A brand like I simply know it is what you or your product relates to or how it’s perceived in the mind of your customers or consumers.

A logo was unveiled which had the “i” in Nigeria looking very much like the Nike sign. I wouldn’t say much of what I think about the logo but I want to applaud conservatively the Minister of Information’s efforts at rebranding the Nation. Dora Akunyili seems to be shooting from all guns this desire to give a different image about Nigeria from what it’s been known to be.

Interestingly, while searching through the guest list, I found wanting loads of Nigerians who’s life’s assignment has become making a good image out of Nigeria. That is not to say there weren’t some others present, I just didn’t feel the guest list cut across like it should have.  

Some Nigerians who have excelled in different endeavours both nationally and internationally where exempted from the guest list. Most of those who graced the occasion where those who would have been present if the meeting was to rebrand Nigeria negatively.

Anyway, that’s by the side. The slogan “Good People, Great Nation” accompanied the logo I described briefly earlier. I kinda liked it but wondered what may have precluded the “Good People” part. I agree that good people make a great nation, but what makes a good people? Where are the set of values that those people need to imbibe as a culture before they can be regarded as good. What are they good at?

One of my colleagues said it reminded him of a former advert of Toyota – “Good Thinking, Good Product”. I had a big laugh and said “You only need to look at a Toyota and you’ll agree totally with that statement”. Even if you didn’t see a Toyota and heard that it was produced in Japan and you went to Japan or had been to Japan, you’d agree without a fuss with the statement.

Having said that, I believe we need to rebuild more than we need to rebrand. We need to rebuild salient values – Problem-Solving attitudes, Aspirational, Timely, Role Model, Impactful, Outstanding, Trustworthy, Integrity, Compassionate. Values like this will go a long way in rebuilding this Nation. There’s no way we’ll rebuild the Nation and it won’t have another brand attached to it. Lagos is already getting rebranded as a state because it’s getting rebuilt.

What about our infrastructure? If we achieved 12-hour consistent power supply everyday in the whole nation, wouldn’t that change our perception in the minds of the world? How come our election process is so flawed? If we totally overhauled that alone, wouldn’t our brand be rebranded automatically.

While I believe that we need to see ourselves positively before we can be seen as such by others, I also believe that we need to draw out a blueprint of how we will achieve this positive image in reality.

I am a New Nigerian and believe in the future of a New Nigeria. If you do as well please sign up with us believers at www.newnigeriaclub.net/ododooro and www.thefuturemovement.org

I was in a meeting  a few weeks ago where a discussion was raised about the reasons why people achieve great results and why some others don’t. I have always wondered why it seemed so easy for some and almost impossible for others. Is it because some are driven and some are not? or is it because some have dreams and others don’t? I really can’t say. But one thing seems to stand out. Those who do great things have a certain attribute called Commitment.

Commitment, I once heard, can be likened to the degree of a cow’s involvement in producing or making available different kinds of food for you.

One day, a farmer walked up to his cow and asked

“Please I need some milk. In fact, I’ll need milk every day now because my son is now 2yrs old and he needs to drink fresh milk everyday”.

“That is not a problem sir,” the cow replied. “I only need to be involved in making sure that happens.”

“The only assistance I need from you is that you please squeeze my udder every day to get the amount of mik you desire.”

“Thank you very much”. The farmer said and went away happily.

Two years later, the farmer came again to his beloved cow and said.

“My son is 4 yrs old now and is beginning to run around the compound. I also want him to start school this year, but I need him to ve very strong by then. I’d like you to give him some meat everyday like you gave us milk.”

The cow thought over it carefully and said. “Yeah, I can see the young boy is growing. He comes to play with me daily and ever so once in a while even squeezes my udder for fresh milk which he drinks with delight. ”

“I just love it when he does that”

“Anyway,” she continued “While I’m only involved in making milk available for him, I’ll have to be committed to making meat available.”

“You’ll have to kill me to get meat for him. There’s no amount of meat you will take from me that will not involve spilling my blood and my blood is my life.”

What is the moral of this story:

1. If you need to achieve baby (small) results i.e. milk, you may only get involved; but to achieve great results i.e meat, you need to be committed.

2. Anything you are committed to, you can die for. What you are involved in, you don’t have a stake in it; whether it goes good or bd.

3. Involvement is periphery (external), Commitment is deep ( internal ). You can choose to identify with something without serious consequencies esp if it goes wrong, but you can’t choose with commitment. You are boound to do.

4. Involvement is liquid. – Easy to get, easy to give and easy to lose. Commitment is SOLID – Difficult to get, difficult to lose, difficult to give, difficult to come out of, difficult to swallow and difficult to erode.

