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Religious violence looms in Kano • As non-muslims petition Yar’Adua over Hisbah
Another round of violence appears to be looming in Kano State as leaders of non-Muslim residents in the state has petitioned President Umaru YarAdua, and Senate President, David Mark over the renewed attack on the people and wanton destruction of alcoholic drinks by Hisbah command, an agent set up by the state government to implement Sharia legal system in the state.
Leaders of non indigenes in the state in a four page strong petition dated June 18 and made available to Daily Champion at the weekend declared that non Muslim would no longer fold their hands and watch the Hisbah command in the state unleash terror on innocent people under the guise of Sharia implementation.
In the petition, they accused Governor Ibrahim Shekarau and the Nigerian police force of conspiracy of silence.
They said the command had concentrated its attack in the recent times on non-Muslim residents in Sabon Gari, a predominantly non indigenes community in Kano State.
The aggrieved non Muslims under the aegis of ‘leaders of ethnic communities resident in Kano State’ in the letter said the government outfit had in a year destroyed over 30 trailer load of assorted drinks worth N250million.
The forum in the letter jointly signed by its president and secretary general Chief Tobias Idika and Prince Femi Adegoroye respectively alleged that the Hisbah command has taken over the job of Nigerian police and NDLEA in the state and mount road blocks in their search for alcoholic drinks in the state.
They said some luxurious bus drivers and owners of such items plying any of the federal high ways in the state were victims of the activities of Hisbah.
"Very fresh in memory is the incident of March 30 when Hisbah intercepted a truck conveying drinks to Maiduguri , after a thorough investigation by the Nigerian police , they charged the truck to a magistrate court which later released the truck upon finding that it was on transit plying a federal high way, but to the consternation of law abiding citizens, Hisbah after the court verdict , re arrested the truck at court premises , confiscated and destroyed the drinks."
"There would have been a mother of all riots in Kano on May 28 when Hisbah under the pretence of pursing a truck made attempt to unleash terror on Sabon Gari residents.
"To our greatest surprise, police and other security agents in Kano state have failed to be proactive , responsible and responsive on this issues, they seem to have been looking the other side while Hisbah constitue to disturb public peace.
"They said a number of bus drivers and owners of drinks have been arrested and detained by the police and taken to court of their choice,
"We as responsible citizens of this country and community burdened with the responsibility of ensuring peace and order are moved to draw the attention of the president on this matter and we wish that you act fast before things get out hand."
TAC Leader Dies
Pastor S. S. Jemigbon, who doubled as the Vice President of The Apostolic Church, Nigeria, and Lagos, Western and Northern Area (LAWNA) Chairman, has been found dead in his bed.
The clergy, who presided over a conference of ministers of the church which ended recently, had showed no sign of ill-health. He participated actively throughout the conference. The LAWNA Chairman retired to his room after his evening meal and after praying with his family members. A staff of the church, who pleaded anonymity, said it was a thing of shock when Baba (as the LAWNA Chairman was fondly called) did not wake up early as usual. When he was checked in his room, he was found dead in his bed.
The clergy’s humility and commitment to the things of the Lord brought him to the enviable office of LAWNA Chairman and Vice President of the church. He left behind his lovely wife and children. Until his death, Pastor Jemigbon was an amiable man of God who preached the gospel of Jesus Christ without fear or favour. He was a trusted and tested counsellor in the body of Christ. He believed in the advancement of the gospel which he glowingly displayed by opening branches of the The Apostolic Church in Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Texas (USA) and other parts of the world.
His death, according to members, is a great loss to the church. They stated that the easy-going man of God would be greatly missed by both the young and old as result of his stand on morality and chastity among women and the youths. Pastor Babatunde Ajayi, one of the pastors in Agege Area, said the departure of Baba is a great shock to the church, adding that it would definitely be hard to bear.
He added that his demise may hamper the progress of work in the building of the National Temple of The Apostolic Church which witnessed a tremendous progress during his tenure. Pastor Z. A. Alabi, one of LAWNA’s senior staff, was not available to confirm his death. Until this morning, P.M.NEWS learnt the cause of his death has not been ascertained, as members were still discussing the incident in hushed tone.
Prophet TB Joshua Predicted The Death Of Michael Jackson
The prophetic reputation of Pastor TB Joshua attained new heights with the recent revelation that he foretold the sudden death of the iconic pop legend, Michael Jackson…
Shock and sympathy are still reverberating around the world since the news broke on Thursday 25th June that Michael Jackson, the undisputed 'King Of Pop' had died suddenly after collapsing in his L.A apartment. However, his death had been foretold months earlier by a popular Nigerian Prophet, TB Joshua.
