REAL SENSE

Ben Murray-Bruce and the Glamour of Favour.

~ Pius Adesanmi.

A national teachable moment happened recently on Twitter between Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Nigeria’s Area Father Plenipotentiary of commonsense, and Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, who needs no introduction. There is a background to that Twitter spat that most commentators have not critically examined. The said background is wholly rooted in the tragedy of our collective definition of Nigeria and our stubborn persistence to clinch to an understanding of nationhood and statehood in the 21st century that is inferior to how Askia the Great understood those notions in the late 15th century.

We must sympathise with Ben Murray-Bruce before exploring the background of his spat with Mrs. Ezekwesili. These are not the best of times to be Ben Murray-Bruce. The Bayelsa Senator is finding out in a very harsh way that it is impossible to be a national crusader for ethics, morality, and commonsense from the belly of the cesspool that is Nigeria’s National Assembly. Nigeria’s NASS is one of the most corrupt and irredeemable political institutions ever to bestride the African continent. In the two chambers of NASS are the most execrable African humanoids. As Senator Ben Murray-Bruce is finding out, nothing good can come out of the Nigerian National Assembly.

NASS is constitutionally and statutorily set up to be a crematorium of good and great intentions; an unforgiving grave yard for the angelic reputation. Consider the example of Ben Murray-Bruce’s commonsense crusade. It is crumbling under the weight of its own contradictions for a very simple reason: when you are a member of Nigeria’s National Assembly, commonsense is the very first victim of your situation. You may be honest; you may not have stolen a dime (very unlikely though); you may not have rigged your election, however, your legitimate earnings, allowances, and sundry perks put you above the pay grade of Barack Obama. Does this make sense? No, it doesn’t.

Your legitimate pay puts you above the pay grade of parliamentarians and congressmen and women in any part of the developed world. Yet, they do much more work than you and are answerable to constituents who are citizens in full civic sentience and will therefore not tolerate the rubbish that Nigerians take from you. You are basically the highest paid parliamentarian in the world and you put in the least hours for your constituents. Even the hours you put in are useless for being a Senator or a Rep does not require any cerebral effort from you in Nigeria. You need no intellect to be in NASS. You just wear your agbada and go and yawn and sleep for a few hours every day and watch your account swell every day. Does this make sense?

To be in the position to talk about commonsense at all, our friend from Bayelsa would have to remove the speck in his own eyes. That speck is where the context from which he connects daily with Nigerians. That speck, NASS, is wholly corrupt and indolent. That speck, NASS, is Nigeria’s greatest theatre of legitimate corruption by legislating immoral and amoral allowances which defy commonsense.

Has the Senator done anything about this speck beyond the perfunctory inaudible noise? No, he hasn’t and I do not expect him to. I am just trying to show him the inherent contradictions of his situation. That is why he is salving his conscience by promising Osun workers a cut and riding Okada from time to time to distribute pure water and Tetmosol to his constituents in line with the loot trickle down philosophy of Nigerian politicians.

You will notice that I have concerned myself only with the legitimate earnings of our Bayelsa friend which automatically exclude him and anyone in NASS from being in the same bracket with commonsense. Whatever is legitimate about him disqualifies him from being a spokesperson for commonsense for that role cannot be anchored from within the existential contradictions and ironies of NASS. NASS is antithetical to commonsense. NASS negates commonsense. You cannot crusade for commonsense on the platform of its existential negation.

Now, we all know that the part of the role and functions of a NASS member which devolves from legitimacy is less than five percent. The remaining 95 percent space in your life as a Senator or a Rep is occupied by everything we associate with politicians and government officials in Nigeria: corruption, patronage, and prebendal avarice. If the five percent that is even legitimate about you and NASS stand commonsense on its head, what does that make of the remaining 95 percent which falls in the province of the Nigerian way?

The second part of Senator Ben Murray-Bruce’s problem is the mediocrity of his context. He wants to be seen as Nigeria’s answer to Barack Obama, Justin Trudeau, and co: an urbane and cosmopolitan politician powered by 21st century cutting-edge ideas and ideals. Yet, as someone famously puts it on Twitter, his Obanikoro predilections are in tandem with the overall Baba Suwe level of his peers in the Senate. Hence, his attempt at cosmopolitanism are constantly overwhelmed by the prelogical mentality of the Orangutans who dominate the two Chambers.

