THE CHANGE WE NEED

Change is the only constant thing in life, and your very success in every endeavour of life depends heavily on your ability to adapt to change and whatever it brings with it. For example, new seasons demand new clothes – thicker clothes for cooler seasons and lighter ones, when it gets hot; wearing tank tops and shorts in the winter could lead to you becoming a real-life snowman!

In the same vein, changes in the country’s economic environment require that we make some changes in our habits. The recent fuel price hike has seen many make varying adjustments to their lifestyle, from slight shifts to the most drastic of u-turns. While some have totally crossed off the social events on their calendars, others have resorted to using technology more, to reduce the need for locomotion.

But change is simply an opportunity in disguise. Beyond the labour pains of adjustment and acclimatisation lies the promise of a better way.

‘When the winds of change blow, some build walls, while others build wind mills’
                                                                                                        -  Ancient Chinese proverb

Our reaction to recent changes shouldn’t be a knee-jerk disillusionment, but welcoming of the opportunity it brings us to examine our lives, weed out the unnecessary chaff, re-prioritise and give ourselves a better chance to live balanced lives.

For one, we get to rid our life of clutter – clutter of unproductive activities, clutter of directionless pursuits, and clutter of avoidable commitments. Now comes the opportunity to FOCUS, Yes I said it, FOCUS!

At work, focus on what’s really value adding; cut down on unnecessary meetings, reports and long bureaucracies. Embracing digital marketing also gives you a wider reach at reduced costs.

If you’ve decided to cut down on social events and trips, then take the opportunity to spend time with your family, to introspect, discover new hobbies, leisure actives and pastimes.

If you’ve decided to work more remotely, you should use the time you’ve gained to discover better ways of improving your output at work, develop new skills and update old ones.

If you’ve been forced to cut back on many business activities and become a jack of one trade, my advice is that you master it better than any of your competitors; become so good that it that your brand name becomes a pseudonym for that good or service.

To thrive in the current climate, businesses must get closer to their customers. Introduce free pick-ups and deliveries, mobile offices, studios and showrooms; video conferencing, sales and support on social media, cloud computing etc.

Doing this will surely help you mitigate the challenges and improve the quality of your service.

That one’s for free.



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Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights Reserved

Image courtesy  firstunitedsalmonarm.ca

COME WITH ME TO CONQUER

Come with me on this Journey,

Gird up your loins,

Prepare thoroughly

No matter the weather

Be it cloudy or sunny,

We’ll make it,

We’ll win surely

Come with me,

Come on don’t worry

We’ll win and make lots of money

Come with me

 Come on, hurry

Come savour greatness,

As sweet as honey.

Come with me to conquer,

Together we’ll make history

Come with me to conquer

Let’s solve destiny’s mystery

Come with me to conquer

We’ll write our own success story

Come with me to conquer,

Lest you fall victim of my victory!

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Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights Reserved

RETROSPECT

As I lie here,

My thoughts take me on a retrospective

On the decisions I had to take,

And the choices I had to make,

Some were easy,

 Many made me shiver and shake

I ask myself questions,

Maybe the answers will help me separate success from mistake

Like, was I greedy?

Did I eat everyone else’s share of happiness’ cake?

Was I shortsighted?

Did I compromise the original for the fake?

Did I avoid challenges?

Embrace the wide ocean or remain comfortable in my little lake?

Was I too anxious?

Did I hurry or wait patiently for destiny’s bread to fully bake?

Was I vigilant?

Did I constantly sleep or stay wide awake?

My actions…

Did I get them right the first time or always have to do another take?

My trials…

How many did I pass and how many do I have to retake?

My good deeds…

Were they selfless or for self aggrandizement sake?

These same questions to put to thee, 

I wonder what grade you'll make.

_____________________________________________________

Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights Reserved

A SEASON AGO

Seasons come, seasons go

Now that our season’s here,

It’s to the farm we go

One hand holds the cutlass,

And the other the hoe

We proceed, with our seeds

Ready to sow

We dig, we clear, and we throw,

Knowing that in good time, our crops will grow

And our plants will rise like dough

Provided we nurture, weed and mow

As time passes,

We await the crops to grow,

The rain falls,

Yet nothing to show

The sun shines, winds blow,

And still nothing to show.

Then suddenly,

We hear the season clock crow

Our hands climb to our heads

For in our hearts we know;

We should have planted

A season ago.

_____________________________________________________

Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights Reserved

SUCCESS STORY

Your success in today’s battles are not measured by how easy or how hard,

How swift you were in attack, 

How well did you guard?

