ZION B-BC NEWSLETTER. [ A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja.] { VOL. 2. NO 38. 04-05-14.} CORRUPTION IN THE JUDICIARY! WHERE RESTS THE LAST HOPE OF THE COMMON MAN? Three quarters of Nigerian prisoners are AWAITING TRIAL DETAINEES, most of whom have spent over 15 years in detention! Comptroller General of the Nigerian Prison Service [NPS], in a shocking revelation, recently said, “….of 50,601 inmates in the various prisons, 36,934, are awaiting trial.” Majority of the detainees, not including those held in the various Police cells across Nigeria and who have been refused bail, are charged with capital offences, such as armed robbery and many have since died incarcerated! A Committee set up by the Interior Minister recently, also reported that the Nigerian Prisons are congested because they house more than a triple number of inmates specified, adding, “the slow process of trial of inmates by the courts is also responsible for more than 90per cent of prison population in urban centres.” The Committee concluded that Nigerian prisons are unfit for human habitation as most detainees were usually ill because they are kept under inhuman conditions, shackled and manacled like condemned dangerous criminals! These awaiting-trial detainees are the poor masses of our societies, as no rich man or woman ever waits for any trial since favourable and pre-determined judgments are courier-delivered to their homes, in some cases, by crooked judges! The Rule of Law specifies that every suspect is presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent court of jurisdiction, but what obtains in Nigeria’s prison system is “the RUSE of LAW”, where suspects, with the deliberate connivance of the COURTS are refused bail or prosecution, and are condemned to dungeons and early graves! Judicial powers of the Nigerian State, both at the Federal and State levels, are vested in the JUDICATURE, which consist of the superior courts of record, established for the Federation, according to Section 6, subsection(5)(a) to (i) of the 1999 Constitution. These consist of the following: the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the court of Appeal, the Federal High Court, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, a High Court of a State, the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, a Sharia Court of Appeal of a State, the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and a Customary Court of Appeal of a State. A search-light into the activities of some of these COURTS has revealed dirty, sordid and gruesome manipulation and perversion of the course of justice by corrupt judges! According to an insider, a retired President of the Court of Appeal, the Nigerian Judiciary harbours corrupt elements who are politicians and government apologists who attend all manner of social gatherings and frolic even with litigants with pending cases before their courts! How can judges decide cases against their political parties and people they wine and dine with? As a guest speaker at a recent lecture titled, “Nigeria at Centenary: A Nation In Bondage”, the retired President of the Court of Appeal said that the noble efforts of the incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria, to sanitize and rid the judiciary of corrupt elements were being frustrated by “the crop of people calling the shots at the Nigerian Judicial Council[NJC],” adding that some dishonourable people, “not fit to be judges and senior lawyers, get into the system, make it to the highest level of the judicial career and subsequently frustrate the common man’s quest for justice and equity!” He also claimed that it was an open truth that, both serving and retired judges act as the “arrangees” or couriers, who reach out to “purchase justice on behalf of crooked litigants” and concluded that the problems with the Nigerian Judiciary might be compounded or unresolved for a long time because Nigerians naturally hate the truth and whoever dared voice the truth was marked for destruction! We salute the courage of this fearless retired President of the Court of Appeal whose entire professional career at both the Bar and the Bench, remained untainted and impeccable like the likes of Justices Chukwudi Oputa, Bobakayode Eso, Ayo G.Irikefe, John Idowu Conrad Taylor, Ovie Whiskey, Chiefs ‘Tunji Braithwaite and Gani Fawehinmi etc; because what we have today are judges who have made Nigeria’s justice system by itself very criminal. We have this official statement also by the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC], that some serving judges are deeply immersed in corrupt practices. This high-profile revelation should alarm all Nigerians, especially the down-trodden whose last hope is rested on the judiciary as their final ARBITER! It was a divine miracle that the EFCC, which was notorious for not respecting the Masses Petitions, decided to probe the myriads of petitions levelled against the said judges and traced into their accounts, hundreds of millions of naira! These fraudulent judges who also possess multi-million naira worth of assets are alleged to have adopted unconventional methods, such as accepting VALUE CARDS and PIN NUMBERS from criminal litigants, who approached them for FAVOURABLE JUDGEMENTS in order to beat the various anti-corruption agencies! This current malaise which has dented the image of the Judiciary, is no doubt an indictment on the present administration, which had always encouraged corruption in all its ramifications through the under-staffing and under-funding of anti-graft agencies which should check-mate any form of fraudulent venture by any citizen of this great nation! At the Federal level, Mr. President appoints the judges, while the Governors perform this exercise at the State levels according to some constitutional principles, but the fact remains that the judges’ remunerations are bound to the whims and caprices of their EMPLOYERS who hold the REMOTE CONTROL for the judgement of litigations which must favour them and their cronies! As a people who should insist on the rule of law for justice, equity and fairness to all litigants, poor or rich, this unholy development at the Bar and Bench, should be of great concern to us because fraudulent court proceedings could neither pass through the “needle’s eye” nor the forensic tests to arrive at the truth! In February 2014, the NJC under the pay- roll of Mr. President, merely retired two Justices of Federal High Courts and one of the Plateau High Court of Justice, who were indicted for professional misconduct, instead of apportioning very strict penalties and they smiled home to enjoy their ill-gotten loots! What are the expectations of GOD in respect of Judges’ ethics when conducting themselves in office? (a)They should be capable and God-fearing.[Exodus.18:21; 2Samuel.23:3; Ezra.7:25]. (b)Truthful.[Deuteronomy.16:19]. (c)Must have hatred for covetousness. [Exo.18:21]. (d)Must be of a disposition to refuse bribes.[Exo.23:8]. (e)Wise and understanding.[Deut.1:13]. (f)Articulate and impeccable.[Deut.1:13,16]. (g)Having love of justice and judgment.[Deut.1:16,16:18-19,27:19,Zechariah.7:9-10]. (h)Without respect of persons.[Deut.1:17;16:19;25:1;Isaiah.5:23]. (i)Fearless.[Deut.1:17]. (j)Conscientious.[Deut.1:17]. (k)Strong and courageous. [Joshua.1:7]. (l)Obedient to the law.