Twelve top Nigerian businessmen, including billionaires Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola and Mike Adenuga, were selected yesterday in Abuja by the People’s Democratic Party to join a committee that will raise funds to support President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign. Others in the Donor Committee are Tony Elumelu, former chairman of the United Bank for Africa; Jimoh Ibrahim, chairman of NICON Insurance; Emeka Offor, Kashim Bukar, Sayyu Dantata, Jim Ovia, Dahiru Manga, Abdulsamad Rabiu and Kola Salako.

The ruling party also named a nine-member finance and fundraising committee headed by former chairman of the Nigeria Stock Exchange, Oba Otudeko. The members of the committee are Atedo Peterside, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Funsho Lawal, Bola Shagaya, Tukur Mani, Tony Onoh, Funsho Awoyemi and the party’s director of finance.

A list, which was obtained at the party secretariat in Abuja, also has former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and former chairman of the board of trustees of the PDP, Tony Anenih, and former director-general of the Jonathan-Sambo Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dalhatu Tafida, appointed into the 28-member Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) that will coordinate the presidential campaign. Others members of the 28-member include Mr Jonathan; his deputy, Namadi Sambo; Senate President, David Mark; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole; former national chairman of the PDP, Ahmadu Ali; acting national chairman of the party, Bello Mohammed; deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweramadu; minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Orubebe; and Senator Grace Bent.

However, Mr. Jonathan will head the nine-member monitoring and strategy committee, which has Messrs Sambo, Mohammed and Mark as members. Other members of the committee are former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, former foreign affairs minister, Ojo Maduekwe, Anenih, Suleman Shuiabu Oyedokun and Abubakar Baraje, PDP national secretary.

The list revealed that members of the Atiku Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida campaign organisations were also appointed into the presidential campaign organisation. Senator Ben Obi, DG of the Atiku Campaign Organisation is a member of the resource committee while Raymond Dokpesi of the Ibrahim Babangida Campaign Organisation will serve in both the resource and publicity committees. Also, Ken Nanamai, a former Senate president and a strong supporter of Mr. Abubakar was named as a member of the resource and reconciliation committees. Sarah Jubril, who ran against Mr. Jonathan in the primaries, was appointed into the resource persons committee. It was gathered that the committee members will be inaugurated at the party’s Presidential Campaign Office in Maitama District of Abuja later this week.

According to our source, they were billed to be inaugurated last Saturday evening but the event was put off out of respect to the Nigerians who died during Mr. Jonathan’s campaign rally in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Investigation revealed that the lack of financial strength on the part of these candidates and their political parties is causing a lot confusion among the party faithfuls.Apart from President Goodluck Jonathan, who they are now accusing of spending public funds on his campaign, it is believed that most of the other candidates only wanted to use the elections to keep themselves relevant in the scheme of things in the country during the next four years.

For example, the candidate of the of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Nuhu Ribadu, is said not to be happy with the way his campaign is being handled by the party.It was learnt that governors on the platform of the ACN have been mandated to contribute to the funding of his campaign.

But Ribadu wants to be given a free hand to operate. "This is one of the issues between him and the leader of the party, Bola Tinubu," a source within the party secretariat told Huhuonline.com.

According to the source, Ribadu wants to campaign with funds sourced from the citizens of the country as it is done in some of the Western world.

 ..

"This is because as a former chairman of an anti-corruption agency, he knows what it means to trample on public funds," they claimed.

Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change, who recently picked Pastor Tunde Bakare as his running mate weeks ago said he had no funds of his own to pursue his ambition.

According to him, after buying the form from his party, he was left with N1million. However, Huhuonline.com is aware that despite this financial challenge, he has the backings of some northerners who are funding his campaign.He is also said to be have chosen Bakare seen as a issue-based individual.For Ibrahim Shekarau of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the major issue is that the major financier of the party, Harry Akande, has left the party.Akande left the ANPP immediately after the party's primaries few weeks ago.Prof. Pat Utomi who is contesting under the Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP) has just scaled through a legal tussle which was aimed to force INEC not to recognise his party.

The major challenge now has to do with funding his campaign as his party is not known to have any financial heavyweight.Before now, the National Conscience Party (NCP), never fielded candidates for the presidency. But this year, it picked Dele Momodu after the latter's controversial exit from the Labour Party.

Sources at the NCP secretariat told Huhuonline.com this afternoon that one of the conditions given to Momodu for his acceptance by the party was that he would fund his campaign by himself.

"This is because the NCP does mot have the money. So Femi Falana, the Chairman of the party, told us when we came in that the party would not demand from us but that we must be ready to fund our campaign," an aide to Momodu told Huhuonline.com.Rev. Chris Okotie who is contesting on the platform of the  Fresh Democratic Party (FDP) is taking his time according to John Chukwuma, a member of his church.It was however learnt that Okotie is being disturbed by funds as he remains the sole sponsor of his party with donations from his church members.

Speaking on the issue, a PDP member in Lagos, Taiwo Oluwdare, explained to Huhuonline.com that most of the candidates knew they had no sources of funds before they decided to vie for elections.