Are you committed to anything? Success, Financial Freedom, Wealth, Happiness, Righteousnes, Values, A New Nigeria, A good marriage, A goal, and An achievement?……Is it milk or is it meat

A story I read this morning interested me a bit. There was a wedding that Jesus was invited to in the Bible. He went there with his disciples and something interesting happened. Right in the middle of the wedding feast, his mother came and informed him that the wine was finished. “They have no wine” she said to him. Wine was the singular essential ingredient of any wedding party in Israel and when it finished, the wedding ceremony had unceremoniously come to an end. Interestingly, he replied her that it wasn’t his time to show forth his powers yet but rather that argue with him, she exhibited unwavering trust in his ability to save the situation. “Whatever He tells you, do”, she instructed the servers at the wedding.

Trust God absolutely

Many times in the course of this year, wine will run out (the essential ingredient for celebration in our lives might be missing). I need not panic about the situation. All I need to is express absolute trust in God. In fact, like the wedding situation, He may not actually want to step into it. I might not qualify for help and a miracle but strong belief in Him and an uncompromising resolve to do whatsoever He’ll say or command will grant me access to his help and miracles.

Obey with passion and zeal

Jesus told the servants to fill the pots with water and they filled them to the brim. They weren’t worried that they were filling wine pots with water, they just did it enthusiastically all the same. It didn’t bother them that it looked stupid. They just obeyed without question. My faith and action steps this year must show that I’m ready to go that extra mile to obey and please Him.

I’ll finish this post tomorrow….watch out.

Hi readers, I wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year. I’m convinced that this year will bring you your hearts’ desires and more. Keep reading at this blog and i promise you, we’ll have a swell time this year. As I reflected over the past year about 2 days ago, i found myself learning a point or two from a movie I watched that same day.

I sat down to watch a movie titled “Aragon”. I had actually seen the movie before even though I didn’t pay it much attention then. I saw some of my friends watching it on a particular movie channel on cable TV and decided to join in. The story is supposed to be an Epic/Sci-fi. A particular boy gets an egg-like rock which actually contains a dragon that is about to hatch. He was required to save a particular queen once he had the dragon in it’s matured state and he could ride it. Actually, it was his destiny to be a dragon rider, which made him some kind of messiah whose revelation and manifestation the people of the environment had long awaited. Some king and his wizard had held the people bound and sought to keep them in permanent bondage. Only the dragon rider could bring them hope and deliverance bla…..bla…….bla…..please go and get the movie if you haven’t seen it yet.

Not long after the boy got the silver blue large egg-like substance, it hatched and began to grow. The day he carried it and tossed it into the air as part of it flying lessons, the dragon finally successfully took to the air and though it went as a baby dragon, it returned a female adult dragon called “Sapphira”. In one scene of the movie, the dragon snatched it’s rider and carried him far into the against his own will. On putting him down after a while, the dragon rider discovered that his uncle had been killed by those who sought his life. He felt so sad and blamed the dragon for carrying off when his uncle was been attacked. The dragon (who could talk to him) tried to explain to him that he would have been dead had she not carried him off but he disagreed with her. In his anger, he told her rudely to get away from him.

A little while later, he discovered that he needed her desperately and had to reach out to her to come and help him( she could hear his thoughts and he could hear hers). He swallowed his pride and called out to her from the depth of his heart asking ” Sapphira, please can you find us?” . Immediately, she replied back to him “I never left you” and swiftly swooped down to meet him where he was.

I couldn’t help but pay attention to that sentence – “I never left you.” It suddenly seemed to hit me. That’s what God has been trying to tell me all through the later part of the year and perhaps you too. All through the harsh economic occurencies, when it didn’t seem as if anything made sense; when stocks crashed and real estate lost value in the west; when start-up businesses didn’t fly as much as I desired; when I didn’t seem to be realising my goals set for the year; when I couldn’t stop asking myself, what’s happening? “I never left you” He said to me.

God never left me and He never left you even when all these things were happening. He was always there watching, caring, protecting and delivering. The only reason I’m still alive and well, He told me is because He had kept me and watched over me all through. He was there when I passed through the fire. He was there when I passed through the water. He was there when I passed through ice. He never left me alone. He was there with me all through. It makes me so confident about 2009. If He was there with me all through 2008 when things ran south, then He’ll be with me regardless of what 2009 has got awaiting me.

I am so excited…….He never left……and He’ll never leave……….He’s here for keeps……in thick or in thin…………oh! He’s so there……right next to me……..up above me…….watching over me……Oh! I’m so protected………He’s never going to leave me………….Never

In the early hours of this morning, while I sat watching SKY News on TV, I listened to one of the most remarkable speeches I have ever heard rendered by the new President-elect of the United States of America; the 1st black president of the free world and  the 44th president of North America’s most populous nation.

