What Nigerians Want From President Buhari and State Governors

Strategic implementation, reforms and overhaul:

Constant Power Generation, Distribution, Management and Monitoring of existing companies responsible for the distribution and management of power to homes in Nigeria.

Institutional Reforms: EFFC, ICPC, NAFDAC, SON, CON, NDDC, PTF, DESOPADEC,  NATIONAL AWARDS, Tertiary Institutions, etc.

Education: review current employees, insist on continuous monitoring of teachers and their performance with quarterly reports.

Health care: build more health centres in as many cities and communities, engaging only doctors with best practices and pedigree. Vigilantly monitor performance of health officials: management and lower cadre on the the job. The sacking of non-performing civil servants should be instituted and enforced. No more transfers or sacred cow treatment.

Economy: turn Nigeria into a producing nation rather than a consuming one. Flood Nigeria economy with our Naira notes rather than foreign currencies. Do business with foreign organisations or companies who care about their services and products and have respect for Nigerians. Bidding process for government projects should be standardized, open, unbiased and should not have interference in any manner from the Executive or members of any elite group who dances to the tune of some 'godfathers' or 'sacred cows'.

Proper drainage and waste disposal systems that are disciplined and well organised handled by both government and private business partnerships.

Build more refineries and restore old ones to international standard. "NO FUEL" or long fuel queues should not be the story of the wealthiest oil nation in Africa.

Infrastructure: build road networks that connects villages to urban settlements (internal and highways), railways (connecting all 36 states of Nigeria including the FCT), standard airlines (for human and cargos). 

Unemployment Reduction: building industries, revamping abandoned industries - textiles, manufacturing, production, assembly lines, etc.

Agro Allied Businesse: by products of all agricultural products that can be harnessed, converted or re-produced and packaged.

Agri Business: farming, fishing, poultry, animal husbandry etc.

Gas Reforms: NO MORE GAS FLARING. Otujeremi for the past 50 years is a wasteland for gas flaring; there are other areas in Delta state where gas flaring continues to be a bad practice by both multinational companies and indigenous managers. Rather than encourage gas flaring, this gas should be harnessed and converted or distributed to power Nigeria Factories, Businesses, Homes etc like Russia was smart enough to do rather than leave it to waste and degrade the community's environment. The gas flared from Otujeremi alone should be enough to power the whole of Delta state with just over 4,000,000 residents.

External Affairs: Better business and economic relations with countries who respect Nigeria and Nigerians when doing business in Nigeria. Ensuring too that Nigeria secrets are not exploited by big foreign companies or government bodies when we asked to be part of a joint committee that addresses any serious issues such as the Boko Haram menace, Foreign treaties or bilateral relations of any kind.

Increase level of Accountability by the Executive, Senates, House of Representatives, Judiciary and the Civil Service.

Zero Tolerance for corruption for ALL NIGERIANS. Any found guilty of this crime should pay the price and do the time. NO MORE PLEA BARGAINS. This is where international corruption begins. And that is more insidious.

Reduction of Inflation and falling of Nigerian Currency. Enough already! Appoint only those who are exceptional and understand the power of a vibrant economy to run key sectors and offices such as the CBN.

A better cohesiveness of our nation in key aspects of living e.g. housing. The level of exploitation and abusive increase in house rents by so-called estate agent, political office holders, and dubious developers should be looked into more critically. 

These expectations also needs to be fulfilled by state Governors if a complete and holistic effect of change is to be felt across the country.

The Unspoken Truth About Xenophobia In USA, South Africa, Nigeria

When you say someone is Xenophobic, it means that person exhibits unreasoned fear of that which he perceives to be foreign or strange.

Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways:

• If someone has a fear of losing identity 
• Exhibits an unusual suspicion of other people's activities
• Displays aggression, and desire to eliminate the presence of perceived others into order to secure a presumed purity
• An "uncritical exaltation of another culture" in which a culture is ascribed "an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality"
• All forms and manifestations of racism
• Any form of "deep-rooted, irrational hatred towards foreigners" and "unreasonable fear or hatred of the unfamiliar"

Xenophobia may be directed against a group which has been present for centuries, or became part of this society through conquest and territorial expansion. This form of xenophobia can elicit or facilitate hostile and violent reactions, such as mass expulsion of immigrants, pogroms or in other cases, genocide as in the case of the Hutus and Tutsi in Rwanda where over 800,000 persons were killed just in 100 days.

The second form of xenophobia is primarily cultural, and the objects of the phobia are cultural elements which are considered alien. All cultures are subject to external influences, but cultural xenophobia is often narrowly directed, for instance, at foreign loan words in a national language. It rarely leads to aggression against individual persons, but can result in political campaigns for cultural or linguistic purification. In addition, entirely xenophobic societies tend not to be open to interactions from anything "outside" themselves, resulting in isolationism that can further increase xenophobia.

Some Other Causes

A physically, emotional, or economically negative experience with a particular group which is then over-generalized to all members of that group.

Use of anti-cultural, anti-national and anti-terms as can be seen in Nigeria where each tribe has a pejorative for other ethic tribes e.g. "The tribe that eats people"; "The tribe that pooh-pooh's inside their rooms", etc. 

Classical conditioning, that is when someone is conditioned to having a fear or repulse from aliens generally, or, from specific group. Ways to instill it would be dehumanization, mostly by propaganda, for example: a video containing group members shown distorted, erroneous, and in proportional phases of horror sounding.

Imitating others, mainly those that are close to the individual, or, in many cases, societal norms of a nation.

Xenophobia: A World Wide Problem

According to Medindia, the forms of racism are numerous, but here are just a few examples of xenophobia in the world that have left the deep scars on the human race. 

The Jewish holocaust when approximately 6 million European Jews were mass murdered in concentration camps and forced labour during the Second World War. Hitler believed in the supremacy of the Aryan race and Nazi Germany and didn’t want it polluted by Jewish occupation. 

The Ku Klux Klan was an anti-Black movement in the America of the early 1900s. (It was actually born in the previous century but it was the resurrected version that is remembered for its cruelty.) The Klan was infamous for the lynching and murder of whole black families, community leaders and Black sympathizers. Identified by their hoods and flowing white robes, their movement also took on a religious colour as it was pro-white Protestant and preached Anti-Catholicism. . 

Apartheid South Africa is another lasting example of state-imposed racial segregation is the apartheid period (1948-1994). Blacks were denied citizenship, access to quality healthcare, public services, education and all amenities which had long been declared as basic human rights. The discrimination continued till the African National Party, led by Nelson Mandela, passed the anti-apartheid legislation. 

The Indian caste system, though not a racial issue, is still related to xenophobia. The class system which later evolved into the five general levels of caste divisions continues to be widely endorsed by Hindus. Despite legislation promising them a fair share of opportunity, Dalits (lower-caste) Hindus continue to form among the poorest sections of Indian society. 

Human zoos used to be a popular attraction in the West in the 19th and 20th centuries. These ‘public exhibits’ of human beings (caged, sometimes with exotic animals) introduced the West to the ‘barbarians’ of the East. Particularly popular exhibits were those of Africans, tribal pygmies, and the Philippines.

During the Second World War, especially after the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941, Japanese Canadians found themselves with the short end of the stick. Xenophobic public sentiment forced them out of their homes to a government-declared ‘safe zone’ where they were deprived of even basic human amenities. 

Rwanda’s Infamous Genocide was probably the worst modern humanity has ever seen. Ethnic strife, a simmering civil war and political competitiveness between the majority Hutus and the minority Tutsis led to the killing of several thousands of Tutsis in the space of a mere hundred days. Over 800,000 people are reported to have been killed in those mass killings. Even peace-brokering Hutus weren’t spared in the massacre. The genocide was also deemed a method of ‘ethnic cleansing’. Numerous Tutsi women were raped in full public view and the media has been accused of propagating anti-Tutsi sentiment during the period, especially channels like Radio Rwanda that was a dominant news source for illiterate people. In fact, it encouraged the killings in no uncertain terms, motivating listeners to kill “Tutsi cockroaches”.

