The Sins of Buhari...by Prof Tam David West (Abridged)

The Sins of Buhari?

General Muhammadu Buhari is a man revered for his honesty, transparency, integrity and desire for justice for the common man. The idea of a Buhari Presidency is dreaded by some Nigerians who have looted the nation to stupor. These selfish politicians who want to keep Nigerians in poverty often embark on a campaign of calumny by framing up accusations against Buhari in order to prevent Nigerians from voting for a leader who loves the masses and has the mind to change the fortunes of Nigeria for the better.  Other anti-Buhari commentators have admitted that they are prejudiced against him (for no just cause). Some do not even know the truths about the allegations. 

Some misunderstand the man because of his straight forward and disciplined approach to life. Below is a compilation of the so called sins of Buhari obtained mainly from The Sixteen Sins of Buhari, written by Professor Tam David West, a man who worked closely with Buhari as Minister for Petroleum when General Buhari was Head of State. Facts have also been sourced from a few other sources to help Nigerians know the truth about this man whose presidency will undoubtedly change Nigeria for the better. Going by his unassuming nature, Buhari will not fight to protect his own name. This is why concerned Nigerians have decided to take up this fight. We must no longer let mischief makers who do not want the good of the average Nigerian deceive the Nigerian public.

Human Rights Abuse

Human rights must be protected and must not be abused. However, those who single out the military rule of Buhari for human rights violations are biased.

The Buhari regime was a military regime. Military regimes have not been known to uphold the same standards of human rights as democracies. There was hardly any military regime in Nigeria that was not characterized by dictatorship and violation of fundamental rights. Military Heads of States gave orders that violated human rights.  Some have accused Buhari of ordering executions. However, unlike other military Heads of States who single handedly ordered executions,  Buhari never took decisions unilaterally. He practiced democracy even as a military Head of State. Decisions were taken by the Supreme Military Council (SMC).

President Buhari will not order the execution of accused persons because it is the responsibility of the judiciary to pass sentences. President Buhari will not be a dictator because he has matured into a democrat and has participated actively in the democratic process since 1999. President Buhari cannot be a dictator because the democratic environment is different from the military environment. General Buhari has shown his faith in the democratic process by contesting for the presidency twice. When he lost under controversial circumstances, he demonstrated his faith in the judiciary by challenging the results through the laid down procedures of the court system. Therefore Nigerians should welcome whole heartedly Muhammadu Buhari, the democrat.

Retroactive Laws

General Buhari has been attacked for making retroactive laws by which he targeted corrupt practices which robbed Nigeria of vital income. Decree Number 20 of 1984 on bunkering and illegal oil deals was aimed at stopping the theft of oil which at the time cost Nigeria over $2 million per day. Again that was the only way a patriotic and zealous military Head of State could have saved Nigeria from the clutches of corruption. That retroactive law put an end to the theft of oil. Other Nigerian military Heads of States also made retroactive laws. The United Nations tribunals at Nuremberg and Tokyo which tried perpetrators of World War II atrocities operated based on retroactive laws. Retroactive laws simply fulfilled the maxim, “desperate diseases require desperate remedies”. A democratic government will be different at least because it is characterized by separation of powers. As such, President Buhari cannot and will not make retroactive decrees as it is the duty of the National Assembly to make laws in a democracy.

Islam Fundamentalist

Buhari has been accused by mischief makers of religious fundamentalism. He was quoted out-of-context as saying that muslims should vote for only muslims. If this were true, can he be hanged for it when Christian clerics have also been known to advocate that Christians should vote only for Christians? But Buhari’s rebuttal of this charge, “I am not a religious fundamentalist …” was published on Saturday Sun on 3 July 2004. Do you know that as Head of State, General Buhari bulldozed mosques that were constructed illegally? Do you know that he arrested and detained a number of Islamic preachers for violent sermons? Do you know that as an army commander, most of Buhari’s men from platoon to division were Christians? Do you know that it was Obasanjo, not Buhari who took Nigeria into the membership of the Islamic Bank? Do you know that it was Babangida, not Buhari who sought to secretly take Nigeria into membership of the Organization of Islamic Countries? How then can Buhari be said to be an Islam fundamentalist? Buhari is simply a devout muslim who is committed to his faith without trying to impose it on anyone.