In January this year, Joshua prophesied during one of his famous Sunday services, broadcast live on Emmanuel TV: “I'm seeing a great star whom the world is shouting, “Hey, hey, hey!” In his own area, he's famous – he's known everywhere. He is great – too great… I see something will begin to happen to that star and that may likely end in him packing his load and going on the journey of no return…”
A month later, he clarified that the person concerned was not from his local environ and was 'too young to leave your midst' – enjoining the congregants and viewers worldwide to pray earnestly for this 'great star'.
Although some may view his words as too generic to be accredited to the legendary entertainer, the revelation of Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli on Sunday 28th June 2009, the famous flautist, business associate of Marlon Jackson and close friend of the Jackson family, put asunder such doubts. Joshua knew clearly who he was referring to.
In a sober atmosphere, Tee Mac spoke in front of a live television audience on Emmanuel TV, testifying that Prophet TB Joshua had told him to warn Michael Jackson of an impending health disaster, and invite him to visit Nigeria for healing.
“The man of God (TB Joshua) called me to his office and said to me, 'Please, tell your friend Marlon to bring Michael here to Nigeria. Michael needs healing; he needs deliverance.' I told the man of God that Michael Jackson just went for a medical check up because he is going to have about 50 concerts soon. But the man of God said to me, 'Send Michael here – he needs healing.' ”
When the tragic news broke, “what immediately came to my mind was that the man of God told me something's going to happen,” Tee Mac reminisced. Clearly remorseful, he lamented that if he had taken the message more seriously and acted with more insistence, “maybe Michael Jackson would still be alive today…”
Utilising the occasion to reflect on life, TB Joshua asked the audience in a heartfelt message: “If today were your last day on earth, what would people remember you for? What would generations yet unborn read about you?' He encouraged the people to live each day as if it were their least, and avoid the burden of unnecessary worry and anxiety. “Let us leave tomorrow's trouble for the One who bore our troubles on the cross,” he remarked.
As well as speaking on major world events, Joshua regularly prophesies to individuals that throng his flourishing church in Lagos, with uncanny accuracy. His recent prophecies include the death of the former South Korean president, the Feb 13 plane crash in New York and the release of Ingrid Betancourt from the Colombian jungle last year.
His ministry is attracting a growing fanatical following, particularly across Africa, and many African leaders such as John Evans Atta Mills of Ghana regularly frequent his church for spiritual support and guidance.
Source: Africa News
A salad bowl of intellectual garbage (3)
IF, as believers argue, Lucifer has the power to deceive people, it is possible that the evil one would deceive them into accepting as the will of God something which Lucifer himself actually intended.
Most believers dogmatically maintain that God’s will is embodied in the scripture. But which one? Generally, people accept the book considered sacred in the society in which they were born, and out of that book they select the parts that suit their purposes, neglecting the others.
There was a time when the command: “Thou shall not suffer a witch to live” was one of the most influential texts in The Holy Bible. But nowadays, except for some deranged fanatics, most Christians ignore it. Pastors are fond of quoting those verses in The Holy Bible that would either increase their power over church members or encourage church members to be cheerful givers to the church. They hardly mention those texts where Jesus condemned riches or where he showed by example that true leaders must be servants. Human beings believe various things for several reasons. Some of those beliefs are based on evidence. For instance, if one wants to know when Nigeria got her independence, a well written authoritative book on the history of the country can supply the information.
However, when the matter is controversial, things become somewhat complicated, and the basis of belief becomes more tenuous. We tend to believe those things that make us feel good about ourselves, our ethnic group, and country etc, in spite of evidence to the contrary. The indulgent feeling of self- importance, individual or generic, is the source of religious beliefs and, hence, of most of our problems. Religion teaches that humans are special creatures made in the image of God and that all the acts of cosmological creation are centered on homo sapiens. Even the concept of Original Sin is based on man’s feeling of self importance. Indeed, the theologies of the three Abrahamic religions, namely, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, are based on human conceit.
Adam, if the book of Genesis reports truly, must be feeling good with himself that Yahweh could orchestrate vast astronomical phenomena for his own pleasure. These religions assume dogmatically without good evidence, in regard to the doctrine of heaven and hell, that homo sapiens is the most important creature in the entire universe. Naturally, because all theologians are human beings, this idea has not really been seriously challenged. After the emergence of the theory of evolution, the uncritical glorification of humans mutated. We are now told that the mechanisms of evolution were deployed by God to achieve his purpose here on earth. At first sight, this theory appears to reconcile theology with science. But there are serious difficulties with this “reconciliation”.
