Incredible 5-Yr-Old girl masturbates with a nail

Incredible 5-Yr-Old girl masturbates with a nail

It was further reported that the little girl revealed that she has been using a nail to “play with herself” secretly.

• play

Masturbation.
(Estetica Medica)

A five-year-old girl was reportedly found to be masturbating with nail.

According to a report by Punch, the young girl was exposed after she was discovered to have had boils in her private part.

She was reportedly taken to a gynaecologist, who found out what the young girl had been doing upon questioning.

It was further reported that the little girl revealed that she has been using a nail to “play with herself” secretly.

The girl further divulged that she has taught all her friends in school the act and had once been expelled from a school for this act.

ALSO READ: Congolese Minister caught masturbating inside office fired

The five year old orphan also disclosed that the domestic help in the house had taught her to use a nail to masturbate without the knowledge of her grandmother, who she lives with.

 

7 relationship things that scare every guy

 

7 relationship things that scare every guy

Here are the struggles every guy faces when they start to fall in love or catch feelings for you.

play Forehead kiss
(Pinterest)

Everyone falls in love some time.

And particularly for guys, it is true that along comes a woman at some point who arrests your heart and makes you want to stop being the man you once were.

She makes you reconsider your choice to be single, consumes you with an indescribable kind if attraction and seriously threatens to break down all the resistance to love that you have put up in your heart.

Now that sounds so romantic, right? Cool.

The problem with this is that moat guys wrestle with these strong feelings. They deny the presence of these emotions battle these feelings for as long as they can, and would rather choose to still remain emotionally unattached.

play Everyone falls in love some time... (NET NG)

This is because almost every guy has some major fears when it comes to love, dating and committed relationships.

Don't be surprised to notice that eight out of every 10 guys have the following relationship fears...

1. Change

Guys fear that being in a relationship will alter their lives, no matter how little. And frankly, let's face it, being in a relationship does change one's way of life on some grand level. Especially if it is a committed one.

The fear if this change scares the hell out of several men.

play The fear of losing the freedom they enjoy is what scares most guys the most (SBM)

2. Loss of freedom

Guys also fear that they won't be able to do the things they used to do when they were alone. The freedom to do as you please, go where you want to go, date as many babes as you want is no longer there when you are in a relationship.

3. Vulnerability

Guys are used to putting up a front of being macho, in control and totally without any emotional lapses. Being in a relationship takes away this mask as you will be required to strip your soul and let someone in.

The idea of being emotionally vulnerable like this scares too many guys too much.

ALSO READ: 5 ways to take things slowly in a new relationship

4. Boring sex

Sexual freedom and variety is one of the things that thrill men most about being single and free.

The chance to occasionally lay different types of women is especially thrilling and the thought of losing that is what makes many men worry when it comes to settling down for only one woman.

5. Needy girlfriend

A needy girlfriend is the bane of every man's existence. The fear that you might end up with one is even too scary to consider for many guys.

play Needy girlfriends are the worst headaches, really (Arthurivy)

6. Fear of being cheated on

The fear is also there for guys that they could be cheated on without even knowing about it. This is really a fear with everyone who enters into a relationship, whether male or female.

The possibility just seems to bother men a lot more.

7. Heartbreak

Especially for those who have once had their hearts broken, the idea of being in a relationship will be so scary because a fear still lingers in their hearts that there might be a repeat of what happened in the previous relationship.

You might not like these things, but they are the things that play on guys' minds when they start catching feelings.

Many Pastors Will Go To Hell"- Pastor Chris Oyakhilome

"Many Pastors Will Go To Hell"- Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Drops A Shocker

The televangelist said some pastors left their churches where they were to go  and started another ministry because of anger, strife, misunderstanding or envy

 

 

Founder and head pastor of Believers Love World popularly known as Christ Embassy, Chris Oyakhilome recently left members of his church shocked with his revelation while preaching the message of the day.

According to City People, while delivering the message titled 'The lessons of Lot', Pastor Chris explained to his members  why most pastors will not make heaven.

"Many pastors will go to hell for not obeying God, some are not called by God, some just called themselves for their personal reasons, some are in the ministry to serve their senses", he stated.

The popular pastor said some churches started out of strife, some pastors left their churches where they were to go  and started another ministry because of anger, strife, misunderstanding or envy.

He said, "Sometimes it is between a pastor's wife and an assistant pastor's wife; you need to learn to obey God in all, I don't any of you that is in this situation, make up your mind to obey God in everything".

That was quite a deep message or what do you think?

 

What's the best Nollywood movie of 2017 so far?

"Something Wicked," "Okafor's Law," and "Ojukokoro" are all among the movies we've seen this year. Weigh in on your favorites in the poll below.

play What's the best Nollywood movie of 2017 so far?

Even though we're only five months in, 2017 has offered quite a number of good movies in several genres.

"Something Wicked," "Okafor's Law," "Omugwo," "Slow Country," "The Guest" and "Ojukokoro" are all among the movies we've seen this year.

play Something Wicked movie poster

Pulse Movies has created a poll for our readers to select their favourite so far.

What's the best movie of 2017 so far? Weigh in on your favorites in the poll below.

What's the best movie of 2017 so far?»

• Omugwo
• Okafor's Law
• Desecration
• Mr and Mrs 2
• Lotanna
• Ojukokoro
• King Invisible
• Slow Country
• Whose Meal Ticket
• Unveil
• Basira in London
• Zahra
• American Driver
• Something Wicked
• Hire a Man
• The guest
• Bariga Sugar
• Hell or High Water
• Vote »

Christ Embassy: 10 interesting things you probably don't know about this church

Christ Embassy 10 interesting things you probably don't know about this church

Discover interesting and 'scandalous' things you may not have known about Christ Embassy.