Decree 4 and Press Freedom

Admittedly, Decree 4 seemed to negate some principles of press freedom. Again, it must be stated that the Buhari regime was a military regime. Military regimes are not known to guarantee press freedom as well as democracies. Those jailed under decree 4 included two journalists reporting for a major Newspaper. The newspaper was fined N50, 000. Its offence was that it published before the official time the list of Nigeria’s ambassadorial postings. This was invariably a breach of state security. Governments all over the world seek to preserve information that is essential for state security. Even the United States, the chief advocate of press freedom is seeking to arrest the founder of Wikileaks for publishing state secrets. Despite this, the Buhari regime should be applauded because it never closed down or proscribed any newspaper or magazine. Other military regimes, particularly the Obasanjo and Babangida regimes seized and proscribed newspapers and magazines with impunity.

Decree 3 and Shagari Regime Politicians 

The Buhari regime passed the Recovery of Public Property (Special Military Tribunal’s Decree No. 3 of 1984) to try the corrupt politicians in Shagari’s government. Admittedly, the sentences handed over to the culprits may have been outrageous but this was again characteristic of military regimes, not just Buhari’s regime. Some military regimes were known to hand down life sentences to persons against whom they framed up accusations.  Did Buhari frame up accusations against anyone? Certainly not! Even Buhari’s critics have admitted that the Shagari’s government was outrageously corrupt. In the process, Buhari saved Nigeria hundreds of millions of naira. Again in a democracy, President Buhari will not hand down sentences on anyone because it is the responsibility of the courts to do so. Other governments including civilian administrations have been known to manipulate anti-corruption agencies because they had something to hide or someone to protect. Not so for Buhari. He has nothing to hide and no one to protect.

The 53 Suit Cases Saga

Below is an excerpt of a profile of Muhammadu Buhari written by Oluwarotimi Fashakin and published on Elombah.com:

Owing to the damaging effect of currency trafficking outside the Nation’s shores, the Buhari administration decided to change the colors of the currency notes in April 1984. This yielded the desired result as N5Billion excess liquidity was mopped off! As a back-lash on this exercise, there was insidious story from a section of the media that the Buhari regime allowed the Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Jokolo to bring in 53 suitcases during the currency change, thereby insinuating a case of double-standard. Let it be said from the onset, the opinion tenaciously held on to about this incident was what was sold to the unsuspecting Nigerian public by a section of the press. So much hoodwinked that Buhari's explanation had never been heard!

This is what Buhari said about this:

"This is a typical case of the press believing what they want to believe. I hope it is not a reflection of the Nigerian society. I hope one day you will find the time to interview the Vice President (Alhaji Atiku Abubakar) on this. I understand he was the Customs officer in charge of the Murtala Mohammed airport, perhaps he knows more about it than myself. I have explained this so many times but the press write what they want to write and not what is factual."

Going down the memory lane, he added: "I recall the day in question. We were playing squash with my ADC when his father, the late Emir was returning to the country. He was a well-respected person. I prompted Jokolo to go and receive him even when he had no intention of doing so. By some coincidence his father was returning with my late chief of protocol who was an ambassador in Libya. He returned with his three wives and about 16 children. Everything about him including the handbag of his wives was counted as a suitcase. I explained this myself but nobody believed me."

It is believed that these false allegations were cooked up by persons who secretly sought to discredit Buhari in order to overthrow him. Let him that have eyes read between the lines. Let those who falsely accuse an honest man have a rethink for it is the height of injustice.

The N2.8 Billion ‘Missing’ Oil Money Poppycock 

In 1980, during the administration of President Shagari, a case arose of some N2.8 billion allegedly missing from the NNPC in the previous administration of General Obasanjo when General Buhari was the Minister for Petroleum. A Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by a Supreme Court Judge, Honourable Mr. Justice Ayo Irekefe, was set up to examine the allegations. The MD/CEO of NNPC, Chief Festus Marinho, an oil technocrat was temporarily moved out of the NNPC to allow for investigations. From its findings, the Commission, satisfied that no such money ever got missing, dismissed the scandal. It is interesting to note that even before the allegations were dismissed by the Commission, Buhari’s name was not mentioned among those suspected. This was reiterated by General Obasanjo in 1990 in his book “Not My Will” in which Obasanjo praised Buhari’s “honesty”, “moral probity and rectitude”.

