Many years ago, I attended a church leadership programme where these two scenarios played out.

Scenario 1: Just when the hall was quiet and a speaker addressed the leaders, a woman sitting in front of me ‘battled’ a call with someone. Her voice pitch soon started to rise and impede the capacity of the people in her space to actively listen or concentrate.

She tried bending over while the call lasted, supposing that would suffice, but it didn’t. And, even when a gentleman by her signalled to her the need to do what’s proper (that is, stepping out), she stayed put.

Scenario 2: Long into the same meeting, a man on the front row, clinched his telephone handset and was noticed walking briskly towards one of the exit doors. And, like the a cyrene blair, he was accompanied by his loud phone ringtone, which sound only started fizzled the farther he went away from the hall to answer the call.

Those two scenarios were unnecessary and they betrayed the social manners of the ‘characters’. I really thought that was a lot to have in one day.  Both scenarios should never/or seldom ever be the case. When you indulge those manners, you show that you don’t value other people spaces or respect yourself.

I decided to write this piece to provide you help, seeing that similar scenarios are still regular experiences at formal functions. This is not an exhaustive guide, but I hope it helps you.

While there are a myriad templates on phone etiquettes, I have benchmarked this piece on how worshippers at Church services can use phones more responsibly.

Phone Manners To Adopt In Church:

1. Make it a practice to put your phone on vibrate/silent mode as you approach or arrive at the Church.
2. If your phone vibrate mode would be just as loud and distracting, consider the silent/airplane/switch off modes.
3. Keep your phone away from your glare, if it’s not being used to take notes and you are not expecting an ‘important call’.
4. Should an ‘important call’ come in while you are in Church, slide the caller a short message service promising to return the call soon afterwards.
5. If it’s an ’emergency call’, step out of the auditorium or building quietly to pick your call, without calling attention to yourself and constituting a distraction to others.
6. Don’t pick up the call or have your phone to your ear while walking away from the hall. Wait to completely get outside.
7. Desist from the poor manner of frequently going in and out of the service just to take calls that could have been returned when the proceedings were done. It shows so little about your God awareness.
8. While using your phone for notes in church, avoid straying away into ‘irrelevances’.
9. Avoid leaving distracting features or displays on your phone screen when sitting amongst other worshippers… stop keeping up with a movie series during service, scrolling through picture slides/gallery, following a social media site, engaging in important, but personal chats unrelated to that space. You distract others when you do so.
10. Speak in a soft and low tone when answering your call outside the church building. Don’t call attention to the details of your call when taking a call within the premises. Keep some distance from the nearest person to you when talking on the phone.
11. Videos/selfies in church: Before you do, please check to be sure you could do short video clips or selfies in a Church programme. Even in the freest Church environments, timing of this action could make it right or wrong.
12. Finally, if the person around you would not want to be captured in your selfie, please respect their choice.

Embrace Decorum

-Good phone manners are acts of service to your brethren and worship/reverence to God.

-Help others avoid any form of distraction when in Church.

-Your telephone is only a device, control it, not the other way round.

-There’s a proper way to do everything; learn it, so you don’t put yourself out there as a social misfit.

-You owe your personal brand that much. Best of luck!

I remain committed to adding value to you. If you loved what you read, let me know; also, feel free to share it with another value-loving person or platform like you or yours. You should likewise reach out if you would love to book a corporate training session on teamwork attitude optimisation, leadership sustainability, corporate culture creation, exceptional customer service, or personal character development coaching. I will be glad to help you or your team scale.

If you wish to get resources from my store. Simply click this link: https://selar.com/m/BosedeRCA

Enjoy the rest of your week!

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The average Nigerian father that I know is a funny character, a thief; a robber and a murderer.  He is so much given to calling himself and parading himself, before children of God as a father, riding roughshod over the injunction of Jesus Christ who warned: “Call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9)

Has the holy scriptures not stated unequivocally that children are an heritage of the Lord (Psalm 127:3) but the Nigerian father lays every claim to the ownership of the child (even if it would take him to prove it through DNA) instead of understanding the fact that he is only a custodian who willy nilly, must give stewardship to his creator and God who is Our Father who hath in Heaven.

There is little wonder why he continues to read upside down, matters concerning:” profit withal ” as laid down on gifts, (1 Corinthians 12:7 ) thus equating children as gifts of the womb to be exploited for selfish gain .

Mind it, his number One prayer is consciously to convert children as direct retirement benefits, lusting wishfully in exploiting the proverb that says: “when a rabbit becomes old it is the breast of its little ones which it sucks voraciously.” Another way of reaping where he had not sown for, would it not amount to vanity building a house which foundation God has not laid?

