BE PATIENT IN WAITING

I was thinking this morning..... I spoke to an old friend this past week. After she hung up, I couldn't but ponder on the value of patience. Why so? She got married many years ago but wasn't blessed with a child for 18 years. Her husband stood by her through that horrendous time as they believed God, fasted and prayed for God's visitation. Shockingly on the 18th year, the husband strayed and fell into the laps of a strange woman (real life soyoyo) that ended his marriage. Blessed be God, my friend had gotten pregnant at the month her husband fell. Months later, she delivered a handsome boy that is today her joy. Her husband lost all he had waited for so long.

He had waited for 18 years and a few more months would've birthed his joy but the devil sold him the thought that he had wasted 18 years of his life. He never knew waiting time does not amount to wasting time. Just one moment of impatience ruined the beautiful family God had planned for him. He waited but was not patient in waiting.

Have you ever waited for something so desperately before? It seems your life is on pause while the rest of the world moves on. I once waited for a promotion for 8 years. My contemporaries moved but I marched on the same spot. During that difficult time, I learnt that when I compared myself with my colleagues ahead of me, the burden was heavier and almost drove me to give up, but when I looked back to where I am coming from and those I am privileged to be ahead of, my patience held. Waiting is good but patience in waiting is the ace.

'Waiting for wetin?' It can be tough. If you have been waiting for a spouse, fruit of the womb, career breakthrough, healing or any other blessing, I pray God to give you the strength of character to be patient as you wait for your change to come. As you wait, look to no man and compare yourself with no one. Waiting is a journey and patience is the vehicle that carries you on the journey. Patience is what gives legitimacy to waiting. Without patience, waiting is a torture.

Patience can be a tough virtue but the result is always soothing. The value is not in the waiting but being patient till your change comes. Job 14:14 says 'If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.'

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday.

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

Stomach Vs Climatè Justice

 

I was thinking this morning..... Recently, I was in Stockholm, Sweden, just a few days to their Parliamentary elections to fill the 349 seats in the Riksdag, Sweden's highest decision-making assembly. As I looked around the city, I ran into a massive protest by students and civil society groups at the City centre. 'What could they be protesting for or against?' I wondered. As I got closer, I struggled initially because most of the placards were written in Swedish, but then I saw one in English, looked again and was stunned. They were protesting for Climate Justice. Like seriously? Of all things to hold the government accountable for, Climate Justice? Na wa o!

I was still pondering on this days later when I saw the headline 'US Plans $12bn for Climate Action in Nigeria.' The US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, had led a delegation from his country to different ministries in Abuja and stated that Nigeria was one of the nations in Africa that would suffer the most by climate crisis if nothing serious was done to avert the consequences of climate change.

If what Kerry said is correct, why is Climate Justice not top of the agenda as we inch towards 2023? I interrogated the major highlights in our political space and it was obvious that the main issue for us is econonic. Na person wey im belle full go talk about climate justice. With Nigeria being the poverty capital of the world at some point, you cannot blame the people when they fight for Stomach Justice rather than Climate Justice.

With the death of Mama Charlie (Queen Elizabeth), the evil and injustice of colonialism reared its head again. While many complained, I thought about the many layers of ethnic, religious and political injustices in Nigeria and concluded that we have to settle our local injustices before we can fight for Climate Justice.

The sad thing is that while the rest of the world moves on dealing with issues of global impact (strong meat), Nigeria and Africa are looking for who to blame. Hebrews 5:12 says 'For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.' I hope that post 2023, we will no longer be fighting for Stomach Justice but for Climate Justice.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday.

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

All Men Die (AMD)

II was thinking this morning.... as I sat watching Sky News last Thursday 8th September far away from the UK, I mused on the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as news rolled of her being hospitalised at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeen. Suddenly, the news anchor paused and with a lugubrious look said 'Buckingham Palace has just announced that Her Majesty The Queen has died.'

For a couple of minutes, I was sobered up, not because she died at 96 but because in my memory, I know not of any human (Anno Domini) so blessed like Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She was born into royalty and became Queen at an early age of 25. She reigned for 70 years, married for 73 years, lived a scandal-free life till she died at 96. Her husband died at 99 years. As old as she lived, she never buried any of her children. She was blessed with excellent health as she stood strong to perform her royal duty of anointing her 15th Prime Minister two days before her death. With her enormous blessings and extraordinary longevity, one will think she is immortal. No, eventually all men die. The Queen dies.

There has hardly been any head of government as powerful as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. She was queen regnant of 32 different sovereign states and served as monarch of 15 of them at the time of her death. With such power, one might wonder if she will depart like all men that lived. Yes, eventually all men die. The Queen dies.

So many great men and women have been given the title Greatest of all Time (G.O.A.T) in sports, science and other human endeavours, but Queen Elizabeth trumps them all. She was Britain longest lived monarch of all time. The most loved and photographed Monarch of all time. The most famous human in modern history and many more. Surely, she was the grandmother of all G.O.A.T. No wonder, the world mourns. From the Empire State building in New York to Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, landmarks across the world lit up to honour the passing of Queen Elizabeth.

If a personality like Queen Elizabeth can die, why do some live like we will not die? You are not head of any government, yet you are playing God. Why do we steal, kill and destroy another like we will live forever on earth. Whatever you do, just remember that if the powerful Queen Elizabeth can die, eventually all men die. When you come to that realization, you will fear God and keep His commandments, for that is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday.

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

God Abegeth Thee

 

I was thinking this morning...... Nigerians respond to evil reports in different ways that are mostly monosyllabic. Chai! Ewo! Shuo! Jesus! Goodness me! My God! are common exclamations. Recently, Nigerians have started combining exclamations with prayer. One such prayerful exclamation is 'God abeg o!'

'God abeg o!' is a pidgin English exclamation that urgently seeks the intervention of God. However, with time, as situations became dire, some persons are looking for quicker ways of getting God's intervention. One of such is the belief that God responds to the language of the King James Version (KJV) faster than modern colloquialism of queen's English and pidgin English. Consequently, instead of 'God abeg o!' what you hear is 'Oh God, Abegeth thee.' Hmm!

It takes a serious issue like the oil theft situation in Nigeria to switch to this KJV-Pidgin mindset. It's been reported that Nigeria loses about 700,000 barrels of oil daily to oil thieves. To underscore how bad the situation is, one of the Oil  companies reported pumping about 35,000 barrels from one of its Wells but received nothing but air at the terminal. All the crude volume pumped through the pipeline was stolen along the way.

It is estimated that Crude oil thieves steal about 40% of our commonwealth at source. When the 60% that gets to the terminals is sold, the politicians steal the revenue. How have we become a nation of thieving leaders and followers? As I reflected on how this large scale theft is bleeding this nation to death, all I could do was exclaim and pray 'Oh God Abegeth thee!'

'Happy School Fees Week' is what I wish parents with children returning to school. Oil theft, fraudulent subsidy regime and burgeoning external debt have resulted in inflation-pro-max in Nigeria. With about 40% increase in fees across board, many parents are really struggling. While some have bitten the bullet and downgraded their children's school, others are faithing it and praying 'Oh God Abegeth thee.'

Truly, these are perilous times (2nd Timothy 3:1) but also a critical time in the life of our nation as we approach 2023. I therefore implore you to join me to pray for God's intervention for us to get it right this time by saying 'Oh God Abegeth thee!

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday.

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey