CAN 2008: THE SPIRITUAL ANGLE

For many Nigerians, football makes the world go round. That is why whatever touches football touches most of us. When that particular thing touches football and touches our beloved fatherland, then that thing has us all to contend with. That is why, one German with a name that sounds like the measure of electromotive force is on many Nigerian lips. And what they have singing to him, and about him, is closer to dirges than ballads.

Bertie Vogts, that is his name, and his qualification for the current infamy is simple: He led Nigeria to her most disastrous African Nations Cup championship ever! Yet he came as the answer to many soccer lovers’ clamour for “a world-class coach!” Yet he led possibly the best prepared and highest motivated Nigerian squad in recent times! Yet his was the very first coach in recent memory to have his salary and wages guaranteed through the good offices of a corporate sponsor.

To hear the Nigerian soccer buff, fan and aficionado alike, tell it, Vogts was a high voltage disaster! He was wrong, wrong-headed; wrong-footed; wrong on all and every count(s). His scorecard would read like this: team selection – zero; match formation - zero; technical input – zero; decisions from the bench – zero. Not even Fanny Amun who sought African continental honour at a lower level through a certain strategy known as “wobbling and fumbling” would have been rated that abysmally.

So, if you want an explanation for why the Super Eagles were anything but super at CAN 2008, look no further. Hang it all on the not-so-fragile neck of the German and proceed to hang him by the neck or by whatever other means are you chose.

To be fair, some analysts also see some of the players as contributing their quota to the failure of the Super Eagles to fly. They had little or no commitment, some have said. Others think some of the players had reasons other than the good of fatherland for going to Ghana. One or two newspaper reports even fingered a mafia within the squad for the problems.

Let me state categorically that Nigerian football fans cannot be wrong! Possibly, no other nation in the world has as many coaches, managers or technical advisers as we do. Every home has a potential “world class coach.” Makes you wonder why we needed a foreigner in the first place!

However, on this occasion, I wish to align myself, not with these super specialists, but with the opinion of a one-time vice-chairman of the Nigeria Football Association, NFA, Mr Richard Nwabufor Obienu.

According to a Daily Sun report sensationally headlined “Cursed!”, this Enugu-based lawyer told the newspaper’s Joe Apu that the NFA, is under an unseen spell and therefore there must be total purgation and spiritual cleansing of members of the board because of their litany of sins against Ibrahim Galadima, Sunday Oliseh and George Finidi.

According to the report, Obienu said: "That’s the only way Nigeria can win back her lost football glory…Their sins at the NFA need thorough cleansing. They sinned against Ibrahim Galadima by their grand conspiracy that eventually led to his removal as chairman of the body. They sinned against Shaibu Amodu and Stephen Keshi. They also sinned against Finidi and Oliseh…I dare to say that the problems of our football today are spiritual, and this dates back to 2002 in Mali. Unless these spiritual issues are attended to, our problems would only continue to haunt us."

Expatiating on what he described as moral issues, the report quoted him as saying: “…the first moral issue was that coaches Amodu, Keshi and Erico were unjustly treated. These coaches were the first set of indigenous coaches to qualify Nigeria for the World Cup. Their allowances and even mine, as Team Manager, till date have not been paid. It was very unfair.
“The second moral issue is that Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George, Tijani Babangida, as well as Dr. Tijani Yussuf, were poorly treated and deserved compensation. Okocha and Kanu betrayed Oliseh and the rest of the team and that is why they cannot win anything for Nigeria since then. Both Okocha and Kanu have done well for Nigeria and no one can take away their contributions. Dr. Yussuf, for all his efforts as Secretary General of the NFA, was dragged to the ICPC for no good reason. If he had been convicted, he would have gone to jail for qualifying Nigeria for the 2002 World Cup, after all the risks he took.

"The third moral issue is the coup against Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima. He was wrongfully removed by those who called themselves stakeholders, for no just cause. The traitors that saw him off have their hands stained with innocent blood, and that is why the NFA is not making any progress…”
I have quoted extensively from the report in order to make the point that most of us seem to be missing: namely that the days of “business as usual” are over forever in our nation. The Spiritual state of our nation has, through the prayer of the saints, gone up to heaven. God has heard the cry of the people and nothing will ever be the same again; not in our politics and governance; not in business and economic management; not even in sports!
That is why a team which played the highest number of friendly matches; was promised the highest match and other bonuses with the highest number of players in some of best leagues in the world, and handled by “a world class coach could not go beyond the second round of African Nations Cup, Ghana 2007. That is why palliatives such as the sack of Vogts will not solve the problems of Nigerian football whilst the spiritual issues, some of which Obienu spoke about remain unresolved. That is why men and women who rig themselves into office at any level, or manipulate the system to their benefit will never again leave office in anything but disgrace.
I hear it clearly in my spirit, the prophetic words of American preacher, T.D Jakes to men in his book, “Loose That Man and Let Him Go” echoes what God is saying about Nigeria today. I have recast it like this: God is not going to let Nigeria get by with all the little things He used to overlook; we are running out of time. He used to let us make excuses for all the little things in the early hours of the fight. Now He is saying “excuses don’t work anymore; you’re running out of time. I must do a quick work to get you to your reserved seat. The enemy is chasing you; you’re on the hit list of hell, but I am determined to get you first.”
I have said this before in this column and I am going to repeat what I said last October. Nigerian sports, especially football is in “the vice-grip of a small, ruthless cabal. The interest of the cabal is money; money to purchase consciences in order to acquire power and use the power to make more money in a vicious devil-may-care cycle”. In that piece titled “Football and the Impending Flood”, which discussed the as yet unresolved matter of who controls the Nigerian Football League, I also stated: “…that what is currently playing out is the result of the evil that has been perpetrated over time in this very important area of our national life…” That is what Obienu is saying even if we differ in some of material particulars.
My warning then can bear repetition today: “the end is nigh for evil in our sport, particularly football. And the (then) on-going “civil war” is only the early warning signs that a flood that will sweep away the Nigerian football world as we know it in “Noahic” manner is imminent. It is also an assurance to the righteous that when it all over, they would be the ones standing”. Time is up for evil and its perpetrators.

