ALL MANKIND NEEDS THIS ADVICE!!!

1. Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead; if you lose, you can guide.

2. People are not what they say but what they do; so judge them not from their words but from their actions.

3. When someone hurts you, don't feel bad because it's a law of nature that the tree that bears the sweetest fruits gets maximum number of stones.

4. Take whatever you can from your life because when life starts taking from you, it takes even your last breath.

5. In this world, people will always throw stones on the path of your success. It depends on what you make from them - a wall or a bridge.

6. Challenges make life interesting; overcoming them make life meaningful.

7. There is no joy in victory without running the risk of defeat.

8. A path without obstacles leads nowhere.

9. Past is a nice place to visit but certainly not a good place to stay.

10. You can't have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.

11. If what you did yesterday still looks big to you, then you haven't done much today.

12. If you don't build your dreams, someone else will hire you to build theirs.

13. If you don't climb the mountain; you can't view the plain.

14. Don't leave it idle - use your brain.

15. You are not paid for having brain, you are only rewarded for using it intelligently.

16. It is not what you don't have that limits you; it is what you have but don't know how to use.

17. What you fail to learn might teach you a lesson.

18. The difference between a corrupt person and an honest person is: The corrupt person has a price while the honest person has a value.

19. If you succeed in cheating someone, don't think that the person is a fool...... Realize that the person trusted you much more than you deserved.

20. Honesty is an expensive gift; don't expect it from cheap people.

Copyrights: © 2021

Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Talks to Chief Sunday Igboho

"Let government handle the herdsmen issue, do not take law into your hands, Ooni of Ife warns Igboho after meeting with Buhari". Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has advised Sunday Adeyemo, well known as Sunday Igboho, not to take laws into his hands but allow constituted authorities to handle the herdsmen menace.

The monarch also warned Sunday Igboho to watch out for politicians seeking to hijack his agitations against killer herdsmen in the region. This is coming after the first class monarch who met with President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors in the Villa on Tuesday.

The prominent Yoruba monarch visited Aso Rock, amid heated ethnic tension in Ondo and some parts in Oyo state, generated by the recent locals-Fulani herders’ confrontation.

Speaking with the press after the meeting, according to Ooni of Ife, the purpose of his visit is connected with the simmering ethnic tension in some parts of the South West region. He said it’s part of the duties of traditional rulers that everything is right, and that all and sundry of the country are in good shape.

“The take-home here is that Mr. President has assured that it’s not going to be a political thing. We all know the problem all over the country because we have a lot of bad eggs that have mixed across the entire country, and we are having that situation again in the South West.

“So I am here as the co-chairman of the national council of traditional rulers to get the assurance of Mr. President that either of the party won’t turn to a political party fun fair in order not to put the lives of our people at risk, not only in the south-west but the entire country.

“I am happy he has told me that I should assure other traditional rulers to work with them now so that we can separate the good, the bad, and the ugly,” he added.

However, in another interview with Arise TV, the traditional ruler praised Igboho for taking on the campaign against herdsmen but advised him to allow constituted authorities to handle the menace. The Ooni said Igboho has done very well, but he should back down so that government can take over the battles to avoid politicians hijacking the movement.

The monarch said: “Let us be very objective. He (Igboho) is being a mouthpiece for the downtrodden. He came up and everybody is listening now but my advice to him as a traditional ruler is that he needs to be very careful so that the politicians won’t hijack the whole motive from him.

“He has done well and we’ve already praised him but he shouldn’t take laws into his hands. We have the governor there, he is the chief security officer of the state and Mr President has invited him (Makinde). Let the right people that are being authorised to do what is right do it.

“He (Igboho) has done well and the world has heard him but everything should be done in moderation.”

He added: “We know that the bandits are everywhere. He shouldn’t take laws into his hands. We have laws in this country, and we should follow it. Let the right people chosen either our leader, let them follow what they are supposed to do.

He has done well, and we should leave it like that,” he said. Speaking on the role of traditional rulers and other Yoruba leaders such as Aare Ona Kakanfo;

“Well, we cannot compare then and now, in the olden days, Yoruba had a dynasty, we had structure and by virtue of that, that is the structure that gave birth to Aare Ona Kakanfo. “But these days, you now want to take the job of a governor and say you are Aare Ona Kakanfo, no, what you need to do is more of advisory roles and advocacy because the structure in the olden days is not obtainable now. If you do it, you will land yourself in jail.”

That is why I said, the likes of Sunday Igboho, they have done well, let the government take over, they have created a good awareness for it, and we have taken it upon ourselves to compliment what they did, but the likes of Aare Ona Kakanfo, they need to work with the system that has a constitution” the monarch added.

Ooni also said, “Traditional rulers have a role to play. We should be very neutral and so far so good, we have been trying to be neutral. Whatever this government is doing, we always stand up to try and see how to support them.

“It is not as if we will now go out to criticise them. We are not politicians, we are traditional rulers; we should be respected, we should be neutral, and we should accommodate all and sundry.”

A Disgraceful Exit to A Dishonourable Man

LIKE myself, many concluded four years ago that Donald Trump, whose name is now approaching that of Judas Iscariot in infamy, would be kicked out of the White House after just a term. Even before the end of his first year, there were whispers that some worried members of his cabinet were meeting secretly to plot his removal by invoking their constitutional rights. Like that man you know, but whose name you must not mention, his behaviour is like that of a madman. A fool remains a fool, at all times, every day. Never fight with a fool as you may become a fool like him. If you fight with a pig, you pull yourself into the mud. This fool dragged millions of others into becoming fools. Dunce Donald turned many wise men into fools as they tried to manage him.

He did not even move into the palace with any dignity to start with. His hat was yellow, his shirt was red, his tie was hunter, his jacket was Monaco, his pant was a parakeet, his wristwatch was mermaid, his pair of stockings was slate, and his shoes came as dandelion. His dress exposed his face, harbour in colour. When he spoke, you see the mauve tongue, and as the mouth reveals itself, you see magenta teeth, and an iris foliage of “mother-in-law tongue.”

Four years, a series of amazing records broken and new ones set within just two weeks to exit in the United States’ 250 years of existence. Impeached twice, setting a new record. There have only been two existing before 2019, Trump’s two means he has equalled the total number of impeachments for POTUS, achieved within a single term. Evicted from Twitter; that does not even happen to a yahoo-yahoo boy! He invaded Capitol Hill to upset democracy; what Robin Hood would not even have tried. He lost a re-election bid and went on a tirade, like Yahya Jammeh, the maniac who once governed the unfortunate people of The Gambia. He set the stage for violence, chaos, and anarchy, like the evil men who created apartheid in South Africa. And in the words of one of his four-year presidency’s collaborators, the Senate President, he “provoked the mob” to overthrow the Congress proceedings. Just for his own sake, he did not even care if they murdered his loyal deputy, Mike Pence, with his family.

The nincompoop, simpleton, became the President of the United States (POTUS) with the highest number of pro-impeachment votes from within his party, with many Republicans equally having had enough of the ninny. Indeed, it was the first time in US history that all members of the majority caucus unanimously voted impeachment for any president.

Accolades! Suffice to say, the biblical Samson must have served as his preface, saving more in death than when alive. Oh, Trump is not dead, but his presidency went into a decrepit abyss. Trump’s presidency, already characterized so, will be remembered as one that badly divided Americans along strict party and racial lines; perhaps, worse than any other in history. However, the last one week has seen a gradual change in the narrative. People put aside party rivalries to conclude that he was not just a wrong choice, but bad enough to prevent anyone like him ever coming close to the public office again.

Let me sermonize, like the fundamentalists who believe in him. For many, perhaps, we have to analyze this as beyond just the physical. Trump’s fall from the highest pinnacle of power in the whole world is nothing but a spiritual event—a profoundly spiritual event that should cause all persons to pause and reconsider their ways. Look at Trump. There is no human being that could have orchestrated the perfect combination of factors that brought him down, leading to his disgrace and shameful exit from the White House as the only US President to be impeached twice.

For the last four years, he was advised; he was warned; he was appealed to; he was cajoled. He was humoured, defied, and was given every benefit of reasonableness to change course and become a true leader. But as one intoxicated, he was blinded by praise, drunk on hubris, deafened by applause, deadened by momentary success, and ultimately, he was brought down by these same things. This is the predictable part—the part that the Bible verse above refers to.

Pride will lead to a big, public fall. Mr Success in Nigeria, Mrs Success in Jamaica, go ahead and abuse everyone you meet on the way. Bravo! Cleverman, assure yourself that you can solve all problems. Congratulations! The rich; maltreat the poor. Success! Professor, you are the best. Oh my God! Egotism has an end, always ending in tears. A homily ends in a warning, the unpredictable part. The ones that must cause every thinking being to pause and reflect and seek spiritual meaning, are the events of the last one year, all of which, like domino pieces, one after the other, led to a cascading collapse of the Trump House of Horrors.

Foremost was the pandemic, so unforeseen, and yet the perfect scythe to cut down Trump’s biggest boast—the economy and jobs. Once the economy nosedived, nothing was left for Trump to boast about. Oh, and that was not all. Believed to be the most secured country in the world by many, Trump could not stop boasting of the US’ military might, resulting in threats, some executed, on nations around the globe. Indeed, while he always seemed to be prepared militarily, he was far from prepared with his common sense. Even when it became inevitable that the US had just been hit with the worst pandemic, his reactions, unintellectual charades, blames, and name-calling ensured he didn’t do what was required to protect the citizens of the US, recording the highest death toll from the pandemic. A clown and a murderer, this is the summary of Trump within the last one year.

