Tuesday, 16 October 2012
BEING TEXT OF SPEECH DELIVERED BY PASTOR ‘TUNDE BAKARE ON THE OCCASION OF THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF YABA BAPTIST CHURCH ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2012. I joined this train thirty-eight years ago in a very supernatural manner on September 24, 1974 and was baptized by immersion here in our baptistry by late Rev. Emmanuel A. Alabi of blessed memory. I attended our discipleship programme Baptist Training Union (B.T.U.) and by God’s grace kept on growing in the faith till I served as the Youth Pastor in 1980 during the era of our Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. James Olawaiye, also of blessed memory. It was from here I enrolled at the University of Lagos in 1977 and graduated in 1980. It is impossible to forget the meaningful contributions of certain individuals within the Christian Fellowship of Yaba Baptist Church such as late Bro. Julius Ajayi and Bro. Taiwo Kehinde, now in the U.S., to my university education, not to mention the unique role of my own uncle and auntie – the Adeyoyins – who opened their home to me during my law school year in 1980/81. I am forever grateful to God Almighty who, in His infinite mercies, had ordained before time began that Yaba Baptist Church would be the cradle of my conversion to Christianity. Whenever the history of my life is written, Yaba Baptist Church will be written in gold. Thank you so much for your magnanimity. My beautiful wife of twenty-eight years and mother of our five wonderful children is here with me, and so are leaders and members of our ministry. For us, this is homecoming. Now, to the assignment allotted to me by the organisers of our 70th anniversary, namely the anniversary lecture titled: Almost everywhere on planet earth, the systems of men are failing to either facilitate development in the third world or sustain it in the first as evident in the economic crises in Europe with Spain, Greece and Portugal on the brink; the political shakings among Arab nations from Libya to Syria; the societal decay in America manifesting in insecurity and moral tumble; and the seemingly insurmountable problem of governmental dysfunction, disease, hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. It is axiomatic to state, without fear of contradiction, that as it was at the beginning of creation when God said, “Let there be light”, so it is in the present: the successful reconstruction of the social, economic and political landscape of the nations of the earth must be preceded by the manifestation of light through the carriers of the glory of God. These carriers of the light of His glory must permeate the seven mountains of society: Arts and Entertainment, Media, Education, Family, Religion, Business and Government with the light that they carry. Now, to the lecture proper. There are three major institutions created by God: (i) The Family (ii) Government (iii) The Church. In the wisdom of God, the family institution supplies the human resources for both government and the church. Consequently, everyone in the church or government is an ambassador of his or her family for good or evil — that is, individuals in the church and government can only display their family values and ideals. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible contains a plethora of scriptures that settle the matter of God and government. In Isaiah 33:22, all the arms of government are vested in God: For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us. (NKJV) In the New Testament, Ephesians 4:1-6 states that the same God who controls the three arms of government is the Father of all, and He is in us and through us all: 1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (NKJV) Not only that, Isaiah 9 also spells out that the government is upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ: 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6 & 7; NKJV) Please note the difference between a child and a son: Ecclesiastes 10:16 & 17 (NKJV): 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time– For strength and not for drunkenness! Besides all these, Jesus Christ paid the absolute price for good governance when He died on the cross to redeem us all and that which was lost: Psalm 22:1-2 (NKJV): 1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. Psalm 22:16-21 (NKJV): 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. 19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! 20 Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. 21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me. What was the answer given to the question in Psalm 22:1: ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani!’ Psalm 22:27-31 (NKJV) 27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. 28 For the kingdom is the LORD’s, And He rules over the nations. 29 All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive. 30 A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, 31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this. The Book of Daniel states that God rules in the affairs of men and gives rulership to whoever He wills, even the basest of men. Daniel 4:13-17 (NKJV): 13 “I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. 14 He cried aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it, And the birds from its branches. 15Nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth, Bound with a band of iron and bronze, In the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, And let him graze with the beasts On the grass of the earth. 16 Let his heart be changed from that of a man, Let him be given the heart of a beast, And let seven times pass over him. 17 ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.’ Daniel 4:34-37 (NKJV): 34 And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?” 36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down. In addition to all these points, the Book of Romans – which I consider the Magna Carta of our Christian Liberty – labels those in government as ministers of God and also stipulates that there is a gift of government given by the Holy Spirit: Romans 12:3-8 (KJV): 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5So we, [being] many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, [let us prophesy] according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, [let us wait] on [our] ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, [let him do it] with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 13:1-7 (NKJV): 1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Now we know it was the Holy Spirit in Joseph, David and Daniel that made them icons of good governance and exemplary leadership gifts to their respective generations. JOSEPH Genesis 41:37-43 (NKJV): 37 So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt. DAVID I Samuel 16:11-13 (NKJV): 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. DANIEL Daniel 5:8-12 (NKJV): 8 Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished. 10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father–your father the king–made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. 12 Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.” Part of Joseph’s role was to teach the senators of Egypt wisdom: Psalm 105:16-22 (KJV): 16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread. 17 He sent a man before them, [even] Joseph, [who] was sold for a servant: 18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: 19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. 20 The king sent and loosed him; [even] the ruler of the people, and let him go free. 21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: 22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom. Need I say more? The main reason Christians are not involved in politics as they should be is the fear of contamination. Daniel showed that you can have contact without contamination and Joseph showed that you can be in Egypt without Egypt being in you. Besides, while the Heroes of Faith in the Bible used their faith to subdue kingdoms, we use ours for material acquisition, forgetting that the nations of the earth are our inheritance as kings and priests of our God, and their thrones and dominions are for us to take and display the flag of the kingdom of God on top of them all. Psalm 2:7 & 8 (NKJV): 7 “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. Colossians 1:12-18 (NKJV): 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. Hebrews 11:32-39 (NKJV): 32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, Romans 5:17 (NKJV): For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Revelation 1:1-6 (NKJV): 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants–things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. 4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Only the ignorant would limit or exclude the participation of Christians in politics. Such men and women quote out of context the testimony of Jesus before Pilate when He said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” John 18:33-38 (NKJV): 33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all. If such ignorant people read the whole counsel of God, they will understand that it does not make sense for God to send the whole church to the whole world to pray and preach “Thy kingdom come” if He has no intention of influencing and taking over the entirety of the kingdoms of the earth, beginning from now till He comes. Romans 1:1-5 (NKJV): 1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, Revelation 10:1-7 (NKJV): 1 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.” 5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven 6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, 7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. Revelation 11:15 & 16 (NKJV): 15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, In concluding this first segment on God and government, I would like to encourage as many as are led by the Spirit of God to participate in partisan politics to gird their loins and reclaim the land from the despicable ravages of corruption, kleptocracy and violence. We are not to fold our arms in the face of massive oppression and shut our mouths while the ungodly execute their evil schemes in the corridors of power — that would be sinful silence. Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 (NKJV): 1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter– On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter. 2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive. 3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. Ecclesiastes 5:8 & 9 (NKJV): 8 If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them. 9 Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field. Psalm 12:5 (NKJV): “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the LORD; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” Exodus 2:24 & 25 (NKJV): 24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them. Exodus 3:7-10 (NKJV): 7 And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” Proverbs 22:22 & 23 (NKJV): 22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; 23 For the LORD will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them. Proverbs 29:2 (NKJV): 2When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Ladies and gentlemen, the gospel is not just about evangelism; it is also about being salt, light and leaven throughout the whole culture. God came to reconcile not just our souls but everything to Himself. Jesus came not just to win souls but to seek and save that which was lost – to recover the lost dominion. As Plato said, “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” GOD FORBID. The grip of corruption on the planet earth can only be broken by the manifestation of the sons of God. Romans 8:18-22 (KJV): 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected [the same] in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Remember: ONLY TRANSFORMED PEOPLE CAN TRANSFORM NATIONS. Should Christians be involved in partisan politics? It seems that the answer to this question has already been made plain within the first segment of this lecture, but to show the aggravation and degradation caused by our non-involvement posture, let us consider the participation of non-Christians in partisan politics. Unlike many Christians who have separated the secular from the spiritual and confused separation with isolation, forgetting that God who is Spirit created the physical world and the Word became flesh and lived among us so that we can come to the understanding that God does not make such distinctions, Muslims do not make separation of state from religion their agenda. In fact, they fuse them together because, in reality, no one can truly separate Faith from Family and Finances from Freedom. In this regard, Muslims seem to have been wiser. A study of Nigerian and even North African history will reveal the fact that political dominance has been a core element in major moves to propagate Islam. From the Kanem-Borno empire in 1068 AD to the Borno empire that subsequently succeeded it in 1380 AD and from the Hausa City States which emerged from around 1000 AD to the middle belt state of Nupe, the advent of Islam was accompanied by political revolution and restructuring in the Islamic order. Islamic traders often targeted kings and converted them to Islam because they realized that once they could get the throne, they could capture the city. History has it that Tunisia in North Africa was a Christian nation which produced the likes of St. Augustine, the historically acclaimed theologian. However, at some point in history, schism or division arose in the Tunisian church over such issues as forms of worship. Hence, instead of consolidating the Christian presence in the polity, the church was divided. Christianity was later swept away by desert Arabs who were unified by the teachings of Prophet Mohammed. This is a classic case of church politics preventing the establishment of the kingdom through Christians’ involvement in national politics. It is not surprising, therefore, that Jesus said that the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of the kingdom. The point being made here is that, all things, including and especially the political, are to be brought under subjection to the obedience of Christ, and just as Christ ascended and descended, permeating every sphere so that He can fill all in all, we cannot bring a world that we fail to participate in under subjection to Christ’s obedience. History has a record of men and women who stepped out of the four walls of the church into society to create change in the political landscape. First we see the biblical Joseph and Daniel who stood tall for God as political administrators in foreign lands. Their experience should be an encouragement for New Testament believers because just like we who are citizens of a Holy nation within an earthly nation, they were strangers in foreign lands. They were appointed by monarchs who embodied the sovereignty of the respective foreign lands, Egypt and Babylon. In our case, there are no longer monarchs in the order of Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar but sovereignty now resides in the people and the people confer part of that sovereignty on individual leaders through elective processes. Therefore, as Christians, we can distinguish ourselves to the point of being chosen by God through the people to serve in political offices. However, it is almost safe to state that, while many people have no problems with Christians in politics, their grouse is with pastors actively participating in partisan politics. Such people fail to realize that Daniel was a prophet, that David was a shepherd, taking care of his father’s sheep before he was called to shepherd a nation, that Samuel was a prophet who also governed Israel, and that Melchizedek was both King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God. Revelation 1:6 also states that Jesus “has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (NKJV). It is this revelation that has spurred several Christian men and women who have stood out and shone as light in the political terrain. Some of these believers were or are pastors and ministers. Yet, like Melchizedek, these individuals participated in politics from the pulpit. It is interesting to note that there have been Baptist pastors and Baptist leaders in active partisan politics, including the following: William Aberhart – Founder of the Social Credit Party of Alberta. Martin Luther King Jr., the renowned American civil rights activist was a Baptist minister. Chuck Baldwin – United States Constitution Party activist and Baptist pastor. Ross Clifford – Australian politician: New South Wales Legislative Council and Australian Senate candidate; and Baptist theologian. Jerry Falwell – Republican presidential kingmaker. Walter E. Fauntroy – Former member of United States Congress and Baptist pastor. Ernie Fletcher – Governor of Kentucky from 2003–2007. William H. Gray – former Congressman and minister. Mike Huckabee – former governor of Arkansas and Baptist minister. Tim Hutchinson – former Senator from Arkansas and former Baptist pastor. Jesse Jackson – Presidential candidate, civil rights activist and Baptist minister. Ron Lewis – Retiring Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky since 1994 and Baptist minister. Pat Robertson – Republican supporter, former United States presidential nomination candidate, and former Baptist pastor. President Jimmy Carter – The Sunday School teacher who became Governor of Georgia and subsequently the President of the United States. He also later wrote a powerful book titled Religion and Politics Can Mix. Anglican Priests Walter Lini and John Bani governed their nation the Republic of Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, as Prime Minister and President respectively; Abraham Kuyper, a Dutch Reformed Church Minister, was Prime Minister of Netherlands between 1901 and 1905. The list goes on and on. As the topic suggests, God’s intention through the involvement of the carriers of the light of His glory in national politics is the advancement of His kingdom. It is imperative that we define the nature of God’s kingdom and bring it into the context of national politics especially in our nation Nigeria. The word ‘kingdom’ comes from two words, king and domain. The kingdom of God simply means God’s supreme and powerful rule. God’s agenda is to establish His supreme and powerful rule, not just in every sphere of human endeavour, but in society as an organized state such that He will have societies modelled after His template. This is the mandate for kingdom citizens. The kingdom of God and the citizens of that kingdom are marked by the following attributes: i. The kingdom cannot be shaken: In the midst of social, economic, and political upheavals, true citizens of the kingdom of God are unshakeable, hence, have the capacity to hold society together. ii. It is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, hence, religion cannot advance the kingdom. iii. It is advanced forcefully by its citizens whose minds are made up and whose creed is “no retreat, no rethink, no surrender”. iv. The kingdom does not debate or cut deals; it is advanced by uncompromising nonconformists for whom Christ is all in all. v. The kingdom will cut and grind into powder every impostor; it is advanced by the Zion church and will damage and break every city that is not built on the foundation of justice. vi. By implication, it will swallow up other kingdoms. vii. It will fill all the earth. viii. It is not beneath any other kingdom; it is above other kingdoms. When this kingdom permeates the political atmosphere, it shakes the foundation of injustice and leaves behind an equitable and just society modelled after its template. The following are some of the features of a society as an organized state modelled according to the blueprint of the kingdom of God: i. By nature, leadership in such a society is structured to provide solutions to complaints, problems and burdens. ii. Therefore leadership position is given to men and women who are wise, understanding and knowledgeable. In other words, the brightest and the fittest are given leadership responsibilities. iii. However, the form of government is representative as every sub-national entity elects representatives by a transparent electoral process to produce a pattern of representative consensus such that God’s choice meets with the choice of the people. iv. The law and court system are impartial and unprejudiced. v. It has a process of appeal and the judges know that God is the ultimate judge, hence His fear guides their judgement. vi. The law is comprehensive and deals with matters of justice no matter how big or small. vii. Leaders under such a system are just, ruling in the fear of God, not following the whims and caprices of political parties. viii. The economic system is run on the principle that recognizes that the profit of the land is for all such that even the king is supplied from the field (Ecclesiastes 5:9; NKJV). ix. It is furthermore guided by the principle of just and equitable distribution of resources where the resources of each region are used for the development of that region while each region contributes to the national purse. x. Finally, it runs on the principle of debt cancellation to prevent an indefinite debt burden. Let us examine the extent to which Nigeria, a country whose population is between 40% and 50% Christian, models this template. We must realize that when complaints are not attended to, they develop into problems and when problems are not solved, they become burdens. Nigeria has seen the evolution of national burdens from complaints that leadership has failed to attend to. Take, for instance, the issue of violence. It is sheer hypocrisy to attempt to separate violence from corruption. The Bible categorically associates these twin devils. When those entrusted with the sacred duty of managing public funds loot the treasury in personal aggrandizement and flaunt ill-gotten wealth as lonely islands of prosperity in a vast ocean of poverty, we need not wonder why armed robbery in the south, kidnappings in the south-east, and terrorism in the north, would be the result, 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted the earth (Genesis 6:11-12, NKJV). When many of these crises were in their budding stage, the government, in many cases, merely set up committees whose reports were never implemented. Nigeria is a nation where the groaning of the poor and oppressed, being not speedily attended to, has developed into serious national burdens threatening the foundation of our national existence. The next logical question would