"You know most of them are not known. How many of the candidates do you know and how many do you think can sincerely win President Jonathan?

"The political parties do not have credible people to withstand the PDP flagbearer. Even if they have, where will the money come from? Do you think the money they get from INEC is even enough to sustain them and still help the campaign of their candidates?

"We understand that some of the candidates are trying to use the situation for negotiation with some of the bigger parties. Don't be surprised to hear later that some of them would step down for others later," he said.

Also a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Sanai Agunbiade, in his reaction, said it was disheartening that the "so-called progressives could not come together to wrestle power with the PDP, because of personal interests."He explained that as long as the opposition parties remained divided, they would not head anywhere.

When Huhuonline.com visited the Lagos office of the Labour Party, leaders of the party were not seen around. A party member, who did not want his name mentioned explained that the exit of Dele Momodu was a big blow to the party.He said the party is just trying to restrategise, "not to win the elections, but to make ourselves relevant for future elections in the country."

Jega’s Voters’ Register: World’s Most Expensive?

Posted: February 13, 2011 - 05:04

Posted by siteadmin

 

Attahiru Jega And Goodluck Jonathan

By SaharaReporters, New York

At $585million, Nigeria’s voter registration exercise is being considered the world’s most expensive.  For a register of about 60 million voters, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is spending about $10.00 to register each voter.

  That would be about N1,500 per person in a country where over 70 per cent of the population, according to the United Nations, lives on less than one dollar per day, and the income per capita is $2,400.

Reports from parts of the country indicate all kinds of problems, including registration of children.  On Thursday, Lai Mohammed of the CAN said his party had been informed that some INEC operatives were being paid by certain politicians to compromise the exercise in their favour. 

In an article dated February 10, 2011, the West African correspondent of the Financial Times, Tom Burgis, considered the costs of preparing and cleaning up the electoral database:

Nigeria battles to clean up electoral roll
By Tom Burgis in Lagos

Published: February 10 2011 17:18 | Last updated: February 10 2011 17:18
If Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s president, is to keep his pledge to end a tradition of rigged elections, one test will be whether Nelson Mandela has been successfully stripped of the right to vote come April’s polls.

The name of the former South African president – along with those of former boxing heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali – appeared on the discredited voters’ roll used in the three deeply flawed general elections held since the 1999 beginning of civilian rule in Africa’s most populous nation.
An army of young Nigerians armed with laptops, fingerprint scanners, and digital cameras has for three weeks been logging the personal data of about 60m voters in an ambitious, high-tech effort to draw up a credible register.

The $585m effort – thought to be the most expensive per capita voter registration ever undertaken – has not come without problems. One former official involved in blocking similar proposals before the 2007 polls describes the price tag alone as “an outrage”, especially as worries mount over the country’s heavy drawing down of its oil savings.

Opposition and pro-democracy groups have noted hitches, many of which stem from the difficulty of using sophisticated technology in a country with a crumbling infrastructure where 35 people share the same amount of electricity as the average German. Laptop batteries have run out owing to power shortages, indelible ink meant to make sure voters do not register twice has run out, voter cards have not been laminated or taken days to issue.

Activists have generally welcomed the electoral commission’s efforts to overcome the logistical difficulties.

Reclaim Naija, a coalition that includes everything from vulcanisers’ unions to motorcycle taxi drivers, has logged hundreds of incidents of missing materials or attempted foul play at registration booths submitted via text message, e-mail and “tweet”. But the fact that attention is paid to the process “shows that there’s a consciousness that’s building”, says Francis Onahor, a Reclaim Naija organiser. “It will go a long way to making sure that people can ensure that their votes count this time.”

In a patronage system run on oil revenues, the need to assuage many Nigerians’ sense that they are disenfranchised has been sharpened by the uprisings across the Sahara in Tunisia and Egypt. As political violence grows, the US and Europe, big buyers of Nigerian crude and gas, are watching closely.

There are those who believe that the voter registration exercise will make little difference unless the respected new head of the electoral commission, Attahiru Jega, is able to clamp down on polling day abuses, including intimidation and fraud at collation centres.

In Maroko, a Lagos slum of cratered roads buried in rubbish where the drive stopped recently, there are also those who question whether clean voter rolls will do much to address their real problems.

From their crumbling tenements, tens of thousands of residents can see the mall and hotels served by well-paved highways that stand on their former settlement. They were brutally evicted by the then military government in 1990.
But even getting their own candidates into office has not helped the 21-year fight for compensation that Maroko’s people have waged, says Samuel Aiyeyemi, the 74-year-old leader of the residents. “As soon as they get into government they forget, they cannot resist the temptation of money,” Mr Aiyeyemi says, sitting near a ditch full of stagnant greenish water. “They betray the community; we don’t even see them.”

Few expect anything other than victory in April’s election for Mr Jonathan, incumbent since his predecessor’s death in May saw him elevated from the vice-presidency. But the ruling People’s Democratic party, dominant for a decade, is braced for losses at state and local government level.

But for Jibrin Ibrahim, a political commentator writing in Next newspaper, a rush to register that forced a one-week extension of the process is an indication that long-suffering Nigerians are determined to exert more control over their rulers.
“The registration process is agonising but we have hope for a greater political future,” he writes. “Political parties should take note; their success depends on citizens and not money, violence and electoral fraud.”