Besides the invading force of COVID-19, Trump’s self-caused ­casus belli for his inevitable fall, his tomfoolery racism. He was sitting atop the apogee of power in a country that has thrived as the most sought-after destination of people from different parts of the world, Africans inclusive. Consequentially, who could have known that the popular event in recent American history—the police killing of an unarmed black man, this time, George Floyd—would successfully galvanize Americans to mobilize intensely, and turn out at the polls like never seen, in unprecedented numbers, to reject a transparently racist president and his equally immoral party. Perhaps arguably, were it not for George Floyd, nominating the first black woman as VP during this election cycle might have remained impossible. Worthy of note is that Harris was not the only nominated black woman, with Stacey Abrams also appointed by Biden himself. The statistical odds have always been against this. And, perhaps, Kamala Harris’ emergence had to do more with her being multiracial in origin—being African-American and Asian-American—thereby appealing to several US citizens.

Unable to cope with defeat, Trump was not ready to leave the White House without his legacy imprinted on American politics. And what could the madman think of? Inciting a racist mob to overrun the US Capitol Hill, maybe to perhaps prevent the Senate ratification of the Biden-Harris fair electoral win. Ever a more stupid clown? And there, Trump left a legacy which without mincing words, was a brazen attack on the US democracy—the pinnacle of democracy around the world. A dirty, oily stain on the White House. Making a comeback is allowed, but Trump sealed his fate with the Republican Party in the mud after his selfish and stupid display of uncouthness and sheer arrogance. Oh! Establishing and registering a new party for 2024 might be a thing. The foolish man is on to a new silly game.

Reflecting upon this chain of events, and it seems only karma, fate, providence, destiny, preordination, and divine intervention of some sort could have planned the last year for Trump. It brings to mind the humiliation of the biblical Nebuchadnezzar, the proud king who at the very height of his kingdom’s dominance, God made to lose his mind and eat grass for seven years like a beast.

Falola is professor of History, The University of Texas at Austin, United States.

Suitors Now Prefer Our Maids To Our Daughters For Marriage Why not?

"A mum shared the following write up on social media and I thought to share:"

Yes, it happens because we devote time in training the maids on how to cook well, how to clean the house and on good mannerisms while leaving our own daughters untrained.

We overwork the maids and they adjust with equanimity because they need us to survive.

The maids turn out to manage the indignation and insolence we and our children subject them to. All these make the maids better wives who can manage even the angriest of men.

Our precious daughters are pampered through nursery and primary schools. They speak the English we want and know all the cartoon slangs by heart. We beat the maids blue black if they ever ask our girls to help out in domestic duties. They see kitchen things as maids’ things.

The girls move from boarding schools to the university, do their NYSC, Masters and get a job. Of course, they are ripe for marriage and you wish that to happen soon.

From one relationship to another, the same story. The guys would parade and dump them. They are only good in outings and red carpet functions.

The boys de-commit when they notice that the possible wife cannot cook, arrange things and are very domestically untrained. The rich guys can manage as they would mitigate the handicap by hiring a domestic help. Not all guys can afford this for a start.

The upcoming and very sensitive guys who would make good husbands, fathers and leaders would not manage these parents’ inflicted shortcomings. They would settle for well trained ones. They know the value and the pride in hosting friends at home to delicious delicacies prepared by a wife.

Not all your maids would remain your servants forever. Some of them would finally do part-time studies and like a train, get to their God ordained destinations sooner or later.

Like a perfume, good guys perceive well trained wife materials from afar and dump the daughters of the bourgeois like hot iron. Long time happiness is at stake. No explanation is given. Sometimes, the sack message is made through a social medium.

Let your daughters learn what you teach your maids to make them compete for the few available good men if marriage is important to them. There are few guys who believe that marriage is for better for worse.

Don’t be deceived; love is an active verb. Yes it is. You love; you loved; and you used to love. You can also hate who you used to love. Therefore, some men are immune to pre-marital love blindness.

In practice, love can’t cover the stench of bad early formation of our daughters.

Right now, educated former maids are now cornering better men on offer because they possess the requisite or set skills the highly perceptible and ready husband materials need.

Mothers please take note!

Source: www.newsnigeria.com.ng

The Great Story of Sternberger

Marcel Sternberger was a methodical man of nearly 50, with bushy white hair, guileless brown eyes, and the bouncing enthusiasm of a czardas dancer of his native Hungary. He always took the 9:09 Long Island Railroad train from his suburban home to Woodside, N.Y.., where he caught a subway into the city.

On the morning of January 10, 1948, Sternberger boarded the 9:09 as usual. En route, he suddenly decided to visit Laszlo Victor, a Hungarian friend who lived in Brooklyn and was ill.

Accordingly, at Ozone Park, Sternberger changed to the subway for Brooklyn, went to his friend’s house, and stayed until midafternoon. He then boarded a Manhattan-bound subway for his Fifth Avenue office. Here is Marcel’s incredible story:

The car was crowded, and there seemed to be no chance of a seat. But just as I entered, a man sitting by the door suddenly jumped up to leave, and I slipped into the empty place. I’ve been living in New York long enough not to start conversations with strangers. But being a photographer, I have the peculiar habit of analyzing people’s faces, and I was struck by the features of the passenger on my left. He was probably in his late 30s, and when he glanced up, his eyes seemed to have a hurt expression in them. He was reading a Hungarian-language newspaper, and something prompted me to say in Hungarian, “I hope you don’t mind if I glance at your paper.”

The man seemed surprised to be addressed in his native language. But he answered politely, “You may read it now. I’ll have time later on.”

During the half-hour ride to town, we had quite a conversation. He said his name was Bela Paskin. A law student when World War II started, he had been put into a German labor battalion and sent to the Ukraine. Later he was captured by the Russians and put to work burying the German dead. After the war, he covered hundreds of miles on foot until he reached his home in Debrecen, a large city in eastern Hungary.

I myself knew Debrecen quite well, and we talked about it for a while. Then he told me the rest of his story. When he went to the apartment once occupied by his father, mother, brothers and sisters, he found strangers living there. Then he went upstairs to the apartment that he and his wife once had. It also was occupied by strangers. None of them had ever heard of his family.

As he was leaving, full of sadness, a boy ran after him, calling “Paskin bacsi! Paskin bacsi!” That means “Uncle Paskin.” The child was the son of some old neighbors of his. He went to the boy’s home and talked to his parents. “Your whole family is dead,” they told him. “The Nazis took them and your wife to Auschwitz.”

Auschwitz was one of the worst Nazi concentration camps. Paskin gave up all hope. A few days later, too heartsick to remain any longer in Hungary, he set out again on foot, stealing across border after border until he reached Paris. He managed to immigrate to the United States in October 1947, just three months before I met him.

All the time he had been talking, I kept thinking that somehow his story seemed familiar. A young woman whom I had met recently at the home of friends had also been from Debrecen; she had been sent to Auschwitz; from there she had been transferred to work in a German munitions factory. Her relatives had been killed in the gas chambers. Later she was liberated by the Americans and was brought here in the first boatload of displaced persons in 1946.

Her story had moved me so much that I had written down her address and phone number, intending to invite her to meet my family and thus help relieve the terrible emptiness in her life.

It seemed impossible that there could be any connection between these two people, but as I neared my station, I fumbled anxiously in my address book. I asked in what I hoped was a casual voice, “Was your wife’s name Marya?”

He turned pale. “Yes!” he answered. “How did you know?”

He looked as if he were about to faint.

I said, “Let’s get off the train.” I took him by the arm at the next station and led him to a phone booth. He stood there like a man in a trance while I dialed her phone number.

It seemed hours before Marya Paskin answered. (Later I learned her room was alongside the telephone, but she was in the habit of never answering it because she had so few friends and the calls were always for someone else. This time, however, there was no one else at home and, after letting it ring for a while, she responded.)

When I heard her voice at last, I told her who I was and asked her to describe her husband. She seemed surprised at the question, but gave me a description. Then I asked her where she had lived in Debrecen, and she told me the address.

Asking her to hold the line, I turned to Paskin and said, “Did you and your wife live on such-and-such a street?”

“Yes!” Bela exclaimed. He was white as a sheet and trembling.

“Try to be calm,” I urged him. “Something miraculous is about to happen to you. Here, take this telephone and talk to your wife!”

He nodded his head in mute bewilderment, his eyes bright with tears. He took the receiver, listened a moment to his wife’s voice, then suddenly cried, “This is Bela! This is Bela!” and he began to mumble hysterically. Seeing that the poor fellow was so excited he couldn’t talk coherently, I took the receiver from his shaking hands.

“Stay where you are,” I told Marya, who also sounded hysterical. “I am sending your husband to you. We will be there in a few minutes.”

Bela was crying like a baby and saying over and over again. “It is my wife. I go to my wife!”

At first I thought I had better accompany Paskin, lest the man should faint from excitement, but I decided that this was a moment in which no strangers should intrude. Putting Paskin into a taxicab, I directed the driver to take him to Marya’s address, paid the fare, and said goodbye.

Bela Paskin’s reunion with his wife was a moment so poignant, so electric with suddenly released emotion, that afterward neither he nor Marya could recall much about it.

“I remember only that when I left the phone, I walked to the mirror like in a dream to see if maybe my hair had turned gray,” she said later. “The next thing I know, a taxi stops in front of the house, and it is my husband who comes toward me. Details I cannot remember; only this I know—that I was happy for the first time in many years.....

“Even now it is difficult to believe that it happened. We have both suffered so much; I have almost lost the capability to not be afraid. Each time my husband goes from the house, I say to myself, “Will anything happen to take him from me again?”

Her husband is confident that no horrible misfortune will ever again befall the. “Providence has brought us together,” he says simply. “It was meant to be.”