[Josh.1:7-8]. Nigeria has in the past produced decent, brave, fearless, intelligent, impeccable and incorruptible judges, who avoided filthy lucre, treaded the path of integrity and lived above board! The story was told of Late Justice John Idowu Conrad Taylor, a Chief Judge of Lagos State during the military administration, who turned down his Governor’s official invitation to a State Dinner on the following grounds: “ Lagos State Government has several pending cases before me…… I find it inappropriate to honour the invitation”. At his demise, Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon eulogised him for his sterling qualities. Do such Nigerian judges exist in today’s 21 century universe? The Federal Government should be more pro-active in funding the EFCC to pursue to its logical conclusion, all vital allegations of graft against these judges and publicly bring them to justice in order to purge and cleanse the judiciary, restore her reputation and establish a deterrent to others of their ilk! Of the late Supreme Court Judge, Bobakayode Eso ,(1925-2012), were the following WORDS ON MARBLE crafted: “He was an Icon even in death; Nigeria may never have his replacement – a very rare breed. Justice Eso was an untainted Judge with high integrity; one of the great Nigerians, incorruptible, academic, intelligent, serious-minded patriotic, scandal-free. A courageous judge and a consistent advocate for an independent judiciary whose long and exemplary life was dedicated to the service of law and order and the dispensation of true justice, equity and fairness to all.” We need more of the Eso’s, Conrad Taylors, Gani Fawehinmi’s, Oputas in our modern judiciary to re-build and restore the lost confidence of the COMMON MAN in Nigeria’s judicial system. We have a crop of patriotic legal minds, men and women of proven integrity who are ready to serve our great nation without soiling their hands and names! Will the corrupt politicians at the helm of affairs give them the opportunity to serve their Fatherland? Let Nigerians be assured that if they fail to make the necessary RESTITUTION now, GOD WILL REMOVE AND REPLACE THEM ACCORDING TO HIS SOVEREIGN WILL! 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 . st

ZION B-BC NEWSLETTER. [ A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja Nigeria. ] { VOL. 2. NO 44. 15-06-14.} “THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD!” The Nigerian Armed Forces High Command should not behave like the proverbial OSTRICH or the extinct DODO, which buried its long neck in the sand in an effort to hide from some danger, but forgot that its entire, very huge body was exposed to attack! We have very great respect for the Nigerian Army to which the public is more conversant among the others in the TRIANGLE –The Navy and Air Force. We regard them as very fine and disciplined gentlemen, in spite of the rigours and hazards of training. Nigerians soldiers have, up to this 21 Century made us proud as a nation through diligent and efficient comportment in internal/international engagements and assignments. Our soldiers have performed creditably in both domestic and international engagements with accolades and laurels. The colonial Royal Army metamorphosed into The Nigerian Army at Independence in 1960 and was drafted to assist during the Congo Crisis of early sixties, engaged the ‘Biafran soldiers’ during the 30-month Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), the First and Second Liberian Civil wars of the nineties, the Sierra Leone Civil War of the late eighties/nineties, the conflicts of the Niger Delta militants, during the military regimes and the Northern Mali Conflict of 2012 to date. They also served as Peace –Keeping Forces with the United Nations and as the pillar of the ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] cease-fire Monitoring Group [ECOMOG], in Liberia and Sierra Leone! The Nigerian Armed Forces active personnel of the Army, Navy and Air Force, is approximately 200.000 troops and 300.000 para-military and has developed a strong military COUP CULTURE between 1966-1999, during which TEN COUPS took place! Recently these ‘fine and disciplined gentlemen’ clamped down on the Nigerian Press, accosted circulation van drivers, seized and destroyed large consignment of newspapers, detained both vans and drivers of several publishing companies and deprived the reading public access to information, by their operatives at Abuja, Warri, Kano and Kaduna, all in the name of searching for arms allegedly being ferried for insurgents with the vans! Specifically, The Daily Trust, The Nation, The Leadership, Vanguard, The Punch and International Business Times, were targeted in the sudden assault on The Fourth Estate of the Realm, as the Press is described by the British government, that is, in succession to the Three Arms of Government, the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, the Press is next. The Nigerian Press is recognized in Chapter II Section 22, of the 1999 Constitution and saddled with the following responsibilities: “ The Press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this Chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people.” In other words, the Nigerian Media is the WATCH DOG of the good citizens of this great nation and has every right to report all activities of government, public or private, for everyone to rightly conclude whether or not, they deliver on their promises! The Nigerian Army as a security institution is a SERVANT to the masses –including the journalists - and there is no way the servant will become greater than his MASTER! Members of the Nigerian Press, stand out as, one of the most vibrant, brilliant, intelligent, sagacious, articulate, dedicated, patriotic courageous and fearless professionals in the world! When it comes to historical analysis, the Nigerian journalists is a COLOSSUS, among the patriots who fought the colonialists hands down in the struggle to our cherished independence – no wonder it is said that, “THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD, to emphasize that, thinking and writing have more influence on the people and events than the use of force and violence! Has the Army forgotten so easily, pre-independence journalists and writers like our first President, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Herbert Macaulay, Obafemi Awolowo, Anthony Enahoro, Othman Dan Fodio, Adamu Ciroma, Olabisi Onabanjo, Babatunde Jose, Peter Enahoro, Alade Odunewu, etc. who fought the British colonialists WITH THE PEN and won on a platter of gold. Have they also forgotten the late nineties ABACHA infamous efforts to frustrate and muzzle the Press and how the Press fought back fearlessly in spite of his brutality against the masses with the guns and ammunitions purchased with the TAXPAYERS MONEY? The army should be reminded that either, during their inglorious 29years of military rule or now that they are JUST ONE of the several institutions of government, we the masses of Nigeria will remain their MASTER, whether they like it or not because we equip them and PAY THEIR SALARIES! They have no right whatsoever to maltreat any citizen of this nation, rich or poor, great or small, old or young; if they are frustrated, they can always resign and look for other means of livelihood instead of venting unjustified anger on the poor innocent citizens who eek their daily bread without any contribution from the political vultures of this nation! Before this development, the Army High Command had been under serious criticisms by Governor Kashim Shettima of Bornu State, some Northern Legislators and a section of the Press on its handling of the Boko Haram insurgency which escalated since 2011 and more importantly, with the abduction of the 273 Chibok Government Secondary School girls on February 14, 2014! First, it was alleged that Boko Haram had superior weapons than our combatants, and also, that their fighting morale dampened because they were being short-changed by their superiors! Again, we heard that, soldiers “mutinied twice” and shortly after that, a General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the newly birthed 7 Division, Maiduguri, was redeployed to Defence