Over 16 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gave up the ghost on Saturday as a result of stampede at the Liberation Stadium, Elekahia, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, venue of the PDP presidential rally ahead of the April general election.

The deceased, said to be mostly supporters of the a variety of candidates of the PDP in the South-South zone were even as two persons also reportedly lost their lives in an auto-accident with the presidential fleet in a Prado Jeep with Bayelsa registration number AX 176 KMK along the Port Harcourt-Aba road.

More than 35 party supporters, including women sustained various degrees of injuries following the unprecedented rush that greeted the presidential rally.

A PDP chieftain, who spoke on grounds of anonymity pointed out that the rush was due to the fact that the South South geo political zone is home of the PDP presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan.

An eye witness account says, “The stampede was caused by the horde of people who thronged the Liberation Stadium and trying with great effort to leave after flags were handed to individual governors from the various states.

“The sight was terrible as you could see people trampling on one another and subsequent suffocation of many elderly men and women who had come to show support to the President Goodluck Jonathan/ Sambo Campaign Organisation.

Although, the Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Superintendent Rita Inoma-Abbey confirmed the incident, she could not state the casualty figure.

“At about 14:50 hours at the liberation stadium, Elekahia during the presidential campaign flag off for the South-South zone, lots of jubilant supporters were exiting the main gate that their governors had been given the PDP flag. Those coming in were pushing their way out. In the ensuing stampede, so many people fell down.

“The police mounted troops, Police Mobile Force (PMF) and other security agents contained the push by closing the main gate to rescue the victims. Some were taken to Teme Clinic and Braithwaite Memorial Hospital (BMH) with police ambulance. Identities of casualties and number of death are still unknown.”

Just as Presidency investigates the cause of the stampede, President Jonathan, in a statement signed by Ima Niboro, said, “The President received the news with shock and sadness. He mourns with the families of the deceased, and prays the Almighty to grant repose to their souls.

The President however shelved the inauguration of the new Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Council billed for Saturday.

“President Jonathan notes with a heavy heart, that these are persons who came to celebrate his success at the primaries of the PDP, and wish him well in the coming elections.

“I am sad, and heavily weighed down by this incident. It is sad, unfortunate and regrettable. I mourn with those who mourn tonight. May God grant us all the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss”, the President is quoted to have grieved.

Also, the Rivers State government, through the Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Blessing Wikina, said the incident was regrettable, and adding that the stampede was due to poor crowd control measures.

“As soon as the incidents were reported, the governor immediately mobilised its medical services to take care of those injured.

Recall that Governors from the South South geo-political zones were handed party flags as governorship candidates in the April general elections. The governorship flag-bearers are Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers).

More 

By chesa chesa, Rotimi Akinwunmi (Abuja)  and Daniel Abia (P/Harcourt)

Did you hear about the minister who said he had a wonderful sermon on humility but was waiting for a large crowd before preaching it ?

A truly humble man is hard to find, yet God delights to honor such selfless people.

Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator, was an outstanding example of this truth. Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had no pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized him and later revealed his identity to the lady. 
The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely. "It's perfectly all right, Madam," he replied. "Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it's always a delight to do something for a friend." She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.
Our Daily Bread.
Wakefield tells the story of the famous inventor Samuel Morse who was once asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn't know what to do. Morse responded, "More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding."
Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving: "I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and He was pleased to reveal it to me."

Tim Hansel, Eating Problems for Breakfast, Word Publishing, 1988, pp. 33-34.
It was John Riskin who said, "I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power, or hesitation in speaking his opinion. But really great men have a ... feeling that the greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be anything else than God made them." Andrew Murray said, "The humble man feels no jealousy or envy. He can praose God when others are preferred and blessed before him. He can bear to hear others praised while he is forgotten because ... he has received the spirit of Jesus, who pleased not Himself, and who sought not His own honor. Therefore, in putting on the Lord Jesus Christ he has put on the heart of compassion, kindness, meekness, longsuffering, and humility." M.R. De Haan used to say, "Humility is something we should constantly pray for, yet never thank God that we have."
Henry Augustus Rowland, professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University, was once called as an expert witness at a trial. During cross-examination a lawyer demanded, "What are your qualifications as an expert witness in this case?"
The normally modest and retiring professor replied quietly, "I am the greatest living expert on the subject under discussion." Later a friend well acquainted with Rowland's disposition expressed surprise at the professor's uncharacteristic answer. Rowland answered, "Well, what did you expect me to do? I was under oath."

Today in the Word, August 5, 1993.