Skeptical persons will no doubt attribute the events of that memorable afternoon to mere chance. But was it chance that made Marcel Sternberger suddenly decide to visit his sick friend and hence take a subway line that he had never ridden before? Was it chance that caused the man sitting by the door of the car to rush out just as Sternberger came in? Was it chance that caused Bela Paskin to be sitting beside Sternberger, reading a Hungarian newspaper'

Paul Deutschman, Great Stories Remembered, edited and compiled by Joe L. Wheeler

The End… How Toyin Saraki’s Brother, Dapo Ojora, Died a Sad Man

Other deaths only speak, but, suicide shrieks out. Yet, each man kills the thing he loves. Some do it with poison; the brave man with a sword; Adedapo Adelanke  Ojora did it with a blazing gun. He shot himself in the head. Close your eyes and imagine the picture. Dapo was a man who had the world at his feet.

The reality of Dapo Ojora’s sudden death has not sunk in for many. He died yesterday, Friday, December 11, inside his Ikoyi home; a bullet by his own trigger, to the head.

Sources close to the family said he died a sad and lonely man because of how his career torpedoed and the betrayal he suffered in the hands of some of his closest friends, and, especially, the separation with his wife, Patricia.

In his heydays, the gangling and dark-hued Polo player was the go-to guy for his friends. He was described as loyal, dependable and easy-going. He was already leaving the la vida loca lifestyle before many of his friends found their feet in life. He had a car and driver at the age of 12, said a family source.

Curiously, however, for Dapo, the vow before family and friends and God that only death would do him part with beautiful Patricia has finally come to pass.

The son of Otunba Adekunle Ojora, respected boardroom guru and one of the patriarchs of the Nigerian high society and Lagos establishment, Dapo and his lawyer wife decided that a separation was the only solution to their litany of marital crises. In spite of his solid parentage, the influence and power of his network (his sister, Toyin, is married to former Senate President Bukola Saraki), Dapo is reportedly broke and more importantly, lovelorn.

Sources opine that Dapo’s larger-than-life lifestyle which revolves around his number one passion, Polo; carefree spending, among other money-depleting luxuries and the fact that his company, Discovery Resources Limited, is no longer as buoyant as it used to, may have contributed to the collapse of his marriage. Patricia may not have much to worry about moving forward considering that her law practice and side hustle, PromoPrint Ventures Limited, specialists in the manufacture and branding of gift items such as shirts, caps, bags, and other corporate gift items, are thriving.

Incidentally, the couple’s first daughter, Tara, began the first leg of her marital odyssey to Folajimi, the son of Iranola Ayodeji, a former banker, an accomplished businessman and the Chief Transformation and Strategy Officer of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), a few months ago. The introduction ceremony held at Dapo’s parents, Otunba Adekunle and Erelu Ojuolape Ojora’s Ikoyi home. In spite of their simmering aggro, Dapo and Patricia put up a united front and ensured that they gave their daughter a day to relish and remember. But you could feel Dapo’s pains on that day because he and Patricia had been separated for some time.

Was that enough to commit suicide?

Credit: capital.Ng

AN UNFORTUNATE SUICIDE

Dapo Ojora, a socialite and one of the sons of board room guru, Otunba Adekunle Ojora and his wife, Erelu Ojuolape Ojora is dead.  Dapo is also an in law to the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki who married his younger sister, Toyin.

Dapo who is a polo buff reportedly shot himself in the head this evening according to sources close to The Street Journal.

Having mysteriously escaped death sometime back via a ghastly power bike accident, which forced him to beat a retreat from the public space, it therefore comes as a shock that he would take his own life in such a gruesome manner.

There are indications that his death may not be unconnected to his marital woes with wife, Patricia who is a trained lawyer and and an entrepreneur. Their much celebrated marriage began having hiccups a few years ago and both decided to go their separate ways for undisclosed reasons.

His marital woes was a huge blow to him especially because of the love he shared with his wife, Patricia. And much as he tried to put up a brave face, his marriage problems was too hard for him to handle as he couldn’t bear to loose his loving wife..

Just last year,  himself and his wife put their differences aside when they both hosted the creme of society to their daughter, Tara’s wedding to her beau, Folajimi Ayodeji, at their family house in Ikoyi, Lagos.

SHE WAS LATE BUT...

A woman who applied for "Marketing Assistance" was scheduled for an interview at 10:00am but came at 12:36pm. Not professional.

Immediately she came in, she put on a smile in her face and greeted us. I smiled and answered, but my partner wasn't happy. Instead, he told her it was over.

She smiled again. To have been late and all you could do was smile was weird. So I asked why smiling. Then she said, "sometimes, all you need is a smile to hide the pains in life.”

"I never planned to be late. I'd prepared for weeks for this day, but circumstances were responsible for everything. I came from my son's school down here because I was called he fell sick. While driving down here, I got a flat tire. I had to park it by the roadside.”

"I was given a free ride down here. I couldn't forfeit this interview because I had prepared. My home rent is due and no hope. My only hope is this job, but I've just been told it's over. So all I can do now is smile to give myself the unseen hope."

She broke in tears and stood to leave.

My angry partner broke into tears too. He interviewed and hired her.

Everyone you see out there is fighting their own battle. Would it not be nice if you are kind to them but If you can't be nice at least be humane.

"Many people shed silent tears, your actions is the hope they hope for, provide the succour.."

Copyrights: © 2021

2021 to 2030: WHAT WILL HAPPEN & HOW YOU SHOULD POSITION YOURSELF

For 2021...

You will need 7 Masteries

Or 7 Competencies

Or 7 Skills

2021 will be a tougher year.

Only Masters will survive.

The next 10 years will be a revolutionary decade.

The world will evolve. Fully. It will go Digital. There will be 5G and 6G and 7G.

The Internet Of Things will be completed.

The disparity between the rich and the poor will widen. 

There will be no middle class.

You will either be poor or rich.

Money will become purely digital. Bitcoin. Altcoin. Tokens. Community Coin.

I mean the real money will be Digital.

Money will become value exchange.

Money will be shared only within communities. Virtual, especially.

Money will be made only based on:

The Value you create

The Value you add

The Problems you solve

The Solutions you provide through your expertise

The Products and services you will be able to sell

The wealth formula for the next 10 years will be👇🏾

VVF

V - Value

V - Volume

F - Frequency

Create VALUE. Think in terms of VOLUME. And do this FREQUENTLY.

So for 2021, you have got  to understand the following differences:

1. Information

2. Education

3. Knowledge

4. Application

5. Mastery/Skill

INFORMATION : Value Data. Usable bits. You will make progress these next 10 years based on the updates and useful information you have access to.

EDUCATION : Organized information put together by dead people and taught mostly in our schools. The certificate will give you some access. But formal education is not enough.

KNOWLEDGE : Knowledge is Sequential, Structured, Functional and Relevant information

The persons who will help you transform information to knowledge is called Teacher.

There are 3 kinds of Teachers you should be having:

1. Role Models 

2. Mentors

3. Coaches

Role Models have your gifts in advance state or your idea in advance state.

You know role models but they don't know you.

Role Models are Living Knowledge:

You observe them and learn from them from a distance.

Mentors are similar to role models but they have a relationship with you

You know them and they know you.

The difference between a role model and a mentor in your life is the relationship you have with the mentor.

Coaches don't necessarily have the qualities you have but have the ability to bring the best in you.

You know the coach. And the coach knows you.

The Coach may not have your expertise or Vision but he is positioned to bring out the best in you.

While a Mentor and Role Model will INSPIRE you. A Coach will INSTRUCT you.

These 3 Teachers help you convert Information into Knowledge:

Your information about life is not enough. This information needs to be organized, structured, and epitomized by these 3 Teachers.

APPLICATION:

The world rarely pays you for what you know. They pay you for what you do.

The world admires professors but they pay professionals.

Professors accumulate knowledge. Professionals apply knowledge.

MASTERY /SKILL

This is where we are going

Information, education, knowledge and application are quite important.... But none will help you in the next 10 years more than Mastery.

Your certificate will give you access for the job interview.

Your KNOWLEDGE will give you the Job. 

But it's your SKILL that will give you promotion and keep you at the job when the going is tough or when the organization is downsizing.

In the next 10 years, there will be

A lot of mergers and acquisition.

Downsizings:

Technological advances and innovation

Artificial intelligence taking human jobs.

You need

Survival Skills

Navigation Skills &

Global Skills.

You will need MULTIPLE SKILLS.

You will need to have a SKILL RANGE.

So that no matter what happens, you have another skill to select and survive.

You will also need a SKILL SET.

SKILL RANGE means multiple But DIFFERENT SKILLS. SKILL SETS  means multiple but COMPLIMENTARY skills.

Skill is Application done repeatedly.

Skill is application done habitually.

Skill is taking consistent actions with improvement at the back of your mind.

Skill is really not consistency. Skill is consistency in improvement.

So as I conclude, let's look at the 7 Masteries:

These 7 Masteries are not information, education, knowledge or one off application.

These 7 Masteries are Skills and Competencies.

Between 2021 and 2030 master them

Mastery 1: "Visioneering"

VISIONEERING is "The ability to Convert Thoughts To Things".

It's the engineering of visions into reality.

It's the ability to make what you have in your mind get to your hand.

It's all that goes into

CONCEPTUALIZATION

Articulation

& Actualization.

Do you have ideas and make them real?

How often do you get this done?

On scale of 1 - 10 how do you rate yourself in terms of making your ideas happen(Visioneering)

Mastery 2: "Communication"

Communication is your ability to

Connect

Cast

Convince.

Mastery 3: "Leadership".

Leadership as a skill will help you "multiply your success".

Leadership as a skill will help you "multiply your success".

Leadership "is your ability to duplicate or replicate your effort and multiply your results through team work".

Leadership is influence that leads to affluence.

Leadership is effective delegation. Effectively matching roles with talents.

Leadership is reproduction. Reproducing yourself

Mastery 4: "Selling".