It is for this same reason why he revels in misconceiving and misinterpreting the meaning and purpose of education (educare: lead out the potentials )  where-in he goads the innocent child into choosing a career that serves only his own ego and lust because he wants to be referred to in public as: “Baba doctor,” his delight being propelled to breed doctorate degrees after the young man who was naturally caught out as a genius in the world of music, art and drama.

When you hear Jesus Christ saying in John 10:8 that all who came before Him were thieves and robbers, He is referring to the Nigerian father, wearing the direct pictures of old prophets and priests who, in the old Testament, were fond of fleecing the sheep while fleeing, tails between their legs at the approach of danger, persecution and threat to their lives, leaving the fold, tail between their legs as sheep are left without a shepherd.

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Who is a thief but one who lays claim to and defend what does not belong to him.  Do prophets who run away and abandon their sheep at the approach of danger or death the owner of their lives to which they are apparently clinging to?

You have heard nothing yet. The Nigerian father shares the same Ministry with the Biblical thief who cometh to steal, kill and destroy the Nigerian child. In Nigeria, he is a replica of his great, great grandfather, author of lying and lies; the same man who steadily accomplished his deadly mission in the Garden of Eden, He stole furtively into the place of pleasure and overturned the table of God’s love, setting the union between God and man, asunder.

Masking himself in the guise of a wise serpent, he concealed his identity, pretending to be a friend of Adam and Eve while bringing before Eve the television of deceit, replacing the radio of obedience which God first placed in the hands of Adam.  It was for this reason, satan appealed more to the vision of Eve, who indeed confessed that the Tree of knowledge of good and evil about which the antagonist canvassed before her equivocally was “pleasant to look at.”

Do you get the import of the message? “To obey is better than sacrifice.” This was the same voice of God which warned King Saul who was guided more by his running appetite for spoils of office than by the instruction communicated to him through Prophet Samuel.

Let’s break it down linguistically because “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and God was the Word.”

The word: “Obey” and “audio” belong to the same cognate family, as both of them share same Latin root, “oboedire “.

It was from this same linguistic context that Yoruba language and the English language are brothers of the same parents where-in “Igboran” in Yoruba language and “Obedience” in English language appeal more (than any other thing) to hearing by the ear .

Entering inside Eden through the window like a thief (Joel 2:9) Satan, playing the Nigerian father, plotted man’s downfall in which he presented the tree meant to be avoided into the sweet embrace of both husband and wife .

For Jesus Christ, wearing humanity in order to touch humanity, has thus described His second coming on earth, like the coming of a thief. ( Matthew 24:44).

Alas, the average Nigerian Christian and father is a funny character; he is afraid of continuing to be a disciple of Moses’ School of Tit for tat; an eye for an eye in which sinners are stoned to death in the Old Testament…

He has thus become a “thief ” for our sake; wearing our iniquities in order to stop the evil work of the first thief and father of lie. It was not for fun that He died between two thieves; one thief of satan, pompous as the Nigerian father, lay by His left hand side of the Cross of Calvary while the other thief, understanding the work of salvation, worked in humility and self-denial and entered Paradise with Jesus Christ same day.

Wondering how the Nigerian father becomes a murderer like his great, great grandfather?  A thief is a thief but he becomes a robber (and a murderer- in the wait) as soon as he employed violence, and once his identity and heinous mission are detected, detested, revealed and exposed, he would stand at nothing towards killing his victim. This is because, in his bid to cover up what is already exposed, he becomes desperate and violent and would not hesitate to eliminate the man behind his exposure.

Conversely, the Nigerian father whose crave for “chop and quench” appetite, becomes the minister of the Gospel, where-in, rather than being contented to be a custodian of the gifts of God in the church, soon turns his calling into a saccharine Gospel of prosperity and convert  God’s own house into a cathedral of mediocrity, selling prayers and turning the whole place into dens of thieves and robbers. He got walloped for it by the No-nonsense Christ Jesus who invaded his synagogue with “bulala ” beating hell out of him and his prayer merchants, black and blue .

No wonder why, having been identified by Jesus Christ at the Master’s last supper, Judas Iscariot, hearing the bold words of his master which said point blank : “Do it quick ” and urging him to kill Him quick, went for thirty pieces of silver and sold Jesus Christ to the most excruciating pain in which He was crucified between two thieves.

If there be a place where the true father is meant ideally to be revealed, it should be in the church of God.  The church should be the model in which the change from the parochialism of the patriarchs should yield ground to the altruism of the kingdom father.

In his Bible Study at the assembly, Rev. Dr. Harry Boer, (speaking on “Justice and the Kingdom of God – present Reality and Future Hope) defined justice as “equitable human relationships  especially in the economic, political and social spheres.” He also said that “the centre and chief means of extending the Kingdom of God is the church.”

