At 56 – Time To Move On

urgency

  •  

  •  

  •  

By Adewumi Oni

As the nation turned 56 on 1st October, many Nigerians are of the opinion that we have not justified our 56 years of post-independence. Amidst a challenging economic recession that has never been witnessed in the nation before, President Buhari called on Nigerians to give thanks to God and pray for the founding fathers of the nation.

Our journey since independence has been marred with a civil war and many military interregnums, with the last ending in 1999 after Gen. Abubakar Abdulsalam handed over to the then newly elected President Olusegun Obasanjo. It is a big plus that we have held four elections successfully since then, albeit with different degree of ‘freeness and fairness’.

One notable plague that has characterised almost all the different administrations that have presided over the country is corruption. The amount that the country has lost to corruption since independence is in trillions of Naira and this, no doubt, has painfully halted the rate of growth and development of the country.

Another sore reality is that after 102 years of living together as a country and 56 years of self-rule, many sections of the country are still calling for secession and self-determination. With the wounds of the last civil war yet to be properly healed, the Igbos have been at the forefront of the calls for breaking out of the federation.

Saddening also is the fact that 56 years after independence, the country still battles with providing stable power supply. The other time, achieving a 5000 megawatts power output was celebrated as if we were gaining independence afresh. Many of our roads are still in terrible states, such that whenever it rains, motorists go through hell to get to their destinations because of pockets of water-filled holes and ditches. Many of our rail lines were abandoned and left in a dismal state, until the Goodluck Jonathan administration started overhauling them.

In spite of the huge revenue the country had amassed from crude oil export over the years, the country today waddles in the mud of low external reserves and biting economic hardship. Almost all sectors of our economy are grinding to a halt and crime rate has grown both numerically and in sophistication.

While we truly need to thank God, especially for the fact that the nation did not break up in 2015 as predicted by some foreign bodies, we also need to do a lot of reflective thinking both as a nation and individually. Individually, whenever we turn a new age, we always reflect on our past failures and successes, what we could have achieved, learning points and set new target for ourselves. This should also apply to our national entity. As a nation, it is time to put behind our past failures and focus on rebuilding the nation to become a force to reckon with among comity of nations.

One would have expected the President’s Independence speech to have been directed more towards goals and targets for the next one year, instead of the focus on recounting the achievements of his administration. His speech should have been aimed at inspiring the citizenry towards a better tomorrow. Given the fact that his achievements thus far fall far below both his pre-election promises and Nigerians expectations, more attention should have been placed on his plans toward rebuilding the economy.

As we therefore begin another year as a nation, it is time for all the citizens to adopt the ‘Change’ agenda in our personal lives, especially as regards our spending habit, propensity for foreign goods, and disregard for law and order.

The leadership of the nation should also stop the ‘Blame Game’, and get to the business of repairing the damaged that has been inflicted on the country. Rather than placing blame, let the government fix the issues. When the citizens start seeing a government who is willing to take full responsibility for the nation, they will become more tolerant of the hardship they are facing. When we are sure of light at the end of the tunnel through clear and focused economic blueprint, our criticisms and complain will reduce.

I believe most Nigerians understand the enormity of the situation we are in, but those of us who supported the President at the last election equally believed that the President has the capacity to bring about a turnaround for the nation. It is therefore that capacity to deliver that is being called upon and nothing more.

Oni, a Chartered Accountant, writes from Mowe, Ogun State.

You Can’t Move Forward in a Reverse Gear

Are you still bound by your past mistakes? Is that failure still holding you back? Are you keeping to yourself because of that last hurtful relationship? Are you afraid of investing again because of the last failed investment? Or you have become distrustful due to the betrayal you suffered in the hands of that trusted fellow? Or perhaps you have been dwelling on that last success so much that you don’t want to try new things? 
Hear this, nobody travels in a reverse gear. A driver drives facing the front windscreen and not the rear screen. As long as you keep looking into the past, you are driving in a reverse gear and that only takes you to one destination, BACKWARD. If you want to move forward, you must face the future and put the past behind you. 
The only business you have in the past is to draw from the lessons of your failures or successes. This is why your eyes are in the front and not behind. You are to look forward and move towards new goals. You have no business in the past. 
It is therefore time to get out of reverse gear and engage the drive gear. No matter how bad the past may have been, the future holds a lot of opportunities and promises, they are only waiting for you to walk into them. 
God bless us all. 
Good morning! 

