February 3, 2010
God is the designer and creator of the universe. The creative, the inventive genius of God staggers the human reason. Those who have studied botany，biology，and metallurgy have been amazed by the ability of the creator. Those that try to understand God apart from His word ended up being philosophers. But what is philosophy? It is a vain search for reality. Aristotle and other philosophers of Greece did not give to the world civilization. They did not discover. They never created. The fact is, they did not give to the world anything except mental concept and theories. After creating the world God saw that it was beautiful and perfect. To make the world a better place God gave man His word so that there will be refinement and culture of the spirit.
This word of God is to refine man, renew man, refill man and above all recreate man. This word of God is the Basic Instruction Before Living the Earth (Bible). Men all over the world crave to know the word, they desire it, and those that have received the word practiced it in their various communities and in their own unique style even though the word changeth not. And these have resulted to the various religions we have on earth today because people see and hear the word from different perspective and viewpoint. Countries all over began to redefine the word of God to suit their situation and they came up with a structure which they called the constitution.
Developed countries of the world sought after God when they were about to draw up their constitution, but right from the inception of the word Nigeria, God was not sought after instead the man at the helm of affairs sought for his lover. The amalgamation which later resulted to the constitutions? That was used by the Britons to rule the north and south was purely economical and political, it was not spiritual. In 1914 the national house was born through the amalgamation. This is a national house in which we have to live together, North, Midwest, West and East. Moslem, Christians and Pegans. A family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who because they can never live apart must learn somehow to live in peace. Most of our leaders at that time had vision. The vision was clear and simple, Freedom. The deep rumbling of discontent we read about in that period was the thunder of disinherited masses, rising from dungeons of oppression to the bright light of freedom. All over the country like a fever, freedom was spreading in the wildest liberation movements in our history. The great masses of Nigerians where determined to end the exploitation of their people and lands. Nigerians where awake and moving toward their goal like a tidal wave. These rumblings where heard in every village street, on the docks and in their houses. Among the students, in churches, mosques and at political meetings. That period the era of colonialism was at an end.
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This development will not surprise any student of history; it is just that Nigerians are poor history students. Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom will eventually manifest itself. The Bible tells the thrilling story of how Moses stood in Pharaoh’s court centuries ago and cried ‘’let my people go’’. This was an opening chapter in a continuing story. In 1960 when the national house was inherited from the colonial masters, God was not sought after may be because of the euphoria. God was not called in to be a witness and to seal the contract even though he is always there guiding us because of the individual relationship some people have with him.
Every new government is confronted with overwhelming problems. During the days when they were struggling to remove the yoke of colonialism, there was a kind of unity of purpose that kept things moving in one solid direction. But as soon as independence emerges all the grim problems of life confronted the leaders of the First Republic with stark realism. The Post colonial period is more difficult and precarious than the colonial struggle itself. The First Republic according to a friend can be likened to a man who murdered sleep and so he had no dream, vision and mission to accomplish. There was no constitution even though there was a semblance of it. Aguyi Ironsi own case can be likened to a case of unwanted pregnancy that finds its way into a family, there was no preparation for his coming. General Gowon came on the block, he did not look for the awesome God then, and so he displayed a military despot like ideology and changed the system of government from regional autonomy and fiscal federalism into a unitary system of government and the story continues……….
Searching through our history, today Nigerians have a better understanding and they know that the constitution is an extension of the word of God. Personally my heart bleeds whenever I look at our constitution and see that it is more honoured in the breach than in the observance by men who are supposed to uphold the constitution because of their supposed devotion to the manifestation of justice. This group of Nigerians are now passing a death sentence to the constitution and substituting it with individuals who demand 100% faithfulness, loyalty and honesty. Nigerians all over the country now know that there is a God behind the process; His word is to refine our human spirit and build our culture. Col. Umar rtd. In one of his revelations of what transpired during the Abacha regime named some persons that knew what happened and he said these men are Christians let them come out and say the truth. And recently some of our leaders are asking that same question but in a different form, what has happened to honesty? Where are the few good men?
