ZION B-BC NEWSLETTER. [ A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja.] Vol.33. 30-03-14. “HOW DID WE EVER FALL TO GROUND ZERO!” Right from the period of masses agitation for a ‘Sovereign National Conference’, to government’s resistance to such god-forsaken demand and Mr. President’s eventual ‘change of heart’, for a SUBTLE NATIONAL CONFERENCE, we have always been in support of a genuine dialogue based on patriotic ideals, national interests and motives! But we are disappointed by the introduction of monetary incentives, to the tune of a whooping N12million naira, (twelve million, which government has not denied), per delegate, for the three-month duration of the talks! This Greek-gift, which no doubt, signifies the President’s assertion as the PIPER, is already paying dividends in the 75per cent or three-quarters affirmative action suggested by the convener, for every decision to be reached at the Conference! And for the second time in its two-week life, Conference has gone on recess to allow for frayed nerves calm down! This brings the debate to the issue of the “NATIONAL CAKE”, which was presented to Nigerians by British Governor-General, Sir. James Robertson, through Nigeria’s Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, on October 1, 1960! There is a general belief that the 2014 National Conference delegates, rightly deserved their own portion of the national cake and that whatever decisions were reached, “twelve milla” each would be worthy compensation for their ‘efforts’! The Nigerian nation is predicated on the carnal foundation for the LOVE OF MONEY, which the Word of God, describes as, “….a root of all kinds of evil…..some people eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs!” [1Timothy. 6:10]. Let us take a critical look at the calibre of personalities who accepted to be delegates and their pedigrees. But for the Youths and Market Women Associations delegates, who are 24 in number, all other delegates could sponsor themselves or be sponsored by their various States or Associations for the duration of the conference, even if it would take a calendar year to achieve and fulfil the yearnings and aspirations for a better Nigeria! But, No! They would not touch any part of their ‘treasures of billions of naira and dollars’, stored up on this earth; they would rather partake more of the National Cake which they contributed no ingredients to bake! They would take more and more like ‘Oliver Twist’….they would eat until they vomit and die like the children of Israel, during their exhibition of gluttony, in the wilderness.[ Read, Numbers.11:4-6,18-20,31-34]. Most of them were adolescents at Nigeria’s independence; neither they nor their forebears contributed to the struggle towards independence in any form, but today, they are in the forefront of the struggle as “ELDER STATESMEN,” to share at all cost or plunder the CAKE, if need be! Do they have righteous motives or hidden agendas? Are they just opportunists whose only purpose in life is always to reap where they never sowed? Is it surprising that the ‘no-go’ area was the first port of call of a Nigerian delegate and a traditional head from the North West who said he would have no qualms if Nigeria broke up because his “kingdom” extended to the Cameroon where he would gladly migrate with his people! Monetization or what was known as “settlement”, during the ‘Babangida Military Junta’, has become a norm in the Nigerian society, even in the homes. YOU NEED TO MONETIZE OR SETTLE YOUR CHILD OR WARD FOR HIM OR HER TO RUN AN ERRAND! This unholy ethic has become cancerous to the extent of wiping out of existence, any form of opposition to a SITTING GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA! One ugly trend is playing out with impunity under the very nose of Mr. President, his Finance Minister and the maligned masses of this great nation by the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), who insists that his outfit must be insulated from any form of accusation of corruption through unremitted or missing funds to the Federation Account, in spite of the ongoing probes at the National Assembly and the FORENSIC AUDITING ordered on NNPC by government! Strangely enough, no one in government or the NASS, has called Mr. Andrew Yakubu, who is pre-empting the outcome of the investigations and probes, to order! There is no doubt that between Sanusi’s whistle blowing of the initial unremitted $49.8 billion US dollars, now whittled down to $20billion, a lot of waters, in form of persuasive, monetized inducement and intimidating settlements, have passed under the bridge and to borrow a Yoruba cliché from the late Chief MKO Abiola, “once the COCK has been settled with sufficient corn grains, it would find it very difficult to CROW! WE MAKE BOLD TO SAY THAT THERE IS NO OPPOSITION PARTY IN NIGERIA FOR THE FOLLOWING CREDIBLE REASONS: *The pre-colonial periods of the Nigerian history of the master-servant relationship, made the few articulate but poor agitators of that time to focus more on how to take over the fortunes of flashy automobiles, modern houses fashion/ trendy civilized lifestyles and of course, the TREASURY and even, the MISTRESSES of their MASTERS, than the arduous and tasking duties of nation-building of the post-independence era! *October 1, 1960 gave the country the legitimate platform to operate as a democracy but the new players were