Ethnic conflicts fuelled the war in the former Yugoslavia, as each tried to wipe out the other. Between 1991 and 1995, as the Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Slovenes fought over political domination, hundreds of thousands of civilians died. 

The 2009 records of the racially motivated attacks against Indians (particularly students) in Australia made headline news for a long period. Hate crimes were reported by the day, starting with the late night attack on an Indian taxi-driver and then further reports of attacks on Indian students surfaced.

In Nigeria Xenophobia manifests itself in terms of religious superiority, ethnic biases and political bigotry. In fact names are ascribed to different ethnic groups based on their common tendencies, lifestyle, and social proclivities. It may be the perceived reason why the Nigeria Civil took on an ugly aspect as the Igbos felt they were an unwanted ethnic group in the larger Nigeria society. Some reports have shown that genocide was a strategy used by the Nigeria military to crush the Biafrans. In the late '80s and early '90s Nigerians declared: "GHANA MUST GO" - a call that stemmed from the fear that many Ghanaians were robbing Nigerians of their jobs, although some say it was a fall out from how Nigerians were treated by the Ghanaian government at the time. 

How To Avoid Becoming Xenophobic

IGNORANCE breeds xenophobia.

Sense of superiority over and above others (in religion, culture, ethnic, etc.) fuels xenophobia.

Undue Fear of the Unknown creates a lacuna that thrives on xenophobia.

Unwillingness to learn about others or what we don't know heightens feelings of hate and covert hostility towards other.

When you don't know about something, ask, ask, ask. find out, an get accurate facts not just assumptions or perceptions or hear-says.

How To Sell and Increase Sales for The Business or Services You Provide

First, you need to know the secret selling ideas to get you off thinking in the right direction. It is called the The Marketing Mix and the 4Ps of Marketing. It means Understanding How to Position Your Market Offering.

But what are the 4Ps and how do you use them, you ask?

Here's how to use the 4Ps. The 4Ps is all about marketing.

What is marketing?

Putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time.

It's simple! You just need to create a product that a particular group of people want, put it on sale some place that those same people visit regularly, and price it at a level which matches the value they feel they get out of it; and do all that at a time they want to buy. Then you've got it made!

There's a lot of truth in this idea. However, a lot of hard work needs to go into finding out what customers want, and identifying where they do their shopping. Then you need to figure out how to produce the item at a price that represents value to them, and get it all to come together at the critical time.

But if you get just one element wrong, it can spell disaster. You could be left promoting a car with amazing fuel-economy in a country where fuel is very cheap; or publishing a textbook after the start of the new school year, or selling an item at a price that's too high – or too low – to attract the people you're targeting.

The marketing mix is a good place to start when you are thinking through your plans for a product or service, and it helps you avoid these kinds of mistakes.

Understanding the Tool

The marketing mix and the 4Ps of marketing are often used as synonyms for each other. In fact, they are not necessarily the same thing.

"Marketing mix" is a general phrase used to describe the different kinds of choices organizations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or service to market. The 4Ps is one way – probably the best-known way – of defining the marketing mix, and was first expressed in 1960 by E J McCarthy.

The 4Ps are:

•Product (or Service).

•Place.

•Price.

•Promotion.

A good way to understand the 4Ps is by the questions that you need to ask to define your marketing mix. Here are some questions that will help you understand and define each of the four elements:

Product/Service

•What does the customer want from the product/service? What needs does it satisfy?

•What features does it have to meet these needs? •Are there any features you've missed out?

•Are you including costly features that the customer won't actually use?

•How and where will the customer use it?

•What does it look like? How will customers experience it?

•What size(s), color(s), and so on, should it be?

•What is it to be called?

•How is it branded?

•How is it differentiated versus your competitors?

