We will fight for the soul of Nigeria

By Tolu Ogunlesi, special to CNN

March 11, 2010 -- Updated 1636 GMT (0036 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ethnic and religious violence is just the latest problem to hit Nigeria
• Insiders have strugged for power in the absence of President Yar'Adua
• The real story is the audacity of the Nigerian people, Ogunlesi says
• We have resolved to actively participate in the battle for the soul of Nigeria, he says

Tolu Ogunlesi works as Features Editor with Next, a daily newspaper based in Lagos, Nigeria. He was awarded the Arts and Culture prize in the 2009 CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards. He writes a weekly column, Ongoing Concerns, for Next, and regularly contributes to online and print magazines inside and outside Nigeria. You can read his blog here.

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- Last Sunday the world woke to news of ethnic and religious violence in Jos, central Nigeria.
Television footage soon emerged of hundreds of bodies, mostly of women and children, hacked to death by bands of marauders who invaded defenseless villages under cover of darkness. It was the second time this year that Jos would be making breaking news on CNN.
On both occasions, while Jos burned, Nigeria's corridors of power battled their own "fires": A series of intrigues that raged as insiders struggled for power in the absence of President Umaru Yar'Adua, who in November 2009 traveled abroad for medical treatment and has not been seen in public since.
Jos is not the only tragedy that has happened in the absence of the president. On Christmas Day 2009, a month after Yar'Adua literally vanished, a 23-year-old Nigerian national was arrested while allegedly trying to detonate explosives aboard a U.S.-bound flight, minutes from landing.
That action put Nigeria in the news and earned us a place on a United States terrorism watch list. Alas, there was no president to defend us before a curious world.
Nigeria is a strange country, a veritable laboratory of ironies. We are simultaneously one of the world's most corrupt and most religious countries.

Video: Ethnic tensions in Nigeria

Video: Nigeria's myriad of problems

Video: Nigeria's sectarian violence

We are Africa's biggest producer of crude oil, and one of the top 10 in the world, and at the same time one of the world's biggest importers of refined petroleum products (simply because none of our refineries is in working condition.)
A few years ago we were adjudged the world's happiest people, despite occupying a land teeming with frustrations. The award was a commentary on our genius for refining our angst, partly into apathy, and partly into happiness.
On the other hand our country's history is littered with demonstrations of people power -- evidence that we are a people who can sometimes get very angry.
It's hard to forget the public protests that took place 17 years ago after military dictator Ibrahim Babangida canceled the results of a presidential election generally adjudged as free and fair. The subsequent revolt forced the dictator to relinquish power.
The five-year reign of terror of Sani Abacha, the dark-goggled tyrant who succeeded Babangida, galvanized pro-democracy activists in an unprecedented manner. Tens of activist organizations operated within the country and outside, alongside an array of underground magazines and radio stations, until Abacha's sudden death in June, 1998.
But if Nigerians imagined that the arrival of democracy in 1999 would enable them to sheathe their swords and allow their poets to take a well-deserved break from writing about blood, bullets and handcuffs, they were hugely mistaken. A decade of democracy has now convinced us that if care is not taken, new oppressions are always waiting in the wings, eager to replace conquered ones.
Our civilian governments have taken us for granted too often over the last 10 years, over-promising and under-delivering. One example: Today, Nigeria generates roughly the same amount of power as it did a decade ago, despite the billions of dollars spent on power infrastructure over the years. South Africa, with a population much less than half of ours, generates more than twelve times as much power as we currently do.
It is a pathetic story.
But that litany of woes is not the whole story, or even the real one. The real story is not about the severity of Nigeria's woes, but about the audacity of its people.