In the next 10 years, you will want to master selling.

In the next 10 years, you will want to master selling.

You won't make money if you don't sell.

Don't master selling to one person. "Master selling to many".

One to One. One to Many.

One to One is one-on-one Prospecting. One to Many is very often "Digital Marketing".

Digital Marketing is must learn and master for the next 10 years.

Take all your projects and businesses online.

There will be many more diseases like Covid-19.

Virtual Connections and Marketing will save you from bankruptcy.

Also, you want to master "branding" , "packaging" and "promotions" the tripartite strategies for business success.

Mastery 5: "Financial Intelligence & Mastery"

Mastery 6: "GoalSetting & Activity Management"

Mastery 7: "Personal Mastery".

What does personal Mastery mean?

It means Personal Discovery + Personal Development.

It means handling your "emotions".

Personal Mastery is a skill not readily available and so anyone who has it, will be hot cake!

How do you handle situations?

How do you handle disappointment?

How do you handle success?

Do you allow success to get into your head or failure to attack your heart?

So these are the 7 Masteries:

1. Visioneering

2. Communication

3. Leadership

4. Selling

5. Financial Intelligence and Mastery.

6. GoalSetting & Activity Management.

7. Personal Mastery.

Scale yourself 1 to 10.

1 being poor and 10 being excellent.

Determine where you are at the moment.

Then make up your mind that the year 2021 is the year of "Upgrade".

For example, if you are on 4 in Visioneering, make up your mind to step up to 6 or 7.

Look for books on all these 7.

Look for mentors in these 7 areas.

Attend virtual and physical training in these areas.

Copyrights: © 2021

THE POWER OF MONEY

Winston Churchill said : "I took the taxi one day and went to the BBC office for an interview ... and when I arrived I asked the driver to wait for me for forty minutes until I got back!  But the driver apologized and said 'I can't because I have to go home to listen to Winston Churchill's speech'..... Churchill says he was amazed and delighted with this man's desire to listen to his conversation!  

So, Churchill took ten pounds and gave to the taxi driver without telling the driver whom he was. When he collected the money he said: "I'll wait hours until you come back, sir! And let Churchill go to hell!!!

Principles have been modified against money.  Nations were sold for money. Honor was sold for money. Brothers were sold for money. Families were split for the money. Friends have been separated for the money. People were killed for the money!  

Who gave so much power to money and made people their slaves?

So be careful about money! Do have a splendid 2021!!

Copyrights: © 2021

The first half of Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography makes some things abundantly clear

He had no natural ability to play the guitar. In fact, after his first lessons, he quitted, unable to play a note.

He had no singing talent. Every group he was part of needed a lead singer, and it wasn’t him.

And just about everyone dismissed him. Audiences walked out, his first agent simply stopped returning his calls and bandmates gave up and moved on.

He didn’t even know how to drive a car. Not only wasn’t he dating in high school, he wasn’t even cruising around town, being a charismatic rock star.

Talent is overrated. Skill is acquirable.

Showing up is something almost every creative leader has in common. In business, in the arts, in society. Consistently shipping the work, despite the world’s reaction, despite the nascent nature of our skill, despite the doubts.

And community is essential. The people you surround yourself with can reinforce your story, raise the bar and egg you on.

After the fact, the community becomes an integral part of your story of success. But first, you have to commit to the journey.

Copyrights: © 2021

TIME FOR CERTIFICATION OF ALL SETTLERS IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Oh Yes it can be done. And l don't understand why our Governors and Local Government Authorities are lethargic about it.

Is it for lack of funds, ideas or a case of compromise as many people say or plain complacency.?

Happily the Presidency itself has come out to admit that a lot of the Atrocities ascribed to Fulanis were done by Foreign Fulanis.

And lately Buhari has appealed to the Traditional Rulers through the Ooni to separate Criminal Fulanis from genuine Local Fulanis that we are accustomed to as fellow citizens.

So what then is next if not immediate certification and verification of the Foreigners in our localities.

What and how to go about it ? Simple.

Let the Government of each State summon it's Council Authorities and give them marching Orders on registration of all non indigenes in their Local Government Areas.

A Ledger for each Ward with directives and ultimatum for all non indigenes to register with Columns on details of Bio-data and phone numbers, State and Local Government of Origin backed by Identification Certificate obtained from Local Government of Origin, Particulars of the Host Community Landlord,  Occupation of the Tenant and each of his dependant. Vehicle particulars if any.

For counter checking, let each Amotekun formation through a special Elite Squad have access to the Ledgers for constant monitoring.

It makes certification and verification of claims easy for Security and Surveillance easy.

Honestly the State Government and Local Government Authorities have a lot to do in safeguarding the lives, properties and well-being of all who reside in the State.

All the requirements of GSM synchronisation with BVN and National ID Cards are Security measures which should inspire all.

By Otunba Ojo-Williams.

IS IFÁ POLYTHEISM?

One of the areas of confusion or contention for those that have embraced foreign religions is that ancient Africans worship more than one God and so they can be said to be worshiping false gods. It is really important to correct this notion. 

First, the idea of a "false god" is not one to be given much consideration. On what basis will a mortal claim to know what a false god is or what a true god is? The worshipers of the gods are to be left to worship their gods in peace without the need to seek to guilt trip them into converting them. To each his own faith.

The second is the idea of polytheism. This idea was not well articulated in the books of the early missionaries who came to Africa. Unfortunately, their books happen to be the knowledge that majority of the people in the western world got exposed to. It also served as the literature used in schools to teach even African Children. This act has estranged many Africans from their true root.

The idea that African religion worships many gods is one which has to be put in context. The first thing to note is that Africa is a very large continent that plays home to diverse tribes with each tribe having their own tongue and culture. One of the largest original African tribes is the Yoruba people. Their religion is Ifá. 

In Ifá, there is only one being who is regarded as GOD, he goes by the name Olódùmarè or Elédùmarè. He is surrounded by a host of Òrìṣàs (Divinities) which he created as Co-administrators of the cosmos and he made them leaders over mortals. He established it so that each mortal will look up to their guardian Òrìṣàs for what they need and the Òrìṣàs will dispense to them (the mortal) what they need according to the Authority that he (Olódùmarè) has given to the Òrìṣàs. 

The Òrìṣàs were first sent down from heaven to create the earth and make physical habitation possible, after which the mortals came. The Òrìṣàs existed physically with the mortals and they went back to Ọ̀run (Heaven) when their work was done, leaving their mortal servants to continue the creative work on earth while they guide them from the invisible realm of the heavens.

This is the belief/practice of the Yoruba people that foreigners who are either impatient to develop a full understanding or are on an outright mission to disorganize the people's belief system refer to as Polytheism.

The followers of each Òrìṣà pray through their Òrìṣàs to Olódùmarè for favor, protection, provision and guidance. During their rituals, they sing the praise songs of their Òrìṣàs. The Oríkì (praise songs) could be likened to Psalms that are sung from the depth of the soul of one who knows his Òrìṣà deeply and is grateful for the goodness that his Òrìṣà has delivered to him or her.

The traditional worshipers never refer to their Òrìṣàs as Olódùmarè (God). The concept of a small letter "g" God is a foreign invention. Yorubas have only one God and a host of Òrìṣàs which he set over men as their protectors, guardians, rulers and teachers, while he himself rule over the Òrìṣàs. 

In other words, he created the Òrìṣàs to serve him (in ordering the cosmos together with him) and he created the mortals to serve the Òrìṣàs. While the mortals activities are restricted to their time on earth, the activities of the Òrìṣàs cut throughout the entire universe and all its solar systems.

This is the simple explanation of the Yoruba religion. It is not Polytheism. It doesn't recognize many Gods or gods as the foreigners claimed or perceived, it recognizes only ONE God (Olódùmarè) and the Òrìṣàs. 

Ire o.

Copyrights: © 2021

The Origin of Dudu to Dude

The American word "dude" refers to a man (particularly a cool masculine man). It was popularized in California by Black cowboys during the western expansion in the early-mid 1800s. It derives from the Yoruba word "dudu" which means "Black." It was originally a term of endearment between Black males showing verbal recognition and respect for being Black.

Many of these Black cowboys were themselves of Yoruba origin, particularly from the Oyo Empire where there were many equestrians working in the calvary of the Alaafin (Emperor).

This painting is by Yoruba artist Oladejo Lawal. It is of traditional Nigerian equestrians. The best equestrians were in the calvary. When the Oyo Empire collapsed in the early 1800s, many Oyo calvarymen (along with Hausa) were captured by European infantry slaveraiders and brought to the Americas.

Many of these Oyo equestrians on the southeast USA's plantations, were able to steal a horse and escape to the Western USA. The enslaved who escaped but were not previously trained to ride horses well and in combat in Africa, usually did not make it far before being captured. Only the African equestrians who had already known calvary life survived the journey for freedom to the West Coast. These African equestrians united with each other in bands to protect their freedom, they were the first cowboys, the dudu (Black)...the dude.

Source

Ifa: Orisa Scientific Spirituality

NOT TOO LATE TO LEARN

1. You're taking it personal (wrong), You're taking it personally (correct).

2. He is matured (wrong), He is mature (correct), He has matured (correct).

3. The reason is because (wrong), The reason is that (correct).

4. Night vigil (wrong), Vigil (correct).

5. Traveling bag (wrong), Travel Bag (correct).

6. As at when due (wrong), As and when due (correct).

7. Be rest assured (wrong), Rest assured (correct).

8. I'm hearing you (wrong), I can hear you (correct).

9. My names are (wrong), My name is (correct).

10. All manners of (wrong), All manner of (correct).

11. She delivered a baby boy (wrong), She was delivered of a baby boy (correct).

12. Lacking behind (wrong), Lagging behind (correct).

13. Crack your brain (wrong), Rack your brain (correct).

14. Return it back (wrong), Return it (correct).

15. Ghana comprises of 10 regions (wrong), Ghana comprises 10 regions (correct), Ghana is comprised of 10 regions (correct).

