News
Sermon: Osoba’s Metamophorsis
By Babatunde Jose
Having read Chief Olusegun Osoba’s book; Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics, and my personal life journey with the author, my take away from the book is that it is a story of an unending adventure with fate. A man whose resilience, hard work, perseverance and belief in himself and service to God and man has paved the path for a successful life in what we could describe as the cauldron called the Nigerian post-colonial state. Born during the colonial era of the early constitutional development in Nigeria; precisely 1939, during the governor generalship of Sir Bernard Bourdillon 1935-1943 who laid the groundwork for the constitutional proposals which his successor Sir Arthur Richards (Lord Milverton) later submitted in 1944 and which became the Richard’s Constitution. He succeeded in convincing the Northern Emirs of the advisability of coming to join with the southerners in the Legislative Council of the country.
It is one of the mysteries of life that 80 years after, Osoba would be in the vanguard of progressive politicians who are bent on returning Nigeria back to its roots of ‘true federalism’. It has not been an easy task and it is still a work in progress. Whether it would succeed or fail is to be seen as the political climate of the country is in a state of ebullition.
Today, the gulf between the political elite widens by the day in terms of ethnicity, religion and a glaring lack of ideological persuasion. The Awolowo school of Hegelian philosophy and welfarism which Osoba belong to, has become divided and the unity of opposites which is the bedrock of Hegel’s dialectics has failed to produce a synthesis from the union of thesis and antithesis of Nigerian politics. Even within the political parties there is no unity of opposites. Hegelianism is the philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel which can be summed up by the dictum that “the rational alone is real”, which means that all reality is capable of being expressed in rational categories. His goal was to reduce reality to a more synthetic unity within the system of absolute idealism .True to form; Hegel was criticized as being’ not a logical thinker but a master in the use of trenchant aphorisms’.
What we are witnessing today is a schism in the political class; a crack in the political pot and a return to primitivism, parochial and primordial tendencies. In all these however, Olusegun Osoba stands out as one political animal who has cut a distinct persona for himself and a different breed from the hubris of ‘come and chop’ political class; a collective of brigands and ruthless socio-economic barracudas, hell bent on robbing the national coffers of all that it contain.
His sojourn in journalism started during the time of his adopted uncle and godfather, late Alhaji Babatunde Jose. Being a good student of human philosophy, Osoba would imbibe the salient qualities of his mentor to rise and shine above his peers. Despite his apogee in journalism, he was not only cool headed but worked hard to maintain his comportment. This is attested to in the wide network of his associates, particularly in his youthful, clubbing and rascally days. He never lost focus and at the back of his mind was always the dictum: Remember the son of whom you are.
As it was in journalism, so had it been in politics. Having worked closely with the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the man with a mission, Osoba had no choice but to pitch his tent with the progressive elements of Nigerian politics. It worked and has continued to work for him.
In all these however, one trait that has been discernible in Osoba’s personality is his contentment in life. This is the takeaway from his book. Contentment is a sign of a true believer. The virtue of contentment is closely connected with the quality of putting trust in God. With contentment one feels inner peace and increase in spirituality. He does not compare himself with those who are in better conditions, but rather he remembers those who are in worse conditions. For example, if someone is one-handed, he should be content and remember those who do not have hands at all. It is said that a man complained about his old shoes until he saw a man who had no feet. “Contentment is not the fulfilment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.” Contentment and patience earn one Paradise in the Hereafter. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “Allah will not accept other than Paradise for a believing person who is afflicted with the death of his beloved one from among the inhabitants of the world and shows patience.” (Al-Nasa’i) Allah said: The (material) things which ye are given are but the conveniences of this life and the glitter thereof; but that which is with Allah is better and more enduring: Will ye not then be wise? (Quran 28:60) The greatest cause for the lack of contentment is greed and avariciousness, covetousness and ‘long throat’. And I can attest to it that Osoba is none of these. These are very objectionable traits in any human being and they are the root cause of corruption; I can also posit that to all intents and purposes, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Akinrogun Egba is an epitome of contentment. May his days be long!
Barka Juma’at and happy weekend
Afrobeats music singer, David Adeleke aka Davido, has said he will seek the intervention of United States President, Donald Trump, if anything goes wrong during the forthcoming Osun State governorship election.
The singer made the statement during a livestream hosted by content creator Carter Efe, where he discussed his interest in politics and his concerns about the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
Davido said he would consider joining politics when he is convinced that the country’s electoral system is transparent and allows voters to freely choose their leaders.
According to him, he is confident of emerging victorious in an election that is conducted fairly.
He said the lack of transparency remains one of the reasons he has not ventured into politics despite his interest.
“Until there’s transparency, then I can go ahead with politics because nobody can beat me in any election,” he said.
Davido added that he would be confident of winning if Nigerians were allowed to vote freely and have their votes properly counted.
He also expressed concern about the upcoming Osun governorship election, saying he was waiting to see how the exercise would be conducted.
“I want to see what they are going to do in Osun. We are waiting,” he said.
The singer then disclosed that he would reach out to Trump if he became dissatisfied with the electoral process in Osun.
Davido said he would tag and call the US president and, if necessary, take his concerns to the White House.
