in Nigeria by our company, KP Books. Signed by Dr & Mrs Albert Odulele of Glory House, UK, it reads in part: "Thank you, sir, for your tremendous contribution to the current improved and positive image of the Nigerian and Nigeria in Britain you have built during your tenure of office. Your unflinching testimony as a minister of the gospel of Jesus, and unrelenting input to the Church of the Living God in the UK and beyond, is remarkable and historic. Thanks for setting new standards of integrity, service and care…"
As we affirm together in the words of David in the Good News translation of the theme scripture: "How excellent are the LORD's faithful people! My greatest pleasure is to be with them", please join me, dear readers, in proclaiming Dr Christopher Kolade as KINGDOM Perspective Hero 2008. The tribe of godly heroes will never dry up in our land, in Jesus' mighty name.
READERS OF THE YEAR 2008
A column without readers is a waste. It's a waste of the efforts of those who labour to put it out – the writer, the editor and all down-line operators who get the medium into the hands of the users of the medium. That is why it is stating the obvious to say that the reader is king. It is for this reason that I chose to salute you, all the wonderful readers of this column. You have, next to my Father, my ultimate Muse, been my inspiration. Many of you have through engaging comments in agreement or counterpoints made the exertions worthwhile. And I truly cannot thank you enough.
But, as I reflected on the past year, I couldn't but wonder what a more joyful ride it would have been, were more of you as responsive and debate promoting as the three I seek your permission to mention today, not in any particular order.
Uche Biosa is a very busy woman - a wife, mother, an HR professional and an ordained woman of God. But as other readers may have noticed, she has been a regular correspondent to Kingdom Perspective. Her impassioned, incisive and informed responses to my serial on the United States Presidential elections of last November showed her commitment to the objectives of this column which is to promote healthy discourse of all issues from the perspective of the Word of God. Her support for Obama was clear and unequivocal but was based, not on the man's sharp good looks or rousing rhetoric, but on her conviction that his candidacy was a move of God. Thanks sis; please keep the discussion alive.
Another of my readers whose contributions have been elevating of the values that are the raison d'etre of this column is Akintunde Makinde. As a Federal civil servant who works with the Nigeria Shippers' Council, an IT specialist and a Pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, he certainly has his plate full. But, he finds time not just to read, but to respond to occasionally to this column; pointing out, at least once, an error of fact. Thanks, my brother. Let's do it together again this year.
My third reader of the year is much more than a reader who contributes; his involvement in my affairs goes beyond Kingdom Perspective. In his gentle manner, he keeps asking those seemingly innocuous questions which together lead one to depth analysis of on-going projects and intended course of action. David Abraham, the man who MBFC Managing Business For Christ) members like to call "Father Abraham" is indeed one of the pillars behind the KP vision. God bless you, sir.
To these KINGDOM Perspective Readers of the Year, I say hearty congratulations. A copy of the book, "He Made the Difference, the Dynamic Story of Ambassador Christopher Kolade in Britain" is on the way to you as a token of my appreciation. You will continue to make the difference wherever it shall please God to lead you, in the peerless name of Jesus.
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