 
I am the least of the apostles. 1 Corinthians 15:9
I am the very least of all the saints. Ephesians 3:8
I am the foremost of sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15
Humility and a passion for praise are a pair of characteristics which together indicate growth in grace. The Bible is full of self-humbling (man bowing down before God) and doxology (man giving praise to God). The healthy heart is one that bows down in humility and rises in praise and adoration. The Psalms strike both these notes again and again. So too, Paul in his letters both articulates humility and breaks into doxology. Look at his three descriptions of himself quoted above, dating respectively from around A.D. 59, 63, and 64. As the years pass he goes lower; he grows downward! And as his self-esteem sinks, so his rapture of praise and adoration for the God who so wonderfully saved him rises.
Undoubtedly, learning to praise God at all times for all that is good is a mark that we are growing in grace. One of my predecessors in my first parochial appointment died exceedingly painfully of cancer. But between fearful bouts of agony, in which he had to stuff his mouth with bedclothes to avoid biting his tongue, he would say aloud over and over again: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Ps. 34:1). That was a passion for praise asserting itself in the most poignant extremity imaginable.
Cultivate humility and a passion for praise if you want to grow in grace. 

James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.
Although George Whitefield disagreed with John Wesley on some theological matters, he was careful not to create problems in public that could be used to hinder the preaching of the gospel. When someone asked Whitefield if he thought he would see Wesley in heaven, Whitefield replied, "I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him." 
W. Wiersbe, Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers,  Moody Press, 1984, p. 255.
American poet and Pulitzer Prize-winner Edwin Arlington Robinson used to spend his summers at the MacDowell Colony near Peterborough, New Hampshire. Arriving at breakfast one morning, he found the writer Nancy Byrd Turner and a new member of the colony already seated at his table. "This is Mr. Robinson," said Turner to her companion.
"Robinson! Not E.A. Robinson -- not the Mr. Robinson?" gushed the other woman.
There followed a long, uncomfortable pause, then Robinson replied, "A Mr. Robinson." 
Today in the Word, December 21, 1992.
"Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. I means freedom from thinking about yourself one way or the other at all." William Temple, "Christ in His Church"
At a reception honoring musician Sir Robert Mayer on his 100th birthday, elderly British socialite Lady Diana Cooper fell into conversation with a friendly woman who seemed to know her well. Lady Diana's failing eyesight prevented her from recognizing her fellow guest, until she peered more closely at the magnificent diamonds and realized she was talking to Queen Elizabeth! Overcome with embarrassment, Lady Diana curtsied and stammered, "Ma'am, oh, ma'am, I'm sorry ma'am. I didn't recognize you without your crown!"
"It was so much Sir Robert's evening," the queen replied, "that I decided to leave it behind." 
Today in the Word, April 3, 1992.
On a visit to the Beethoven museum in Bonn, a young American student became fascinated by the piano on which Beethoven had composed some of his greatest works. She asked the museum guard if she could play a few bars on it; she accompanied the request with a lavish tip, and the guard agreed. The girl went to the piano and tinkled out the opening of the Moonlight Sonata. As she was leaving she said to the guard, "I suppose all the great pianist who come here want to play on that piano."
The guard shook his head. "Padarewski [the famed Polish pianist] was here a few years ago and he said he wasn't worthy to touch it."

Source Unknown.
Hudson Taylor was scheduled to speak at a Large Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia. The moderator of the service introduced the missionary in eloquent and glowing terms. He told the large congregation all that Taylor had accomplished in China, and then presented him as "our illustrious guest." Taylor stood quietly for a moment, and then opened his message by saying, "Dear friends, I am the little servant of an illustrious Master." 
W. Wiersbe, Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers, p. 243.

 
The concert impresario, Sol Hurok, liked to say that Marian Anderson hadn't simply grown great, she'd grown great simply. He says: "A few years ago a reporter interviewed Marian and asked her to name the greatest moment in her life. I was in her dressing room at the time and was curious to hear the answer. I knew she had many big moments to choose from. There was the night Toscanini told her that hers was the finest voice of the century. There was the private concert she gave at the White House for the Roosevelts and the King and Queen of England. She had received the $10,000 Bok Award as the person who had done the most for her home town, Philadelphia. To top it all, there was that Easter Sunday in Washington when she stood beneath the Lincoln statue and sang for a crowd of 75,000, which included Cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices, and most members of Congress. Which of those big moments did she choose? "None of them," said Hurok. "Miss Anderson told the reporter that the greatest moment of her life was the day she went home and told her mother she wouldn't have to take in washing anymore." 
Alan Loy McGinnis in The Friendship Factor, p. 30.
In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds of passengers died as they were hurled into the icy waters below. News of the disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the accident. It wasn't a technology problem like radar malfunction--or even thick fog. The cause was human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship's presence nearby. Both could have steered clear, but according to news reports, neither captain wanted to give way to the other. Each was too proud to yield first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late. 
Closer Walk, December, 1991.
The door of life is a door of mystery. It becomes slightly shorter than the one who wishes to enter it. And thus only he who bows in humility can cross its threshold.
The Handbook of Magazine Article Writing contains this illustration by Philip Barry Osborne; "Alex Haley, the author of Roots, has a picture in his office, showing a turtle sitting atop a fence. The picture is there to remind him of a lesson he learned long ago: 'If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help.'
"Says Alex, 'Any time I start thinking, WOW, ISN'T THIS MARVELOUS WHAT I'VE DONE! I look at that picture and remember how this turtle--me--got up on that post.'"
Sandy Reynolds.
Lincoln once got caught up in a situation where he wanted to please a politician, so he issued a command to transfer certain regiments. When the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, received the order, he refused to carry it out. He said that the President was a fool. Lincoln was told what Stanton had said, and he replied, "If Stanton said I'm a fool, then I must be, for he is nearly always right. I'll see for myself." As the two men talked, the President quickly realized that his decision was a serious mistake, and without hesitation he withdrew it.
Source Unknown.
Be humble or you'll stumble. 
D.L. Moody.
Never be haughty to the humble. Never be humble to the haughty. 
Jefferson Davis.
Did you hear about the minister who said he had a wonderful sermon on humility but was waiting for a large crowd before preaching it?
Many years ago, Christian professor Stuart Blackie of the University of Edinburgh was listening to his students as they presented oral readings. When one young man rose to begin his recitation, he held his book in the wrong hand. The professor thundered, "Take your book in your right hand, and be seated!" At this harsh rebuke, the student held up his right arm. He didn't have a right hand! The other students shifted uneasily in their chairs. For a moment the professor hesitated. Then he made his way to the student, put his arm around him, and with tears streaming from his eyes, said, "I never knew about it. Please, will you forgive me?" His humble apology made a lasting impact on that young man. This story was told some time later in a large gathering of believers. At the close of the meeting a man came forward, turned to the crowd, and raised his right arm. It ended at the wrist. He said, "I was that student. Professor Blackie led me to Christ. But he never could have done it if he had not made the wrong right."