And because Nigerians now know that there is something wrong with our country, something fundamentally and basically wrong. They want us to revisit the constitution and look at it conscientiously so that we can ask God to come in as a witness to help seal the agreement. Unfortunately those on the ill side of our society are also working and they have used time destructively well. These men are self confessed born again Christians who always want us to believe they put God first in anything that they do but the truth is, nobody can deceive God. They are also Moslems who will destroy embassies just to show their love for God. With these things bothering me, I met my mentor for answers, please hear him speak.
Nigerians must realize that there is a God behind the process. The mere fact that they sing and pray and go to church and mosque does not mean they believe in God. You must remember that is possible to affirm the existence of God with lips service and deny his existence with our live style. The most dangerous type of atheism is not theoretical atheism, but practical atheism…that is the most dangerous type. And the world, even the church and mosque, is filled up with people who pay lip service to God and not live service. And there is always a danger that we will make it appear externally that they believe in God when internally they don’t. They say with their mouths that they believe in Him, but they live their lives like he never existed. They have unconsciously left God behind. Now, they haven’t consciously left him behind. your leaders just became so involved in getting big bank accounts that they unconsciously forgot about God---they didn’t mean to do it.
The second reason while the members of the state assembly, the governors, members of the national assembly, PDP political juggernauts, ministers, advisers and representative of the president and of course the president wants to pass a death sentence to God’s law which is the constitution is because they have forgotten that all reality hinges on moral foundations. This is a moral universe, and there are moral laws of the universe just as abiding as the physical laws. They unconsciously know that there is a final law of gravitation; if you disobey it you will suffer the consequences. Even if you don’t know it in its Newtonian formulation, we know it intuitively, and so we don’t just jump of the highest building in Abuja or Lagos for the fun of it.
I am not so sure if your people believe that there is a law of gravitation which is final in the universe. At least two things convince me that they don’t believe that, Nigerians within and outside government have strayed away from the principle that this is a moral universe.
The first thing is that they have adopted in your country a sort of relativistic ethic. And that is they have accepted the attitude that right and wrong are merely relative. Most people can’t stand up for their convictions, a typical example was the last meeting organised by the presidency for the governors; agenda third term. They all knew it was wrong but majority of them did not have the courage to stand up for their conviction. When you stand up for your conviction it does not mean you are going to insult the president, no way, capital NO. He is your father so to speak, an elder statesman and above all the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But when he now sees himself as the untouchable, the moving constitution, a constitution he risked his life to maintain then you must help him and help the country as well by standing up for your conviction.
You guys must stop using numerical interpretation to judge right from wrong. You don’t stand for our convictions because the majority of people might not be doing it. See everybody is not doing it, so it must be wrong. And since everybody is doing it must be right. Some things are right and some things are wrong. It is wrong to change the constitution to favour an individual at the expense of the majority. It is wrong even when PDP says it is right. It is wrong eternally, absolutely so. It always has been wrong and will always be wrong. It is wrong to throw your lives away in riotous living. No matter if everybody is doing it in the Niger Delta it is wrong. Some things are wrong, no matter if every body is doing the contrary. Some things in this universe are absolute. The God of the universe has made it so. And so long as we adopt this relative attitude toward right and wrong, we are revolting against the very laws of God. Himself.
The other thing is that yoeur peopl have adopted a sort of pragmatic test for right and wrong—whatever works is right. If it favours the presidency, to EFCC it is right. In the first week of February, it was reported in most of our dailies that a governor from the north has budgeted 500m naira to pursue this third term agenda; it ought to have beeen investigated by the EFCC. To Nigerians nothing is wrong but that which does not work. If you don’t get caught, it’s right. That’s the attitude, isn’t it? It’s alright to disobey the Ten Commandments, but just don’t disobey the eleventh, though shall not get caught. That’s the attitude. That’s the prevailing attitude in your culture. No matter what you do, just do it with a bit of finesse. You know a sort of attitude of the survival of the slickest. Not the Darwinian survival of the fittest, but the survival of the slickest—whoever can be the slickest is the one who is right. It’s alright to lie to those you govern but lie with dignity. (laughter) it’s alright to steal and to rob and extort, but do it with a bit of finesse. It’s even alright to hate the people of the Niger Delta region but just dress up your hate in the garments of love and make it appear that you are loving when you are actually hating. Just get by! That’s the thing that is right according to this new ethic.