then be, what quality of leadership have we had as a nation, at least since the return to civil rule – wise, understanding and knowledgeable leaders or self-serving, incompetent impostors? What leadership wisdom would leave 70% of the population below poverty line while the leadership feeds fat from looting the treasury? What leadership wisdom would play games with the vital question of succession and would leave as its legacy a destabilized political terrain under the headship of an invalid president brought in through a questionable electoral process that would leave the nation in disarray for months thereby creating a power vacuum that became a power hijack? What wisdom would corner three trillion naira in an unprecedented fuel subsidy scam, fail to admit connivance and prosecute offenders, and go ahead to subject the citizens to an excruciating economic regime under the guise of a transformation agenda? I must point out here that whereas God has a template for national transformation, Satan has one, too. While God produces change from within that leads to change without, Satan merely transforms himself to an angel of light while what is within is as corrupt as ever; it is a white sepulcher kind of transformation. That kind of transformation cannot produce God’s kingdom in national politics. Again, the next logical question would be, what is the nature of the electoral process that brought about the kind of leadership we have had since 1999? Since the return to civil rule in Nigeria, most election results have been contested in the courts. While a good number were upturned, some were retained through very controversial judicial processes such as the one which accompanied the 2011 elections in which a ruling by the President of the Court of Appeal for the electoral body to subject ballot papers to forensic test was not only ignored but led to the unconstitutional removal of the judge who gave the ruling and his replacement by another who gave a contrary ruling on the same issue. We need to ask ourselves: Do we as a nation truly have leadership by representative consensus where God’s choice meets man’s choice? Wherever, God’s choice has been amended to suit man’s choice, the result has been unpalatable, as seen in God’s description of the kind of king Israel would have when they rejected Him and asked for a king like other nations (See I Samuel 8). Does the spirit of ill will which is being meted out to this government by the people not speak volumes as to the quality of representation? Having already made allusion to the powerlessness of the law and the proceeding of perverse judgments from the courts, it suffices one to state that the constitutional foundation upon which the nation is currently governed is based on falsehood as “we the people” have not sat down to agree on how we will be governed, neither has this government shown any commitment to lasting constitutionalism. The inequity in the Nigerian economy is glaring for all to see, with the leaders feeding themselves fat on security votes that are not accounted for and with the lopsided economic structure characterized by a mono-product economy that puts a strain on one region while resources in other regions are not fully utilized; more so, we have been a lazy nation that cannot refine its crude or process its raw materials because of the cluelessness and insincerity of government. One can go on and on to highlight how the Nigerian state deviates from the God state in various spheres of societal existence from health to education where the statistics are dismal with a life expectancy of forty-seven years, with hospitals that are not good enough to serve the political class who must go abroad to attend to their medical needs, a worrisome education sector with an over 60% failure rate in public examinations which puts the nation’s future at a disadvantage, and so on. We need to ask ourselves salient questions: Are these events occurring because we do not have Christians in national politics? Are some of the looters in government and their counterparts in the private sector – the corporate cowboys – not members of churches? Do they not get front rows in churches? Are they not deacons and elders in churches? Are the priests – the GOs, the Bishops, the Reverends, Pastors, or whatever label they go by – living up to their responsibilities as watchmen to warn the princes, or are they feeding fat from the loot and giving them prayer cover as prayer contractors? To be more succinct, since the return to civil rule in 1999 which amounts to thirteen years, we have spent ten years of those thirteen under the leadership of presidents who claim to be Christians and who have had the backing of the church in Nigeria and around whose corridors church leaders have hobnobbed. Yet the nation is in such a despicable state. It was Martin Luther who, responding to such hypocrisy in his day, once said, “I’d rather be ruled by a wise Turk than by a foolish Christian”. This is the verdict on the church in Nigeria. When the kingdom advances with the emergence of the true church, the compromised church which cannot heal a dying nation will not stand, it will be sifted and blown away as the impostor that it is. What, then, is the way forward? The true church must emerge! In the midst of corruption and decay, gross darkness taking over the soul of the nation, there has never been a better time to shine as light. The church must come out of church politics and step into national politics. Rather than bring politics to church, let believers take church to politics. But the church that must take church to politics must not be the Sinai church that is bound by religion or the compromised church that is bound by greed and corruption because these will be blown away with the shaking that is coming. It calls for the Zion church that leans on grace, a new breed without greed and a radical opposition to corruption. Church leadership must wash itself clean from the crookedness that is in the polity and must commit itself to feeding the flock and strategically equipping and positioning them for kingdom advance in every sphere of influence, including and especially the political sphere. The Church must become the mouthpiece of God speaking out to unblock the minds of the people, restore voices to the voiceless, defreeze social mobility and restore sovereignty to the people. It is why The Latter Rain Assembly is strongly connected to the destiny of this nation and why we do what many others would not do; it is what led to the formation of Save Nigeria Group. It is what led us to march the streets of Abuja and Lagos when the seat of power was unconstitutionally hijacked; it is what took us to Freedom Square at Ojota for five days in January to resist the plundering of our people by a corrupt and clueless government; it is what made us join men of like minds, though of different creeds, in the bid to rescue our nation from the hands of oppressors – rulers who hate her, disguising as leaders; it is what made me accept the invitation to be running mate to General Muhammadu Buhari on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change; it is why I am committed to this cause, because, like Jesus, for this cause was I born and to this end came I into the world — that Nigeria will be saved, Nigeria will be changed and Nigeria will be great again! So from this same place where I saw the light, I make this passionate appeal to the church in Nigeria. Let the true church arise and line up with the move of God to bring about change in our nation. Happy anniversary; God bless you and God bless Nigeria. Pastor Tunde Bakare........
African King Is The Richest Man In History!
by Olivia FlemingAn obscure king who ruled West Africa in the 14th century has been named the richest person in history in a new inflation-adjusted list of the world’s 25 wealthiest people of all time.
Spanning 1,000 years and with a combined fortune of $4.317trillion, only three of the list’s 25 are alive today; none of them are women and 14 of them are American.
Related: NewsRescue- When We Ruled: Africa’s Reign
Using the annual 2199.6per cent rate of inflation, where $100million in 1913 is equal to $2.299.63billion in 2012, Celebrity Net Worth‘s list includes familiar names like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett; but sitting at number one is Mansa Musa I of Mali.
The list also includes the man who gave America Wal-Mart, another who developed mail-order shopping around 1870, as well as a few nobles who helped with the Norman conquest of England in the Battle of Hastings nearly one thousand years ago.
Related: NewsRescue- World’s First University: Timbuktu
The Rothschild family, second on the list, are the richest people on earth today with assets that total at least $350billion – their wealth divided amongst mining, banks, private asset management, mixed farming, wine, and charities.
Meanwhile John D. Rockefeller, third on the list, is the richest American to have ever lived, worth $340billion in today’s USD at the time of his death in 1937.
In comparison, the poorest man on the list is 82-year-old Warren Buffett, who at his peak net worth, before he started giving his fortune to charity, was $64billion.
1. MANSA MUSA I – $400 BILLION (BORN 1280)
Mansa Musa I: This video game representation of the king shows what he may have looked like
Mansa Musa I, the richest person in history, had a personal net worth of $400billion at the time of his death in 1331.Born in 1280, he ruled West Africa’s Malian Empire which covered modern day Ghana, Timbuktu and Mali.
His country’s production of more than half the world’s supply of salt and gold contributed to Musa’s vast wealth, which he used to build large mosques that still stand today.
According to the writings of Arab-Egyptian scholar Al-Umari, Musa inherited his throne through a practice of appointing a deputy after the king goes on his pilgrimage to Mecca; later naming the deputy as heir.
Musa was appointed deputy of the king before him, who had reportedly embarked on an expedition to explore the limits of the Atlantic ocean, and never returned. See: NewsRescue- Timbuktu- Journey From World Richest Nations, Voyaging To The Americas Before Columbus, To Poorest
Just two generations after his death, however, Musa’s world record net worth was diminished after is heirs were not able to fend off civil war and invading conquerors.
2. ROTHSCHILD FAMILY – $350 BILLION(BORN 1744)
Mayer Amschel Rothschild: Thanks to this founding father of
international finance, Mr Rothschild’s heirs are worth at least $350
billion
The Rothschild family, known as the House of Rothschild, are
the richest people on earth today with assets that total at least
$350billion.As a European banking dynasty, of German-Jewish origin, they established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century.
It all started with Mayer Amschel Rothschild, born in 1744, who developed a finance house and installed each of his five sons in five main European financial centers to conduct business, successfully spreading the family empire.
The Rothschild coat of arms contains a clenched fist with five arrows symbolizing the five dynasties established by the five sons.
The family’s wealth was divided amongst hundreds of descendants, and today, Rothschild businesses encompass the fields of mining, banks, private asset management, mixed farming, wine, and charities.