Those prejudiced against Buhari later sought to revive these allegations and, failing to justify their claims, alleged that the sum was $3.4 billion reviewed to $4.1 billion even though all government records state clearly that the allegedly missing sum was N2.8 billion and that the allegations were found to be untrue and subsequently dismissed. They falsely claim that the coup against Shagari’s governemnt was because of the investigations. How could Buhari have staged a coup in revenge for an investigation into a case in which he was not even accused and which was eventually dismissed as baseless? The Buhari led coup was to clean up the polity which was deep in corruption during the administration of Shagari. Nigerians took to the streets in jubilation when the Shagari administration was toppled as it marked an end to a reign of corruption which had caused severe damage to the economy. One year later, the missionary zeal of the Buhari-Idiagbon regime had begun to transform the nation to the extent that Buhari was almost christened “Nigeria’s Jesus” by enthusiastic Nigerians but for the fact that that would mean a “muslim Jesus”.

Rejection of National Award

When “national award is patronisingly made as if it is personal favour, and with some odour of condescension, proving or scoring some political points, all decent and honourable persons should feel constrained to reject it”- Professor Tam David West.

Buhari, by honourably rejecting Obasanjo’s national award, joined the league of Chinua Achebe who will not compromise principles for gain. Buhari should be crowned with the people’s support for refusing to be stained by the favour of a government whose election victory was criticized by international observers. Indeed Buhari is an honourable man!

The Siege on Chief Awolowo’s House

Buhari has stated clearly his innocence in the raid on the houses of Chief Awolowo, Alhaji Gumi and Shehu Musa by security operatives. He was not told about the incidents. It was masterminded by a fifth columnist (a secret group whose agenda was to discredit and overthrow Buhari’s government).

The Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) 

In spite of the widely acknowledged success of the PTF, some anti-Buhari advocates claim that the PTF was created for Buhari and that it was a parallel government. This is nonsense. The PTF was set up as a child of necessity by Abacha’s government when complaints trailed the increase in fuel pump price. The fears were that as it was on previous occasions when fuel price was increased, the increase would not bring any benefit to Nigerians. The PTF was then set up to use the proceeds from fuel sales for development. By Decree 1 of 1995 which established the PTF, the body was to be bound by the principles of prudence, transparency and integrity. No other person suited the administration of this body than General Buhari who was begged to run the organization. It has been said that the PTF did more in 3 years for the development of Nigerians than the PDP government has done in 12 years. Buhari’s integrity and dedication to duty made the PTF a “Model for Development”.  “Its Annual Audited Accounts were always on time up till 1998, audited by their External Auditors, Messrs KPMG” – Professor Tam David West. Buhari challenged President Obasanjo to probe his tenure as PTF Chairman (The Anchor, 31 May 2006). Obasanjo could not find anything against him.

Buhari and Counter-Trade

Before the Shagari-administration was overthrown, the economy was almost crippled. When Buhari took over, in order to revive the economy, he refused to adopt IMF conditionalities. As a strategy for national survival, the Buhari-regime adopted the Counter-Trade policy which in simple terms means “using what we have to get what we need”, that is, exchanging oil for the goods needed in the national economy. Under strict conditions, specified barrels of oil were allocated to qualified merchants nominated by the goods supplier. The proceeds from oil sales were lodged in Escow Account in a foreign bank selected by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Goods needed by the Nigerian economy were purchased from this account. It is sad to note that the Escow Account established by Buhari’s government was depleted by Babangida’s government just as the current administration has depleted Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account set up by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala as Minister of Finance during Obasanjo’s regime. When Babangida sought to probe Buhari’s Counter-Trade policy, no case could be made against the Buhari regime because it had nothing to hide and the policy served the good of the national economy.