•What is the most it can cost to provide, and still be sold sufficiently profitably? 

Place

•Where do buyers look for your product or service?

•If they look in a store, what kind? A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both? Or online? Or direct, via a catalogue?

•How can you access the right distribution channels?

•Do you need to use a sales force? Or attend trade fairs? Or make online submissions? Or send samples to catalogue companies?

•What do you competitors do, and how can you learn from that and/or differentiate?

Price

•What is the value of the product or service to the buyer?

•Are there established price points for products or services in this area?

•Is the customer price sensitive? Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share? Or will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin?

•What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of your market?

•How will your price compare with your competitors?

Promotion

•Where and when can you get across your marketing messages to your target market?

•Will you reach your audience by advertising in the press, or on TV, or radio, or on billboards? By using direct marketing mailshot? Through PR? On the Internet?

•When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market? Are there any wider environmental issues that suggest or dictate the timing of your market launch, or the timing of subsequent promotions?

•How do your competitors do their promotions? And how does that influence your choice of promotional activity?

Lessons from Nigeria 2015 Presidential Election

Get the process right. 
The use of PVC requires transparency, accountability and validity at all levels.

Engage the right man for the job. 
Jega did a fantastic job. 80% falls under ‘A’. 

Jonathan, however should have surrounded himself with persons with pedigree that can deliver through his six years in the areas of: power generation, modern rail and road construction and network, better accountability in government, zero tolerance for corruption and much more. 6 years was more than enough to have achieved significantly in the above. After all, his administration was simply a continuation from his predecessor: 6 years prior, 6 years after. How many more years did he still need to get the job done?! 

Surround yourself with those who know what needs to be done and gets it done. 
The returning officers, NYSC members and other adhoc team did a fantastic job. Mostly importantly, they refused to be bought.

Sensitize the people on their rights.
Nigerians should make effort to read and understand their rights, the power inherent in their votes, and how to work as a team to make things work properly. 
Above all, by showing restraint throughout the exercise, Nigerians showed they have come of age. Self Control and mastery over tension is commendable.

Civil service appointment is TO WORK; Not to steal. 
Let us hope that there would be no corruption charges leveled against Jonathan or his team. And should he be found wanting, Nigerians will not sleep until justice is meted out. Perception is everything. The new government must make sure it gets the zero tolerance for corruption right.

Reward honesty, merit and excellence over mediocrity at all levels. 
The perception of Buhari as an honesty man played a key role in his selection, but will that be who he becomes when he gets into office? The next 4 years will tell. And if he doesn't: he GETS BOOTED OUT too. Simple. 

Only true Performers should get two terms.

Having a certificate, bearing the tiles Dr. Prof and so on does not make you a performer. 

It it the Quality of your work, ethics, commitment and ability to always deliver every time, that counts. Then and only then, will your certificate or title have been well earned.

Government sources of revenues: oil, taxes, private and public sales of public structures such as NITEL, NEPA and so on, is not for settling your cronies who got you in. Buhari and APC, remember this as you enter Aso Rock come May 29th.

When voted in, GET THE JOB DONE!

Nigerians no longer believe that belonging to a particular religion is evidence of how productive you’ll be in office. Only the quality of your work and deeds will be the sole criteria.

Nothing like good political sportsmanship! 
When you lose, step down with your dignity still intact. Jonathan did. Whatever his reason were: cowardice, fear or the vein desire to be lauded by the international community as the "First African who conceded his office" - which he is not -  without being forced to do is not the focus here. While his action is commendable, he should not be flippantly labelled a HERO. True Heroism has only one face; not two faces.

Step down when the ovation is loudest. 

Step down even when there’s no ovation, but it becomes imperative to do so and act accordingly – willingly.

When you don’t under how a process works, do not use your political stature or connections to threaten a man who knows how to get a good job done well. This is where Orubebe did not get it right.