Experts in the relevant scientific disciplines posit that life evolved on earth about 3.5 billion years ago, from simple, self-replicating macromolecules, to the present species of organisms. But believers insist that homo sapiens were created by God in the fullness of time. I am not sure whether creationists have really considered fully the detailed information about the origin of life and the evolution of organisms contained in the biological sciences before positing that the earth and its contents are the handiwork of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and infinitely good God.
On the basis of the well-corroborated theory of evolution, one should suppose that it took the deity about 3.5 billion years to create all the celebrated mass murderers in recorded history, people like Josef Stalin of Russia, Benito Musolini of Italy and Adolf Hitler of Germany. If creationists were correct, why does the path of evolution, both at the micro level of molecular biology and genetics and macro level of species, seem to be the product of blind, but not completely random, processes? Gottfried Leibniz, a German philosopher, suggested that this world is the best of all possible worlds. I strongly disagree, because I can easily imagine a much better world than the one we have at the moment.
If God really has all the attributes conventionally ascribed to him, why did he spend billions of years to produce a world redolent with fantastic beauty and mind-numbing ugliness and evil? If I am omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and benevolent, the world I will create would be better than this one. I certainly will not create a world in which diseases and natural disasters kill thousands of people on a regular basis. The holy scriptures, because they were written by humans unduly glorify our species. For instance, The Holy Bible affirms that our bodies are “wonderfully and fearfully made”, the “temple of God”, in spite of the obvious fact that the human body is subject to a bewildering variety of diseases, and decays at death.
Church leader in charm scandal
The General Overseer of a pentecostal church in Port Harcourt, River State narrowly escaped being lynched on Monday night after he and an aide were caught attempting to bury charms in the home of a businessman.
He had intended to deceive the man and the crowd at a crusade that the charm was buried in the businessman’s house by enemies.
Unfortunately, the evil plot of the general overseer whose church (name withheld) is located in the Diobu area of the capital city blew up in his face as his aide, also a pastor, was caught bringing out the calabash of charms from his clothes, while the ‘deliverance’ prayer was in progress.
Incidentally, it was the businessman who in defiance of an order that all eyes remain closed while the charm was being dug out, caught the pastor in the act.
The general overseer’s journey to disgrace began when he attended a three-day crusade of another church, Destiny Blenders Church at the Eagle Island area of the city as the guest preacher.
It was gathered that during his ministration, the general overseer announced to the crowded congregation that he had a vision that a charm was buried in the residence of the businessman to destroy his wealth and health with the sole intention of killing him slowly.
The senior clergyman who also preaches weekly on one of the local television stations, consequently arranged for his aassistant pastor to unearth the buried charm while the main crusade was in progress.
On arrival in the home of the businessman, a deliverance prayer laced with speaking in tongues, commenced with all eyes closed while the assistant pastor started digging a particular spot already identified as where the destructive charm was supposedly buried.
Unknown to all who were gathered at the ‘uprooting’ exercise, the businessman did not close his eyes and he saw the assistant pastor bringing out the satanic calabash from his pocket and raised alarm.
The assistant pastor was alleged to have confessed that his General Overseer gave him the calabash to bury and pretend that it had been there long before the crusade.
He was later led back to the crusade venue where the general overseer apparently oblivious that his dubious plot has been exposed, was still preaching.
Both men were later beaten black and blue before they were handed over to some mobile policemen who led them away.
When contacted, Police spokesperson in the state, Mrs Rita Inoma-Abbey (DSP), told Daily Sun that she was yet to be briefed on the incident.
Pastor Frowns At Clergymen’s Docility
General Overseer of the Believers Vineyard Church, New Oko-Oba, Agege, Pastor Akin Obadofin, has spoken strongly against the docility of fellow clergymen concerning social ills in the country.
“I can’t believe that my fellow pastors could be so indifferent about unpopular socio-economic happenings in Nigeria,” he submitted.
Pastor Obadofin who also ministers through music recalled with dismay pastors silence over the last fuel shortage and its attendant fare hike which caused untold transportation hardship for the masses.
“Everybody knows the respect men of God are supposed to be enjoying in every society. I expect them to have used that to benefit mankind. This docility of fellow pastors should stop, if they want to continue enjoying public confidence,” he maintained.
Court Exhibit Theft; Magistrate Issues Warrant Of Arrest Against Accused
The trial of six Lagos High Court officials accused of stealing some exhibits from the court was again stalled this morning at the Yaba Magistrate’s Court in Lagos, following the non-appearance of the second accused person, Moronfolu Babade.
Consequently the presiding magistrate, Mrs. Adesola-Ikpatt, has issued a bench warrant for his arrest. She adjourned the matter till 23 and 25 June, 2009.
