"Passion for Truth" by Oluwaseyi Alamu

   

It was the dawn of a new day.

A day filled with hope and expectation.

I opened the windows to see the world.

It was the sight of men accused wrongly,

Women weeping for pain and

Children dying of starvation.

With tears in my eyes I exclaimed,

God why all these pains?

Why so much disappointment and falsehood?

Then came the still small voice

 ‘Where is truth?’

In search of the much needed Truth I went.

He was not in the streets;

Neither was he in the markets.

I couldn't find him in the offices.

I then concluded that he had gone back home,

To the church of the living God,

The pillar and ground of the truth: where he resides.

With great excitement I ran and hailed;

Racing to the church,

Hoping to find the missing truth.

As I opened the doors of the church

Tears rolled uncontrollably down my eyes

As I saw many lying, widows and fatherless abandoned,

Selfishness and covetousness rejoicing,

People were buying and selling, and nothing was of truth.

Confused and perplexed I left

Wondering where else to find the truth;

Then came this grieving thought

When the son of man comes

Will he find truth on earth?

Come O Lord and redeem your people!

For many are Iike lost sheep

All scattered in different directions ignoring the very truth of God’s word.

Where can one really find the truth?

For we can do nothing against the Truth [not serve any party or personal interest], but only for the Truth [which is the Gospel].

                                                                                                      2 Cor. 13:8 (AMP).

                                                                                         

                                                             By Alamu Oluwaseyi

#BringBackOurGirls: Operation Entebbe and Why Our Government May Not Be Sincere

On the 4^th of July 1976, commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. The mission, which has been tagged Operation Entebbe, was carried out to rescue Israeli hostages who had been kidnapped a week earlier by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German Revolutionary Cells who had hijacked an Air France plane with 248 passengers which was going from Athens to Paris. After hijacking the plane, the terrorists flew the plane to Entebbe and were personally welcomed by Idi Amin. The hijackers separated the Israelis and Jews from the larger group and forced them into another room. The non-Israelis were later released while over 100 Israelis and Jews and the non-Jewish pilot were held hostage. The hijackers threatened to kill the hostages if their prisoner release demands were not met.

The Israeli Mossad built an accurate picture of the whereabouts of the hostages, the number of terrorists, and the involvement of Ugandan troops from the released hostages in Paris. While planning the military operation the IDF erected a partial replica of the airport terminal with the help of civilians who had helped build the original. After days of planning, Israel dispatched four Hercules C-130H cargo planes carrying 100–200 soldiers and escorted by Phantom jet fighters. The aircrafts secretly flew to Entebbe Airport at midnight without being detected by Entebbe air traffic control. During the operation which lasted 90 minutes, all seven of the militants were killed, three hostages and one Israeli soldier was killed. Jean-Jacques Maimoni, a 19-year-old French immigrant to Israel who chose to identify himself as an Israeli Jew to the hijackers even though he also had a French passport—stood up and was killed when Israeli company commander Muki Betzer and another soldier mistook him for a hijacker and fired at him. Another hostage, Pasco Cohen, 52, the manager of an Israeli medical insurance fund, was also fatally wounded by gunfire from the commandos. In addition, a third hostage, 56-year-old Ida Borochovitch, a Russian Jew who had emigrated to Israel, was killed in the crossfire. The only Israeli commando killed in the operation, Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, elder brother of former Israeli Prime Minister, was shot in the chest bu a Ugandan sniper, when the assault team was putting the passengers in their aircraft.

If Israel can fly past many countries to rescue Israelis held hostage in a heavily guarded airport, isn’t it surprising that Nigeria’s security forces have been unable to rescue hostages who are being held in a forest on Nigerian soil? I am not an intelligence or security expert but I think it is easier to rescue hostages being held in the open than hostages being held in a building because the assault force can attack the camp from all sides, including the air at once. I believe a surprise attack will catch the abductors unaware that they will not have time to harm the girls. That is my layman submission. So when the Chief of Defence Staff came out to announce that the military knows where the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram are but will not attempt a rescue, I find it difficult to believe that Nigerian forces know where these girls are. Is the government saying that there has been no movement in and out of Boko Haram’s camp in Sambisa? Those heavy artillery behind Shekau in his videos cannot move around without soldiers who are looking for him and his acolytes noticing. Have the terrorists not been receiving food supplies? And if truly they have not been getting food supplies, then they must be physically weak already.