The War Against Indiscipline (WAI)

It is unfortunate that what has been hailed as the era of a culture of discipline is being peddled as a sin of Buhari by some. WAI was instituted to instill discipline in the Nigerian character. The result of this is that Nigerians began to keep their environment clean. The queuing culture became “an integral part of the national culture”. Today, there are many law enforcement agencies on the streets and highways. In spite of this, indiscipline has become the order of the day. Some law enforcement agents are easily compromised and there appears to be inadequate political will to enforce the laws. What the WAI crusade brought to Nigeria was that political will. Admittedly, its methods were strict. After all, it was the project of a military regime. Nigeria today needs disciplined leadership that can lead by example and demonstrate proper public conduct. Because the man Buhari has matured into a democrat, his discipline and integrity makes him the president Nigeria needs at this time.

Buhari and the Oputa Commission

The Human Rights Violation and Investigation Commission (HRVIC) headed by Honourable Justice Chukwudifu Oputa an eminent jurist and supported by respected Nigerians like Rev Father Matthew Coker may have had good intentions. But why a mere ceremonial, or at best, administrative panel without any mechanism of enforcement or even of compelling people to appear before it. What has happened to its report? Even Babangida successfully defended in court his right not to appear before the panel. Many lawyers called it a toothless bulldog. In a governmental order that lacks the political will to enforce unbiased findings, where such reports as the Pius Okigbo Report can be alleged to be missing as an excuse not to implement it, what serious minded Nigerian will expect anything to come from what Wole Soyinka described as “Portraits in Infamy and Criminal Impunity”? Could it be that General Buhari, in his characteristic honest and serious approach to life had seen beforehand that the government of the day had no intention to take that panel seriously even though it had respected Nigerians in its committee?

in pursuit of purpose

The greatest tragedy in life isn't death, but life without meaning and purpose.

There are at least six things that all men continually seek and struggle to attain. These six senses as I like to call them are self worth, self esteem, self concept, significance, self value and self destiny.

Achieving all six requires us to answer the five critical questions which are: 

Who am I? 

Where am I from? 

Why am I here? 

What can I do? 

What is my destiny?

From scripture, we understand that one of the key distinguishing factors that separates God from other deities is His ability to start from the end (Isaiah 46:9-10). He’s the only one who works from the end to the beginning. He never begins with the beginning. Therefore, if He made us, then that’s undeniable evidence that He’s already concluded everything about us. The only thing that pleases Him is his pin-point specific purpose for us. 

We know He made fish to swim – This explains why fishes don’t go to school to swim, rather they swim in schools. By observing the things around us, we recognize that destiny isn’t ahead of us, but is inside of us. We may not be certain about which came first between the chicken and the egg but we do know that inside an egg isn’t only a chicken, but also a chicken farm. No one can judge a man’s true potential. What one man can do is an eternal mystery.

“Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone!” A Prophet named Isaiah uttered these exact words after he realized that the life he had lived up until that time was meaningless and without purpose. He had been a good man doing laudable things before that time, but these things had little to do with purpose – they all constituted a pile of irrelevant activities. 

At the turning point of his life, he got caught up in a vision where he beheld the source, architect and dispenser of all destinies and purposes. After this once in a lifetime experience, he became a “sent” man. That was the defining moment of his existence. (Question: Can I beat my chest and declare boldly that I am a sent man in my sphere of operation today?)

Still in scripture, a man named Paul said “Not that I have already attained, but I persist that I may apprehend that for which I was apprehended……I press forward toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God”. This man had a similar experience. He had pocketed great accomplishments within a short period, but he was gifted with a life transforming encounter that rendered all his previous accomplishments “dung” in comparison with the assignments that lay ahead of him.

A great friend recently quit what many would classify as an outstanding career opportunity in an industry that everyone wants to get into. He did this to pursue his original God given dream in another industry that is currently facing huge challenges globally. Many did not understand why someone would take such a daring decision to quit a “God given” secure job that offered remuneration that is considered competitive anywhere in the world. To make matters worse, he crossed over into an industry riddled with uncertainties. What the 99% that queried his decision didn’t understand was the sheer force of purpose. Purpose and logic are not often found together, but logic always ends up deferring to purpose. Soon, they will understand the mystery behind this choice because purpose never, and I repeat, never disappoints!

What is Purpose?

Purpose is original intent, the reason why something exists, the result that a manufacturer intended, the cause for creating something, the destiny of a product. Purpose is established end and destiny. Purpose predates production. No company designs a product before deciding its application.   

If we take it to another level, we can yet understand purpose as the end from the beginning, the finish before the start, the destination before the journey and the underlying basis for conception and propagation. In essence, purpose gave birth to you. Purpose is by default programmed into a carrier.