suspicious of one another. Allegation was rife that the baton was deliberately passed by the British to some ‘persons from the under-developed’ part to the detriment of the other, in order to balance the equation of ECONOMIC GROWTH, but instead of capitalizing on our diversity to harness the needed development, the myopic leaders in a vicious rat-race, competed for who grabs what from the left-over of the former colonists! *Between 1960 and 1966, the military, as far as the emerging politicians were concerned, did not exist and were completely marginalized, though they had the ARMOURY AND THE GUNS! The story of Nigeria’s developmental strides to achieve egalitarian status as a nation from 1966, when the first military coup was staged, to date, will remain in the annals of history for posterity to judge! Has the story of CORRUPTION AND IMPUNITY changed in spite of all military coups and the few muzzled agitations for ‘good governance’, by successive administrations? The answer is an emphatic, NO, otherwise, there would have been no need for the ‘fatted cows’ of the society to get fatter through the sharing of N7billion booty National Conference Monetization, while Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic are still on strike, 8-months on! The ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS [APC], is not an opposition party! The Armoured Personnel Carrier was manufactured and commissioned for COVETOUSNESS and that is, to ‘CARRY GO’ more portion of the National Cake, than what the ruling party had cornered in 16 years of looting! We are still going round in a vicious circle of, THE LOVE OF MONEY, which is condemnable by our CREATOR! “BUT GODLINESS WITH CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN, FOR WE BROUGHT NOTHING INTO THE WORLD, AND WE CAN TAKE NOTHING OUT OF IT. BUT IF WE HAVE FOOD AND CLOTHING, WE WILL BE CONTENT WITH THAT. PEOPLE WHO WANT TO GET RICH FALL INTO TEMPTATION AND A TRAP AND INTO MANY FOOLISH AND HARMFUL DESIRES THAT PLUNGE MEN INTO RUIN AND DESTRUCTION” [1Timothy.6:6-9]. Nigerian politicians and leaders in position of authority who pursue the covetous monetary agenda of grabbing and expending the commonwealth to pursue their personal agenda through SETTLEMENTS AND MONETIZATION, have cases to answer before God, who will demand for the account of their stewardship at the WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT![Revelation.20:11-15; compare with verses 1-10]. “Then I saw a great white throne and Him that was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they have done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”[Verses.11-15]. Are you conversant with this noun/adjective called PARIAH? A pariah is a person who is not accepted by a social group, especially because he/she is not liked, respected or trusted. A pariah is an OUTCAST! Our present crop of leadership from all indications, is bent on turning Nigeria into PARIAH NATION through their pretentious and deceitful agendas of self-aggrandizement instead of nation-building! Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Mallam Aminu Kano, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, patriots and foremost nationalists of blessed memories, have no earthly treasures or edifices to show for all their efforts in nation-building, but their lofty ideals remain indelible in the hearts of all good people of this universe and of their creator. We also have a good example of patriotism in the sterling leadership qualities of late Pa Anthony Enahoro, the last man standing among the “freedom fighters”, who devoted his time and resources for Nigeria’s emancipation from the position of an underdog colony to become an independent nation of repute. He also joined the Saints triumphant on Wednesday, 15 December 2010, at the age of 87. In a eulogy at that time, President of the Campaign for Democracy[CD], Dr. Joe Okei Odumakin, recalled with fond memories, Pa Enahoro’s role, when he moved the motion for Nigeria’s Independence in 1953, and how he stood tall among the few genuine heroes of Nigeria’s democracy, because, Pa Enahoro devoted his entire life to extending the frontiers of democracy and the rule of law without compromising his beliefs and was rigid in defence of truth and righteousness! During the inglorious regime of General Sanni Abacha, he and his PRONACO[Pro-National Conference Organisation] and NADECO[National Democratic Coalition] compatriots stood their ground for justice and equity in the land, even at the expense of their lives! What do the present generation of leaders know about JUSTICE, EQUITY, TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS? Do they believe that it is only righteousness that can exalt Nigeria and that SIN would remain a reproach and permanent blemish? “To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free……I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”[John.8:31-32,34-36]. Let it be known to all FAKE LEADERS in Nigeria that this country belongs to GOD and if GOD were their FATHER, they would love Nigeria and protect it jealously even with their lives! God is ready to move us to the TOP among the comity of nations if only we can all live in obedience, embrace truth and righteousness to fulfil His promise which says, “The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.”[Deuteronomy.28:13]. AMEN. 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 . th