According to his own address, “Equality Before God” delivered at the occasion, Modupe Oduyoye similarly remarked: “It is too easy to take up placards and inscribe slogans on them and demonstrate in Nigeria that ‘all men are equal’. We do not solve the problem of Nigeria without starting somewhere.  Let us start with the church.  Let us in the Church study to treat all men with the equality which God will like to apply to them. Let us make the Church a foretaste of the Kingdom of God.”

In the collection of speeches and reports presented at the 16th General Assembly of The Christian Council of Nigeria in August, 1973, christened “Vision For A People”, Rev. Canon Edmund Ilogu in his own contribution titled “Being A Christian Today ” charged theologians, preachers of the Gospel and leaders of thought to use their knowledge in interpreting the signs of our culturally changing society.

“The wind of change is blowing very fast and vehemently and interpreters of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are needed to help Nigerians have the proper view of the changing society and order aright the priorities by which we cope with the change,” he emphasized.

Alas, the average Nigerian Christian and father is a funny character; he is afraid of continuing to be a disciple of Moses’ School of Tit for tat; an eye for an eye in which sinners are stoned to death in the Old Testament, while he is equally tired of his enrolment in the discipleship of Christ Jesus’ School of turning the other cheek, to live Christ life in the New Testament. No wonder why he continues to propound Doctrine of substitution and selective obedience, playing the Spiritual Nihilist whose theory is neither here nor there.”

It is however easy to cast the first stone at the Nigerian father, but three questions which we must individually ask ourselves, lest we play the  proverbial teacher of morality (who speaks like an angel but live every day like mere mortal) are:

(1) Would the impacts which I am making today as a father, cut across generations to come, even rippling positively into centuries?

(2) Am I truly a father in the real spiritual sense, if I am a father, only in the mouths of my own biological children?

(3) Would non-biological children, through my acts, ever be glad to call me “Father”?

Just thinking aloud.

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The command’s spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the development while briefing newsmen at the command headquarters in Ikeja on Monday.

Hundeyin said that the church where some people alleged that the missing boy was killed and buried had been sealed to prevent it from being burnt.

“The church was sealed following intelligence reports that some people planned to burn it down out of vengeance and we do not want that to happen.

“It is still a suspected crime scene, we still need to go over it, we may need to revisit that scene multiple times for us to gather evidential value.

“The church has been sealed for now to prevent it from being burnt. And we assure the public that updates will be given about the investigation and the progress we have made as soon as we get new update,” he said.

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The Police image maker said that three suspects have been detained so far.

“We have three suspects, the pastor and two others in custody, and the case is ongoing at the State Criminal Investigation Department,” he said.

According to him, efforts were underway to apprehend five other suspects, two of the five suspects are outside the country in Benin Republic.

Hundeyin, in a statement, on Friday said that the matter was no longer a case of missing person but suspected murder.

“Investigation has been intensified to locate the body of the deceased and uncover the circumstances surrounding his death.

“Among the five suspects into whose accounts money was moved from the victim’s account, three suspects had been apprehended and in police custody,” he said.

Hundeyin said that the State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, assured intensive investigation.

“CP Jimoh has assured the public that the command is fully committed to resolving the matter and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

“CP Jimoh calls for restraint from actions that could potentially hinder or interfere with the ongoing investigative efforts,” he stated.

Source: NAN

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The event which begins on October 15 will end on Sunday, October 20.

The camp meeting which will hold at the church’s headquarters, Akin Mateola Street, Off Raji Rasaq Road, Amuwo Odofin Phase II, Lagos, has as its theme, Divine Possibilities (The glory of the latter be greater than the former).

Also to feature at the six-day event are Rev. Dr. Tunde Bolanta of the Apostolic Overseer of Restoration Ministries Worldwide and Apostle Anslem Madubuko, the General Overseer of Revival Assembly Church.

Rev. Dr. Tunde Joda who heads the church, and his wife,  Rev. (Mrs.) Ebun Joda, will serve as the hosts.

Pastor Mba also presides over Choice Souls Media, an interdenominational movement responsible for empowering thousands of believers for kingdom advance in different spheres.

His Manifold International Church, a missional city church is in Lagos, Nigeria.

He is the Convener of the annual national day of prayer for the next generation in Nigeria called, “Somebody Pray”.

He is also leading a nationwide campus tour known as “The move” with thousands of young people reached and empowered for God’s kingdom.

He is married to Bethel Mba and they are blessed with children.

A special feature of the camp meeting is the Youth Empowerment Station, YES, and Gospel Concert.

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The Youth Empowerment Station, YES, and Gospel Concert are billed to hold on Saturday, October 19, 2024.

According to the church, the Youth Empowerment Station is designed to inspire and equip young people to step into their full potential as leaders and followers of Christ.

This year’s YES programme will feature insightful talks from Christine Joda and Alexander Amuche, both of whom will deliver thought-provoking messages on personal development, leadership, and purpose-driven living.