What happens without purpose?

Without purpose, life has no meaning, no definition, no precision and is emptied of passion. An American medical research revealed that 80% of deaths from heart attacks occur between 7am and 9am on Monday mornings. Prolonged stress and frustration induced by the unending pursuit of what we hate was identified as the reason behind this. Purpose guarantees you never have one more boring day. This explains why those who have found her hate sunsets and don’t need an alarm clock because passion wakes them up every morning. Passion takes away the need for external motivation. Without purpose, you dream of 5 o’clock every day and dread day break.

Furthermore, we do understand that passion is stronger than opposition. Purpose makes problems your friend. Purpose gives you company even when everyone leaves your side.

Locating Destiny

Destiny simply means destination. Purpose transports you into destiny. Your destiny is your performance stage. It’s the place of unending display. An interesting characteristic of destiny is its ability to pull you to itself like the gravitational force. Destiny does this by frustrating you whenever you are not on its path. When you find purpose, you don’t want to do anything else. Your destiny makes you uncomfortable until you reach it. Your destiny is the source and generator of your dreams, passions and desires. Visions are photographs of your destiny.

That’s why many of us must recognize that what we are engaged in right now should be called a pre-occupation, not occupation. There’s something ahead that we are going to occupy and it’s far bigger than where we are right now. Every residence we occupy is temporary until we reach purpose and enter into destiny. Under normal circumstances, Purpose and Destiny never expire.

Finding Purpose

Purpose is found in quietness. Many people get caught up in endless pursuits of power and significance and in the process lose sight of their personal identity. This explains why we often seek external validations for the externally motivated pursuits that distract us from our God given assignments. Purpose is never fully discovered in the presence of adversaries. It’s absolutely critical to excommunicate toxic minds and personalities from our inner circles of influence. An interesting fact about wrong people is that they never leave our lives voluntarily. Since persistence breaks resistance, we have the ultimate responsibility to get rid of wrong folk before they suffocate our dreams. This is more than a game. We must fight in order to possess the future and walk into destiny.

We must constantly remember that our dreams are our Number 1 employer!

Everything has a purpose, but not every purpose is known. We don’t have to know the purpose of everything, but it is an unforgiveable crime to not know our own purpose.

....The Power of Knowing...& the Nigerian Polity

"My people perish for lack of knowledge".

"Knowledge is POWER".

It is no longer news that the two "ultimate extremists" in the Nigerian polity have joined forces to war against the established order (or should we call it disorder) that is threatening the future of the nation of Nigeria.

I embarked on a political pilgrimage in search of the most credible aspiring leader of the Nigerian Cooperative and after much investigation and research, I finally arrived at an unequivocal station - The DUO of General Buhari and Pastor Bakare.

While conducting my investigation, I discovered General BUHARI is one of the most mis-represented personalities in the history of the nation of Nigeria. The Media has done an outstandingly poor job of revealing his identity. (I'm not sure but it seems there's a conspiracy somewhere).
It is highly probable that there has been a gimmick and a grand plot to keep Nigerians in perpetual darkness. An unending list of false accusations have been leveled against him in the past in a plot to abuse the mind of the polity and render him incapable of becoming a threat to the incumbent immoral party that has illegally held on to power for 12 years running with next to nothing to show for it.
However, the cartel and conspirators forgot one thing - There is nothing that is hidden that shall not be revealed.

If every Nigerian today knows the truth about all the candidates before them, only those who desire darkness and poverty will ignore Buhari.
Sadly, because many Nigerians (including the 'learned' ones) lack the discipline to conscientiously dig out information, search out revelation and pursue truth, they accept untruths which ultimately result in poor judgment and ignorant counter-productive decisions.

But we thank and bless the God of Heaven who has chosen to reveal this 'hidden mystery' to a nucleus in this most critical point of inflection in the history of the Niger Area (Nigeria).
We (Transformed Nonconformists who are hell bent on toppling the PDP controlled government) are that nucleus and we will stop at nothing to SOAK and DRENCH the whole Nation of Nigeria with the TRUTH about those vying for the Apex Leadership Office in their Nation.