3. JOHN D ROCKEFELLER – $340 BILLION(BORN 1839)
John D. Rockefeller, third on the list, is the richest American to have ever lived. At the time of his death in 1937, he was worth $340billion in today’s dollars - he was also the first American acquire a net worth over $1billion.
John D. Rockefeller: The richest American to have ever lived was worth $340 billion in today’s dollars
In 1870, he founded the Standard Oil Company, which dominated
American Oil production and his monopoly was eventually broken up by
the U.S. government into smaller companies including Amoco, Chevron
Conoco, and ExxonMobil.Two years after building an oil refinery in 1863 with his business partner Maurice B. Clark, Mr Rockefeller bought him out for $72,500 and established the firm of Rockefeller & Andrews, which he said ‘determined’ his career.
He then spent the last 40 years of his life in retirement, using his fortune to create foundations that had an unparallelled effect on medicine, education, and scientific research.
In 1884, Rockefeller provided major funding for a college in Atlanta for African-American women, which became Spelman College, also giving $80million to the University of Chicago, turning the small Baptist college into a world-class institution by 1900.
It was after Standard Oil moved its headquarters to Manhattan at 26 Broadway that Mr Rockefeller became a central figure in the New York City’s community.
In 1901, he founded the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, which was instrumental in the eradication of hookworm and yellow fever, and later changed its name to Rockefeller University in 1965.
4. ANDREW CARNEGIE – $310 BILLION (BORN 1835)
Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century, made most of his fortune when he sold his Carnegie Steel Company to JP Morgan for $480million in 1901, acquiring a net worth equivalent to $310billion in today’s dollars.
After selling his company, he dedicated his time to charity, giving away the majority of his fortune during his lifetime. His final $30million was then donated after his death.
Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, also known as Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, ruled the Russian empire from 1894, until his abdication in 1917.
With a net worth of nearly $900million, which is the 2012 inflation adjusted equivalent to $300billion, Bolshevik revolutionists (a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) murdered the Tsar and his family, overthrowing his empire in 1918.
Under his rule, he approved the Russian mobilization of August 1914, which marked the beginning of Russia’s involvement in World War I, in which 3.3 million Russians were killed.
6. MIR OSMAN ALI KHAN – $236 BILLION (BORN 1886)
The ruler of Hyderabad until the country was invaded by India, Mir Osman Ali Khan, also known as The Nizam of Hyderabad, had a personal collection of gold that was worth more than $100million and owned over $400million worth of jewels.
His famous Jacob Diamond, worth $95million today was used as a paperweight in his office. He supposedly owned more than 50 Rolls Royces.
7. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR – $229.5 BILLION (BORN 1028)
William The Conqueror was most famous for invading and subsequently seizing England in 1066. Born in 1028, he he died in 1087 leaving an equivalent of $229.5billion to his sons.
8. MUAMMAR GADDAFI – $200 BILLION (BORN 1942)
Muammar Gaddafi: According to Celebrity Net Worth, after his
capture and death in 2011, reports surfaced he had a secret net worth of
$200 billion
According to Celebrity Net Worth, after his capture and death
in 2011, reports surfaced that Muammar Gaddafi had a secret net worth of
$200 billion.In the months surrounding his death, nearly $70billion in cash was seized in foreign bank accounts and real estate, his assets frozen.
One of the assets Gaddafi owned was an Airbus A340 private jet, which he bought from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia for $120million in 2003.
The plane was captured at Tripoli airport in August 2011 as a result of the Libyan civil war, and found by BBC News reporter John Simpson to contain various luxuries including a jacuzzi.
A year prior to acquiring the private jet, Gaddafi purchased a 7.5per cent share of Italian football club Juventus for US$21million.
Nine years later on 25 February, 2011, Britain’s Treasury traced Gaddafi’s assets in Britain after he allegedly worked for years with Swiss banks to launder international banking transactions.
In November 2011, The Sunday Times identified property worth £1 billion in the UK that Gaddafi owned.
9. HENRY FORD – $199 BILLION (BORN 1863)
Henry Ford, founder of the iconic Ford Motor Company, also helped to develop the assembly line technique of mass production.
Although Mr Ford did not invent the automobile, he developed and manufactured the first car that middle class Americans could afford to buy, revolutionizing the U.S. transportation industry; and credited with Fordism: mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers.
At the time of death in 1947, Mr Ford had accumulated a net worth equivalent to $199billion dollars in 2012. While he left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation, his family continues to control the company.
Henry
Ford: Pictured with Thomas Edison in his iconic Model T, Mr Ford
accumulated a net worth equivalent in 2012 to $199 billion dollarsBetter known as the great-great-great-grandfather of CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Cornelius Vanderbilt, born in 1794, is the third richest American to ever live.
Cornelius Vanderbilt: The great-great-great-grandfather of
CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Mr Vanderbilt is the third richest American to
ever live
Making his first fortune in the steamboat industry, his wealth
exploded through his investments in railroads at the age of 70. At his
death in 1877, his estate was worth the equivalent of $185billion.Mr Vanderbilt began working on his father’s ferry in New York Harbor as a boy, quitting school at the age of 11. Eight years later, the 19-year-old married his first cousin, Sophia Johnson, and together they had 13 children.
By the end of 1820, Mr Vanderbilt dominated the steamboat business, and began to take over the management of New York’s connecting railroads, also buying large amounts of real estate in Manhattan and Staten Island, taking over the Staten Island Ferry in 1838.
During the 1850s, he served on the boards of directors of the Erie Railway, the Central Railroad of New Jersey, the Hartford and New Haven, and the Harlem and in 1869, he directed the Harlem to begin construction of the Grand Central Depot on 42nd Street in Manhattan, later to become Grand Central Station.
His legacy lives on in his family’s long lineage of prominent public figures. For example, Gloria Vanderbilt, his great-great-granddaughter, is also Anderson Cooper’s mother.
Born in 1924, she went on to become an American artist, author, actress, heiress, and socialite, most noted as an early developer of designer blue jeans.
11. ALAN RUFUS – $178.65 BILLION (BORN 1040)
Alan Rufus was the military companion of William The Conqueror, the list’s seventh richest person to ever live.
For his efforts in fighting with William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, in the Battle of Hastings, Mr Rufus was given 250,000 acres of land in England, which at the time was worth the equivalent to $178.65billion.
12. BILL GATES – $136 BILLION (BORN 1955)
While Bill Gates is currently the second richest person alive with a net worth of $62.5billion, at his peek in 1999, Mr Gates’ Microsoft stock soared, giving him a net worth equal to $136billion in today’s dollars.
The former chief executive and current chairman of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computer software company, remains the largest individual shareholder, with 6.4per cent of the common stock.
Mr Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000 after he stepped down as Microsoft’s CEO that same year.
An English military leader and nobleman, William de Warenne, the first Earl of Surey, was also awarded large grants of land for his service during the battle of Hastings. At his death in 1088, his land was worth the equivalent of $146.13billion.
14. JOHN JACOB ASTOR – $121 BILLION (BORN 1763)
John Jacob Astor made his first million by trading furs from Canada to wealthy women in New York City, using his money to acquire some of Manhattan’s most sought after real estate, with a net worth equivalent to $121billion when he died in 1848.
Mr Astor began buying land in New York in 1779 and acquired sizable holdings along the waterfront. In 1803 he bought a 70 acre farm that ran west of Broadway to the Hudson river between 42nd and 46th streets.
And in the 1830s, he withdrew from the American Fur Company, using that money to buy and develop large tracts of Manhattan real estate.
Predicting the rapid growth northward on Manhattan Island, Astor purchased vast amounts of land beyond the current city limits. However instead of building on his land, he rented it.
In his will, he left $400,000 to build the Astor Library for the New York public, which was later consolidated with other libraries to form New York Public Library, and $50,000 for a poorhouse and orphanage in his German hometown, Walldorf.
15. RICHARD FITZALAN – $118.6 BILLION(BORN 1306)
This prominent English nobleman and land owner, also known as the 10th Earl of Arundel, Richard Fitzalan had a net worth equivalent to $118.6billion at the time of his death in 1376.
16. JOHN OF GAUNT – $110 BILLION (BORN 1340)
The third surviving son of England’s King Edward III, John of Gaunt was English King Richard II’s Regent and had a net worth equal to $110billion in today’s dollars because of very generous land grants.