As Jonathan leaves office, what will Nigerians remember him for?
Not so much as the man who stepped down, but as the man who allowed many innocent children, mothers and men to die unjust death at the hands of Boko Haram. 
Nigerians will not forget how he used the political insecurity in the north as a political gimmick, a tool he needed to wield so he could clinch a second term when six weeks before election he decided it was time he proved he could deliver. 

Lesson? 
When elected into office, have a clear vision and agenda on how to tackle a specific problem that Nigerians yearn for and you will forever be stamped into eternity. 
Never use your ‘ability’ to deliver to play carrot and stick. Otherwise, both the cart and the horse will turn against you and give you exactly what you've given.

Today YOU have spoken. 
Your voice has been heard Nigeria. Lets continue to make it heard throughout the echoes of our existence. 

Always be a Peace Ambassador for good: at work, at home, with friends, neighbours, acquaintances or wherever you find yourself. But those who think they have a license to kill by the sword will be met with equal force.

One Love Nigeria. 
Never settle for less than you truly deserve. And may our vision be to Always get it right for all the right reasons.


For more stories on how Civil Servants contributed to corruption, click this: http://ladyechannel.blogspot.com/2015/03/when-you-teach-politician-how-to-steal.html 

Ibadan: Meeting the 21st Century Head-on!

Ibadan strikes me as a collage of ancient meets modernity!

Poems have described it as The Red Rusty Roof Town.

It is known as the Largest City in Africa.

Today Ibadan boosts no less then 10 radio stations and 3 TV stations! Business is good.

The presence of Palms Mall which houses Shoprite and Games simply tells you how very modern Ibadan journeyed from red rust roofs!

As far back as 1829, Ibadan has been a thriving place and by 1893 Ibadan area became a British Protectorate after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with the British acting Governor of Lagos, George C. Denton on 15 August.

The first university to be set up in Nigeria was the University of Ibadan. Established as a college of the University of London in 1948, and later converted into an autonomous university in 1962. It has the distinction of being one of the premier educational institutions in Africa.

• Other noteworthy institutions in the city include:
• The University College Hospital (UCH) - the first teaching hospital in Nigeria
• The internationally acclaimed International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
• The Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER)
• Leadcity University, which according to my guide is a blend of the "rich notorious" Don't ask me what it means, read between the lines. 
• Also the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria
• The Nigerian Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), 
• the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) 

Ibadan has an airport, Ibadan Airport, which operates daily flights to Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Ilorin e.t.c through major airlines in Nigeria such as Arik Air. The city is also served by the Ibadan railway station on the main railway line from Lagos to Kano.

Ibadan is naturally drained by four rivers with many tributaries: Ona River in the North and West; Ogbere River towards the East; Ogunpa River flowing through the city and Kudeti River in the Central part of the metropolis. Ogunpa River, a third-order stream.

A tropical wet and dry climate, Ibadan offers you the best holiday weather you'd love! It affords you the opportunity to visit landmark sites and areas such as: 

• Dugbe district, the commercial nerve centre of Ibadan as well as the Cocoa House in Dugbe, reputably Nigeria's first skyscraper.
• The museum at the building of the Institute of African Studies, and several other libraries all over Ibadan.
• The Bower Memorial 
• Home of the First Television in Africa
• 2 Zoological gardens and a botanical garden to explore.
• Oke Mapo, that is, Mapo Hill
• Trans-Wonderland amusement park, 
• The Cultural Centre, Mokola and
• The Obafemi Awolowo Stadium.

There's so much to see. The University of Ibadan alone provides you with an enchanting and soothing tour all of its own. Try it!

Don't forget to visit the Palm Malls too!

And guess what? It is only in Ibadan an ice-cream cup is sold for N1,500! Go figure. You don't believe me? 

Here's a shot of my Photo Slide Story for you to peek at. Have a great ride: 

http://ladyechannel.blogspot.com/2015/03/ibadan-poems-have-described-it-as-red.html.

https://plus.google.com/b/102488508152202926359/102488508152202926359/posts/GQ3hptHfsXG.