We are not into the manipulation game. We will present before the Nigerian people: Life and Death, Blessing and Cursing, Victory and Defeat. They must choose because there is no sitting on the fence. There is no room for lukewarmness. Indecision is a decision to support darkness.
But we are glad because we know and believe that Nigerians will CHOOSE LIFE, BLESSING and VICTORY.

The incumbent is already aware of the battle ahead and PDP cronies are already mapping out strategies for undermining the will and choice of the Nigerian People. But the evil plans that are being conjured in the secret rooms of ASO ROCK have been made known to us. They have no idea what is about to hit them.

WE CAN DO IT! WE WILL DO IT!

You may begin your personal research by joining the BuhariBakare 2011 Volunteers' Group on Facebook and reading up about the General on Wikipedia. Stay Tuned here for more...

MARKETPLACE WARRIORS - RECLAIMING THE 7 MOUNTAINS

A few days ago, I thought deeply about the incredibly enormous quanta of energy that have been expended and combusted by a diverse range of innovative and passionate Nigerians who have desperately attempted to steer the wheel of our national destiny in the direction of solid economic and social prosperity in the face of great systemic opposition. Despite these sacrifices of immense proportions, I’ve been increasingly restless and gravely concerned about the apparent slow paced change and unimpressive progress we have achieved. After searching the Great Book and feeding on the works of great men such as Peter Wagner, Oz Hillman, Yinka Ojo and a few others, my eyes of understanding were opened. My final diagnosis is that a higher percentage of we agents of transformation, development catalysts and change orchestrators are still operating at the lower levels of national influence in almost all of the 7 strategic dimensions of society.

I am an ardent optimist, a dimensionalist leader (i picked this from Tudor Bismark) and a visioner, so I’m not the type that fluctuates from one end of the conviction spectrum to the other just because of mounting environmental pressures. Rather, I stick to my beliefs in and out of season. I totally believe Africa will rise and Nigeria will ultimately take her place among world powers, but the victories that we seek won’t be wrought from a seat of convenience or indifference. It certainly would not be served on a platter of Gold. Power must, and will be wrestled from the enemy.

We have a great assignment and that assignment is to systematically reclaim the 7 “mountains” (Deut 7:1 and Rev 17:9-10). These 7 mountains or 7 nations are the 7 key dimensions and sub-divisions of society that are systematically ruled and administered by authorities in different levels. This is NOT a man made concept. These are original blueprints that were laid down by God himself. We lost control over these areas primarily because of our ignorance over the ages and our inability to practice the principles of Jesus. (The person of Jesus brings salvation, but the principles of Jesus are the blueprints for operating His kingdom).

These areas are:

1. Governance and Public Administration

2. Business and Commerce

3. Media

4. Arts and Entertainment

5. Education

6. Family

7. Faith (Religion).

The 7 nations that were expelled in Deut 7:1 were the counterfeits of each of these 7 dimensions of society.

The sons of the Kingdom have historically occupied the lower levels (small business owners, officers in companies and civil servants in government). A few have managed to attain the medium levels (Managers in companies and Directors in Government), but to a very large extent, we have been locked out of the upper levels.

Our mandate now is to infiltrate the highest levels of influence (CEOs of Corporations, Senators, Governors and even the Presidency). We must utilize supernatural blueprints and build Systems of Excellence and Dynamic Structures that will knock out the current repressive systems and ideologies that the enemy has propagated.

It is only from the peak that we can orchestrate the kind of far reaching and sustainable transformation that will crush all contending forces and opposition.

In essence, there is need for speed and we all have a mandate to take charge and dominate the territories that have been assigned to us. At this point, visions must be enlarged and some of us may have to raise our expectations by exponential proportions. We must never forget that a President is more powerful than 10 senators combined and a CEO is more powerful than 10 managers, therefore our goal must be to take over the highest possible levels in these 7 dimensions.

Here are a few critical foundational insights that can guide us as we battle the repressive systems of our day.

In 1900, less than 10% of Africans considered themselves followers of Christ, but by the year 2000, that number had risen to almost 50%. In 2000, Africa had over 13000 missionaries serving in cross cultural settings around the globe. Despite these impressive numbers, the state of development across the continent today is still a heart breaker, especially when we benchmark ourselves against the rest of the world.