Headquarters and replaced due to protests by the other ranks! Thereafter, it was rumoured that “some Generals”, were being court-martialled; but all of the above were denied by the Federal Government, which claimed there was no iota of truth in all allegations until the recent clamp down on the print media! However in a dramatic twist, the Daily Trust bold headline of June 6, 2014 says, “Military Wares Issues Being Handled – says Jonathan.” The paper reported that the President was ‘tackling the inadequate equipment for the military,’ thereby exonerating Governor Shettima! In another headline titled, “Army Poorly Funded”, the same paper reported that a Nigerian Army General, during a lecture at the Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, said, and we quote, “Currently, budgetary allocation to the military is inadequate to meet the contemporary security challenges and also cater for the welfare of the Nigerian Army.” Since this barbaric attitude on the print media of the 21 Century, there were also other newspaper commentaries as follows: *“…….the era of impunity associated with the military dictatorship should not be resurrected under a ‘democratically elected government’.” *The military and other security agencies must restrict themselves to the protection of our sovereignty and go after those threatening this country with violent attacks that have almost disappointingly overwhelmed those paid to protect lives and property.” *Nigerian Army immersed in bureaucratic bottlenecks for the funding approvals for military operations. Army budget for 2014 is N4.8billion naira…..etc.” In spite of the press and public outcry over this military high-handedness, Army spokesman and Director, Defence Information, maintained that privileged security information revealed that the newspaper vans in question were being used to convey arms and ammunition to the insurgents, though, no such merchandise have been discovered so far but that it was in the interest of Nigerians that security measures should be taken to forestall any such possibility! The Word of God says, “Thou shall know the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall set you free.”[John.8:32]; and the truth is that the Nigerian Army is on edge and seeks a SCAPE GOAT to vent its anger on; but unfortunately they have looked in the wrong direction! What is wrong with an untainted, highly dedicated and professional Press operating freely under the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, unfettered, un-intimidated and un-harassed in a DEMOCRACY? Now that the ARMY’S GROUSE is now in the public domain, should any further ‘hide and seek’ exist, because it is expedient that we should all work as partners in progress for our nation! *Government should act very fast, raise A TASK FORCE OF HONEST NIGERIANS, empower them with Presidential Fiat to request for emergency funds and appropriate them as the exigencies of the service demands! *The NEEDS and welfare of our soldiers who are in the trenches are paramount, urgent and imperative at this period of our national travail. Salaries and allowances must be paid as at when due and very promptly too to serve as incentives; special bonuses promotions should be employed when issues of gallantry and outstanding performances are exhibited! * We must not forget that military casualties are also recorded in most assaults of the insurgents as well and as such, those who remain alive should be motivated and encouraged to continue in the struggle to defeat the terrorists at all costs! *The Nigerian Press should be very cautious to publish EXCLUSIVE, DELICATE AND SENSITIVE INFORMATION that bother on SECURITY, especially at this precarious period of insurgency, and with our collective effort, victory will be sooner than later. We are privileged to know that the Army High Command cannot divulge or disclose also available operational information for security reasons, BUT there are certain information that, if hidden could cause more damage than good! ONE SHAMELESS NIGERIAN IS SHAMELESSLY CALLING ON THE NIGERIAN ARMY TO STAGE THE ELEVENTH COUP DE TAT AND WE SAY GOD FORBID! WE REBUKE THIS FIFTH COLUMNIST AND CALL ON THE ANGEL OF THE LORD TO RESTRICT SOLDIERS TO THEIR BARRACKS BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER RULE OVER NIGERIANS AGAIN, NEVER AGAIN, ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD! 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 . st th st

ZION B-BC NEWSLETTER. [ A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja Nigeria. ] { VOL. 2. NO 43. 08-06-14.} THE BROKEN COVENANT! First, they said we should re-direct the street protests of “BRING BACK OUR GIRLS” campaign to the Boko Haram terrorists and not to the Nigerian Government; second, they organized some ‘rabble-rowsers’(thugs), to molest our motley crowd without success; third, they alleged that we were 90 per cent, members of the opposition parties; fourth, they sent their Police to disperse us from the streets because, “insurgents might take advantage of our empathetic innocence and penetrate our rank and file;” fifth, as Civil Society Groups and International Observers criticised their undemocratic interventions, they sent their ‘Oga Police At The Top’, to announce that peaceful protest was not banned in Nigeria, sixth, they now GAG THE PRESS from publishing the TRUTH by seizing and destroying Newspapers at gun-point, in a country operating under the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT and defended their barbaric action as NORMAL ROUTINE CHECKS! It is written, “……there is nothing new under the SUN. Is there anything of which one can say, ‘Look! This is something new?’ It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.”[Ecclesiastes.1:9b-10]; and that, “Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?” declares the LORD. “So you will be my people and I will be your God,” [Jeremiah.30:21-22]. Is this crop of Nigerian politicians, from 1960-2014 really from among us according to the purposive will of God? Chapter II, Section 14(1-2) of the 1999 Constitution state as follows, (1) “The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice. (2)It is hereby, accordingly, declared that – (a) sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority; (b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government; and (c) the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. Sovereignty means, the power of a country to control its own government and according to our Constitution, this power belongs to Nigerian citizens! Are these usurpers, who have virtually ruined the economy of this blessed nation, like the biblical prodigal son, and have systematically destroyed its peace and security, by turning Nigeria into a fierce battle field for insurgents - most especially in the last four years – REALLY FROM AMONG US? These set of vicious and heartless people who steal our COMMONWEALTH so brazenly with impunity, live in opulence and openly flaunt their ill-gotten wealth before the over 100million Nigerians, who dwell in abject poverty; are they truly from among us? The answer is a capital NO! They are from another planet; they are alien to our collective sensibilities, morals, culture, tradition, institutions….they are alien to the doctrines of obedience to all holy laws, statutes, commandments, precepts and decrees; the fear of GOD is far from their understanding! There were some people known as Egyptian Task Masters who, at a period of time, held innocent children of God in bondage of slavery and there were many corrupt officials who also at one time held sway in the notorious cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; but when God rose in defence of His people, the task masters were providentially drowned in the Red Sea, while the covetous officials were consumed by BRIMSTONE AND FIRE from Heaven! [Exodus. 