First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.

HEAVEN’S GOT AN ANGEL BACK!

>Heaven must be celebratin' an angel
Celebratin' an angel, who’s back with them right now
Her love was heavenly whilst here
Heavenly to all, she ever met whilst here...em>

No, I haven’t become a poet or lyricist yet. It is just that you cannot but wax lyrical when you find yourself joining in the celebration of a life that was lived giving joy, laughter and succour to others. But even then my muse isn’t being original. The four lines above are actually derived from that vintage song, “Heaven Must Be Missing An Angels”. Recorded by the Tavares, it was subsequently adopted as signature tune for the TV series, Charlie’s Angels. But unlike the Tavares, heavens simply got tired of missing this angel that they took her back last week.

Yes heaven must be celebrating the return of one much more than an angel. Heaven must be celebrating the return, to the bosom of the Father, of one soul, created a little lower than Elohim, who came to the earth radiated and manifested love, the God-kind of love and departed suddenly last Thursday. Heaven truly must be rejoicing, for earth’s loss is indeed heaven’s gain!

Cherie Ebele Dibiana (nee Muoka), changed mortality for immortality in the most unlikely way on February 7. She was on her way from work when she got reports that armed robbers were operating somewhere ahead along Ikorodu road, her route home to Ogba. Of course she did what a wife close to her husband would do. She called her husband of nearly 13 years, Kingsley Chukwuma Dibiana. They agreed it was better to use the main road rather than any one of the backstreets. She must have said a cheery “see you later, darling”, as the call ended and she continued her journey.

Soon enough she got to the Maryland midsection of Ikorodu Road and her car stopped, like many others at the traffic light waiting to bear right into Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way, to Ikeja. Then the agent of death came calling. Without warning, for no discernible reason, he defied, according to the driver, the admonition of another member of the gang not to shoot; he shot at the lady through the shut window of the car, shattering the glass and hitting her on the neck! The next call her dear husband got was from the driver hysterically announcing that madam had been shot. Three hospitals later (the first two having refused to admit her), she was confirmed dead.

Yours sincerely last saw this wonderful woman of God, who was one of the Coordinating Pastors of Ikeja Centre of Christ Chapel International Churches, the previous Sunday. She, in the company of her husband, had dropped Pastor Segun Oyebola and I off along Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun on our way from the final session of a three-day Faith Seminar conducted by our Senior Pastor, Rev Dr Tunde Joda. We did not realise we were saying our final “good nights.”

At about 4:00pm that Thursday, Cherie called Pastor Jennifer Oyebola, whose line of business include baking some incredibly delicious cakes, to order a birthday cake for her mother, Rev Mrs Esther Muoka whose birthday was next day. She also ordered Valentines Day cakes for a long list of people. You can imagine her shock when about five hours later she was told “she had passed on.”
Shock, disbelief, pain, confusion reigned for a while in virtually every heart at this absolute bolt from the blues. But God has begun to speak; in fact he begun to speak immediately after she was shot!

With the benefit of hindsight, those of us who were at the Thursday service that day can recall the powerful presence of God in our midst all through the service. Now we know he came to comfort us. Right there in front of the mortuary of Ikeja general hospital, Cherie’s dear mother through her tears spoke what must have been the mind of the Holy Spirit. In quivering voice and holding tightly to one of her daughters-in-law, she vowed: “we will carry on without her; we will put the devil to shame.”

Earlier, when news that his wife had been shot was broken to the husband, Pastor Chuks remembered falling flat on his face in their living room, where he had been waiting to welcome Cherie back to their love nest, and declaring to God: “Father, you gave her to me as a gift; if this is your way of taking her back, let your will be done”.

The departure of the righteous young cannot but lead us to questions upon questions. It couldn’t have been otherwise in the case of Cherie. To hear one person after the other talk about how self-sacrificing, how consumed by the zeal of the House of God; how eager she always was to resolve issues if and when they arose, how much of a present reality heaven was to her, is to ask; why God, why? Why Cherie? Why that way?

But as I said earlier, God has been speaking. As Pastor Chuks, a glint in his eyes and great gratitude to God in his general comportment, told some of his visitors on Tuesday, the Holy Spirit led him to the answer to all our questions in the first two verses of Isaiah, chapter 57. The Message translation renders it this way: ”Meanwhile, right-living people die and no one gives them a thought. God-fearing people are carted off and no one even notices. The right-living people are out of their misery, they're finally at rest. They lived well and with dignity and now they're finally at peace.”

If this does not comfort us, what will? That’s why, I can wax lyrical, the risk of plagiarism, notwithstanding! That why I am humming, “Heavens must be celebratin an Angel…” as I put this piece together remembering with great pleasure the wonderful life our dear sister lived.