When You Teach A Politician How To Steal From You, This Is What Happens

Finally, the event with the Governor was over. The Commissioner and his friend a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, sat together at the Lodge drinking, a file on the table. The discussion has been going on for a while since the Civil Servant brought the files in. Both politicians listened with rapt attention.

The Civil Servant said, “Oga let me show you how to do it...”

“Really? Would this work?”

“Nobody will even know how you did it. All monies will be accounted for Sir.”

The Commissioner and Minister stole a glance at each other and smiled. They never knew it was so easy to cook the books and skim so much off the top.

“But how do you know this?” asked the minister.

“You see that Dome over there, where you both attended the Governor’s unveiling, Sir?”

“Yes. What about it?”

“It cost the government N3.6 billion on paper. But the actual cost for it was 90 times below that!”

“You don’t say?” eyes popped out into shinning globes.

“Yes Sir, it is true.”

“You see, that Publisher did not bring original new materials from overseas. Rather this was his old dome situated along the Maroco axis road, which the Lagos State Government asked him to remove because it was in the right of way of the new road expansion being carried out by the Governor of Lagos state. So the Publisher simply dismantled it, brought it down here and it was simply re-coupled here. Even now as we speak, you saw how some parts of the roof has already begun leaking. These materials are not meant for temperate regions such as ours.”

“Wow! I used to hear whiffs about this, but this is really up-close and personal.”

“Sir, let me tell you, as a matter of fact did you know that every month N1 million was set aside for it’s maintenance? Yet the reality on ground is that no maintenance of any sort is being done per say. Even though the money now has been reviewed down to N750,000. Money exchange hands, but no work is done. 

“Sir, sir, you see. At the beginning just when the dome was inaugurated, N22 million was set aside yearly for its maintenance. But only N17 million was shown to be approved. By the time it got to our knowledge, the money has reduced to N12 million on paper. And when it finally reached the Oga who did the disbursing, well you won’t believe how far the money simply dwindled.”

The Commissioner and Minister wore soured looks on their faces; their minds doing mathematical summersaults. 

The Civil Servant felt he had them exactly where he wanted them. They were hooked! So he plunged on, “Awhile back, Sir,” he said, “N17 million was approved for rain boots, umbrellas etc. in this ministry for staff. As we speak only a few umbrellas, rain boots and a dozen chairs were bought! But where’s the money? The former director who is now a speaker and one key director still in the ministry, were the ones in cahoots and today they have buildings and landed properties all over the town. Even ordinary S.As knows how this works. The one currently under my Oga at the top already has 3 cars in less than 9 months!”

“You mean a Special Adviser acquired all that within so short a time? Wat is the world coming to.”

“Oga, that’s how it works oo. It is where you work you eat from.”

“So you’re saying if we cook the books here... into the budget, it means we can get as much N5,000,000 just like many directors gets in less than a month or year?”

“Absolutely Sir! Sir, even at my level Sir, let me show you how it is done. Say for example my office Oga asked me to put up a billboard, and the sum approved for it was N500, 000; all I spend is N40,000 for the job. Once that is set aside, I give you as my Commissioner N150,000; N120,000 to my other boss and the balance left is for me to do with as I pleased. But the signboard will be there for all to see, despite that it is cheaper than the quality approved for.”

“Alright. That makes it crystal clear, doesn’t it?” teased the commissioner before he signed the budget. The deal has been struck.

But when the money was approved, the Civil Servant did not know it. What gave away his political boss was the new ride and land he suddenly bought and was building on it barely three months after their talk! And each time his boss saw him, he’ll instantly put his phone to his ear, indicating to him that he was busy.

After a few more trial, his boss began to wear a permanent scowl on his face each time he saw him. Matter of fact, it seemed his boss had told his secretary not to allow the Civil Servant access into his office!

The Civil Servant tried to weep but the tears would not come. He had shown his boss the way hoping he would have gotten a deal of the chunk but he had been sidelined, just like that!

This House Is Not For Sale: The SANCTION OF STEALING BY FAITH!

