News

Belief has to do with acknowledging an object by identifying with it in readiness to follow dictates for the purpose of benefitting from the relationship that is loyalty and trust-based.
In the religious parlance, our belfie that God created us and our environment and that He is the source of all the wherewithal responsible for our existence and survival as well as being the key determinant of our lives. Each religion has a creed, doctrine, and tenets that can be regarded as a curriculum or template for the adherents to be able to uniformly identify with God the Almighty through such processes that can be regarded as a form of worship in words, thoughts, deeds, and acts.
The whole process is enveloped by behavioral objectives upon which the account of the body's deeds or acts are gainfully or sinfully registered using the soul as a memory card for the, while the body at the terminal end goes into the grave decaying to humus level of nutrients to mother earth, the soul is either in a state of rest or decided to roam about or face judgment in the year after, with all the details of accounts of deeds by the body while the person was alive.
This is why the Holy Quran 2: 201-202 should be regarded as the statements of the problem in thesis writing and the significance of existence too: 'And there are men' who say:'' Our  Lord give us good in this world and good in the year after and save us and save us from the torments of fire !''. To this would be allowed what they have  earned and Allah is quick in account.'
Our sojourn on earth, therefore, must be rightly guided by the Scripture or curriculum of our choice of religion and we must live by the dictates of God, who we claim to believe in, and Who will not compromise any form of an anti-societal behavior and anti-divine acts.
Fortunately, for every human found in all facets of life; the Government, Ministries, Departments and Agencies, market places, residential areas, sporting activities, villages or urban areas. We have a religious house-local or foreign-we attend to see the face or favor of God.
One should preoccupy the management of religious houses, therefore, is on how best the adherents would be thoroughly taught to be Scripture compliant.
The easy way to do this is to adopt two models-1) The Millhouse theory where every worshipper would be regarded as a raw material who the pedagogues must teach aright to a refined level through the Scripture, in a classroom of religion.
The analogy to this can be likened to that of taking grains of maize of the Millhouse to become refined material to make bean cake(akara balls) or better still the process of making cement starting from blasting rock, that would go through various processing units to the level of gypsum(calcium sulfate) for calcination in order that the cement is set thereby packaged for transportation to different areas of sales and uses. That is from our raw stage, our houses of God must be able to process us to become good citizens of our communities and society who are dependable enough to be saddled with the responsibility of governance without fear of default, corruption, and other forms of indiscipline.
2) The teaching methodology must be based on a positive mindset concept whereby human senes organs should be trained to attain an excellent level of functionality. For example, the ear must be trained for hearing or information gathering as a subconscious tool for sensitivity purposes to the environment of learning.
The same ear in the classroom must be trained at the conscious level of use to offer attention and concentration without taking to any form of distraction in order that the learner maximally absorbs to adapt lessons from the lectures.
The mind must be set on believing in the taught lessons, while the brain and other parts of the body most especially the hands must be ready to recognize the areas of cognitive and psychomotor domains of education to be able to walk the talk not to be guilty of what the Holy Quran accuses of the pedagogues of Quran 61: 2-4,'' O ye who believe!  Why say ye that which you do not? Grievously hateful is it in the sight of Allah that ye say that which ye do not. Truly, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in battle array, as if they were in a solid cemented structure.''
It is imperative, therefore, those religious adherents are expected to be the best of the people in the society as a ready-made good for management, administration, and good governance where corruption and indiscipline would be alien in their system. This is because altitude they say is a function of the correct attitude and excellent performances in acquiring the aptitude most especially when one's area of discipline complements the are of religiosity because the following characteristics are expected of them. 1) Positive self-image whereby self-realization of been relevant in any position one finds himself or herself; without suffering from any form of inferiority complex is already in-built.
Teachings in the house of God must have in-built senes of confidence in the adherents, while self-esteem and culture of integrity ought to have preoccupied the teachings of the houses of God.
On good human relations, religious adherents ought to have been rejuvenated into a positive mental attitude that will offer him or her a sense of no abuse, despise, and condemnation of people, who might have performed below their expectations, but instead built up a high sense of aberration in order that he would be able to offer unbiased judgment, objective sanction and taking of firmness of purpose, and decisions based on precision and accuracy that would ensure justice and equity in an environment of the right spiritual aura produce peace and sustainable development with assured wellness of the people and rancor free zones.
Religious people, therefore, must fall in line with positive contributions to society and their neighbors based on the authority of God as entrenched in 1Cor. 13-13,''So these three things continue, faith(in religion)hope(in just worship), and love(in self and the environment). And the greatest of this love.''