I was quite impressed at the structure of the speech, the highlights, the tones, the emotions, the highs and the lows. I have listened to Barack Obama speak before and each time I did, I liked what I heard. But, this particular speech till date is the “King of them all” .

Speaking to a live crowd of over 150,000 gathered in Chicago, his adopted home town and to billions of people via satellite TV across the globe, Obama’s full speech in text is appended below. It is a must read for all public speakers, amateur or professional, business or politics.

Please read and enjoy it.

“Hello Chicago”.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
“It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.
“It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
“We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
“It’s the answer that led those who’ve been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.
“A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.
“Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he’s fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.
“I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor (Sarah) Palin for all that they’ve achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.
“I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
“And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation’s next first lady Michelle Obama.
“Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the new White House.
“And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother’s watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
“To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you’ve given me. I am grateful to them.
“And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best – the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.
“To my chief strategist David Axelrod who’s been a partner with me every step of the way. To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics, you made this happen and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.
“But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.
“I was never the likeliest candidate for this office.
“We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements.
“Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
“It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give 5 and 10 and 20 to the cause.
“It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.
“It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organised and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.
“This is your victory.
“And I know you didn’t do this just to win an election. And I know you didn’t do it for me.
“You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.
“Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.
“There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage or pay their doctors’ bills or save enough for their child’s college education.
“There’s new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.
“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.
“I promise you, we as a people will get there.
“There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can’t solve every problem.
“But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it’s been done in America for 221 years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
“What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.
“This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.
“It can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.
“So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.
“Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.
“In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
“Let’s remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.
“Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.
“As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
“And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.
“And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.
“To those – to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.
“That’s the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we’ve already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
“This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
“She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.
“And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
“At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
“When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
“When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
“She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that ‘We Shall Overcome’. Yes we can.
“A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.
“And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.
“Yes we can.
“America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
“This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.
“This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
“Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.”

The build-up of excitement, apprehension and anticipation came to a climax today when after the nationals of the United States of America had cast their votes and those votes had been counted (in New Hampshire), the man who will succeed George W. Bush became Senator Barack Hussein Obama. The first Black President of the United States of America. The race for occupation of the Oval office in the white house has been on for about 2 years drawing attention from all over the world; creating heated debates and opinions across several divides.

The golden question has been – Who will be the next president of the United States of America -  John McCain or Barack Obama? Interestingly, my MS-Word 2007 package refuses to recognize Barack and Obama as lexical words, underlining them in red. John and McCain; however seem to be acceptable words in the package’s dictionary. Even Osama bin Laden is recognized by the dictionary. That just goes to show the degree of change being witnessed by the most powerful nation of the world.

Obama represents change personified. His American dream story is sufficiently sensational to demand a second look by anyone. This election campaign has been dubbed “the most expensive campaign in the history of America”.  Obama has consistently led in the polls with different margins at varying times. His campaign speeches will go down in history as exceptional, his fund raising strategy as novel and his winning personality as irresistible.

Yesterday, Barack Obama said in Virginia on a campaign “After 8 years of economic regression, tomorrow, finally, tomorrow change will come”. The truth is that the Election Day isn’t over and all the votes haven’t been counted from all the states yet. But, what do I care. As far as I’m concerned, it’s another Clinton scenario (A sweeping victory over John McCain by Barack Obama).

As if to lend some sympathy to his cause, Barack’s grandmother gave up the ghost yesterday in her battle against cancer. She seemed to be saying “My grandson, I have watched over you for so long to see you through to the white house, now that you have victoriously gotten there, I can go home to rest. I’ll look on you from heaven constantly to see that you are making happen the change you promised your people.”

Many people will attest to the fact that the gods really smiled on Obama through this run for presidency and apart from a slight stain that was been painted by the republicans with regard to his Islamic middle name and supposed ties to some terrorists, there has hardly been any negative occurrence that could have hampered his election campaign.

iReporters today on CNN from South Africa, Germany, Philippines, Canada and even Iraq and Kuwait all submit that all their support goes to Barack Obama. So, the electoral committee founded by me, constituted by me and chaired by me (especially since I represent the opinions of the public majority in America and beyond)  has ruled that Obama has won the election and is the next president of the United States of America.

I write this post with a lot of pain in my network heart. How on earth will I be subscribed to a network provider that has made it impossible for me to load airtime on my mobile phone for about 10 days now. I use MTN – The largest mobile phone network provider in Nigeria and arguably the largest in Africa as well. MTN moved into Nigeria and started operations in 1999.