17. STEPHEN GIRARD – $105 BILLION (BORN 1750)
French born shipping and banking mogul Stephen Girard died with the equivalent of $105billion in 1831, in his adopted home of Philadelphia.
He personally saved the U.S. government from financial collapse during the War of 1812, and became one of the wealthiest men in America. With no children, he left the bulk of his estate to charity, particularly in the education and welfare of orphans.
His father was a sea captain, and when they visited California in 1774, they began to amass a great fortune through trade to and from New Orleans and Port au Prince, two years later settling in Philadelphia.
In 1793, during an outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia. Mr Girard stayed to care for the sick and dying while many well-moneyed citizens fled.
After the charter for the First Bank of the United States expired in 1811, Mr Girard purchased most of its stock as well as the building and its furnishings on South Third Street in Philadelphia and opened his own bank with seven other employees in 1812 – becoming a principal source of government credit during the War of 1812.
Towards the end of the war, when the financial credit of the U.S. government was at its lowest, Mr Girard underwrote up to 95 percent of the war loan issue, which enabled the U.S. to carry on the war.
Girard Bank merged with Mellon Bank in 1983, and was largely sold to Citizens Bank two decades later, its headquarters still standing at Broad and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia.
18. ALEXANDER TURNEY STEWART – $90 BILLION (BORN 1803)
In 1823, Alexander Turney Stewart arrived in the U.S. from Ireland and created the world’s largest department store at the time, becoming the developer of mail-order shopping. When he died in 1876 he was worth the equivalent of $90billion.
After returning to Ireland to receive the money his grandfather had left him, between $5,000 to $10,000, Mr Turney Stewart opened a New York dry-foods store and by 1848 he had built the largest retail store in the world at that time on Broadway between Chambers Street and Reade Street.
‘He created the world’s largest department store at the time, becoming the developer of mail-order shopping’
A.T. Stewart & Co. had branches in different parts of the world and owned several mills and factories, with Mr Turney Stewart amassing an estimated annual income of $1million in 1869.His flagship store offered imported European women’s clothing, and its second floor offered the first women’s ‘fashion shows’. A.T Stewart & Company also allowed women across America to purchase and order items from his wholesale department store – and mail order shopping was born.
In 1868, Stewart began receiving letters from women in rural parts of the U.S. requesting his merchandise, to which Mr Turney Stewart replied and sent out the requests, even paying postage. Once received, women would send back the money needed to pay for their orders.
By 1876, he profited over $500,000 from the mailing business alone, and other retailers like Sears, Montgomery Ward and Spiegel’s quickly followed suit.
Out of the twenty-four clerks who entered A.T Stewart & Company in 1836, six still worked for the company in 1876, and Mr Turney Stewart left them more than $250,000 (equivalent to $5,036,719 in 2009) in his will.
19. HENRY DUKE OF LANCASTER – $85.1 BILLION (BORN 1301)
Henry Duke of Lancaster was an English nobleman who lived from 1310 to 1361 and acquired a net worth equivalent to $85.1billion in modern dollars.
20. FRIEDRICH WEYERHAUSER – $80 BILLION (BORN 1834)
Friedrich Weyerhauser made his first fortune in the timber business, buying enough land to make him the largest private land owner in America. When he died in 1914, his estate was worth the equivalent of $80billion in 2012 dollars.
21. JAY GOULD – $71 BILLION (BORN 1836)
Jay Gould was Cornelius Vanderbilt’s public enemy, the infamous railroad king amassing $71billion by the time of his death in 1892.
Known as the epitome of a ‘robber baron,’ the pejorative term used for a powerful 19th century American businessman who used questionable practices to amass their wealth, Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Mr Gould as the eight worst American CEO of all time in 2009.
These ‘questionable practices’ usually included selling products at extremely low prices (paying their workers very poorly to do so); buying out competitors that couldn’t keep up to secure a monopoly, before hiking prices far above the original level.
‘The railroad king was Cornelius Vanderbilt’s public enemy, amassing $71 billion by 1892′
In August 1869, Mr Gould allegedly began to buy gold in an
attempt to corner the market, hoping that its price increase would in
turn increase the price of wheat, causing the amount of bread stuffs
shipped eastward to double – increasing freight business for the Erie
railroad.These speculations in gold culminated in the panic of Black Friday, on September 24, 1869, when the premium over face value on a gold Double Eagle fell from 62per cent to 35per cent.
Mr Gould made a nominal profit from this operation, but established his reputation in the press as an all-powerful figure who could drive the market up and down at will.
22. CARLOS SLIM – $68 BILLION (BORN 1940)
Mexican business mogul Carlos Slim Helu is the richest living person today, with a current net worth of $68billion ($5.2billion more than Bill Gates, today).
Presently he is the chairman and chief executive of telecommunications companies Telmex and América Móvil, which in 2010 was Latin America’s largest mobile-phone carrier, accounting for approximetly US$49 billion of Mr Slim’s wealth.
At the age of 12, with the help of his father, Mr Slim bought shares in a Mexican bank. At the age of 17, in 1957, he earned 200 pesos a week working for his father’s dry-food store company.
Slowly, by focusing on construction, real estate and mining businesses, as of 1972 he had established seven businesses in these categories, including one which rented construction equipment.
In 1976, he formed Grupo Galas as the parent company that had interests in construction, mining, retail, food, and tobacco. Fast forward to 2006, Mr Slims licensed the Saks name and opened Saks Fifth Avenue in Santa Fe, Mexico. The following year saw him take a 6.4per cent stake in The New York Times Company.
His ever-growing fortune, amassed in a developing country where per capita income does not surpass $14,500 per year, and nearly 17per cent of the population lives in poverty, has caused controversy.
Critics claim that Mr Slim is a monopolist, pointing to Telmex’s control of 90per cent of the Mexican landline telephone market, which charges among the highest usage fees in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
22. STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER – $68 BILLION (BORN 1764)
Stephen van Rensselaer’s family owned much of what would become New York State, including Manhattan.
Born in 1764, to Catharina Livingston, the daughter of Philip Livingston, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Mr van Rensselaer inherited the 1,200 square mile estate from his father when he turned 21.
Later becoming Lieutenant Governor of New York, Mr van Rensselaer granted the 3,000 tenants of his land perpetual leases at moderate rates, which saved them from having to pay all of their money up front.
‘As Lieutenant Governor of New York, he voted to extend suffrage and advocated a canal from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes’
Farmer’s, who did not have to work in fear of sudden foreclosure or unfair treatment, were
able to invest more in their operations and focus on their work,
leading to increased productivity in the entire Albany area.Mr van Rensselaer, over his time in politics voted in favour of extending suffrage, going against much of New York’s upper class in doing so.
He was one of the first to advocate a canal from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes and was appointed a commission to investigate the route in 1810.
His eldest son, also named Stephen, inherited the manor in 1839 by his father’s will. However during the anti-rent troubles in 1839 he sold his townships, and at his death the manor passed out of the hands of his descendants.
23. MARSHALL FIELD – $66 BILLION(BORN 1834)
The founder of Marshall Field and Company, a Chicago-based department stores, real estate mogul Marshall Field was worth $66 billion, inflation adjusted, at the time of his death in 1906.
Mr Field and New York’s John D. Rockefeller, together founded The University of Chicago to rival nearby Evanston’s Northwestern University.
24. SAM WALTON – $65 BILLION (BORN 1918)
Sam Walton, the man who gave America Walmart, had a net worth of $65billion at the time of his death in 1992, which he left to his widow and three children.
Ten years later, the total value of that stock split among his heirs has grown to over $100 billion.
After leaving the military at age 26 in 1945, Mr Walton took over the management a variety store. A few years later, with the help of a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law, plus $5,000 savings from his time in the army, Mr Walton purchased his first Ben Franklin variety store in Newport, Arkansas.
Less than 20 years later, Mr Walton opened the first true Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas, which was called the Wal-Mart Discount City store.
He launched a determined effort to market American-made products, often finding American manufacturers who could supply merchandise for the entire Wal-Mart chain at a price low enough to meet the foreign competition.
25. WARREN BUFFETT – $64 BILLION (BORN 1930)
Warren Buffett, widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century, had a peak net worth of $64billion before he started giving all his money to charity.