The real story is of the staggering confidence that we possess regarding the difficult mission ahead of us
--Tolu Ogunlesi

RELATED TOPICS

• Nigeria

The real story is of how young Nigerians, who grew up hearing themselves addressed as the "leaders of tomorrow," have realized that it is time they rose to take their destinies into their hands, if they want to stand any chance of witnessing that much-touted "tomorrow."
The real story is of the staggering confidence that we possess regarding the difficult mission ahead of us, against the backdrop of the many passionately-envisioned failures that litter our country's history.
Before now our success as young people was in assembling ourselves into an impressive army on Facebook and Twitter, armed to the teeth with wit and hyperlink.
But we have since realized that the Internet is not potent enough to serve our ends. It is a great tool for networking, no doubt, but we have realized that it can be a hugely delusory medium; quick to dissipate constructive anger and to replace real impact with a numbing self-satisfaction.
We have therefore resolved to actively participate in the offline battle for the soul of Nigeria. To mark the beginning of our (re)awakening, we will be marching to the premises of the Federal Parliament in the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday, March 16, to make our voices heard. It will be the first step towards creating the conditions for a Nigeria that will no longer make breaking news on CNN.
As I write this we are in the middle of organizing this rally; raising funds, printing banners and posters, mobilizing young people and aggressively publicizing our mission.
We do not believe that rallies alone will transform a nation, no, we are not that naive.
But we are endowed with enough faith to believe the timeless words of the Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tzu, that "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Forwarded by Bril Emma Opanyi

BEFORE YOU COMPLAIN THINK

LEARNING TO KEEP YOUR WORD

HI!

 HERE IS A STORY TO LIVE BY.

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated
everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told
her boyfriend, "If I could only see the world, I will marry you."

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off,
she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.

He asked her, "Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?" The girl
looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed
eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at
them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.
Her boyfriend left in tears, and days later wrote a note to her saying:
"Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were
mine."
The boy had basically donated his own yes to her.

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes.

Only a very few remember what life was like before,

And who was always by their side in
the most painful situations.

That’s exactly what we are to God.

When we were in need, God sent us His best and His only but after all our needs are met we have forgotten Him and even kicked Him out of our businesses.

When it comes to Him we are so so BUSY

LIFE IS A GIFT
Today, before you say an unkind word,
Think of someone who can't speak.
Before you complain about the taste of your food,
Think of someone who has nothing to eat.
Before you complain about your husband or wife,
Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.
Today, before you complain about life,
think of someone who died too early on this earth.
Before you complain about your children,
think of someone who desires children but they're barren.
Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep,
Think of the people who are living in the streets.
Before whining about the distance you drive,
Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.
And when you are tired and complain about your job,
Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another,
Remember that not one of us is without sin.
And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down,
Put a smile on your face and think: you're alive and still around.
  Author anonymous,

                                                     

                                            Yours Dearest Friend,

Bril Emma O. (Forever)

If it were you what would you do?

HEARING FROM GOD

HEARING FROM GOD
I want us to learn about something that most of us are already proverbial with, i.e. Hearing from God. In our theme today we are going to handle the various sub-themes and these include; What is Hearing From God? And How Do I hear From God? When Do I Hear From God? With these three sub themes at my exposure, we can now look into details each of them.

Hearing from God simply means understanding the divine message or instruction. In the first place, it is very imperative to understand that God has limitless ways through which he can speak to man. The Bible says “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9. Just like we defined what hearing from God is; it therefore requires understanding for us to hear from God. We should understand that God always speaks to us but we don’t always hear from Him much as He speaks always Why? Because we don’t understand His ways. If God was speaking to us like the way fellow men do, then every man would hear from God. Many of us have understood the way our friends speak, the way our parents speak, spouses and so on. We have understood the tone they use and also the means. Likewise, we have got the task to understand the means and tone God uses to speak to us and it will become easy to hear from God. As we talk about Hearing From God we can’t leave out Calling Upon God. Every time you call on somebody you expect a response and that is exactly what God does You call on Him He hears you and answers back BUT do we always hear God’s response? No. Ask yourself why don’t I always hear from God much as I’m always praying and asking Him so many questions? When we interpret rightly the message God is speaking then we have heard from God. This can be through reading a verse from the Bible listening to a sermon by the servant of God, experiencing the inner peace, hearing the remah voice from God Himself and so many other limitless ways as we have mentioned. All these ways require understanding. And it is my prayer that you understand the way God speaks to you.

