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Remembering Plus Adesanmi…Selfish Miracles

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– Pius Adesanmi

My brother from another mother, Bayo Aregbesola, a Director in Canada’s Federal civil service, reminds me of something that happened during our days at the University of British Columbia in the 1990s. Those were our wild oats graduate student days. We crawled the nightclubs of Vancouver to get our beering right between intra and interracial dating.

Coming from strong Christian homes back in Nigeria (Christian in the traditional sense of what is known as the old orthodox churches in Nigeria, not the nightmare called Christianity in Nigeria today), we ended up infrequently in church on Sunday – after heavy clubbing on Saturday – just to satisfy the perfunctory conscience business of not being too many miles away from the truth when you told your parents on the phone that you were still going to church. If you went to Church two or three times a year, technically you weren’t lying by reassuring Mama Adesanmi on the phone that you were still her “church going son”. You added a “Hail Mary” here and a “We Fly to Thy Patronage” there to reassure her that your prayers could still flow effortlessly.

But I doth digress too much. So it happened that one of our buddies ended up in church with his white Canadian girlfriend. He had the misfortune of taking her to one of those Nigerian churches. Africans tend to ghettoize their Christianity a lot in Euro-America. You leave Nigeria and attend a Church in Euro-America peopled exclusively by Nigerians reproducing and photocopying Nigeria on Sunday. Ditto for Ghanaians, Congolese, etc. Sometimes, some Churches try to reproduce the African Union by drawing membership from across the continent.

But those are the exception. The dominant trend is the ghettoized Christianity that hardly mixes beyond the national boundaries and denominations it is photocopying abroad. You are Mountain of Fire in Nigeria, you are Mountain of Fire in Canada. If care is not taken (as we say in Naija), a Congolese Mountain of Fire may even have to find other Congolese Mountains of Fire to reproduce their own national Mountain of Fire in Canada. There is little or no mixing across Africa’s colonial boundaries on Sunday – even abroad.

Ah, another digression. Where was I? Ehen, so this guy takes his Canadian girlfriend to a Nigerian church. You guessed right: one of these prosperity Pentecostal churches. Praise worship, prayers, testimony, seed, and miracles. The Pastor began to rain miracles furiously into the lives of his sheep. Rapturous amens in the hall. Nigerian decibel levels. Then the Pastor asked the students in the room to stand up as well as all those who had recently graduated. He began to rain miracles into their lives.

“Anyone among you whose life is shackled by the spirit of student loans, I come against that spirit! Your student loans shall be written off!”

“Amen!!!!”

“I say your student loans shall be forgotten!”

“Amen”

“I say Canada shall wake up tomorrow and find your name missing in the student loans register.”

“Amen.”

Our Nigerian buddy noticed that his Canadian girlfriend had become really uncomfortable so he asked that they step out.

“Baby what’s the matter?”

“Your Pastor. What he is saying about student loans ain’t right. That is so wrong. When you take the loan, it is your responsibility to pay it back for the education of the next generation. You don’t go about praying for miracles to cancel it. It ain’t right.”

Yeah. True story between a Nigerian buddy and his Canadian girlfriend in Vancouver in 1998. The difference between the psychology of this Canadian lady and the Nigerian psychology that is so tragically often on the display on social media is civics.

That Canadian girl has one head, two hands, and two legs like you. But her society did not destroy civics so she grew up understanding the necessity of civic and secular responsibilities to the said society. 99.9% of the miracle prayers and testimony hour rants in Nigerian churches are about ways to cheat the Nigerian state successfully and deprive the coming generation a future of possibilities.

When next you are awarded a contract worth billions of naira and your Pastor prays for you to keep the money without doing the job, remember what the Canadian lady said – that ain’t right.

When next your Pastor obtains a building permit for a two storey building and illegally adds four more storeys to make blood money, remember what the Canadian lady said – that ain’t right.

When next your Pastor uses his chumminess with government to obtain import waivers and avoids paying duties worth billions, money that could be used to build schools and hospitals for the poor, remember what the Canadian lady said – that ain’t right.

When next you steal money meant for roads and hospitals and the EFCC lets you off the hook due to the legendary incompetence of Ibrahim Lamorde and his boys and your Pastor says it’s a miracle – remember what the Canadian lady said – that ain’t right.

Whenever I’m in Nigeria, I always try to attend Pentecostal churches for my own learning experience. I am a student of Pentecostalism in Africa. Their testimony hour is often my target. I wince and shake my head as people reel out tales of getting away with cheating Nigeria in all spheres of her existence to thunderous applause. Miracle. Miracle. Miracle.

Remember, your miracle is why Nigeria is Africa’s tragic embarrassment today.

Miracles are destroying your country.

Civics is the truth.

Ye shall know the truth.

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Oyo Tops List of Out-of-School Girls in SouthWest – NGO

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A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Black Girls’ Dream Initiative (BGDI), has revealed that one in five girls of school age in Oyo State is not in school, making the State the highest with out-of-school children in South-western Nigeria.

The BGDI, in association with some education stakeholders in the State, made this known in Ibadan on Wednesday during a sensitisation workshop organised by the NGO, in partnership with Global Schools Forum and the IDF Foundation, and themed ‘Girls’ education in Oyo State: Our shared goal’.

The founder of BGDI, Karimot Odebode, described the number of out-of-school children in Oyo State as alarming and as a crisis that has to be urgently curbed by the government, schools, parents, traditional rulers, and other vital stakeholders in the state.

Odebode noted that though the government and other stakeholders are trying their best to send and keep children, especially the girl-child, in school, barriers such as poverty, early marriage, family responsibilities, and cultural expectations are marring their efforts.

Given this, she added that NGOs, such as BGDI, are working to reverse this trend by spotlighting the problem, engaging decision-makers, and opening doors for re-entry into the classroom because every girl deserves a second chance at learning.