It’s how you feel when it’s over, 

Happy, sad, or just glad?

That at the end of every battle you’ve had, 

You can look back and not feel bad,

Shouting aloud like one gone mad,

I came, I saw, I conquered!

_____________________________________________________

Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights Reserved

RELEVANCE

Of what use are we to this world?

Why are we here?

What exactly is our purpose here?

You will need to answer these yourselves, but the next one; I can help you with.

What is the true measure of self worth? 

…..RELEVANCE

Going back to my favourite place (where I wasn't opportuned to visit), the garden of Eden, we see clearly the line man must walk.

GOD created man and created his dwelling place, and created his purpose.

A lot of materials and ingredients he required were created before him; existing days before he was created and they were good.

Yet, Adam still had a purpose; he named and took care of the garden and animals. Not forgetting his task of multiplying.

Many of us often get carried away by the whole temptation story and how sin came into the world by Adam’s disobedience that we forget to take cognizance of life’s process illustrated by the first pages of the bible.

Many of us know that GOD created us, but few of us know why. The bible says it is for HIS good pleasure; how do we bring HIM pleasure?

There are three things a man must find before he departs this world; GOD, himself and fulfillment.

How does a person find GOD? You might ask… or himself for that matter?

To find GOD means to find a revelation of GOD specific to your calling.

In the Old Testament, GOD revealed himself as “the Almighty GOD” to Abram and “I AM” to Moses. This was the same GOD, but different revelations, with each revelation specific to the purpose of the receiver.

The Children of Israel saw The LORD as mighty and terrible, a Consuming Fire! This was evident in the signs, wonders and various battles they fought.

Note that this revelation came while their purpose blueprint was being handed to them. Hence, an individual must have a revelation of GOD before he can have a revelation of life.

The next step is for man to find himself. This includes; talents, skills, gifts, traits and a paradigm specific to his purpose.

From there a dream is born, a vision is seen and purpose is enacted.

Finally, he has to find fulfillment. This is one of the most misused words in the dictionary. It is accurately defined as ‘bringing into actuality’

Thus, fulfillment in this context means; bringing your purpose to actuality.

Many often mistake satisfaction for fulfillment; to some they mean the same thing. Well, they are quite different.

While satisfaction is ‘derived contentment from purpose being met’; fulfillment as said earlier, is ‘meeting the purpose itself’

Hence, satisfaction is to be attained by meeting purpose.

Satisfaction is determined by man and can vary; fulfillment is determined by GOD and set on creation of the man. . It is actualizing GOD’s plan using the tools he has granted you.

There is nothing higher, better or greater than finding it.

Remember, the Creator created man to tend over HIS creation; so, all of creation benefits most from man’s fulfillment; with the glory going to GOD Almighty.

This is true relevance; Making an impact felt by all of creation.

Hence, there is no relevance without fulfillment of purpose.

Relevance is defined as ‘pertinence to a matter at hand, a term used to describe how pertinent something or someone is to a given matter’

Substituting the following into that definition -

-          You

-          The rest of GOD’s creation

We have,

Relevance is how pertinent you are to the rest of GOD’s creation.

So how relevant are you?

You will have to follow the steps above to find out. If you have already begun the process, take time out to assess your relevance to humanity.

The greatest relevance is one that outlives you, when you stay relevant even centuries after you leave this earth.

I seek eternal relevance….what about you?

RELEVANCE

How time flies,

The present so fast becomes the past

Then comes the future,

The great unknown, an ocean so deep, so vast

But there lies our greatness,

The compensation for our past

So let’s get on Columbus’s ship,

Set sail and discover fulfillment,

Then we’ll lean proudly on our ships mast; when life show is over

Satisfied that we were protagonists,

And not just extras in its cast.

……seek eternal relevance.

_____________________________________________________

Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights ReservedImage courtesy bimblog.house

RELEVANCE

How time flies, 

The present so fast becomes the past

Then comes the future,

The great unknown, an ocean so deep, so vast

But there lies our greatness,

The compensation for our past

So let’s get on Columbus’s ship,

Set sail and discover fulfillment,

Then we’ll lean proudly on our ships mast; when life show is over

Satisfied that we were protagonists,

And not just extras in its cast.