The officials, five men and a woman are: Bolanle Bolarinwa, Moronfolu Babade, Raji Mufutau, Rasaki Disu, Rashidat Ishola and Christian Kalejaiye.
They were earlier arraigned at the Yaba Magistrate’s Court for allegedly stealing various items including jeans trousers, one XB 25 C8G tape stereo recorder, five yards of cloth materials, wooden table and accessories, one engine fan, 16-inch orbit 3H-I television and three pieces of mercurial sphygmomanometer, value at N3.4 million on 20 November, 2008.
The case, which was instituted by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution, represented by Assistant Director, Mr. Gbadebo Oshola, state Ministry of Justice was adjourned by the magistrate till today because of the absence of the second defendant, Mr. Moronfolu Babade, who also failed to show up in court today.
The accused persons are facing a five-count charge which read: “that the accused and others at large on or about 20 November, 2008 at Lagos High Court, Igbosere, conspired to commit felony, to wit, store-breaking and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the Criminal Code Cap 17, Vol. II, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.”
According to the third count, the accused allegedly broke into the exhibit store of the court where the goods attached ‘pursuant to court order’ were kept pending sale by auction, while the fourth count alleged that the accused stole goods valued at N3.5 million, property of the court, an offence punishable under section 390(5) of the Criminal Code, Cap 17, Vol. II, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria.
Church sacks Pastor in Kogi
Pastor in charge of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Isanlu, headquarters of Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State, has been booted out of his church, which he served for nine years.
His offences, according to source, were gross misconduct and cumulative offence said to be unbecoming of a man of God as alleged in a memoranda sent to the headquarters of the Baptism churches in Nigeria at Ibadan.
The pastor's offences include alleged lust for money, moral bankruptcy and alleged camping of women and ladies in the pastorium of the church. Others include submission of fake receipts and abnormal high estimate aimed at cheating the church.
In an 11-page petition with several sub-titles sent to the embattled man of God and copied to the Secretary of the Nigerian Baptist Convention at its Secretariat in Ibadan, and signed by four principal officials of the church, the secretary, M. E. Jaiyeoba, gave several other reasons for the sack of the man of God.
The pastor was also accused of turning himself into purchasing officer and price negotiator rather than concentrating on the growth of evangelism in the church.
It would be recalled that over N15 million was raked on the spot during the final burial ceremony and appeal fund launching for projects of the church that were started by the late benefactor of the church, Otunba Lesile Akande, last year.
Jehovah’s Witnesses Face Higher Risk Of Death During Childbirth
Women members of the Christian sect, Jehovah’s Witnesses, have increased risks of maternal death during childbirth, an international research journal has found out.
The International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found that women in this group are six times more likely to die, and three times more likely to have serious complications than other women in the world. The group ,which carried out its study in the Netherlands. between 1983 and 2006 and understudied maternal mortality between 2004 and 2006, reported that all identified cases of maternal mortality in Jehovah’s Witnesses during these periods were caused by major obstetric haemorrhage and the refusal of red blood cell transfusion.
While the society of Jehovah’s Witnesses with more than six million members worldwide are said to have issued a clear stance against transfusion of blood or any of its major components, the study says there might be problems with convincing the people to accept treatment with other blood products. Chairman of the research committee in the Netherlands, Prof. Jos Van Roosmalen, speaking on the finding said, “Jehovah’s Witnesses, by refusing blood transfusion, expose themselves to a serious risk during childbirth. Our survey has shown a maternal mortality ratio due to obstetric haemorrhage of 68 per 100,000 live births in this group, a 130 times higher risk than the average.”
The research group further stressed that “any hospital treating Jehovah’s Witnesses should have a clear protocol for obstetric care and ensure training for staff in its management. It is important for doctors to discuss all risks and available alternatives with patients early in pregnancy, to ensure that both patient and doctor have a clear understanding of the options in the event of an emergency.” The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) recently released a disturbing report on maternal mortality in Nigeria in which the fund declared that one Nigerian mother dies every 10 minutes due to complications of pregnancy or during childbirth. UNICEF also stressed that thousands more mothers are disabled in birth-related accidents every year.
Desist From All Vices, Nigerian Youths Told
The National vice president of the African Church Youth Association, Lagos Central Diocese, Mr. Femi Lambo, has called on youths not only to see themselves as future leaders, but also stakeholders in the affairs of the church and the nation at large.
Speaking during the commemoration of the 2009 National Youth Week, tagged Glorious Youths, Lambo said this was a clarion call to all youths to rise up to the challenges and repositioning going on in the church, the nation and the world at large.