“Their aim is to provide practical and spiritual tools that will empower the youth to navigate challenges and make a meaningful impact in their communities and beyond.

“The energy and enthusiasm of the CCIC Youth Levites, who will lead the worship session, are sure to heighten the atmosphere, making the YES programme a memorable experience full of life and spiritual vibrancy,” the church stated.

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The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this on Wednesday in Lagos.

He said that the incident happened at 8.48 a.m. on Sunday at a church service in Ejigbo area of Lagos State.

Hundeyin said that the zonal accountant of the church reported the incident.

“The accountant reported that during testimony hour in the church, while the service was on, Ifeoma came out singing songs to give her testimony when she suddenly slumped.

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“She was quickly taken to a nearby hospital but was referred to a hospital in Isolo where she was confirmed dead,” the spokesperson said.

The image maker said that based on the report, detectives were detailed to visit the hospital with the complainant.

He also said that when the detectives got there, they were told that the husband and family of the deceased had taken the body to her town in Anambra for burial.

Source: NAN

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Not having sex before marriage ought to be good. Restraining yourself from all that tantalising stuff is tough alright, but that is what the Bible says and we all (believers) know that God is always right. Uncle, no touching; aunty, no sneaking. Keep the marriage bed undefiled. All solid contents must be kept in the bra, in the boxers. You can look, even imagine (though that is a sin too) what is in there but you can’t weed or cultivate the land. You can salivate but you must not sip or suck before you say ‘I do’ and have been handed the licence. Then and thereafter, can you start drilling and depositing, planting, harvesting, as the licensed owner of the rig and land.

The waiting time can be mean on both the body and the spirit. Christian courtship is hard but the wedding night and the sweetness thereafter is usually very rewarding. I remember a young bride who ran to the pastor two weeks after the wedding, distraught, confused.

“I can’t cope, pastor.”

“Cope with what, sister?”

“My husband wants sex every day. Is it food? I’m tired. I’m sore. I’m walking funny. I’m even afraid to go home after work. He is a Christian, why does he want sex every day? It is carnal, isn’t it?”

The pastor laughed and called in a female counsellor (you can guess who) who explained to the frightened bride the coping skills. One, her brand new groom is a dude, a raging bull who has been kept in check until he got his licence to do as he pleases. He’s making up for lost time. Two, sex is food for all healthy male, Christian or not. A dude is a dude. He wants his woman all day, if possible. There are strategies to avoid wear, tear and bruises. Whenever the couple waited, God happily endorses all activities and everybody is happy.

Unfortunately, it is not always so. It has been discovered, so, so sadly, that there are now terrible, embarrassing ungodly complications to this ‘no-sex-before-marriage’ part of Christian courtship. What is ordinarily supposed to be a beautiful worthwhile wait has been found to bring the kind of torture and nightmare that is confounding and debilitating. Too many Christians are evil, too many courting couples a disgrace to both God and the body of Christ. In fact, I’m restraining myself from calling them murderers because what they bring into a Christian union after saying ‘I do’ before God and man is nothing short of marital terrorism.

A man who professes to be born-again, tongue-speaking, demon-binding Christian abstains from sex during courtship only for the bride to discover on their wedding night that the groom’s weapon is only for peeing! Yeah, he has only two legs. His third leg is virtually non-existent and divorce is not supported by the Bible except on grounds of infidelity and even then you are not allowed to remarry until your spouse dies. Someone help me out here. What if the person you divorced lives to be 100?

Or this other scenario: the turban-wearing, no-earrings but beautiful sister insisted on keeping her body holy, the marriage bed undefiled. Three years after wedding and plenty of lies on why she was waiting on the Lord for the fruit of the womb, the real reasons for her childlessness came to light. Sister’s uterus was removed years ago after a tragic abortion in the university. She didn’t tell the man she professed to love. She didn’t confide in the pastor.

According to her, “I believe God will give me a new womb, a brand new beginning.”

I’m not a doctor, just a Christian and a mother worried about protecting these young ones from unfaithful spouses-to-be, hiding important details, from the ‘absent’ uterus to python or pinky-sized penises. Should we test all ‘spirits’ and see which is true or just fly blind in that direction? I’m just asking.

Ah, faith is great. But what is wrong with letting the man you are going to marry into this great secret so he can decide whether he’s down with the arrangement or not? What is wrong in letting the guy know what he is getting himself into, what the total package is so he can join his faith to hers and they can have faith raised to power two (like faith2)?

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The shocked husband recounted the horror of the heart-rending discovery this way: ‘She kept on insisting on prayers instead of going to have ourselves checked in the hospital. She was moving from one prayer mountain to the other, doing vigil and fasting round the month. Yet we couldn’t conceive. On my own, I decided to go and run tests on my system. I got the all clear and that was when I became suspicious. I threatened to call the pastors, report her to the church marriage counselling unit, summon a family meeting, and finally I moved out. I told her I’d move back in only if she agreed to the tests. That was when she broke down and confessed. I was devastated.’

