FEATURE ARTICLE

Sam AwedaTuesday, March 28, 2017
[email protected]
Lagos, Nigeria

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THE HOPE OF NIGERIA IN THE MIDST OF BAD CONFUSION OR FRUSTRATION (3)

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Continued from Part 2

will continue today again preaching on the topic "The Hope of Nigeria in the Midst of Bad Confusion or Frustration"

This is the 3rd part of this sermon.

But before we proceed, I am going to request Dr. Deacon Kayode Samuel to commit this hour into the hands of the Lord.

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The Hope of Nigeria in the Midst of Bad Confusion or Frustration (3)

Again, this is the 3rd part in the series of this sermon with the title "The Hope of Nigeria in the Midst of Bad Confusion"

In the first and second part of this sermon, I stated my reasons why I still believe that Buhari is the anointed for the presidency at this point in time.

In the second part, I started to reveal what hope we have in spite the fact that the condition of many lives, have worsened vis-a-viz scarcity of job, the value of our naira, which has nose drive, power outage, which has worsened, many state governments owing their staff salaries in arrears of many months etc.

In the first and second part of the sermon, I gave my reasons, why it is very unfair to blame President Buhari for our situation that has gone worse when we all hear and read on daily basis how the past governments, particularly, the one he succeeded looted the treasury so badly.

Anyone who has the love of this country at heart will weep reading how the EFCC, on daily basis continues to discover how the commonwealth was looted by the officials of the past governments, particularly the immediate past one; money, which ought to be used for our care.

I then started to answer what hope we still have.

God has done His own part. He already gave us an upright president who hates corruption. So our hope is high if we citizens will do our own part.

The President has not been able to help us as much as he has planned because there still remains in large number, people who do not want to give up their corrupt life style.

They are so selfish. They do not have in their hearts, the love of their fellow citizens.

They care less about the suffering, which the majority of the people are going through. They care less about the prosperity of the nation.

Their selfishness and greed have blinded their eyes of understanding to know that it is the prosperity of the nation that will not let their own very descendants themselves live poorly in future, no matter what amount of money they piled up for those children and their generation.

They are very short sighted. How long does such money last? Where are the government robbers of yesterday? Where are their children today?

They have become nonentities and imbeciles.

How will they not? It is the blood of those who died due to poverty created by their fathers that cried for vengeance.

Their fathers were looting the public treasury thinking they were preserving wealth for them, not knowing that they were ruining their lives and causing the annihilation of their generation in total.

Fools, who refused the wisdom of God, thinking they are wiser than Him!

Where are the mansions they built today? They have become bushes and inhabitable. They have sold many at ridiculous prices.

How true the Bible is! It says "Proud man! Frail as breath! a mere moving shadow, and all your busy rushing, ends in nothing. You heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it" (Psalm 39:6)

Jesus says: "Everyone is a fool who is rich on earth but not in heaven" (Luke 12:21)

How many years have they on earth that they are piling up so much wealth? Worse still, wealth of the whole citizen! It will have been better if it has been wealth from their sweat.

The President has already appealed to the lawyers who are slowing down, his war on corruption. Pray that they will heed.

Let me repeat it again that our only hope is for every one of us to become godly in every sphere of our engagements; whether in the service of the government, someone's business or privately owned. This is the only medication, which the Bible prescribed for our wellbeing.

We should discard it in our minds that there will be no one in vantage position, who will not make himself rich. The fathers who took power from the Colonial Masters did not enrich themselves. Did Balewa and co do? And that was why Nigeria was so pleasant at the time.

Our hope will be achieved the day we stop hailing but start to shun those who dip their hands into government treasury and we stop to having anything to do with them.

Our hope will be speedily achieved the day, when the important dignitaries in our midst, stop taking the gifts of the government and Law makers.

It will be achieved sooner, the day they stop accepting being sponsored to the Holy Lands. Accepting their gift is sharing in their theft. One Yoruba adage says that the person who helps bring down theft from the roof is as guilty as the thief himself.

What is our hope? What again is our way out of this mess?

Certain things about our democracy must give way.

Certain things are wrong with our democracy. They are pauperizing us. They must be corrected.

For example, the cost of maintaining our government officials is too high. The salary and allowances of one law maker can put smile on the face of thousands of jobless citizens; those who have completed their studies but returned to their parents to be fed .

The World Bank has said that our officials constitute 1% of the population, yet they alone consume 80% of our wealth. This is not how a democratic government should be. Ours has turned to be a government of the Politicians for the Politicians and those in government.

I have in the past asked that our frustration in this regard be placed squarely on those who decided the remunerations of the Law Makers. They are evil people.

Something must be worked out to change it. Democracy is said to be a government of the people for the people. Our own democracy in Nigeria has turned to be a government of the officials for the officials.

What is our hope as a nation?

The President must have people whose creditability he trusts, to be looking at what the Civil servants in Aso Rock, budgets for his personal care and the State House (Aso Rock) in general. They must be people who have the understanding of what he hates, those who know that that his government does not tolerate stealing in one way or the other,

What the Civil Servants budget for his care and Aso Rock in general is in contrast to what his government upholds. It stains his integrity for which many of us stand behind him.

How can they be budgeting in billions of Naira for his food and entertainment?

The Sun News paper of December 29 2016 reported that the State House budget, for the fiscal year 2017 would be N42billion with expenditure on food, cooking gas and kitchen utensils expected to quip well over N850million. Specifically, N100,800, 300 would be spent for the purchase of kitchen utensils such as forks and knives for use in Aso Rock.

What much food and entertainment does he want to eat and do? Is he hosting every citizen of the world in Aso Rock?

How can they be budgeting for cooking utensils in millions every year? Did they auction the forks, spoons, knives, food plates of the previous years?

The budget is ridiculous. It is one theft that is not covered; a theft without pretense or deceit. It is dubious, scandalous and shameful. Those who wrote it did not cover their intention to steal.

The budget also included a large sum of money for the repairs of the Vice President's quarters and gate; something that had already been budgeted for in the previous years.

Glad however that the Vice president has spoken that he needs no repair in his house and he is satisfied with where he currently lives.

But anyone can see what damage is already done to an upright man. This is why they must have people who know what their government stands for to be supervising the budgets before it is passed to the Law Makers.

It confuses me how those budget writers can be so bold to do such a thing in a government, which its primary duty is fighting corruption. It is frightening and worrisome.

By the grace of God, I will continue this sermon, "The Hope of Nigeria in the Midst of Bad Confusion" next week and I will speak further on certain things about our democracy, which must give way in order to realize our hope for a betterment for our lives.

Let us pray.

Signing Out

Continued from Part 2

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