Awesom God

God is awesome.

God is an awesome God. He does what he wants to do at his own time and in his own way. Some times, we try to figure out what God wants to do, how and why he wants to do it.

It is not for us to reason out. All we should do is to relax and let him do what he wants to do. He is an awesome God.

I just met a 'homeless' woman who just had a set of triplet. It got me thinking. God what a wonder you are. Some people with their millions are looking for a child and here is a woman who got pregnant for a man who absconded having triplets- two boys and a girl.

I watched as these children and their mother and i just thought to myself what a wonder God is.


 

Governor Ambode asked to develop water transport

Msgr Francis Ogunmodede

By Glory Ogazi
The Episcopal vicar of lekki Region of the catholic Arch Diocese of Lagos, Msgr Francis Ogunmodede has asked Governor Ambode to develop water transportation in the state to reduce the persistent gridlock in the state.

The call was made in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday. According to the cleric, the waterways transportation would decrease the heavy traffic that is being experienced.

"Let them go very well into water transportation in Lagos".

"Lagos is surrounded by water, they should take advantage, develop water transportation, at least, that would decrease the number of cars we have on our roads and of course, the public transport system". 

The cleric noted that "the development of an alternative mode of transport would reduce travel time and improve both the economic and health conditions of the populace. 

Source: NAN

Babcock university school summer vacation

Babcock University Logo

By Glory Ogazi

The management of Babcock University school. Ogba is organizing a 10- days trip to Dubai for its students and teachers  from August 8th to 17th,this year as  part of the extracurricular activities for the students.

This was made known by the facilitator Mr Emeka Uzondu at the last PTA meeting which was held at the school hall.

According to Mr Uzondu, the purpose of the trip is to expose the students to other culture and educational system.

"We usually call it intercultural exchange programme where students from Africa go to other sphere and find what happens in those places".

Cue in audio https://soundcloud.com/tags/glory%20ogazi

He added that the trip will give the students opportunity to see the gap between Nigerian education curriculum and that of tour country and make comparisons. Moreover, it will sensitize them on how fast the outside world has developed.

Students of Babcock University Schools, Ogba

In an interview with the school principal, Mr Fashenu,  he encouraged parents to take advantage of the opportunity to expose their children to other culture outside Nigeria, stating that the experience lasts a lifetime.

"I want to encourage our parents especially those whose wards are in secondary school and in the upper primary school to take advantage of the golden opportunity to give them an experience of a lifetime".

"Some teachers and the Pastor will be going with them to take care of them. Their safety is guaranteed".

   

Babcock University is a private Christian co-educational Nigerian university owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria and has its motto as 'the light bear'. They strive to give holistic education to the children

Commentary on Buhari's Inaugural Speech

President Muhammadu Buhari giving his Inaugural speech

By Glory Ogazi

President Mohammadu Buhari was elected Nigerian’s president on march 28^th, 2015 by majority of Nigerians who wanted change in leadership from the ruling People’s Democratic Party, who have been at the helm of affairs at the federal level for over sixteen years.  The high level of corruption and sluggish response to issues that needed urgent attention by the federal government were some of the reasons why most Nigerians voted for change. They saw Buhari  as an ‘’incorruptible’’ personality who will not close his eyes to corruption and corrupt officials.

An inaugural speech is used mostly to articulate the direction of an incoming government .The inaugural speech of President Buhari has set the tone for this administration. The speech is inspiring and full of strength and reassurances for the citizens. It was a call to duty and dealt with a lot of issues on the minds of Nigerians namely insecurity, corruption, fuel and power shortages, rule of law, local government funds, among others. For instance, the issue of insurgency in the northeast and the Chibok secondary school girls kidnapped over 400days received urgent attention in the speech

“The command center will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until…This government will do all it can to rescue them alive”

The speech also paints a picture of a president who appreciates that it was not by his sole effort that he got to the position. This is evident in the use of words like us, we, our

                        “I am immensely grateful to God who has presented us …   

                        “Our journey has not been easy …

The speech showed gratitude to God and also acknowledged the effort of the immediate past president Goodluck Jonathan in the success of the democratic process and for conceding defeat at the election

“I would like to thank president Goodluck Jonathan for his display of statesmanship in setting a precedent for us …” .