That is why I wish I could tell you about how this wonderful lady was the bridge-builder; the one who remembered virtually all the birthdays in church and mobilised others to celebrate them; how she co-opted herself into the altar nursing group on communion Service days because the membership had thinned down; how finding jobs for the unemployed or under-employed amongst us was one of her passions; how…I can go on, but space won’t let me.

But, in closing let me quote from her letter to this columnist early in December last year which reveals her great passion the eradication of unemployment among the brethren. Titled by me as, Let’s Walk Our Talk, it reads in part:

“…I recently met an elderly man on one of my marketing visits to a multinational company. He is neither an ordained Pastor nor a General Overseer of any Church.
He is presently a Departmental Head in his place of work. He told me that years ago (almost 2 decades now), he made a conscious decision to ensure the employment of qualified Christians. (He meets you, your CV is ok, he forwards it to his Human Resources Dept and follows through until you come in or they formally decline). Please note that he has never worked in the Human Resources Dept of the Company. He says that he realized then that many Christians never ever get the opportunity to "access" highly paid jobs in some "coveted" sectors of the economy. It may interest you to know that one pastor has worked in the Human Resource Dept of the same company for years (and is still working) and no-one else in his Church has "made it in". We speak a lot of English on these matters, but you and I can count how many of us "spiritual people" in Church really walk our talk. Do what you can, though. Maybe, God willing, some of the people who read your column or visit your site will be convicted by the Lord to do something more. Stay blessed!”

The “earthen vessel” that used to house the “treasure” known as Cherie, will be laid to rest at the Victoria Court, Lagos on Friday February 22 after a Testimonial Service on Thursday at CCIC, Wempco Road, Ogba. To God be the glory.

First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.

OF SHEPHERDS, THIEVES AND ROBBERS

KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
e-mail: kpeditorpublisher@yahoo.co.uk


The place of the Divine in the affairs of man is often hardly appreciated. When he manifests, we see it as an episode from “Tales of the Unexpected” or, at our most appreciative, we give thanks to some wonderful woman called ‘mother luck’. But, make no mistake about it, dear reader, God, my father, your father, if you’ve learnt to accept him as such, is deeply interested and involved in our affairs.

Consider the drama playing itself out in Kogi state. By the time you read this, one man who campaigned to become a lawmaker; whose campaign budget and exertion must be miniscule compared to those of governorship candidates, would have been acting governor of that state for five days with up to 85 more to go, if fresh elections drag to the maximum three months! It must have been beyond his wildest dreams. He didn’t have a hand in most of the events that led to it. He wasn’t in Iwu’s INEC which allowed itself to disqualify candidate Abubakar Audu, the main reason the incumbent had to vacate office and return to the soapbox, to try again. Now, note the twist of fate that this man, Clarence Olafemi until that Wednesday, speaker of the State House of Assembly, had earlier also had his election nullified and is on appeal, can only serve out the ‘term’ if the appeal either ends in his favour or is not finalised within the 90-day period. What a twist of fate!

It is one of the ironies of life that the amiable and obviously decent Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, erstwhile governor, is the very first chief executive to actually vacate office as a result of the post-election adjudication process. I truly wish him well.

Beyond Idris, Olafemi and Kogi state politics, however, is a fundamental issue that we have broached on this page before but which many leaders think is optional; a matter of style! And that is the issue of due process. I’ve had occasion to posit that due process is indeed of God using as evidence the need for Jesus to die on a sinner’s cross before God can authorise the retrieving of the earth from the stranglehold of satan. But with what just happened in Kogi, you might wonder which is more important to God, is it performance or due process. In other words is the process by which a man gets into office more important than his performance in office or vice versa? After all didn’t they say that Idris was doing well? At the national level, to cite another example, should the fact that the election that brought our dear President Yar’Adua into office is acknowledged as flawed, even by him, as flawed matter more than his performance in office which many have adjudged as in the right direction?

I found myself pondering this question a couple of weeks before the Kogi development when spokespersons of both the government of Ekiti state and the opposition visited some media houses in Lagos. The government spokesman was very persuasive about the achievements, within such a short time, of the government of Engr Segun Oni. According to him, water now runs in taps where the citizenry used to depend on water tankers from Government House. The government had put in place a micro credit scheme, to empower those who used to struggle and get wounded in the process of catching the wads of Naira notes dropped from the moving car of former the governor, to start and run their own businesses. He emphasised that Oni was set to build more roads during his tenure than all the governors before him put together.

The opposition spokesman didn’t see any rhyme or reason in the government’s activities. As far as he was concerned there has been no evidence of proper planning and there cannot be because the government knows that it cannot last. But in the main, he hammered on the legitimacy of the government emphasising that it was not possible for Governor Oni to carry the people along because they did not elect him. According to the man from AC candidate Fayemi’s campaign outfit, whatever the governor does is being received and would continue to be received with a yawn. Ekiti people, he said, know who their leader is.

Ponder this with me, if you will. Should the citizens of Ekiti not warm up to this governor who, if his man is to be believed, means well for them; if indeed they are not? Should ‘Kogites’ not feel short changed, by the removal of Idris, if he was doing as well as some say, he was? Should Nigerians not pray and expect God to answer their prayers for President Yar’Adua’s victory at the tribunal; since he seems in many respects like a breath of fresh air after the stuffiness of the recent past?