This is why Senator Ben-Murray Bruce is heehawing for commonsense from the platform of a National Assembly where the predominant opinion is that granting gender equality to women in marriage will make of them lesbians and prostitutes in the 21st century! And the same week they emit these pre-Medieval ideas, they go on a spending spree like demented demons, buying jeeps in an orgy of spending which defies commonsense and the only thing we have heard from the commonsense Chief Priest is the feeble noise that he did not accept his. By the way, I saw a photo-op of Senator Shehu Sani with his own jeep. This is the man donating donkeys and camels to his constitutents. May Sango thunder Shehu Sani’s jeep!

It is in the context of all this turbulence on the commonsense front, when the Area Father of Commonsense, had wisely crawled underground to contemplate the ruins of his crusade – ruined by tragic contradictions – that Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili decided to call him out. The wounded Senator, a master of the knockout repartee, promptly advised the Bring Back Our Girls crusader to occupy her own Senator and stop bugging him. You are making your own Senator lazy by focusing on me, he opined.

On the surface, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce’s response to Mrs. Ezekwesili would appear to be a brilliant uppercut. I was even tempted to think that Mrs. Ezekwesili deserved it for not allowing a man to mourn the ironies and contradictions of his doomed commonsense crusade in peace. Doomed not because Nigeria does not stand in desperate need of commonsense but by the contradictions and hypocrisy attendant upon the Senator’s context and platform: right message, wrong bearer, diseased platform. However, if you look at it closely, the Senator’s response is silly and irresponsible. A man who has spent an entire year trying to curate a national image for himself as a pan-Nigerian spokesperson of commonsense is suddenly scurrying under the cover of representing only his constituents in the National Assembly when called out on the very basis of his own national crusade! Mrs. Ezekwesili made it clear that she was calling him out on the basis of what he has been projecting. Has he ever projected or given the slightest hint that his crusade was exclusively addressed to his constituents?

This is part of the hypocrisy that has undone Ben Murray-Bruce’s crusade. We must also advise him that it is called the National Assembly for a reason. If he wants to be answerable exclusively to his constituents, he is welcome to go to the Bayelsa House of Assembly – if Mama Peace approves of such a move. In Abuja, the laws and bills you are making (or not making as is the usual case) have a national purview. Besides, not all of us have Senators representing us. In my own case, Senator Dino Melaye has made it clear that he is representing only Senator Bukola Saraki in the Senate till death does them part. Okun people have no Senator currently representing them so don’t tell me to call my Senator. At any rate, I’d sooner call the boss, Saraki, than call his self-styled slave, Dino Melaye.

There is a second aspect to the exchange between Senator Ben Murray-Bruce and Mrs. Ezekwesili. There is a certain patronising and condescending tone in the Senator’s responses. You’d be right to surmise that he believes he is doing her a favour by even responding at all. This brings me to my earlier point about our tragic understanding and definition of Nigeria. We define and understand Nigeria as a chaotic association of favour doers and recipients of favour. It is not an accident that Nigerian Pentecostals constantly disturb God with endless requests for uncommon favour. They are taking to the spiritual domain how they have been shaped and defined by Nigeria.

We have conceptualised the social contract as a terrain of favour-doing in Nigeria. Nobody does anything for you because it is their duty and obligation. Rather, every secular transaction in Nigeria is a favour done for you by somebody drawing a salary to do precisely that task. Every Nigerian politician, from the president down to the local government chairman, considers every aspect of what he or she is elected to do a favour rendered to the people.

That is why your politician tars a road, digs a borehole, builds a gada or a culvert or a gutter and his aides gut the airwaves with noise demanding acknowledgement and appreciation from the people for the uncommon favour. This national mental malaise is not limited to politicians. Interactions among the ordinary people is also subject to the same affliction with civil servants being the worst culprits. There is no service you receive in any office in Nigeria that is not conceptualised as a favour by the service provider. Try obtaining any document from a ministry or a local government office in Nigeria. Everyone you come into contact with sees what they are doing in the delivery of that document to you as a favour.