How do I hear from God? This is our second question and to me it is the most important question one can ask himself or herself. Before we answer this question it is important to know that God always speaks to us. The bible says in Job 33:14, “For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.” By this statement we are made aware that surely God speaks to man and we also understand that He does not only speak once but even when He speaks the second time yet we do not perceive it. Note that concerning every major issue in your life God will always say a word to you that you will not fault; equally the devil too wants to have a say in these issues. But how can we then differentiate between the two voices. John 10:3-4 Jesus says, “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”
You see Jesus says His sheep know is voice and because of the knowledge they have of His voice they can not follow the stranger’s. So from here again knowledge drives us to understanding. The dictionary defines the verb to know as, to have a practical understanding of…therefore once we reach at a point of understanding between the shepherd’s voice and a stranger’s then we can hear from God. So to hear from God we need to ask God for understanding so that when he speaks we are able to tell that it is from God himself. Divine understanding has nothing to do with your education and also experience absolutely nothing. This understanding springs right from God. Job 32:8, “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” Now we can see that it is only God who gives us understanding which understanding will help you to hear from God by knowing His voice from the stranger’s.
Let now look at ho does God speak to us Genesis 28:10-22. Looking at Jacob’s dream and vow. Setting out on the way to Haran, he was overtaken by night, and slept in the field. He then dreams A ladder or stair is seen reaching from earth to heaven, on which angels ascend and descend. This is a medium of communication between heaven and earth, by which messengers pass to and fro on errands of mercy. Heaven and earth have been separated by sin. But this ladder has re-established the contact. It is therefore a beautiful emblem of what mediates and reconciles John 1:51. “And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” It here serves to bring Jacob into communication with God, and teaches him the emphatic lesson that he is accepted through a mediator. “The Lord stood above it,” and Jacob, the object of his mercy, beneath. First. He reveals himself to the sleeper as “the Lord” Genesis 2:4, “the God of Abraham thy father, and of Isaac.” It is remarkable that Abraham is styled his father, that is, his actual grandfather, and covenant father. Second. He renews the promise of the land, of the seed, and of the blessing in that seed for the whole race of man. Westward, eastward, northward, and southward are they to break forth. This expression points to the world-wide universality of the kingdom of the seed of Abraham, when it shall become the fifth monarchy, that shall subdue all that went before, and endure forever. This transcends the destiny of the natural seed of Abraham. Third. He then promises to Jacob personally to be with him, protect him, and bring him back in safety. This is the third announcement of the seed that blesses to the third in the line of descent
Jacob awakes, and exclaims, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” He knew his omnipresence; but he did not expect a special manifestation of the Lord in this place, far from the sanctuaries of his father. He is filled with solemn awe, when he finds himself in the house of God and at the gate of heaven. The pillar is the monument of the event. The pouring of oil upon it is an act of consecration to God who has there appeared to him Numbers 7:1

DAVID LAKUCH

PRAYING FOR YOU!

This is so beautiful!
John 3:16
A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner,
the people were in and out of the cold.
The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell
many papers.
He walked up to a policeman and said,
"Mister,
you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could
find a warm place to sleep tonight would you?

You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and
down the alley and it's awful cold in there for tonight.

Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay."


The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You
go down the street to that big white house and you knock
on the door. When they come out the door you just say
John 3:16, and they will let you in."
So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on the
door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said,
"John 3:16." The lady said, "Come on in, Son."
She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom
rocker in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went
off. The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself:
John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes
a cold boy warm.


Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?"
He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of
days, and I guess I could stand a little bit of food,"
The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table
full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat
any more. Then he thought to himself:
John 3:16...Boy, I sure don't understand it but it sure
makes a hungry boy full.


She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub
filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked for a
while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: John 3:16...
I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy
clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my
whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in
front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.
The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room,
tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers
up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out
the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the
window at the snow coming down on that cold night,
he thought to! himself: John 3:16...I don't understand it but
it sure makes a tired boy rested.


The next morning the lady came back up and took him
down again to that same big table full of food. After he
ate, she took him back to that same big old split bottom
rocker in front of the fireplace and
picked up a big old Bible.