Now, how does a pastor deal with that, dissolve the marriage or remind the deceived husband that their marriage vows were ‘till death do them part’? Imagine you are a parent reading this, if the husband was your son, what would you do? How would you feel? This son of yours is 36, his wife is 32 and she has no womb! You are all members of a denomination where even breathing the word ‘divorce’ is almost a sin. Will you happily accept your lot and wait for a new womb from your lying daughter-in-law or are you going to damn all consequences and tell your son to ‘throw the trash out and get a proper woman who will bear you children?”

Is the definition of unfaithfulness, infidelity, just about having sex with someone you are not married to? Is going into marriage knowing you are deceiving your partner in the worst possible way godly? How will the church stop their members from trying polygamy and extramarital affairs when the skeletons start dancing ‘shaku shaku’ outside the closet? How can the church stem the rate of failed marriages in the body of Christ when young men and women go into marriage for the wrong reason, wearing only barefaced lies as wedding garments?

Should the church just accept that this new trend of hiding very important details during courtship, as part of end-time turbulence or should pastors just remember that they are end-time shepherds who must do their jobs with wisdom?

Dear godly reader, imagine that it’s your daughter who ended up with the man whose third leg is incompetent, malformed or misshapen? That on the wedding night, your daughter who had kept her virginity till age 25 was the one who discovered that her husband’s manhood is the same size as her pinky, her smallest finger! The thing can pee but it can’t be put to work. It’s just there, like a toddler’s pecker. You spent millions of naira on the wedding ceremony, had high hopes for this marriage and here you are with a son-in-law who could not consummate the marriage. It’s not his fault that he was created with a weapon that can’t plunge or fire but it is what it is. Your daughter may have to resort to self-help at some point. Pastor, this is one member of our congregation that is most likely to look for sex outside marriage.

But Ariyike’s story is the most pathetic. She is the respected daughter of a respected pastor. She was even a youth pastor herself. So, of course, keeping her body as the temple of God was a given. Her husband is a petroleum engineer based in one of the South-South states. The couple re-located there right after the wedding. Six months later, Ariyike called her parents that she was coming to visit in Lagos. Everyone had missed her, her parents were eager to hear the expected news that she was pregnant. She wasn’t but she looked different, subdued, withdrawn. One week became two weeks and Ariyike still refused to go back to her husband. After a long sermon, she told her parents she was not returning to her matrimonial home, ever. Was he beating her? That was the only question on everybody’s lips. It seemed the only reason a young bride would run back home, right? It wasn’t Ariyike’s reason. Her husband is so oversized, his manhood off-kilter, heavy duty, scary weapon that scared the poor girl shitless the first time he confronted her with it.

“I tried to cope but he’s just too big. He leaves me bleeding sore and crying the few times we tried. It’s scary, I can’t go back. It will kill me. You don’t understand what I’m talking about because you have not seen it. Please don’t make me go back otherwise, I’ll run away.”

What does a pastor do when confronted with a case like this? What do parents do when their daughters-in-law or sons-in-law are discovered to have covered up facts that are this important? True, it can’t be easy to fully disclose to anybody including your mother that you have deformities down there. Imagine all the beautiful girls with crazy cleavages out there with private pains deep inside them, the men with abnormalities they can’t talk about below their belts. I read that one out of 165 male births may reproduce a baby with micro-penis. There is penile torsion and scrotal transposition too. I read that many men “suffer” from penile torsion in various degrees – corkscrew – like third legs that are sometimes competing with a horse’s weapon built to scare. The scrotal transposition is where the scrotal sac is situated above the shaft making the equipment look like elephant ears. The women’s troubles are broadly termed Mullein duct abnormalities and they reach all the way in with all kinds of implications. I’m not a doctor, just a Christian and a mother worried about protecting these young ones from unfaithful spouses-to-be, hiding important details, from the ‘absent’ uterus to python or pinky-sized penises. Should we test all ‘spirits’ and see which is true or just fly blind in that direction? I’m just asking.

*Egbemode (egbemode3@gmail.com)

The post INTIMATE AFFAIRS: The church and its unfaithful singles appeared first on Frontpageng.

He also praised members of Motailatu Church of God, MCG, over what he described as the support extended to his administration since he became the governor of the Sunshine State.

The Governor spoke on Sunday in Ondo City, during the Diamond Jubilee Celebration of the church.

The spiritual event, held  at the International Headquarters of the church, Saint Adekahunsi Cathedral, Oke-Iwosan, Ondo City, was witnessed by several Ondo chiefs, leaders of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Organisation of African Instituted Churches, OAIC, and others.