Go to shoprite and the attendant who accepts your money is doing you a favour. Go to Mama Put and Sikira who serves you amala and abula believes she has done you a favour. Go to your ‘forganaisa’ and he doing you a favour by fixing your tire. Go to WAEC or JAMB, they give you your results as a favour. There is no sphere of life that is free from this disease in Nigeria. This is why Ben Murray-Bruce did Oby Ezekwesili a favour by sending her to her Senator. This is why I have done you a favour by writing this.

(Adesanmi is a current affairs/public commentator, and currently Nigerian resident professor at Carleton University, Canada.)

Wise Woman

30 RULES FOR GODLY WOMEN:

1). Never raise your voice for any reason to your husband. Its a sign of disrespect.

2). Don't expose your husband's weaknesses to your family and friends. It will bounce back at you.You are each other's keeper.

3). Never use attitudes and moods to communicate to your husband, you never know how your husband will interpret them. Defensive women don't have a happy home.

4). Never compare your husband to other men, you've no idea what their life is all about. If you attack his Ego, his Love for you will diminish.

5). Never ill treat your husband's friends because you don't like them, the person who's supposed to get rid of them is your husband.

6). Never forget that your husband married you, not your maid or anyone else. Do your duties.

7). Never assign anyone to give attention to your husband, people may do everything else but your husband is your own responsibility.

8). Never blame your husband if he comes back home empty handed. Rather encourage him.

9). Never be a wasteful wife, your husband's sweat is too precious to be wasted.

10). Never pretend to be sick for the purpose of denying your husband sex. You must give it to him how he wants it.

11.Sex is very important to Men, if you keep denying him, it is a matter of time before another woman takes over that duty. No man can withstand sex starvation for too long (even the anointed ones)

12). Never answer for your husband in public opinion polls, let him handle what is directed to him although he may answer for you in public opinion polls.

13). Never shout or challenge your husband in front of children. Wise Women don't do that.

14). Don't forget to check the smartness of your husband before he checks out.

15). Never allow your friends to be too close to your husband.

16). Never be in a hurry in the bathroom and on the dressing table. Out there your husband is always surrounded by women who took their time on their looks.

17). Your parents or family or friends do not have the final say in your marriage. Don't waste your time looking up to them for a final word. You must Leave if you want to Cleave.

18). Never base your love on monetary things.Will you still submit to him even if you earn more money than him?

19). Don't forget that husbands want attention and good listeners, never be too busy for him. Good communication is the bed rock of every happy home.

20). If your idea worked better than his, never compare yourself to him. Its always team work.

21). Don't be too judgemental to your husband. No man wants a Nagging wife.
22). A lazy wife is a careless wife. She doesn't even know that her body needs a bath.

23). Does your husband like a kind of cooked food? Try to change your cooking. No man jokes with food.
24). Never be too demanding to your husband, enjoy every moment, resource as it comes.

25). Make a glass of water the very first welcome to your husband and everyone entering your home. Sweetness of attitude is true beauty.

26). Don't associate with women who have a wrong mental attitude aboutb marriage.

27). Your marriage is as valuable to you as the value that you give it.
Recklessness is unacceptable.

28). Fruit of the womb is a blessing from the Lord, love your children and teach them well.

29). You are never too old to influence your home. Never reduce your care for your family for any reason.

30). A prayerful wife is a better equipped wife,pray always for your husband and family.

Send it to every woman you know. You never know whose marriage you are about to save. And to every man so that the women in their lives can be better guided.

Truth be told

While I was working in a muslim mosque as an imam, as a parish priest, I preach in my parish that Jesus Christ is not God, for me, God was only Allah, and I believed Allah never got married, so no sons for Allah. So I preached there that Jesus is not God. Then somebody ask me, who is Jesus?’’ from the crowd. Maybe a muslim, but he asked me, who is Jesus?’’ I was preaching he is not God, but the question is who is he? To know who is Jesus? I read the entire Koran once again: 114 chapters, 6666 in the Koran when I read it, the name of prophet Muhammad. I found it in Koran 4 places, but the name of Jesus I found in 25 places. There itself, I was a little confused. Why does the Koran give more preference to Jesus? And second thing, I could not see any woman’s name in Koran: the Prophet Muhammad’s mother’s name, or wife’s name, no, in the Koran, there is only one woman’s name that i found is Mariam, the mother of Jesus no other woman’s name. And in the holy Koran chapter 3, the name of the chapter is family of Mariam,’’ and holy Koran chapter 19, the name of the chapter itself is ‘’MARIAM’’ one chapter is ‘’MARIAM’’ so I was very curious to know why does Koran says all these things about MARIAM, holy Koran chapter 3 verse 34 onwards says that Mary was born without original sin, she never committed any sin in her life, she was ever virgin.