16. Wake keeping (wrong), Wake keep (wrong), Wake (correct).

17. Exercise patience (wrong), Be patient (correct).

18. Barbing saloon (wrong), Barber shop (correct).

19. I forgot my phone at home (wrong), I left my phone at home (correct).

20. Borrow me your pen (wrong), Lend me your pen (correct), May I borrow your pen (correct).

21. More grease to your elbow (wrong), More power to your elbow (correct).

22. Funny enough, I've never liked him (wrong), Funnily enough, I've never liked him (correct).

23. My body is scratching me (wrong), My body itches (correct).

24. Letterhead paper (wrong), Letterhead (correct).

25. I'm not your mate (wrong), We're not mates (correct).

26. You're mannerless (wrong), You're ill-mannered (correct).

27. Horn at the car in front (wrong), Honk at the car in front (correct).

28. Happy birthday in arrears (wrong), Happy belated birthday (wrong), Belated happy birthday (correct).

29. I will sleep at 10pm (wrong), I will go to bed at 10pm (correct).

30. Just when I thought I have seen it all (wrong), Just when I thought I had seen it all (correct).

31. First come, First serve (wrong), First come, First served (correct).

32. I have a running nose (wrong), I have a runny nose (correct).

33. Working Experience (wrong), Work Experience (correct).

Copyrights: © 2021

The Story of Alaafin Oluewu

The Alaafin Oluewu is one of the most tragic as his life was messed up by Ilorin. This vibrant king made spirited attempts to recover Ilorin but things turned around along the way & it was so bad that he had to visit Ilorin to bow before the Emir, Shita (who was the son of Alimi), in homage.

It was one of the most disgraceful points in the history of Alaafinate & many even avoid talking about it or do so with great sadness. When Oluewu bowed before Emir Shita, he seized the royal Gbedu drum saying there can be no two kings in his dominion. Oluewu never wanted to pay homage in the first place but his chiefs had advised him to stoop to conquer. Ilorin was that powerful then or let me say Oyo was that weak. Shita deeply humiliated Oluewu so much so that he stormed to Oyo & flatly refused Shita's second call for homage. Basorun & Asipa told him to go, Alaafin vowed that would happen over his dead body. He then instructed his chiefs not to also go but Basorun & Asipa disobeyed & went to bow before Shita in Ilorin.

Alaafin Oluewu remained unbowed & refused to accept Islam but he decided to take decisive steps. So, in 1835, he restructured his army & formed one of the most formidable military alliances called the Oyo-Borgu Military Alliance. He reached out to leader of the Borgu (Bariba) Empire (Borgawa Eleduwe Warikura) north of the River Niger & they joined hands to face their common enemy: Fulani emirate in Ilorin.

They commenced battle & Alaafin Oluewu led the forces. They recorded tremendous victory at first, it was almost certain he was going to reclaim Ilorin. It was on the last leg of his battle to take over the northern portion of Yorubaland (particularly Ilorin) from the Fulanis that he was killed. Alaafin Oluewu's death was orchestrated by Yoruba elders like Okedare Lanloke (Chief of Ogodo), Prince Atiba of Ago, Timi the Bamigbaiye of Ede & others. They went against what they had initially planned together with Alaafin Oluewu & they leaked the battle plan to the Fulanis. Some of them even opened the corridor for Fulani soldiers to penetrate. Oluewu did not know that his army had sold out to his enemy. The Borgus that he formed alliance with supported him till the very end but treachery & betrayal from his own side did not allow him achieve his dream & he was killed in battle. The Bariba warrior king Warikura also died fighting on Oluewu's side.

This is not a full piece, I am just writing briefly because I think Kabiyesi Oluewu's effort is not really well-known. He is one of my favourite kings & I admire his resilience. Many Alaafins made a lot of effort to free other Yorubas, another example is Alaafin Ojigi (1724-1735) who tried to free Igbomina Yorubas who were captured by the Nupes. More history coming out very soon!!!

Copyrights: © 2021

How We Nigerians Undo Ourselves

Foreigners come to Nigeria to establish companies with intentions to pay good starting salary not less than 100k. They employ Nigerian managers. Nigerian managers convince them to reduce the salary to 30k telling them Nigerians are hardworking and they will cope. Foreigners abide by that knowing it’s to their own advantage and begin with a starting salary. Nigerian workers complain about the salary. Nigerian managers tell foreigners to ignore the wailing of their fellow Nigerians that anybody who doesn’t want to work can go and they’ll find a new person. Foreigners capitalize on that and grow strong wings to exploit Nigerians. Their papers are expired.

Immigration comes for them. Nigerian managers tell them to calm down that they just need to bribe their way through. They pay, and the immigration officers accept. Exploitation continues. Workers get beaten and injured with physical and mechanical abuses. Foreigner tries to help, Nigerian managers corner the money for treatment and give workers money for paracetamol. Foreigners employ security men (Nigerian police) and turn them to errand boys. They do all sort of servitude to their foreign employers because of inferiority complex.

They don’t mind killing their fellow Nigerian if the foreigner demands. Foreigners sexually abuse female workers. Nigerian managers give them the go ahead and sack workers Who don’t comply. Harassment and molestation at work. Foreigners capitalize on the chances and become oppressors to Nigerians.

And I wonder why we blame foreigners for slavery when our brothers are the mastermind.

Copyrights: © 2021

SEE HOW WE HURT OURSELVES

The Nigerian economy is one of the largest in Africa but would have been on the same scale with China and the USA had we combined foreign and indigenous economies to push up economic sustainability.

Below is a list of companies operating in Nigeria in the early 60s.

1. African Timber & Plywood ( Nigeria ) Ltd, Sapele.

2. Paterson, Zochonis &Co. Ltd.

3. Hazlehurst & Sons ( W. A.) Ltd.

4. Unilever Export Ltd.

5. Anglo French Trading Company.

6. The West African Lines Conference.

7. Kingsway.

8. Nigerian Breweries.

9. Esther Beauty Parlour.

10. C.F. A. O.

11. Grizi ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

12. Engineering & Metal Industries Ltd.

13. Pepsi cola.

14. Bhojsons Departmental Store.

15. BP ( West Africa ) Ltd.

16. Sick - Hagemeyer ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

17. Buck ( Nigeria ) Iron & Steel Merchants.

18. Lion of Africa Insurance Co. Ltd.

19. Texaco Africa Ltd.

20. Bank of West Africa Ltd.

21. BOAC - British Overseas Airways Corporation.

22. Brazendale & Co Ltd.

23. Cow & Gate Milk/ Food.

24. Nigeria National Line.

25. Lennards ( Lagos ) Ltd.

26. Elder Dempster Lines Ltd.

27. Air France.

28. Lea & Perrins.

29. Nigeria Tobacco Company Ltd.

30. UTC.

31. M. El -Kalio Transport Ltd.

32. Mitchels ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

33. The Shell- BP Petroleum Development Company Of Nigeria.

34. Palm Line Ltd.

35. Rolls - Royce Limited ( Oil Engine Division ).

36. J. Allen & Company Ltd.

37. Nigeria Hotels Ltd.

38. Hercules Bicycle.

39. A.G Leventis & Company Ltd.

40. Apapa Chemical Industries Ltd.

41. Gulf Hotels Ltd.

42. Federal Palace Hotel Ltd.

43. Guinea Construction Company Ltd.

44. The Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd.

45. Leventis Motors Ltd.

46. Usha ( Makers of Sewing Machines & Fans.

47. Chellarams.

48. Ovaltine.

49. Boots Pure Drug Company Ltd.

50. Bewac.

51. SCOA Motors.

52. Glaxo Allenburys ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

53. Thomas Wyatt & Son ( W.A. ) Ltd.

54. G. Gottschalck & Co.

55. Caleb Brett And Son ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

56. Daimler- Benz A.G. Stuttgart.

57. Armel’s Transport Ltd.

58. Hawley Russel & Baker Ltd.

59. G. Cappa Ltd.

60. Nigeria Cement Company Ltd.

61. Pimms.

62. Development Corporation ( W.A.) Ltd.

63. Bhojsons & Co.

64. W. Biney & Co. ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

65. John Holt & Co.

66. Cambridge University Press.

67. S. Nassar & Sons ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

68. Heinekens ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

69. The Nigerian Plastics Company Ltd.

70. Wiedemann & Waters ( Nigeria ) Limited.

71. Electrolux Limited.

72. Assan Umbrella Factory.

73. Lucky Drinks.

74. Taylor Woodrow.

75. Total Oil Products ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

76. Lever Brothers ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

77. Messrs J. T. Chanrai & Co. ( Nigeria ) Limited.

78. Shell.

79. Motoren & Craft Wagen Fabriken ( Manufacturers of “ Krupp” Range of Vehicles).

80. Carl F. W. Borgward ( Manufacturers of “Isabella “ car ).

81. The Nigerian Technical Company Ltd.

82. Semperit Tyre Manufacturers.

83. G. B. Ollivant ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

84. Guinness ( Nigeria ) Ltd.

85. Alagbon Industries Ltd. Aba.

86. Leventis Motors Ltd.

87. Fiat S.P.A.

88. Oredola Okeya Trading Co.

89. Vivian , Younger & Bond Ltd.

90. United Africa Company.

91. Barclays Bank D.C.O.

92. Strabag ( Nigeria ) Ltd

93. J. Allen & Co.

94. Fraissinet & Fabre Line.

95. UAC.

96. C. F. C Furniture  ( W.A. ) Co. Ltd.

97. Law Union & Rock.

98. Cope’s Pools Ltd.

99. Cappa And D’Alberto Ltd.

100. Royal Exchange Assurance

101. Mobil.

102. Beck’s Beer.

103. Carrier refrigeration.

Mentioned above are the elite companies that put out adverts in the Daily Times at Independence celebration on October 1st 1960 congratulating the government and people of Nigeria.