Happy Independence Day 

As we mark our 56th year of independence, let us find time to pray for our nation, Nigeria, that God will set us on the path of greatness, help us to play our roles in building a great nation and give our leaders wisdom and the fear of the Lord. 

Nigeria will be great again by God’s Grace. 
God bless us all. Happy Independence Day! 
Good morning!

What drives you? 

We all have motivating factor(s) driving us and making us to leave the comfort of our beds every new morning. For some it is money, for some it is power, fame for some people, success for some and passion for some. 
What drives a man will determine how far he will go. For instance, all things being equal, a vehicle with a full tank of fuel will travel farther than a motorcycle with a full tank of fuel. They can both convey from one place to the other, but with different capacity. One can go further than the other. 
The same principle applies to our lives. The factor driving you will determine how far you will go in life. If it is money, you will likely get tired when the money is no longer flowing. If it is fame, when your fame goes down, you will likely give up. If it is power, when power changes hand you will go into hiding. If it is a  relationship with someone, what happens if you lose the person? 
The only driver that is guaranteed of driving one till death is Purpose. If you are being driven by purpose, your ‘well of passion’ will be continually full. Whether strong or weak, rich or poor, you will always want to pursue your purpose. This is why living ‘by and for’ purpose is extremely important. 
Don’t live an ordinary life, pursuing money, wealth, fame and material things. Live a purposeful life and all these other things will be added unto you. 
God bless us all. 
Good morning! 

Missing in Action? 

Are you feeling like you have been kept in the cooler? Feeling like you are missing in action? Every good football player always wants to be fielded in every match, barring injury or booking suspension. 

There are times the coach will keep a fit player on the bench. Coaches do this for so many reasons. Sometimes they could be keeping the player for a particular match or towards the end of the game in a match, especially when such players are game changers. Other times, it could be punishment for a misbehaviour, or to avoid exposing the player to injuries while playing. 

Likewise, life sometimes keeps us on the bench and we become angry and frustrated. For similar reasons, you may be kept on the bench of life for a particular purpose and season. Do not despair. You may have sustained some serious injuries too,  unknowing to you and if you continue, you will just crash. Sometimes it is as a result of our mistakes. 
Whichever one is the situation, the bench is not a permanent position, you will soon resume back to actions. While you are on the bench, keep learning, keep equipping yourself and stay prepared. You may be called to action anytime. Don’t fret, it is just a phase. 

God bless us all. 

Good morning! 

Dangers of Unforgiveness 

Our world today is filled with vengeful, hurting and hate-filled people. This is manifesting in different forms among which are divorces, acid baths, genital mutilations, suicides and murders, etc and behind most of these is unforgiveness. 
Both young and old are becoming victims of unforgiveness, either not forgiving others or themselves. What the unforgiving people do not know is that they are the real victims and not those they are having issues with. 
Unforgiveness is unhealthy both medically and spiritually. 
Unforgiveness is classified in medical books as a disease. According to Dr. Steven Standiford, chief of surgery at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, refusing to forgive makes people sick and keeps them that way.


With that in mind, forgiveness therapy is now being used to help treat diseases, such as cancer.”(CBN News). 

Of all cancer patients, 61 percent have forgiveness issues, and of those, more than half are severe, according to research by Dr. Michael Barry, a pastor and the author of the book, The Forgiveness Project.

“Harboring these negative emotions, this anger and hatred, creates a state of chronic anxiety,” he said.

“Chronic anxiety very predictably produces excess adrenaline and cortisol, which deplete the production of natural killer cells, which is your body’s foot soldier in the fight against cancer,” he explained.

Spiritually, you can invite evil thoughts into your life through unforgiveness. For as long as you also harbour unforgiveness in your heart, you are cut off from the throne of Grace and Mercy. Your prayers can’t be answered. Mark 11:25-26.

Don’t cheat yourself through unforgiveness. You are the real victim of unforgiveness. 

God bless us all. 

Good morning! 