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

Election and appointments into public offices based on religion have been identified as the major cause of under-performance in governance.
According to the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke, who made this assertion recently, in a lecture titled ''RELIGION PASSIVITY AND THE CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT, in an event to commemorate his 64th birthday in Ibadan, Nigeria, ''we hypocritically wear the toga of religion to get into power without respecting the curriculum that upholds religion. How relevant is religion on our political activities, almost nil to the opium level.''
''Leaders are chosen based on religious inclination. Appointments equally have religious and ethnic coloration. However, in performance rating, there is a total deviation from the upholding Scriptures to the policy and behavior of the people chosen under religious clouds and clouts into political positions hence the underperformance,'' Prof. Olagoke stated.

The five buses converted from petrol to gas engines were given to the Nigeria Labor Congress(NLC) and the promise of additional 100 buses by the Federal Government is an attempt to sustain the monthly increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit(PMS).
This is the position of the All Workers Convergence(AWC) through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.
''It is quite obvious that the Federal Government is attempting to bribe the labor leaders in order to silence them so that the Government would be able to realize their ugly policy of deregulation. Considering the fact that the Government has made it a culture to always increase the pump price of PMS monthly, accepting these vehicles from the Government would mean accepting the continuous increment in the pump price of PMS by the Government'', Comrade Emelieze stated.

The Federal and State Governments have been advised to increase the annual budgetary allocation to the education sector towards ensuring that the sector is vibrant in the post coronavirus pandemic days.

This advice was given by the Founder, Spiritual Head, and the Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke, in a lecture titled, ''NIGERIA EDUCATION SECTOR AFTER COVID-19, THE WAY FORWARD, at the annual Prof. S.A Olagoke Education competition in Ibadan.

''The Government must fund education well and motivate the teachers as a way forward for Nigeria's education system after COVID 19 pandemic. Parents, children, and students must cooperate with the school(Teachers) in observing the protocols and motivate the Government on the need for appropriate and adequate funding of education in Nigeria'', Prof. Olagoke stated.

Nations of the world have been warned not to forsake God so as not to be neglected.
This warning was given by a Christain cleric, Pastor Opeyemi Ajayi in a chat with Federationews2day.
'God will neglect any nation that forsakes His word. Anation without God's blessings shall not prosper, rather such a nation shall embark on the irrational. Everything starts and ends with the word of God,'' Pastor Ajayi stated.

The Federal Government has been called upon to totally democratize  Nigeria.

This call was made by the All Workers Convergence(AWC) through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emnelieze.
''The focus now should be on the total democratization of Nigeria.  All Nigerians must count and not a select few and all must be involved in making critical decisions, rather than for Government to force anti-people policies on the citizenry.''

Nigerians have been advised to shun deceit and lies for peace to reign in the country.
This advice was given by Pastor Opeyemi Ajayi in a chat with Federationews2day.
''The leadership and followership tell lies in order to save their faces from the outcome of events resulting in the telling of such lies. Nigerians always look for ways to cover up for wrongdoings and sins. A sin is a sin, deceit, and telling of lies are sins. For us to have peace of mind, live in peace, and move the nation forward, we must stop all acts of deceit and telling lies, Pastor Ajayi stated.

