How else can I best begin this note than with a hearty compliment of the season to you and the rest of the family here on blogger.

All too soon, 2011 is coming to a close and in less than 48hours, we shall bid farewell to 2011 and welcome 2012. Hmm! What a year 2011 has been.

Before I go any further, I want to say to the bishop of my soul, my Lord, Savior and King, the only true redeemer, the reason I live and breathe, to my Lord and personal Savior JESUS CHRIST, I want to say a very big THANK YOU.

Had it not been for you Lord, none of us would have come this far… Lord thank you for life, health, security, providence and all you have done for us. We say we are grateful.

So much has happened this year… is it the unrest/revolution in the Arab peninsular that saw the outstare of three dictator presidents and the death of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi or the numerous earthquakes, incessant flooding or the drought in the horn of Africa?

So much happened this year that I cannot make a list of them all. Having said that, regardless of all that happened in our world and all that is happening around us, God’s grace has kept us and we have to give Him thanks.

So many times we focus on the negatives. We take time out to count all the things that don’t go well with us… the contract we didn’t get, the failed relationship, the job disappointment, etc but we seldom take time to appreciate God for all He has done for us.

Let me even ask you? Hasn’t God been good to you? I know you had plans for the year and probably, not all of your plans came true and I know you had tough times (we all had did too), but even will all the not so good times, God kept you and I.

We all have gone through one experience or the other, had disappointments and terrible times, but though it all, someone sustained you… Who did? God Almighty.

I don’t want us to end this year with the thought that we didn’t achieve anything. Some of us had so much to celebrate while some others had not so much to celebrate but all in all, we all had something to celebrate and thank God for.

Think of the growing state of insecurity in our world today with bombs flying about like knockouts, God kept you.

All over the globe, there have been heavy flooding which took many lives and destroyed properties worth billions of dollar but look at you… you are alive and well. Who do you thing kept you? God Almighty…

Friends left you, relatives deserted you, loved ones hurt you but God never closed His door on you. Even when you erred, God still drew close to you.

I know there were times in the year when you had no job, no money and no support but you didn’t starve to death did you? Who provided that meal? God… Who gave you that job? God again... Who kept you healthy? God Almighty…

As we prepare to go into the New Year, I want us to go in with a voice of thanksgiving. Enough of complains and enough of murmuring. Let’s be thankful. There is so much to be thankful for.

I know we all have needs (jobs, life partners, admission, etc) and a lot of other things we are trusting God for. Let me assure you that if you believe God like I do, He will bring all of your heart desires to pass.

Get ready for abundance. 2012 I believe that it will be a year filled with exceeding and abundant goodness of God.

As I round up, I want to say thank you to everyone who has been part of my life this year. I know I have the most wonderful friends in the planet and I thank God for the gift of friendship.

Take care of yourself, happy new year and hey, I LOVE YOU…

Just Sharing My Thought
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Corruption- Africa’s cancer

Can you imagine a peaceful and orderly continent with healthy people? This is what Africa ought to be. God has immensely blessed us (Africans) with all the natural resources needed for a good healthy living.

We have abundant sunshine, great rivers, expansive farmland and of course a huge human resource yet most Africans continue to live below the poverty line due to bad leaders- leaders who only care about creating wealth for themselves and their families.

There are loads of problems (poverty, diseases, unemployment, illiteracy, hunger) affecting growth and development in Africa but the mother of them all is CORRUPTION.

As a matter of fact, all the problems bedeviling the continent stem from corruption. Corruption as we know takes different forms from “rigging of elections”, “looting of state treasury”, “injustice”, “nepotism” and much more.

If there were no corruption, money would be distributed equally, government officials will not steal from public coffers, jobs will be created, contracts will be awarded on merits, elections will always be free, fair and credible and there will be development all over the continent.

When it comes to world ratings, African countries are rated first in corruption but last in development- why? Because wherever there is corruption, there is hardly any development. No society can make progress when corruption is rife.

If this continent is ever going to have real developments in terms of infrastructure and in the standing of living of her people, then the cancer called CORRUPTION must be done away with or else development will continue to be a dream.

My personal experiences and observations have proved to me that nothing is eating up growth and development in the continent like corruption. This is why I can’t help but talk about it.

What would you call a situation where people have to pay bribe to see a doctor or pay bribe to get admission (into school) or pay bribe to get a job that doesn’t exist- is that not corruption? Corruption whether we like to talk about it or not sure exist.