Source Unknown.
For many years Sir Walter Scott was the leading literary figure in the British Empire. No one could write as well as he. Then the works of Lord Byron began to appear, and their greatness was immediately evident. Soon an anonymous critic praised his poems in a London paper. He declared that in the presence of these brilliant works of poetic genius, Scott could no longer be considered the leading poet of England. It was later discovered that the unnamed reviewer had been none other than Sir Walter Scott himself!
Source Unknown.
"They that know God will be humble," John Flavel has said, ' and they that know themselves cannot be proud." 
quoted in MBI's Today In The Word, November, 1989, p.20.
Walter Cronkite recalls the following incident: Sailing back down the Mystic River in Connecticut and following the channel's tricky turns through an expanse of shallow water, I am reminded of the time a boatload of young people sped past us here, its occupants shouting and waving their arms. I waved back a cheery greeting and my wife said, "Do you know what they were shouting?" "Why, it was 'Hello, Walter,'" I replied. "No," she said. "They were shouting, "Low water, Low water.'" Such are the pitfalls of fame's egotism. 
Ray Ellis and Walter Cronkite, North by Northeast.
George Washington Carver, the scientist who developed hundreds of useful products from the peanut: "When I was young, I said to God, 'God, tell me the mystery of the universe.' But God answered, 'That knowledge is reserved for me alone.' So I said, 'God, tell me the mystery of the peanut.' Then God said, 'Well, George, that's more nearly your size.' And he told me." 
Adapted from Rackham Holt, George Washington Carver.
It had been a long day on Capitol Hill for Senator John Stennis. He was looking forward to a bit of relaxation when he got home. After parking the car, he began to walk toward his front door. Then it happened. Two people came out of the darkness, robbed him, and shot him twice. News of the shooting of Senator Stennis, the chairman of the powerful Armed Forces Committee, shocked Washington and the nation. For nearly seven hours, Senator Stennis was on the operating table at Walter Reed Hospital. Less than two hours later, another politician was driving home when he heard about the shooting. He turned his car around and drove directly to the hospital.
 In the hospital, he noticed that the staff was swamped and could not keep up with the incoming calls about the Senator's condition. He spotted an unattended switchboard, sat down, and voluntarily went to work. He continued taking calls until daylight. Sometime during that next day, he stood up, stretched, put on his overcoat, and just before leaving, he introduced himself quietly to the other operator, "I'm Mark Hatfield. Happy to help out." Then Senator Mark Hatfield unobtrusively walked out. The press could hardly handle that story. There seemed to be no way for a conservative Republican to give a liberal Democrat a tip of the hat, let alone spend hours doing a menial task and be "happy to help out." 
Knofel Stanton, Heaven Bound Living, Standard, 1989, p. 35.
When I saw Sadhu Sundar Singh in Europe, he had completed a tour around the world. People asked him, Doesn't it do harm, your getting so much honor?" The Sadhu's answer was: "No. The donkey went into Jerusalem, and they put garments on the ground before him. He was not proud. He knew it was not done to honor him, but for Jesus, who was sitting on his back. When people honor me, I know it is not me, but the Lord, who does the job." 
Corrie Ten Boom, Each New Day.
Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is for me to have no trouble; never to be fretted or vexed or irritated or sore or disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace as in a deep sea of calmness when all around is trouble. It is the fruit of the Lord Jesus Christ's redemptive work on Calvary's cross, manifested in those of His own who are definitely subject to the Holy Spirit. 
Andrew Murray.
Dr. Harry Ironside was once convicted about his lack of humility. A friend recommended as a remedy, that he march through the streets of Chicago wearing a sandwich board, shouting the scripture verses on the board for all to hear. Dr. Ironside agreed to this venture and when he returned to his study and removed the board, he said "I'll bet there's not another man in town who would do that." 
Donald Campbell, Daniel, Decoder of Dreams,  p. 22.
Winston Churchill was once asked, "Doesn't it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is packed to overflowing?" "It's quite flattering," replied Sir Winston. "But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big." 
Norman McGowan, My Years With Winston Churchill, Souvenir Press, London.
William Barclay tells the story of Paedaretos who lived in Sparta in ancient Greece. A group of 300 men were to be chosen to govern Sparta. Though Paedaretos was a candidate, his name was not on the final list. Some of his friends sought to console him, but he simply replied, "I am glad that in Sparta there are 300 men better than I am." He became a legend because of his willingness to stand aside while others took the places of glory and honor.
Source Unknown.
Phillip Brooks made an apt comment when he said, "The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is." 
quoted in Burning out for God, E. Skoglund, p. 11.
Sportscaster and former baseball great Ralph Kiner tells the following story: After the season in which I hit 37 home runs, I asked Pittsburgh Pirate general manager Branch Rickey for a raise. He refused. "I led the league in homers," I reminded him. "Where did we finish?" Rickey asked me. "Last," I replied."Well," Rickey said, "We can finish last without you."
Source Unknown.
William Beebe, the naturalist, used to tell this story about Teddy Roosevelt. At Sagamore Hill, after an evening of talk, the two would go out on the lawn and search the skies for a certain spot of star-like light near the lower left-hand corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. Then Roosevelt would recite: "That isthe Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda. It is as large as our Milky Way. It is one of a hundred million galaxies. It consists of one hundred billion suns, each larger than our sun." 
Then Roosevelt would grin and say, "Now I think we are small enough! Let's go to bed."
Source Unknown.