I got my first phone in 2003 and since I didn’t buy it myself, I didn’t have an opportunity to choose which network I’ll use. Anyway, I got stuck with MTN and since they were going about peddling themselves as “the best connection”, I saw no reason to change my network or be displeased with them. Over the years, I have had bitter and sweet experiences with them. Though, I have to say that there have been more bitter experiences than sweet ones.

I don’t know whether it’s because the parent company is in South Africa, but i noticed that regularly, they’d be the last network of the 4 existing GSM networks then to make available Value-Added Services to their customers. I have watched several editions of the Telecoms Parliament on TV where the Executive Vice Chairman, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe presided over proceedings that concerned making sure that network providers took responsibility for the problems associated with their networks with respect to complaints from customers or subscribers as the case may be. MTN would regularly give smart reasons as excuses or answers to why they were not performing up to expectation in several complaint cases brought against them. They’ll then promise enticing compensations while trying to save face before the whole nation on TV.

However, that isn’t my grouse at this time. My beef with MTN right now is that they have chosen to terrorise me and a number of other subscribers. Since last Tuesday, 16th September, 2007; I’ve been unable to load airtime on my phone. I’ve frustratingly tried time after time and all I get are replies that look like “Processing Error”, “Congestion, pls try later”, “We sincerely apologise for your inability to recharge, we are working on crediting your account with the pending voucher” and other nonsense. After my fingers started hurting me from trying to press in recharge numbers of different airtime categories I tried to load, I finally gave up and wondered when I’d get the correct info-”you have successfully load N…. into your account”.

Interestingly, 2 days ago I get a text on my phone in the morning that reads thus “Dear Customer, Your account has now been credited with the value of the recharge card you loaded on September 17. We apologize for the delay”. This was sent on the 21st of September, 4 days after I tried to load that particular airtime recharge voucher. I felt a little relieved that I could begin to load airtime again even though I wondered what took them so long, but Alas! they hadn’t stopped dealing with me……I haven’t been able to load airtime since then. MTN, please why are you terrorising me. Now, I’ve had to prospect for a new phone so I can get another network operator’s line. Of the 5 people who use MTN in my house 4 of us have this same problem. We’ve resorted to picking up GLO, Zain or even Etisalat lines to save us from further terrorism by MTN. If calling their customer service line (180) would have helped, we’d probably not have been as pissed, but you could try all you wanted, it’s either all their customer care lines are busy or they keep you on hold forever or it doesn’t even connect at all.

Let me say that I love my MTN line, i’ve loved it since I got it because the numbers are unique and everybody I’m close to knows me by that line. Some of my friends and loved ones can even call my number offhand because of its uniqueness. I don’t want to change my line. In fact, I don’t like keeping more than 1 line but MTN’s terrorist activities are forcing me to do otherwise. I heard they apologised on the radio yesterday. I’m wondering  why they didn’t and haven’t apologised through their network (on our phones) and why they haven’t thought to compensate the affected parties. Maybe because this is Nigeria. Maybe because they’ll naturally get away with almost anything in this country. Maybe because the regulatory agency (NCC) has only bark and no bite. Maybe because Nigerians fight shy of litigations. Maybe because maybe……

Until I see major improvements in this dismal in inhumane service being given to Nigerians by this service provider, I refuse to stop calling them the MEANEST TERRORIST NETWORK (MTN).

A few days ago, I sat watching a movie with my family late at night. The title of the movie is Kung Fu Panda. The movie was an animation by dreamworks. I had looked forward to seeing the movie not only because it was a cartoon (I love cartoons), but also because it was martial arts (I love martial arts as well).

Po (Jack Black) is a panda who works in a noodle restaurant owned by his goose father Mr. Ping (James Hong), who hopes that Po will one day take over the restaurant. Po is a kung fu fanatic with secret dreams of becoming a great master in the discipline. However, his weight and clumsiness make his goal difficult to attain.

The tortoise Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) has a premonition that the evil snow leopard warrior Tai Lung (Ian McShane), the former student of his own protégé, the red panda Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), will escape from prison and return to threaten the Valley of Peace. While Shifu sends Zeng (Dan Fogler), a messenger goose, to Chor Ghom Prison to have the security increased, Oogway orders a formal ceremony to choose the Dragon Warrior, a supreme master of kung fu who can defeat Tai Lung. It is assumed that one of the Furious Five—Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross)—a quintet of supremely skilled martial artists trained by Shifu, will be chosen for this honor. Po, in his attempts to see the Dragon Warrior, finds himself in the middle of the ceremony. Oogway, impressed by Po’s sudden appearance, surprises everyone by designating Po himself as the Dragon Warrior despite Po’s protests and Shifu’s pleas to reconsider.

