Only northern govs, leaders can stop Boko Haram – Oritsejafor

By Sam Eyoboka

Amid the raging insurgency in the North-east, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, says, contrary to the claim in some quarters, Christians, rather than Muslims, are the targets of the Boko Haram Islamist group. Oritsejafor lists six ways to end the insurgent attacks including northern leaders engaging Boko Haram in dialogue. The CAN leader spoke to Sunday Vanguard after the Daughters of Sarah convention, co-hosted by his World of Life Bible Church, Warri, Delta State. Excerpts:
What drives you? Why do you always want to give during every programme here?
I have asked myself that question too! Somehow I think I have lost my mind. When I sit down and think, it’s very natural to give. That’s where I am now. It didn’t start naturally but that’s where I am now. If I don’t give, I think I will be sick or something. But I think it started with understanding the scripture. Let me say this: I remember when I gave my life to Christ, I felt the urge to go into ministry and I went to a Bible school. I wanted to leave; the reason I wanted to leave was that I felt I will be unproductive to God.
So I said why waste God’s time and waste my own time. That was when I said I better leave and go and do something else with my life, because I am a realist. So when it comes to giving, what I did, just like I do in most cases, I started studying the Bible. I started reading to understand God’s mind about giving and I discovered that giving is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the Bible. But the truth is, it is the most consistent subject in the Bible.