Warren Buffett: Widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century, he had a peak net worth of $64billionWhile still in high school, Mr Buffett made his money by delivering newspapers, selling golf balls and stamps, and detailing cars.
In 1945, in his sophomore year of high school, Mr Buffett purchased a used pinball machine with a friend, which they placed in their local barber shop. Within months, the pair owned several machines in different barber shops.
By 1950, at the age of 20, Mr Buffett had saved $9,800 (nearly $94,000, inflation adjusted, for 2012), and in 1956, through investments, his personal savings were over $174,000 ($1.47 million inflation adjusted to 2012).
Pledging his fortune to charity, Mr Buffett’s children will not inherit a significant proportion of his wealth. He once commented: ‘I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing’.
In 2010, Mr Buffett, Bill Gates, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, signed a promise they called the ‘Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge’, in which they promised to donate to charity at least half of their wealth over time, and invited other wealthy elite to donate 50per cent or more of their wealth to charity.
This Nigeria is a lie – ABC Nwosu
BY TONY EDIKE
PROFESSOR ABC Nwosu, a former Minister of Health is one of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and was secretary of the National Burial Committee for the Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
He is also a member of the Board of the Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu Centre. In this interview, Nwosu speaks on the 2015 Igbo presidency project, infrastructural collapse, the general state of the nation and the controversy trailing Professor Chinua Achebe’s latest book –‘ There Was A Country’. He spoke at the end of a long trip that took him through Abia, Enugu and Delta States. Excerpts:
This has been a long trip for you. From Ojukwu Centre Owerri to Arthur Nwankwo’s birthday in Enugu, World Igbo Day in Asaba and back to Enugu. How did you find the roads
It was a harrowing experience for all of us Commodore Ebitu, Ambassador George Obiozor and myself. But it opened our eyes to the infrastructure collapse in the South East. It appears to be the same situation nationwide even though we think that the South East is worse than the rest of the country.
The recent floods have greatly exacerbated the matter especially in
Kogi, Benue, Anambra, Delta among other states. It is my expectation
that the Federal Government will raise a serious multi-disciplinary and
inter-ministerial task-force team to deal with this matter as an
emergency.
It is also my expectation that by the time the rains stop and the dry season comes, the task-force team including Army Engineers shall utilize the dry season to relieve the extreme suffering that Nigerians are going through now. If countries can deal with earthquakes, Tsunamis and Hurricanes Nigerians must prove to the world that they can deal with this matter.
What are the implications for the hardening of positions by the various ethnic nationalities in the country?
The present disequilibrium in the polity is created by the elite and must cease so that the masses can breathe and enjoy the benefits of the wealth of Nigeria. The disequilibrium has a cause and that is because Nigeria is living a lie. First our constitution says we the people, that is a lie.
Two, our name says Federal Republic of Nigeria, that is also a lie. Government must see how the nation can be enabled to practice true federalism and how the constitution must be drawn to reflect the wishes of Nigerians. When these two are done, Nigeria will begin to be true to its name and constitution, the disequilibrium will go and the masses will begin to enjoy greater democracy dividends.
So do you think that the current upsurge in the agitations of the different micro nations in Nigeria will vanish through the practice of true federalism?
I definitely think so. The agitations arise because the constituent micro nations be them Yoruba, Ijaw, Igbo, Tiv, Hausa, Fulani etc don’t want to lose their identities and don’t want to be maltreated in a country they call their own. In Igbo land we call it ahamefula. Federalism ensures that in a plural society all micro nations are enabled to self actualize.
This is why our founding fathers chose federalism and we must return to that federalism. Without true federalism there will continue to be agitations at some stage or the other by the various ethnic groups. Nigeria needs a system of shared power which is implied in federalism. The states as presently constituted are too weak to share power with the centre.
That is why I favour geo-political zones being created into regions without abolishing states. Creation of states has shown that whenever you constitute a minority into a majority by creating a new state, new minorities will emerge in the state.
Therefore, it is best to adopt the six-regional approach. The six regions, in my view, without abolishing states, are a better guarantee for the protection of minorities.
The matter of a President of South East extraction has again become a central issue with Ndigbo. Why?
It will continue to be an issue until a president of Federal Republic of Nigeria comes from the South East. The longer it is delayed the more dangerous it becomes.
It is a matter of pride. It is a matter of ahamefula. Beyond these two, it is a matter of a full bodied and able and competent person who can contribute to the development of his fatherland in solving key problems being excluded from doing so.
Any day that he suffers from these problems, he will deeply resent the fact that his brethren have contrived to keep him away. For these reasons, therefore, Ndigbo should field a presidential candidate in the year 2015. For them not to do so, will be to deliberately sentence themselves to insignificance and oblivion in Nigeria.
How can this be achieved given the division in the leadership of Ndigbo?
There are three key requirements. First, the Igbo must be convinced in their minds, bodies and souls that they want to produce the president not only because they are Igbo but also because they want to change the course of the nation’s history for good. Secondly, the Igbo must strategise for it and put their best foot forward by presenting a Nigerian who other Nigerians and the world will see that he is competent to address and redress the nation’s problems.
The presidential contest is not for incompetent persons and certainly not for political rascals and rabble rousers. Thirdly, the Igbo must rally round and support an internal leadership in this project that can effectively liaise with other geopolitical zones in order to build a national consensus. All kinds of persons currently masquerading as Igbo leaders must stop their game so as to permit a true leader from the present crop of genuine leaders to play the role.
Genuine leaders like who?
The late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was a model in genuine Igbo leadership. The late Dr. M.I. Okpara was one too. Currently, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe is one. He is strong-willed, decisive, focused and possesses the strength of character for this kind of pursuit.
He has not shown that he can be easily compromised or distracted. I am sure there may be others like him. For example, Barrister Olisa Agbakoba, even though he is young, is very straight forward and steadfast. These are the kind of people that Ndigbo require now.
How do you see the insistence of the South South especially Chief Edwin Clark on a second term for President Goodluck Jonathan in the light of this clamour for Igbo presidency?
It is the right of any geopolitical zone to seek for the highest office in the land and so all the current six geopolitical zones are entitled.
Sometime in the past, the South East reached an understanding to support the South South because it had not at the time attained the office of the president at all while South East had had it for six months (through Ironsi). Right now the situation is the reverse. It would therefore make sense to me if the South South can reach a similar understanding to support the South East.
How the leaders of both zones resolve this and then approach the other four zones for support, will be a test of sincerity, accommodation and ability to present situations effectively by the leaders of the two geopolitical zones. The coming months will test how the leaders of the two geopolitical zones shall handle this sensitive and crucial matter.
There are murmurs that you may contest the Anambra Governorship election in 2014. Is it true?
No. No, no, no. It is not true. I am enjoying my retirement with my grandchildren and my major position is that young men in Igbo land should be groomed and given the chance to take up positions. As a masquerade, I have danced in the arena and I have given way.
Younger masquerades must be enabled to perform. Anybody of my age who is still angling for elected office at any level should either examine himself thoroughly or subject himself to a thorough examination by a doctor. It simply means that person has failed to groom a successor. In Nigeria people must learn not to hug the political space as active players at 70 years of age.
What is your view on the raging controversy regarding Professor Chinua Achebe’s latest book – There Was A Country?
Whenever Achebe writes, it is good. His latest book is not an exception and I am not surprised that the world has taken notice of the book. The current controversy is also very good. In my view, it is forcing out into the public domain pent-up prejudices locked up secretly in ethnic minds.
Hopefully, Achebe’s book will enable Nigeria to cleanse its soul so as to permit the country to develop into a nation. Ironically, Achebe said exactly the same thing he has just said about Pa Obafemi Awolowo in 1983 in his book titled “The Trouble with Nigeria”. In that book, he also had very unkind word for the Great Zik, for Tafawa Balewa, who he lampooned in his chapter on corruption and other Nigerian leaders. He only had kind words for Mallam Aminu Kano.
This was predictable considering that he and Chief Arthur Nwankwo had dragged young Igbo intellectuals into the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, in 1979. It is therefore clear that Achebe is consistent in what he says. His latest book is not about Pa Obafemi Awolowo, it is not about General Gowon, people should therefore not trivialize this serious book, which was about pogrom and genocide committed against Igbos and Easterners in 1966 and 1967 – 70.
