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MEMORISE : And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. Matthew 11 : 6. READ : MATTHEW 11 : 2 – 6. 2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 CHRONICLES 20 – 22. The Christian race must be run with lots of patience or else it will be bungled midway. If you are impatient with God’s timing, you will not only get into trouble but may not be able to finish the race. A good number of backsliders derailed from their heavenly track because of impatience. In Matthew 11 : 6 Jesus said: “And blessed ...

1. Ideal circumstances. The happiest people do not live with a certain set of circumstances, but rather with a certain set of attitudes. Choosing to be positive and grateful for what you have now is going to determine how you’re going to live the rest of your life. So look for something positive about today. Even if you have to look a little harder than usual, it still exists. Ultimately, your greatest achievements are moments in time when what you’re doing allows you to see how wonderful your life already is. 2. Everyone’s approval. The biggest prison you will likely ever live in is your fear of what other people think. You cannot let other people tell you who you are or what you want. You have to decide that for yourself. When you’re making big decisions, remember, what you think of yourself and your life is more important than what people think of you. Don’t let others make you feel guilty for living your life. It’s YOUR life. As long as you’re not hurting anyone else, live it YOUR ...

Pimples in face My usual approach to a discussion on Pimples (medically termed Acne vulgaris) is that having pimples is an universal experience, most people had it at one time in life. As a matter of fact, it is one of the commonest signs of ‘growing up’. In the the same vein, some women, having pimples is a monthly event; “crops” of pimples is a sign that the menses is fast approaching or that she is “on” her menses. Pimples occur when the oil-secreting glands in the skin are clogged and become inflamed or infected. Ninety percent of teenagers get acne, although this can still persist into the middle age, particularly in women during their reproductive years. Causes Pimples are caused by inflammation or infection of the oil glands in the skin and at the base of hairs called the sebaceous glands. In the teenage years, hormones stimulate the growth of body hair, and the oil glands secrete more oil. The skin pores, through which nourishing oil passes to the body hairs, become cl...

Check out these things that mentally strong people don’t do so that you too can become more mentally strong. 1. They Don’t Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves Mentally strong people don’t sit around feeling sorry about their circumstances or how others have treated them. Instead, they take responsibility for their role in life and understand that life isn’t always easy or fair. 2. They Don’t Give Away Their Power They don’t allow others to control them, and they don’t give someone else power over them. They don’t say things like, “My boss makes me feel bad,” because they understand that they are in control over their own emotions and they have a choice in how they respond. 3. They Don’t Shy Away from Change Mentally strong people don’t try to avoid change. Instead, they welcome positive change and are willing to be flexible. They understand that change is inevitable and believe in their abilities to adapt. 4. They Don’t Waste Energy on Things They Can’t Control You won’t hear a m...

Not so fast. In his book, Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy ‘s ‘Last Frontier’ Can Prosper and Matter - which I have just read - Dr Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu rains on the parade of the Afro-optimists. The CBN deputy governor summons the forgotten statistics: Africa’s share of world trade is still an insignificant 3%; its share of Foreign Direct Investment is a mere 5%; the combined GDP of 54 African countries is about that of India alone; the GDP of the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa inclusive, is similar to that of Belgium; all the electricity produced by Sub-Saharan Africa is equal to that of Spain, a country with just 5% of Africa’s population; and just 100,000 individuals account for 80% of Africa’s GDP. To be sure, Moghalu is not an Afro-pessimist. And that is the point. Afro-optimism, in its present shape, is not about Africa being a driver of globalisation but a mere passenger, a growing passenger - if you will. It is not about Africa being a producer but a vor...

OKEY IKECHUKWU EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS The man spoke of how life can be, and actually is, full of ups and downs. He mumbled something about how what gives you joy at one time could cause you great distress a moment later. Then the discussion turned to how life sometimes forces people to learn to distinguish between pleasure and happiness. The discussion even went further to dwell on how people learn, over time and through all manner of experiences, that some painful things happen as part of what people need on their path to maturity – as designed by Providence. Then the man spoke of the wisdom of he who said “All is vanity and a chase after the wind.” Without any warning, or preambles, he drifted on to how the same basic outlook is captured in many religions and philosophical postulations. Buddhism, for instance, was described as a much misunderstood teaching that is easily maligned by traditional religionists mostly of the Western tradition, by him. He said: “Buddha’s four noble tr...