The Five battle Tai Lung but are eventually defeated. All except Crane are paralyzed by a special nerve-striking technique, and he manages to carry his friends back to the valley. When they return, Shifu decides Po is ready to open the sacred Dragon Scroll, which promises great power to its possessor. However, when Po opens it, he finds nothing but a blank reflective surface. Stricken with despair at the scroll’s apparent worthlessness, Shifu orders his students to lead the villagers to safety while he stays to delay Tai Lung for as long as he can.

Po meets up with his father, who tells him the secret ingredient of the family’s noodle soup: nothing. Things become special, he explains, because people believe them to be special. Realizing that is the point of the Dragon Scroll, Po rushes off to help Shifu. At this time, Tai Lung arrives at the palace to obtain the Dragon Scroll. However, he discovers that the Dragon Scroll is gone, and then attempts to kill Shifu in anger. But before he can, Po arrives and challenges him. Tai Lung temporarily stuns him and gains the Dragon Scroll, but is unable to understand its symbolism. Po tries to explain the wisdom of the scroll to a frustrated Tai Lung, who uses his nerve attack on Po, but the panda is impervious thanks to his amply-padded gut. Emboldened, Po counter-attacks, and uses the Wuxi Finger Hold (a technique Shifu had previously threatened to use on Po) on Tai Lung, defeating him in a large explosion of golden light that ripples through the valley.

The Five return to the valley to investigate and find a slightly dazed but triumphant Po. Deeply impressed by Po’s victory, Tigress leads the Five to acknowledge him as a Kung Fu master. Po suddenly remembers that his teacher is badly wounded, and rushes back to Shifu. At first the master appears to be dying, and Po panics. But Shifu is only trying to rest after such a terrible battle with Tai Lung.

The moral of the Story

There’s no special gift or talent anyone has or requires that turns such a one into a world classs NO.1 in anything he or she does. It simply takes believing. Once you believe you can, then you can. Once you believe you are, then you are. Everything responds to a deep seated belief we have in the possibilities we see. The panda was accidentally called the Dragon Master, he clowned at the idea but decided to live up to it. Not only was there no secret ingredient to create the special soup, there also was nothing written in the scroll. Just a blank reflective surface. All exceptional people that have walked this earth discovered that they were the ones who were the masters in their respective scrolls because the believed what they saw.

You are what this country, continent and planet has been waiting for. Don’t think it’s someone else’s turf. I’ve heard several times that the original formula for mixing coca-cola is locked up in a vault somewhere and only top executives in the company know the exact proportions of mix that gives it unique taste. LOL!!! That might be true, but who has said and proven that one of such people haven’t told someone else by omission or commission. It’s just a lot of hype to protect its uniqueness. was it secret before it was discovered? It’s like saying, if Michael Faraday didn’t discover electricity, no one else would have. THERE IS NO SECRET INGREDIENT.The scroll is blank and available for any who believes to look straight in it, discover his reflection and believe the HE is the one.

So, you understand how reading this article made me feel. I’m scared about the kind of place our world is turning into and can’t help but say  at times “Come, Lord Jesus to take your own”. LOL. It used to be that the only ones who sex controlled were the males, now it seems the females actually need start/stop valves to regulate their sexual appetite. One cannot but ask in reflection, How much monitoring should be done on wives, girlfriends and fiancees regarding the “sex-current” (don’t mind my grammar) state of things? whose calls should be scanned? whose text messages spied on? whose whereabouts should be adequately questioned? Because it seems……opon ti sun (translated means; power has changed hands).

Please read this short storylike experiences in the article below and state your views:

Can I date without sex?

By Kemi Dayo-Aiyetan

BANJI is 25, good-looking, a youth corps member and is in love with Angelina. ”I must confess she is the best thing to have happened to me and I have made up my mind to marry her. She is pretty, tall and very intelligent. I got to know her a few weeks before my graduation. She is still in school in Abeokuta, Ogun State and I was posted to Jigawa State. ”I made sure I visited her once in every month and she seemed to enjoy my company. But I had a problem with her lately when she visited me. I had opted to sleep on the floor, while she slept on the bed but she refused. She wanted us to sleep together and even have sex. But I refused because I had vowed never to be involved in pre-marital sex.

”I tried to explain to her but she could not fathom what I said and the next day, she left for Abeokuta. Last week, she sent me a text message that she was quitting. Her reason was easy to guess: she did not trust me and believe I don‘t love her enough to sleep with her. Really, I honour the sanctity of the marital bed and I have always told my friends that I would not sleep with any girl until marriage. I am a devout Moslem but not a fanatic. Now, my friends laugh at my folly and this girl actually thinks I‘m impotent just because I don‘t want sex. I‘m really confused,” he said.

