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Opinion: Unraveling The Puzzles Of Earthly Life(3)- Aare Kola Oyefeso

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By Aare Kola Oyefeso.

Man is fearfully and wonderfully made we read in Psalms 139,but how many have really pondered on the true meaning of this statement. We seem to be generally obsessed with our physical nature and we believe all we see is all that exists. Very very few if at all are aware of man’s spiritual nature.

The purpose of this discourse is to bring us to the awareness of our spiritual dimension, beyond what the stethoscope can pick, and what the surgeon can see with his scalpel, upon dissenting a man either as a living being or cadaver. This is for the patent fact that it is through the recognition of our spiritual nature could we really worship God in Spirit.

In one of the ancient creed I culled;

“MAN TO MAN SHALL SPEAK, SOUL TO SOUL SHALL REVEAL”

The meaning of this statement is; Man can only speak to someone at his physical level. By the same token, only the soul which is the core-man and of divinity can reveal itself to the Oversoul, which we refer to as the Creator, God, Supreme Being and by other names in different climates.

Parri-pasu man being wonderfully made, we read in Psalms 46 vs 10;

“BE STILL AND KNOW AND I AM GOD”

Plainly, this chapter gives us the indication that we wouldn’t find the Lord in the hustling and bustling of the earthly life, but in the serenity of our inner closet, as emphasized by the Messiah. Communion with God is a one-on-One affair. It is for this reason Jesus will leave His disciples and go to meditate in the wilderness.

God nonetheless loves our assembly, but this has its limitation. Its purpose is simply to remind us of our mission in this world. To listen to good sermons on how we should love fellowbeings without which, we cannot truly worship God. Upon this, we must worship the Lord in Spirit. This is not a congregational affair.

Meanwhile,very negligible percentage if at all, know about the spiritual dimension of man, as a result of which, human lives lack balance. How wouldn’t it, when man is not conscious of the vital aspect of his four mutually related attributes which are, the physical,mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions. The very best of humans that we referred to as men of intellect may know of the first three, which are the characteristics of the mind. But the real essence of his existence-,the spiritual which is of the soul remains unknown and unexplored.

Unquestionably, modern man through the mind has made tremendous progress in worldly and external things particularly, in the last 50 years, but the body which housed his soul, he knows little or nothing beyond the physical aspects. It is like we haven’t even bothered to read its manual.

Yet, in order to live a purposeful life, a life of equipoise and experience our full potential,we need to develop all our four dimensions. These four dimensions of man may be compared to the four tyres of a motor car. If one of the tyres is flat,the car cannot function properly. This portrays the plight of man operating with one of his tyres flat out.

Ironically, the secret of a balance,meaningful and harmonious life lies in developing our spiritual dimension. To do this however, we need to reorient ourselves. This new orientation borne of clear thinking and towards spirituality, will earn us a new perspective-the spiritual perspective. It will affect the way we view and respond to the world. It will assist us define the way we approach daily life,redefine our values and priorities.

By so doing ,we will be able to discern the true picture of who and what we are. This understanding will offer us the key to a deeper and more constant happiness, as it will open the door to a more balanced and complete life, in the manner a vehicle with four good tyres runs smoothly, better than the one with a flat tyre.

Just as we had hinted in previous discourse, the fish needs fresh water to survive and the lion the wilderness to thrive, human beings also require spiritual life to feel well and to develop their full potential. The key to true happiness lies in bringing back spirituality into our lives. Likewise, the key to a happy,carefree and true living is to make spirituality our first priority.

Oblivious of how to search God within as taught by Christ that we should enter into our inner closet, and emphasized by other Saints that came before and after Jesus, that, transcendental meditation is the only way, most of the known religions have continued to point to externalities.We will explain what is meant by transcendental meditation as we continue.

Meanwhile,every religion has its own idea of how to realize God.Certain similarities,however appear in most of their objectives. Patently,they show evidence of;

1, Rituals and Ceremonies
2,Holy Places of Worship
3,Temples and houses of worship
4,Holidays and Festivals
5,Fast and Penances
6,Formalized Prayers and Recitations
7,Identifying dress and symbols
8,Most Importantly,a priestly or ministerial class

The problem we encounter when confronted with the various external ideals of worship is how to determine which one contains the essence of truth. We have to individually scrutinize before embracing any religion otherwise, we are simply sheepish followers, who blindly continue with what we met our parents doing. NOTHING qualifies any parents and indeed anyone for that matter to choose a religion for us. At the end of the day it boils down to a personal cross which no one can carry for us.

