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A popular Reggae singer by
the name of Peter Tosh once said in one of his songs that he did not want peace
but equal rights and justice. At first, I had to wonder what
the difference was. It did not take long for me to realize
that where there is fairness; there is almost no quarrel. So
a peaceful society is a result of fairness among its citizens.
It is when a society has chosen to live in a system that is fair and just
to all that we can truly achieve some level of peace. Can
there be any form of peace in an unjust society? What do you
call the peace that is in place where the government oppress their citizens, or
a place where only a certain gender, race, ethnic or religious groups is allowed
to rule and get all the benefits at the expense of others?
That form of peace is called ignorance or the lack of purpose.
It was said from times of old
that if you are quiet and mind your business, no one would know that you are
actually very stupid. It is a man or a group of people who
keep quiet when things are going bad for the sake of peace that are actually
stupid. They keep quiet not because they like it but because
they not know what to do, they do not know what they want, and they do not know
where to go. All this is equivalent to ignorance and lack of
purpose. I remember growing up in UNIBEN,
Nigeria in the late 80s to
early 90s. Whenever the Military governments at the time
would make any serious political and economical blunder, the students will come
out to riot to get public attention to the injustice being done.
Instead of the masses to join them by matching on the streets, closing
all businesses and highways, or even matching to the government buildings to
show that this is not their purpose or vision as citizen; they will turn around
and label the students as irresponsible elements that do not want to go to
school. Many of the students would get arrested and some
killed, and the government would still go ahead with their unjust plans.
This happened many times and the market women, the farmers, the
businessmen, the police, and all forms of people will just sit back and watch.
Some will say that they do not want to die for anybody, others will say
that their life is just for them and their children; many would say that only a
fool argues with a man with the gun. This was the spirit of
conformity.
It was not too long, a
country that once had one of the strongest currencies, it not the strongest,
devalued its currency in the name of structural adjustment.
Many of the children that were the reason why parents refused to fight the
government or support the “irresponsible” students’ riots became economic slaves
in foreign countries. The women of a certain majestic ethnic
group whose neighbors were pleased to have as one of their wives became the
symbol of prostitution. A group of people who spend more time with cattle than
humans and always have the lowest grade in any human exam began to say that they
were born to rule human beings. Soldiers and civilians of
low mentality, who are not worthy to lace the shoes of grade school children in
America, became Nigerian
presidents. The Europeans have said that you only go as far
as your leaders go. Leaders are a product of their
followers. If your leaders are inferior and unworthy; so are
you and the entire group they represent. I read of a certain
period about the
Roman Empire, where the emperor is assassinated
and his crown is offered to anyone that can meet the
demand of the citizens. This meant that, if you do not have what it takes
to represent us gloriously,
and
lead us to our destiny and purpose, please stay clear of office or die.
Even in Bini history, there was once a king who ruled badly. The entire
people left him, including his wives and servants, and the kingdom was broken
into various states and was ruled by their chiefs. He had to
apologize and offer a huge sacrifice before the people came back to him.
It is the people that have
always had the power and not the leaders.
When you do not change your leaders who are misrepresenting you, then you
have accepted that leadership to represent you. In a place
where they is no established or enforced law, you may be killed for trying to
change your leaders, but it is better to let the police and soldier know that
you (the masses not one person) are so serious that if they do not join you, you
two may die together. |
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The Political & Spiritual Purpose of the
Holy Land
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A European once came to
Nigeria at night for a
Christian convention. He was so impressed with the way we
worshipped, sang, and prayed to God. The next day after
going around the city, he had no choice but to ask why such a praying and spirit
filled people with so much resources where living below global poverty levels
and had no reliable infrastructure in place. As a student of
the Bible, this visitor was right. How can you say you serve
God and you have no adequate water supply or constant electricity? How does God
live in a place where illiterates rule the learned? What has God got to do with
a people who rejoice in recycling old trash that enslaved them and hid their
resources in foreign banks? Master Kunfu Tsu (Confucius)
once said that the highest human is not the one born into royalty, possess great
wealth, nor the one that has titles, but it is the one that seeks knowledge to
serve his fellowman. This knowledge is not degree.