• 

  Pastor Chris Oyakhilome  Stock 

  Over the years, Christ Embassy, also known as Believers' LoveWorld Incorporated, has been in the news for a lot of things.

  With this, it is easy to think you know all there is to know about this church. However, there is always something to discover even about things we think we know very well.

  Here are 10 interesting things about this controversial church.

  1.The church started as a prayer group: Many years ago, the founder of the church, Chris Oyakhilome led a prayer group while he was still in school. This group turned into what we now know as Christ Embassy, which was established in 1990. 

  play (Believers' LoveWorld Incorporated )

  
  

  2. It started with a different name: Before it became Christ Embassy, it was initially known as Believer’s LoveWorld Fellowship and then Believer’s LoveWorld Inc.

  3. Christ Embassy is a mega church: From a prayer group, the church turned into a global network of churches with millions of members. In Lagos, the headquarters has over 40,000 believers. It also runs three round the clock television channels; LoveWorld Sat, LoveWorld TV and LoveWorld Plus.

  4. The church is allegedly run as a business: I spoke with a former church goer and he said he left because the church was treated like a business. Apparently, everyone has targets in this church. The pastor of a branch is expected to bring in more money than he did last week or month, home cells are expected to grow every week. This probably explains how the church has maintained it's place as one of the biggest in Nigeria.

  5. The church goers have a strong belief in their founder: This is reflected in how most of the congregation dress like their founder and treat their hair like Oyakhilome does. Even when the church was hit with their leader's divorce scandal, their faith in him remained steadfast.

  play Christ Embassy pastors retouch their hair like their founder and dress like him too
  (naijagists)

  
  

  ALSO READ: 9 interesting things you probably don't know about Roman Catholic church

  6. Members are encouraged to work in church: They are given incentives to work in the church, for instance, church members are paid more than the they would be given if they worked elsewhere.

  7. Their evangelists are very persistent: Talking to a lot of people, we all agreed that Christ Embassy evangelists are seriously determined. They know how to follow up on prospective members and will literally 'disturb' you with calls, Whatsapp messages until you give in.

  8. The Rhapsody of Realities is the manual of the church: Every member is expected own one.

  play Rhapsody of Realities
  (youtube)

  
  

  9. The church's founder has some unusual theories about masturbation, alcoholism and smoking: In 2012, Oyakhilome shocked everyone by saying that these three things are not sins. Concerning masturbation, he said: "the reason you are thinking of stopping it (masturbation) is because you think it has become a habit for you… masturbation is not more than a habit than any other habit.... no matter how wrong you think this is in your mind, get this straight, in itself, it is not a sin against God,” emphasising that as a result of this belief that it is a sin, Satan used it to oppress people of God “making them feel ineffective and inefficient in the things of God.” He was attacked by a lot of pastors including Adeboye, who maintained that masturbation is indeed a sin.

  On smoking and drinking, the pastor said: "there is nothing wrong with Cigarette, the Bible doesn’t say anything was wrong with it... I know a lot of people do complain about it because of the relationship attached to it with some sicknesses like cancer...but if they really believe it is wrong why not ban it totally.

  It is the same thing when you have Christians working in the Breweries. The Bible doesn’t condemn alcohol. The only reference made to alcohol in the Bible is ‘do not take too much of wine’. So you see these things has to do with the individual state...if they are convince something is not good they should just ban it..."

  10. The church has had a lot of scandals: From rumors about the credibility of the miracles performed in the church to embezzlement lawsuits, the church has suffered a lot of scandals and controversies.

   

UK deports 39 Nigerians

Comprising of 30 males and five females, the deportees were reportedly brought back aboard a chartered Titanic Airways aircraft.

play Picture of some deportees (Illustration).
(African News Today)

No less than 39 Nigerian citizens have been deported by the government of the United Kingdom (UK) on Wednesday, May 24, for committing various immigration-related offences in the country.

The Cable reports that the deportees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMlA), Lagos around 5:50 am, today.

Comprising of 30 males and five females, the deportees were reportedly brought back aboard a chartered Titanic Airways aircraft with registration Number: G-POWO.

Spokesman of the Lagos airport police command, Joseph Alabi, confirmed the development.

Officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the police reportedly received the deportees.

Officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) were also on ground to receive them.

The Cable reports that the deportees were each profiled by the immigration authorities and given a stipend to facilitate their transportation to their respective states.

This news comes barely two months after the British authorities deported 23 Nigerians for similar reasons.

NIS 2017 Recruitment │Get Constant Update On The Application Process

NIS 2017 Recruitment – This webpage is affiliated with the official recruitment portal of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). The page is aimed at giving regular visitors constant updates on the application process of NIS recruitment for 2017/2018 session. The page is also designed to bring update on the process from now till when the form will be finally out.As you know, the Nigeria Immigration Service Recruitment scheme is an annual exercise by the NIS principal body. Thousands of Nigerians are taken into work at the NIS office every year.
Read Also: Nigerian Airforce DSSC 2017 Recruitment Will Commence On April, 2017
You may like to know that NIS has helped a lot of Nigerian citizens through this scheme. Meanwhile, you are on the right webpage because many of this people that got job with NIS read about the scheme from this website.

Again, the opportunity for another recruitment process, which NIS 2017 Recruitment is on for you to grab now.
NIS is yet to release the details of this year’s recruitment process. But as your publisher I want you to prepare yourself very well this time around. Read this article carefully to get the whole qualifications and requirements for the process. Also re-visit virginjist.com always for updates on this process.

See The Academic Eligibility Criteria For NIS 2017 Recruitment Process

• Applicants must posses their West African Examination Council (WAEC) Certificate or Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSSC).
• In addition to the above eligibility criteria, applicants must have at least three Credits in relevant courses including English Language in one sitting.
• As an alternative to the above eligibility criteria, candidates who do not have WAEC  certificate or SSSC should possess the following: National Examination Council (NECO) Certificate or General Certificate of Education.
• Also, in addition to the above criteria, candidates in this category must have had five credits in relevant courses including English Language in at least two sittings.