Today so many of those companies are no longer in existence. Over time they have been victims of mismanagement brought about by indigenization and other hare brained policies not well thought out before implementation.

Foreign owners and managers of the companies were hurriedly sent away and the companies handed over to Nigerians many of whom may not have had the know how to manage such organizations. Today we are the worse for it. Here we are saddled with mega unemployment and majority of our people looking for job where they do not exist.

When these decisions were taken we were blinded by nationalism or outright selfishness and greed. We wanted to own what we didn’t create. Blue chip companies that would have grown to employ millions of our people were sacrificed on the alter of ‘we must take over’. Imagine what Daily Times would have been today if we had not taken it from the original owners. It would have continued to set professional and ethical standards, a standard that would have rivaled The New York Times. Other businesses and organizations would have sprung from it. The Times Institute for training journalists would perhaps have by now become world class rather than being history. Maybe by now DT would have had a newsprint manufacturing plant and a big tree plantation to feed it. Its property development arm that owned several buildings in Ikoyi and mainland would have gone into real estate and developed estates.

Growing up in the 60s and 70s my holiday trip from Ekiti to Ibadan was not complete without visits  to Kingsway. Well stocked, a sparkling clean environment and an ever functioning escalator, With my cousins we took trips there daily going up and down the escalator with stories to tell my school mates in Ado Ekiti when school resumes. Imagine having Kingsway since then and with presence in all towns in Nigeria. There perhaps would have been no need bringing Shoprite and Spar from South Africa. Imagine the spin of effect of that on agriculture and manufacturing as well as distribution, and stock management, and supply chain expertise. Millions of Nigerians would have had direct and indirect employment. Don’t mind me, just having random thoughts.

Copyrights: © 2021

Germany Bid Farewell to Merkel with Six Minutes of Warm Applause

The Germans elected her to lead them, and she led 80 million Germans for 18 years with competence, skill, dedication and sincerity.

During these eighteen years of her leadership of the authority in her country, no transgressions were recorded against her .. She did not assign any of her relatives a secretary .. She did not claim that she was the maker of glories .. She did not  get millions out of her, nor did anyone cheer her life, she did not receive charters and pledges, she did not fight those who preceded her and did not dissolve her.  The blood of her fellow countrymen .. She did not utter nonsense .. She did not appear in the alleys of Berlin to be photographed.

It is (Angelica Merkel) the woman who was dubbed "The Lady of the World" and was described as the equivalent of six million men.

Yesterday, Merkel left the party leadership position and handed it over to those after her, and Germany and its German people are in the best condition.

The reaction of the Germans was unprecedented in the history of the Germans .. The whole people went out to the balconies of the houses and clapped for her spontaneously for 6 continuous minutes of warm applause, without popular poets, scum, scum, impudence, colorists  and climbers ..

Germany stood as one body bidding farewell to the leader of Germany, a chemical physicist who was not tempted by the fashion or the lights and did not buy real estate, cars, yachts and private planes, knowing that she is from former East Germany ..

She left her post after leaving Germany at the top .. She left and her relatives did not repeat (We are the elders of the country) .. Eighteen years and did not change her old clothes ..

God be upon this silent leader.

God be upon the greatness of Germany ..

At a press conference, a female journalist asked Merkel: We notice that your suit is repeated, don’t you have another?

She replied: I am a government employee and not a model.

At another press conference, they asked her: Do you have housemaids who clean the house, prepare meals and so on?

Her answer was: No, I do not have female workers and I do not need them.  My husband and I do this work at home every day.

Then another journalist asked: Who is washing the clothes, you or your husband?

Their answer: I arrange the clothes, and my husband is the one who operates the washing machine, and it is usually at night, because electricity is available and there is no pressure on it, and the most important thing is to take into the account the  neighbors from the inconvenience, and the wall separating our apartment from the neighbors is thick.

She said: To them, I expected you to ask me about the successes and failures in our work in the government.

Mrs.  Merkel lives in a normal apartment like any other citizen .. This apartment she lives in before being elected Prime Minister of Germany and she did not leave it and does not own a villa, servants, swimming pools and gardens ..

This is Merkel, the Prime Minister of Germany, the largest economy in Europe!!

HERDSMEN CRISIS

If I want to rare cows, I will buy an expanse of land where I can grow the kinds of food that my cows will eat. 

I won't take my cows into other people's farms.

For the villages where herdsmen go to destroy farmlands, these are the questions to ask...

1. Who is the authority in that village? Is it a king or a baálẹ́?

2. What has he done about it?

3. Does he know that there are Fulanis in the forests of the land where he is a king or a baálẹ̀ over? Does he know how many they are?

4. Has it been confirmed that an herdsman within the geography where he is a king or a baálẹ̀ have grazed their cows into another citizen's farm?

Under normal circumstance, that is stealing. 

What has he done about the case?

5. Did the herdsman pay for the damages done to the other person's farm?

If yes, that's settled. 

If no, then what is the verdict of the baálẹ̀ or the king?

6. Did the king or the baálẹ̀ say the farmer should take heart? That is, no justice?

7. Did the king or the baálẹ̀ discharge the herdsman and didn't make them pay for the damages?

If the king or the baálẹ̀ discharged the herdsman, then the village or the settlement should commence action on relieving the king or the baálẹ̀ of the stool he is occupying.

If the king or the baálẹ̀ judged that the herdsman should pay but the herdsman refused, the king or the baálẹ̀ should expel the herdsman from the land and declare the herdsman a criminal fit for the sentence of expulsion from the land in the name of the deities of the land.

If the herdsman leaves, the farmer should forgive and return to his farm. 

If the herdsman does not leave, he should be given a final note of warning to leave the land by the king or the baálẹ̀. 

If he still doesn't leave after the second warning, all his cows should be killed.

Knowing the herdsman, he will want to retaliate, if he retaliates, he should be killed too and his corpse should not be buried but hung on a tree to allow decay in public glare.

Kings and baálẹ̀s of Yoruba land should not rely on government security apparatus to dispense their judgments, they should be close to the alálẹ̀s (land owners) and operate on their authority and not authority from Abuja or the state capitals.

The Irunmoles are sufficient to protect Yoruba land, we don't need the FG or the State Government. IF they choose to be irresponsible, they are dispensable.

If there are kidnappings, instead of generalizing that all herdsmen are criminals, let the kings and baálẹ̀s use the Irunmoles find the culprit of the criminal actions. Let all Awos who are sure that they know how to do this make themselves available for social use whenever they hear criminal cases involving kidnapping. 

It is the time to draw upon the indigenous wisdom and knowledge of our tradition to solve the issues that confront us.

Those who lead us don't appear to know what needs to be done, or they are not willing to do it. Please, take it to heart; our protection obviously has to come from us. The government appears to have no interest in defending the people that they bought votes from. let us get our heads in order and not expect anything from the government.

Half a word is enough for the wise.

By Awo Owonrin-Pota

I Have Read Your Call for Peace

Dr Aborode the PhD holder and farmer killed by Fulanis at Igangan.

For years the Fulani and the Yorubaland Farmers have had occasional contention over grazing but it was not a threat to Yorubaland Farmers livelihood in terms of the scope until 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari was elected into office.

Since then it took an unprecedented acceleration that has brought poverty, misery, unleashed mayhem and destroyed SW Nigeria.

I am a farmer. I saw it all and raised the alarm way back in 2015. I had to Shoot their Cows on their entering my property after their Bororo leader decided to test me even after I fired 2 warning shots into the Air and into the Ground.

What I observed that day in December 2015 was “ Combat Tradecraft “ of trained terrorist. Their leader crouched and cupped his ear from 200 yards looking at my direction to decipher the type of weaponry I had, all the while with an AK-47 slung over his left shoulder.

He moved his Cattle further into my Farm. I let the Huge female Cow move well away to his left and from a range of 50 Yards, I sent a bullet into its abdomen. The Huge Cow shuddered and galloped back in the direction of the Leader who had brought out his AK - 47 and transferred it to his Right Shoulder. I had my Rifle Telescope trained on him the instant after I belly shot his Huge Cow. I wanted to give him the honor of the 1 st shot before I would shoot the AK-47 out of his Right shoulder.

Something made him change his mind. and he disengaged his hostile intentions returned the Rifle to his left armpit gesticulated to the Cows and his 3 other colleagues and ran away in a cloud of dust.

It wasn’t over, they returned and tested me at set distance time and time again 300 yards, 400 yards,500 yards and 550 yards and each time I deliberately belly shot 2-3 of their Cattle at each of the distances. The fact that they tested me at specific distances showed me these are Combat trained Bororo Fulani. I had sent for the Police to file a formal Police report after the 1 st incidence in 2015 December.

The Police inspector told me that they had seized AK-47 assault Rifles from Fulani’s on 9 occasions and arrested them Only to receive Telephone calls from Abuja instructing them to be released. After the incessant visits, I had to increase my security detail from the 2 previously to a reasonable number. The security reported to me that 2 Fulani on Motorcycles were stationed at my  front gate during day time hours in the Bush on the other side of the A1 Road my Main Gate.

One day, I took hearing protection and a Heavy Caliber Elephant Rifle with a Muzzle Break to my Front Gate Area and released a Thunderous Shot onto the air. The stunned Fulani Spies scampered into the Bush and returned to hop on their motorcycles and ride off. I ordered the Top of my gates to be sealed off with Steel sheets and my Bullet Proof Landcrete Brick fence be increased in height to 9ft to 11 ft  from the 7-8 ft previously.