Koran chapter 50 verses 23 say that she went to heaven with her physical body. Even the assumption is writing in the holy Koran and then about Jesus, when I read chapter 3 verses 45 to 55 verses, there is 10 point which the Koran makes about Jesus. The first thing Koran says (kallimatulli) the arabic word which means ‘’the of God’’ and second thing is ( ahimokuli ) which mean spirit of God and the third (isa masi) which means Jesus Christ so Koran give the name for Jesus WORD OF GOD, SPIRIT OF GOD, JESUS CHRIST. And then Koran says that Jesus spoke when he was very small, like 2 days old. after his birth he began to speak , Koran says that Jesus created a live bird with mud. He took some mud, he formed a bird; when breathed into it, it became a live bird. So I think Jesus can give life because he gave life to mud, clay, and then Koran says that Jesus cured a man born blind and a man with leprosy, e.t.c

Curiously, the Koran says that Jesus gave life to dead people; Jesus went to heaven; he is still alive and he will come again. When I saw all these things in the Koran I taught of what Koran says about Muhammad, according to the Koran, prophet Muhammad is not the word of God, not spirit of God he never spoke when he was 2 days old, he never created any bird with mud, he never cure any sick people, he never raised any dead people, he himself died, and according to Islam he is not alive and he will not come back. So there is a lot of different between these two prophets. I didn’t call Jesus, God, you know my idea was ‘’He is a prophet but he is a prophet greater than Muhammad; so one day I went to my teacher, the one who taught me 10 years in Arabic college, and I ask him, teacher, how did God created the universe? Then he said God created the universe through the word,’’ THROUGH THE WORD. Then my question is: ‘’WORD’’ is creator or creation? He must clear this, my question is whether the WORD of God is creator or creation. Koran says Jesus is WORD of God. If my teacher says word of God is creator, which means Jesus is the creator, then muslim must become Christian suppose if he says the word is creation he will be trapped. You know why? He said everything was created through the word. Suppose if he said the word is creation, then how did God created the word? So he cannot say that the word is creator, or creation, so he was quite angry he push me out of his room and said word is not God, not creator or the creation you get out of here, ‘’he said

The reason why Muslim doesn’t accept to be Christian is because they are blinded with the wrong teaching of their priest, Imam. They said that the word is creation they try to prove it wrongly…… they say the word is not creator, not the creation, but not God. And no creation also. They don’t equal with God, that all their problem. So when he said that I told my teacher, word is not the creator or the creation.’’ So, that is why Christian says the word is son of God. Then he told me if there is son for God, I must show him the wife of God. That without wife no chance of having a son then I showed him a portion from the Koran. Koran says that God can see without eyes, God can talk without tongue, God can hear without ears. It is writing in the Koran. I said if that is the case, so God can have a child without a wife. I took my Koran, I put it on my chest, and I said ‘’Allah’’, tell me what I should do because your Koran says Jesus is still alive, and Mohammad is no more. Tell me whom should I accept.’’ after my prayer I opened the Koran, I didn’t asked anyone, I asked only my Allah. When I opened Koran, I saw chapter 10 verses 94. You know what Koran says? It says if you have any doubt in this Koran which I give to you, go and read the Bible, or ask the people, those who read the Bible. The truth is already revealing that.
I beg all muslim to give their life to Christ because he is the only way to the kingdom of God. Please don’t perish like other muslims that is serving the god they do not know. I welcome you into Christ Jesus as you change your mind to accept him today. God bless you.

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Iron sharpens Iron

Kindly read this lines from Dr Paul Enenche very inspiring.