According to him, “anything we do now will definitely justify the position we will occupy in the nearest future,” while urging the youths to stand firm and work relentlessly to uphold the heritage for which the African Church is known and with a view to worship God “in spirit and in truth.”
According to him, “the global financial melt-down, although a world wide phenomenon, is evident that the God we serve is a God that makes a way where there seems to be no way, as with God, all things are possible.”
He enjoined the youths to embrace the Federal Government’s re-branding project. This, he said, is because a new face for Nigeria is the responsibility of everyone.
He advised them to take a bold step and desist from all vices that tend to portray Nigeria in a bad light.
In a related development, Lambo urged the African Church, Lagos Diocese, to support the youths through skill acquisition programmes, employment opportunities and other innovations that will add value to the lives of the youths and the church in general.
He extolled the leadership qualities of the former Primate, the Most Reverend (Dr.) A.O.O. Onanuga and his wife, Deaconess O.B. Onanuga, while urging members of the church to continually pray for the new primate, Most Rev. E.J. Udofia and his family.
Unveil top Nigerians on Tompolo’s list, Okonkwo tells FG
The presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Bishop Mike Okonkwo has challenged the Federal Government to disclose the names of highly-place Nigerians discovered at the residence of wanted militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo a.k.a. Tompolo at Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State.
Making the appeal during an interactive session with some journalists at the church’s premises in Lagos, Okonkwo stated that government should go beyond mere disclosure that some influential Nigerians were transacting business or relating with the militant kingpin, but should go the whole hog by letting the public know the identity of such citizens.
According to him, government should also go beyond releasing their names but go ahead to prosecute any of them discovered to be involved in any act or action that amounts to collaboration against the collective interests of the nation.
“Let the Federal Government be bold to publish the names of the highly placed Nigerians alleged to be doing business or collaborating with Tompolo. Nobody should be treated as a sacred cow. Anybody discovered to have committed an offence in one way or the other by doing business with Tompolo should be prosecuted.
If this is done, the militants will feel happy that it is not only the government is after, but majority of Nigerians will also know that government is sincere in finding a lasting solution to Niger-Delta problem. The major problem with finding a lasting solution has been that of insincerity on the part of government over the years. The issue of the list of names found in Tompolo’s house should not be treated in camera , the whole world should know the truth,” he declared.
The Cleric lamented that the problem has created a serious humanitarian crisis whereby innocent people are suffering, while the real culprits that caused the problem had ran away.
He, therefore, appealed to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to order the Joint Task Force, JTF, to allow speed boats carrying relief materials sail to the creeks where several people including women and children and the elderly ones have been trapped without access to food, medicine and other essential commodities.
“I will like to call on the Federal Government to order JTF to allow relief materials to reach those people trapped in the creeks. It is unfortunate that innocent people are now suffering while the militants including their leader, Tompolo have run away.
What is happening today in Niger-Delta is sad. We are talking of human beings that don’t have access to food and water. On humanitarian ground, I am making a passionate appeal to the president to order JTF to allow relief materials into the creeks,” he declared.
While stressing that the on-going military offensive can’t provide a lasting solution to the crisis in the region, Okonkwo said dialogue and genuine sincerity on the part of all the stakeholders would bring peace and development to the area.
“The Niger-Delta crisis can’t be resolved by force. The crisis has snowballed into a monster today because successive governments had failed to do what is right. The on-going military offensive will only bring a temporary peace. The only way to have a lasting peace is for government, the militants and the other stakeholders to embrace dialogue and sincerity. Without sincerity, there can’t be a genuine solution.
Government must be ready to show a serious commitment to the development of Niger-Delta. The people and their environment have suffered a lot. Yet, this is a region that produces the nation’s wealth. The stakeholders need to sit down and hold meaningful dialogue that will chart the way out of the present quagmire,” he stated.
Appealing to government to involve religious leaders, in any process designed to restore peace to the area, Okonkwo said “religious leaders intervention will not only bring spiritual dimension to the issue, but it will also give the needed confidence. Christian leaders will not hesitate to speak the truth whenever the occasion demands it, we should give God a chance to intervene. Where every other things fails or is faltering, God never fails. We should be humble to allow God’s intervention and if this is done, we will have enduring peace in our nation.”
Assessing the two years administration of President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, the cleric said the president need to buckle up.
“The president has not done much. It has been stories and stories with nothing to show on the ground. But it’s unfortunate that those who are supposed to tell the president the truth will not do so. Those surrounding him are sycophants who are only out for what they will eat and it is some of these shameless aides that are canvassing a second term for him,” he said.
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