By Ugoo Anieto 1) 1970s = Ghana was in severe political and economic dilemma while Nigeria was a thriving economy and the Nigerian Naira had a greater value over the US Dollar. 2) 1979 = Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings led a revolution killing military and political leaders in Ghana and organized “a house cleaning exercise” aimed at recovering stolen monies from public servants. 3) 1981 = Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings took over the government of Ghana from the inept Dr. Hilla Limann. 4) 1980s = Millions of Ghanaians “invaded” Nigeria in search of economy reprieve and political stability. The Ghanaian dream of the late 70s and early 80S was to emigrate to oil rich Nigeria. 5) 1980s = Jerry Rawlings was still busy cleaning up Ghana WITHOUT THE HELP OF MARABOUS, IMAMS, MEN OF GOD etc while Ghanaians in Nigeria served us as artisans and guess what? They were skilled in everything they did. They were street tailors, house servants, shoemakers, day laborers and all types o...

Captain Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma came into prominence when he led a group of soldiers to abduct the former head of state, Gen. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and his host, the military governor of Western region, Lieutenant Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, from government house Ibadan on the night of July 29, 1966. Under Danjuma’s orders, Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi was spat on, slapped, kicked and punched. With Ironsi’s hands tied behind his back with telephone cord, Danjuma’s soldiers crushed his testicles with their military boots. Ironsi was then dragged on the ground from a moving military Range Rover, skin torn by gravels on the road, blood oozed from his mouth, face swelled, bones cracked and body parts dismembered. And finally he was shot several times and his bullet-ridden, mangled body was dumped in a forest near Iwo road. And so saw his host, Fajuyi. It would be absolutely unfair not to present Danjuma’s foolproof defense: he refused to break Ironsi’s crocodile swagger stick as demanded by the ...

Before the end of this year, first-time visitors from Nigeria, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Pakistan and India may be expected to secure a £3,000 cash bond before they can enter the United Kingdom. According to the Times of London which broke the story, such visitors will forfeit the money if they stay beyond the expiration of their visa. “This is the next step in making sure our immigration system is more selective, bringing down net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands while still welcoming the brightest and the best to Britain,” Home Secretary Theresa May was quoted as saying. Our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, on Tuesday summoned the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Andrew Pocock, to express displeasure over the proposed policy, which he described not only as discriminatory but also capable of undermining the spirit of the Commonwealth family. While I commend Ambassador Ashiru for the highly professional manner h...

I have known him for two years. He is one of those distant neighbours who had through casual interactions become a friend.  In the months that we lived together in the same neighbourhood and when we occasionally ran into one another, our conversation never went beyond the usual inquiry about the weather or the offhand question: “How is your family?”  As a casual friend and neighbour, I had observed him from a distance. He was introverted and easy-going, almost self-effacing. I knew him as someone who minded his business. He never got into trouble with anyone. That was as far as our friendship went until a year ago when I began to see him with a lady. Once, he timidly introduced her to me as his fiancée. He re-appeared in the neighbourhood again after a month only to apologise for not inviting me to his wedding. I got him a small gift and wished him a happy married life. He had at the time informed me that he would quit his self-contained apartment to a more comfortable one ...

Inherent Parochial perspectives existing among Nigerian citizens has made their approach to self liberation an infected methodology, opening weak links for dishonest members of the country to hijack their struggle, misdirect their focus and hence invalidate the legitimacy of their advocacy. The misplaced priority has always resulted in high level barbarism, hypocrisy and high level corruption . This is one reason why those who are well informed about these ills will not be caught with surprise whenever the populace display ineffective reactions to the bad governance in Nigeria.

The world is a funny place. Some say it is weird. Philosophers and kings have sought to understand how the world runs, all to no avail. It is full of contradictions and gaffes. There is an unseen force, beyond the management or manipulation of mankind, which apportions to every man or woman, a share of fortune or misfortune in a life time. That force is called fate. Theologians and present day preachers interpret it as God. But I don’t quite think it is God. Fate can be cruel, unfair and even punitive. Are those the attributes of God? I will cite some instances that show the helplessness of man in the hands of fate. How many choices is man able to really make concerning himself or herself? The more defining issues of life are governed by the almighty sleight of fate. Beside the claims of science and the so-called breakthroughs of research findings, there are many issues that are beyond us. Take the few cases like our sex. How many of us chose to be men or women at birth? How many of...