_____________________________________________________

Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights Reserved

HEAVY WORDS

 Words are potent,

 Words carry weight

They can become a milestone on the receiver’s neck,

Or a piece of humble pie in the speaker’s plate

Fueled by the speaker’s emotion; love or hate

These words carry a lot of weight

Hence, a word to woo, lure or bait,

To say, I will not hesitate

But words of anger will have to wait

‘cause they become a burden on the hearer

And my apology might come too late.

By then, the damage is done,

Resulting in a shut heart’s gate

Harsh words said repeatedly at this rate

Make future conversation improbable,

As speaker and hearer can no longer relate

So, why go ahead to say them?

Why tempt fate?

I’d rather bury them in the past,

And start on a clean slate.

Will you?

_____________________________________________________

Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights Reserved

LUST FADES TO DUST

Get what I want I must,

And all my energy into it I thrust,

I’ll give anything, pay any cost,

Just to have it for better or worst

But that’s only until it begins to rust,

And all I’ve put together goes bust,

By then my zeal for it is lost,

And I want another much more than the first

I realize my want wasn’t just,

It was just desire’s crust,

Meant to feed my lust,

Until, it fades to dust.

_____________________________________________________

Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights Reserved

LUST FADES TO DUST

Get what I want I must,

And all my energy into it I thrust,

I’ll give anything, pay any cost,

Just to have it for better or worst

But that’s only until it begins to rust,

And all I’ve put together goes bust,

By then my zeal for it is lost,

And I want another much more than the first

I realize my want wasn’t just,

It was just desire’s crust,

Meant to feed my lust,

Until, it fades to dust.

LUST FADES TO DUST

LUST: four letters that encapsulates man’s continuous pursuit and search for things to pursue, things to desire, crave for, have, and then he starts the whole process all over again.

Indeed, like an infant or a sucking baby, there is an emptiness that is created each time; an emptiness that can only be filled by what we crave.

There is another four letter word, NEED; a more fundamental emptiness that could cause physical damage or even extinction if not filled. LUST, its psychological counterpart often times takes over a human being and makes it prioritize itself over NEED.

So what exactly is lust and why does it occur?

Lust is a strong desire often fueled by the being’s environment and what he is constantly exposed to, or better still; what flows to him by the various streams he connects to.

We lust after several things and make it a mission to get them - we are unsettled, unrelenting uncomfortable and unwavering in our pursuit of it; but that is only before we get it. 

By the time we have it, our eyes glow and face lights up at the event of the attainment of what we lusted. The melodious duet our eyes and tummy sang becomes less audible as the moment we awaited comes and then goes away. What we craved has come and faded away.

All we lust for is a moment, a thing, a person, an action or a reaction. All these cannot last forever, not even as long as we would want them to.  We can want it forever, but we can’t have it forever.

As we continually evolve, grow and develop, so does our taste, style and invariably our lust.

Hence, what we lusted after at a period in time whether attained or not is not likely to be desired in the next season.

Like shoes, bags, clothes and all things fashion; they only last for a season and by the next season they are out. We might lust for them immediately they are in, get them, but soon they are out. Then it’s on to the next one… until they are back in.

So too with automobiles, places and events, people, toys and devices etc. They come and they go. If we enjoyed them, we want them to come back again and can’t wait until they do.

Did I just put people on that list?

People? People? People?

There is really no fundamental difference in the way we treat matter; animal, place or thing, and matter responds accordingly to how it is treated.

The way we wouldn’t rest until we’ve got those new pair of shoes, is the same way we are restless and relentless until we get the girl of our dreams.

The way we wear those shoes proudly the first few times, and start losing feeling for it gradually after a while, is the same way we start drawing apart from the girl after a few dates and fun times.

The way our face lights up when we see another ‘new and improved’ pair of shoes and start the lusting all over again, is the same way we stare hopelessly at the girl at the corner while we are on a date with the girl we were supposedly in love with.

LOVE is another four letter word often synonymous with the charity and the art of giving. Hence, it is the complete opposite of LUST in that it seeks to give rather than get.

It lasts forever, it doesn’t act only for the moment, season or person in question, and it is impartial and generous in every dispensation.

While lust has driven many-a-man to doom after a moment of pure ecstasy, love has given and lifted whoever gives it.

Anyone whose heart beats to the rhythm of love is unselfish and impartial, not seeking vainglory or self aggrandizement associated with lust and the desire to have what you want at all cost.

In relationships, lust for one another and the passion thereafter cannot and will not last as long as the relationship will do. As has been proven in every facet of life (relationships included), after a season, such lusts would have been fed to the point that it becomes insatiable by what it is being fed with. 