Agnes, 27 is a lawyer but also a virgin. According to her, three men had left her due to her insistence on ”no sex.” Is she a nun? ”Of course not!” she answers. ”I just want to maintain my virginity till my wedding day. Sex, to me, is sacred and I would not want to sleep with any man before I get married. Those three men wanted sex and I was not ready to throw away my purity to them because I sensed they would not marry me.”

Will she “release” the virginity to someone who wants her hand in marriage? ”Well, he has to wait till we get married. The last guy, Bosun, jilted me because he believed I made him “suffer.” Suffering to him meant I didn‘t allow sex. Though he bought gifts for me and was caring, I didn‘t see the need to have slept with him. I must confess that it had not been easy because lately, a new boss was posted to my office and he has been all over me, buys gifts, takes me out and wants to date me. Unfortunately, he is married and by his actions whenever we are alone, he will definitely demand sex. My friends are urging me to date him, but I am scared because of sex. He is one of those men who see sex as love. I‘m even afraid that I will lose more men due to this decision.”

Patrick, 28, is handsome and recalled the last time he had sex. ”That was eight years ago and I made up my mind never to sleep with a woman until we are married,” he confesses. With a good job, his car and flat, he is set for marriage but there is a problem. ”Most of the girls believe I‘m impotent because I have refused to sleep with them. We kissed, we caressed and they have seen my erection, but they want the ”real thing.” I have tried to abstain from sex and I almost succeeded, but I have a girlfriend that I love dearly now. Tina is a sweet girl and very homely. Though I have already proposed to her and we have picked December for the wedding, she still wants sex. She would do all sorts of things for me to sleep with her and I have not given in. I must confess that it has not been easy dodging her and keeping to my stand on pre-marital sex. I just pray that I can hold on till December.”

”I don‘t want this girl to lose her virginity before marriage,” says Ade, 30, a civil servant. Though he confesses to have slept with many women before he met Laide, 21, he had promised himself one thing. ”I would not want her defiled before we get married. That girl is a virgin and when she told me, I was happy and told her it was my dream to marry a virgin. But the girl is not interested in my enthusiasm. She wants sex by all means and has threatened to go to her former lover to deflower her if I‘m not capable. The last time she came to my place, she accused me of being an impotent guy, who wants to destroy her life. Me? I told her I had slept with many women and I can‘t possibly be what she thinks. Her answer? I should prove my statement by sleeping with her. This girl is very fragile and just 21. I really appreciate her virginity claim, but she wants sex by all means. She accused me of not loving her because sex, she says, is a sign of love. I‘m really in a dilemma. Do I go ahead and sleep with her to prove my love?

Isn’t is comical that nowadays the female folk demand sex as a proof of love? Thot that was an old trick we guys used in then-a-days. Guys must be feeling completely liberated  now that they don’t have to pile the pressure. The other party has taken that responsibility off their shoulders. All they need to do is prepare and ensure that when the time comes, they can prove their “lack of impotence”…LOL. Yeah right!!! Maybe the female folk should begin to think about the generation they are going to birth and the values they’d leave as a legacy before they indulge in scratching the itch between their legs.

Let me state clearly at this point that i really don’t believe in monitoring each other’s lives – for partners i mean. I believe in absolute trust between partners (and by partners, I mean Man and Woman….every other definition is null and void). You can’t know everything and if you did can’t do much to change anything u know. You know about most things when they have happened and not before and as such cannot influence the outcome to a large extent. Why then bother with monitoring when the result if positive would only have stressed and made you suspiscious and if negative would hurt you so much more than if you didn’t know? In all, i’m saying “TRUST IS BEST”.

And of course I strongly believe sex should be had only in marriage between the HUSBAND and HIS WIFE, not wife and other husbands or husband and other wives…LOL

It is perhaps pertinent at this stage of our history, at this turn of our political and socio-economic life, while searching for lasting solutions to our myriad national problems, to take a look at the contributory factors induced by religion. My focus is on our modern day version of Christianity, Pentecostalism, which seems to be the in-thing nowadays. It is no gainsaying that it is perfectly normal nowadays, that for one to be socially acceptable, one must be a Christian. A Christian not just in terms of accepting the doctrines of the Christian church as it was said to have been postulated by Jesus Christ, but to be born again.

Religion, which ordinarily should have been a strong social and moral weapon, is today a strong source of social concern in our motherland. advertisement Our Christian men of God today have contributed in no small ways to the social upheaval the Nigerian nation is going through at the present moment. They laid the foundation of greed and social discontent from which the society is yet to come to terms. They departed radically from the preaching of the Lord Jesus which emphasised contentment and instead substituted greed and avarice into the social lexicon. They offer wishy-washy holiness and continue to inundate us with the doctrines of prosperity, albeit, prosperity at all costs. They decided to build a temple of materialism from which they hold the befuddled populace in a trance-like grip. They pretend holiness while their every deed and acts spell materialism and nothing but materialism. They have constituted themselves into a national shame seeing profit in a false preaching and call to a material God. Writing on the surge of Pentecostalism in Nigeria is a daunting task. This phenomenon which has been aptly described as a “disease” by the Rev. Nyansako-ni-Nku, President of the All Africa Conference of Churches in 2007, has taken our dear country like wildfire.