Others are Reading: Nigerian Army Recruitment │www.narecruitment.org For Trades/Non Tradesmen & Women

Important Info: People with the under listed deformities are advised not to apply for NIS 2017 Recruitment;

• Difficulty in hearing
• Any eye defect
• Flat Foot
• Major Orthopedic Operation in the past
• Fracture or stammering
• Haunch back or any other natural disability

Applicants Must Meet Up To The Following Requirements

Like I told you, interested applicants for NIS 2017 Recruitment must prepare themselves now ahead of time. This will enable them to easily apply for the exercise and be taken into the immigration service of Nigeria. Therefore, if you are among the people that are eager for this employment, read the requirements below carefully.

1. Applicants must be citizens of Nigeria by birth or descent
2. Interested applicants should be between the ages of 18 – 35 years by March, 2017.
3. 1.7 meters and 1.64 meters for male and female applicants respectively
4. Applicants must be certified as physically and mentally fit by an officer in any
5. Government Medical Centre to be eligible for the recruitment
6. They must have a broad chest for male that is not less than 0.87 meters
7. They should also be free from any kind of natural mental or physical disability

Mostly Viewed: How To Get TBC Wallet & Make Payments Via Online Wallet
Important Note: Applicants are advised not to give anybody their form to fill for them. All applicants are to fill their forms online respectively and the process is simple to do on the official website of FCSC @http://www.nis.fedcivilservice.gov.ng/. Also, when  the form is finally out, I’ll update you on the easy way to go about the registration.
NOTE ALSO: NIS application form for 2017 recruitment scheme will be out by March this year, so keep in touch with virginjist.com for updates on NIS 2017 Recruitment exercise. Also, drop your email address or you can subscribe to our website for direct update on your mail box.

Home: When I was a child, home meant wherever mummy and daddy were.

Home

When I was a child, home meant wherever mummy and daddy were.

play Home
(Adopting) 

When I was a child, home meant wherever mummy and daddy were. With that, basically everywhere was home because I went with them almost everywhere.

As a teenager, home was my close circle. The circle where we said things we couldn't say where mummy and daddy were present.

The circle where we were experiencing life in the same tempo.

I remember the days we talked about wet dreams in hushed tones as if we were plotting murder. The days we talked hairs.

Pubic hairs. The strangeness of them and why mine was slow to grow.  I was ashamed...

That was home. A place where you feel the heart beat of everyone is laced to yours.

Those days are gone.

Home means many things to me now.

It means wherever I am understood.

It means walking into the passport office the other day in Bayelsa and a woman I don't know walks up gushing about how a good writer I was.

It means traveling. Looking at the trees that try to touch our bus in Kogi state. It means making new family inside a bus headed to Abuja.

Home means coming to Facebook punching my keypads in anxiety believing that a stranger somewhere will punch back his or her keypad in reaction to my yammering.

Home means meeting people I met on social media and going home mostly disappointed.

A deep seated disappointment that sits close to your lungs nudging you in a quest to sieze your breath momentarily.

Home means discussing women with 'guys'. Discussions that makes me feel like a brand new Virgin only because of the knowledge that 'I never start'.

Home means many things to me now.

But, because there is a huge difference between  a friend who is a girl and  a girlfriend, I wish to tell you what home means to me in the sense of home.

Home is Onitsha. A city that smells of carbon monoxide mixed with frustration.

Onitsha: home.

It has never closed her arms. She has her arms widely stretched ready to embrace visitors and non visitors.

Especially the arms at the head bridge. Those arms are wide. Maybe wider than that of the road that leads to uniben.

The road that I pass through every time and remember that the bible says that the road to hell is wide.

Onitsha.

The city of my childhood and teenage.

In Onitsha today, everything means a thing to me. I could read a sign board and remember a friend I haven't seen in a decade only because there was a time in history when we walked the tiny roads of awka road from Dmgs to wherever our destinations was.

Home is here.

Home is listening to people talk about how their neighbor was robbed last night.

They say this in preparation believing that they could be next.

The philosophy here is a labyrinth of truths and lies sewn to form a beautiful apparel of confusion.

Home.

Home is inside my mother's 3 bedroom flat that has history of happiness and crying.

Last night, I was up in the visitors room and I remember the day I was laid down by my dad and no plea from my mom could reduce the beating by a 'sorry" at the end.

I laughed.

Home.

Where we talk with our eyes.

Where we are our mother's audience.

She is a pastor in this house. Every morning, she waltz into the room bearing the weight of the kingdom of heaven on her face.

She sometimes comes with a cup of water because we can't wake by ordinary shouting.

These days, she comes in stiffening her fist because she'd hit on the bed so hard that sleep goes as if it never came.

We are her audience when she's in the mood to play.

Today, the engineer that came to fix our generator demanded for Money and my mother called all of us to contribute otherwise she'd tell him to scatter what he repaired.

Home is here.

My mother's bedroom that is punctuated with her thesis materials scattered here and there like an unbelievable rumor.

She shifts the books aside and sleep in the midst of those books.

Home is where my younger brothers look like my senior brothers.

Today, Jimmy said: "junior sometimes I wonder where you kept your brain"

His friend laughed looking at my face to know how I will bend down to pick an offence.

I have a waist pain when I'm home.

I can't bend to pick any offense.

I walked out knowing that anything that happens at home is excusable.

Home.

Home.

Home is where I look on the walls and see my father in pictures smiling away without him knowing that when we see his smiling picture, things frown in our bodies.

He's happy where he is.

My aunty that sees visions said she saw him in heaven.