Hence, it will seek something higher, more, greater and better than what it currently has.

Our quest for more doesn’t stop with the acquisition of material things, wealth and power, but as we have relationships with people and lust after them, when the fire dies and we are no longer satisfied by them, we are left with an emptiness and gradually withdraw, especially when another has caught our fancy.

LUST FADES TO DUST after what is lusted is attained and the emptiness that preceded the lust will be back again in a greater measure than before - much like dust.

So let us love, let the sacrifice and benevolence that comes with love be evident in all our relationships and in our demeanor and disposition towards others. Let us put others first, love them endlessly as we want to be loved, rather than crave for what will fade away after a brief moment.

Let us seek an eternity of love, not a moment of lust.

LET US LOVE!




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Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015


All Rights Reserved

Image courtesy polyvore.com

JOY LIKE A RIVER

I have been elevated,

Yes, lifted up by GOD’s lever

High up to a place,

Where I feel the warmth of HIS love like a fever

So no longer will I shake and shiver,

As my ties with sorrow, I now sever

So gone are the days of lack,

When I was always the receiver and never the giver

The days of failure,

When I just couldn’t deliver

Reminiscent of a wounded soldier,

Or a voiceless diva,

I was bare, useless and defenceless

Like an archer with an arrowless quiver,

Up against the ultimate deceiver,

I stood no chance; pain was my middle name,

I needed a reliever

Now I’ve found one, The ONE,

The ONE who’s made me a believer,

And cast sorrow out of my life

Like bile out of a liver

And now, I am blessed, favoured and fulfilled,

I have joy like a river.

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Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights Reserved

SHACKLES FOR A MEATLOAF

Is our freedom worth anything?

That’s hard to tell

When to all comers,

We are willing to sell

We, once deeply rooted,

Until patriotism’s tree fell

Now find our eyes lighting up,

 At the sound of the puppet master’s bell,

We heed their call,

Bidding integrity farewell

And with open arms we follow the corrupt cartel,

To fetch from corruptions well

They make our pockets get fatter,

They help our stomachs swell,

But ultimately we only combine to ruin our nation

Causing it to plummet into hell

SHACKLES FOR A MEATLOAF

When Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of porridge, little did we know that he wouldn’t be the last to do so; indeed, it has become a generational trend - with people selling not just their birthright, but their land, voice and ultimately their souls.

There are tales humorously told, about ancient African chiefs selling their villagers as slaves to the Imperialists for bottles of gin and mirrors! It did not stop there, as now in the present day, the people sell their votes, replicating the same action of their forefathers centuries ago.  

As a result, we have many people living in glorified slavery.

For a few bucks…

·        A politician can buy numerous followers

·        An accused can buy justice

·        Matches can be fixed

·        Contracts can be bought

·        And elections can be rigged.

Only for a few bucks!

If the people’s god is their belly, and they rely on these bribe givers and corrupt individuals, why then do they pray to the ‘Most High’ to give them their daily bread?

We live in a time of shortsightedness, when man cannot see past his nose. His quest is for immediate satisfaction and whoever or whatever can provide him this satisfaction; he worships as his bread-giver.
Hence, for him there is no place in daily living for reliance on a supreme being (though he may claim he does, but we know better)

Yet, these shortsighted individuals are supposed to contribute to the wealth of their nations, but they continually sell their voices and freedom for peanuts leaving their poor nations to feel the brunt of it.
Though the bible says “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds for the mouth of GOD”, but man has now deviated and has no loyalty or reliance on GOD - ‘he certainly lives by bread alone’ and can care less about the word from the mouth of GOD.

Therefore, he sees this corrupt bread-giver as his high priest, providing him with bread as sacrifice to his belly god.

Hence, his high priest is revered and given honour, second only to his belly.

So who exactly is the threat to our nation? The belly, the bread or the priest?

It is hard to blame the bread, because you cannot blame money for being available for use in corruption. Rationally speaking, we have two alternatives; it is either we blame the belly or the priests.

My opinion is simple, since the power belongs to the giver and not the receiver; I blame the priests - they inflict the most damage on our nation.

With that out of the way, what then is the solution?

Simple, we need a reorientation, an awakening, a paradigm shift to selflessness and patriotism.

Hmmm… but we have heard that a million times haven’t we?

We know that, but how do we achieve it when we are all money hungry - power drunkards?

Perhaps if we can shift our goal from riches to relevance, then we may become a part of our nation’s ascension to greatness, rather than a deterrent.