It will do us more harm than good if we choose to keep quit over issues such as this. George Washington said “The day we start keeping quit about what matter, we start dying”. Well I sure don’t want to start dying that is why I write stuff like this.

The issue of corruption trust me is one very big issue that cannot be treated in one piece of writing or essay but I hope my thought was worthwhile.

For the sake of the younger generation and generations yet unborn, let’s stand up and speak up against CORRUPTION. CORRUPTION is a CANCER that can be CURED and must be CURED.

Refuse to be corrupt and say no to corruption…

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Read and You shall Know

Much have been said and written about reading yet many still don’t read. We live in a world where so much knowledge abounds yet many of us (youth) still live and act in ignorance.

In a world where designer clothes, designer shoes, designer perfume, expensive phones and a lavish lifestyle is the other of the day, it is not surprising that young people pay more attention to clothes, shoes, phones and looks than they do to READING, good morals and of course character formation.

I’m not implying that designer clothes, shoes and perfumes are not good and I’m not saying looking good is bad- far from it. It’s ok if we paint our faces, get a funky haircut and the rest but aside looking good, there other cool stuff we should do like READ.

In today’s world where everything is moving at the speed of light, knowledge is very imperative. Our concentration should be on knowledge as we can only make sense of our world if and only if we are well informed about it.

READING for so long has been sidelined and this has cost us greatly. We have a generation that knows so much of the things that don’t matter and so little of things that do matter.

For many of us (youths) the place of knowledge is zero. We’d rather chat with friends, watch movies, listen to music, and listen to entertainment gist than READ. Of course it’s cool to be entertained but so also is it cool to open a book and this is of great concern to me.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu said, “No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.”

Too much chat (gossip), too much movies, too much music has made us less informed about our world and everything in between so time and again, we find ourselves doing silly stuff that if we were informed about wouldn’t do.

Most of our problems stems from lack of knowledge. The increasing rate of intolerance amongst the human race is a clear sign of ignorance. Knowledge of what tolerance implies is thus very pertinent.
Lyndon Baines Johnson said “A book is the most effective weapon against intolerance and ignorance.”

Some people will lie, cheat, steal and back-stab to get ahead when all they have to do to get ahead is READ. Margaret Fuller was right on the spot when she said, “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”

The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the more you understand. The more you understand, the better you handle situations and issues. The better you hander issues and situations, the better a person you become.

As young people, we are encouraged to give topmost priority to READING. “Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.” (Mortimer J. Adler)

Books also make great companion and that is why I agree with Charles W. Eliot when he said “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends: they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

Walt Disney tells us that “There is more treasure in books than in the entire pirate's loot on Treasure Island.” “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest” Benjamin Franklin also said.

No matter how busy we may think we are, we must find time for reading. The importance of reading cannot and will never be over emphasized. As for me, I have resolved to read (don’t know about you) and nothing will stop me from reading.

Let me end this note by saying that what you know is not as important as what you do with what you know so don’t only get knowledge do something with it.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding. - Proverbs 4:7”.

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Leave Your Past in the Past

I once knew a guy who spent most of his time lamenting about the things he did but did wrong. He never stopped talking about how he had disappointed and hurt his parent (his mother especially) and how he regrets all of the things he did.

He kept going back and forth about is woes and mistakes all of which were in the past. Time and again, I tried to talk him about letting go of his past but he wouldn’t bulge out of them. He kept feeling like his past was hunting him whereas he was the one holding on to his (ugly) past.

Every human being has a history some of which we are not so very proud of but even though we regret some of our past mistakes, we don’t perpetually dwell on them- do we?

Although the mistakes we make often have a profound effect on each of us, we do have to live our lives as if we are defined by our mistakes.
A lot of people often struggle with their past not realizing that “REFUSING TO LET GO OF THE PAST IS REFUSING TO EMBRACE THE FUTURE.”

The mistakes or size of the mistakes we made in the past really don’t matter as the lessons we learn from them. So then past mistakes are no big deals as long as we take the time to learn from them.
Failures, mistakes or errors of that past are always in the past and must be left there. Don’t be like the guy who perpetually dwelled on his past woes.

In one of my blog notes titled “failure is necessary” I talked extensively on the fact that failures are not entirely a bad thing. Perhaps you should see it.

For some of us, it is when we fall that we learn the lesson of “look before you leap” and like I earlier stated, what matters is not ‘what happened to us’ (it is always in the past); what matters is how we react to ‘what happened to us’ and the lesson learnt from them.