The Chairman was a prominent Ondo leader and educationist, Chief Ade Iluyemi, who was supported by his wife and two-term Commissioner, Chief (Mrs.) Funke Iluyemi.

Aiyedatiwa described the founder of the church, Saint Isaiah M. Akinadewo (Omo Jesu), as a true man of God, whose impacts in propagating the word in the minds of his children and millions of people since he founded the church in 1964 would remain indelible forever.

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Also, a former Commissioner in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Benson Enikuomehin, urged Nigerian leaders to be patriotic so that the people would enjoy dividends of democracy.

Aiyedatiwa, represented by his Chief Press Secretary, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, while congratulating members over the 60-year celebration, enjoined them to continue in praying for more peace and harmony to continue to take its full stand in Ondo State and Nigeria as a whole.

The Governor equally solicited for more supports from members of the church worldwide on his administration and urged them to embark on fervent prayer to ensure the success of the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State slated to hold in November.

Aiyedatiwa promised that his administration would continue to do more apparently to better the lots of the people of Ondo State.

He used the occasion to mention several developmental projects and efforts embarked upon since he assumed office in December.

Earlier, in his sermon, the Chairman, Board of Trustees, BoT, of the church, Senior Superintendent Gabriel F. Akinadewo (Omo Jesu II), urged people of the country to continue looking up to God to assist Nigeria.

In the sermon entitled: “It is never too late for God Almighty to help”,  the cleric stressed the need for leaders and the led in the country to do the right thing at the appropriate time.

The Cleric, who quoted several passages from the Holy Bible, stressed the need for  Christians to embark on spiritual warfare and prayers, saying “through this, Nigeria will overcome its present challenges, especially the issue of insecurity in some parts of the country”.

Lamenting what he called incessant kidnapping and other insecurity challenges in the country, he urged the people to continue to pray fervently and equally stressed the need for  governments – Federal, states and councils –  to do the right thing at the right time.

“Government should do the right thing in dealing with  bandits who are terrorising the country. We have three (Gs) – God, Government and Gun. God, our Creator, has given the Government the power to deal with evil, using the instrumentality of the machinery of state. As long as you are in this territory, the government has the power to deal with enemies of state”, he stated.

Speaking on the Diamond Jubilee Celebration, Akinadewo went down memory lane when his late father, Isaiah MoyinOlorun Akinadewo, founded the church in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State in 1964 and later moved to Ondo town in 1977 “where he officially established the Church in 1981 at Oke-Iwosan, Ondo City which later became the International Headquarters of the Church”.

He also explained that the Church had made tremendous achievements, touching the lives of people in various communities.

The celebration featured anniversary thanksgiving, donations, prayers and songs ministration by the church choristers from various parishes.

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The pastor was killed at Gana-Ropp community of Barkin Ladi, while others were wasted in Rim, Jol, and Kwi communities of Riyom.

Mr Rwang Tengwong, the National Publicity Secretary of the Berom Youth Movement, BYM, a socio-cultural group, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Jos.

According to Tengwong, the communities were attacked simultaneously, adding that the attacks were highly coordinated.

He explained that the attacks which occurred on Sunday night, left many persons with various degrees of injuries, adding that scores were currently displaced.

“Twenty-one persons were killed and several others injured on Sunday during coordinated attacks by militias on residents of Rim, Jol, Kwi communities of Riyom as well as Gana-Ropp community in Barkin Ladi.

“Two persons were killed at Rim, Seven at Jol, 11 at Kwi, all in Riyom, while a clegyman, Rev. Nichodemus Kim, was killed in Gana-Ropp Barkin Ladi

“The attacks on Rim, Jol and Kwi were simultaneously coordinated and held between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday.

“In Kwi, an entire community, Hei-gwe, was razed and over 100 farmlands destroyed,” he said.

Tengwong called on the government and security agencies to fashion out lasting solutions to the spate of attacks and killings in communities.

“The BYM under the leadership of Solomon Mwantiri, hereby condemns the coordinated attacks and other forms of provocation meted out on innocent persons of Plateau since after the 2023 general elections.

“We call on the new administration both at federal and state levels, to come up with new strategies to address the security situation in the country and particularly in Plateau.

“Security personnel must also wake up to their statutory responsibilities to safeguard lives and property.

“BYM equally calls on the Berom nation to remain calm and law abiding, but must explore every avenue to defend their communities as we cannot sit and watch while they kill us one after another,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, of the command, DSP Alabo Alfred, could not be reached for comments.

However, Mr Caleb Mutfwang, the governor of the state, confirmed the killings in a statement by Mr Gyang Bere, his Director of Press and Public Affairs, DOPPA.

The governor further confirmed the kidnap of a traditional ruler in Mushere, Bokkos local government area of the state.