The respected clergy man stressed the need to rescue people from this spiritual trap. Nigeria, in particular, is experiencing the fastest growth in Christianity in Africa with the Pentecostal churches playing a very large role in this development. There are about 3.9 million Pentecostal members in Nigeria, following only Brazil with about 24 million members. Nigerian Pentecostalism has been thriving on the people’s ignorance, surviving on a mixture of evangelism which incorporates African traditional beliefs. They have been surviving on befuddling the populace with miracles and promises of prosperity. African Pentecostal followers are repeatedly told that the “Holy Spirit changes lives so that sickness and calamity only befalls non-believers”. However, it is only the believer who is able to double his donations to the church that is guaranteed the favours of this material God.

The success of the incorporation of old traditional beliefs into mainstream Christianity (by Pentecostals) brings into full circle old superstitions which were hitherto marginalised by more mainstream Christian missionaries (Erhard Kamphausen, Head of Academy Mission, University of Hamburg). Unlike their counterparts in various parts of the world, who devoted their time and energy to the development of their countries and to fighting the cause of the poor, Nigerian Pentecostal clergymen would rather wine and dine with those in power, even in the presence of abiding poverty and hunger in the land. The romance with politics was never as intense as in the fourth republic when our men of religion came out openly in support of Olusegun Obasanjo, a so-called born-again Pentecostal Christian. All through the years of Obasanjo’s misrule, the celebrated Pentecostal community could only muster whimpers of protest at the audacity of that dubious man who hid under the cloak of a condescending religion. Before the controversial landslide election victory of Obasanjo in 2003, the president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Mike Okonkwo, urged all Nigerians to vote once more for the tyranny and misrule of Obasanjo, since he was one of the folds. In fact, around that time, Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God likened Obasanjo to the prophet Elisha whom God had “specially ordained”. This was just one in the unguarded forays of Pastor Adeboye into the murky waters of politics.

I can vividly remember this pastor openly anointing Olusegun Osoba as the only one fit for the government house when Osoba was seeking for the second term which he eventually lost. While all Nigerians were aghast at the effrontery of Obasanjo during the infamous third term debacle, it took the boldness of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor in May 2006 to declare that “third term in office is not a crime”. Yes, dear pastor, it would not have been a crime, only that our doctored constitution did not allow it and Nigerians never wanted it. Our men of God have gallantly deviated from the path and only pay lip service to the true essence of Christianity. The fact that the church business remains one of the most flourishing businesses in Nigeria is openly embraced and flaunted in our faces without apologies. Holiness in their preaching translates to wealth. You can only be holy if you are wealthy and powerful. The ignorant masses are made to witness organised miracles and made to hope on promises of prosperity. After all, “our God is a God of riches and miracles”. The race for material wealth is actively influenced by these supposed men of God. In order to continually give testimonies in churches, men and women would do anything for money. No source of wealth is ever questioned by the “Gods” of these prosperity preachers. All are welcome in the sight of the almighty. There is obviously nothing wrong with seeking prosperity.

However, there are many things wrong with striving to be rich at all costs so as to appear as the specially-favoured of a material-minded God with the society remaining morally bankrupt for it. The Christian teaching have always emphasised that the pursuit of God, while not in contradiction with material comfort, has nevertheless stressed its incompatibility with unbridled pursuit of materialism. It is only apt to state that our dear nation, while in the throes of despicable political leadership, is also groaning under a terrible assault by a cult of religious materialists. We are living in an era of religious materialism, also known as spiritual Pentecostalism, and the society is poorer for it. Is it not surprising that in the various fronts that have arisen in our struggle for the socio-political and economic emancipation of Nigeria, the hierarchy of the Christian fold, especially the charismatic arm, has been frighteningly silent. We read of the activities of the clergy of other climes in their identification with the struggles of their people.

Uganda is a country that readily comes to mind when it comes to clergy-activism. The Latin American countries have also demonstrated that it is possible and holy to identify with the oppressed masses. All we see our Pentecostal leaders doing is actively embracing corrupt leaderships, vigorously protecting their establishments, declaring million dollar profits, opening universities after universities and buying jets upon jets. The lucrative nature of this modern day pseudo-Christianity can only be explained by the rapid nature of its spread. It is particularly endearing to many Nigerians because of its tendencies to revert to traditional means in their efforts to perform miracles. Their flamboyance is another attractive feature as this is well attuned to the African psyche that loves all things vain and gorgeous. Pentecostal churches and hotels compete for space in Nigeria while cinema halls, disused warehouses, bars, brothels and night clubs have all been turned to churches.