This attitude is destroying the soul of your culture! It’s destroying your nation. The thing that you need in this nation today is a group of men and women who will stand up for right and be opposed to wrong. Wherever it is. A group of people who have come to see that some things are wrong, whether they’re never caught up with it. Something’s are right, whether nobody sees you doing them or not. In a nut shell what I am trying to say is that your nation hinges on moral foundation. God has made it so. God has made the universe to be based on a moral law. So long as man disobeys it he is revolting against God. That is what you need in your nation today—people who will stand for right and goodness. It’s not enough to know the intricacies of zoology, biology, metallurgy and Nigeria Sat-1. but we must know the intricacies of the law. It is not enough to know that two and two makes four. But we‘ve got to know somehow that it’s right to be honest and just with our brothers. It’s not enough to know all about our philosophical and mathematical disciplines. But we’ve got to know the simple disciplines, of being honest and loving and just with all humanity. If you guys don't don’t learn it, you will destroy yourselves by the misuse of your own powers.
Hmmn! It is good to have a good mentor, somebody you can run to when you are confused. Thank God for my mentor. He came, he saw and he conquered. Thank God for Dr. Martin Luther King jr. please join me in observing a minute silence in honour of the wife, Coretta Scott King who passed on in the month of January 2006. According to the President of the United State of America, she loved a leader and became a leader.
And so I beg our leaders to please hold the constitution with care, it is all we’ve got. They have taken necessities from the masses and they have given luxuries to the classes. Luxuries are good but they can never be real substitutes for God. For long before any of the luxuries came into existence, we need God. And so long after they will have passed away, we still need God.
In conclusion, as a young man with most of my life ahead of me, I decided early to give my life to something eternal and absolute. Not to these little gods that are here today and gone tomorrow. But to God who is the same yesterday, and forever. Not in the gods that can be with us in a few moments of prosperity but in a God who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death, and causes us to fear no evil. I’m not going to put my ultimate faith in the little gods that can be destroyed but the God who has been our help in time past and our hope in years to come. That is the God I want us to remember when we want to review our constitution, the one who is going to last forever. We have to find that God, He is the one that demands and commands our ultimate allegiance.
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This word of God is to refine man, renew man, refill man and above all recreate man. This word of God is the Basic Instruction Before Living the Earth (Bible). Men all over the world crave to know the word, they desire it, and those that have received the word practiced it in their various communities and in their own unique style even though the word changeth not. And these have resulted to the various religions we have on earth today because people see and hear the word from different perspective and viewpoint. Countries all over began to redefine the word of God to suit their situation and they came up with a structure which they called the constitution.
Developed countries of the world sought after God when they were about to draw up their constitution, but right from the inception of the word Nigeria, God was not sought after instead the man at the helm of affairs sought for his lover. The amalgamation which later resulted to the constitutions? That was used by the Britons to rule the north and south was purely economical and political, it was not spiritual. In 1914 the national house was born through the amalgamation. This is a national house in which we have to live together, North, Midwest, West and East. Moslem, Christians and Pegans. A family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who because they can never live apart must learn somehow to live in peace. Most of our leaders at that time had vision. The vision was clear and simple, Freedom. The deep rumbling of discontent we read about in that period was the thunder of disinherited masses, rising from dungeons of oppression to the bright light of freedom. All over the country like a fever, freedom was spreading in the wildest liberation movements in our history. The great masses of Nigerians where determined to end the exploitation of their people and lands. Nigerians where awake and moving toward their goal like a tidal wave. These rumblings where heard in every village street, on the docks and in their houses. Among the students, in churches, mosques and at political meetings. That period the era of colonialism was at an end.
articleadslinks
This development will not surprise any student of history; it is just that Nigerians are poor history students. Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom will eventually manifest itself. The Bible tells the thrilling story of how Moses stood in Pharaoh’s court centuries ago and cried ‘’let my people go’’. This was an opening chapter in a continuing story. In 1960 when the national house was inherited from the colonial masters, God was not sought after may be because of the euphoria. God was not called in to be a witness and to seal the contract even though he is always there guiding us because of the individual relationship some people have with him.