I think the government is hiding something. I think our government does not know what to do. I think our government may even be misleading the foreign experts who have come to help secure the release of these girls. Are we sure Abubakar Shekau does not have a direct line to President Jonathan? We are not even sure what to think.

Is it not a pity that the values of the majority of those in government in Nigeria are different from those of government officials of some other nations? But I want to call on the government to tell us the true state of things with these girls because whether they do or not, the truth will eventually be known. Please read the statement of the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations after the raid on Entebbe and then ask yourself if our government shares the same values:

“…we are proud of what we have done because we have demonstrated to the world that a small country, in Israel's circumstances, with which the members of this Council are by now all too familiar, the dignity of man, human life and human freedom constitute the highest values. We are proud not only because we have saved the lives of over a hundred innocent people—men, women and children—but because of the significance of our act for the cause of human freedom.”

Have you seen the mindset of a government that cherishes human life? Can you say the same about our government?

The Warning Song by Tomi Colors

Ok. Now I get it

I turned too fast

I ran too fast

So, I can’t be reached

I wish. I didn’t go this far

Away, away,

The lonely thoughts now plague

Perhaps may be

Probably would have

Didn’t see any other way

No one showed how

No share in it

Yes, I fell

Am sorry, am sorry,

Teach me better

Don’t fight me for what I am

The lesson stopped making sense

Now the pain built a fence

It’s a shame

Now we find, now we find

The snake,

Now a dragon

A parable, a warning

Perfection isn’t learned

It is given and seen

Don’t look the best

Look the best you can

Because the stray

It’s not its fault alone

It’s a fault for all…..

Grieves for more…

Except we all are liars

c.

"An Appeal to Christians and all Nigerians" Oluwaseyi Alamu

It is more than a month now that the nation Nigeria has been in a pensive mood concerning the over two hundred young school girls that were kidnapped in Borno State by the Boko-Haram sect. This has led to calls for the release of these girls from various groups like the Christian Association of Nigeria, Muslim Council in Nigeria, human right activists and different countries of the world.

It is heartbreaking to hear people wailing and weeping at the loss of their loved ones. In my heart I hear the echoes of our children saying ‘Please let us go back home’. As the adage goes, ‘the directly concerned know exactly what the experience is’. I am sure that most of us are eating, drinking and laughing, but the relations of these girls find it difficult to eat or even sleep well. If care is not taken we won’t only be talking about loss of lives of the girls but also of their family members which may result from anxiety disorders and high blood pressure.

I therefore seize this medium to appeal to as many that are God-fearing, that it is time to arise and call on God to intervene. God can use anybody not only to deliver these girls, but also to restore peace to Borno State and the nation as a whole.

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

                                                                             Proverbs 21:1 ESV

From the above bible verse it means that God can turn the hearts of the leaders of Boko-Haram. If the word of God never fails then let us call on Him. God will act in Jesus’ name. If Saul became Paul and God has not changed (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8) then He is bound to do it again. He has the authority to end it all. However, God can also use this occasion to EXALT Himself as He did before in the case of Pharaoh the ruler of Egypt (Exodus 15:1-7). The cry then was ‘let my people go that they may serve me’. But Pharaoh refused. At the end God proved that He alone rules over the affairs of men.

Nonetheless, every group has a reason for what they do, be it positive or negative, but whatever these reasons are, let us remember that love covers a multitude of sins. Moreover, when you love your fellow man, you will not want to hurt him/her. No one that truly cares will kill his neighbour.  Let peace reign again. As Yakubu Gowon, a former Nigerian Head of State once said “there is no victor no vanquished”. I believe it is time to embrace this statement again because every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. Let us think of our children.

Uprightness and right standing with God (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) elevate a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

                                                                    Proverbs 14:34 AMP

Any country that nurtures sin is in danger of reproach/disgrace. Righteousness must be promoted. Nigerians should be in right standing with God. However, for these to be done, we need to ask God for forgiveness of sins committed and make restitutions.  Spiritual leaders should engage moderation in all they do (Philippians 4:5) and our focus as Nigerians should be ‘Peace and Unity’ as declared in our National Anthem.

Peace! Peace!! Peace!!! This is the cry of passion. Let us return to God and He will give the country rest in Jesus’ name. SHALOM.

Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.