My head says ‘yes’, but my heart says ‘no’. And I know enough now to trust my heart which is where, I am sure you know, the Holy Spirit reaches out to the believer. And when you respond, you are led to some eternal truths in the Word. That was what happened in this case.

In the book of John, the Lord Jesus Christ said the following: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers” (John 10:1-5).

Of course, as was often the case, his hearers did not understand the parable and he obliged them with an explanation: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them…The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine” (John 10:7-14).

You can be forgiven for wondering what all this has to do with elections and their aftermath. I wondered momentarily too! But the revealer of all truths never leaves you wondering for long, if you but listen. And so he granted me this revelation. The only acceptable route to leadership positions in a democracy is by elections. Those elections are guided by rules and regulations clearly stated and to which all who participate are deemed to have subscribed. That, then, is the door through which the shepherd must enter into the sheepfold, otherwise known as pen. To manipulate or cause to be manipulated or benefit from the manipulation of that process is to enter into the pen through somewhere else other than the door.

The Lord Jesus says such people would be no more than thieves and robbers; and that the sheep would not recognise their voice and therefore not follow them. He also implied that leaders who enter through the door would be like him - empowered to give God’s gift of the abundant life to the people. Does this explain what is and what is to come? I firmly believe so.

First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.

GUESS WHO CAME FOR LUNCH AND…(February 3 2008)

For regular readers of this column, there isn’t much racking of the brain required. You most certainly recall that Dr Christopher Kolade was to have had breakfast with a group of men a couple of Saturdays ago. Packaged by Christian Men’s Network Nigeria, the meeting had to hold at lunch time due to circumstances beyond the organisers’ control, if you permit the cliché. On behalf of the team I sincerely apologise for the disruption to the personal plans of many men that might have resulted from the rescheduling. In spite of all efforts by email, telephone and sms, a sizeable number of men still did not receive notices of the change. You can imagine their disappointment at meeting an empty hall! One of those who came that early was Moses Ogodo who learnt about the event from this column and rather than return to his base at Ikorodu, a town on the outskirts of Lagos disappointed, he decided to wait it out! I trust God, that his uncommon tenacity was richly rewarded.

And so CK, as he has been known from way back and is now fondly called within his Managing Business For Christ fold, came to lunch, in place of breakfast. He came after a busy morning serving, I understand, as facilitator at a top level meeting. He waded through the hot afternoon traffic from the Island to Ikeja. He delivered his address. He then proceeded to answer questions at a very exciting interactive session standing on his feet for all of 130 minutes, by my estimate. He did not eat and he looked to me like he could have gone on for quite a while longer. And CK is a youth in his 76th year! Make what you will of that, but he certainly does remind me of Moses, of whom the bible said: “his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated” at “an hundred and twenty years old” (Deuteronomy 34:7).

If how Dr Kolade did what he did made such an impression on me and I know it did virtually all else who were there, what about what he did? What about the heart-check he was invited to lead? I tell you, dear reader, that cold letters cannot adequately convey it all, but I’ll try; trusting God that he would give life to my little effort.

Dr Kolade opened his minstration with the question, “are you a soldier for Christ?” Yeees, came the answer. “Why did you join the army of Christ”, he pursued. Mum was the word as these men tried to figure out suitable answers. So, he helped out. People join armies for many reasons. For some its probably just another job. For others its for love of the fatherland. There has to be a reason for joining the army of Christ since it is not an army where you queue up every month to receive salaries and rations or whatever.

He posited that a good soldier has to know what his army stands for and be loyal to the cause, whatever that may be. And usually an army is in place to fight for that cause and against opponents of the cause. The same applies to the army of the Lord Jesus, Dr Kolade said.

So, he continued, if you are a soldier of Christ, you have to have subscribed to the cause. And that cause was encapsulated in the Lord’s declaration in Luke 4:18-19 which reads “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
In other words, the army of the Lord Jesus exists to give the people life more abundant as he simplified it in John 10:10: “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” That then has to be the preoccupation of everyone who enlists in this army. That is why we are commanded in chapter 3 of the book of Colossians: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him…And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men…” (17,23).

Dr Kolade proceeded to apply this principle to one issue that would seem to be on the lips and minds, of many Nigerians, the fight against corruption. Why should you as a soldier of Christ fight corruption, he asked. But before offering an answer, he painted a picture of what corruption is and who its victims are. Corruption, he reminded all, perverts procedures for private gains and manifests sometimes as bribery or as extortion, which he defines as unlawful demand for gratification enforced by power, including state power. It attacks and frustrates the system and at its ingrained best, installs an alternative system.

Flowing from this anatomy of corruption, it could be seen that virtually everybody can fall victim to corruption, but Dr Kolade pointed in the direction of the poor, the downtrodden, the ones who, for whatever reasons cannot help themselves. In other words, the main victims of corruption are the same people that the General of your army, your principal, has come to set free; the same people for whom he sets out to give the abundant life. That then has to be your reason for resisting any corrupt tendencies in your own life and joining in the fight against corruption, he concluded.

Easily one of the greatest obstacles in this latter respect, Dr Kolade pointed out, is the feeling by many that they are not capable of fighting this war; the enemy is too strong because the cancer has eaten too deep into the innards of society. But, this man of God has good news, or a powerful reminder, for the doubters, the weak kneed: you are a child of God and so you are able to do all things!