•Oritsejafor

You find it from Genesis to Revelation; it comes in so many shapes that if you are not careful, you will miss it. I did a study all through the Bible; even a lot of young men that do all kinds of crazy things to get stuff out of people—it’s a misunderstanding that they got themselves into—because when you understand the scriptural meaning of giving, you will discover that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
You will not be straining yourself to get from people. The way the principle of giving works, it is always to give and you receive, not the other way round. Even young preachers who are trying to get from people, they think it’s when they get that they can give to people, no! That’s a wrong principle. It is always give and it shall be given unto you, sow and then you reap. It is not get and then you give. Like I said, I’ve done that study, based on that understanding, it doesn’t matter what anybody says or preaches. I will always give. It’s a way of life for me. When you get to that point, you will enjoy God beyond your expectations.
Several candidates for employment into the Nigerian Immigration Service died. How did you feel when it happened?
I’m pained! It is so unfortunate! But this is where we are today. I hope our political leaders are watching. When I’m talking of political leaders, I’m not talking of President Goodluck Jonathan because we have reached a place in Nigeria today where everything is Jonathan; as if Jonathan is the only elected official in this country. First of all, the situation where we find ourselves today, is it Jonathan that created it?
How can a man that became President three years ago be the one that created all these problems? Something is wrong. I don’t know if the media realize the damage they are doing to the psyche and the integrity of the Nigerian society; to give the impression that one man is responsible for the problems of this country that has been in existence for many years. Let’s go back and look at the history of Nigeria, look at the leadership, the political leaders.
It’s horrible. Jonathan is President; he cannot run away from being part of the blame. What about this government? State government where the House of Assembly will go and pass a budget in the governor’s house and everybody is silent, nobody is saying anything. Can you imagine, Jonathan taking all members of the National Assembly and the budget is passed within two hours in his house; will Nigeria not run down? Why is the media presenting things like this? It’s not right. Government comprises political leaders at all levels, and it’s been happening, and they are getting away with it, so to speak.
That is why I advocated last October that all political and government officials should forfeit half of their emoluments for one year. Do you know how many billions of naira that will amount to? I told them this money should be put in a dedicated account and credible Nigerians should be fetched from each of the six geo-political zones to manage that money to create jobs.
The level of unemployment in Nigeria is so high. Universities that we are trying to build must be universities that will educate people to be self employed, people who will be able to contribute to the progress of Nigeria, not just people who acquire degrees and wait for white collar jobs. That is my number one emphasis; job creation. Number two, leadership; and number three, God.
It’s a very unfortunate thing that (Immigration job tragedy) has happened. My prayer is that such a thing will not happen again. I also want to speak to the private sector, some of them have tried, but they can do more. If we love this country, we can pull Nigeria out of this situation. If we leave everything to government, I don’t know what will happen.
About 10 people who have the same mind can come together and set up medium sized businesses. We must begin to venture into areas like this. I have some ideas myself; I just pray I’m able to finance them. But it’s not right for the private sector to leave everything to government. We all have to be involved and find ways to lift people out of poverty. You saw the grinding machines we gave out, these are some ways of eliminating unemployment. The more people you can give jobs, the stronger and the better the nation will be. Political leaders should take note, past to present, God will hold them responsible, He will judge them.
The National Conference has finally taken off. What’s your agenda for the delegates?
Go there and speak the truth, speak the minds of the people you are representing, that should be the priority. One of the things that have brought Nigeria to her knees is that we lie to ourselves. We know the truth, but we deceive ourselves. We are hypocrites. We try to convince ourselves that everything is good. If you say there are differences, then you are a bad person, but if you want to be celebrated in Nigeria, just come out and say “One Nigeria”.
The moment you try to tell the truth, you are a bad person. I think all delegates should go there with the fear of God to tell the truth as it concerns those who sent them there. Let them table truth on the table, and, from there, Nigeria will be able to move forward. They may not agree on everything, but the truth should be told.
At the end of the day, I believe that it can never be a waste of time. People are always talking. They are just formalizing the talking. I just pray that whatever decisions are taken should be implemented. You will be shocked with the understanding that it will yield. It is never be a waste of time. These same people say National Conference is a waste of time but dialoguing with Boko Haram is not a waste of time. Let truth meet truth on the table, I believe it will yield good fruits.
Of late, a lot of people are saying that Boko Haram is actually not just killing Christians, but that there are more Muslim victims than Christians. How do you respond to that?
I was embarrassed by such statement. As a matter of fact, I read one piece where it was said that 98 per cent of all the people killed by Boko Haram are Muslims. It is not true. How can you say 98 per cent of those killed are Muslims? First of all, in every single statement that Shekau, the Boko Haram leader, has made, he always made it very clear that their target are Christians; their purpose is to create an Islamic state, to the ridiculous extent of telling a sitting President of a country that he needs amnesty from him (Shekau) and that his only option is that Christians can only be saved if they convert from Christianity to Islam. And you tell me that 98 per cent of those who have been killed are Muslims.
These are the things that create tension. These are the things that certain people use to make it look like we hate Muslims when we respond. You can’t turn Nigeria to a Muslim country. To think like that is to insult the sensitivity of rational people. This is very wrong. Until about six months ago, almost all the people killed were Christians. That’s the reality. In 2013, from the reports I’m getting, there were not more than five mosques that were destroyed.
In 2013 alone, from the information I have, there are not less than 300 churches that were destroyed. I don’t know how such people come up with their statistics. Are they trying to tell me now that everybody in Borno or Kano or Adamawa states are Muslims? This is not right. Let us put it on record that nothing less than 90 per cent of people who have been killed by Boko Haram are Christians. I’m the leader of Christians in Nigeria, so I put it on record and that is the truth.
Let me also add that the Muslims that have been killed, every single one of them, his life is as precious as the lives of the Christians killed; I am aware that there are two categories of Muslims that they have been killing and my heart bleeds because they are human beings. Two categories: there’s the category of Muslims who oppose what they are doing; their clerics who come out to say this is against Islam, they slaughter them. The second category belong of Muslims they kill are those they feel have betrayed them. In other words, they’ve been giving information to security agents that were used to either capture them or kill them.