                                                                                    Matthew 11:28 GNB

#BringBackOurGirls: 7 Questions for PDP and Labaran Maku

Please someone should tell Mr. Labaran Maku that I am not a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC). This clarification is necessary because it seems the federal government of Nigeria sees every one who opposes it as a member of the opposition.It is really ludicrous when the government is always shouting fro the rooftops that anyone who disagrees with it is a member of the APC. Or is is not ridiculous for the Minister of Information to say on national TV that 90% of those behind the BringBackOurGirls Campaign are members of one political party? Don't we all know that Madam Oby Ezekwesili is not a member of APC? Don't we all know that Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin is not a member of APC? Don't we all know that Japheth Omojuwa does not belong to any political party? Is Hon. Dino Melaye's involvement enough to conclude that all the BringBackOurGirls campaigners are APC members? Going by the government's logic, Michelle Obama is an APC member. David Cameron, UK Prime Minister is a member of APC. Alicia Keys must also be a member of APC. Does that not sound absurd? Definitely not to the PDP government.

So questions for the PDP-led government are:

(1) Is PDP not concerned about the missing Chibok girls?
(2) Is it wrong for APC to ask that the girls be brought back safely?
(3) Is it because the government thinks APC is behind the #BringBackOurGirls campaign that the government has been tardy in its response to the abduction of these girls?
(4) Why has the government failed to rescue the missing girls till now?
(5) Hope the government of Nigeria will not justify itself if it eventually fails to bring back these girls (intact) by saying the U.S. and some other countries were also involved in the search? So if foreign help could fail, why blame the Nigerian government?
(6) How much did it cost government to organise its own Bring Back Our girls Campaign? (7) Has the PDP government left the search for the girls to God? Or didn't Labaran Maku say government was expecting God to bring the girls out? 

Please, Mr. Labaran Maku, when will I get answers to my questions? Whether you answer my question or not, I must let you know that it is of utmost importance to #BringBackOurGirls alive and healthy.

I will like to leave you with this video of Paul Kagame talking about African leaders. You will find it interesting.

"MY POSITION: EVERYTHING IS WRONG" by Itunu Levi Akorede

The continent of Africa is richly blessed with intellectuals and traditional ways of transmitting knowledge. This is carried out through various ways, and one of these ways is PROVERBS. There are some proverbs which are peculiar to a particular people and some are universal.

Permit me at this point to bring in a proverb from the Yoruba culture and language which says : "O sa girigiri lo ibi oja ti n ta, n je o beere lowo ori". Respect to the elders. This proverb simply means that you didn't inquire from the deities what to do to succeed. You only saw that some people are succeeding in a particular venture and you joined them. This proverb is for no other reason than to discuss the few various forms of government and the Nigerian system.

Prior colonialism, the various nations in Nigeria had various styles through which the administration was designed. In the east, it was the council of elders and various age grade groups. In the north, it was the combination of both theocracy and monarchical systems while among the Yoruba people of the west, the oba (monarch) was the source and interpreter of laws. But the colonialists came and condemned every existing government system and replaced it with colonial Lords, a style of government only they can tell us but in Nigeria it was called indirect rule.

Not to dwell too much on the background which I am sure we are all familiar with, let's talk about democracy and its effects on the polity. Democracy is still a pretentious department of neo-colonial operation.

 

Britain and America are the two chief protagonists of democratic rule in every part of the world, but I have come to understand that democracy will not succeed in every part of the world. There are places where the success of the government will be in the hands of religious systems, some in the hands of monarchs, some in the hands of the wealthy people, some in the hands of the poor peasants and some in the hands of the military.

Britain propagated various doctrines which they don't even practice. They plunged us into the mess called "Nigeria" where we practice a democracy very different from other democracies. I laf. If Britain was sure that democracy is total, why do they have to preserve the seat of the Queen? America, on her own, has never practiced any other form of government in their entire history apart from democracy. So how do they know that it's democracy or nothing for every nation. What is the situation of Greece the origin of democracy?

Coming back to the home front, Nigeria started a full scale operation of democracy on the 29th day of May, 1999. What have been the gains? Ethnic brigandage, desperate political leaders, politics without manifesto, rigging, religious crisis and intolerance, bombing, industrial action, embezzlement of public funds, non-availability of basic infrastructure, etc. The 15 years of democratic rule in Nigeria have sent Nigeria 150 years backward. O ga o. We don suffer sha. The youths can't get employment. Even with a first class degree, you have to take to political thuggery, armed robbery, prostitution or internet fraud.