 

Ramsey Nouah and Yinka Olukunga in ‘The Perfect Church’

 

It was tempting to watch and see what ‘The Perfect Church’ had to offer that Nollywood had not served up a million times before.

The religious satire from Wale Adenuga Productions is a screen adaptation of Ebi Akpeti’s novel of the same title. Unusually for a Nollywood picture, The Perfect Church lampoons, albeit not too hard, but the difference from the rest of the pack is clear. Cheating husbands, homosexuals, ‘carnal believers’ and desperate singles are some of the awkward vehicles moving the story’s plot.

Perfect by Name

The movie, directed by Bambo Adebajo, opens aptly during Sunday service. A choir session is ongoing in Pastor Benson’s ‘The Perfect Church’. Ramsey Nouah is fitting in his role as Benson, shepherd of the perfect flock. It is not the first time Nouah will be playing a pastor, though. He played a similar role in ‘Church Business’, another religious satire from 2003.

Leading praise and worship with the ‘voice of an angel’ is Sister Angela, played by Funke Akindele, a senator’s mistress. The pastor’s sermon on marriage is a winner with the congregation and they rush to gush to the pastor about how moving it is: the congregation is in awe of its pastor and the pastor is proud of his followers.

Alas, the key players in the church’s activities are living a lie. Things in the Church are not exactly as they seem. We are soon introduced to the ‘who’s who of what’s what’ in The Perfect Church.

Mr and Mrs. Ojo are the church’s perfect couple, superbly portrayed by Hakeem Rahman and Ngozi Ezeonu. Pastor Benson cites them as examples of what a perfect marriage should be and hopes the rest of the church will emulate their ‘exemplary’ union.

Norbert Young is Mrs Ojo’s former husband, who brings back good and bad memories. Jibola Daboh is the distinguished Senator Val, lover to Sister Angela. Despite having only a cameo appearance, Val is not easily forgotten and in a movie filled with very bad men, Daboh joins Rahman as its super-villains.

The church’s head usher, anxious to marry above his status, soon dips his hands into the money box, much like Judas Iscariot before him. Needless to say, the Pastor did feel betrayed. Same for Yinka Olukunga in her role as the devoted, desperate church sister eager to become Pastor Mrs. Benson. She indulges in unsolicited ‘cooler’ ministry and has the courage to propose to the Pastor after she is convinced that reception was loud and clear when her prayers revealed she would be the handsome preacher’s life partner. Benson, however, has other interests.

Imperfect by Nature

The much-anticipated visit by Bishop Williams is the catalyst for the unfurling and the collapse of the sandcastle that is the Perfect Church. Acted excellently by Olu Jacobs, it is hard not to fall under the spell of the Bishop, who soon has all and sundry confessing to myriad sins. It is during his altar call that we see that there are more sinners than previously believed. It was easier to have simply said ‘Go and sin no more’ to the residents of this contemporary Sodom and Gomorrah.

The picture ends happily for some; two go to jail for attempted murder and one to hell for suicide. On its part, the audience is acquainted with a narrator we never knew existed. She obliges us – as she does the visiting students from a private secondary school - with an epilogue on the Perfect Church Saga. There is hope that a change in the church’s name will herald a change in its nature.