In trying to determine which religion to adopt,we found out that the Muslims feel we must make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in our lifetime. To the Christians,Jerusalem is where the holy land is. The Sikhs prefer Amritsar to both Mecca and Jerusalem. Other countless religions across the globe have their different holy places.

Should we believe the Lord who fathers us all would feel strongly about Jerusalem over Mecca or Amritsar over Jerusalem or vice versa? Or in the manner of dress the Lord prefers those who cover their heads to those who go bareheaded to worship Him?

In all of these,we seem to forget we have overtly introduced customs and traditions into these religions. Or how do we explain a situation where Christians think it is sacrilegious to enter Church barefooted, while some sects of the same Christianity particularly, the Celestial Church would insist wearing of shoes into their Church is a taboo? Some say Friday is a day that is holy to the Lord,while others think it is sinful to work on Saturday,Sunday or Monday.

All these continued in spite of the fact that the Messiah deprecated such beliefs in Matthew 12 vs 11 by performing healing on a Sabbath day saying;

“If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on a Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and pull it out”

Does this not clearly tell us every day is holy and indeed every second of the day.

And jocularly, we all want to have electricity everyday including Sunday or any holy day, if the operators of electricity don’t work on our fabled holy days, can we imagine the catastrophe in some of the developed worlds that can’t do without electricity for 10 minutes. Patients in the surgical tables will die while their worlds would stand still more than what Covid-19 has wrought the world over.

To push forward, we have heard of thousands of zealous seekers who have suffered untold deprivations,such as rolling on the floor, ,sitting on hot plates,standing in one place for hours on end,refusing to take drug during illness, while some have allowed disease to ravage their bodies thinking any of these would bring them nearer to God?

These austerities such as penances,pilgrimages,rituals,recitations and the likes may to a good extent, purify thoughts somewhat or lull us into a feeling of attainment,but all of them are a far cry to the ultimate desire of merging the soul into the Lord. It is against all these Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 1 vs 1 admonished;

“For what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me sayeth the Lord. I delight not in the blood of bullocks,of lamb,of he goats.When you come to appear before me,who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?

Bring no more vain oblations; Incense is an abomination unto me;the new moon and sabbath,the calling of assemblies,I cannot away with; it is iniquities,even the
solemn meetings. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth

And when ye spreads forth your hands,I will hide mine eyes from you; yea when you make many prayers,I will not hear ; your hands are full of blood”

The truth of the matter is that in all we read,and daily listen to as sermons, we can only succeed in sifting the truth from them, even discern what seems contradictory in the scriptures, when we are able to realize how wonderfully and fearfully man has been created.

To underscore the extraordinary nature of human beings, in the days of yore, it was written “Gnothi Sauton” on the doors of all the Greek Temples. The meaning of Gnothi Sauton is “Know Thy Self” The charge then was, before you worship God you must first and foremost know thyself.

Other sects put the same charge differently, in unison they concluded;

“SELF REALIZATION PRECEDES GOD’S REALIZATION”

That is bluntly insisting that we cannot really worship God without primarily determining who we truly are. Similarly, all laws such as love thy neighbor, do good to fellow beings et al, are easily doable, once we come to terms with our true nature.

We will only discern divinity in fellow beings having discovered it in ourselves. Discovery of our true nature neutralizes our self importance and neither would we ascribe superiority or inferiority to fellowbeings, as we will come to the understanding that we are all working out our lot or deal, in the evolutionary scale of our souls, otherwise known as the school of Life.

Knowing oneself will earn for us our homosapiens status-that being that has been fashioned in the image of God. Then and then only would all the achievements of modern science and invention, in control of the earth and nature’s forces pale to insignificance to what man could achieve with mind and soul working together under the full light of spiritual illumination.