Every new government is confronted with overwhelming problems. During the days when they were struggling to remove the yoke of colonialism, there was a kind of unity of purpose that kept things moving in one solid direction. But as soon as independence emerges all the grim problems of life confronted the leaders of the First Republic with stark realism. The Post colonial period is more difficult and precarious than the colonial struggle itself. The First Republic according to a friend can be likened to a man who murdered sleep and so he had no dream, vision and mission to accomplish. There was no constitution even though there was a semblance of it. Aguyi Ironsi own case can be likened to a case of unwanted pregnancy that finds its way into a family, there was no preparation for his coming. General Gowon came on the block, he did not look for the awesome God then, and so he displayed a military despot like ideology and changed the system of government from regional autonomy and fiscal federalism into a unitary system of government and the story continues……….
Searching through our history, today Nigerians have a better understanding and they know that the constitution is an extension of the word of God. Personally my heart bleeds whenever I look at our constitution and see that it is more honoured in the breach than in the observance by men who are supposed to uphold the constitution because of their supposed devotion to the manifestation of justice. This group of Nigerians are now passing a death sentence to the constitution and substituting it with individuals who demand 100% faithfulness, loyalty and honesty. Nigerians all over the country now know that there is a God behind the process; His word is to refine our human spirit and build our culture. Col. Umar rtd. In one of his revelations of what transpired during the Abacha regime named some persons that knew what happened and he said these men are Christians let them come out and say the truth. And recently some of our leaders are asking that same question but in a different form, what has happened to honesty? Where are the few good men?
And because Nigerians now know that there is something wrong with our country, something fundamentally and basically wrong. They want us to revisit the constitution and look at it conscientiously so that we can ask God to come in as a witness to help seal the agreement. Unfortunately those on the ill side of our society are also working and they have used time destructively well. These men are self confessed born again Christians who always want us to believe they put God first in anything that they do but the truth is, nobody can deceive God. They are also Moslems who will destroy embassies just to show their love for God. With these things bothering me, I met my mentor for answers, please hear him speak.
Nigerians must realize that there is a God behind the process. The mere fact that they sing and pray and go to church and mosque does not mean they believe in God. You must remember that is possible to affirm the existence of God with lips service and deny his existence with our live style. The most dangerous type of atheism is not theoretical atheism, but practical atheism…that is the most dangerous type. And the world, even the church and mosque, is filled up with people who pay lip service to God and not live service. And there is always a danger that we will make it appear externally that they believe in God when internally they don’t. They say with their mouths that they believe in Him, but they live their lives like he never existed. They have unconsciously left God behind. Now, they haven’t consciously left him behind. your leaders just became so involved in getting big bank accounts that they unconsciously forgot about God---they didn’t mean to do it.
The second reason while the members of the state assembly, the governors, members of the national assembly, PDP political juggernauts, ministers, advisers and representative of the president and of course the president wants to pass a death sentence to God’s law which is the constitution is because they have forgotten that all reality hinges on moral foundations. This is a moral universe, and there are moral laws of the universe just as abiding as the physical laws. They unconsciously know that there is a final law of gravitation; if you disobey it you will suffer the consequences. Even if you don’t know it in its Newtonian formulation, we know it intuitively, and so we don’t just jump of the highest building in Abuja or Lagos for the fun of it.
I am not so sure if your people believe that there is a law of gravitation which is final in the universe. At least two things convince me that they don’t believe that, Nigerians within and outside government have strayed away from the principle that this is a moral universe.
The first thing is that they have adopted in your country a sort of relativistic ethic. And that is they have accepted the attitude that right and wrong are merely relative. Most people can’t stand up for their convictions, a typical example was the last meeting organised by the presidency for the governors; agenda third term. They all knew it was wrong but majority of them did not have the courage to stand up for their conviction. When you stand up for your conviction it does not mean you are going to insult the president, no way, capital NO. He is your father so to speak, an elder statesman and above all the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But when he now sees himself as the untouchable, the moving constitution, a constitution he risked his life to maintain then you must help him and help the country as well by standing up for your conviction.