"Iron sharpens iron. So, look for the kind of
person that sharpens you. Beware who you call
your friend. Friendship is by choice and not by force. And friendship is not for fun. In the late 70's and early 80's, when believers met each other, their mode of greeting was, 'How are you,brother? Have you heard about the Welsh revival? Did you read about Evan Roberts? I saw something in 'Herald of His Coming' that just shook me. I read something about Smith
Wigglesworth. Did you hear that John Hyde stained the walls of his room with the breath of his prayer? I read that Maria Woodworth Ether was approaching a place to preach and fifty miles from the place where she was, people were falling under the anointing..."
Those were the kinds of things we said to each other. When you heard it, it set you ablaze. Your friend might say to you, 'When I read that, I locked up myself for ten hours. I did not come out'. And you look at him, 'You said how many hours? I will see you later!' You just go into the room and lock yourself up: 'What! What am I doing with my life?' And you
go on and on. That was how we sharpened each other in those days. Iron sharpeneth iron! We learned of William Booth of the Salvation Army. We learned of Charles G. Finney riding a horse through town and everyone was crying for his or her sins... We read of D.L Moody: They said, 'God is looking for a man to use, and he is looking for a man that will not care who takes the glory.' D.L. Moody, a shoe maker, said, 'By the grace of God, I will be that man'... When you read that, it sets you on fire. And if you heard it from someone who read it from somewhere and shared it with you, you would be sharpened. That was how we sharpened each other. Today,it is different. When two pastors meet, you hear things like, 'Pastor, how is the church building? Have you finished it now? I like this neck tie of yours; where did you buy it from? This
wristwatch is powerful! Who helped you to get this car? Can you assist me to get the car also? I
like it! Your suit is powerful. Is it ready-made or
someone sewed it? Who is your barber? I like the
way you cut your hair.' These the vanities believers discuss these days - things of no eternal consequences. It is very rare before you can come into the presence of a servant of God and leave edified. We rarely hear that a person went to see a man of God, a real man of God and left there challenged, with his soul set on fire. It is very very rare. My heart yearns for those days... A brother would read a book that changed his life and he would share the inspiration: Have you seen Smith Wigglesworth 'Apostle of Faith'? You need to read it. John G. Lake's 'Adventure in God'? You need to read it. Leonard Ravenhill's 'Why Revival Tarries'? 'Sodom had no Bible'? What about E.M. Bounds 'The Power of Prayer'? Charles Spurgeons 'His Power in Us'? E.W
Kenyon's 'Two Kinds of Faith'?, A.W Tozer's 'In
Pursuit of God'? Oswald J. Smiths 'The Man God
Uses'? Those were qualitative materials that we
advertised and used to change our lives... My wife and I visited Papa Oyedepo in his office. He was reading a book and he asked whether I had read it before. I said, 'No'. So, he encouraged me to go and read it. The reading shifted us. Who is it that is sharpening you? Who are the people around you sharpening your life? Please, watch your company. Some pastors had more fire until they entered the circle of friends they are in today. Watch the persons you call friends. Iron sharpens iron. Nothing sharpens
iron like iron."

Dr. Paul Enenche.

Super Advice

10 TIPS TO BEING UNIQUE
At a point, I noticed that some personality are just incomparably distinct in their endeavour. It has caused headache for others who really try to compete with them. I had done a bit of careful studies and had developed these tips of UNIQUENESS:
1. Trust in the Lord at all times
2. Self Discovery; beyond knowing who you are, seek for what brings you joy regardless of the circumstances around you
3. Prioritize your life around what makes you happy
4. Compete with nobody, just be yourself
5. Expect challenges and hiccups but trust me, your preparedness gets you going
6. Pay no attention to those who either praise you or criticize you because human views are not permanent
7. Be dilligent, truthful and everly sincere
8. Never look down on anybody. Hold everyone in high esteem even though you feel they dont worth it
9. Always sieve your decisions and ensure you remove the hardnut of "selfishnesss" and "self-centeredness". That is, put others first
10. Be receptive but never drive outside your sphere of hapiness so as not to be frustrated or forced to be competitive

ONNI, Joseph Yusuf