Vanguard
PROFESSOR ABC Nwosu, a former Minister of Health is one of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and was secretary of the National Burial Committee for the Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
He is also a member of the Board of the Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu Centre. In this interview, Nwosu speaks on the 2015 Igbo presidency project, infrastructural collapse, the general state of the nation and the controversy trailing Professor Chinua Achebe’s latest book –‘ There Was A Country’. He spoke at the end of a long trip that took him through Abia, Enugu and Delta States. Excerpts:
This has been a long trip for you. From Ojukwu Centre Owerri to Arthur Nwankwo’s birthday in Enugu, World Igbo Day in Asaba and back to Enugu. How did you find the roads
It was a harrowing experience for all of us Commodore Ebitu, Ambassador George Obiozor and myself. But it opened our eyes to the infrastructure collapse in the South East. It appears to be the same situation nationwide even though we think that the South East is worse than the rest of the country.
Prof Nwosu: Our constitution says we the people, that is a lie
It is also my expectation that by the time the rains stop and the dry season comes, the task-force team including Army Engineers shall utilize the dry season to relieve the extreme suffering that Nigerians are going through now. If countries can deal with earthquakes, Tsunamis and Hurricanes Nigerians must prove to the world that they can deal with this matter.
What are the implications for the hardening of positions by the various ethnic nationalities in the country?
The present disequilibrium in the polity is created by the elite and must cease so that the masses can breathe and enjoy the benefits of the wealth of Nigeria. The disequilibrium has a cause and that is because Nigeria is living a lie. First our constitution says we the people, that is a lie.
Two, our name says Federal Republic of Nigeria, that is also a lie. Government must see how the nation can be enabled to practice true federalism and how the constitution must be drawn to reflect the wishes of Nigerians. When these two are done, Nigeria will begin to be true to its name and constitution, the disequilibrium will go and the masses will begin to enjoy greater democracy dividends.
So do you think that the current upsurge in the agitations of the different micro nations in Nigeria will vanish through the practice of true federalism?
I definitely think so. The agitations arise because the constituent micro nations be them Yoruba, Ijaw, Igbo, Tiv, Hausa, Fulani etc don’t want to lose their identities and don’t want to be maltreated in a country they call their own. In Igbo land we call it ahamefula. Federalism ensures that in a plural society all micro nations are enabled to self actualize.
This is why our founding fathers chose federalism and we must return to that federalism. Without true federalism there will continue to be agitations at some stage or the other by the various ethnic groups. Nigeria needs a system of shared power which is implied in federalism. The states as presently constituted are too weak to share power with the centre.
That is why I favour geo-political zones being created into regions without abolishing states. Creation of states has shown that whenever you constitute a minority into a majority by creating a new state, new minorities will emerge in the state.
Therefore, it is best to adopt the six-regional approach. The six regions, in my view, without abolishing states, are a better guarantee for the protection of minorities.
The matter of a President of South East extraction has again become a central issue with Ndigbo. Why?
It will continue to be an issue until a president of Federal Republic of Nigeria comes from the South East. The longer it is delayed the more dangerous it becomes.
It is a matter of pride. It is a matter of ahamefula. Beyond these two, it is a matter of a full bodied and able and competent person who can contribute to the development of his fatherland in solving key problems being excluded from doing so.
Any day that he suffers from these problems, he will deeply resent the fact that his brethren have contrived to keep him away. For these reasons, therefore, Ndigbo should field a presidential candidate in the year 2015. For them not to do so, will be to deliberately sentence themselves to insignificance and oblivion in Nigeria.
How can this be achieved given the division in the leadership of Ndigbo?
There are three key requirements. First, the Igbo must be convinced in their minds, bodies and souls that they want to produce the president not only because they are Igbo but also because they want to change the course of the nation’s history for good. Secondly, the Igbo must strategise for it and put their best foot forward by presenting a Nigerian who other Nigerians and the world will see that he is competent to address and redress the nation’s problems.
The presidential contest is not for incompetent persons and certainly not for political rascals and rabble rousers. Thirdly, the Igbo must rally round and support an internal leadership in this project that can effectively liaise with other geopolitical zones in order to build a national consensus. All kinds of persons currently masquerading as Igbo leaders must stop their game so as to permit a true leader from the present crop of genuine leaders to play the role.
Genuine leaders like who?
The late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was a model in genuine Igbo leadership. The late Dr. M.I. Okpara was one too. Currently, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe is one. He is strong-willed, decisive, focused and possesses the strength of character for this kind of pursuit.
He has not shown that he can be easily compromised or distracted. I am sure there may be others like him. For example, Barrister Olisa Agbakoba, even though he is young, is very straight forward and steadfast. These are the kind of people that Ndigbo require now.
How do you see the insistence of the South South especially Chief Edwin Clark on a second term for President Goodluck Jonathan in the light of this clamour for Igbo presidency?
It is the right of any geopolitical zone to seek for the highest office in the land and so all the current six geopolitical zones are entitled.
Sometime in the past, the South East reached an understanding to support the South South because it had not at the time attained the office of the president at all while South East had had it for six months (through Ironsi). Right now the situation is the reverse. It would therefore make sense to me if the South South can reach a similar understanding to support the South East.
How the leaders of both zones resolve this and then approach the other four zones for support, will be a test of sincerity, accommodation and ability to present situations effectively by the leaders of the two geopolitical zones. The coming months will test how the leaders of the two geopolitical zones shall handle this sensitive and crucial matter.
There are murmurs that you may contest the Anambra Governorship election in 2014. Is it true?
No. No, no, no. It is not true. I am enjoying my retirement with my grandchildren and my major position is that young men in Igbo land should be groomed and given the chance to take up positions. As a masquerade, I have danced in the arena and I have given way.
Younger masquerades must be enabled to perform. Anybody of my age who is still angling for elected office at any level should either examine himself thoroughly or subject himself to a thorough examination by a doctor. It simply means that person has failed to groom a successor. In Nigeria people must learn not to hug the political space as active players at 70 years of age.
What is your view on the raging controversy regarding Professor Chinua Achebe’s latest book – There Was A Country?
Whenever Achebe writes, it is good. His latest book is not an exception and I am not surprised that the world has taken notice of the book. The current controversy is also very good. In my view, it is forcing out into the public domain pent-up prejudices locked up secretly in ethnic minds.
Hopefully, Achebe’s book will enable Nigeria to cleanse its soul so as to permit the country to develop into a nation. Ironically, Achebe said exactly the same thing he has just said about Pa Obafemi Awolowo in 1983 in his book titled “The Trouble with Nigeria”. In that book, he also had very unkind word for the Great Zik, for Tafawa Balewa, who he lampooned in his chapter on corruption and other Nigerian leaders. He only had kind words for Mallam Aminu Kano.
This was predictable considering that he and Chief Arthur Nwankwo had dragged young Igbo intellectuals into the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, in 1979. It is therefore clear that Achebe is consistent in what he says. His latest book is not about Pa Obafemi Awolowo, it is not about General Gowon, people should therefore not trivialize this serious book, which was about pogrom and genocide committed against Igbos and Easterners in 1966 and 1967 – 70.
Vanguard
Rivers State Commissioner For Power, Three College Officials Kidnapped
By SaharaReporters, New York
Police sources told Saharareporters that Mr. Wokocha was kidnapped with the librarian of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku in Ogba/ Egbema/Ndoni local government area. Also, kidnapped was Dr. R F Quadri and the school's director of Academic Planning and Statistics, Dr. Richard Ihua Maduenyi.
The commissioner was kidnapped as he was returning from Ahoada town some 35 miles from Port harcourt the Rivers state capital. Family sources stated that Wokocha was seized around 6:30 PM on Ahoada-Omoku road in the state.
A police source said the kidnappers are yet to make any demands for ransom. The governor of Rivers state Rotimi Amaechi has reportedly suppressed the kidnap story from getting any media attention in the state.
Monday, 15 October 2012
Police IG gives blow by blow account of how UNIPORT 4 were killed *Confirms they were not robbers
Full text of a press statement by the Nigerian Inspector General of Police:
MOHAMMED D ABUBAKAR (POLICE IG)
Rivers State: Murder of Four (4) Students of University of Port-Harcourt:
On 5th October, 2012 at about 0700Hrs, based on a distress call that some armed robbers were arrested at Omukiri-Aluu area in Ikwerre LGA, a patrol team of four Policemen from Isiokpo Divisional Police Headquarters was dispatched to the area, a distance of about 10kms. The Police on getting to the scene met a mob attack on four victims who were supposedly the suspected armed robbers. Attempt made by the Police Patrol Team to take over the suspects were met with stiff opposition from the mob who chased the team with stones.