The Perfect Church is not the perfect movie. In its search for complexity, there are too many flashbacks rather than authentic twists and revelations that could task the audience’s imagination. The hints to the pastor’s darker side are merely glossed over and we don’t feel the punch or essence of this until the climactic moment of disclosure. The emphasis appears more on the flock than on the shepherd and at the end, the pastor’s misfortune seems not to matter so much. Not even to his flock whose awe swiftly turns to disgust.

His comeuppance at the end of the movie is also unrealistic and more of a cowardly act. In fact, the unexpected suggestion by a child in the audience to ‘Kill all of them; just kill them’ sounded like a more logical option than the pastor’s eventual choice.

No Part Two

‘The Perfect Church’ does not draw a clear line for itself between a satire and a moralist play or a Greek tragedy. At some points, it preaches forgiveness and also mocks the same; it hails courage but then takes the easy way out; it satirises and also pampers.

The subtitles were sometimes faulty and some of the grammatical howlers strike you in the face like a bad day in history.

The movie however makes up for its flaws with humorous lines and action. Beneath the humour also lies a pointer to the thought that, in reality, no perfect flock exists and the lesson that sin does not pay...

Even though it seemed like another episode of Super Story, there is no promise of a sequel. See it if you love Nollywood; see it if you hate Nollywood..

Demola Adegbile met Olufunmi between 1980 and 1981, when she accompanied her friend to visit his flatmate. "I remember telling her that she looked like someone I want to spend the rest of my life with," he says. "If that's love at first sight, then, that's it."

But it definitely wasn't love at first sight for her.

"I didn't want to marry initially because the women in most marriages around me then had been brutalized, traumatized and suffering." However, she believed in friendship and wanted to have fun with him. Eventually, she changed her mind after finding out that he was "trustworthy, open-minded, sincere and caring". "Always, we talked about everything and I looked forward to being with him, so when he proposed, I couldn't resist saying, yes," she says.

Mrs Adegbile adds that her husband didn't initially have much money. "It was a bit tight," she says. But since money was not her focus, she contented herself with his numerous good qualities. "I cut down my taste as a single lady," she says. Prior to then, she had led an expensive life that included downing her lunch with a bottle of wine. Mr Adegbile was able to convince her that a bottle of Coke would do just as well until things got better. "He worked on me to help me see that the future was bright," she says.

Tough Times

The couple admit that they have had issues like other couples, but that they tried not to display anything in public because they wanted to maintain the image of a happy couple. For example, Mrs Adegbile confesses that her mindset of not wanting to be "under" any man initially affected their marriage.

"Being strong-willed," she says, "I always argued and wanted to have my way in any discussion." This often led her husband to switch off for days. She decided to change when she observed what she described as the "not palatable" result of always insisting on her way of doing things.

Mr Adegbile adds that they experienced other issues, the kind that come with two people with different backgrounds living together. "For example," he says, "she likes to sleep with the lights on and I don't."

Relationship Tips

Friendship is the first ingredient that Mr Adegbile ascribes their long-lasting union to. "At the time we met, I wasn't looking for a wife," he says. "When friends get married, they last longer." In addition, he set his mind on getting married only once and staying there. "Knowing that I couldn't leave made me try to make it work," he said.

Mrs Adegbile adds that communication is essential. "Keeping a secret is out of it. It kills the marriage."

"Our friendship makes it easier for me to communicate with my wife," Mr Adegbile says. "No matter what issues come, you can always resolve it," he says, adding that, every month, he took his wife out and they both wrote a list of things they didn't like about each other and talked about ways to tackle issues. Along the line, their lists started decreasing until they eventually disappeared, he says.

Staying Sweet

The couple say that they have never used sex as a weapon against each other. "I have a healthy sex life with my husband," Mrs Adegbile says. "Sex is not just having intercourse. Romance is the major part of sex." She adds that her husband prepares her for the "golden moment". He starts to make moves hours before the time. The inception of GSM and Blackberry, etc, have made things sweeter, she says, as they send "sweet nothings" to each other in advance.

"I call him ‘Sweet' because he is so sweet," she says. Her husband also calls her Sweet.

"Marry your friend," is the advice Mrs Adegbile has for singles. "Be open. A friend helps you have someone to share your life with."

"Loads of ladies and guys look out for husbands and wives in a way that is equivalent to getting another piece of furniture," Mr Adegbile says. "Marry your soul mate."

Life has been challenging for 31-year old Islamic cleric, Yekini Akeem, an SS-2 Student of Itabo Community High School, Itabo, Lanlate, Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria. This is because he is attending secondary school at that age and he has two wives and seven children.

•Yekini Akeem

In a chat with P.M.NEWS, Alfa, as he is popularly referred to by his colleagues, said one of the greatest challenges facing him has been the difficulty of interacting with his classmates who are far younger than him.

Some of them, he claimed, heap lots of insults on him daily because of his age and they know that back home he has two wives and seven children.

Alfa said: “I disregard every insult because I know what I want. Often, I serve punishment together with my classmates even when it is receiving strokes of the cane.”

Yekini blamed the delay in his secondary education on an illness that affected his father in 1995 when he was preparing for his Junior Secondary School Certificate exam, JSCE. This later truncated his education.