He promised residents of the state of his commitment towards tackling the spate of attacks, killings, kidnapping and other security challenges currently facing the state.

“Let me assure the people that we are retooling the security apparatus of the state and by the special grace of God we will have a secured Plateau,” he said.

The governor called on the residents of the state to keep away their differences and unite towards moving the state forward.

Source: NAN

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I am from Owo. I was born and bred there. Readers of my columns must have known that by now.  My primary school, modern school and secondary school were all at Owo. I did not step out of Owo to live anywhere else until 1975, first at Sobe and later at Usho, both under the then Owo Local Government, where I worked for a few days each as an auxiliary teacher (with my West African School Certificate) before I packed it up and returned home. In mid-1976, I made my first real foray out of my cocoons when I heeded my elder sister’s plea to team up with her at Ede in the then Oyo state but later Osun state: From there to Osogbo, then Ilesa, then Ife, then Ibadan and, finally, Lagos. But I remain a true son of Owo. The dastardly attack of Sunday, June 5th, 2022 might have happened at the St. Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa, Owo but it was an arrow shot directly into the heart of every true Owo son and daughter. Only a bastard Owo person will not see it as such. And only a bastard Owo son and daughter will allow it go unreplied. It may take some time and a lot of effort but, certainly, those responsible, and the tendencies they represent, will be held accountable. They will pay! In diverse ways, in ways more than one, from now till eternity, they will pay. They sowed the wind, they must reap the whirlwind.

We shall not be assuaged until the vile murderers and whatever and whoever they represent have paid a heavy price for their insane action.

Some of the dead – at least 40 persons died in all – were given mass burial last Friday; the first of its kind in the known history of Owo. And, suddenly, Owo looked like a town in the Middle Belt region of the country, which has become accustomed (sorry to say) to such spectacle. We must let the perpetrators of this heinous crime and their generations to come pay a heavy price for their unprovoked assault on Owo. Generations of Owo sons and daughters must, down the ages, carry the burden of due recompense in their heart. We will pass it from generation to generation. We shall not be assuaged until the vile murderers and whatever and whoever they represent have paid a heavy price for their insane action. The dead were buried last Friday: May the soul of the departed rest in peace! The wounded are in various hospitals recuperating: I wish them quick recovery. Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, and his wife, Betty, were seen at the Catholic mass for the deceased shedding tears: They did well! I commend Akeredolu for his “frank talk”, especially on the twin issues of insecurity in the country and rotational presidency. He speaks the mind of most of us in the South, more so the South-west. When someone said the governor neglected the police and army and focused only on Amotekun, I told myself I would do likewise if I were in Akeredolu’s shoes. Honestly, that is exactly what I will do! Why should I fund agencies that will turn round to take orders from Abuja? If Abuja cannot adequately fund and equip them, like Akeredolu was reported as insisting a few days ago, then, to hell! But if I were Akeredolu, I would then make sure Amotekun is built into a real fighting force and not the tokenism that it is at the moment. What is worth doing at all is worth doing well.

Time to strengthen Amotekun is now! What is their entire strength: 750 or 1000-strong? That is not enough! If Owo alone is said to have about 300 policemen to police it – and that is still seen as grossly inadequate – how can 1000 Amotekun police and protect the entire Ondo state? Again, what is worth doing at all is worth doing well.  If you know you don’t have the capacity or wherewithal, then, apply wisdom, swallow your pride and cooperate with the police and army for a more robust security arrangement not only for Owo but for Ondo state as a whole.

Some people said the Owo local government chairman is more of an absentee chairman, residing more at the state capital, Akure, than in Owo itself. I sincerely hope that is not the case but will not be surprised if it is. In Lagos where I live and work, many council chairmen abandon their locality and live in VGC or on Banana Island. That is the tragedy of the poverty of leadership that has today become the lot of the people of the South-west. Let the Owo council chairman stay at home and effectively administer the town or resign and be free to reside in Akure or any other location of his choice. No one must be allowed to administer Owo from outside of Owo.

Importantly, the provision of security is also a responsibility of the local government as the third tier of government; so, there is nothing wrong if the local government complements the State government on Amotekun. Why not mobilise, organize, and empower local hunters and vigilantes to complement the Federal and State efforts? I have it on good authority that a Yoruba self-determination group came up with a security blueprint that would use local hunters to secure Ondo State in the aftermath of the murder of the daughter of the erstwhile Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, and that Gov. Akeredolu enthusiastically received the blueprint but went quiet and cold on it afterwards. We must ask the governor what happened. I understand only N25 million was required to execute the project. So, Gov. Akeredolu, what happened?