Consequently, the Patrol Team called for reinforcements, but unfortunately, upon the arrival of the reinforcements, the alleged armed robbery suspects have been stoned and burnt to death, while the mob immediately took to their heels. The corpses were recovered by the Police who by then have been joined by members of the Joint Task Force (JTF). The victims were later identified to be students of University of Port Harcourt. They are namely:
(i) Geology student;
(ii) Engineering student;
Tekena Elkanah- aged 20 Years, a Diploma
(iii) Technical student
(iv) Chiadaka Odinga- aged 20 Years, 200 Level
Theatre Arts student.
Ugunna Obuzor- aged 18 Years; 200 Level Lloyd Toku- aged 19 Years; 200 Level Civil The Police immediately launched an investigation leading to the arrest (based on
information) of Alhaji Hassan Welewa, the Traditional Ruler of Omukiri Community, Aluu where the heinous incident took place and eighteen (18) others, some of who are
members of the vigilante group of the community.
Intelligence report implicated Alhaji Hassan Welewa, as being the person who incited the mob to unleash terror on the victims. Further investigation conducted by the police indicates that four (4) suspects, namely: Felemo Solomon;
Cynthia Chinwo; Ozioma Abajuo and Chigozie Samuel Evans have been closely linked to this barbarous act.
Findings have revealed that the victims had gone to the area where they met their unfortunate death earlier that morning to demand for money allegedly owed to them by Coxson Lelebori Lucky, alias ‘Bright’, who raised a false alarm that the victims were armed robbers. Although, Coxson has gone underground, Detectives are on his trail.
Investigation is ongoing with efforts being intensified to track down others who are involved in the incident. Those who are found culpable shall be prosecuted.
Meanwhile, massive deployment of Policemen has been made to the area, including detectives to assist the State Police Command. Normalcy has been restored in the area, while the situation in the area, especially in the University and other tertiary institutions are being closely monitored with a view to forestalling any untoward reactions.
Efforts are being intensified to establish the motive(s) behind this crime, arrest all who may be directly or indirectly connected with the crime and eventually bring all indicted persons to book.
I wish to use this medium to advice and appeal to Nigerians to see it as their civic obligation in the fight against crime and criminality, to assist security agencies in the discharge of their responsibility. Security is everybody’s responsibility and so, should not be abandoned in the hands of security agencies alone. The maximum cooperation of the public is needed to ensure that Nigeria is safe for all.
Nigerians are further reminded to avoid taking laws into their hands, as two wrongs can never make a right. More so, it is criminal and against the laws of the land and those that do so will surely be made to face the full wrath of the law.
In addition, the IGP appeals to citizens who might have information torching on this and other on-going Police investigation not to hesitate in turning over such information to the Nigeria Police Force. May I assure Nigerians that the Police Force will do everything legitimate, within its capacity, to ensure that perpetrators of these dastardly acts at Aluu in Rivers State are identified and made to face the law.
IGP MOHAMMED D. ABUBAKAR, CFR, NPM, mni
INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF POLICE
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
LibertyReporter
Ondo election: ACN, INEC trade words over alleged partisanship
by Friday Olokor
Action Congress of Nigeria has accused the Election Monitoring and Observation Unit of the Independent National Electoral Commissionof engaging in “gross partisanship capable of ruining the credibility of the October 20 governorship poll in Ondo State.”
In a statement issued in Osogbo, Osun State on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party
specifically accused the Unit of colluding with the ruling Labour Party in the state to remove from the list of accredited election
observers certain groups they deemed not favourably disposed towards their plan to manipulate the election.
It said while this unit has de-accredited the Coalition of Democrats for Election Reforms on the basis of a petition by LP, it has replaced CODER with Women Arise.
“The partisanship of Women Arise as far as the Ondo State election is concerned is glaring as the group is led by Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin,
wife of Mr. Yinka Odumakin who has publicly declared his support for Governor Olusegun Mimiko in the forthcoming election.
“Mr. Odumakin is also a known ally of Pastor Tunde Bakare, who has also declared his support for the incumbent governor.
“Another partisan group that has been accredited by INEC to monitor the election is the Rights Monitoring Group, led by one
Femi Aduwo, a visible supporter for the Labour Party on social media.
“And while each election observer group is allowed a maximum of 100 observers, the RMG has been given over 1,500 accreditation tags by this unit, with the alleged plan that these tags will be utilised
by LP thugs who will pose as RMG election observers on October 20.
“It is worth noting that in the midst of all this, CODER has yet to be formally communicated as to why it was de-accredited. Neither was it given
the opportunity to defend itself against whatever was contained in the LP petition that INEC relied upon to de-accredit it.
“This is far from what
is expected from a supposedly-unbiased umpire.
“Against the foregoing, we are compelled to call on INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, who may not be privy to these shenanigans
to investigate the activities of this unit which are capable of ruining the credibility of the electoral body, and act decisively and appropriately.
“The same unit is said to have compromised INEC by colluding with some political parties in past elections as it reportedly
supplied thugs of the Peoples Democratic Party with accreditation tags for the 2010 governorship election in Anambra State, for instance.
“The fake election observers were subsequently arrested by security agents and the case is pending at the Criminal Investigation Department in Awka, with
no attempt made to prosecute the offenders,” ACN said.
The party also urged the presidency, security agencies, all Nigerians and members of the diplomatic community to take note of the gross partisanship of this Unit
and the impact its nefarious activities may have on efforts to ensure that the Ondo State governorship election is free, fair and credible.
It also demanded the immediate de-accreditation of both Women Arise and the RMG as election observers for the Ondo State governorship poll,
in the interest of justice and fair play.
Reacting, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, said, “Politicians level all manners of allegations, seems to be part of the trade.
“Of all measures that INEC has taken to date regarding Ondo, does anything suggest overt or indeed covert partisanship?
“The commission remains commited to being fair, impartial and provide a level playing field for all contenders.”
Punch
House of Reps to probe NFF over Keshi’s entitlements
The
House of Representatives Committee on Sports has said it would invite
the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to appear before it and explain
why the Head Coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi is yet to receive
his official accommodation and car.Speaking in Calabar, the Committee Chairman, Godfrey Ali Gaya said he was astonished when he learnt Keshi has not been provided with the aforementioned, having spent one year in office as the head coach of the Super Eagles.
“I want to say that Stephen Keshi is a patriot to the core. These are things that were supposed to be provided to him earlier before now, but he refused the non-provision of these things to make him lose focus but work tirelessly to ensure that his re-building of the national team remains on course.”
“We would invite the NFF to come and explain why it is taking them such a long time to provide his car and accommodation, if it is what requires our input, we wouldn’t hesitate to do that”
He was optimistic that Stephen Keshi’s programmes for the Super Eagles would return the team to its past glory.
Keshi on Saturday joined the likes of Christian Chukwu to have captained the senior national team, and also leading the team as a Coach to have qualified for the Africa Nations cup, Gaya added.
Keshi won the AFCON trophy as Captain in 1994.
Born in Lagos 50 years ago, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi played for ACB Lagos (1979),NNB (1980-1984), Stade d’Abidjan (1985), Africa sports (1986), Lokeren (1986-1987), Anderlecht (1986-1987), RC Strasbourg (1991-1993), Molenbeek (1993-1994), CCV Hydra (1995), Sacremento Scorpions (1996), Perlis FA (1997).
He played for the Super Eagles 64 times, scoring 9 goals. The Delta State born former international had managed the Togolese National side in (2004- 2007), Mali (2008-2010), and Nigeria (2011). As a player, Keshi won various honours which include the Africa Nations cup with the Super Eagles in 1994, WAFU Cup with New Nigerian Bank of Benin (1983, 1984), Coupe Houphoet Boigny (1985, 1986) with Stade d’Abidjan, Cote’divoire premier league with Africa sports, and Cote d’ivoire coupe (1986). He won the Belgian League title with Anderlecht in 1991 and the Belgian cup in 1988.
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