I knew before she said that.

A man who's home was inside the house of God.

Home

Home.

What is home to you?

 

 

Key things young Nigerians need to unlearn to succeed

Key things young Nigerians need to unlearn to succeed

ScholarX Opportunity Hub is a Weekly blog post by Nigerdirect

During one of my usual social media “excursions” I came across a post by a friend of mine based in Houston.

He was responding to a comment around sending stubborn children back to Nigeria to go learn some “sense”. Sense meaning, being ‘flogged” into shape to learn to respectful and absorb our cultural teachings.

My friend disagreed with this notion however, and exclaimed “I have spent my last 16 years in America unlearning a lot of things” This got me thinking, drawing from my personal experience, there were a lot of things I too had to unlearn and relearn in other to be successful as a student and now a professional.

Thus, I’ve decided to use this installment of “Opportunity Hub” to discuss key things Nigerian Youths need to Unlearn and Relearn to be successful in life. I might also add that, out of curiosity, I opened a discussion on this topic on my Facebook page, and it was a fascinating experience.

Education

School curriculum in Nigeria, if we can still call it that; is a major impediment to growth and success of our youths, who are still being taught with materials adopted decades ago. For example, “copying” note is a major part of the class grades for secondary school students, or having them “label” insects while their peers in China are building Mobile phone prototypes as classwork. Students need to Unlearn cramming just to pass exams, rather, study to acquire knowledge. Particularly knowledge that fuels critical thinking which enables them to apply common sense and a sense of taking initiatives in real life situations

Culture/Tradition

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people” And this is very true for us in Africa, particularly a multi-ethnic nation like Nigeria. The nucleus of our people’s way of life stems from teachings from culture and to an extent, family tradition. While this is a gift, it is also a curse. “Age doesn't beget respect, but respect is earned. I guess it's a societal thing, but we need to stop worshipping people who belong in the gutter simply because they are older. Age can be swapped for money too”

 Whether it’s our “hero” worship of elders, limitations imposed/implied by or seeing marriage as an achieve, we need to re-orient our youths to aspire and dream to achieve goals based on their personal desire and not what is expected from them.

Entitlement

Nobody owes you sh*t! Please excuse my French, but that’s exactly how it was relayed to me and I agree. Nobody owes you anything, not your parents, the government, your rich friends or relative. No one owes you jack, and you need to learn to rely on you, and only you, because your actions or inactions determines your level of success. I get that certain factors could hinder success in Nigeria however, but it starts with you.

Erase thoughts like, "my parents are supposed to send me to school, the government is supposed to give me a job" from your reasoning, and instead, keep asking yourself what you can do to improve things daily.

Role Models

Who your role models? Your success in life should not be tied to the gift of artistic talent (which most people are not blessed with) or just being in the right place at the right time. Look for role models who have scrapped and hustled their way to success! Particularly in your filed, so for example, if you want to be a successful tech entrepreneur, you need to look at founders of successful startups like Iroko, Hotels.ng, Okadabooks, Flutterwave and so on

Mindset

The following a straightforward thing to unlearn/relearn o have the right mindset to succeed in whatever endeavor you choose:

1. A hustle is not a business. You need to learn to take the hustle further, and develop the right principles and structures
2. Realize that every overnight success is at least 10 years in the making but you don't get to see the process only the finished product
3. Passivity and other psychological limitations must be deleted permanently
4. Focusing on tooling/legacy/certification rather than solving problems
5. Relearn internalization of doubt and curiosity and form a habit of questioning everything including authority and its doctrines.

ScholarX Opportunity Hub is a Weekly blog post by Bola Lawal (twitter @bwlofhouston,), Cofounder/CEO of ScholarX www.scholarx.co , @scholarx on Instagram, @scholarxpage on Facebook, where he shares his personal experiences with aspirational Students and young entrepreneurs on taking advantage of opportunities; and related topics that could help them achieve their goals.

How some Nigerians travelled to India to pray for President’s death

Buhari 

How some Nigerians travelled to India to pray for President’s death

Onochie said the President’s political enemies changed their tactics when they found out their prayers did not work.

play President Muhammadu Buhari
(AFP/File) 

The Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie has alleged that some politicians went to India to pray for the President’s death.

According to Daily Post, Onochie said the President’s political enemies changed their tactics when they found out their prayers did not work.

The president’s aide, in a post of her Facebook page, also alleged that the unnamed people paid media house to attack Buhari.

Onochie said “There must be a reason why some members of the political elite in Nigeria do not want to see President Muhammadu Buhari in power. They rigged him out of elections in the past and now that Nigerians overpowered them with the support of the card reader, they want him dead.

“In 2015, when it was obvious the electorates had their eyes set on him, they scammed President Jonathan to postpone the election and to further empty the Nigerian treasury so they could ‘buy’ more electorates.

“But they knew Nigerians were not ready to be bought so they pocketed the campaign loot. Those who took part in the scamming of ex-President Jonathan, are being asked to cough up and the junkiest of them all, is cursing and swearing because he is being held accountable.

“Transition was a scam. Financial books were cooked. They tried to cover up their financial wickedness and recklessness against this nation. They hired some school dropouts, products of their 16 years of mis-governance across the nation, to try to disrupt the nation.

“And then they hired red, green, blue, and all shades of media outfits to unleash a coordinated attack on his government. Bravely, he soldiers on.

“They travelled as far as Niger Republic, India, etc. and in vain, they engaged the services of marabouts and soothsayers (mere men), to their own disappointments.

“Pastors and bishops (mere men), whose unholy services were engaged to pray for his death, resorted to attacking him once they have prayed and he did not die.”

ALSO READ: Stop blaming Buhari for Nigeria’s woes, pray – Governor Okowa says

The presidential aide did not reveal the names of the politicians who went to India.

President Muhammadu Buhari is currently in London receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment.

 

Ambode Governor terminates contract for construction of 4th Mainland Bridge

Ambode Governor terminates contract for construction of 4th Mainland Bridge

The Lagos state government said the contract was terminated because the concessionaire was working at a slow pace.

play Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos  State

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has terminated the contract for the construction of the 4th Mainland bridge.

According to reports, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with a consortium of companies on May 25, 2016.

The Lagos state government said the contract was terminated because the concessionaire was working at a slow pace.

Speaking at a ministerial briefing at Alausa, Ikeja, the Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Adebowale Akinsanya said other investors have shown interest from all over the world.

Akinsanya also told Vanguard that the state government has not made a decision on which proposal to approve yet.

He said “Due to slow pace of work, the contract was terminated. We are now looking at many investors, though interest is very high.

“The state government has started the proposals. We have such investors from South Korea, Europe and the United States, among few others. What we are doing now is vetting the proposals. We do not want to waste any further time. So works are in top progress on the 4th Mainland Bridge.

“The investors would be named very soon, the state government will enter into concession agreement with appropriate investors that deliver the project.”

ALSO READ: Governor Ambode orders VIOs out of Lagos roads

The Lagos State Government also revealed that N11.6billion has been spent on rehabilitation and construction of some public primary and secondary schools in the state.

Dr Idiat Adebule, Deputy Governor who also doubles as the Commissioner for Education, made the disclosure at the 2017 Ministerial Press Briefing to mark Gov. Ambode’s second year in office.

Buhari President doesn’t know when he’s coming back

Buhari President doesn’t know when he’s coming back

President Muhammadu Buhari left Nigeria on Sunday, May 7, after writing a letter to the Senate on his travel plans.

play President Muhammadu Buhari leaves Nigeria for London on May 8, 2017
(LIB) 

President Muhammadu Buhari has travelled to London for a medical vacation, and nobody knows when he’ll be back.

Buhari left Nigeria on Sunday, May 7, after writing a letter to the Senate on his travel plans.

The letter, which was read by Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Tuesday, May 9, states that only the president’s doctors could decide how long his trip would last.

 

“I wish to inform the distinguished senate that I will be away for a scheduled medical follow-up with my doctors in London. The length of my stay will be determined by the doctors’ advice,” the letter read.

“While I am away, the vice-president will coordinate the activities of the government,” it added.

The indefiniteness of Buhari’s trip had earlier been hinted at by his spokesman, Femi Adesina before the president’s departure.

“I don't recall that our laws have stated any time frame in which a President who is recovering can be away from duty post,” Adesina said while appearing on Channels TV.

 

Buhari, in January, wrote the Senate to announce that he would spend 10 days in London on a medical vacation.

The president however extended his vacation and ended up spending 49 days abroad.

He returned to Nigeria in March and announced that he had never been so sick in his entire life.

ALSO READ: ‘Buhari doesn’t have to be in the office to show he’s working’ - Lai Mohammed

Buhari also said, at the time, that he would soon return to London for follow-up treatment.

 

Buhari cabal trying to stop VP from acting as president – Fani-Kayode

 Buhari cabal trying to stop VP from acting as president – Fani-Kayode

President Muhammadu Buhari left Nigeria for London on Sunday, May 7, for an indefinite medical vacation.

play President Buhari and his Vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo before the medical trip
(saharareporters)

Former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has warned against attempts to prevent Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo from assuming the office of acting president.

Fani-Kayode gave the warning in reaction to a letter by President Muhammadu Buhari in which he authorized Osinbajo to “coordinate” the affairs of government in his absence.

Buhari left Nigeria for London on Sunday, May 7, for an indefinite medical vacation.

The letter was written to the Senate to announce the president’s departure based on Section 145 of the Constitution.

“The attempt by the corpsocrats to prevent the Vice President from being Acting President by referring to him in the letter to the Senate as a mere “coordinator” is insulting and dangerous,” Fani-Kayode wrote on Facebook.

“It is time for us to decide: do we have a nation of equals or not? If not let us break it and go our separate ways! When you tell us that the Vice President cannot be Acting President even though the President is critically sick and on indefinite medical leave in a foreign country you are playing with fire.

“There are no more slaves in Nigeria. To those that believe that we must stand strong for Osinbajo this is the time to do it. The attempt to deny him the right and role of Acting President by the corpsocrats is ominous and the implications are grave and far-reaching.

“They did it to MKO Abiola in 1993. They tried to do it to GEJ in 2010. They are doing it to Osinbajo in 2017. When will a southerner be treated as an equal by these hegemonists? When will this arrogance of power and modern-day apartheid stop?” he said.

Buhari’s comment also caused controversy in the Senate which subsequently authorized Osinbajo to assume the office of acting president in Buhari’s absence.

ALSO READ: ‘Buhari doesn’t have to be in the office to show he’s working’ - Lai Mohammed

The president has been suffering health issues since January, when he departed on a supposed 10-day medical vacation to London but ended up spending 49 days.

Lai Mohammed This is what happens when the ruling class is older than everyone else

Lai Mohammed This is what happens when the ruling class is older than everyone else

60% of Nigeria’s 200 million people are younger than 30, but the Information Minister’s strategy suggests little regard for how young people find information, or do anything at all.

Minister for Information and Communication, Lai Mohammed briefs Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari (Press)

From the moment Lai Mohammed was screened by the National Assembly to be the nation’s new Information Minister, he faced one simple yet daunting task; providing Nigeria’s citizens with credible and timely information on government activities, programs and initiatives.

The minister has chosen to discharge that duty by questionable means. The results have been largely uninspiring, so much that poor communication is now accepted as one of the biggest failings of the Buhari administration.

Since the earliest months, two main themes have become obvious in Mohammed’s press conferences and statements.