WHY HAVE WE FOUND OURSELVES IN THIS STATE?

The reasons are not far-fetched! The first question we must ask is “what percentage of those of us who claim to be followers of Christ are really Christians?” Paternalism still runs deep and wide. Many including those who ought to know better still hold on to the “Big Brother” culture which says that in every community, family or company, there must be one special benefactor that every other person depends on for sustenance. We always manage to shift responsibility to a few persons and benefactors. Interestingly, this ideology somehow found its way into the church. Many are only Christians when they are in the presence of a particular Man of Faith. Our faith is ‘group faith’. That’s why whenever we are out of church, we become just like anybody else. What we may have failed to realize is that charity and philanthropy will not regulate society, and can never do the work of justice and equity. The greatest heritage we can leave for an incoming generation is to create an atmosphere of fairness, justice and equity. Our ultimate goal must be to build a society where people are only limited by the size of their dreams and desires, and nothing more. We don’t need more charities. What we need are excellent systems that give equal opportunity to all.

An even more despicable evil is our understanding and practice of leadership. We find it hard to equate excellence with leadership and a large number of us do not take a national perspective on Nigeria. Our allegiance is first to our tribe and local interest groups. Some even say Nigeria is too diverse to be united – I consider this such an uninformed viewpoint! America today is exceedingly more diverse than Nigeria, yet they have managed to construct a national identity. This explains why zoning is being discussed at the very highest levels. Zoning is the very anti-thesis of excellence. Today, we find zoning in government, the oil industry, corporations and even the educational system. Zoning is the magical weapon of the enemy to ensure that the very best never rise to the top. It ensures people get the prize not because of their track record and ability, but because of their place of birth and other mundane, inconsequential and irrational reasons.

National Transformation will not happen unless we strike the tipping point of representation at the highest levels of influence and leadership in our nation. Historically, the system has consistently managed to expel intelligent leaders with great ideas and respectable core values. Ben Bruce, Okonjo-Iweala and many others were promptly eased out of office by entrenched interests who felt threatened by organizational transformations that these great minds had set in motion.

THIS TREND MUST BE ECLIPSED!

Having one or two great Governors and a few Senators who have integrity isn’t sufficient anymore. These are not the days of having five or six righteous people in government. If we mean business, then we must invade the very peaks of the mountain. We must secure the very highest leadership positions in business and governance in significant numbers. Only then can we restore ORDER and see the transformation that we most certainly deserve.

The JEWISH PHENOMENON & MARKETPLACE APOSTLES (Mind-Shift Series)

“......there is a church on Sunday (the nuclear church) and there is Church from Monday to Saturday (the extended church). These are not two churches. They are just instances and manifestations of God’s community on different platforms but with the same mandate and rule-book …..therefore if we have apostles and prophets in the nuclear church, we likewise have "sent ones" in the other and perhaps bigger church, which holds her meetings from Mondays to Saturdays in the market place. These are chosen ones who have been called into the ministry of APOSTLES OF THE MARKETPLACE. They are not less spiritual, less competent, less potent or less strategic as their peers in the nuclear church”

One of the subjects I enjoyed in school was Technical Drawing. I particularly liked drawing orthographic projections of 3D objects. A typical projection consisted of 3 views or perspectives – front, side and plan views – which when combined together, could be used to re-construct the original 3D object. A single view of an object would constitute a partial truth, which is often times misleading. This simple analogy provides great insight into one of the most significant challenges facing the soldiers of God’s kingdom today.

John Beckett, in his book Loving Monday identified two different mind-sets by which God’s people approached life – Greek worldviews and the Hebrew Mindset. Beckett argued that the Greeks couldn’t get away from the concept of dualism, the idea of higher and lower planes of ideas and activities. Plato (A foremost Greek philosopher) was one of the clearest on this. He sought to identify unchanging universal truths which he placed in the higher of two distinct realms. The higher realm he called ‘form’ – the realm of eternal ideas. The lower realm he called ‘matter’ – the realm of the temporal and physical. The problem starts when Plato decides to place ‘work’ and ‘occupation’ in the lower realm.
This is how many of us regard work. We see it as a necessity of life for earning a living, but also see it as something inferior in comparison with the high road of “Christian ministry”. Many have been programmed to make clear distinctions between: Spiritual vs. Worldly, Sacred vs. Secular, Church vs. World, Clergy vs. Congregation.