The Man Died

Permit me to borrow the title of the prison notes of Professor Wole Soyinka published in 1971. He expressed his fears during his twenty two months incarceration for supporting the Ibo. He concluded that man doesn’t have to accept failure as his lot, but can rise above failure with the help of others. 
Borrowing from Prof. Wole Soyinka, the man in you dies when you keep quiet in the face of injustice. 
The man in you dies when you pretend like it doesn’t concern you when the man in uniform is unjustly harassing the man in mufti on the road. 
The man in you dies when you refuse to speak against wrong policies of the government that have direct negative  impact on you and your children, both living and yet unborn. 
The man in you dies when you support tyrannical leaders because of the loots you share with them. 
The man in you dies when you misplaced justice as a judge or magistrate because you have been settled. 
The man in you dies when all you do is pray for your leaders but refuse to speak when they are going wrong. 
The man in you dies when you cede your mind and reasoning to your spiritual leaders and fail to weigh their counsel upon the scale of truth and free conscience. 
The man in you dies when you allow the pursuit of survival to drown out the voice of purpose crying for fulfilment in you.  
How many times has the man in you died? Is there still a man in you? 
God bless us all. 
Good morning! 
Notice

If you want to bring the man in you back to life, let us meet on 22nd October at the ‘Step Out of the Confines of Comfort’ seminar. 

For further details, click on https://adewumioni.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/step-out-of-the-confines-of-comfort/?preview=true

Mentalities that Destroy (6)

As we wrap up this series today, we will be closing with the Poverty Mentality. This is the mentality that has crippled the African race and kept us behind all other races. It is the mentality ruling most of our leaders. It is the mentality that has ravaged our land and is still enslaving our children in droves just like a vortex sucks in water. It is arguably the worst of all, in terms of its capacity to destroy both present and future potentials.  
What is poverty mentality? It is a mental block that makes someone sees himself as been poor and pushes one to steal, loot, usurp, waste and kill, with a view to amass enough wealth to guarantee that one would never be poor again. It is the mentality that makes people believe that every opportunity to hold a position,  either in private or public offices, is an opportunity to enrich themselves rather than serving the good of all. It is also the reason why we sell our goods and services at abnormal margins because we think we may never sell again. Smart people leverage on turnover, poor people leverage on margins. It only takes time before the foolishness of abnormal margins is revealed. 

Poverty mentality is the black race worst nightmare! This was why some of our forefathers colluded with the white man to sell fellow blacks into slavery. Oh, how better we would be, if we deal a death blow to Poverty Mentality. 
It is borne out of insecurity and apprehension of the future. We don’t trust ourselves or our leaders to do the right things to ensure a good future, so we help ourselves by defrauding, embezzling, looting, stealing and killing. All ritualists, kidnappers, looters of treasuries, armed robbers, prostitutes and practitioners of other money-induced vices are victims of Poverty Mentality. 
In that you have written yourself off from making it, and have settled for taking what belongs to others, you are poor even though you have the best mansions or possessions. If you follow the principles of success, you will make it, no matter how long it takes. Stop allowing Poverty Mentality to rule you, it not only destroys you, it destroys others as well. 
God bless us all. 
Good morning! 

Step Out Of The Confines Of Comfort 

Are you afraid of making that next career move? 
Are you wondering if what you have achieved is the best you can achieve? 
Or you have become so used to your current job or vocation and it no longer excites you? 
Or you just desire a CHANGE? 
If you answered YES to any of these questions, this seminar is for you.
Hurry now to book a seat. 
It is guaranteed to rock your world! 
See details below. 

Mentalities that Destroy (5)

I trust that we have been learning  from this series. Some of us may have been operating with these mentalities ignorantly, and it may be the reason we haven’t experienced the success we desire.  As we begin to apply these lessons, I am sure that positive results will start coming. 
We are not done with this series yet, there is another mentality called the Complex Mentality. It works in two variants, Inferiority Complex and Superiority Complex. Both variants are toxic and affect people negatively. 
Inferiority Complex is a belief that one is less worthy than others. It makes the person to either be extremely timid (lacking in self confidence) or overly aggressive (as a cover up for their sense of low worthiness). Such people are usually  very quiet in a meeting or group, not because they are humble but because they feel their contribution may not make sense to others. Or they may challenge every other suggestion because they feel unnecessarily intimidated by the presence of the other contributors. They could be a real pain in the neck. 
Superiority Complex is the other extreme, having a sense of more importance than others and looking down on others. It leads to pride, pomposity and inflated ego. It is as bad as inferiority complex, if not worse, because such people are usually unreachable. 
Whichever one is the case, the way out is a moderate sense of self importance and appreciation of the value of every other person, regardless of their class, status, religion or creed. Everyone has a value, even the mad man on the street has some values. We must be humble enough to see the value in everyone. 
Don’t think too highly of yourself and don’t think too lowly of yourself. You are uniquely created, so is every other person. When we bring our different uniqueness together, we become a formidable force. Get rid of that complex today. 
God bless us all. 
Good morning!