It's in Nigeria that a 72 year-old granddad wants to rule a majority population of youths. Aso Rock has no mortuary facilities, please. If truly you want to help Nigeria, why not look out there for a young energetic character who can be tutored and assisted to rule? Desperate politicians everywhere! What have the political parties offered us? Two things: empty promises and disappointment. My charge still goes to the youths in Nigeria, expect no miracle o. The status quo will remain unless we demand a change. We must not be complacent. We must rise to action. We must do something!

 Always in tears when I remember my homeland.... Nigeria the giant of Africa. I am even scared to call Nigeria a giant.

WHERE DID WE GET IT WRONG? SIMPLY PUT, EVERYWHERE!!!

 Akorede Itunulevi.


The views expressed above are solely that of the author and not of darasimioshodiblogspot.com or its associates. 

"Democracy Day: Nigerians Want a Better Life" by Itunu Levi Akorede

Itunuemma!!! I heard that voice call me in the early hours of today. "Today is democracy day in your country." “YES” , I replied. The question that came striking my medulla was: “Are there things to celebrate today?” The response to this question has generated a very strict pendulum of opinion. Some agree that there are things to celebrate but my very curious mind kept asking the question. Then I stopped for a while and started making an inventory of the country's arrangements since June 7, 1998, July 8, 1998 and finally had a brief stop at May 29, 1999. I asked isn't it a calamity that Nigeria decided to embrace democracy or is the calamity in the death of Musa Yar' adua or is the emergence of Goodluck Jonathan the ultimate calamity?

I searched through the history of Carthage, Rome, Greece and the old Empire of Benin to take a serious look into the issue of patriotism. I discovered that patriotism at a time or the other helped each of these kingdoms and empires to gain prominence over a vast domain but they were eventually brought down by enemies within collaborating with external forces which is the exact situation of our beloved country Nigeria.

So much is responsible for the struggle for national development and unity. Negligence, nepotism, ethnic sentiment, favoritism, religious intolerance, corruption and lots more that I call "forces of entropy". These have in no small measure destroyed the country once built on the proceeds of cocoa, cola nut, groundnut, beans pyramid, palm oil from the oil rich zone of Niger delta, coconut, etc. Our economy at a certain stage was basically agrarian, yet we could afford free education and free meal, give scholarships to students to study abroad, world class basic amenities, etc. I find it difficult to understand why a country who was an economic reference became a midget in terms of every available index. The nation can't afford anything good anymore. Industrial action is the order of the day, ASUU, NLC/TUC, COEASU are always embarking on industrial action. There is acute unemployment and the nation is almost 60 years.

How many have gone to the people they elected to represent their constituency to make life easier for them and asked them, “Sir/Ma, what is the essence of sending you to represent our interests if you are not delivering?” Nigerians lack the culture of reporting or better put, Nigerian political leaders lack what you can call the sense of accountability. Invite them to a town hall meeting and you will discover that they are comedians, but they will try to sweet talk you and come back to request to be voted back into office in spite of the fact that they are as empty as emptiness.

Nigerian youths can no longer compete with their contemporaries in the larger world. Why? The answer is right there on the table of the ministers of education, national planning, etc.

I have been outside of Nigeria, I have seen the same things we have in Nigeria in some places I have had the opportunity of residing in: fire service, effective policing, excellent infrastructure; and I know Nigeria is rich and can afford all these things. I am not expecting Nigeria to get to the same level as Britain, Japan, USA or Germany in one day, but the government should be able to give the citizens at least 40 percent of what people in Europe and America enjoy. Nigerians are not animals. We are human beings. I am waiting for the day when Nigerians will boycott elections and make request for better life and governance from the ruling few. I will help challenge in my own little way and style.

Since 1999, please go ahead and read, check out and ask the leaders from local government councillors to chairmen, House of Assembly members, governors and commissioners, senators and members of the House of Representatives, ministers and presidents what have they to show us for our uninterrupted democracy. What we demand as Nigerians is a better life.

What are we celebrating, DEMOCRACY OR DEMOCRAZY?

Akorede Itunulevi 05-29-2014

The views expressed above are solely that of the author and not of darasimioshodiblogspot.com or its associates.