Note worthy is the fact that this is the first time the opposition party will win an election at the presidential level. Moreover,  Jonathan  conceded defeat even before the declaration of the final results.   

Issues in speech

“Having just a few minutes ago sworn on the Holy Book,  I intend to keep my oat and serve as president to all Nigerians. I belong  to everybody and I belong to nobody

The president, in his speech made an interesting statement that he belongs to everyone and nobody. He was going to accommodate everyone. The president is determined to be president of all Nigerians not just the president of his political party or those that voted him into office.

Before now, there has been a tradition whereby the president is seen as belonging to his political party (All people’s congress) or those from his geopolitical zone. But the president has reassured Nigerians that he will be accessible to all and that he will not be subject to any form of ‘god- fatherism’. He would not be held hostage by anyone, so all Nigerians have access to his government.

“The past is prologue’

There were fears especially from the PDP lead government that the president was going to come after them by probing the past administration. This may be the reason why the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan asked that any probe should go beyond his administration.  He needed to reassure the people that he was not going to ‘witch-hunt’ anyone. 

In as much as he said that ‘the past is prologue’, Nigerians will be happy to see all the corrupt politicians probed and our resources recovered and put back into infrastructural development.

“We can fix our problems’’

“At home we face enormous challenges. Insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly impossible fuel and power shortages are the immediate concern…  We can fix our problems”

‘’Daunting as the task may be, it is not insurmountable’’

These are statements of hope. That Nigerian can ‘fix’ her problems herself. All hope is not lost.

The inability of the immediate past president to resolve most of the issues in the country made some of the citizens to   clamour for change. He reassures us that our problems are resolvable.

“No single cause can be identified to explain Nigerians’ poor economic performance over the years  than the power situation….’’

It is rather unfortunate that despite the billions of naira invested in the power sector, the country currently has less than 4,000mw,  especially from 1999 and the privatization in 2041, the power situation in Nigeria keeps getting worse instead of improving. This is more shameful when compared to South Africa’s 40,000mw , Iran’s45,000mw  and Brazil’s 110,000mw.

RULE OF LAW

‘’ The Federal Executive under my watch will not seek to encroach on the duties and functions of the of the legislative and judiciary arms of government.’’

Coming from a military background where decrees are issued without regard to  the legislature, it was a huge relief to note the president is now a true democrat who intend to allow the other arms of government function effectively, this implies an effective separation of power.   

The president declared that he intends to practice separation of power by operating within the ambit of the law and also advised the other arms of government to do their part.

‘’ It is only when the three arms act constitutionally that government will be enabled to serve the country optimally and avoid the  confusion all too often bedevilling governance today’’

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

‘’ While the Federal Government cannot interfere in the details of its operations, it will ensure that the gross corruption at the local level is checked’’.

The local government gets funds from the federation account but no one seems to know how these funds are spent. There will be more infrastructural development if the funds received be the local government are used judiciously. The president promises accountability from all tiers of government.

CORRUPTION

‘’As far as the constitution allows me, I will try to ensure that there is responsible and accountable governance at all levels of government in the country . For I will not keep my own trust with the Nigerian people if I allow others abuse theirs under my watch’’

This statement was an answer to ne of the major desires of Nigerians – the need to tackle corruption. The immediate past president overlooked so many cases of corruption under his watch.

THE MEDIA

The speech recognizes the power of the media.

                        ‘’ The Nigerian press is the most vibrant in Africa. My appeal to the media today-and this includes the social media – is to exercise its considerable powers with responsibility and patriotism’

The speech recognises the power of the  media, that they can promote a

government or pull down the government if they so choose. It is a relief to

note that he is ‘appealing’ to the media and not using ‘force’.

Boko Haram Insurgency

The speech address the Boko Haram insurgency as “the most immediate” issue

 ‘…The Command center will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued.  

This is probably a well thought out strategy in the fight againg Boko Haram that has not been tried by the previous administration.