It is the divine knowledge of understanding your purpose on earth towards
your service to your fellowman. Knowing how, when, and where
things should be done for the benefit of all. It is making
rules and enforcing laws that enhance all and not a few. It
is the vision that fulfills a destiny and purpose based on a common interest and
not the misguided interest of external parties. Despite the
fact that he died poor (materially) because no ruler will hire him because of
his honesty, and he had only about 3000 followers, the entire China nation’s
ideologies of today is based on his teachings. Today,
China is a
political and economic force to reckon with. Do you know
that the
United States is currently in
debt to
China in Billions of
dollars? What about the Jesus we worship in the whole of the
educated (colonial education) southern
Nigeria?
Do we even understand who He really is or are we still meditation and
preaching from a colonial mentality? If there are any
Christians in
Nigeria who are friends
with the leaders, can they please explain what the Holy Ghost and Jesus have got
to do with the condition of the nation? Jesus was a learned
man by education, religion, history, and custom, and he had a purpose.
He taught his followers determination and purpose that took his teachings
from a persecuted sect to the world’s dominant religion.
Even the Romans that persecuted his followers are now 99% Christians with
Rome as the capital of Christianity.
A Rome Jesus never saw.
Unlike colonial
misunderstanding, Jesus taught his follower to fulfill their purpose at any cost
(Luke 9:57-62). He told them to carry their cross all the
way even if it leads to death (Matthew 16:24-27). It was
their responsibility to seek satisfaction and contentment no matter the
obstacles (Matthew 5:1-10). He told them to walk two miles
if forced to walk one, turn the other cheek if slapped once, and to give up
their hats as well, if forced to give up their cloth. His
message was never to submit to hindrance, dissatisfaction, and conformity
(Mathew 5:38-48). This is because when you submit to these
evils for the sake of your children, peace, and the joy of life, the evil
becomes a norm. Now in
Nigeria, it is okay for
girls to sell their bodies, use public office to steal money, and children no
longer see value in education in a country where illiterates call the shots.
The civilized nations understand Jesus’ teachings very well because their
parents where the Christian missionaries that helped to enhance colonial rule in
distance lands. They are prepared to fight their government
to do what is right for the nation and their children. Last
week, the Almighty President Bush was humbled with the fact that his party has
lost control of the Senate and the House of representatives.
He is now respecting opinions he never cares about before, and had let his
Secretary of “War” go due to the people’s demand. Even the
Muslims live by this principle. Without warplanes and tanks,
they refused to be colonized or oppressed by the world power to the point that
America is deciding how to
withdraw from
Iraq without appearing
like defeat.
Until Nigerians, Africans,
and the entire Black race uplift their knowledge to have a vision of fulfilling
their purpose and aligning it with God’s destiny for them, they will forever be
under a cause of political irrelevance and economic bondage.
Their daughters will be prostitutes in distant lands pretending to be students,
their sons will be the cheap labor force for other races, they will call others
“sir” on their own soil, and their illiterates will govern them and ignorantly
give up their resources to foreigners that did not sow. We
will have leaders who cater to foreign needs with the hope of being liked by
them than fighting for our interest. To know the Lord is to
acquire knowledge and understanding. He who has knowledge
will always have a purpose because knowledge is acquired through disciple,
meditation, and study. No matter how powerful God is, He
will always use people on earth to bring change. Some will
talk, some will write, some will stand on highways, some will be killed, other
will be imprisoned; but all of them have the divine knowledge to pursue a
purpose that will bring God’s destiny to their fellowman.
This destiny is happiness, fulfillment, excellent health, long life, global
respect, justice, peace of mind, and the faith to accomplish anything for the
betterment of man and his environment. Can these people ever
be Nigerians or the Black race? |
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