Nigerians are not happy with the policies of the present administration in the country at all levels. The people insist that the policies are not people-friendly and have continuously impoverished them.
The method of control of the economy by the powers that be has to a large extent unsecured the maximum welfare, freedom, and happiness of Nigerians which has negatively affected social justice and unequal status and opportunity. In this interview with  Poverty Line, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of  Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that Nigeria is still in search of visionary leaders who shall impact positively on the people. Excerpts :

The economic and other policies of the present administration have negatively impacted on the welfare, freedom, and happiness of Nigerians and have resulted in social injustice and unequal status and opportunity. Why is this so?

Nigeria's state of instability in governance and the crop of leaders emerging after the first republic became questionable for us to erroneously build on the concept of a unitary form of government to fashion out the 1979 and 1999 constitutions in running our democracy. The journey so far is really embarrassing to the extent that our leaders lack control of governance which has resulted in leakages, waywardness, frivolities, and the general culture of institutional indiscipline. In the process, the homes and other institutions lost grip pf organizational and professional ethics.
The culture of integrity and the dignity of labor suffered a lot to make prophetically real, Prof. Chinua Achebe's submission in his book, Things Fall Apart'', that the Falcons can no longer hear the Falconers as the thing was falling apart for the center not to hold anymore with the consequence of mere anarchy ruling the world.
It is unfortunate that Nigeria has not been so blessed and is still in search of visionary leaders who will be ready to sacrifice to hold Nigeria together to get us united into a permanent state of prosperity.
The culture of patriotism is gone and quick money making syndrome is becoming a palliative to replace the arrows of unemployment even for graduates of the various higher institutions.
Nigeria needs good governance that aids development without compromising the ability of the youth to take the baton of development with ease, to be able to build upon the strong foundation of the expected heroic heritage.
The issue lies in the fact that the economic and other policies of Government since  1970 till date have not favored the natural human rights of the people vis-a-vis welfare, freedom, and happiness, as a result of the series of inequities, social injustice, inequality of status and opportunities. The way forward is to work on a phrase in our national anthem that is, ''The labor of our heroes past shall never be in vain'',  by SWOT analyzing the value chains in governance through Tafawa Balewa, Herbert Macaulay, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello, Aminu Kano, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Okotie Eboh, Anthony Enahoro among several others.
The challenge for Nigeria in the present circumstance is for the government to respect our youths and their parents by providing good governance as precedence so that aberrations noted by them in their peaceful protests should be quickly addressed through cautious and effective restructuring programs for the economic and other policies of government to serve the expected purpose of sustainable development.

Nigerians have been called upon to trust and put their hopes in  God for the solution to people's unfriendly policies of the present administration in the country.

This call was made by Pastor Opeyemi Ajayi in a chat with Federationews2day.

''Nigerians should put their trust in God for the solution to the increase in electricity tariffs and the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit(PMS). Nigerians should hope in God. The increase is a bad omen for Nigeria. Everybody should look up to God for divine intervention in the present precarious situation. The government should ease the heavy burden it has placed on the people. Cost of living is now extraordinarily high'',  Pastor Ajayi noted.

Nigerians have been advised to pray ceaselessly for the Federal Government despite the increase in electricity tariffs and the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit(PMS).

This call was made by the Ezendigbo of Ibadan and Oyo state, Eze(Dr.)Alex Anozie, who doubles as the Vice-Chairman(South) of the Ezendigbo in Diaspora.

''How I wish the government was able to discover any other possible way of getting what they want rather than coming out with an increment of electricity tariffs and pump price of petrol. But we should continue praying for the government. Even though I do not think it is the best, it is also true that the government itself is at a crossroads because  COVID 19 affected everything about governance. It has affected everything including the government and governance, so I know the government is having additional problems.''

''It is a pity that such action should be happening by now, Nigerians are in pain because the best anybody can give Nigerians now is what would improve their lives and bring them out  the pit they presently find themselves because COVID 19 has turned everything upside down for people, so what Nigerians are expecting now is something that would help them to come out of the dungeon of hardships'', Eze(Dr.) Anozie concluded.

The Federal and State Governments have been called upon to ensure that higher institutions in Nigeria comply with the guidelines of the coronavirus pandemic before students and lecturers are directed to return to their various campuses.