When backed into a tight corner, he is quick to pass the blame and play the victim.

In the months since he took on the role, his major points of call have been the presidency’s performance in key areas and the president’s health.

While the economy still tries to emerge from its first depression in 25 years, President Muhammadu Buhari has spent a large part of the last five months on medical leave in London as he tries to recover from a mystery illness. In both regards, there are serious questions to answer.

Instead, in press conferences and interviews, when asked for comments on these issues, Mohammed suggests a picture where the opposition and its supporters are the enemy and the members of the Buhari administration are saints, complete with halos and golden robes.

Minister for Information and Communication, Lai Mohammed briefs Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari (Press) Minister for Information and Communication, Lai Mohammed briefs Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari (Press)

He answers questions with rhetorical pleas for mercy, whether he’s asking why the media ignores the factors that the administration blames for its poor start or explaining how questions about the president's health are a distraction.

A good example is when a delegation of the National Council of Women’s Societies visited him at his office in Abuja. When asked questions about the welfare of the nation’s citizens, he answered simply, “We are very concerned about the welfare of Nigerians and we are not sleeping; many of our critics have been unfair to us because many of them know that we did not invent the problems we are facing today”

In other situations, Mohammed makes veiled attempts at inspiring or appealing to populist sentiments.

Where he has the opportunity to clear the air with facts and credible, timely information, he tries to curry favour with the masses by saying things that suggest that they are being manipulated or misinformed by the media and everyone except the Buhari administration.

ALSO READ: Lai Mohammed says controversy over Lai Mohammed's letter to Senate is a distraction

Lai Mohammed's rhetoric is designed to suggest that the government has a monopoly of affection; that it is the only entity, human or otherwise, that cares and knows what is best for Nigeria and its people.

Others like every political entity in the opposition are either part of the problem or like the media, sensationalists who only start conversations regarding the presidency's actions to create a distraction from the work in progress.

It sounds too much like the early stages of an abusive relationship.

play The minister's rhetoric plays on government policies and popular sentiment to suggest a simple message; a Nigeria for Nigerians, to the exclusion of those who question the process or show a lack of belief (Press)

In November 2015, when the Treasury Single Account was launched, it met criticism from a large number of people who did not understand the need or the idea behind unifying the government’s accounts.

To clear the air, Mohammed issued a statement, saying “it is understandable that the psyche of those who are making the frivolous allegations concerning the TSA has been badly affected by the impunity that permeated the country under the immediate past administration”

“But the lies that have been wilfully disseminated by scandalmongers over the TSA cannot and will not fly", he added, "because it was precise to put an end to such impunity that Nigerians voted massively for President Muhammadu Buhari, who has an unblemished reputation for integrity, due process, transparency and the rule of law”

It would have been easier to just explain what the TSA was and why Nigeria needed it at that point in time.

Mohammed occupies a position where, thanks to Buhari’s absence, he has become the main mouthpiece of this administration. The manner he has chosen, however, shows something more than ineptitude.

In a nation where more than half the population is under the age of 30, it shows a lack of understanding of how young people acquire information in the digital age and how that access to information is inspiring a level of enlightenment that has increased what people expect of their leaders.

This, in itself, goes to a larger problem that has been the bane of successive administrations and is a cross that Nigerians have had to bear for decades.

An Information Minister like Lai Mohammed is what happens when the ruling class personalises their claim to power, over too many years.

As the world has learned and (continues to see) in the case of Donald Trump, a lack of experience can be disastrous when one holds important political office. But you find that age is not experience, and knowledge quickly becomes obsolete if one does not stay updated and in touch with things.

And no, appointing 17 30-year-old Special Assistants does not count.

play Despite promises to change the old guard, President Buhari's cabinet is mostly made up of the same politicians who have been in the national conversation since 1999 (Press)

There’s also a sense of aloofness; a tendency to act as if being in office or the political class gives you access to some truths or secrets of the world that remain the same, regardless of quickly the world develops.

ALSO READ: Lai Mohammed says the President doesn't have to be in office to show he's working

It is why the Minister for Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu thinks it’s a good idea to appear in front of pressmen with little more than the news that Nigeria will begin to manufacture match-sticks and pencils in two years.

It is why with the president away with doctors in London, Mohammed thinks it is fine to give non-answers and vague statements as if it is the responsibility of the populace to prove or discover the true state of the president’s health and not the other way around.

The Nigerian ruling class, in 2017, discharges their duties by doing the exact same things that their peers did in the decades before them. It would seem that for them, the biggest evidence of staying abreast of the times is opening a twitter account.

Nigeria's biggest problem is the culture of political actors in the corridors of power.

The simple reason why every successive government seems eerily like the one before them is because the same set of people have been in those corridors since a few years after the nation gained its independence.

This group of people is referred to by most political scholars and commentators as the class of 1966.

In January 1966, 22 notable Nigerian leaders including the Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Premiers of the Northern and Western Regions, Ahmadu Bello and Samuel Ladoke Akintola were killed in a coup led by a majority of mutinous soldiers, led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna.

A number of soldiers, particularly from the Northern Region, were not enthused about this and in July 1966, they launched the counter-coup that put Yakubu Gowon in power.

Of the 32 soldiers that planned and executed that coup, four became head of state in the years that followed; General Sani Abacha, General Ibrahim Babangida, Brigadier-General Murtala Mohammed and Muhammadu Buhari, (twice as a general in 1984 and a civilian in 2015).

Although he was not a part of the team, a certain Olusegun Obasanjo was a friend of that class, and in time, after Murtala Mohammed, he got his own taste of power.

play Soldiers of Fortune: General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and General Sani Abacha (Archive)

There are familiar names among the remaining officers. Many like John Shagaya, Paul Tarfa, John Nanven Garba and the more prominent Theophilus Danjuma have held various senior executive and legislative posts in successive governments; the rest have spread their tentacles and established themselves in various levels of power.