They now started tormenting my Neighbors to where after an Assault and Arson in 2017-18 on our 30+ Acre Rice planting neighborhood consortium , I stopped planting Rice. If you wonder how Rice went from N7,500 to N35,000 per bag. I just gave you the Answer.

After the assault in which one of my Rice planting neighbors was almost decapitated , I had to intervene after treating him and have one of the Assailants arrested. It was a good thing I stayed in the DPO’s Office,while he was being processed.

Within 30 minutes, a Fulani Man appeared carrying himself with confidence and an air of arrogance and Authority arrived. His Blue Guinea Brocade Agbada / Babariga was well starched and ironed. I was told that that was the Local Seriki Fulani. The way he ignored my presence as he interacted with an air of condescension with the DPO made me conclude that he was ic of the Fulani’s who were infiltrated by foreign Bororo’s with AK-47’s.

The DPO returned and tried to plead with me, but I stuck to my Guns and insisted that the apprehended Assailant be denied bail and charged to Court. 

As I left the premises the Seriki Fulani was under a Fever tree shade on the telephone but he eyed me menacingly. I knew I had to increase my Security and reduce my visibility. The Assailant was charged and jailed for just 6 years.

I have been lucky but at a price. Security personnel licensing and procurement of Defensive Firearms cost me just south of N200,000:00 monthly in Salaries alone. Expensive but I sleep well at Night. But how about other Farmers  that cannot afford security or are not Armed?. They can no longer farm.

I have an associate who lost 250 acres of Maize at his mechanized Farm in Oyo State. His Tractors are lying idle while his staff are unemployed.

Animal feed has gone up 250% because of the Fulani, Unemployment, Petty theft, Crimes like home burglary have become common for place because of the Farms closing down. The Bokolo Armed Robbers have taken over the InSecurity with Kidnapping which has fueled a vicious cycle of Food Insecurity, Personal Insecurity ,Economic Deprivation and Depression in SW Nigeria.

That is the real reason why the 30 million strong Agrarian community in SW Nigeria are fully behind Sunday Igboho. If the Government wants to test their resolve, they have nothing to lose and are dying so they will run no more.

It is a situation the Government allowed to fester and after the #endsars imbroglio, the Farmers went back to their native instincts.

As to how ready they are to secure their freedom?, That is the question that I will advise the Government and the Security including the Military to be careful about.

There is a saying in the African American community. “ Nigger Charlie will Run no more “. The SW Nigerian Farmers will run no more. Sunday Igboho is the least of who they have to worry about. There are 10’s of 1000’s of Sunday Igboho’s in SW Nigeria and they are backed by 10’s of Millions of Nigerians from every single part of Nigeria who see the maintenance of Public Safety in SW Nigeria as their last hope for peace, Security ,progress and Unity.

If the Government listens to the Hawks, and make a wrong move, the retaliation by the Citizenry will become a story that will be told forever. As a Farmer said “ They are not Sowore that Government can just come and arrest at night and throw in jail”.

These people live by the feud. They have a feud with Fulani Brigands and it has to be settled in the way the Farmers understand. 

By John Mabayoje

Fayose speaks on the tension in Oyo State

"Gov. Seyi Makinde should rather use dialogue and persuasion instead of escalating tensions in his own State by calling for the arrest of Sunday Adeyemo.

If FG and some Governors could ‘dialogue’ with Boko Haram terrorists, Gov. Makinde calling all stakeholders to a round-table discussion will not be a misplaced action.

Any attempt to arrest anyone will cause serious threats to the fragile peace in the West and the nation. Above all any unchecked escalation may lead to a state of emergency."

~ Ayo Fayose, Former Ekiti State Governor

Whose Daughter Are You?

Ex President Obasanjo with the Lady

Meet young lady who appointed herself as personal PA of Ex President Obasanjo after she met him at a conference. She’s been his PA till now.

Life will only give you what you want.

Here’s her story:

“I was determined to serve one of the greatest leaders in Africa. So I positioned myself front row. I sat in the seat reserved for a @thesundaytimes journalist – my apologies your correspondent arrived late.

I made eye contact with Mr Olusegun throughout the entire event. From the start to finish. Once the event was over. Guests and fellow panelists wanted to take pictures and engage with Pres. Olusegun Obasanjo.

I stormed onto the stage and said, excuse me: “No more pictures! Can we get him into a private room, with a glass of water? In 10 minutes he’ll resume to discuss matters and entertain the press”

He followed me & when we got into the room he asked: “Who’s daughter are you?”

I responded “My father isn’t  anyone you know. He’s Just a normal Nigerian citizen who relocated to the UK for a better life”.

He chuckled and said “so how can I help you?”

I said “well I’m your new PA. I’m going to serve you”

I’ve been serving him since that date.

Moral of the story: Opportunities don’t always come to you. Sometimes you have to create your own opportunities.

Copyrights: © 2021

Joe Biden Was My Best Man. Now He's My President

Richard "Mouse" Smith, left, with President Joe Biden, Madeleine Albright and Adam McBride sometime in the mid '90's. Smith is a Civil Rights leader in Delaware who has been friends with Biden since they were both young and when Biden was a lifeguard at the pool in Smith's neighborhood. Biden was best man at his wedding. Andre Chung—The Washington Post/Getty Images

I met Joe Biden in the early 1960s. He was 19. I was 14.

I was raised in a poor, poor Black family. At home, I had no food at the table sometimes. In those days especially, most folks were afraid to come to a neighborhood like mine. But Joe was not.

He was a lifeguard at my swimming pool. I remember him smiling as he walked in.

Joe was only one of three or four white teenagers who would come hang out on this side of the tracks. We’d play basketball and softball, and we’d swim together. He was a person we could trust; he was like a family member.

One day, a man named Cornpop was bouncing on the diving board. It was against the rules, but we were young and we loved breaking rules. Joe, however, blew his whistle at Cornpop.

Now there were many gangs at the swimming pool and Cornpop was supposedly the leader of one of the “baddest” gangs in town, called the Romans. But Joe didn’t back down, and Cornpop was not happy about it. I remember Cornpop threatening Joe, saying his gang would cut him up.

I ran up to Joe and I said, “Man, don’t worry about it. Just go home. You’re O.K.” We knew, as a Black community, that we couldn’t put our hands on white folks. So, to avoid trouble, I told Joe, “Go on home. Come back tomorrow.”

I was a gang leader back in the day. I was not scared of other gangs, and I surely wouldn’t let Cornpop, or anyone, harm my new best friend.

Smith displays some of the photos documenting his work as a Civil Rights leader and his decades long friendship with former Vice President Joe Biden near the pool where they first met as young men in Wilmington, Del. on July 07, 2019 Andre Chung—The Washington Post/Getty Images

That was the kind of amity Joe and I shared at that age. What I didn’t foresee was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. In many ways, Joe became a mentor. He forever shaped who I am today. He changed my life.

When Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, our state of Delaware was up in flames. Rioters stormed the cities. But I watched as Joe sat down with politicians and pastors to figure out some way to bring peace to Wilmington, which was under siege by the National Guard. Joe was a healer. He brought love, care and respect into our community.

Joe received the Martin Luther King Award a few years later at Ezion-Mount Carmel, a nearby church. He came out of the church, crying. “Mouse,” he said. (My friends call me “Mouse.”) “I haven’t done enough for the Black community. I need to do more.”

Joe had already done a lot for us, but seeing how much he meant to the Black community reinforced his dedication to civil rights. He had always recognized that racism plagued our communities, and that we as Black folks were not getting our fair share.

He promised me that we would always have his ear. He promised me we’d always have a seat at the table. And Joe, as a politician and as a friend, never made promises he would not keep. When folks asked for help, he’d always get back to them. And if there was ever anything he couldn’t do, he was always honest about it.

In 1984, on a snowy Saturday morning, some 300 or so people attended my wedding. The plan was for Councilman Gary Hutt to be my best man, but at the last second, Joe, who was now a U.S. senator, stood up and politely moved him aside. Joe looked at the crowd and said, “I’m Mouse’s best man.”

For much of my life, I got to experience the kind of person Joe really is. Joe cares about people. He feels the pain that other people feel. He wants to change people’s lives for the better, even though it can be strenuous in politics.

On Tuesday, I hugged my friend goodbye before he departed for Washington, D.C. The Secret Service was not too happy with me. Joe said, “Man, you’re gonna get me in trouble!” But it’s incredible to think how things have changed, from the swimming pool to the White House. It just makes you realize how any of us can achieve anything.

I have no doubt that President Biden will be the President Americans so desperately need. In my mind, he’s been ready to be President since he was 29 years old! But in all seriousness, I know that in his heart he believes he can make the changes necessary for our nation, from racial justice to education, health care to climate change.

Joe, as a politician and as a friend, never made promises he would not keep.

It is said that our democracy is only as strong as the American people themselves. President Lincoln himself warned that a house divided cannot stand. We have to realize that the health of our country will never be saved by retreating to our opposite corners, and President Biden understands that. He understood this since the day he crossed those tracks to come to our Black swimming pool.

As Senator and again as Vice President, Joe asked me to go find Cornpop. He wanted to offer an apology for the confrontation at the swimming pool back in the 60s. Joe wanted to make peace with Cornpop. So I went to go look for him both times back home in Delaware, only to eventually learn that Cornpop had already passed. I share this story because it reflects greatly on the character of our newly inaugurated President. He’s a man of decency and tremendous integrity.

When I said goodbye on Tuesday, I didn’t know whether to call him President Biden or President-elect, or Joe. To me, he’s always been Joe. But now he’s more than that. He’s the 46th President of the United States.