Femi Falana (SAN) has also cried hoarse that the South-west governors should employ drone technology to secure the region: Why are our governors not doing that? Is it that the FG will not licence drones? Falana says they should go to court and challenge the FG! Why are they afraid to do that? Falana also insists the South-west states should apply for licence to arm Amotekun with sophisticated weapons that can match the weaponry of the bandits and if the FG refuses, go to court: Why are they reluctant to do that? But for the noise that was made over Amotekun, it would not have seen the light of the day in the limited form that we have today!

Now that the presidential primaries are over and the dreamers who would be president have woken up, I believe, from dreamland, it is time to begin to face reality and stop playing games with the destiny of the people of the South-west. Our governors take us for a ride because we are not holding their feet to the fire. While we focus all attention on Buhari/Fulani and restructuring, our governors live life to the hilt and smile their way to the bank at our expense. It is time to call them to account! Time to hold their feet to the fire is now! They are the proverbial “iku ile” (the death within) that kills faster and assuredly than “iku ode” (the death that comes from outside: bandits, terrorists, herdsmen, etc).

Last Wednesday, my socio-cultural club, Owo Krown Klub, paid condolence visits to the Olowo of Owo, HRM Oba Gbadegesin Ogunoye III; the Ojomo-Oluda of Ijebu-Owo, HRH Oba Kofoworola Ojomo; and the Bishop of Ondo Diocese of the Catholic Church, Bishop Jude Arogundade, to vent their spleen over the Owo massacre as well as make their token donation to the victims of the vile attack. The statement read at the occasion captured the mood of the moment: “We members of the above-named social club express shock, anguish and disgust at the dastardly act of reckless and wanton destruction of lives and property by yet-to-be-known assailants. Men, women, children, couples, even members of the same family were callously dispatched to an untimely grave. By attacking God’s own house, those vile elements exposed themselves as ungodly people. And by offering no reasons for their dastardly act, they showed themselves as insane and barbaric elements not fit to live in civilized societies. In all, not less than 40 lives were so bestially and unconscionably wasted by agents of darkness – and for no just cause!

“The historic town of Owo was vandalized. Its peace and quiet rudely disturbed. The psyche of our peace-loving people was viciously assaulted. The sight was gory! The hallowed sanctuary of God was desecrated by the unknown gunmen at the St. Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa, Owo on Sunday, June 5, 2022. We condemn this barbaric act. We say without mincing words that this kind of behaviour has no place in a civilized society and in a country under law. We must, therefore, fish out the vile elements and bring them to book. Impunity reigns when criminals escape with their acts of criminality. The three tiers of Government – Federal, State, and Local – must swing into action and bring the fleeing criminals to book.

“The authorities must redouble their efforts to secure life and property all over the country. We also call on all Owo sons and daughters at home and abroad to rally round the authorities to secure our ancient town, its people and civilization. All hands must be on the deck and we must not rest on our oars until the attackers are brought to justice. On this note, we commiserate with Gov. Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu; our royal fathers, the Catholic Church, and the victims and their families.

“Securing life and property is the basic, fundamental and primary duty of governments all over the world. We thank the international community for their prompt response to, and strong condemnation of, the attack on Owo. We hereby join forces with the international community to demand that the Federal Government become alive to its responsibility of securing life and property of citizens. We also ask that everyone should succour the affected families and St. Francis Catholic Church. The peace, progress, prosperity and security of Owo remain the duty of each and every one of us.

Time to strengthen Amotekun is now! What is their entire strength: 750 or 1000-strong? That is not enough!

“We also commend the Southwest governors for the actions they have outlined to make the South-west region more secure. It is important at this juncture for the Federal Government to reconsider its opposition to State Police. The local government as the third tier of government and the one touted as closer to the grassroots must also complement the state government on security matters.

“In this wise, we call on all well-meaning sons and daughters of Owo, home and abroad, to rise up as one man to the clarion call of our homeland. For, no matter how long we may sojourn abroad and whatever means we may acquire there, home is home! Let the State Government reinforce, reinvigorate and enlarge Amotekun for it to become more effective and efficient.”

That was the statement. Very apt! Very poignant! Straight to the point! Like Karl Marx posited: Philosophers have interpreted the world; the duty remains to change it! The myriad of problems militating against the security of our people are well known. Solutions have also been proffered. Implementation remains the sore issue!

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com / 0705 263 1058), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of its Editorial Board, was also Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the TREASURES column in the New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays and the TREASURES column in the Sunday Tribune newspaper. BOLAWOLE is a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

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The president said only fiends from the nether region could have conceived and carried out such dastardly act, adding that eternal sorrow awaits them both on earth here, and ultimately in the hereafter.

President Buhari mourned the dead, commiserated with their families, the Catholic Church, and the Government of Ondo State, charging emergency agencies to swing into action, and bring succour to the wounded.

“No matter what, this country shall never give in to evil and wicked people, and darkness will never overcome light. Nigeria will eventually win,” the president said.

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