Why should you believe that? God said so in the bible and he cannot lie! Also the bible gave us what Dr Kolade said might be called case studies. Joseph was the dreamer who got into trouble with his brothers for his dreams. He was sold into slavery and just when things were looking up for him, having been put in charge of Potiphar, his master’s home and enterprise, he got an offer most red-blooded, calculating men would find hard to refuse– to sleep with the master’s wife! So desperate was the woman that she got hold of him one day and tried to rape him. He resisted and ended up in jail. His sojourn in jail led him to become what soldiers call second-in-command to the king of Egypt! But why did Joseph do what he did? Was it so he could become the prime minister of Egypt? No, not even this dreamer could have envisioned that! The answer is in Genesis 39:9 – “… how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?“

Job was a man who pleased God so much that the almighty boasted about him to the enemy. The enemy sought and got leave from God to try him. He lost all, including his wife and friends. No, they didn’t exactly abandon him; they stayed around to make his life a living hell. They gave him advice and analysed his situation in ways that would have led someone else to curse and repudiate God. But in spite of everything, he never really departed from his earlier reaction: And said…blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).

Dr Kolade also cited Caleb and Daniel and concluded with a question: Why did each of these persons do what they did? They did not want to upset God. Why did they not want to upset God? The Lord Jesus showed mankind the new face of God, the God who loved so much, he gave us his best! Love begets love. When you love somebody, you do not want to upset them! They did not want to upset God because they loved Him! If we borrow a leaf from these ancients, he said, we would daily determine not to upset him. That way, whatever we do we would do to please God. The only reason good enough for fighting corruption, therefore, is because you are God’s agent and you love him. The only reason good enough to do anything is because of our love for God. That is why it’s all a matter of the heart.

First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.

INTEGRITY, BE MY FRIEND

KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
With Remi Akano Sr
E-mail: kpeditorpublisher@yahoo.co.uk

It’s five o’clock in the morning. The lilting sound of Moses Olusegun Oyebola’s electronic organ was wafting through the air into the room, rousing me from sleep, finishing off the task the cock crow from my phone had started ten minutes earlier.

Now since that early December day that my wife and I found ourselves moving in with this wonderful man and his indescribably warm wife, both of them pastors, this has been the experience. And although the pattern is similar – not one day has been exactly like another at these morning devotionals. There is always something to take away; a food for thought; a word of knowledge or wisdom; encouragement. But for reasons that I cannot easily fathom, there was to be something extra special about this Wednesday.

Praise and worship over, Mrs Jennifer Oyebola, a woman who, like her husband, has a zeal for things of God that constantly challenges those around them to higher heights, began to read from the well-known “Our Daily Bread,” a publication of Radio Bible Class. The piece titled “Look It Up” written by one of RBC’s staff writers, Anne M. Cetas reads in part:

“Some online dictionaries report each year on what words were looked up the most on their site…The most popular lookup for the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary that year (2005) was the word integrity. The definition given is: “firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values.” It’s used to describe those who are unwilling to be bribed or morally corrupted. Why was that word on the top of the list? Could it be because integrity is so lacking that many don’t know what it looks like in someone’s life?”
Cetas went on to cite, as God’s example of integrity, the life of Joseph as contained in the Bible. Her words: “Potiphar had put him in charge of overseeing ‘his house and all that he had’ (Genesis 39:5). When he was propositioned by his master’s wife, Joseph refused, saying, ‘How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’ (verse 9). He knew what God’s standards were, and he chose to stand for the right—at the cost of his freedom.” She concluded: “Integrity - look it up in Genesis 39. Then live it out in God’s strength”.
A number of things struck me about this piece of exhortation, such that I felt a need to read and meditate more on the issue of integrity. This is surprising, given the fact that the issue had been on the front-burner for sometime within the men’s group that I have the priviledge of coordinating. But meditate on the subject, I did, all the same and as I did, I begun to see why.
Cetas raised a very important point, one that I believe is so tragically applicable to our situation in Nigeria, when she asked the question: “Could it be because integrity is so lacking that many don’t know what it looks like in someone’s life?” That question speaks to the heart of our national condition today.
Who, for instance, modelled integrity in public life in our nation in the eight years of democratic rule preceding the unfolding Yar’Adua administration? Is it the governor being hounded by the law for sundry malfeasance? Is it the local government chairman who rose from dirt poor to stinking rich while his constituents wallow in poverty? Is it the helmsman who taught Sunday School, identified with and revelled in photo opportunities with great men of God from all over the world; never lost a chance to take the pulpit at mega-churches and Holy Ghost meetings, yet now stands accused of some of the most despicable things you can think of by his own son?
Of the people who took centre stage at national events, graced the cover of celebrity magazines, won awards of all kinds, how many truly mirrored integrity?. That’s what I tried to highlight in the introductory part of my HEROES 2007 piece a couple of weeks back. Our nation needs godly heroes otherwise the future is bleak because the younger ones would always need dictionaries to figure out what the word means!
Also noteworthy for me was the definition of integrity by the dictionary quoted by Cetas as “firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values”; as well as what appeared to be her own take on who the word describes: “It’s used to describe those who are unwilling to be bribed or morally corrupted.” I agree absolutely with both definition and application and would to God that we would all begin anew and afresh to hunger and thirst to have the word apply to us by our adherence to high moral values.
Cetas’ example of integrity taken from the Bible is particularly instructive. So straight as a rod was Joseph, that, as a child he would report the wrong-doings of his brothers to their father; he would not hold back the telling of his dreams even when it was obvious it did not please his brothers! When he had the opportunity of sleeping his way precariously to the firmer control of Potiphar’s fortunes by becoming the wife’s lover, he thought about God! Of course his integrity got him into slavery and into jail, but it also inexorably got him to the prime ministerial office of Egypt. Please read the story of Joseph again in Genesis 39.
I wish especially to call on all who lead or aspire to lead in any and ever area of our national life to take a close look at their lives by asking these questions. I urge that both the leader, the aspiring leader as well as the led begin to see integrity as the PRIMARY QUALIFICATION for leadership. This is because, ironically, it is in leadership that integrity, character, adherence to strict code of moral behaviour are in the shortest of supply. That is because good looks, oratorical prowess, liberality with half-truths and down right falsehoods and in some cases competence are rated higher than integrity. So are access to ill-gotten wealth and an easy recourse to violence.
Incidentally, as I prayerfully studied and meditated on this subject, I came across a wonderful piece written by one of Cetas’ colleagues in answer to a question I know must be dancing in your head as you read the last few paragraphs: “How important is good personal character to effective leadership?” Permit me quote excerpts from Dan Vander Lugt’s answer to that important question:
“Some people don't think it (good personal character) is very important. Since leadership requires flexibility, some think that a person with high ideals and deep moral convictions will be less pragmatic or realistic than a person with fewer scruples. In the short term it's undeniable that unscrupulous people sometimes have an advantage. People often find personal accountability and a long-range vision less appealing than immediate advantages and an opportunity to fall in line behind a charismatic leader”.
“Even the psalmist eloquently described the temporary success of the wicked (Psalm 37:35; 73:3 ). Jesus also recognized the short-term advantages of the unprincipled (Luke 16:8 ). But although unprincipled people in power may gain quick success, they and their followers always reap the consequences of their immorality and opportunism. The Old Testament writers vividly described the results of evil leadership as did Jesus.
“In the long term, however, a person of integrity has the advantage. Good character may limit a person's options at times, but wisdom flows from good character (In the long term, however, a person of integrity has the advantage. Good character may limit a person's options at times, but wisdom flows from good character (Job 28:28).
Under the “For Further Thought” column, Cetas concluded her exhortation with a few questions we all need to ask ourselves. And they are questions, I believe, we all ought to ask ourselves at this, the onset of a new year: “In what ways have I been a person of integrity when it was tough? When have I failed? Whose standards do I live by? What do I need to change?” I assure you that yours sincerely has asked himself these questions, and did not rate so high as to talk down to anyone; which is not my intention, anyway. But I assure you, I am well on my way! Are you?

First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.

KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE’S HEROES 2007

Edwin Louis Cole, recognized as founder of the modern Christian men’s movement from the great works he did through Christian Men’s Network once made a declaration to this effect: I will make only the godly my heroes; I will invite them to my home; I will celebrate them. Now, those may not have been his exact words, but they certainly capture his conviction. Those words have ministered to me so powerfully. The truth they contain has influenced me in my personal life and in ministry, and will continue to till the very end. I believe with all my heart that even as the Bible has declared “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…(Psalm 33:12)”; so also is it true that “blessed is that nation whose heroes are the godly”.

Yes, sure, it’s the fad thing to do; celebrate creativity, athletic prowess, intellect, efficiency, and all those things which we do and have elevated to high art as part of a global community of shadow-chaser. They give our world a sense of going somewhere; a sense of achievement and raise up role models of all kinds, many of whom warp up our values and send the impressionable on a wild goose chase after the ephemeral.

At about age 60, yours sincerely is not a star-struck doting worshipper at any man-made altars, but I do admire those who manifest godliness a great deal; possibly because I am still struggling along that path, but certainly because I do have a witness in my heart that we are a nation currently holding up near-villains as heroes, while the real heroes get scant attention.

That is why I have decided to name and publicly acknowledge those I have called KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE’S HEROES 2007. These are mainly people I had the opportunity of writing about in this column since its inception. Of course, there are many more I had the privilege of meeting, reading about and checking out, during the year and whom I would have loved to recognize, but since I didn’t have the privilege of writing about them earlier I shall limit myself to these three (alphabetically by surname): Dr Peter Jasper Akinola, Mr Peter Obi and Elder Felix Ohiwerei

Akinola has featured in this column a number of times. The most recent of this was in May 2007 when in the gloom that enveloped the nation after “Elections 2007,” a ray of light broke through by way of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Primate’s listing among the world’s100 most influential leaders by TIME magazine.