Yet, no human being will partake in any venture that is of no benefit to him - so the call to patriotism may go unanswered.

Therefore, the major problem is not the corrupt individuals in power (high priests) as identified earlier, they are only minor. The problem is that most Nigerians have not come to understand what they stand to benefit from a greater Nigeria, so they see every reason to partake in the evil quest of corruption.

These same high priests responsible for educating the people on these benefits are busy feeding them with cursed bread - eaten mainly in ignorance.

But is ignorance an excuse? The people’s lack of knowledge plays spectacularly into the hands of the politicians who continually impoverish the people’s minds, while intermittently feeding their stomachs.

To get past this and save our nation, the learned ones have to take up the responsibility of grassroots’ reorientation. This is necessary as it is in the grassroots that this appalling porridge for vote transaction takes place the most. It is here that political thugs are bred and tomorrow’s militants are armed.

Messages of hate, tribalism and religious intolerance must make way for those of peace and patriotism. The politicians have for long used such messages to further their own agenda of acquiring power at all costs. Now we as a people must come together, educate the minds of the impoverished to ignore the cursed porridge and seek better governance, which would make Nigeria better for them and for their children.

We must begin by ensuring that constituency representatives at local, state and national level are only elected based on their antecedence and how they can help further our course as a people; not because of helmets, sewing machines and tricycles.

EMPOWER THE PEOPLES’ MINDS TO RESIST THE POLITICIANS’ PORRIDGE.



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Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015


All Rights Reserved


Image courtesy tribuneonlineng.com

GUIDE OUR LEADERS RIGHT

Our dear leaders, we’ve been on this journey for so long,

Where’s the Promised Land at?

 For in dire time we sought you,

Back when in hunger we slept, and in poverty we sat.

For there was no room left for us in prosperity to pitch our tents,

No space in success to lay our mats.

So we trusted in you to rescue us,

Yet, in all our faces you spat!

Stuck with the wings of a chicken,

And the eyes of a bat,

You tried to lead us through development’s path.

Until we both got lost, and found ourselves on greed’s road, facing corruptions flat.

Now, after several attempts at progress,

Being struck repeatedly by failure’s dart;

It all seems hopeless,

And we are now left to face the odour of democracy’s fart!

We are at limbo, with no trick left in the bag,

No rabbit to pull out of the hat.

But the day of reckoning is near,

When the hungry mice will be fed to the famished cats

Yes, we’ve had enough,

Enough of the brickbat

You’ve had your chance,

Now with our voters’ cards we will act

Is this how you felt just before the last election?

If so, you need to read my thoughts below…

GUIDE OUR LEADERS RIGHT

I remember once back at school during a Citizenship Education class, the lecturer walked into the class and told us to tear a sheet of paper for a test, and to our amazement; he asked just one question - “Write the two stanzas of the national anthem’’.

Reading this you would probably feel the way I did after hearing the lecturer’s question - “What a cheap 20 marks! Thank GOD I was class for this’’. So I picked up my pen and started, taking the first stanza for granted; I proceeded to writing the second.

Oh God of creation

Direct our noble cause

Guide our leaders right

Help our youth the truth to know

In love and honesty to grow

And living just and true

Great lofty heights attain

To build a nation where peace

And justice shall reign.

On completing this in less than a minute, I went back to attempt writing the first stanza, and attempting I did for the next half an hour, constantly confusing the two stanzas.

Arise O’ compatriots, direct our noble cause… mixing up on and on.

Well, I continued on the train of confusion, muddling up both stanzas until a few minutes to the end of the test when I finally got it! I had almost failed to recite, let alone write my country’s national anthem. 

Yet, this was an anthem I recited every day as a child - how did it escape my memory like it was complex algebra?

As embarrassed as I was, I still got my 20 marks at the end, but I was even more embarrassed to learn that some of our leaders, who wanted the mantle to direct and lead us, couldn’t even get as far as I did in the first twenty seconds of my test, during their screening for political office.

“How sad” I thought, that the so called leaders we prayed to the GOD of creation to guide right, didn’t even know the prayer, not to talk of praying along with us.

I shouldn’t be harsh on them, people forget things, I inclusive, so let’s not hang them for it. We’ll just keep praying for GOD to guide them right.

GUIDE OUR LEADERS RIGHT

To guide means to lead, direct or show the way. In essence, when we sing the second stanza of the national anthem, we are asking GOD to show our leaders the way, we want the GOD of creation to lead our leaders.