Personal I always say I don’t have regrets because all of the things I have regrets for are in the past and my past is one place I don’t want to visit. Of course I did some things in the past that I’m not proud of but they only made me a better person.

Most people everyday blame themselves for their past they have no control over. Don’t be one of such people. Don’t spend time tormenting yourself over mistakes that has already happened.
For me, the wrong we do, we can’t undo but we can redo. So if you disobeyed your parent in the past, truth is you can’t undo it but you can begin to obey them.
Someone said “no one is rich enough to buy back his past” so do yourself some good by leaving your past in the past. No matter how terrible you feel about the things you’ve done in the past never allow it slow your progress nor stop you from making something out of life.

A lot of people began from failure to become successful individuals. If others could move on from failure, we too can do same. The fact that you have an ugly past doesn’t mean you should have an ugly future so take your mind off your past failures.

LEAVE YOUR PAST IN THE PAST.

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Dealing with life’s Challenges

Life we all say is not that fair. Every now and then, life throws a challenge at us that we have to deal with. As far as human beings are concerned, there’s none that is immune from life challenges.

At every point in life, it is always either we are going through one challenge, getting out of a challenge or about getting into a challenge.

Anything can be a challenge. A job, A relationship, Accommodation, Un-employment, Career, Ill health, A nagging Husband/Wife, Friends, Family, Finance, you name it…

When challenges set in, life may appear to be hard but that’s because challenges are never pleasant but then challenges are not always bad. Some challenges are opportunities for growth. Sometimes it is when challenges sets in that we sort ourselves out and this is so true.

We turn to become more organized when problems come knocking. We turn to learn how to save and spend money wisely when we go broke.

Challenges either make the WORST of us or bring out the BEST in us (we should settle for the latter). Challenges make us work harder. They make us try to be the best person we can afford to be, they make us make adjustments.

We are sometimes compelled to let go of some attitudes in order to be able to handle a challenge. Again, challenges help us know who are true friends are. It is said that “it is circumstance that reveals who our real friends are.

Some people are friends only in good times and not when trouble shows up or a challenge comes knocking. Respectfully letting go of such friends is like sweeping the bits of your life away. The people who stand by us in our difficult times are not necessarily our friends.
Challenges always pop up when we least expect and when they do; our minds become plague with worries as to how we are going to face “the sudden problems”. Challenges always turn to disorient and discourage us.

It is a known fact that when one is in crises, it is very easy to lose perspective but depending on an individual’s capacity and strength; a challenge could either be a comma or a full stop.

So when life’s many challenges show up should we run away? Personally I wouldn’t advice that neither will I advice that we try to go around them- (the things we go around always come around somehow).

Running away from a challenge doesn’t make it go away. Learning to face challenges squarely is getting it over and done with.

So how do we deal with challenges? Truth is I don’t know but here is how deal with mine. Firstly I believe no matter how bad things turn out, it can be sorted out with time.

Secondly, I go to God with my troubles and problems. Why do I go to God with my problems you might ask? Simple! If I can trust Him with my life, I can trust Him with my problems. The truth is before I got the challenge, God has the solution.

When life’s challenges set in, we all ask the question, where is God? God why me? Instead of us saying God why me, say LORD here is my problems. Help me fix it. I’m not much of a preacher but this much I know and that is, there is nothing that happens to us that God isn’t aware of.

When adversities, afflictions and challenges come, the best way to deal with them is by calmly talking to God. If He cannot fix it, no one else can.
A challenge might appear to be bigger than us but no challenge is bigger than God. God always comes through for us whenever we invite him into our situations.

It is not over until God says it over so no matter the challenges you go though in life, keep looking on the brighter side because God is going to come through for you.

So friends, when life seems so vague and all you see is trouble everywhere, you might be tempted to look elsewhere for help but the best place to look is to look to God. Challenges are sure going to come but then, we can overcome every challenge with God on our side and if we endure long enough, we are sure going to win.

Life has never been easy but many has made it through life despite its up’s and down’s and we to can make it through life.

God bless you and may He see you through any challenge that you are going through. Life might not be fair but God is always fair. Gracias…

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Let the BOMBINGS stop

On Friday October 1st 2010, Nigerians all over the world joined in celebration of Nigeria’s ‘Golden Jubilee’. Amid of the joyous celebration, the unexpected happened. Two bombs went off in ABUJA, Nigeria’s capital city.

Since the Independence Day disaster, bombs have gone off in different states in the country.