14:10-31; Genesis.19:12-29]. The TRUTH is that our people have been agonizing under successive insensitive and wicked government officials for TOO LONG, they have been pushed to their wits end and are groaning under the yoke of bondage, especially when the slaughter of human beings escalated from 2009 and recently, when over 200 innocent adolescent, school girls were abducted for over 55 days by Boko Haram terrorists and are yet to be rescued! Globally, mothers are wailing, our women are crying and weeping and government says, “ Go and weep in SAMBISA FOREST, maybe Boko Haram will have pity and release your daughters!” THEY ARE WRONG! THEY ARE NOT IN ANY POSITION TO MOCK US BECAUSE OF THE USURPED, TEMPORAL AND TRANSIENT POWER AND PROSPERITY WHICH THEY HAVE UNGODLY ACQUIRED! The LORD has heard our groaning and He has arisen to fight in our behalf! The Word of God says “And God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.”[Exo.2:24]. Nigerians have been groaning under the bondage of the task masters and all covetous officials in government since Independence in 1960 and the LORD has remembered the struggles, labour, sweat, blood and HIS COVENANT WITH OUR FOUNDING FATHERS. Some opportunists took advantage of our new status in 1960 to vandalize the TREASURY; men in starchy khaki uniforms took over from them and thereafter, there was a coalition of the two groups under BABANGIDA, followed by ABACHA/ SHONEKAN /ABDUSALAM; the rest is story, story! It was said that a horrendous amount of government money was discovered in the residence of the very First Federal Finance Minister during the First Coup that the soldiers in anger tied him to a military truck, dragged him all over Lagos Streets until he was certified dead from various degrees of bruises and lacerations! Though our fellow country men and women have resigned to fate and are claiming that they are ‘suffering and smiling,’ we reject this demonic belief! The Word of God says, “When men are cast down then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person, He shall deliver the island of the innocent and it is delivered by the pureness of Thine hands.”[Job.22:29-30]. Nigerians have been down-trodden for too long…. 100-years of amalgamation, and we are still counting! Our endurance is superlative….we have been yoked, robbed enslaved, brutalized, cheated, side-lined, kidnapped and raped, mentally, physically and spiritually and subsequently abandoned to our fate, IN A ‘DEMON-CRAZY’ THIRD WORLD; now we are being deprived of our CHIBOK GIRLS, and some Nigerian Oga says we should keep quiet? We will not keep quite because we have dragged them before the LORD’S COURT where they cannot escape DIVINE JUSTICE! The Bible says, “…. A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, LAMENTATION, WEEPING, AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN AND REFUSING TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE HER CHILDREN ARE NO MORE! [Jeremiah.31:15-17]. In spite of this very painful scenario, the LORD has a WORD for all Nigerian citizens, women, mothers and fathers, “RESTRAIN YOUR VOICE FROM WEEPING AND YOUR EYES FROM TEARS, FOR YOUR WORK WILL BE REWARDED”, DECLARES THE LORD. “THEY WILL RETURN FROM THE LAND OF THE ENEMY, SO THERE IS HOPE FOR YOUR FUTURE,” declares the LORD. “YOUR CHILDREN WILL RETURN TO THEIR OWN LAND”. AMEN! How must we be engaged while we wait patiently for GOD to fight in our behalf? *Remember that SOVEREIGNTY belongs to the people of Nigeria and that 2015 is the divine set-time for us to drive out these aliens in government for the Holy Spirit to appoint leaders from among us! *Remember that our weapons of warfare are not carnal but are mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. [2Corinthians.10:3-5]. *Remember that your VOTE IS YOUR POWER TO EXERCISE YOUR SOVEREIGNTY; go out to all designated centres, register and collect legitimate voting cards. *Shun all forms of intimidations through bribery and educate the masses that the bribe monies were the initial monies stolen from the nation’s treasury to deprive citizens of all basic amenities of life! *Remember that all governments since 1960, have BROKEN THE COVENANT THAT THE SECURITY AND WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE SHALL BE THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT! *Be determined to vote for the God-chosen and God-fearing candidates who will uphold the tenets of the Constitution and serve as good leaders and not RULERS and SPOILERS! *Remember that party manifestoes are false documents fit for your incinerators; watch out for the credible men and women within your vicinities, shine your eyes, encourage such, even if they have not shown interest in partisan politics, vote for such people to take you out of our present predicament and bondage; they dwell with you and you know them! *Watch unto prayer and pray without ceasing; a prayer-less life is a powerless life! If Jesus Christ, the one and only Begotten Son of God, felt it necessary to rise before the breaking of the day to pour out His Heart in prayer to God, how much more ought we to pray onto Him who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift and Who has promised all things necessary for our good in Nigeria! God has heard our groaning; He never forgets His children, and His seeming silence, (as some may think), does not mean that He is not attentive or not planning! Oliver Cromwell, the British Puritan of the 17 Century, once told his soldiers just before a great battle: “Know ye soldiers all, that God always comes to man’s help in the nick of time;” and the ‘Men Who Prayed’, say, “Yes, God is always on time; never behind and never ahead. Happy is the man who learns to wait as he prays, and never loses patience with God.” On Good Friday, Satan and his demons rejoiced that Jesus Christ was crucified, but on Sunday, He was resurrected from the dead and He is alive forevermore! The “Black Legs” of this nation and sponsors of Boko Haram may rejoice over our challenges for now; but, let us believe the Word of God which says, “But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you, I will despoil. But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD. See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling on the heads of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His Heart. In the days to come, you will understand this! [Jere.30:16-17a, 23-24]. 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

ZION B-BC NEWSLETTER. [ A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja Nigeria. ] { VOL. 2. NO 40. 18-05-14.