The three of them: a matured woman, a guy in his early 30s and a young man in his late 20s were laughing gaily about how long ago it was they’d seen each other last. And before long the matter had navigated into why the guys were yet to find the woman of their dreams.

“Women are just greedy these days. They don’t understand us guys!” said the dark twenty something year old guy.

“Really?” the matured woman asked.

“Yes.” chimed in the fair in complexion thirty something.

“Don’t you think you guys might be looking for what does not exists?”

“Naaa.” both guys said at once and laughed.

“For example,” said  Darky, “imagine how my best friend, just newly wedded has been paying back wedding debt! And all because he married a gal!”

“How come?” asked the bewildered woman.

“Can you imagine he earns N450,000 a month and still hasn’t paid his wedding debt even after six months?”

“Oh-oh. That’s not a good way to start marriage.” Said the matured woman.

“Women just want to empty a man’s pocket!” said Fair Man.

“And you know the most annoying part? This girl was just insulting my friend in a shouting match over his landed properties!”

“Did I not say women are greedy!” added Fair Man.

“But wait a minute, how do you mean his landed properties. Does she want the lands in her name or what? Otherwise that must be a really long throat babe he married oo!” Matured woman feigned shock.

“No, it’s not like that. She’s also my friend too. Matter of fact I brought them together. But the problem is that she’s going about saying all the landed properties her husband told her about, she’s yet to set her eyes on them.”

“Haba! What kind of talk is that? Did he tell his fiancée before they married he had lands and now after married there’s suddenly no land?” said Matured Woman.

 “You see, I understand my friend,” he said defiantly, “I knew why he told his fiancée that his mother’s land was his. He said it in faith and claimed it by faith!”

“Oh! You mean the young husband claimed that his mother’s lands were his!”

“Of course they are his! But they wife has no right questioning him, asking him: ‘Where are lands you said you have? Where are the title deeds for the land you said you owned before we married?’”

The matured woman stared long and hard at Darky.  The more they talked about the matter, the more Darky tried to help them see, even justify what was an apparent lie his friend told his fiancée, who after marriage was now beginning to ask questions.

“Thing is,” began Darky, “I don’t like how she’s disrespecting my friend by doubting and questioning him. And now she’s gone to report the matter to his mother.”

“But you know your friend lied to her!”

“That’s what girls like to hear!” jumped in Fair Man.

“But you know that is stealing. Your friend claiming something what is not his.” said Matured Woman sitting across them. Incidentally, she does not belong to any religion.

“No.” the young man replied. “It is not stealing. He was simply claiming it by Faith...You just don’t understand.

“And what did the lady’s mother-in-law say when her daughter-in-law complained to her about the inconsistencies about the land?”

“Her mother-in-law simply laughed naa and told her daughter-in-law that the land was her own and not her son’s.”

“Isn’t it clear to you as you’re narrating this story that your friend has not only lied to his fiancée in the name of Faith in God but has also stolen another person’s land by claiming it?”

“But it’s his mother’s land! And by right, like in my case, he’s the first son and is therefore entitled to the land.”

“Did you not hear what his mother said? ‘It is my land, not my son’s’?”

“Well...” he began, but sharply turned his face away frustrated at her precise logic. Then he said, 

“Does it really matter? After all, what’s his mother’s is his too.”

“From the mother’s response, it is very clear that until she formally handed the lands over to him, the land is unequivocally in her name and belongs to her.”

“But he’s the first son! And we are talking about claiming one’s inheritance ahead.”

“Until someone gives you something directly or grants you permission to own, use or have access to what’s theirs, if you ‘claim it’ or announce that it is yours, it is stealing, ho-ha!”

“What?!” 

“Haven’t you seen cases where parents change their wills? Suppose your friend’s mother changes her mind and gives the lands to someone else or even sell the land without her son knowing only for him to find out after her death that the land was never transferred to him, what amount of faith, or claiming in the Name of God will change that?”

“Well...”