In “Something To Cheer” published May 13, I found myself joyfully joining “other Nigerians in celebrating one of our own, Most Rev Dr Peter Jasper Akinola, Primate and Metropolitan, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and President, Christian Association of Nigeria. For the second time in three years, he has been named in The TIME 100, a TIME magazine list of the 100 most influential persons in the world. These are people, in the words of TIME’s Managing Director, Mr. Richard Stengel who “by virtue of their character, their drives and their dreams change the world and make history”. He first made the list last year”.
I recalled that he was “listed among the Leaders and Revolutionaries; a category that includes such individuals as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton and a front-runner for the United States presidency, Condoleezza Rice current US Secretary of State, Queen Elizabeth 11 of England and; Pope Benedict XVI…”
Explaining TIME’s choice of Akinola in a three-paragraph piece David Van Biema identified him as “a harsh critic of the Episcopal Church (U.S.A.), which elected an openly gay bishop in 2003” whose imprint was on “the rancorous disunion within the worldwide Anglican Communion and whose “impatience with earlier, more deliberate measures” was being echoed by “Anglicanism‘s 38 primates” which had just then “ presented the Episcopalians with demands for a retreat on sexuality and direct communion involvement in Episcopal governance.“ Such had become Akinola’s influence that TIME was already positing that should “Anglicanism‘s conservative southern provinces decide that the Anglican Church‘s top official, the Archbishop of Canterbury is too liberal and chose their own leader”, Akinola was a likely choice. TIME acknowledged though that “the Nigerian cleric has denied any (such) leadership ambition”
I then added: “What makes Akinola’s award very significant and much more worthy of celebration is the enduring nature of the value for which the man of God is standing and for which even a largely cynical secular publication like TIME could not ignore him. It’s the war against gay ascendancy in the leadership cadre of the church. It is a war for the soul of the church and society that has been lost largely in many parts of the world, particularly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and even next door, South Africa…”
Although Akinola has vacated the presidency of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, he remains a good example, a model of courageous, godly leadership worth emulating by all.
Readers of this column would have been very surprised were Anambra state’s Governor Peter Obi not on my Heroes 2007 list! This is simply because of my admission of ecstasy at the man’s faith in God which saw him doggedly wrestle down all odds to retrieve his mandate and retrieve it to the fullest, and his magnanimity in victory. The following quotes from the June 24 piece titled “Upon This Rock…” should throw the light on Governor Obi’s place among the heroes:

“In an interview with Sunday Independent, which was held before the Supreme Court judgment that correctly put his tenure as enduring till 2010, but which was not published until after it, Obi was quoted as saying the following prophetic words:
‘Mark my word, I will return to the Government House, Awka, to complete my tenure. I say so because the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria makes it imperative that I serve out my term as elected governor of the state. Besides, I see myself as a child of destiny raised by God to salvage my people and, as a Christian, I know that God does not lie…At the appointed time, the will of God concerning me and Anambra State will be made manifest. It may seem that justice is being delayed now, but definitely, it cannot be denied when that time comes…I have asked just one thing from my people, and that is: that they should continue to pray for the will of God to prevail in my situation and in the situation of Anambra. God, in his infinite mercy, should give the Supreme Court justices the wisdom and courage to do the right thing whenever they will take the final decision on his matter.’
“He did not have any doubt whatsoever about the triumph of good over evil. He was fully persuaded of the victory of righteousness over wickedness. And he did not mince words. As those of the school of political correctness would have cynically put it, he was “wearing his faith on his sleeves” or “playing the religion card.” But a man, any man who would swim against the swift current of evil flooding our land and stay the course must stand firm on his faith. That is what Obi has done and is doing. That is the secret of his success.” That is the stuff that godly heroes are made of.
Elder Felix Ohiwerei, 70, whom I had the privilege of interacting with very briefly during the third quarter of the year also left such a great impression on me that he certainly stands tall as a true Nigerian hero. He spoke on “Wanted: Men of Character” at a luncheon organized by Christian Men’s Network Nigeria and during the interactive session that climaxed the event left no one in doubt that he walks his talk.

In the column of November 4, 2007, I reported that part of the meeting this way: “…In answer to one of the questions on his experience as a born-again Christian at the helm of a big company like Nigeria Breweries, he recalled one of his encounters with corruption at one of Nigeria’s seaports.

“According to him, the top man in charge of raw materials was for some reasons not available and so he was contacted on the need to “do something” (euphemism for paying some bribes) about clearing their consignments at the port. He refused. Things began to drag and raw material stock was running low with possible adverse consequences for production. He knew he had to do something else! So he instructed that fresh orders for raw materials be made and air-freighted into the country. This was done. Production was not affected and he virtually had to be begged to come and clear the earlier consignment. Needless to say, this sent signals to people in certain quarters and the rest, as they say, is history! “What Elder Ohiwerei was saying was ‘I walked my talk’. It could not have been easy, but he had the courage to do what had to be done...” A man like this would be my hero any day!

Happy New Year to all and may 2008 be a year of great new beginnings for you, your family and our nation.

First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.

RICARDO IZECSON DOS SANTOS LEITE

KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
E-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com


No, the headline is not the “other tongue” for Merry Christmas. It is actually Portuguese and it is the name of a certain young sportsman. But, yes, it does represent the spirit of the season and the victory that comes from being a true, unabashed follower of the one who, as the cliché goes, is the reason for the season.

As every lover of the beautiful game known to the rest of the world as football, but which the Americans like to call soccer, knows, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, 25, more widely known and called as Kaka, was on Monday named FIFA World Football Player of the Year 2007. The AC Milan and Brazil star beat two worthy competitors, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, to the prestigious trophy at the annual FIFA World Gala which held at the Zurich Opera House in Switzerland.

He was the choice of 1,047 national coaches and captains who were polled for the award. Messi was first runner up with 504 votes while Ronaldo scored 426 votes to come third. Kaka's latest crown climaxes for him a fantastic year during which he led his club, AC Milan, to European Champions League victory this season, scoring 10 goals in the process and barely two weeks earlier on December 2, bagged the European Player of the Year title.