} “SHE, NA SO WE GO DE, DE-E-E”? [SHALL WE, AS A NATION, CONTINUE IN SIN?] The Book of Romans, Chapter 6:1, poses this question on divine salvation through a process of deliverance from the bondage of Satan and Sin and asks: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” The import of this verse is that GRACE, (the unmerited favour of GOD upon the human race), MUST NEVER BE ABUSED! All of creation must be dead to sin and all forms of carnality through the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and avoid ever backsliding! Though, official corruption, extortion by public officers and judicial corruption, are serious offences punishable by law if found guilty, with seven (7), three (3), and fourteen (14) years imprisonment respectively, and have become commonplace and a ‘recurring decimal’ in Nigeria, these economic offences are handled with “kid gloves” and as such, were neither investigated nor punished unlike what obtains in other climes. The reasons for these lapses are not far-fetched! *Since the inception of this present administration, the Number One citizen, who should be the citizens’ role model in ethical norms and moral standards, had publicly and consistently declared at every opportunity, (home and abroad), that the DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL ACCUSATIONS OF OFFICIAL CORRUPTION AGAINST HIS GOVERNMENT WERE EXAGGERATED AND BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION! *We of this editorial board will continue to disagree with Mr. Number One because with his executive fiat, the unpatriotic and criminally-minded Nigerians in the Civil Service and the Private Sector are having a field day in bribery, extortion, money laundering, oil theft, manipulation in contract awards and outright stealing of Pension Funds, etc. What about all detected and pending cases of economic crimes against the ‘untouchables’ of his government, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission[EFCC] who cannot be prosecuted due to deliberate under-funding of the organisation? *We therefore make bold to state that these crimes which continuously decimate Nigeria’s collective economic gains unhindered and the very elections that brought the present crop of leaders on board are all corruptly-powered! If you are a Nigerian of proven-integrity, please, travel down the memory lane, check your nation’s score-card on the Amnesty International Global Index on corruption and other related offences in the last four years and you may want to deny your nationality when you travel abroad because we have been permanently grounded at the bottom of the ladder! A dangerous dimension of official corruption is being introduced by heartless officials in the Military through the inappropriate manner of handling the allowances of troops engaged in overcoming the Boko Haram insurgency. In two separate past editions of this Newsletter, we warned against demoralizing our soldiers and creating an avenue for mutiny, when this heinous crime was first exposed, but the deeply-corrupt mafia in the military lost all sense of decorum which nearly cost the life of a General Officer Commanding[GOC]! What they dismissed then, as a rumour, now stares all of us in the face as the ‘bitter truth’! The Police is not excepted in this unpatriotic crimes of bribery corruption and extortion. Millions of naira of Police Pensions and Welfare Funds were stolen and an Inspector General had already served a prison sentence on conviction! How can a country dwell in peace when the leaders constitute themselves into an “Army of Occupation” to perpetrate the very crimes they should prevent? The National Assembly[NA], of this present administration like its past counterparts, have been accused of appropriating fat salaries and allowances to themselves contrary to the rule of law and no one has refunded monies collected in excess or penalised to date which proves the attitude of corruption with impunity of the ‘untouchables’! The Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Responsibility Commission [RMFRC], saddled with fixing adequate salaries for the Three Arms of government, stipulates the official salaries of NA Legislators as follows: SENATORS : N954.096.67kobo per month and, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE MEMBER: N794.084.95kobo per month, to take care of their mobility, fuelling security, utility, entertainment etc. These salaries which are less than ONE MILLION NAIRA PER LEGISLATOR, according to RMFRC, were reckoned at par with the pay-packet of a civil service Director; but it is an open secret that the Legislators live LARGER THAN LIFE because, with the connivance of the National Assembly CLERK they appropriate, not only jumbo salaries but also, outrageous quarterly constituency allowances for themselves, in spite of the fact that, over 100 out of about 175million Nigerians are dwelling in abject poverty! It is on record that Senators of the Federal Republic and their House of Representative counterparts, collect, N45 and N37million, four times annually, ie. N180 and N148 million respectively, to “execute constituency projects”! When did legislators become CONTRACTORS and who authorised the Clerk, an accounting officer, to dabble into the duty of fiscal appropriation, because one naira in excess of RMFRC official figures, is absolutely illegal and not known in law! The Clerk has neither been sanctioned nor all excess salaries, allowances and QUARTERLY CONSTITUENCY ALLOWANCES, refunded to the Federation Accounts! *Maybe we should not be too amazed because some tenants of the National Assembly, are past governors and administrators who have been accused by the EFCC of economic crimes, but have BOUGHT TIME through the COURTS! Having now manipulated themselves into the law-drafting, fiscal appropriation and OVERSIGHT processes, they are better positioned to embezzle the nation’s coffers with so much ease once again! *WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT OCCUPATION, AS THIS END-TIME CLOCK, IS TICKING AWAY EVERY EARTH PILGRIM TO DEATH AND TO ETERNITY OF EITHER DAMNATION OR SALVATION? *The Word of God says: “For God so love the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. [John.3:16-17]. God is not condemning the thieves amongst us, but requests that all sinners be ready to face all consequences of their actions or inactions make necessary restitutions and be saved through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the WAY, TRUTH AND THE LIFE.[John.14:6]. *It is however very pertinent that the present administration should desist from the attitude of indulging in official corruption with impunity. Starting with the ruling party’s chairman, former governors, legislators and administrators, all indicted officials, MUST as a matter of urgency, be relieved of their posts, released to go and face their trials, in order to prove their innocence or guilt, as the case may be! *This is the surest way of running a government with probity and integrity. *Last week in Israel, a former Prime Minister, EHUD OLMERT, who was twice indicted for bribery and official corruption, both as Head of State and as a one-time Mayor of Jerusalem, was jailed for SIX YEARS, having been thoroughly investigated for over three years in respect of the economic and financial crimes! * Why should every administration in Nigeria postpone the evil day but remain under the illusion that certain “sacred cows” should be spared, no matter their CRIMINAL RECORDS? *The only plausible and sensible conclusion to warrant an attitude of cowardice on the part of an incumbent, to overlook the vices of his predecessors in office, must be an induced allegiance due to the unclean hands being brought to equity; cupboards full of SKELETONS and prone to blackmail, reproach and public shame! Let all past Presidents, Heads of State, Governors, Legislators and Administrators (military or civilian), who have been under EFCC investigations for economic and financial crimes, including money laundering, be recalled to face trials to ascertain their guilt or otherwise so that this nation can begin on a new slate with a crop of patriotic men and women of clean records after the 2015 general elections. It is time to VOTE AND FLUSH OUT ALL THIS PRESENT BAD AND UNWANTED ‘EGGS’ IN GOVERNMENT! There must be sanity in this nation, the bloodshed must stop and Boko Haram must become a bad dream, needed to be quickly forgotten! We enjoin all patriotic citizens of this great nation refuse the Voter Bribery Syndicate of the rural areas who offer A FIVE HUNDRED NAIRA NOTE PLUS A LOAVE OF BREAD PER VOTER AND THEIR URBAN counterparts who offer larger sums of Nigeria’s stolen and embezzled monies to bribe gullible voters! OUR VOTES AGAINST THESE OPPORTUNISTS WILL PACIFY INSURGENCY AND NIGERIA WILL BE AT PEACE ONCE AGAIN! 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 .