The team that plotted the coup on July 29, 1966, has not left the corridors of power since then.

Renowned economics professor and former Presidential candidate, Pat Utomi chooses to explain that they got into power with a huntsman mentality; a view that led them to view the coup as a triumph that they were entitled to.

“Nigeria has suffered state capture since 1966 and the group of soldiers who ceased the Nigerian state that year, retain a firm grip 50 years after”, he writes in the Sahel Standard.

“The culture of the class of 66 drove us, first hesitantly, then with deliberate speed into the cusp of a failing state… In my view, the class of 1966 cannot help itself. It was socialised into a view of triumph as the Hunt. The hunter mindset is kill and share”

For them, the benefit of that victory was to divide and conquer with this new power that they had acquired.

The class of 1966 has never given room for any disruption or change in the power system or how it is distributed.

ALSO READ: Buhari cabal is trying to prevent Osinbajo from acting as President - Fani-Kayode

Save for military coups that were literally power plays between its members, any signs of disruption in the power system have been few and far between. Access to power has been so stringently restricted that a place at the federal seat is only possible on their terms.

play Renowned Economics Professor, Pat Utomi ran for the office of the President in the 2011 general elections. (Patito's Blog)

This is not to say there have been no crises of legitimacy, but where they have threatened the existing order, powers in the back seat have installed fillers or at least, influenced the election of more familiar surrogates — Shehu Shagari in 1979, Umar Musa Yar’adua in 2007 and Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.

For context, it’s been 51 years since that day in July. 

The worldview and how things work have changed vastly in that time; while each member of that class, their ideals, power blocs, policies and objectives have stayed with them, as half a century has passed by.

It is no coincidence that most of the country’s most ‘ambitious’ projects became par for the course in other countries decades ago.

In recent years, Nigeria has shown bright signs in certain fields largely thanks to the tenacity and hard work of young people. There is much expectation for the role that the young generation, particularly millennials, can play in the nation’s growth.

play The suburb of Yaba is home to startups, platforms and accelerators that have led the emergence of a technology scene that is attracting attention and support from around the world (Techpoint)

One problem, however, is that the almost ever-present nature of the class of ’66 has created a fear to speak truth to power and a generation that will rather look away in hope than fight for change.

Massive internet penetration among the youth population and the quick adoption of social media also mean that a majority of young people are simply more capable of creating hashtags on Twitter than making practical moves towards demanding greater inclusion and a say in how they are governed.

President Buhari’s health and the absence of any clear alternatives in 2019 have set the scenes for a power struggle between the familiar suspects. Such that in the past few days, various rumours, including some that feature a coup, have circulated online and offline.

Regardless of what happens in the lead up to the next presidential elections, there is an ideological void that will be filled by whoever steps up to the plate.

play Babangida, Obasanjo, Buhari; it is absurd to expect change when power has remained in the hands of a select few (Press)

As things stand, the Nigerian political scene offers very limited options. Since the ruling All Progressives Congress got out of the opposition and into power in 2015, the People's Democratic Party that it made the swap with has become all but a shell of itself, destroyed from within by power struggles, decampment, scandals and finger-pointing.

With it, other parties have faded into limited relevance. The implication that there are no alternative ideologies or beliefs that the disgruntled, dissatisfied or those with the desire to upset the existing structure can pitch their tents to.

It is clear that there are young Nigerians who can take up the mantle at various levels of government to inject much-needed stimulus, and innovation into the country’s systems and structures.

The need for them to demand control of their future and have a say in the Nigerian government is desperately obvious, now more than ever.

Buhari Health minister explains why President travelled abroad for treatment

 

Buhari Health minister explains why President travelled abroad for treatment

The minister called on Nigerians to pray for Buhari and not to make wrong insinuations about his health.

 

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has said that President Buhari could not be treated in Nigeria because of the bond he has with his doctors abroad.

The minister also called on Nigerians to pray for Buhari and not to make wrong insinuations about his health.

Adewole also said that there is no cause for alarm, adding that Nigerians should respect Buhari’s choice to go abroad for treatment.

According to Daily Post, he said “One thing we must realise is that health is a complex issue. There’s what we call patient-doctor relationship; there is also a bond between the patient and the doctor and these are things we can’t play with.

“I used to have patients in Ibadan and they still call me, and say ‘we will like to see you’. Then I have to say no to them because I’m no longer available and ask, ‘why can’t you see somebody else?’ But many of them are reluctant to do so. That’s the complex thing about health.

“We should give him (Buhari) that choice. What we really wish is for Mr. President to be well and hearty.

“However, this is also a complex country, so I am not too happy about some of the insinuations, because we should pray for our leaders. We should continue to pray for him. There is no cause for alarm.

ALSO READ: How some Nigerians travelled to India to pray for President Buhari’s death

“He (Buhari) came back (referring to the previous medical vacation) and told us that he was ill and that he was treated. When we have that type of leader, I think we can go to sleep.”

Recently, there have been several unconfirmed reports saying that President Buhari  is dead.

Relationship Goals

Relationship Goals

 

Love is at the very core of who we are. Out of His own love, God created us in His image for love and to love. Our hearts and our minds are designed to crave relationships and to experience unity, but have we been doing it all wrong? Have we allowed the enemy to take our relationships and twist them into something God never desired for us? He wants us to feel alone, distant, distracted, and full of shame, but God’s goal for us is to experience intimacy and oneness that is pure and without shame! So how do we get it right?

In this 7-part series, Pastor Miles shares biblical principles to create healthy relationships and explain how they are all are modeled after the most perfect relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He explores what the foundations of healthy unity looks like and how you can make you

Message Recap

If you don’t hear anything else today, hear this: God loves you. He knows all of your issues, your secrets, your past, and your problems, and He still loves you beyond measure - and He badly wants for you to love Him in return!