Fancy a follower praying to GOD to lead the people he elected to lead him. Does that mean the leaders elected were not capable of leading the follower in the first place?

If to guide is to ‘show the way’, does that mean the leaders didn’t even know the way they wanted to take us in the first place, yet they asked to be voted in? - To stir our ship into oblivion?

Could it be that they think they know one way, and we are praying to GOD of creation to show them ‘the true way’ that benefits us and the country at large…

That would mean we are indirectly praying for ourselves.

O GOD of creation,

Direct our noble cause,

Guide our leaders right.

The most compelling observation I made from this section of the anthem is the fact that the prayer in the second line can only be said by those who have adopted the noble cause in the first, who have arisen with their compatriots, and heeded the call to serve their nation in love, strength, faith, heart and might.

These are people ready to play their role in the building and success of the nation – to help ensure its continual freedom and unity.

1st Timothy 2: 1 says “I exhort therefore that first of all, all supplication, prayers and intercession, and the giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of GOD our savior; who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth”

I made reference to this scripture to reflect on that same second stanza which I believe to be in consonance with it. Apostle Paul admonishes us to ensure that prayers are made for all those in authority and HE will have all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth.

O GOD of creation,

Direct our noble cause,

Guide our leaders right,

Help the youth the truth to know.

Wow! How amazing is that!

First, we establish the nobility of the cause as exposited in the first stanza, and then we seek to be directed by GOD, who should also direct our leaders; and to bring our youth to the knowledge of the truth.

After examining this with insight, I realize I am in no position to complain or grumble about any situation, circumstance or hardship the country is going through, if I have not asked myself the following questions.

i.        Am I a compatriot? (their duties are extensively listed in the first stanza of the anthem)

ii.      Have I heeded the call and adopted the cause?

iii.    Have I sought for direction from GOD concerning the cause?

iv.   Have I sought for direction for the leaders?

v.     And finally, do I know the truth?

Freedom, peace and unity are achievable ends we all want to experience, as identified in the anthem; but, the truth sets you free, so how can we have freedom without knowing the truth?

How can our leaders direct us if GOD is not directing them?

And how can GOD direct them if we are not fervent in prayer for HIM to do so?

One reason I like the national anthem is that it clearly states the fact that the success of our pursuit of the unity, peace and progress of our nation is hinged on the fulfillment of the responsibilities of the compatriots (citizens) clearly stated in the anthem.

Yet, these same citizens fold their arms and complain about their leaders, about corruption, about the poor state of infrastructure and the economy.

Oh yes they complain!

Some turn to the GOD of creation, hear the truth from HIM, but scarcely live by it - they are as guilty as the leaders they castigate.

Many don’t pray for their leaders and refuse to join the noble cause. For them, their only cause is filling up of their belly, yet they criticize their leaders for not making democracy benefit them.

Many who do pray for their leaders, forget they requested GOD to direct those leaders, and reject the direction offered. They disobey the laws and statutes of the land.

Why pray for them, and then disobey them?

Why rebel against authority?

We want GOD to direct our leaders, and when HE does so, then we must understand that disrespect and disobedience of to those leaders is indirectly done to GOD.

SO LET US PLAY OUR ROLE – IF WE PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS TO BE GUIDED, KNOW AND DO THE TRUTH, THEN OUR NATION WILL HAVE THE PEACE, UNITY AND FREEDOM WE DESIRE…

_____________________________________________________

Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

Image courtesy tribuneonlineng.com

All Rights Reserved

MANDATE

Our dear leaders, we’ve been on this journey for so long,

Where’s the Promised Land at?

 For in dire time we sought you,

Back when in hunger we slept, and in poverty we sat.

For there was no room left for us in prosperity to pitch our tents,

No space in success to lay our mats.

So we trusted in you to rescue us,

Yet, in all our faces you spat!

Stuck with the wings of a chicken,

And the eyes of a bat,

You tried to lead us through development’s path.

Until we both got lost, and found ourselves on greed’s road, facing corruptions flat.

Now, after several attempts at progress,

Being struck repeatedly by failure’s dart;

It all seems hopeless,

And we are now left to face the odour of democracy’s fart!

We are at limbo, with no trick left in the bag,

No rabbit to pull out of the hat.

But the day of reckoning is near,

When the hungry mice will be fed to the famished cats

Yes, we’ve had enough,

Enough of the brickbat

You’ve had your chance,

Now with our voters’ cards we will act.

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Copyright. Olayinka Agbaje-Williams, 2015

All Rights Reserved