With the rate of incessant bombings in the country (especially the one that claimed the lives of 10 youth coppers), the issue of security has become a cause of concern for many.

Although it appears as if it is only the northern part of the country that has come under attack truth is, the perpetrators of this inhuman acts really don’t care where they do it- North, South, East or West. All they care about is that they cause MAYHEM…

The issue of security is a collective one and must not be relegated to the hands of the security agencies only. For the sake of peace, let’s all with one voice speak up against this preposterous act so that this country doesn’t become a ‘safe heaven’ for these rascals.

Knowing well the implications of an unsafe society, we must not allow our beloved Nigeria to become the next Pakistan or Afghanistan where bombs go off incessantly. Already, there are many issues that need urgent address and I don’t think we want to add bombing to the long list of ‘to do’.

Before now, most violence that erupted in the country was assumed to be religiously motivated. Recently, we hear the bombings are political motivated so I wonder if politics is a thing of war.

As far as I’m concerned, RELIGION is a thing of PEACE and POLITICS is not a DO or DIE affair so anybody that perpetrates any act of violence in disguise of RELIGION or POLITICS should have his/her head examined.

No sane (right thinking) human being would take the life of another for the sake of RELIGION or POLITICS… Nigeria is in a threshold of new beginning and so much is been expected from both Nigerians and the international community.

Maybe you are wondering why I wrote this; well, I care too much about this country to see it turn into an inferno. The violence in the NORTH is not peculiar to them only.

The mare facts that this attacks are not happening where some of us are doesn’t mean it can’t happen there. We must therefore not wait until it happens where we are before we condemn this act.

This country has to go forward by any means necessary so let me announce to all those that don’t want progress, IF YOU DON’T WANT TO GO FORWARD, PLEASE DON’T HINDER US.

I will continue to preach the gospel of togetherness, oneness and unity and I entreat everyone to do the same. Nigeria will not get better until we see each other as one people and to do this, LOVE should be given topmost priority.

Love is the answer to most of our problems. With LOVE in our hearts, BOMBINGS will instantly stop. Let’s live in love.

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HATE- The worst disease in the world

India Arie! An American songstress sang "the worst disease in the world is HATE" and I couldn’t agree with her less. Indeed the worst disease in the world is HATE.

Diseases like CANCER, HIV/Aids, and GONORRHEA are of course dangerous and terrible diseases but they are not as disastrous as HATE… HATE is the only disease science cannot deal with let alone discover a cure for.

So what’s the cure for HATE you may ask? The cure for HATE is LOVE. LOVE is more powerful than HIV, CANCER, GONORRHEA all put together.

Some people say there’s a thin line between LOVE and HATE but I’m not up for that. I believe there’s absolutely no line between LOVE and HATE. Hate is hate and Love is Love; no connection, no relationship.

It takes a dead heart to HATE but a living heart to LOVE so what kind of heart have you? You decide…

LOVE is an inherent attribute GOD placed in every human being but sometimes we choose not allow LOVE guide us when we do some things.

Irrespective of our religious beliefs, we all claim to love God. In 1st John4:8 the bible tells us " He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." So if we say we love GOD yet don’t love ourselves, then who do we deceive?

The effect of a world filled with HATE is very clear for everyone to see. All the hate and wars has brought nothing but excoriating pain and untold sufferings to our world.

if we love each other the way we’re supposed to, most of our problems would instantly go away.

Love is the energy of life- without it, life is tasteless. Love is the sunshine that sets everything straight. Like Bob Gass nicely puts it, "Love should be the reason we wake up in the morning."

I know it’s hard to get past some of our personal beliefs about love but at the same time we must realize that HATE is not something that is going to go away like a cold. It’s a disease and it has to be cured.

I’m sounding this alarm while there is still time to do so and I entreat everyone that feels the way I feel to join in this campaign. Nothing else matter in life like LOVE. Love help bring out the best in people. Love pushes people to reach the height of their potential.

Love requires that we be a person of pleasant character; love requires that we be the best person we can afford to be at all times and imagine a world where everybody tries to be the best person they can afford to be… wouldn’t it be a world filled with nothing but LOVE?

Someone wrote "Love isn’t love till you give it away" so let’s give love, share love, preach love and live in love…

No matter what it will cost us, we must strive to live in love. The future of humanity is in our hands and I believe that we prioritize love; it would deliver the better world we all seek.

Leo Tolstoy said "One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love."

Nothing else matter like love. Let’s LOVE.

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