To maintain their grip on the people and to assure the comfort of their profit base, these churches have been extremely creative, particularly in the use of the media, radio, television, newspaper, posters, electronic mails and even the internet. Even the home video industry has been virtually taken over by the Pentecostal industry (Musa A Guiyab, University of Jos, Nigeria). Perhaps a journey down history lane would show that the origin of Pentecostalism in Nigeria was practically devoid of altruism midstream. While the native pastorate policy of Rev Henry Venn was actually meant to empower native Africans in the running of the Anglican Church leading to the emergence of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther. The subsequent indigenous prophetic movement that later became the Christ Army Church in the 1920s probably served as the impetus that led to the formation of the Aladuras, and later that of Christ Apostolic Church by Joseph Babalola in 1941. The formation of the Celestial Church of Christ while expanding the fold increased the incorporation of native African precepts into the teachings of Pentecostalism tremendously. The increasing nature of the newly formed Redeemed Christian Church of God was further accentuated by the leadership of Enoch Adeboye, with the phenomenal expansion of the church thereafter. However, in the 1960s to 1970s, originating in the wave of evangelical student revivals, new Pentecostal churches were brought into being with Benson Idahosa emerging as the leader of this breed. The Deeper Life Bible Church was one of those churches that emerged and remains one of the largest neo-Pentecostal churches to date. However, unlike others, it remains conservative up to these days.

No doubt, the spread of evangelical student revivals were influenced in no small measures by the exposure to the teachings of Oral Roberts, Robert Tilton, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin and a host of others. It must be said that the influence of Benson Idahosa on the extremely materialistic nature of Nigeria’s Pentecostalism was in no small measure. To this date, this material man of God remains the reference point in assessing materialism in Nigerian Pentecostalism.

It may be necessary at this juncture to take a look at how much God had blessed his children while preaching the Pentecostal message. In the course of waking up the dead and making the lame walk, Nigerian Pentecostals have continued to organise crusades and revivals to bring solutions to the numerous problems afflicting the people. Problems such as barrenness, unemployment, financial difficulties, deliverance from ancestral curses, sickness and so on. In the course of performing these miracles and wonders, our pastors have not done badly financially.

Of note is the Christ Embassy Church of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome which has an annual turn-over running into billions of naira. David Oyedepo, the general overseer of Living Faith Ministries (aka Winners Chapel) has grown into what is termed “an oak tree in Christendom”. His riches are stupendous and his ministry boasts of a 50,000 capacity worship centre known as Cannanland in Otta, Ogun state, along with a private university and many other similar interests. Of course, his Holiness rides in a private jet to further enhance the business of his ministry. Adefarasin is an eloquent and charismatic televangelist whose mission today boasts of a 1.3 billion “Rock Millennium Temple” that was meant to accommodate thousands of worshippers. Other pastors are not lagging behind with the likes of Chris Okotie, Samuel Abiara, Victor Onukogu, Emmanuel Ede, Ejike Mbaka, Temitopoe Joshua, Theophilus Olabayo and Mathew Ashomolowo boasting of billions of naira amongst them collectively.

While much can be said about the docility of our present day men of the bible in the face of the social injustice and economic marginalisation of the masses, a special mention must be made of one who refused to toe the line. Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly remains a lone voice in a class of acquiescent men of liturgy. His non-conforming attitude to the Obasanjo years remains fresh in memory. In particular, his prophecy on “Hundred Days and Hundred Ways” rattled the then government so much that he was promptly arrested and interrogated by the State Security Service. While the nation is being plundered, Nigeria’s holy men are busy licking milk and honey. While majority of Nigerians can hardly afford three square meals, Nigerian men of the word are busy counting billions and flying in private jets. While the nation is burning, our pastors are busy baking and eating cake. The people have been starved of divine knowledge because an informed people remain a threat to the interests of the “church”.

The moral fabric of the nation is weak and appalling, almost non-existent. Yet Nigeria boasts of thousands of churches with stupendously rich ministers. Deception is being actively pursued under the guise of Christianity. While we have no quarrel with an honest business that generates profits, all we ask of these material men of God is to be sincere and stop this deception. All we desire is the truth in our efforts to sanitise the Nigerian society. Jesus brought the gospel of love, peace and redemption but Nigerians are being short-changed as what we are getting is plainly the Gospel of Materialism. It is so bad that the whole thing has been turned into ridicule and the pastors are busy fleecing the society blind. May God save us!

by Olusegun Fakoya