Only by true worship can we subjugate our passions, not by any other means all of which sums up to the covering of a burning fire with ashes. True worship is the worship of the Word. It will make our soul stand unfettered, its light undimmed by sins and attachments. Only at this stage we could say eureka, when we begin to get some idea of our exalted birthright.

  1. How do we discover the true nature of Man? To be continued

-Aare Kola Oyefeso, a businessman, writes from Lagos

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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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FG Announces Nine Individuals, Six BDCs Financing Terrorism

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The Federal Government says it has uncovered the identity of 15 entities, including nine individuals and six Bureau De Change operators and firms, allegedly involved in terrorism financing.

Details of the development were revealed by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, in an email seen by The Punch on Tuesday night, entitled “Designation of Individuals and Entities for March 18, 2024.”

The document revealed that the Nigeria Sanctions Committee met on March 18, 2024, where specific individuals and entities were recommended for sanction following their involvement in terrorism financing.

“The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, with the approval of the President, has thereupon designated the following individuals and entities to be listed on the Nigeria Sanctions List,” the document read in part.

Among the individuals named in the document was a Kaduna-based publisher, Tukur Mamu, who is currently being tried by the Federal Government for allegedly aiding the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train in March 2022.

According to the document, Mamu “participated in the financing of terrorism by receiving and delivering ransom payments over the sum of $200,000 US in support of ISWAP terrorists for the release of hostages of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.”

The document said one of the individuals is “the suspected attacker of the St. Francis Catholic Church Owo, Ondo State on June 5, 2022 and the Kuje Correctional Center, Abuja on July 5, 2022.”

Another was described as “a member of the terrorist group Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladissudam, the group is associated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

 “The subject was trained and served under Muktar Belmokhtar, aka One Eyed Out, led Al-Murabtoun Katibat of AQIM in Algeria and Mali.”

The NFIU said the individual “specialises in designing terrorist clandestine communication code and he is also Improvised Explosive Device expert.

“The subject was also a gate keeper to ANSARU leader, Mohammed Usman aka Khalid Al-Bamawi. Equally, he was a courier and travel guide to AQIM Katibat in the desert of Algeria and Mali. He is into carpentry. Subject fled Kuje correctional centre on July 5, 2022. He is currently at large.”

Another was identified as “a senior commander of the Islamic State of West Africa Province Okene.”

The agency said, the individual “came into limelight in 2012 as North Central wing of Boko Haram.

“The group is suspected of the attacks carried out around Federal Capital Territory and the South West Geographical Zone, including the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.”

Another was described as “a financial courier to ISWAP Okene. She is responsible for the disbursement of funds to the widows/wives of the terrorist fighters of the group.”

According to the document, another of the individuals “in 2015, transferred N60m to terrorism convicts.”

He was also said to have “received a sum of N189m  between 2016 and 2018.”

The same person is said to “own entities and business reported in the UAE court judgment as facilitating the transfer of terrorist funds from Dubai to Nigeria.”

Another individual was said to have “received a total of N57m from between 2014 and 2017.”

Another was said to have “had a total inflow of N61.4 bn and a total outflow of N51.7bn from his accounts.”

The document further revealed that, in accordance with Section 54 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, institutions and individuals are required to:

“(a) immediately, identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and any other economic resources belonging to the designated persons and entities in your possession and report same to the Sanctions Committee;

“(b) report to the Sanctions Committee any assets frozen or actions taken in compliance with the prohibition requirements.

“(c) immediately file a Suspicious Transactions Report to the NFIU for further analysis on the financial activities of such an individual or entity; and

“(d) report as a Suspicious Transactions Report to the NFIU, all cases of name matching in financial transactions prior to or after receipt of this List. ”

It said the “The freezing obligation required above shall extend to

“(a) all funds or other assets that are owned or controlled by the designated persons and entities, and not only those that are tied to a particular act, plot, or threat of terrorism or terrorism financing;

“(b) those funds or other assets that are wholly or jointly owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by designated persons or entities;

“(c) the funds or other assets derived or generated from funds or other assets owned or controlled directly or indirectly by designated persons or entities; and

“(d) funds or other assets of persons and entities acting on behalf of, or at the direction of designated persons or entities.”

The Punch

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