By Richard "Mouse" Smith

January 20, 2021 5:03 PM EST

Contact us at letters@time.com.

TIME Ideas hosts the world's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. We welcome outside contributions. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.

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YORUBA SERMON FROM OWONRIN OGBE

Yoruba sermon! 

Ifá wípé:

Bí a bá gbọn aki dá gbọn 

Bí a bá gọ̀ aki dá gọ̀ 

Ẹni ba gbọn títí, a gọ̀ síbi kan 

Ẹni ba gọ̀ títí a gbọn síbi kan 

Bí ọgbọ́n bá parapọ̀ a má ye dẹrun. 

Dáa fún Oluwo Awomosu tó padà má kọ́ ifá lọwọ ọmọ a ná.....

Ifa wípé bí a bá jí ọgbọ́n ni kí a má kọ́ ara wa

Kí a má fi kùtùkùtù p'ilẹ̀ wéré. 

Ifa- Owonrin-ogbe 

Ifá says:

No one has the  monopoly of wisdom 

The cleverest have his limitations 

The dullard too have limited scale of wisdom

organised knowledge is the basis of science 

Divine for the leader of the Awo's who ended up learning Ifá sermon from a childish person. 

Ifá says, we should endeavour to share knowledge and wisdom when we wake in the morning, and not to set foundation of stupidity or madness in the dawn. 

Extracted from- Owonrin-ogbe

Copyrights: © 2021

ỌJỌ́BỌ̀: PRAY FOR RESTORATION

If not for colonial bastardization, Ifá is not something to be ashamed of and Ìtẹfá is something to be celebrated. When you come out of Igbodu, your friends and family ought to celebrate with you, and to congratulate you because of what life begins to mean to you afterwards. This is the essence that is rebranded in the Christian baptism.

The Central essence (Cardinal philosophy) of Ifá Religion is Ìwà Pẹ̀lẹ́, which in real concept is perfect alignment with the universe; this is the purpose of Ìtẹfá and a life time of consistent divination. Divination becomes necessary in our lives to help us retain/maintain alignment with the force of Destiny ruling our life so that we don't go astray as we are being influenced by carnal impulses. And when we do inevitably go astray, to find out early enough and be realigned through Ẹbọ and Ètùtù before the disalignment manifests in something too big for us to handle.

This central philosophy is never something to be ashamed of, but for the effect of colonization. In fact, it is the religion that the world needs at the moment as it (the world) continues to spiral down; falling in morals and increasing in uncertainty. Can you imagine that there are people who think that the world population is too much and that they need to do something to control the population of the world so that the economy of the world can be sustained? This is a plan being hatched by some of the less than 3% of the world population that control the wealth of the entire world. Such arrogance, selfishness and depravity living in one soul.

The reason our own (African) ancestors lived in abundance, relative peace and longevity is because they ordered their lives around their own Ifá and not Hollywood inspired standard of life, not after the speeches of social media motivational speakers or after the dazzling sermons of a pulpit merchant. They ordered it as much as they can after their own Ifá. Note, their OWN Ifá.

We can bring back that life by reorienting ourselves on the truth and value of our spirituality. 

Egungun veneration for instance is to show the connection between us and our direct parents, grand parents and great grandparents that have been translated into the realm of the immortals by the virtue of death after living to a ripe old age. It is a means of bringing into our consciousness that these entities didn't die and fade into oblivion but that they still watch over us and help us in our journey here. In actual essence, we are not complete without them. We owe them our existence. If they didn't walk this earth and give birth to us, we will not be here. 

So, what can be evil in this sort of thoughtful spiritual consciousness when even the laws of nature clearly point out that we must honor our father and mother?

Abandoning our Egungun is tantamount to abandoning an important part of ourselves, it is therefore to be expected that we will not live to the fullness of our potentials. And that's what we see today as we grope for meaning in a world where Olódùmarè has blessed us with the information / wisdom that we need to maximize our journey. 

Olódùmarè didn't abandon us here to grope like we are currently doing, we are the ones who neglected the way of our Orí and until we be restored to our own divine path, we will continue to follow after filthy dreams and illusions. This we have been doing for close to 200 years now since the colonizers and the missionaries came to stylishly take us away from our own way to their own advantage. 

On this day Ọjọ́bọ̀, may Ọba adẹ́dàá cause our confusions to cease and bring us back to restoration.

Copyrights: © 2021

DOES THE MARRIAGE ACT PROHIBIT A SUBSEQUENT MARRIAGE UNDER ISLAMIC LAW?

1.1. This is an address in a case in which Mr. A, now deceased, married Mrs. B under the Marriage Act.  He subsequently married Mrs. C under Islamic Law.

Upon the death of Mr. A, Mrs. C filed an action in a Sharia Court for the distribution of the estate of the deceased under Islamic Law. Mrs. B filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court on the ground that she had a prior marriage under the Act, hence, Mrs. C’s marriage was null and void.

This is Mrs. C’s response to the preliminary objection.

1.1. The argument being proffered by Mrs. B is that because she was married to the deceased under the Marriage Act, then any marriage between the deceased and the Mrs. C is invalid.

However, Mrs. B failed to cite any provision of the Marriage Act that specifically provided that the Mrs. C’s marriage to the deceased under Islamic law is a nullity by virtue of Mrs. B’s marriage under the Marriage Act. This we submit was not an omission. The fact is that there is no such provision.

1.2. In her attempt to show that the marriage of the Mrs. C to the deceased is a nullity, Mrs. B cited the provisions of Sections 27, 34, 36 and 47 of the Marriage Act as well as the case of THE QUEEN VS BATHLOWMEW PRINCEWELL.

None of these sections and case is of any use in support of Mrs. B’s arguments. None of the sections nullifies or render invalid the Mrs. C’s marriage to the deceased under Islamic Law.

1.3. The only section that would probably have been relevant would have been Section 35 of the Marriage Act. This section provides that:

“Any person who is married under this Act, or whose marriage is declared by this Act to be valid, shall be incapable, during the continuance of such marriage, of contracting a valid marriage under customary law; but, save as aforesaid, nothing in this Act contained shall affect the validity of any marriage contracted under or in accordance with any customary law, or in any manner apply to marriages so contracted.”

It is our humble submission that the Provision of Section 35 of the Marriage Act are clear and devoid of any ambiguity. Therefore, the ordinary and natural meaning of the words therein must be given to them. See the case of OLOFU VS ITODO (2010) 18 NWLR (PART 1225) 545 @ 577 PARAS C – D. In this case, the Supreme Court held that:

“Where the provisions of a statute are clear and unambiguous the court is to apply as they are as there is nothing to be interpreted.”

1.4. By the provisions of Section 35 of the marriage Act therefore, a person married under the Act shall be incapable of contracting a subsequent marriage under the customary law. This provision does not mention Islamic Law, which for all intents and purposes is a set of laws distinct and separate from customary law. A clear reading of section 35 of the Marriage Act definitely and without any iota of doubt will exclude marriages contracted under Islamic law. This is predicated on the well know principle of interpretation ‘expression unius est exclusion alterius’. Meaning “The express mention of one thing is the exclusion of another”.

In the case of OJUKWU VS YAR ADUA (2008) 4 NWLR (PART 1078) 435 @ PAGE 461 PARAS B – C The Court of Appeal per Fabiyi JCA (as he then was) explained the principle as follows:

“The express mention of one thing in a statutory provision automatically excludes any other which otherwise would have been included by implication”.  

The implication of this decision on the provisions of section 35 of the Marriage Act is that the express mention of Customary Law therein expressly excludes Islamic Law which otherwise would have been included by implication. Thus, it cannot be implied that a subsequent marriage under Islamic Law is a nullity or void for the purposes of the Act. Therefore, unless there is an express provision preventing a person from contracting a subsequent marriage under Islamic Law, no provision of the Marriage Act can prevent him by implication.

1.5. In any event, the provisions of section 35 of the Marriage Act, to the extent that it legislates against a subsequent marriage under Customary Law after a prior marriage under the Act is unconstitutional and therefore null and void. The section is a provision against the formation of a marriage under Customary law after a prior marriage under the Act. It effectively annuls, nullifies or voids such subsequent marriage.

1.6. The Marriage Act is a law made or deemed to have been made by the National Assembly. The power of the National and State Houses of Assemblies to enact legislations is governed by the provisions of Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. It is under that section that the list of items that the national Assembly and the State Houses of Assemblies can legislate upon is provided for. The section created the Exclusive Legislative List and The Concurrent Legislative list. 

1.7. The Exclusive Legislative List contains items on which only the National Assembly has power to legislate upon while the Concurrent list contains items that both the National and State Houses of Assembly can legislate upon. Anything not contained in the two lists is part of what is termed “The Residual List” and any item in this list can only be legislated upon by the State Houses of Assembly to the exclusion of the National Assembly. Customary Law and Islamic Law are neither in the exclusive nor in the concurrent list. They are therefore matters on which only State Houses of Assemblies can legislate upon. 

1.8. By item 61 on the Exclusive Legislative list, the National Assembly can legislate on:

“The Formation, annulment and dissolution of marriages other than marriages under Islamic Law and Customary law including matrimonial causes relating thereto.”

The implication of this is that the National Assembly cannot make any legislation that will regulate, annul, nullify or void any marriage contracted either under Islamic Law or Customary Law. To the extent that it indirectly sought to prevent the formation of a customary law marriage (albeit after a marriage under the Act) section 35 is unconstitutional null and void. It cannot annul, void or nullify any such customary law marriage.

1.9. The implication of this to the case at hand is that by whatever provision, the Marriage Act cannot regulate, directly or indirectly the formation, annulment or dissolution of the Mrs. C’s marriage under Islamic Law. It cannot nullify or make void the marriage. To the extent that it is alleged to have done, it is unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.

Copyrights: © 2021