She stated that BGDI, in its quest to ensure that more girls get quality education and remain in school, is aligning local education data with the challenges; collaborating with stakeholders to identify, engage, and reintegrate out-of-school girls; encouraging trackable reduction in dropout rates; and increasing enrolment, especially in underserved local governments in the State.

Odebode urged the government, schools, and parents to empower girls as future leaders. She explained how her organisation is doing this through their debate, mentorship programmes, sensitisation initiatives, and stakeholders’ workshops.

“We should make sure children are not just returning to school, but are returning with confidence, agency, and a sense of purpose; and also make sure we initiate and sustain long-term developmental impact that builds self-driven, educated citizens,” she said.

She further said: “We are the enablers of change. We need to move from conversation to action. Change happens when stakeholders act together. What we do today shapes the data tomorrow.”

The stakeholders, in the course of the workshop, identified and offered solutions to the main problems facing the girl-child’s education in Oyo State.

The Baale Sinko of Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, Adeleke Waheed Mobolaji, and the Mogaji of Ogundele Compound, Labiran, Ibadan, Chief Ogunsina Oluseyi Oladebo emphasised that the government cannot train the girl-child alone and that the bulk of the training and education girls starts from the home, stressing that to encourage girls to go to school, their mothers needs to be properly empowered.

The two Ibadan-based traditional rulers, Adeleke and Oladabo, also urged society to support less-privileged students, especially girls, in their education, to ensure that no child of school age will be on the street hawking, idling, or committing crime, instead of being in school.

Some of the teachers and parents at the event, M. C. Ebike, Janet Adio, Fausat Boladale, Rejoice Adegoke, O. O. Ogundare, Peace Akinola, Dorcas Oyinloye, stressed that the security of female students in schools is important, and special attention should be given to them to encourage them to attend and remain in school.

They urged schools and teachers to be kind and proactive while dealing with female students, which will encourage them to learn. Furthermore, they advised the government to recruit trained and passionate teachers and empower them with the best resources to ensure students are inspired to return to school.

Opeyemi Lawal of Project Wabi Sabi, Adetokunbo Ikumoluyi of Hosec Foundation, and Opeyemi Adebisi of Teach for Nigeria stated that NGOs and governments have a lot to do to keep students in school, adding that the out-of-school challenge facing Oyo State could be addressed through sustainable partnership, investment in education, parents’ and guardians’ sensitisation, and students’ empowerment.

The convener of the event, Karimot Odebode, stated that the feedback and recommendations from the stakeholders regarding the theme and outcome of the sensitisation workshop will be submitted to the appropriate government authorities for policy formulation and implementation.

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Again, Gunmen Attack Plateau Communities, Kill 13, Raze Houses

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No fewer than 13 persons – mostly children and the elderly – have again been reported killed and houses burnt in Juwan and Manja communities of Bokkos and Mangu local government areas of Plateau State.

They were alleged to have been killed by armed herders.

The deadly attack on Juwan in the Tangur District of Bokkos Local Government Area occurred on Thursday night, with 10 persons killed and some others sustaining serious injuries.

In Manja, Chafem Chiefdom of Mangu Local Government Area, three persons were reportedly killed on Thursday evening.

They were on the farm tilling the grounds and tending their farmland when the attackers caught them unaware and killed them. Others escaped with injuries after the intervention of security operatives following a distress call from those who escaped the onslaught.

Chairman of Bokkos Local Government Council, Amalau Samuel, confirmed the tragic incident, describing it as barbaric and inhuman.

“The attackers came late at night and started killing innocent people. They were going from house to house, and where they could not gain entrance, they broke through the ceiling,” the LG boss said.

“Those affected mostly are the aged and children who could not run, while those agile fled for safety.”

The terrorists in the other attack in Manja, Chafem Kingdom of Mangu, killed three persons on the farm with over twenty houses burnt before the intervention of security operatives.

A member representing Mangu South in the Plateau State House of Assembly, Mathew Kwarpo, said the terrorists invaded the community and killed three persons before they were repelled by security men in conjunction with the youths.

According to the parliamentarian, the marauders later launched another attack that day, during which they burned down over twenty houses.

Kwarpo said that due to the attackers’ large number, the people of the community had to flee for safety, though no casualty was recorded.

“In the second attack, there was no casualty, but the people are already displaced.  So, we are appealing to both the state and Federal governments to come to our aid.

“The attacks in recent times on our communities are just too much. Anytime they issued notice of an attack, they would fulfill it.

“The security men are no doubt trying their best, but they are being overpowered. This is a calculated attempt to seize our land from us and to occupy our land illegally. So we are calling on President Tinubu to intervene,” he said.

Some communities in Bokkos, Bassa, and Mangu local government areas of Plateau State have been under increased attacks from suspected herdsmen in recent times.

This has resulted in the loss of lives and property.

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Tinubu Throws Shade at El-Rufai, Says Kaduna No Longer Toxic Under Uba Sani

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President Bola Tinubu has publicly criticised a former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, describing his administration as toxic.

Tinubu said this during the unveiling of the Institute of Vocational Training and Skills Development in Rigachikun and a 300-bed hospital in Millennium City, on Thursday.

“Uba Sani has performed wonders and changed the environment from a previous toxic, uncontrollable environment to a state of life, progress, and development. I say thank you, my comrade,” Tinubu declared to applause.

It marks the first time the president has directly responded to the growing tension between him and El-Rufai, who recently dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) following months of political friction.

El-Rufai, once seen as a Tinubu ally, fell out with the president after the Senate refused to confirm his ministerial nomination.

In a series of public outbursts, El-Rufai accused Tinubu of betrayal, and even linked the president to several allegations.

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