She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face.
"Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently. He
replied, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it
was last night when the policeman told me to use it,"
She opened the Bible! to John 3:16 and began to explain
to him about Jesus. Right there, in front of that big old fireplace,
he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there
and thought: John 3:16 -- don't understand it, but it sure
makes a lost boy feel safe.
in somalia

Pray for Liberia, Congo, Somalia, Afghanistan and Northern Uganda
You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either,
how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how
Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand
the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as
they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don't understand the intense
love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end.
I don't understand it, but it sure does make life! worth living.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.



If you aren't ashamed to do this, please follow the directions.

Jesus said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed
of you before my Father." Pass this on only if you mean it.



I do Love God. He is my source of existence.. He keeps
me functioning each and every day. Phil 4:13 If you love
God and are not ashamed of all the marvelous things he
has done for you, send this on.

Take 60 seconds & give this a shot!
Let's just see if Satan stops this one.

All you do is:

1) Simply say a small prayer for the person who! sent you this,
"Father, God bless this person in whatever it is that You know
he or she may be needing this day!"


2) Then send it on to ten other people.
Within hours ten people have prayed for you,
and you caused a multitude of people to pray to God for
other people. Then sit back and watch the power of God
work in your life for doing the thing that you know He loves.
God Bless you and your family today and everyday.

Bril Emmanuel Opanyi 

THANK YOU FOR MAKING US A VOICE TO NATIONS

YOUR DAILY VICTORY , YOUR HOPE ETERNAL

 THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING US A VOICE TO THE NATIONS

To all the friends , well wishers  and partners of YOUR DAILY VICTORY INTERNET OUTREACH. Bril Emmanuel takes this opportunity to thank all of you for the endless love you have shown through your support to help the word of our Lord Jesus Christ penetrate to the uttermost parts of the world. we thank all our partners from INDIA, AUSTRALIA, USA, KENYA, S. AFRICA and UGANDA. We also give a vote of thanks to all the Readers of our blog thanks a million.

http://www.yourdailyvictory.blogspot.com

Thank you for making us a voice to the Nations. we believe that this next quarter of this year we will do our best.

Janet J. Jack
USA
Administrator
YOUR DAILY VICTORY INTERNET OUTREACH INT.

THE POWER OF THE CROSS

 

JESUS WALKED MILES FOR U AND ME TO FOLLOW THE RIGHT PATH

John 19:30 

Jesus said '... it is finished'

THE POWER OF THE CROSS

The cross was an instrument of death during the Roman time. On the cross Jesus died as an offering for dealing with our sins (Heb 10:14). The cross is therefore an altar and a great spiritual battle field. Col 2:15 says that: “and having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

On the cross Jesus won a spiritual battle over the forces of darkness making it possible for those who are in Him to overcome every power from hell. Yet it was not easy for Him to take the way of the cross. Satan did every thing to try to stop Jesus from taking the way of the cross. Mat 16:21-24 reports the matter:

‘From that time on, Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’ Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Never, Lord!” he said “this shall never happen top you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of man.”

Jesus did not stop there, the bible in the next verse (Mat 16:24) added this:

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”

Jesus knew His purpose. He was determined to accomplish what He had come to do. He also knew that He needed to make a sacrifice. Having taken the form of a servant, in human likeness and having a human body, Jesus knew that He had to sacrifice the interest of the flesh. The flesh has never enjoyed any sacrifice. Yet the path of sacrifice that Jesus decided to take was the only path that would cause Him to do God’s will and the only way that would deny the evil ones control over His destiny. That is why Jesus appeared harsh to Peter. First He rebuked the devil who was the one actually behind Peter’s statement. Then he rebuked Peter for allowing his canal man to lead him. The Lord knew that the desires of the flesh are a stumbling block to the performance of the will of God.

The Lord Jesus having rebuked the devil and Peter, turned on to the disciples and made it clear to them that it is not only Him who is taking the way of  the cross, but everybody who would want to follow Him. In essence, Jesus was telling them that the way of sacrifice is for all His disciples. They must crucify their self interests; interests of the flesh, which is greed, pride, anger and selfishness in all its form. When we deny the flesh to have its desires, or passions we crucify them and put them on a process of slow death. The next time that desire is provoked in us it is less strong. And in that way you find that for example where a person has been under the control of anger, if he/she has been denying their self to react in anger repeatedly, they will reach a point where they can just smile when provoked and walk away. They would have successfully crucified that passion. Gal 5:24 says that: - “and they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

When Jesus was on the cross, He did not respond to any insults. Even when the devil tempted Him through people who insulted Him and challenged Him by saying that He should come down from the cross if truly He was the Son of God. (Mat 27:39-43). Remain on the cross even when tempted to come down.