The president in his speech also condemns the insurgents in very strong words

                        ‘Boko Haram is a mindless, godless group who are as far away ‘                                    from islam as one can think’

  

AMNESTY PROGRAMME

Reviewing the amnesty programme is as important as fighting insecurity in the

north east. Despite the huge  amount of money spent on the amnesty

programme, militant and other vandals continue to puncture gas pipelines

powering the power plants and going unpunished.

CONCLUSION

The president’s speech was reassuring to Nigerians that things can be better.

He ends the speech telling Nigerians that ‘we have an opportunity. Let us take

It’. However, apart from the issue of relocating the military command center to

Maiduguri, most issues raised did not have definite action steps. For instance,

There was no mention of steps that will be taken to stop the current petrol

scarcity or improve the power situation in the country.

Moreover, the education and health care sector were not on the list of things

that need urgent attention.

‘ For the longer term, we have to improve the standard of our education.

We have to look at the field of medicare. ‘

 Having won the election a month earlier, I expected all the major sectors of

In the country to have well thought out action plan.

References:

Saturday Vanguard, M ay 30, 2015, pages 10 to 12

Saturday Tribune,  May 30, 2015 , page 3

Beijing bans Muslim officials during Ramadan

Muslims eat meals as they break fast on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Niujie Mosque in Beijing Photo: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

China has banned government officials, teachers and students from fasting during Ramadan, amid rising tensions been the central government and the Muslim Uighur population of the far west.

A number of local departments in Xinjiang, home to the Turkic-speaking Uighurs,issued the ban to local party members, civil servants, teachers and students during the holy month of Ramadan, which starts on Thursday.

Similar bans have been made in previous years. However, this year’s prohibition is particularly sensitive because it follows a government pledge to crack down on “religious extremists” whom it has blamed for causing violent attacks across the country and seeking to join jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

 "Communist party members, civil servants, students and minors are firmly forbidden from attending religious activities," according to the website of Xinjiang Standing Committee of People's Congress.

It added that local mosques remain under 24-hour surveillance for hidden security threats.

Xinjiang Xingnong Website, a local government website, published a statement that said: "We firmly fight against religious extremist ideas [and] prevent those people lawbreakers from attending religious activities."
The move has added to the persecution felt by members of the ethnic minority throughout the county.

On Weibo, Haidixia, said: "Ramadan is coming, there will be top-level warnings and strict controls. It's a horrible month. I only want to say that Ramadan is an auspicious month with all Muslims dedicated to doing good things for Allah."

In May, authorities in Xinjiang stopped issuing new passports and recalled existing passports to be held by police, amid a widening security tightening by the atheist Chinese Communist Party.

*Culled from telegraph.co.uk

NLC against child labour

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal government to develop proactive  measures and policies to eliminate child labour  in the country.

The call was made by the President of the union, Mr Ayuba Wabba at the World Day Against Child labour in Geneva, Switzerland.

  

According to the News Agency of Nigeria,  Mr  Wabba gave the assurance that the labour movement  would continue   to create awareness on the  issue of child labour and would profer solutions on how the country would confront it.

" We have raised the issue over time, most especially in making sure that we  have labour inspectors that would be able to inspect those factories working through the sectorial Unions to be able to address those issus. We remain committed to that".

June 12, every year is set aside to mark the World Day Against Child Labour to create awareness on the issue  so as to reduce the ill. The theme of this year each event  is ' Yes to Quality Education'

Information  from the International  Liberty  Organization, estimated over 168 million children are in child labour in2015, with 120 million aged between five to 14 years.

It would be noted that  the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)  was domesticated  in the Country culminating in the Child' s Right Act (2003).

Petroleum scarcity

Suffering in the midst of plenty  or a case of being thirsty in the ocean seems to be the case of the citizens in recent time. Nigeria , a land of abundant natural resources, the fourth largest exporter of crude oil, could not provide petroleum products for  it's citizens.

For over three weeks, the citizens groaned under the pain of scarcity. Banks, schools, offices and industries were shut down, flights were cancelled due to unavailability of petroleum products.

A chat with some citizens shows that all they wanted was to see an end to their sufferings.

The spokesman of the federal government attributed the current scarcely
To an act of sabotage by the markets while the marketers said. It was due to unpaid claims.