However, what we may not have realized is that the bible was not written from a Greek worldview, but from a Hebrew one! Greek thinking tends to compartmentalize and stratify all of life. On the other hand, Hebrew thinking tends to connect and integrate all of life. Greeks see little relationship between cosmic forces (spiritual) and daily life. Hebrews think spiritual forces and daily life are constantly interacting.
Traditional Christians believe the Hebrew-oriented bible, but our Greek side wants to separate secular from spiritual. In doing so, work falls into the secular, while Christian ministry falls into the spiritual.
For Hebrews on the other hand, both work and Christian ministry honor God. Interestingly, the Hebrew word for worship, “Avodah”, is also translated “work” in the bible. Imagine the concept of work being a form of worship!

Steven Silbiger, in ”The Jewish Phenomenon” points out that for Jews, wealth is a good thing , a worthy and respectable goal to strive toward. What’s more, once you earn it, it is tragic to lose it. Judaism has never considered poverty a virtue. The first Jews were not poor, and that was good. The Jewish founding fathers - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were blessed with cattle and land in abundance. Asceticism and self denial (in the sense of starvation and lack) are not Jewish ideals. With your financial house in order, it is easier to pursue your spiritual life.
This idea is vastly different from traditional Christian attitudes towards wealth and business. In fact, I believe the body of Christ in general has been under the spell of a pernicious spirit of poverty that has been passed through the generations since the monastic movement of the middle ages. We may not be able to grasp the dignity of wealth and work until we’re delivered collectively and individually from this evil spirit.

Here are remarkable statistics on Jewish-Americans, who comprise only 2% of the American population.

1. 45% of the top 40 of the Forbes 400 richest Americans are Jewish (2006)
2. 20% of professors at leading American universities are Jewish
3. 40% of partners at leading law firms in New York and Washington are Jewish.
4. 25% of all American Nobel Prize winners are Jewish.
5. Less than 0.1% of American prison inmates are Jewish.
6. The % of Jewish households with income greater than $50,000 is double that of non Jews in the US

Data like these force us to ask questions like “how did this come about?” The answer is that these Jews think like God! In order words, Jews have a Hebrew mindset. They are not under the oppression of a Greek-oriented monastic heritage like many of us gentile Christians are.

Romans 12:2 makes clear that we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We need to think differently. We need to start by shifting out mental paradigm from the Greek worldview to the Hebrew worldview.

Our Greek mindset has caused us to fall into the trap of what Ed Silvoso, the author of “Anointed for Business”, calls the “4 lethal misbelieves” concerning church ministry and business. They are:

1. There is a God-ordained division between clergy and congregation
2. The church primarily operates within the temple (church building)
3. People involved in business cannot be as spiritual as those serving in traditional church ministry
4. The primary role of market place Christians is to make money to support the vision of “those in the ministry”

As we engineer and propagate a Mind-Shift into full view and perspective of God’s intense desire for kingdom influence in the workplace / governance / business, we will further distance ourselves from such evil traditional beliefs and embrace True Kingdom ideals.

The kingdom of God includes but is not limited to our current idea of the church. The kingdom exists wherever there are those for whom Christ is their King. It has no geographical or political boundaries. That’s why Jesus said that the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). Every single Christian has a mandate to advance God’s kingdom in his sphere of influence. I dare say that some of what we do in advancing God’s kingdom would be done in the nuclear church but much of it would be done outside of the 4 walls of the nuclear church .i.e. in the marketplace.

There is a church on Sunday (the nuclear church) and there is Church from Monday to Saturday (the extended church). These are not two churches. They are just instances and manifestations of God’s community on different platforms but with the same mandate and rule-book. Christ’s definition of the Church (Mt 16:18) is Ekklesia which simply means the people of God – nothing more, nothing less!

Therefore if we have apostles and prophets in the nuclear church, we likewise have the sent ones in the other and perhaps bigger church, which holds her meetings from Monday to Saturday in the market place. These are those who have been called into the ministry of APOSTLES OF THE MARKETPLACE. They are not less spiritual, less competent, less potent or less strategic as their peers in the nuclear church.

….to be continued!