“When religion sanctions and permits people to steal and call it Claiming by Faith, in the Name of God, do you see why, although Nigeria has so many religion, yet in comparison to countries full of agnostics, atheist or pagan worshippers as you call them, Nigeria is by far extremely corrupt? Look at those in political office today. Many belong to one Christian religion or Muslim faith or another. They all hold positions of authority where the rule of law ought to be enforced and honesty and ethics should be a way of life. Yet what do you see?”

“Those are not God-fearing persons!”

“So is your friend who claims a land that is not yet his and lies to his fiancée that they are his, is he God fearing?”

“Uh?”

“Exactly.”

“No, no. Wait. Those countries that do not believe in God, their riches and wealth are false riches! They don’t have true success!”

“Really? Let me get you clear,” the matured woman sat up, her demeanour one of combat. “Are you saying that someone who says let’s stop people from begging, from taking alms and empower them with skills and expertise so they can create, be productive and enjoy the sweat and money of their success, that such a person has no true success when he empowers his fellow man that way? So you mean your friend claiming an asset that is not his, has true wealth?”

“Er...Em...”

“Have you people fallen so low to the point where you delude yourself to such unbelievable extent; where you steal from Paul in faith, claim it from Peter and command it to be taken from John all in the name of ‘I have Faith this will be mine!” 

The young man shrugged his shoulders like what-did-it-matter how it’s done as long as Faith is involved. 

Then the woman said, “The other day like that a wretched man with no money in his pocket got an alert of N250,000 for doing nothing. Rather than go to the bank to explain that he was erroneously paid as this must have been a terrible error on the Teller’s part, the man went to church to make testimony! He said God had given him the money and answered his prayers to get out of poverty. 

“Three weeks after he had spent almost all the money, three persons arrived at his door. Apparently, the bank had called to tell him he had been wrongly credited, but he denied it and stopped picking up their calls (that is, unknown numbers not registered with a name on his phone). The two police men standing by the Female Banker were at his home to take him to the police station. The man begged and pleaded but they would have none of it.

“After almost a week in custody in the guardroom, he was able to pay the complete money. A few friends and family members had contributed the sum on his behalf.

“That money which the man claimed, was supposed to be been paid into a woman whose child was in hospital, and required surgery. The parents of this girl almost lost the child because the initial payment of N250,000 could not be paid immediately to begin treatment.”

“Oh.” was all Darky could utter while Fair Man stared in shocked.

“When you take what is not yours,” said Mature Woman, “even if it accidentally falls into your hands or was given to you in error, the premise that it was an error negates your right, claim or faith in saying it is yours.”

For a long time Darky remained quiet. He was sitting uncomfortably by the edge of the chair, his posture ram-rod straight, his eyes radiating disturbing clarity.

Tactfully, the woman redirected their conversation to safer grounds. Now more convinced Darky, in this very moment sees how his religion has misled and sanctioned him to believe that he could claim somebody else’s reward that was not his effort. 

POSITIVE VIBES: ATTITUDE

If you don’t want negative energy to impact on you, stop resisting it. Simply redirect your focus.

In a dark time, the eyes begin to see.

Whenever you fall, pick something up.

People will forget what you said; but they will never forget how you made them feel.

We have to let go of all the blame, all attacking, all judging, to free our inner selves to attract what we say we want.

The farther behind I live my past, the closer I am to forging my own character.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Let it go.

Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to.

All appears to change when we change

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.

Anything I cannot transform into something marvellous, I let go.

Some people think that it’s holding that makes one strong – sometimes it’s letting go. 

You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.

Letting go doesn’t always mean giving up, but rather accepting that there are things that cannot be.

A man is not old until regrets take the place of his dreams.

Show me a guy who’s afraid to look back, and I’ll show you the guy you can beat every time.

Just as hostility begets more hostility, its absence brings peace. These are timeless truths.

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.

You can have anything you want if you are willing to give up the belief that you can’t have it.

I don’t let go of thoughts, I question them and then they let go of me.