This call was made by the All Workers Convergence(AWC)through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Eemlieze.

''If the Federal and State Governments are serious about reopening higher institutions in Nigeria, the two tiers of government should ensure that all the guidelines that would ensure the safety of students and lecturers are in place before directing them to return to their various campuses. However, Nigerians are yet to see the tangible financial implications and facilities put in place in the higher institutions this present time '', Comrade Emelieze stated.

Muslim faithful have been called upon to justify the celebration of festivals by having the fear of God and been morally disciplined.

This call was made by the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke in his Ed-El Kabir message titled; COVID 19 PANDEMIC EFFECT AND HUMANITY CHALLENGE ON THE FEAR OF GOD.

''Let us justify all festivals we celebrate  in the name  of God through moral discipline, fear of God to enhance and promote fraud-free society  full of harmony, security, and prosperity.''

''Let sus cleanse the houses of God of dirt and profanity to assume its rightful status of sacredness. Equally, let us make sacrosanct   Scripture Compliance with fear of God to win divine intervention of Allah(God) and secure His favor to render impotent and inactive COVID 19  virus and  stop its spread to zero-sum'', Prof. Olagoke stated.

Parents and Guardians have been advised to take very good care of their children and wards as the positive cases of Coronavirus increase in Nigeria on a daily basis.

This advice was given by Pastor Opeyemi Ajayi in a chat with Federationews2day.

‘’Parents and Guardians must ensure that they take good care of the children and wards and must also ensure that they cater for their needs. In addition,children must be conscious of the happenings around them and abide by all the guidelines to prevent the corona virus disease. Self preservation is the watchword,’’ Pastor Ajayi stated.

The All Workers Convergence(AWC) has advised parents and guardians in Nigeria to  physically assess and evaluate schools before allowing their children and wards to resume. 

The AWC gave this advice through its National  Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze. 

''The AWC advises parents, guardians, Parents Teachers Associations(PTA) and the civil society at large  to challenge the purported  reopening of schools in order to save our future. They should physically  visit the schools to ascertain if these schools have complied with the guidelines for resumption  before releasing and allowing their children and wards to resume. The idea to reopen schools is the  most dangerous step to take at this critical period, when the positive cases of coronavirus pandemic  is on the increase all over the country.'' Our Government  is attempting to experiment  with the lives of our children, especially  when schools  eventually reopen'', Comrade Emelieze  noted. 

 Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that coronavirus  is becoming endemic.

The University College Hospital (UCH) has declared that since the Oyo state Government did not pay any money into its  Treasury Single Account(TSA) no money was received by the hospital.

The UCH made this declaration last Saturday, through its  Public Relations Officer, Mr. Toye Akinirinola(PRO)during a radio program monitored in Ibadan, Nigeria.

''If you are paying any money to the UCH, you have to pay into the UCH TS Account and send us a financial pay advisory. Since this has not been done by the Oyo state Government, the state Government should not say it has given the UCH  any money.''

''We still  insist that we  have not collected  any money from the Oyo State Government. There are no contradictions about this. On the N118  million, the UCH  in anyway, should not be connected. We must take every step to make sure that the UCH is not roped in. We received 250 pieces of Protective Equipment valued at N800,00. The Oyo  State Government said that we should do a shopping list  for them, but as I speak, it is only 250 pieces  of Protective  Equipment they have given to us,'' Mr. Akinrinola disclosed. 

A number of State Governments are desirous to reopen schools, even though there is already an unusual increase in the positive cases of the coronavirus in several states of Nigeria.

Already worship centers have been reopened, with a sizable number of them contravening the guidelines for reopening. Sadly government officials are among the several personalities who have violated the guidelines put in place to check the spread of the virus, while several common Nigerians have been prosecuted for same. In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke warns that reopening schools at this time may be catastrophic. Excerpts :

Do you think it is reasonable to reopen schools now, considering the increasing positive cases of the coronavirus ?