When you decide to crucify yourself on the cross, take all of yourself there. Leave nothing out.

Don’t crucify your hand only when your mouth is let loose to talk things that do not glorify God.

The major point is that the way of the cross is the way of power. When we decide to crucify our fleshly desires, we deny the devil power over our lives. He has nothing in us that he can use to bring us down or to hinder the work of God that we do. That is why Jesus told His disciples in (Jn 14:30-31) that the prince of the world (Satan) has come but he has nothing in Him (Jesus).

In other words, Jesus was saying that the devil was coming but his coming was not going to change anything for Him. There was nothing in him that was common to   the devil.

There was no claim or right of way that the evil one had in Jesus. So he had no power over Jesus because Jesus had chosen to obey His Father. And so His decision to go to the cross was His choice.

It was not His will but the Father’s will. By sacrificing His will, Jesus received power to overcome Satan and to save men. That is an example we should take.

We should humble our lives to nothing and allow God to raise us out of the place of weakness, to the place of power far above principalities and powers.

The Lord Almighty God is able to grant you the same power if you will only take the way of the cross.

May God bless you.

Pr. George Oduch

RELATIONSHIPS

   DRIVE THROUGH IT

NO NEED TO FEAR MARRIAGE

Ask me to lead live a single life; I will give you ten reasons why I do not wish to go back to it.
 On 26th October, my own lovely wife Cathryn B. Obonyo told me early in the morning that we had made a month in marriage. Well, in my mind I said time flies so fast! Not that I was ignoring celebrating a month in marriage, but God gave women the ability to pay attention to details. So, we thanked God for the milestone. I then inwardly asked myself why do the youth fear to get married? The process is so simple when you involve God. Of course there are financial calculations you make as you arrange, but at the end of the day, God proves to us that His ways are so apart from our ways.

Last Monday, when I was leaving home for work, I picked one of my trousers quickly from the hanger to wear.  My wife then pointed at a different one and told me to leave the one |I had chosen because she had prepared another one for me to wear for the day. I was not used to some one caring to me to that extent apart from my mother doing it for me when I was still young. Now, I am helped about what to wear and truly because the life of a single person is slowly leaving my lifestyle. I went for work extremely smart and indeed that day, I received many complements from my fellow workmates about my smartness. I then felt like Adam in Genesis 2:23 when he said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh…."

When I was still single, I could tell my wife who was my fiancée by then that I loved her so much. Little did I know exactly what the whole thing was about.  I have now discovered that love comes from God and it is a command. I Corinthians 13:1-8 says:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only resounding a gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I posses to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind, it does not boast, it is not proud…. In verse 8, Paul says love never fails."  Now, I am not saying love is limited to the married couple. You can show it to any person; right from a stranger to your relative.

Marriage has always been a sacred agreement between a man and a woman.  This means there is sharing in marriage. Once you are married, you stop leaving a selfish life and learn to share everything in life with your partner. When I was single, I would spend money according to my wish because no body could ask how I was using money. Today, I happily sit with Cathryn and plan how to allocate the money we get. Actually, she holds me accountable and I also do it to her. There is responsibility in marriage just like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5; "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his own wife, and like wise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but to his wife…..devote yourself to prayer."

This entails submission to one another and prayer. It means saying sorry, it means being humble, it means loving your partner with your body, mind, soul whether there is money or not, whether there is a good car or not, whether there is a comfortable house or not
I have also discovered that it is God who provides us with a partner. Fine, one may look at the glaring beauty for the case of a man and a woman may look at the 'perfect man'. But, remember the person you are seeing as an angel may be the wrong person. Many youth look at the outside beauty yet marriage is beyond that make up, beyond that powder, it is beyond taking some one out to eat chaps, chicken. It is divine. This definition was written in the Bible and sanctified by God. Jesus said in Mark 10:7; "For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh."
Obonyo frank