ZION B-BC NEWSLETTER. [ A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja.] Vol.32. 23-03-14. THE SWORD OF JEHU AND “PILES OF MESS!” CRUDE OIL THEFT in the Niger Delta region, would continue unabated until the Federal Government began to apprehend and prosecute the eminent personalities involved in this financial crime. This statement was credited to the Delta State Governor who doubles as Chairman the National Economic Council on Crude Oil Theft, during the recent Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference 2014. The Governor who canvassed for the urgent prosecution of the ‘big players’ in the business, also revealed that 80 per cent of the stolen oil was sold in the international market but regrets that only the small oil thieves were being arrested! He is yet to turn over the list of the culprits to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] for the recommended prosecution. *As the battle for supremacy of the Federal troops over the Boko Haram insurgents assumed higher tactical operations in the last week, Peoples Democratic Party’s [PDP], spokesman lamented that those eminent Nigerians who boasted in 2011, to make the country ungovernable for President Jonathan, were the masterminds of the terror being unleashed adding that, Jonathan’s crime was his minority tribe pedigree! He also has not forwarded any list of suspects to the Nigeria Police. *The ‘CIVILIANS’ at the Federal Ministry of Defence are being accused of withholding funds appropriated for military hardware and personnel welfare, to the detriment of the combatants morale at the various ‘battle fronts’ against the insurgency! The Army Generals, who claimed that the shoddy handling of armed forces appropriation, has resulted into the present imbroglio of undermining the fire power, professional capability and integrity of the Joint Task Force. They regarded such civilian intrusion as creating ‘piles of mess’ which has elongated the Boko Haram operation more than necessary and should be cleared without further delay! *Bornu State Governor has insinuated that the JTF were handicapped and that the Boko Haram terrorists possessed better sophisticated weapons! The Civilian Governor had no statistics, only sentiments! *“FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES ON PETROL AND KEROSINE must be totally removed to allow for free flow and distribution of the products to the down-trodden masses because of increasingly dwindling revenue! ” –Minister of Petroleum Resources disclosed at a recent Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Conference in Abuja. If and when the subsidies are removed, Nigerians will pay a minimum N144.66 instead of the present N97.00, per litre of petrol while kerosene will cost N154.36 instead of N50.00, per litre. She also claimed incessant pipeline vandalization as another strong reason for the removal of subsidies! However, she has failed to tell Nigerians whether the TOTAL REMOVAL OF THESE ‘SUBSIDIES’ WILL AUTOMATICALLY STOP PIPELINE VANDALIZATION ACROSS THE NATION! *On Thursday 13 March 2014, the Forum of Commissioners of Finance of the 36 States of the Federation, passed a resolution for the removal of fuel subsidies in view of perceived irregularities in the fuel subsidy regime, and for 2014, as in 2013, Federal Government has budgeted N971Billion, for petrol subsidy. *In respect of Kerosine, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, according to reliable and available records, revealed that a subsidy of over N1Trillion, was paid between 2010 and 2013, whereas payment of subsidies on imported finished products, is an acceptance of failure and bad business in the Petroleum Sector! *Barrels of oil stolen in 2013 according to the Group Managing Director[GMD], of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company [NNPC], was 109.5million, which break-down figures show that 300.000 barrels, were stolen per day! But Royal Dutch Shell, a major foreign oil company says Nigeria loses about $12billion US Dollars or more annually to the activities of oil thieves! *The illegal Excess Crude Account in which extra income made from the sales of crude oil in the international market and above the Budget benchmark, is “saved”, has been depleted from $865billion US dollars, at the end of 2012, to $2.11billion, at the beginning of March, 2014, according to reliable sources, but Finance Minister, claimed on Sunday 16 instant, that it had risen to $3.45billion! *Our external reserves have continued to drop from last year’s peak of $48.85billion in May to $38.65billion on March 14, 2014, according the latest data on the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria. *In spite of the tons of accusations of the highest-level corruption against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC] ‘by all peoples of Nigeria’, its GMD, had the audacity and effrontery to assert, in an interview, that no money or fund was missing after all! *Also in the last week, Mr. President back-pedalled again to announce during a state tour to Namibia, for the umpteenth time, for whoever cares to listen, that the issue of CORRUPTION in Nigeria, was an EXAGGERATION, as far as he was concerned! All of the above facts are sufficient fertile grounds to nurture inordinate ambition for power which corrupts absolutely, even in a do-or-die manner, but divine intervention has always been Nigeria’s grace. American award-winning Scientist and Social Critic, David Brin says, “It is said that POWER corrupts but actually, it’s truer that POWER attracts the corruptible. The SANE are usually attracted by other things than POWER.” Political corruption is not a recent phenomenon that pervades the