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Opinion: Unravelling The Puzzles Of Earthly Life-By Aare Kola Oyefeso

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By Aare Kola Oyefeso

In the penultimate message i hinted on reincarnation and entreated us to attempt to solve the riddle of Abiku/Ogbanje. We were to individually make recourse to the forebears to shed some light on the issue, if need be.

Rather than being part of the inquisition, few response i got was that some scriptures didn’t support the idea, while some would rather i explain the mystery.

With this mindset, we would prefer information on it from someone else. Thus,we miss the vital point that information and knowledge are not synonymous. Information is an experience of the other person that we are trying hard to believe, while knowledge comes from direct experience. It elevates us beyond the level of assumption, which belief is.

Whatever information we receive is not our experience and so, it is possible for us to be swayed by any other person on the same subject particularly, if such is sweet-mouthed. Because of this uncertainty, we are encouraged to do our own findings by experiencing what we are trying to understand and with direct experience, the whole world wouldn’t be able to change our perception of what we have experienced.

Man really knows not for being told. For a man to truly know he must be part of what he knows. Further to this, nothing or no word in the physical world can adequately explain some of the earthly phenomena talkless the inner world.

In 1 Corrinthians 2 vs 9 it is written; “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard and neither enter into the heart of man what the Lord has prepared for those who love Him”

The chapter plainly states how limited the spoken words are about inner spiritual occurence. Without attempting to be vulgar, someone who never had experience of sex, what can anyone use to relate the experience to the fellow. Similarly, to someone who has been blind from birth, how do we explain color to such.

The purpose of all these similes is for us to make attempt to elevate ourselves beyond information and go for direct experience, as only experience yields us true knowledge.

In the meantime, those who seek information on Abiku or Ogbanje are not alone. From time immemorial, there comes a time for every right thinking person, when the transient nature of worldly existence, with its manifold sufferings and sorrows capture our attention and we are compelled to seek answers to them. Least of them is Abiku or Ogbanje.

The truth is, mere reasoning and speculations have not helped much. It is obvious that our thought faculty can not supply us a satisfactory answer, when faced with perplexing questions about life.

Countless posers about the phenomenal world have baffled minds as profound as that of Socrates,of Galileo, Aristotle,Alexander the Great, a host of others that had transversed the world. In this part of the world the list included the Sage-Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who stood tall,head and shoulders above his peers, by devoting all his life to making life more abundant for his people. Yet,at the twilight of his lifespan, he was seeking for a book on life after death.

As we go on, attempt shall be made to explain Abiku or Ogbanje. They both pale among tougher questions of life such as;

How and why was the world created?

Why is the world so imperfect and open to criticism and abuse?

Where is so much misery and poverty across the land?

If God is good and all mercy,where did evil come from?

Why do we frequently have wars among Nations?

Is there a Satan?

Is everything managed by God?

Has man any say in his destiny?

Is there a soul and what happens to it before and after death?

Is this our present life, the beginning of our sojourning in this material world?

Is death the end of it all?

Or is there life after death?

Added to these are puzzles of free will, fate, predestination, volition and other knotty and complex questions that confound us daily, at the dawn of consciousness.

Furthermore, the concepts of God presented to man have been so contradictory and ill-defined. Due to these half-baked ideas,many rational individuals are beginning to revolt in disgust.

Sterile rituals, ceremonial prayers,parroting of scriptures, trekking to holy places and holy baths have ceased to satisfy our pining for Truth and Reality. To the man who uses a bit of intelligence, superficial worship has never appealed to him.

How can he,when Christ taught over 2000 years past in John 4 vs 20 on quote;

“Our Fathers worshipped in this mountain, ye think Jerusalem is where to worship. Woman, the hour cometh when you need not go to any mountain, even to Jerusalem, for the true worshippers shall worship God in Spirit and in Truth”

Despite this exhortation, have we stopped going to those “holy” places when affixing of JP to our names is deemed a religious achievement, only in Nigeria though.

The crux of the matter as emphasized by Jesus is the ability to worship God in Spirit. In Truth could easily be realized through MORALITY.

This worship in Spirit is a different kettle of fish. It represents the only way for Redemption. In effect, any worship beside the worship of the Lord in Spirit is superficial, a scratch on the surface that takes us to no where.