Kaka, though only 25, did not arrive on the world football stage as an overnight wonder. According to Wikipedia, he began his club career with Sao Paolo Football Club at the tender age of eight and signed his first playing contract with that Club’s youth squad seven years later. He graduated to the legendary club’s senior team in January 2001.
His first and to date only major career move came two years later when “AC Milan, fresh from winning the 2003 Champions League, brought him aboard in 2003 for $8.5 million…Kaká was a part of the five-man midfield in the 2004-05 season, usually playing in a withdrawn role behind striker Andriy Shevchenko. He scored 7 goals in 36 domestic appearances as Milan finished runner-up to Juventus. Despite Milan losing the 2004-05 Champions League final to Liverpool F.C. on penalties, he was nonetheless voted the best midfielder of the tournament, and also finished ninth, with 19 votes, in the running for the 2005 Player of the year.”
Wikipedia records that,the football world was began to take notice of a superstar in the making when in the 2005-06 season Kaká score his first hat-tricks in domestic and European competitions respectively.
Kaká became the focal point of Milan's attack in the 2006-7 following Shevchenko's departure to Chelsea FC. He began to alternate between the midfield and striker positions finishing the season as the top scorer with ten goals, which helped to steer AC Milan back to European success. One of them helped the Milan beat Scottish team Celtic FC 1-0 after extra time in the quarterfinals on a 1-0 aggregate, and three others proved fatal for Manchester United in the semi-finals in spite of Milan’s earlier loss of the first leg. Following that convincing 3-0 second-leg defeat at the San Siro on May 2 that knocked out the English champions, Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson confessed that Kaka was one of the two best players in the world, naming this own ward, Cristiano Ronaldo as the other. Sir Alex was however only echoing what was already being widely accepted! In April, a panel of experts set up by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport proclaimed Kaká as the world's best footballer. Shevchenko also included his endorsement, while suggesting that Kaká deserved to win the FIFA top trophy.
Kaká won the Champions League title he was so outstanding that for the first time when Milan defeated Liverpool F.C. 2-1 in Athens on May 23, 2007. Though he went scoreless, his performance was so stellar throughout the competition that he was voted the Vodafone Fans' Player of the Season in a poll of over 100,000 UEFA.com visitors. In June 2007, German football publication Kicker named him the world's best player, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho finishing second and third, respectively, while he was also given this honour by UK publication The Times. On August 30, he was named by UEFA as both the top forward of the 2006-07 season and Club Footballer of the Year.
He played his 200th career match with Milan in a 1-1 home draw with Calcio Catania on September 30, 2007, and on October 5, he was named the 2006-07 FIFPro World Player of the Year.
On December 2, 2007, Kaká was officially announced as the European Footballer of the Year, becoming the eighth Milan player in history to receive the honor. He finished with a decisive 444 votes, far ahead of runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo.
But this piece is not about Kaka’s many victories. This piece about the source of those victories! This is about a young man’s recognition of who is source and sustainer is! It is about an athlete sold out to Jesus Christ!
Receiving the European Player of the year trophy in Paris, France on December 2, he was quoted as saying: “It was an exceptional year and this crowns an extraordinary 2007...I want to thank God who allowed me to be here today. I thank my wife, my parents and Milan, the team that allowed me to win. I also thank my teammates, both at Milan and Brazil, and all of the fans.”
If you thought that was the typical half-hearted platitude of the average athlete, listen to him quoting from Ephesians 3:20 after the great Pele handed him the World Player of the Year trophy in Zurich on Monday: . "It's really special for me - it was a dream for me just to play for Sao Paulo and one game for Brazil…But the Bible says God can give you more than you even ask for and that is what has happened in my life. I had always thought about winning this award, but there are always doubts until it is actually confirmed. It is not just this award but the whole year that has been very nice. Winning the Champions League and everything that has happened, it's just been wonderful."
And if you still think that is a skin-deep affair, recall the following:
• Most memorably he, along with some of his team mates, removed his jersey to reveal to a worldwide television audience, an "I Belong to Jesus" T-shirt after Brazil's defeat of Germany in the 2002 World Cup final;
• He sported the same shirt during Milan's 2004 league celebration;
• During the postmatch celebration following Brazil's 4-1 win over Argentina in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup final, he and several of his teammates, among them backup keeper Gomes and defender Lúcio, wore T-shirts with "Jesus Loves You" printed on them in various languages
• In addition to the’ I Belong to Jesus’ T-shirt, he openly engaged in prayer moments after the final whistle of Milan's 2007 Champions League triumph.
Kaka, reports say has the phrases “I belong to Jesus” and "God Is Faithful," stitched onto the tongues of his boots. He is a member of the Brazil-based organization Athletes of Christ. All of which explains why his goal celebration consists of him pointing to the sky as a gesture of thanks to God. This wonderful Christian role model says his favourite music is gospel music; his favourite book is the Bible and he is proud that he was a virgin when he married.
All of which explains why football icon, Pele said of him: "Kaka …is also a great example off the pitch. He's the complete player." That is also why I joyfully present his story to you, dear reader, with my wishes that your life and mine be more Christ-like as we celebrate the birth of the Saviour. Merry Christmas.
By the way, please join me in wishing Treasure Olufunmi Yinyinola Akano, my wife of 27 years, God’s continued abundant blessings as she celebrates her birthday today. Thank you.

First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.