“ After staying for six years at home, Alfa said he later enrolled in a Qu’ranic school. He graduated in Arabic studies in 2004 and became a qualified Islamic teacher (Alfa).

After many years of staying away from school, Alfa said he attended a public lecture by Mallam Surakat Abdul Rofiu which ignited his desire to return to school.

After the lecture, Yekini approached a community leader, Chief Saraki who assisted him to enrol as a JS1 student in 2006. He was later promoted to JS2 and he wrote his junior WAEC.

Commenting on Yekini’s attitude and performance in school, his Vice Principal, Mr. Gbenga Adeshina Babatunde said he has been of good conduct, therefore, he had always been interested in his education.

After his secondary education, Alfa is said to be interested in studying Arabic at tertiary level.

•His wives: Rofiat (l) and senior wife Sadiat

But his ambition may be thwarted by two factors. One, his poor financial background. His two wives are petty traders. One sells banana while the second wife sells food. Yet he has seven children to cater for. One of them is already a JS 2 student. Alfa relies on his meagre earning as an Islamic cleric and farming to cater for his family....

Two, obviously because of his age and distractions at home, Yekini is not a particularly brilliant student.

His principal at Itabo Community High School, Mr. Ayo Opaderin, described Alfa as a humble student but entertains fears about his ability to go further in education.

He said his poor English might hinder his understanding of other subjects. But he admitted his education will assist him a lot in his chosen field as an Islamic cleric.

Another daunting task for Yekini who was made Senior Prefect because of his age is that of relating with relatively younger classmates.

For example, the Senior Prefect Girls, Suliat Aderoju, 19, is one of the oldest of his classmates. Others in SS 2 with him include Miss Olayinola Jumoke, 18, and 16-year old Toheed Aderinto.

Suliat said of Alfa: “whenever we are playing in the class, he cautions us. He is a nice person who always encourages us to take our studies seriously. He is very disciplined. He may not be good in English Language, but he is good in Yoruba and Accounting.”

Alfa disclosed that he went back to school so that he could be a better Islamic preacher because he needed to master English to be able to evanglise Islamic doctorines, adding “Education is very important and I feel I should be educated to be a teacher. I am not ashamed.”

—Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan & Adeyera Olubunmi

Garden egg, also known as egg plant is the fruit in season and for its lovers, either eating it raw or having steamed yam and... stew made with it is a delight. It comes in two colours, white and green.

In most African countries, this fruit is a highly valued delicacy and constituent of the African food. It also represents fertility and blessing and thus, not uncommon to find it served during wedding ceremonies in some communities across the African Continent.

No wonder, the Igbo Community in Nigeria can hardly do without eating garden eggs because of the health benefits derived from it.

Botanically called Solanum Melongena, garden egg is an economic flowering plant belonging to the family Solanaceae and widely distributed throughout the temperate and tropical regions. Members are mostly herbaceous plants, and the fruit is berry and the seeds have large endosperm and are grown mainly for food and medicinal purposes.

The fruit is very healthful and among its health benefits are its ability to reduce cholesterol due to the fact that it is very low in calories.

While speaking on the benefits of garden eggs, the Deputy Provost Graduate Administration, Federal College of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, Ikosi, Ketu, Lagos, and Physician/Consultant Acupunturist at Green Leaves Clinic and Acupunture Centre, Ilasamaja, Lagos, Dr Ndubuisi Nwakakwa, said that garden egg is low in calories which makes it wonderful and helpful for reducing cholesterol. “A high level of blood cholesterol level, more particularly low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart disease and garden egg has the power of reducing these risks”.

Adding: “When compared to apples and oats, garden egg plant is more helpful for reducing cholesterol. This means that eating garden egg is better at reducing blood cholesterol than apple.

“Also Garden egg contains in raw form 15 calories per 100g but this rises when dried. When cooked in oil, it contains more than 300 calories due to absorption of extra fat”, Nwakakwa said.

In addition, he said: “Even though garden egg is generally said not to contain huge amount of

protein and other nutrients, it is low in sodium and very rich in high dietary fibre. It is also high in potassium, a necessary salt that helps in maintaining the function of the heart and regulates blood pressure”.

The Consultant Acupunturist said that garden egg is also rich in some nutrients. “Being a member of vegetable family, it contains nutrients that include beta carotene, vitamins B6, E and folate, calcium, iron and magnesium fibre”.

According to Nwakakwa, garden egg is good for sight as it has positive effects on visual functions. It is also excellent for weight reduction.

“Its consumption may be of great benefits to glaucoma patients”, he said.

A study conducted by some experts, S.A Igwe, Dora Akunyili and C. Ogbogu, published in the 2003 issue of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology on “Effects of Garden Egg on some Visual Functions of Visually Active Igbos of Nigeria”, found that eating plenty of garden egg can help to lower eye pressure in persons with glaucoma.

For weight reduction, “This is the perfect recipe for achieving weight loss within a short period of time because it is very low in calorie content, and it is why experts are encouraging people that want to lose weight to eat more of its fresh form just as they say that people that are told to protect their heart against cholesterol effects should make it their delight”, said Nwakakwa.

By Bukola Fatogun

Extracted from http://www.compassnewspaper.com