“I’ll tag Trump, I’ll call Trump, everybody. If they still don’t see anything, I’ll go in front of the White House and say, ‘Help us,’”
“Trump will just say, ‘I think there’s a Nigerian artiste sending me a message. Don’t worry, my message will be delivered.’he said.
He stressed that his threat should not be dismissed as a joke, adding that he expected his concerns to reach the US president.
Davido concluded by calling on those involved in the electoral process to allow the people of Osun State to freely determine their next governor.
“Leave Osun alone oo, leave it,” he said.
By Henry Ukazu
Destiny Friends,
The word ‘love’ is very significant. This is because of its descriptive power towDearards an action or feeling directed at someone or something. However, love means many things to many people, depending on one’s side of the divide.
Love is a beautiful thing. It is a beautiful experience and feeling when one gets it right. It breaks the heart when one loves someone and he/she is not loved back. Trust me, it really hits differently when one is loved in the manner they wished to be loved.
Love cuts all barriers of life, whether we are talking about purpose, health, academic, spirituality, finance, relationships, family, and career/vocation.
Let’s take a minute to dwell on the concepts of love as it relates to loving what one does.
Purpose:
Our purpose in life is much more important than our career. It’s instructive to note your profession is what you are trained to do as an attorney, doctor, engineer, accountant; your vocation is what one is paid to do as 9-5 work or skill work; but your ministry is your calling, that’s where you find your passion, your gift/talent. Our focus in life is to align our vocation, profession and ministry together.
Health:
If we love ourselves, we’ll pay attention to our health and that entails what we eat, how we exercise, and how we pay attention to our body. When we love our health, we’ll pay attention to what we do because our health will ultimately affect all we do.
Academic:
Loving what we do also affects our academics. It’s sad to see students who read majors they have no interest in just because of the job market. If one studies a major they don’t like, it will have an impact in their personal and professional lives. Imagine reading law when one’s interest is in accountancy, engineering or even Mass communication. The level of impact and fulfilment one gets studying a major they like is different from the impact they will deliver if they one don’t like the major. So, it’s advisable for one to study a major they have a strong interest in.
Spirituality:
Our spirituality plays an important role in what we do. We can’t succeed in life without the support of God. According to Evangelist Ebuka Obi, behind every successful man, there’s a spirit working for him. I totally agree with this saying because when you love what you do, the universe has a way of coming close and conspiring to make you succeed because it’s in alignment with God’s master plan and purpose for your life.
Finance
When we love what we do, it will have an influence on our finances especially when we are good at what we do. Everyone likes the best person who can do a job and that even entails paying for a premium service. One of the reasons why most people are poor is simply because they are not solving problems, even though they are solving problems, they are not solving the right problem, or they are not solving the right problem for the right people at the right places and time.
Relationships
To succeed in life, we must pay attention to our relationships because our relationships determine our network which ultimately determines our net worth. Loving what one does also entails being intentional in the people they let into their lives.
Family,
Family is the highest influence in a child’s life. When there is love in the family, the child will learn to love other people when they go outside. According to Mr. Okechukwu Ukazu, you can choose your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, and best friend, but you can’t choose your family. We don’t have control over who becomes our family either as parents or siblings because that’s how God designed it. Do you see why family is everything?
Career/vocation
Succeeding in life entails working in a profession or vocation we like. When we like what we are doing, and what we are doing like us, we shall be successful. It’s sad to see people working in jobs they don’t like just to pay the bills. It’s instructive to note that at creation God grants us talents and gifts to succeed in life, but because of the challenges of life, some of us now settle for something else. This is why some people are victims of defective success because as they climb the corporate ladder, one day, they will realize that they have gotten to the top only to realize they were climbing the wrong ladder of success.
Have you ever wondered why some people feel frustrated and depressed in life despite having resources at their disposal? It’s simply because they don’t like what they are doing. Loving what you do has a strong correlation to one’s physical and psychological and mental success in life.
In conclusion, to succeed, endeavor to love what you do.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design, Unleash Your Destiny and The Six Pillars of Succes . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Digital solution provider, Globacom, recorded the highest Internet subscriber growth among Nigeria’s major telecom companies for the month of May.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Nigeria’s total Internet users increased to 157 million in May, up from 154.3 million in April. That is a growth of 2.67 million users in one month.
Globacom led the market by adding about 1.2 million new Internet subscribers. This means Glo was responsible for almost half of all new Internet users in May.
The company’s subscriber base grew from 15.5 million in April to 16.8 million in May. Airtel came second with 1.07 million new users, moving from 54.8 million to 55.8 million. MTN added 382,894 users to reach 83.5 million.
T2 Mobile, formerly 9mobile, recorded no growth for the second month in a row. Its subscriber base remained at 802,534. This is despite its roaming agreement with MTN, which was approved almost a year ago to help T2 customers use MTN’s network in areas with poor coverage.
Industry experts say Glo’s strong growth is due to its ongoing network upgrade. Since last year, the company has been building new base stations, expanding its fibre network, and adding thousands of new 4G sites across cities and rural areas.
The upgrades have improved voice and data quality for customers, while Globacom remain committed to providing better network experience and affordable Internet services to more Nigerians.