The Bible contains a lot of spiritual gems and it takes highly evolved souls to identify them. To correlate the essence of worship in Spirit, the Messiah again declared in 1 Corrinthians 3 vs 16 -17 that;

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy and that’s what you are”

We read this in the Bible but it seems we don’t really believe what Jesus said. If we did, we wouldn’t appreciate any man made temple than the temple of God Himself-The human body. In defence of man made temples, we are ready to kill humans- the temple of God for desecrating our brick and mortar temples.

In another vein, Jesus said; “Pull down this temple in three days I will put it up, but defile not your body, for ye are the temple of the living God”

This underscores how sacred the temple of God- the body of man that we regard less than we do the stones,sand and cement we mixed together and refer to as Churches, Mosques, Gurdwara, Sanghats and by other names in different climates.

Also in concurrence, we read in Psalm 139, that; “Man is fearfully and wonderfully made” It is either we equally don’t believe this statement or we haven’t really considered its true meaning. If we had, we would have inquired as to how man has been fearfully and wonderfully made.

Yet, without understanding the truth of this statement, we wouldn’t be able to know how to truly worship the Lord in Spirit. The Bible is replete with lessons on worshipping in Spirit. Chiefly among them would be found in Matthew 6 vs 22 on quote;

“Your eye is the lamp of the body, let your eye be single and your body will be full of light”

How do we make our eye single? We will continue with this in the next series.

For now, it is meet i make it unequivocal that not until we understand and practice how to make our eye single, all our penances, holy birth,night vigils, payment of tithe and all our other external rituals and ceremonies will not avail. They all sum up to the pouring of water off a duck’s back and we wouldn’t fare better than the average social reformers.

Aare Kola Oyefeso., a businessman, writes from Lagos

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KFC Reacts As FAAN Shuts Down Its Operations in Lagos Airport

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The Management of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has reacted to the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)’s move to shut down its branch at the Muritala Muhammed Airport, for violating laws protecting the rights of people with special needs.

The action was confirmed through a statement released on Thursday by FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah.

The official statement, titled ‘FAAN shuts down KFC outlet at MMIA,’ highlighted that the closure was in response to the outlet’s breach of the Lagos State law on People with Special Needs, specifically referencing Part C, Section 55 of the General Provisions on Discrimination.

Responding to the development, KFC posted on its official X account that it opposes bias and discrimination, stressing that the incident did not reflect its standards.

The organisation disclosed that it had embarked on efforts to address the situation and urgently implemented sensitivity training for all its employees.

The statement read, “KFC is unwavering in our stance against bias or discrimination in any form, with inclusivity and respect as non-negotiable pillars of our values.

“However, this recent incident has underscored the pressing need for immediate action. We have embarked on efforts to address the situation and extend apologies and deeply regret the frustration and distress experienced by our guest.

“In response, we are urgently implementing sensitivity training for all our employees. This incident is not reflective of our standards, and we will act swiftly to rectify it.

“We are actively exploring solutions to equip our team members and establishments better to ensure that every guest feels genuinely welcomed and that we deliver empathetic customer service that proactively addresses the diverse needs of each guest.”

KFC had during the week, denied Adebola Daniel, son of former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, access to their facility at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport  because of his disability.

Daniel had recounted his experience at the KFC outlet of the airport in a series of tweets posted on Wednesday via his X handle, @DebolaDaniel.

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Ezekiel Bolarinwa Ajayi: Mentor, Philanthropist Revels at 80

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By Eric Elezuo

The ancient town of Ile-Ife was agog weekend, when Professor Ezekiel Bolarinwa Oladele Ajayi, a renowned educationist, accomplished mentor and elder brother of veteran journalist, Dele Momodu, pulled all the stops to mark a resounding entry into the octogenarian club, celebrating his 80th birthday with fanfare, pomp and class.

The event, which attracted family members, colleagues in the academic world, friends and well wishers, was another testament in the expression of influence, clout and connection.

Held at the Rock Rehoboth Cathedral in the centre of Ile-Ife, the event brought out the best in the Stanford trained PHD holder, as beamed with contagious smiles, absorbing accolades from a crowd of well wishers and dignitaries, most of whom traveled half  way across the world to felicitate with the newest octogenarian.