ZION B-BC NEWSLETTER. [ A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja.] { VOL. 2. NO 38. 04-05-14.} CORRUPTION IN THE JUDICIARY! WHERE RESTS THE LAST HOPE OF THE COMMON MAN? Three quarters of Nigerian prisoners are AWAITING TRIAL DETAINEES, most of whom have spent over 15 years in detention! Comptroller General of the Nigerian Prison Service [NPS], in a shocking revelation, recently said, “….of 50,601 inmates in the various prisons, 36,934, are awaiting trial.” Majority of the detainees, not including those held in the various Police cells across Nigeria and who have been refused bail, are charged with capital offences, such as armed robbery and many have since died incarcerated! A Committee set up by the Interior Minister recently, also reported that the Nigerian Prisons are congested because they house more than a triple number of inmates specified, adding, “the slow process of trial of inmates by the courts is also responsible for more than 90per cent of prison population in urban centres.” The Committee concluded that Nigerian prisons are unfit for human habitation as most detainees were usually ill because they are kept under inhuman conditions, shackled and manacled like condemned dangerous criminals! These awaiting-trial detainees are the poor masses of our societies, as no rich man or woman ever waits for any trial since favourable and pre-determined judgments are courier-delivered to their homes, in some cases, by crooked judges! The Rule of Law specifies that every suspect is presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent court of jurisdiction, but what obtains in Nigeria’s prison system is “the RUSE of LAW”, where suspects, with the deliberate connivance of the COURTS are refused bail or prosecution, and are condemned to dungeons and early graves! Judicial powers of the Nigerian State, both at the Federal and State levels, are vested in the JUDICATURE, which consist of the superior courts of record, established for the Federation, according to Section 6, subsection(5)(a) to (i) of the 1999 Constitution. These consist of the following: the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the court of Appeal, the Federal High Court, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, a High Court of a State, the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, a Sharia Court of Appeal of a State, the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and a Customary Court of Appeal of a State. A search-light into the activities of some of these COURTS has revealed dirty, sordid and gruesome manipulation and perversion of the course of justice by corrupt judges! According to an insider, a retired President of the Court of Appeal, the Nigerian Judiciary harbours corrupt elements who are politicians and government apologists who attend all manner of social gatherings and frolic even with litigants with pending cases before their courts! How can judges decide cases against their political parties and people they wine and dine with? As a guest speaker at a recent lecture titled, “Nigeria at Centenary: A Nation In Bondage”, the retired President of the Court of Appeal said that the noble efforts of the incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria, to sanitize and rid the judiciary of corrupt elements were being frustrated by “the crop of people calling the shots at the Nigerian Judicial Council[NJC],” adding that some dishonourable people, “not fit to be judges and senior lawyers, get into the system, make it to the highest level of the judicial career and subsequently frustrate the common man’s quest for justice and equity!” He also claimed that it was an open truth that, both serving and retired judges act as the “arrangees” or couriers, who reach out to “purchase justice on behalf of crooked litigants” and concluded that the problems with the Nigerian Judiciary might be compounded or unresolved for a long time because Nigerians naturally hate the truth and whoever dared voice the truth was marked for destruction! We salute the courage of this fearless retired President of the Court of Appeal whose entire professional career at both the Bar and the Bench, remained untainted and impeccable like the likes of Justices Chukwudi Oputa, Bobakayode Eso, Ayo G.Irikefe, John Idowu Conrad Taylor, Ovie Whiskey, Chiefs ‘Tunji Braithwaite and Gani Fawehinmi etc; because what we have today are judges who have made Nigeria’s justice system by itself very criminal. We have this official statement also by the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC], that some serving judges are deeply immersed in corrupt practices. This high-profile revelation should alarm all Nigerians, especially the down-trodden whose last hope is rested on the judiciary as their final ARBITER! It was a divine miracle that the EFCC, which was notorious for not respecting the Masses Petitions, decided to probe the myriads of petitions levelled against the said judges and traced into their accounts, hundreds of millions of naira! These fraudulent judges who also possess multi-million naira worth of assets are alleged to have adopted unconventional methods, such as accepting VALUE CARDS and PIN NUMBERS from criminal litigants, who approached them for FAVOURABLE JUDGEMENTS in order to beat the various anti-corruption agencies! This current malaise which has dented the image of the Judiciary, is no doubt an indictment on the present administration, which had always encouraged corruption in all its ramifications through the under-staffing and under-funding of anti-graft agencies which should check-mate any form of fraudulent venture by any citizen of this great nation! At the Federal level, Mr. President appoints the judges, while the Governors perform this exercise at the State levels according to some constitutional principles, but the fact remains that the judges’ remunerations are bound to the whims and caprices of their EMPLOYERS who hold the REMOTE CONTROL for the judgement of litigations which must favour them and their cronies! As a people who should insist on the rule of law for justice, equity and fairness to all litigants, poor or rich, this unholy development at the Bar and Bench, should be of great concern to us because fraudulent court proceedings could neither pass through the “needle’s eye” nor the forensic tests to arrive at the truth! In February 2014, the NJC under the pay- roll of Mr. President, merely retired two Justices of Federal High Courts and one of the Plateau High Court of Justice, who were indicted for professional misconduct, instead of apportioning very strict penalties and they smiled home to enjoy their ill-gotten loots! What are the expectations of GOD in respect of Judges’ ethics when conducting themselves in office? (a)They should be capable and God-fearing.