You guys must stop using numerical interpretation to judge right from wrong. You don’t stand for our convictions because the majority of people might not be doing it. See everybody is not doing it, so it must be wrong. And since everybody is doing it must be right. Some things are right and some things are wrong. It is wrong to change the constitution to favour an individual at the expense of the majority. It is wrong even when PDP says it is right. It is wrong eternally, absolutely so. It always has been wrong and will always be wrong. It is wrong to throw your lives away in riotous living. No matter if everybody is doing it in the Niger Delta it is wrong. Some things are wrong, no matter if every body is doing the contrary. Some things in this universe are absolute. The God of the universe has made it so. And so long as we adopt this relative attitude toward right and wrong, we are revolting against the very laws of God. Himself.
The other thing is that yoeur peopl have adopted a sort of pragmatic test for right and wrong—whatever works is right. If it favours the presidency, to EFCC it is right. In the first week of February, it was reported in most of our dailies that a governor from the north has budgeted 500m naira to pursue this third term agenda; it ought to have beeen investigated by the EFCC. To Nigerians nothing is wrong but that which does not work. If you don’t get caught, it’s right. That’s the attitude, isn’t it? It’s alright to disobey the Ten Commandments, but just don’t disobey the eleventh, though shall not get caught. That’s the attitude. That’s the prevailing attitude in your culture. No matter what you do, just do it with a bit of finesse. You know a sort of attitude of the survival of the slickest. Not the Darwinian survival of the fittest, but the survival of the slickest—whoever can be the slickest is the one who is right. It’s alright to lie to those you govern but lie with dignity. (laughter) it’s alright to steal and to rob and extort, but do it with a bit of finesse. It’s even alright to hate the people of the Niger Delta region but just dress up your hate in the garments of love and make it appear that you are loving when you are actually hating. Just get by! That’s the thing that is right according to this new ethic.
This attitude is destroying the soul of your culture! It’s destroying your nation. The thing that you need in this nation today is a group of men and women who will stand up for right and be opposed to wrong. Wherever it is. A group of people who have come to see that some things are wrong, whether they’re never caught up with it. Something’s are right, whether nobody sees you doing them or not. In a nut shell what I am trying to say is that your nation hinges on moral foundation. God has made it so. God has made the universe to be based on a moral law. So long as man disobeys it he is revolting against God. That is what you need in your nation today—people who will stand for right and goodness. It’s not enough to know the intricacies of zoology, biology, metallurgy and Nigeria Sat-1. but we must know the intricacies of the law. It is not enough to know that two and two makes four. But we‘ve got to know somehow that it’s right to be honest and just with our brothers. It’s not enough to know all about our philosophical and mathematical disciplines. But we’ve got to know the simple disciplines, of being honest and loving and just with all humanity. If you guys don't don’t learn it, you will destroy yourselves by the misuse of your own powers.
Hmmn! It is good to have a good mentor, somebody you can run to when you are confused. Thank God for my mentor. He came, he saw and he conquered. Thank God for Dr. Martin Luther King jr. please join me in observing a minute silence in honour of the wife, Coretta Scott King who passed on in the month of January 2006. According to the President of the United State of America, she loved a leader and became a leader.
And so I beg our leaders to please hold the constitution with care, it is all we’ve got. They have taken necessities from the masses and they have given luxuries to the classes. Luxuries are good but they can never be real substitutes for God. For long before any of the luxuries came into existence, we need God. And so long after they will have passed away, we still need God.
In conclusion, as a young man with most of my life ahead of me, I decided early to give my life to something eternal and absolute. Not to these little gods that are here today and gone tomorrow. But to God who is the same yesterday, and forever. Not in the gods that can be with us in a few moments of prosperity but in a God who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death, and causes us to fear no evil. I’m not going to put my ultimate faith in the little gods that can be destroyed but the God who has been our help in time past and our hope in years to come. That is the God I want us to remember when we want to review our constitution, the one who is going to last forever. We have to find that God, He is the one that demands and commands our ultimate allegiance.
articleadsbanner
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