God loves you. He knows all of your issues, your secrets, your past, and your problems, and He still loves you beyond measure - and He badly wants for you to love Him in return!

So how can you perfect your love of God? Practice!

We learned last week that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have the perfect relationship and are the model for perfect love; they pursue God’s purpose together and glorify each other. So whenever we think or talk about love, we must refer to what God says about love, not our own versions of love that may bring pain to us or others. 

God is love. 1 John 4:8 

Love is obedience to God. 1 John 5:3

Love is based on truth, not a feeling. 2 John 6

1. Love is perfected over time by God’s loving hand.1 John 2:5

Our brains are comprised of two hemispheres. Among many other functions, the right brain controls our emotions, while the left brain is involved in decision-making and problem-solving. While a child may be afraid of a playground slide at first sight (right brain), once he has had a few safe experiences on the slide, he understands the slide is fun and can make a decision to approach it boldly (left brain), despite the earlier emotions he experienced.

Similarly, our emotions may initially stop us from obeying God, and if we never take the steps to do boldly as He asks, we stay stuck in obedience to our own feelings. For example, we may not apologize after an argument because we believe the other person is at fault and we feel injured. But by practicing obedience in small things little by little, such as apologizing for our own actions even when we feel wronged, we can learn that our emotions need not control everything we do and that obeying God is fruitful, powerful, and more important than obeying our own desires. We can increase our faith and bring our ability to be obedient into better completion and maturity.

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. 1 John 2:3-6

God never lets us down, so we must learn to trust Him by saying “yes,” even when we feel like saying, “no!”

God didn’t empower us with the Holy Spirit so that we could please ourselves or love our own friends. We don’t need supernatural power to do what we would normally do! He’s not into “cruise control” living; He wants to bring us out of our comfort zones and for us to live out our faith and love by being obedient. Obedience to Him is really the only proof we can give that we truly love Him!

2. Love requires a renewed mind. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

God will sometimes tell you to do things that your mind doesn’t want to do. It doesn’t always make sense to us to serve, give, pray, sacrifice, be humble, or confront others in love, but when our minds say “no,” we must have the ability to override and decide to obey God above ourselves. We can quote Scripture all we want, but if we are not living it, then we are just Pharisees!

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

Though not everything our culture practices is wrong, there are world views, arguments, and politically-correct practices around us that are against the Word of God. This is why, whatever we read, discuss, or ponder with our minds, we must bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. We must decide if we are going to obey God - or our impulses, our culture, or our friends. This is where the rubber meets the road. 

3. Love must be received before it can be given. 1 John 4:19

You have a natural ability to love, but God wants to give you His supernatural love.

The Bible says that God loved you so much that He sent His only Son to give His life that you might be saved (John 3:16). Jesus did this willingly because of supernatural love. The Bible also says that if you believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ, then you will be saved (Romans 10:9). The Holy Spirit then comes to live in your heart and pours of the love of God into your heart (Romans 5:5).

When the supernatural love of God is poured into your heart, you have a level and intensity of love for people that is way beyond your natural ability. You can even forgive people you wouldn’t normally forgive, just as Jesus forgave His persecutors even while dying on the cross (Luke 23:34).

Though loving by obedience doesn’t always feel good or comfortable, God can empower you to love in any situation. Despite feelings of fear, discouragement, anger, resentment, etc., by practicing daily obedience to God, you can grow in maturity and grow in your ability to love and obey God day by day by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Miles challenged us to a discipleship exercise this week: write down 5-10 things that you know God wants you to do in your daily life that you are not currently doing. As a start, choose one thing off that list and commit to practicing obedience in that area every day - and see what happens!

Knowing God Quotes

Knowing God Quotes
“Wait on the Lord" is a constant refrain in the Psalms, and it is a necessary word, for God often keeps us waiting. He is not in such a hurry as we are, and it is not his way to give more light on the future than we need for action in the present, or to guide us more than one step at a time. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. When action is needed, light will come.”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God
“In the New Testament, grace means God's love in action toward people who merited the opposite of love. Grace means God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift a finger to save themselves. Grace means God sending his only Son to the cross to descend into hell so that we guilty ones might be reconciled to God and received into heaven.”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God
“I need not torment myself with the fear that my faith may fail; as grace led me to faith in the first place, so grace will keep me believing to the end. Faith, both in its origin and continuance, is a gift of grace (Phil 1:29).”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God
“Guidance, like all God's acts of blessing under the covenant of grace, is a sovereign act. Not merely does God will to guide us in the sense of showing us his way, that we may tread it; he wills also to guide us in the more fundamental sense of ensuring that, whatever happens, whatever mistakes we may make, we shall come safely home. Slippings and strayings there will be, no doubt, but the everlasting arms are beneath us; we shall be caught, rescued, restored. This is God's promise; this is how good he is.”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God
“How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each Truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God
“Nor is it the spirit of those Christians - alas, they are many - whose ambition in life seems limited to building a nice middle-class Christian home, and making nice middle-class Christian friends, and bringing up their children in nice middle-class Christian ways, and who leave the sub-middle-class sections of the community, Christian and non-Christian, to get on by themselves.
The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor - spending and being spent - to enrich their fellowmen, giving time, trouble, care and concern to do good to others - and not just their own friends - in whatever way there seems need.”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God
“Knowing about God is crucially important for the living of our lives. As it would be cruel to an Amazonian tribesmen to fly him to London, put him down without explanation in Trafalgar Square and leave him, as one who knew nothing of English or England, to fend for himself, so we are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it .The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfold, as it were , with no sense of direction, and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God
“What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination and lays hold of our allegiance, and this the Christian has in a way that no other person has. For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God