[Exodus.18:21; 2Samuel.23:3; Ezra.7:25]. (b)Truthful.[Deuteronomy.16:19]. (c)Must have hatred for covetousness. [Exo.18:21]. (d)Must be of a disposition to refuse bribes.[Exo.23:8]. (e)Wise and understanding.[Deut.1:13]. (f)Articulate and impeccable.[Deut.1:13,16]. (g)Having love of justice and judgment.[Deut.1:16,16:18-19,27:19,Zechariah.7:9-10]. (h)Without respect of persons.[Deut.1:17;16:19;25:1;Isaiah.5:23]. (i)Fearless.[Deut.1:17]. (j)Conscientious.[Deut.1:17]. (k)Strong and courageous. [Joshua.1:7]. (l)Obedient to the law.[Josh.1:7-8]. Nigeria has in the past produced decent, brave, fearless, intelligent, impeccable and incorruptible judges, who avoided filthy lucre, treaded the path of integrity and lived above board! The story was told of Late Justice John Idowu Conrad Taylor, a Chief Judge of Lagos State during the military administration, who turned down his Governor’s official invitation to a State Dinner on the following grounds: “ Lagos State Government has several pending cases before me…… I find it inappropriate to honour the invitation”. At his demise, Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon eulogised him for his sterling qualities. Do such Nigerian judges exist in today’s 21 century universe? The Federal Government should be more pro-active in funding the EFCC to pursue to its logical conclusion, all vital allegations of graft against these judges and publicly bring them to justice in order to purge and cleanse the judiciary, restore her reputation and establish a deterrent to others of their ilk! Of the late Supreme Court Judge, Bobakayode Eso ,(1925-2012), were the following WORDS ON MARBLE crafted: “He was an Icon even in death; Nigeria may never have his replacement – a very rare breed. Justice Eso was an untainted Judge with high integrity; one of the great Nigerians, incorruptible, academic, intelligent, serious-minded patriotic, scandal-free. A courageous judge and a consistent advocate for an independent judiciary whose long and exemplary life was dedicated to the service of law and order and the dispensation of true justice, equity and fairness to all.” We need more of the Eso’s, Conrad Taylors, Gani Fawehinmi’s, Oputas in our modern judiciary to re-build and restore the lost confidence of the COMMON MAN in Nigeria’s judicial system. We have a crop of patriotic legal minds, men and women of proven integrity who are ready to serve our great nation without soiling their hands and names! Will the corrupt politicians at the helm of affairs give them the opportunity to serve their Fatherland? Let Nigerians be assured that if they fail to make the necessary RESTITUTION now, GOD WILL REMOVE AND REPLACE THEM ACCORDING TO HIS SOVEREIGN WILL! 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 . st

ZION B-BC NEWSLETTER. [ A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja.] VOL. 2. NO. 37. 27-04-14. NIGERIA’S RE-BASED GDP SHOULD DELIVER DIVIDENDS OF DEMOCRACY! Gross Domestic Product or [GDP], is an economic gauge of the value of total production attributable to overall factors of generation of goods and services in a given country if prudent calculation is based on the national product or income. This economic evaluation is aimed to achieve the specific purpose of proving a country’s viability as an international entrepreneurial destination and it is termed ‘gross’ because allowance was not yet made for the ingestion of the fixed capital expended in production, to establish or determine actual market price. Nigeria’s GDP was last calculated in 1990! Since all incomes are generated through production, total national earnings of a given period are established by the application of monetary evaluation to all agricultural goods, labour and capital resources, hence Nigeria’s GDP estimates for the year 2013, which makes her the largest economy in Africa, and the 26 globally, is put at $510billion US dollars or N80.3trillion naira, taking into account, a range of new sectors and industries like the mobile telephone market and Africa’s largest-music and the entertainment local Nollywood film enterprise, which has now produced 12per cent of the GDP, or N853.9 billion naira. The re-based GDP numbers imply that the level of economic activity which is much higher than in the past 24years, is now being more driven by the SERVICE SECTOR, which means that we now have a clearer picture of Nigeria’s economic landscape which offers a significant opportunity for growth and wealth creation. But on ‘per capita’ basis, Nigeria is number 121 in the world! The universal index for measuring living standards and welfare is per capita income which is obtained by dividing the total national income by the total population; the higher the quotient, the higher, the standard of living, provided leaders are righteous and accurate census is achievable! A World Bank’s recent research has revealed that about 100million Nigerians dwell in abject poverty on a per capita of $1.5US dollars or N250 naira per day which makes the re-basing on Nigeria’s GDP as a total contradiction, a misnomer! WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF THE GDP OF EVERY NATION? The poor masses of course and not the power usurpers! Masses are the, “hewers of wood and drawers of water” who will always procure wealth for the rich through cheap labour in the formal and informal sectors of the economy. In the formal sector, the civil servants, armed forces, police, customs, immigrations etc, are paid paltry sums as salaries, forced to pay taxes, labour and die as patriotic citizens! The elites hardly pay taxes because they are very fraudulent when it comes to declaration of incomes! In the industrial or informal sector, which is privately powered, driven and funded, workers are goaded by task masters to work far beyond their pay packets! This bunch of unfortunate third rated citizens of the third world countries are also forced to bear the brunt of all societal ills, disasters and calamities resulting from consistent maladministration! WHO ARE THE EASY TARGETS OF BOMB BLASTS? WHOSE GRAVES ARE FOUND ON ROAD SIDES AND RIVER BANKS? WHO ARE THE ROBBERS AND KIDNAPPERS VICTIMS? WHO DWELL IN THE SLUMS AND THE WORST OF ALL RURAL AREAS? WHO ARE THE “AWAITING TRIAL” INMATES IN ALL THE PRISONS AND DETAINEES IN ALL POLICE CELLS AND SECURITY DETENTION CAMPS OF THE LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES? WHO ARE THOSE WHO GOT HIT BY STRAY BULLETS OF TRIGGER-HAPPY POLICEMEN? WHO SUFFERED HIGH-RATES OF CHILD/MATERNAL MORTALITY? WHO ARE DENIED MODERN HEALTH FACILITIES AND PORTABLE WATER SUPPLIES BUT CONDEMNED TO DRINK FROM THE SAME POOLS WITH ANIMALS? WHO ARE THE DREGS OF THE SOCIETY, WHO SHOULD BE LEFT TO ROT AWAY UNEDUCATED? The poor masses of course! But this scenario is not DIVINE it is man-evolved through an orchestrated abuse of the fundamental human rights, coercion and manipulation of the masses by a devious few and with God’s intervention, this ugly trend which has become a universal norm can be reversed! The Labour Force of these nations are the ordinary everyday people around the neighbourhood, the streets, the vicinities, hamlets, villages and rural areas who eek their living at the mercy of the high and mighty of the urban societies of all third world countries! Except for the United States of America and a few civilized countries of Europe and the Near East, the glaring neglect, of basic amenities and necessary infrastructures of life, like decent housing scheme, good roads, electrification, portable water, is visible all over rural Africa and Asia! Are we all conscious of the, “divide and rule” tactics, handed over by colonial masters to indigenous neo-colonialists, now responsible for the chaos of non-development in these countries? At the period of “independence”, the colonialists always ensured that a legacy of tribal sentiments and segregation, nepotism, religious bigotry, north-south dichotomy, land disputes, indigene/settler controversies, etc. were left unresolved while they imposed their surrogates to continue the oppression where they stopped! The following countries, Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], Central African Republic [CAR], Somalia, Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Turkey, Burundi and Rwanda, Cote’ de Voire [Ivory Coast], Sierra Leone, Liberia, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria, have all tasted the bitter pills of wicked and ruthless colonization experiences of the past and are still struggling to rise from the ashes of the devastation that have wiped out most citizens from existence! Presently in these countries, ‘dividends of democracy’ is ‘anathema’, meaning an accursed expectation, because, the few, who are at the helm of affairs, have sworn to keep their grip on all loots through the services of the police, and armed forces, recruited from among the masses! It is an irony of faith, but hope is not lost, because, the ONE who is in charge, is JEHOVA, who created the Heaven and the Earth and who has promised that He would neither forsake nor abandon his faithful children! When Prophet Elisha found himself with a similar situation of a pleasant land which harboured bitter springs of waters, he wasted no time in seeking divine solution to heal the waters which story, the Bible records as follows: “And he said, bring me a new cruse and put salt therein and they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake”[2Kings.2:19-22]. In Nigeria, bad leaders and their acts of corruption with impunity, constitute the “bitter springs” and the “bareness”, in our pleasant land flowing with milk and honey! Nigeria is so blessed with natural, economic and human resources, that with good leadership and sound management, there should be no citizens regarded as “poor masses”! Scientists have always tried unsuccessfully to prove the theory of EVOLUTION OF HUMAN SPECIES, asserting that men are “descendants of baboons and gorillas”! We disagree with that theory because, GOD created Man in His own image and likeness and gave them the mandate to be fruitful multiply and fill the earth. Man is also commanded to have dominion over all other creations! [Genesis.1:26-30]. But we are likely to agree with the scientists that the African elites evolved and not created because like all animals, they are neither God-conscious nor sensitive to wickedness and brutality against their fellow humans! In Nigeria for instance, these masses of poor people are “ local government” authorities unto themselves because, out of their poverty, they still provide all the basic amenities of life – houses, water, light and community-funded roads; they also purchase electric transformers for government to supply them power! The Big Question is, “Why should those who occupy transient positions of authority become so heartless, so ruthless and so insensitive to the citizens from one administration to another? WHO GAINS FROM THE PRIVATISATION INSTEAD OF COMMERCIALISATION, WHICH WOULD ENGENDER PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF ALL GOVERNMENT COMMERCIAL VENTURES? WHO GAINS FROM THE SUBSIDIES ON THE DOWN STEAM OF THE PETROLEUM SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY? WHO GAINS FROM ORGANIZED VANDALIZATION OF OIL AND GAS PIPE LINES? WHO GAINS FROM OIL THEFT, OIL BUNKERING AND MONEY LAUNDERING? They are the ‘ELITES’ of course! They have all the wherewithal to organize any act of wickedness including, high-tech robberies, large-scale forgeries kidnappings and assassinations! For instance, no one has arrested or interrogated the OGA AT THE TOP, under whose supervision, millions of dollars of oil moneys are being stolen with impunity and who brazenly, in spite all legally-instituted probes, issue media statements that no money was missing from the NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION [NNPC], COFFERS! We need to remind the ‘BIG MAN OF NIGERIA’ that he is only but, ONE HUMAN ORGANISM, who without the supportive structure of his ‘conscripted’ retinue of HELPERS – servants, batsmen, houseboys/girls aide-de-camp, vice brother, assistant sister etc, he is HELPLESS! Recently, Mr. Joe Biden, US Vice President, said in Ukraine, that, “Government exists to serve the people and not the people to serve government.” We agree with this factual 21 Century statement and pray that those, in government, who do not want to serve the people, from whom sovereign power is derived, should be made to account for their period of stewardship and be shown the way out! DIVINE JUDGEMENT IS AT THE DOOR! 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 st