. . . State of the Nation!

For a long time now, we have been living in "fear of the unknown"

I have been AWOL for quite some time!

I use this medium to express my heartfelt sympathy to the families who lost their loved ones in the ill fated DanaAir crash on June 3, 2012. May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen!

It has been one ugly incident after the other!

For a very long time, Nigerians (particularly my fellow brothers and sisters in the Northern States) have been living in the "fear of the unknown". A friend who is based in Abuja informed me that it is so bad that she hardly steps out of her house. She said she is afraid to move around. It is that bad! What a pity!

On Sunday, 17 June 2012, a total of three Churches were attacked (bombed) by the dreaded islamist sect otherwise known and addressed as boko haram. As it is expected with such attacks, people died! Properties were damaged!

The boko haram sect claimed responsibility for these bombings (like they have always done in the past). One of such attacks was the Christmas Day (2011) bombing on a Catholic Church near Abuja. There was another attack on Easter Day (2012). These attacks are usually carried out while Christians are worshiping!

While I do not believe in the "eye for an eye" doctrine because, that would make every one on earth go blind, I however believe there is a limit to everything! When an individual is pushed to the wall, and has no where to run to, that person would fight back! O yes! I believe that might be the reason for the reprisal attacks that followed almost immediately! News had it that after that attack on the Church on Sunday, angry young Christians began a violent protest and started attacking mosques and motorbike operators (okada riders).

Anyway, enough is enough! Enough of these killings!

In the midst of all these uncertainties and insecurity in the Nation, our dear president, GEJ had the "mind" to travel to Brazil in order to attend the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. I consider such an action as insensitive and very uncaring! GEJ could have been represented by ANY member of his cabinet!

Jonah Jang - Crisis in Jos!

Over 50 people have been reported dead in the fresh crisis in Jos, Plateau State.

I am really disturbed! Why are we killing ourselves? What has happened to the phrase "love your neighbour as yourself"? LOVE is the key word here.

In all this wahala, I hear that the Governor, Mr. Jonah Jang is NOT in the Country!! Can you imagine? Well I want to believe that is not true...

During the Obasanjo regime, when a similar crisis was reported, a State of emergency was declared. What is the current President, Mr. Jonathan, waiting for?

Similarly, members of the notorious Islamic sect, otherwise known as BOKO HARAM, have been causing havoc to the Nation. The dastardly way they (Bokos) have been detonating explosives should be a cause of concern to ALL Nigerians!

Enough is enough o!

May the Peace of Almighty God flood this Nation! God bless Nigeria!

Rebuilding Jos! Rebuilding Nigeria!

Jos, the capital of Plateau State is a mining city and therefore known as the Tin City. Plateau State is known as the Home of Peace and Tourism! Like other States in Nigeria, Plateau State is made up of several ethnic groups. For years, ALL these groups lived in harmony.

I know this, because I schooled in Jos and I was there for 5 solid years! I really had a WONDERFUL time in Jos to the point that I nursed the idea of coming back to settle there. By the late 80s, when I left Jos, the city was still a very peaceful town.

Today, Jos is no longer the peaceful city I knew back then. The current situation in Jos is very tragic. Violence and crime is the order of the day! Brothers killing brothers! This violence must stop! Why would a human being take the life of another? We should learn to show love to humanity.

Right now, we need to rebuild Jos. We need to rebuild Plateau State and make it the State of Peace and Tourism that it was meant to be.

Some Nigerians have started putting together various schemes to get much needed relief to Jos. I was so touched by the level of efforts put in by some LOVE filled Nigerians to help rebuild Jos.

I visited a blog - We are Jos, and I must say, I was very impressed. God bless the team members of that blog for putting up that blog with a view to rebuilding Jos and helping the victims. God bless you all!

There are so many things that can be done to help the survivors in Jos. However, I suggest that any person who intends to make any donation should visit any registered charitable Organisation, such as the Nigerian Red Cross and ask for details of ways to make donations.

I was at NAIJABLOG and I saw details of an account where donations can be paid to help rebuild Jos. This is an account for the NIGERIAN RED CROSS strictly for aiding the Jos survivors. The Nigerian Red Cross is a non-governmental, non-political, non-religious, and non-ethnic humanitarian organisation. The major objective of this Organisation is primarily to assist people who are victims of disasters, by providing shelters, food, clothing etc.

I also suggest that before making any donation into any bank account, please confirm and verify that the account is really for the charitable organisation and for the purpose of your donation.

Please do something. Help spread the word and get people to send donations as well. Apart from monetary aids, food items, clothes, medications and all other forms of relief aids can also be donated. Please save a life. Put a smile on a face.

While the rebuilding efforts are going on, I pray that there would be no more violence in our Nation. I pray that the LOVE that surpasses all understanding will bind us in Nigeria!

God Bless Nigeria!

Scammers, Haiti + Crisis in Jos

In line with the plea for donations to help the Haitians after the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti on, many Nations (including Nigeria) and Individuals all over the world have been sending monetary donations and relief items such as food, water, clothes, medications and other medical equipments to recognised Charities such as the Red Cross.

It is rather very unfortunate that while good hearted people are trying to give life, hope and love to the survivors in Haiti, some bad and evil minded people are using this as an opportunity to defraud the people with good intentions, who are genuinely sending aid and relief materials to Haiti. These scammers are capitalizing on the relief efforts to help rebuild Haiti. How can people be so wicked as to enrich themselves this way!I feel that such an act is heinous!

Please before making any donation towards rebuilding Haiti, take the extra precautionary step to ensure that the Charity is a genuine and recognised one. Please find below some tips on how to avoid such scams as posted on NowPublic.com:

Rely on expert opinion when it comes to evaluating a charity.
Donors are advised to consult experts when deciding which charity to donate to. Charity Navigator compiled a list of organizations operating to help the Haiti earthquake, among them are CARE, Doctors Without Borders, World Vision, American Red Cross.

Be wary of claims that 100 percent of donations will assist relief victims.
While administration cost may be minimized, processing fee is almost inevitable. For example, donations from credit card will incur service charges.

Find out if the charity has an on-the-ground presence in the impacted areas.
It will be difficult for charities to help the affected areas if they don't already have staff on the ground.

Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups.
If the charity does not directly helping the Haiti earthquake, donors can consider skipping the "middleman" to reduce the processing cost when money is passed along to other relief organizations.

Gifts of clothing, food or other in-kind donations.
It is best to give direct monetary support instead of food or clothing because it is much more difficult to distribute such donation. It requires organizations to have the staff and infrastructure to handle donations of good properly. Be ware of inexperienced organizations asking for goods donations.

May the Almighty God, Jehovah Jireh continue to provide for all who have (and are still) sent some form of donations towards rebuilding Haiti. For those who can not send physical items, please continue to pray for the survivors of the earthquake.

While the international community are discussing on ways to help rebuild Haiti, people in Jos, Plateau State in Nigeria are also counting their loses as the recent crisis has left several dead and several others homeless. I pray for my people in Jos. I call them my people because I feel I am part of them. During my stay in Jos, in the 80s, I experienced the hospitality nature of the people of Jos. I have been asking myself  "where did all these hatred come from?" Anyway, my prayer is that God Almighty will heal the broken hearts and fill them with LOVE!  Amen!