A lavished reception followed after heartfelt prayers were said for the celebrant flanked by his wife of many years, children and grandchildren. The reception witnessed guests savoring the best of continental and local delicacies as well as dancing happily to the old school tunes.

The highpoint of the event was the cutting of the gigantic cake by the birthday boy around whom were dotting family members.

As guests expressed their profound, hearty and sincere congratulations towards the octogenarian, whose event changed the landscape of Ife, many recalled how they have come a long way from their very humble beginning in Gbongan Olufi.

Fondly called Ladele, Prof Ajayi was born on March 23, 1944 in Gbongan, Osun State, where he had his earliest beginnings.

He statted his education at the Saint Paul’s School Gbongan, before moving on to Saint Judes School, Ebute Metta, and later to Saint Stephens School, Ile-Ife, where he completed his primary education.

After his elementary education, he was admitted into the Government College lbadan, where he was described as having  ‘passed out in exceedingly bright colours’. As many that knows him has confirmed that Prof Ajayi was a walking encyclopedia, and vibrated with intelligence while at school.

It was not therefore, surprising that he later proceeded to the United States of America, after his secondary education, where he attended various prestigious Universities including Stanford University. It is worthy of note that all his appearances for university education were on different scholarships. It was also at Stanford that he bagged his PhD honours.

On the completion of his PhD programme in Stanford, Prof Ajayi was recruited by the University of Ife, as it was then known, before its transmutation to Obafemi Awolowo University, where he later became a Professor of Physics, a position he jealousy guarded until retirement from active classroom duties.

According to a very close family member and confidant, Bola Adeyemo, who spoke glowingly about their fond relationship, Prof Ajayi “also became active in things of God. Like a proverbial gold fish, he has been recognized as a Pastor. Ladele played a mentoring role in the final years of school for my twin daughters who both graduated from the medicine program in the same University.

“The mutual fondness between Ladele and I remains very much intact. Ladele and l share common ancestry. His father who was the Otun Olufi of Gɓongan was a much older cousin to my mother and was fondly referred to as baba mi ile ASORO. They both had the same tribal marks. Ladele can be classified as belonging to the royal class as his father was the OTUN OLUFI while his mother was the daughter of the ÒOSA, first class chief in Gbongan.”

A life of Prof Ajayi without a mention of prolific publisher of the Ovation brands,  Chief Momodu, remains incomplete. It is worthy of note that apart from both sharing the same mum as siblings, the Prof was instrumental in shaping and mentally mentoring Momodu on the path of education. His 80th birthday was a reminder of how it used to be in times past as it marks a form of reunion for the Ajayi extended household.

Among those who attended were his daughter, Kemi Ajayi-Ingram, who flew in all the way from the United States of America, with her entire family; his niece, Yejide Ajayi among a host of others.

We wish the ebullient octogenarian a splendid birthday, and many ore years of splendid celebrations.

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Easter, Ramadan: Adeleke Releases March Salaries, Pension, Palliatives, Approves Promotion for Personnel

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Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has approved the release of salaries, pensions and palliatives for the month of March for all public servants in the state, as well as approved the promotion of service personnel due for promotion from 2023.

Adeleke’s show of love for the entire workforce, is in spite of the fact that the State allocation from the Federation account is yet to be released, according to a statement signed by the governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed.

The Head of Service, Mr Samuel Ayanleye Aina confirmed the approval of the March salaries, pension and palliatives, noting that the fast tracked approval covered all categories of state and local government employees including tertiary institutions in the State.

“I can confirm that Mr Governor has approved the March salaries, pension and palliative wage awards, including the usual payment of the outstanding half salary for retirees under the contributory pension scheme yet to obtain their bonds. Mr Governor requested for the file and granted immediate approval.

“Any moment from now, alerts will be landing in our peoples’ accounts. This is a preemptive step on the part of Mr Governor to meet the needs of our people”, the Head of Service explained.

Governor Adeleke who has been hosting inter faith leaders at the Government House said he approved the early payment to ease the burden of the workers ahead of the Easter period.

“As I wish muslim and christian faithfuls blessed fasting season, the early payment is a gesture of support for workers whose welfare remains the number one priority of our administration”, the Governor noted.

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