RiverNaija

For many years I worked in palliative care, and my patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared and I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them. When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five: 1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfi...

The Nigerian praying system enthrones a prosperous church while the nation is in a state of backwardness. Some prayer warriors of Nigerian extraction have effectively prayed self out of poverty, lack, sickness, madness, infertility etc while the nation is still backwards, sliding deep into, poverty, insecurity, inequality, injustice and despair. This is the mystery of Nigeria prayer system- some individuals are prosperous while the nation is backward. The earlier article ‘’Hypocrites as prayer warriors: How can God heal Nigeria?1 & 2’’ laid the foundation for the discussion and attempts to distinguish between personal prayers and corporate prayers . The principles of corporate prayers, prayers for nations, cities, villages emphasizes that the prayer warrior must stand on the path of equity. Any prayer against corrupt public officials cannot work if those praying have the same corrupt tendencies exhibited by those they want to replace. A lot of prayer warriors have been given divi...

If you thought the age of a gloomy UK economy was coming to an end, think again. A slow and subdued economic recovery was the key message delivered by Bank of England governor Mervyn King when he presented the latest Inflation Report on Wednesday . As King embarks on his last year as governor (he retires next year ) he has dropped the niceties and is willing to face the facts straight on. At this press conference he virtually admitted that the UK’s economy is dismal , he doesn’t know when it will get better and the tools the Bank has been using since the financial crisis began four years ago have not been working. The BoE’s growth forecasts for the next two years have been cut dramatically: The original estimate that growth could be as high as 4% next year has been scrapped; it is more likely that growth will expand at a fairly dismal 1% a year for the next two years. However, even that low rate of growth could be optimistic. So why does our economy keep failing to recover? King ...

Hosea 4:7-9 New King James Version (NKJV) 7 “The more they increased, The more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. 8 They eat up the sin of My people; They set their heart on their iniquity. 9 And it shall be: like people, like priest. So I will punish them for their ways, And reward them for their deeds. There has been a lot of tittle-tattle lately as well as so many discordant tunes on the propriety or otherwise of jets and gifts to pastors and men of God. The debates have been loud and raucous with so many people speaking from a position of little or no information. A lot of emotive vibes and outrage, for or against the perceived or real manipulations by men who supposedly have been given charge over the souls of millions, has become public fodder. Everyone appears to be venting their spleen wherever you turn. But what exactly should we do or say? Supporters of ostentatious and obviously manipulative men of the cloak are quick to put the critics in ch...

EDDIE IROH, Email: eddie.iroh@thisdaylive.com Before I say another word in this article, let me quickly state that I have already put my neck on the chopping block for the guillotine, slipped a hangman’s noose round my neck, and tied myself to the stake ready for the firing squad. I say this in acknowledgement of the fact that when you dare to raise issues with a Nigerian’s religion, ethnic group or political allegiance, however valid your facts or the argument, you might as well be ready for all of the above. For when issues pertaining to these arise, you quickly realise that the Nigerian person is probably the most emotive of all of God’s creations. As even the celebrated Chinua Achebe has recently found to his probable chagrin with the publication of his new book, even the “well educated” and “learned” Nigerian throws intellect out of the window, opens the door wide for primordial sentiments and, quite pitifully, he or she will not provide a superior argument to thump yours. V...

By Femi Aribisala The riches and glories of this world are counterfeit. If we were to ask Christians what Jesus saves us from, many would say we are saved from the torments of hell. However, the hell Jesus spoke about is a real place called Gehenna; a valley outside Jerusalem where apostate Israelites sacrificed their children to idol gods, which later became a rubbish dump where criminals were burnt alive. Thus, while the hell Jesus spoke about was well-known to the Jews, it is entirely imaginary to us. The hell we know today is in this world. Hell is Nigeria; where armed-robbery and kidnapping is rampant; and the Boko Haram increasingly blows up the innocent. Hell is Norway; where Anders Breivik massacred nearly one hundred people in cold-blood. Hell is Germany; where millions of Jews were gassed to death. Hell is the United States; which routinely rains down “shock-and-awe” bombs on non-Americans; including Iraqis, Afghans and Libyans. Hell is in every home; every neigbour...

By C. K. Ekeke, M. Div., Ph.D.        Nigeria’s wealthiest pastor, Bishop David Oyedepo is in the news again – this time in the United Kingdom. Sadly for him, Britain is not Nigeria, where the corrupt courts absolved him of all wrong doings, his abuses and violence against a young worshiper of his church at Winner Chapel – aka “Cananland” It was the video of his satanic slap of a young girl, probably an uneducated parishioner, who didn’t know how best to express her love and witness for Jesus, that exposed the abuse and muddled message that is being promulgated by the bishop to his gullible and biblical ignorant followers. Since then, I have penned a couple of articles calling on the federal government intervention to enact laws and policies to checkmate abuses - physical, sexual, emotional, mental, and moral abuses in places of worship in the nation in order to protect the vulnerable. I’m not too concerned about the learned and intelligent parishi...