Across the lines of the three spheres of life, namely educational, religious and government institutions, only the last is functional-playing the big daddy role overbearing authority of instructions. Expectedly, it is the power house of society because the wealth and the might of the nation rests squarely on its shoulders under its control. But disappointingly the spread of the coronavirus pandemic is going on at such an alarming rate as if to say that no efforts have been made to curtail the spread. The first question is why are the educational and religious institutions rendered inactive in the control of the pandemic both in the areas of spread prevention and in the areas of cure for victims. The reason is not far fetched.

The religious institution has lost bearing of its focus in taming the wildness of the evening times, empowering adherents to have immunity against hunger and poverty as well as against spiritual attack which the coronavirus represents. Religious adherents and their leaders are more into rhetoric and entertainment part of religion because of their economic driven commercial focus and without readiness to sacrifice for fellow human beings. Qualification to meditate or supplicate on to God, for divine intervention is therefore lacking, may be this is why government has the audacity to close down acclaimed houses of God, without repercussion or remorse. With the daily increase in the number of positive cases, which has now gone beyond an international contagion to that of community based transmission, reopening of the houses of God may be regarded as a costly mistake of the century by government, more so when they can bear witness that houses of God can become havens for fraudsters, prostitutes, kidnappers, drunkards, drug addicts and those who are spiritually dead and socially decadent, contrary to the demands of the scripture on the issue of integrity, fear of God, soul purification and body preservation from sins and crimes correct adherent illumination and radiation as preconditions to effect divine intervention on matters concerning humanity.

Government ought to have capitalized on this by instructing the religious houses to do the needful for acceptable religious relevance in the scheme of sanitizing the society and developing the nation.

A critical monitoring of the reopened houses of God so far, reveal partial compliance with the guidelines for their reopening, while most of their adherents are yet to believe that the coronavirus is real because their immediate neighbors are yet to die.

The basic question is that are the religious leaders ready to replace profanity with sacredness to ensure value restoration into the houses of God ?

A clean body without sincerity of purpose and purified souls is more of a time bomb that may aid further spread of diseases of which the coronavirus is a current case study. The coronavirus like HIV has come to stay with humanity, its proper management to prevent it becoming a terminal disease is what matters most now.

2021 has been slated for the reopening of schools in the United States of America, when it is most certain that the environment must have been free from the pandemic. Working on how the community transmission would stop and how to prevent congestion at the home front to be able to avoid been infected with the disease is what should preoccupy everybody as stakeholders, while government should facilitate urgent reforms in the education, health and religious sectors, since they all have standards of practice based on the sustaining curricula. Most religious organizations are now resorting to virtual learning through zoom and some other internet facilities including Skype. The rigorous pursuit of these internet facilities would be a good adoption by government and owners of schools as a functional social educational interaction between the teachers and parents for the students not to be unnecessarily idle at home. However, parents must be on guard to instill discipline and prevent waywardness of their children.

Opening of schools under whatever pretense during this period may be catastrophic. Government must avoid a situation whereby some people would start insinuating that it is aiding and abetting the rapid spread of the virus as a modern day sacrifice to appease some diabolic cults. The present situation calls for caution in reopening schools as well as religious houses considering the rapid spread of the virus.

The attitude of Nigerians has been cited as one of the factors responsible for the formulation of oppressive policies by Government.

This assertion was made by the All Workers Convergence(AWC) through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

''Nigerians are coping and managing poverty, why ? because our attitude is encouraging government to oppress us because we fail to speak out and until Nigerians realize that they have a futuristic  duty to challenge bad governance, poverty will continue to be endemic. The citizens should blame themselves for their woes", Comrade Emelieze noted.

Churches  have been advised to abide by the guidelines rolled out by the Presidential Task Force(PTF) on the Coronavirus pandemic for the reopening of Churches and Mosques in Nigeria.

This advice was given by a christian cleric, Pastor Opeyemi Ajayi.

''I advise the church and its leaders to abide by the conditions for reopening. We should all call on the Lord as other nations did at different points in time. God will save the situation, with time peace would be experience worldwide. Let us all call on the author and finisher of our faith and all would be well'', Pastor Ajayi concluded.