Nigerian country because since independence, there have been cases of official misuse of resources for personal enrichment. In fact the very first Chancellor of Exchequer, pilfered! Nigeria ranked 139 out of 176 countries in Transparency International 2012, Corruption Perceptions Index, tied with A zebaijan, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan! Our green-covered travelling document has become ‘anathema’!! The discovery of Petroleum and Natural Gas, are two major national upgrading, believed to have ignited the abominable and ignoble corruption which had frittered away the abundant wealth of this nation with nothing to show in the living condition of the 80 per cent population of the poor masses! Chief Obafemi Awolowo of blessed memory once opined that, “since Nigeria’s independence, the government has been a matter of few holding the cow for the strongest and most-cunning to milk and under those circumstances, everybody runs over everybody to make good at the expense of everybody!” A great English Intellectual, Reverend Charles Caleb[1790-1932], also said, “Corruption is like a ball of snow, once, it is set a-rolling, it must increase.” In Nigeria, Government officials bribe one another to get Government business done! It is as bad as that and yet Mr President and his cronies say the malaise is EXAGGERATED! The Word of God says, “ The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their DUPLICITY….. with his mouth, the godless destroys his neighbour, but through knowledge the righteous escape….through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.”[Proverbs.11:3,9.11]. The causes of corruption in Nigeria is an OPEN BOOK, even to the village ‘illiterates’! They include but not limited to illicit monetary gains from the preferred very expensive Presidential system for a third-world country as Nigeria, the issue of ‘god-fatherism’ in political offices and appointments, the do-or-die syndrome of election rigging and ballot box snatching, dubious and over-inflated contract awards contrary to due process, nepotism and tribalism features in government appointments, outright embezzlement of public funds, lack of accountability in respect of procurement and appropriation, culture of impunity by indicted officers who were never punished due to cult affiliation, lack of transparency and openness in public service and the introduction of PLEA BAGAINNING in high-profile embezzlement cases where the rouge is allowed to part with a little amount of ill-gotten wealth and then keep the rest! These and more are the prevalent factors coupled with the absence of key anti-corruption tools and the culture and acceptance of corruption as a way of life by the populace through very bad leadership! All of the above and more revelations to be exposed point to one Gospel truth that the wicked ones are in the saddle of power and the appointed time to ease them out could not be better than now when the National Conference is in full throttle and 2015 General Elections is just months away! Many Nigerians today live above their visible and legitimate earnings and incomes; otherwise, how does one explain the sources for the financing of those luxurious and palatial stately mansions that have clustered many Nigerian cities, towns, hamlets and even villages! What about the sumptuously lavish social parties, very expensive state-of-the-art automobiles, owned and always on display by large number of civil servants, businessmen, military personnel – serving and retired! David Brin suggests that the wrong people should not be allowed to get into positions of influence and merit at all! At a time during his ministry, Prophet Elijah, became so agitated over the sinful and recalcitrant nation of Israel and to God’s question, he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword, I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazel king over Aram. Also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death anyone who escape the sword of Hazel and Elisha will put to death anyone who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel - all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have no kissed him”.[1Kings. 19:14-18, and 2Kings.9:1-10:34]. Jehu was a Military Commander in the Israeli Army, before his coronation. The import of this biblical text is that it is God and only God that can repair all crooked people and nations in any way or manner that pleases Him! He is omnipresence, omnipotent, omniscient and He is sovereign over all His creation! If it worked for Israel, it will work for Nigeria. Let all who are messing around in government begin to count down, for their days are numbered, says the Lord of Hosts. Few words are sufficient for the wise! If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, don’t miss this great opportunity as you pray this prayer: Lord Jesus; I confess that I am a sinner who needs to be saved through the grace of the New Testament of your Blood, shed on the Cross at Calvary; I renounce every sin in my life and accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive me and write my name in the Book of Life. Amen. If you prayed this prayer, you have been admitted into the family of sons and daughters of God, who are born-again. Congratulations. Please look forward to more divine revelation in the next edition of Zion B-BC Newsletter as you share this with friends and remain blessed in the Lord. [For weekly access,to this newsletter, log on to: facebook.com/zionfaithbible.believingchurch & Zfbbc1.blogspot.com]. I am, Yours sincerely,Dr. David B.A. Olufon, Resident Pastor and Editor.08058436756 08098194390.g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com .