From information I have, they go to mosques where preachers are against them or somebody in the congregation has spoken against them and they don’t know the exact person, they just go and blow the mosques up. These are the two categories of Muslims that have been killed so far. Killing Muslims is not their primary target. If anybody has the opportunity of interviewing Shekau today, he will say what I’m saying now.
Their primary targets are Christians. He has said it again and again that Christians are his primary target. Look at the post-election violence period, who are the people who suffered, who died like rats, killed, burnt, destroyed? There are Muslim clerics that have been killed; my heart goes out to them, but how many pastors have been killed since 2009? Who really cares? Who has taken the pains to look at it?
Some of the widows and orphans they left behind are being taken care of by me. A recent one was in Borno State where a CAN secretary was slaughtered in the presence of his family members. The latest one was in Katsina, the chairman of CAN in Katsina local government, they said they saw the corpse of a child near his house, they went into this young man’s house and they beat him unconscious. He was rescued and taken to hospital. They surrounded the hospital, dragged him out of the hospital and burnt him alive. Where is justice in all these things?
The security situation in this country has gone out of control as the Boko Haram members now go to barracks to kill soldiers. Do we need another approach to tackle terrorism?
I wouldn’t say we need a new approach. I’d just say that we need to sharpen our approach because there are basic things; just that some people don’t see it as an important area to look into. There are about six or seven things that must be done and we have no choice but to do them. One is prayer; we can’t run away from that. That is why I have said that Christians and all well-meaning Nigerians should join us every last Friday of every month to fast and pray for the peace of Nigeria. Whatever God needs to do to turn this tide, He should do it.
Two, the military should be strengthened. They must continue to bombard these people. The number of men in the military is not enough to meet the demands on ground. All I am advocating is that the number of personnel needs to be multiplied. The screening has to be done right because the insurgents themselves will try to join the military.
In fact they are inside the military as we speak. There are also members of the Boko Haram in the military. Some have been prosecuted, some are top officers. The authorities should be careful in giving out positions particularly with regards to information gathering. They have to find ways to detect such people and flush them out with no sentiments attached. The most important thing to be done is the involvement of Muslim political leaders; Muslim clerics and Muslim traditional rulers.
When our boys in the creeks were doing what they were doing, some of us went there. We engaged them, and we didn’t ask government. We engaged them because it was the right thing to do. My friend, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), is now talking. These are people who said the insurgents should be given amnesty; they should be treated like Niger Delta boys. They are now talking, but they must go beyond talking. We strategised, we talked to our boys, and they should go and talk to their boys. They say they are talking to the boys, yet they are killing. We want them to go beyond the talking; go to where these boys are, risk their lives like we did, and begin to engage them, dialogue with them.
It is not government that will dialogue with them; it is their people they will listen to. The boys respect some of the clerics that are good. Bring these boys and discuss with them from the Qur’an. This engagement must filter into the mosques. They must start teaching that Nigeria is their country; re-orient their minds so that they can think positively. All these are what must be done at all levels and done not just by Jonathan, but by governors of the affected states as well as the local people there. The talking is important, but they must go beyond the talking.
Another factor we’ve not said anything about is the menace of Fulani herdsmen…
I see that as another chapter of Boko Haram. They don’t want people like us to talk but we have to talk. What kind of Fulani herdsmen? It’s unacceptable. Is there any other tribe that can do this kind of things and get away with it in the last three years? They have terrorized Nigeria. There is no state where they don’t kill people; these same Fulani herdsmen killed somebody recently in Delta Central.
Where did these people get AK47 rifles from? Who taught them how to shoot? How is it that these people are never apprehended? I have reports that there are communities where they have destroyed crops, killed people, raped women, yet, at the end of the day, it’s the local people the police go after. Look at what is happening in Benue State! Imagine some of the leaders of the Fulani coming out to hold a press conference, accusing the government to be the cause of the crisis.
They actually admitted that they sent people to cause the crisis and police didn’t pick them up? What is the nonsense? Does it mean other tribes cannot do this? Is there monopoly of violence? Does this mean other tribes don’t know where to get arms from? Everyone is trying to build a civil and peaceful nation. As a leader of millions, should I tell these people to arm themselves? Government should take note. One tribe will hold a whole nation to ransom when in Nigeria we have over 500 tribes?
I fear for Nigeria. This issue has to be addressed. They should come out and tell the truth. What is the agenda of the Fulani herdsmen? Is it really about grazing land? They were almost passing a bill, which will never be implemented in Jesus name, that they will just take people’s land just as they like and give it to somebody else. It’s never heard of. I know of a RCCG parish in Zamfara State which they destroyed and the church was trying to rebuild it and the authorities said they shouldn’t try to rebuild.
This is 21st century; don’t people eat cows in America? Do you see people leading cows across the streets? They should go back to where they are from and create modernized way of farming and cattle rearing. These are things we should look at.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/northern-govs-leaders-can-stop-boko-haram-oritsejafor/#sthash.MMGDVSM1.dpuf

Mickey Rooney’s Tragic End: A Feuding Family and a Fortune Lost

In the 1930s, Mickey Rooney was the biggest star in the world. In April of 2014, when he died at the age of 93, his estate was valued at $18,000.
How does that happen to a bona fide Hollywood legend? It depends on which warring side of his surviving family members you ask. Today The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg runs down the ugly feud between Mark and Chris Aber, the sons of Jan Chamberlin Rooney, who married Mickey Rooney in 1978. Though the couple never divorced, the Rooneys remained estranged when Mickey died; as Jan told The Hollywood Reporter, she learned of her husband’s death when “someone from TMZ called me.”

read Nancy Jo Sales on Mickey Rooney

The root of the couple’s rift went public in 2011, when Mickey Rooney testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging about his experience with elder abuse at the hands of stepson Chris Aber and his wife, Christina. A legal complaint alleged that Aber “threatens, intimidates, bullies, and harasses Mickey,” and the couple was asked to stay 100 yards away from the actor at all times. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, though, Chris Aber says it was all a setup orchestrated by his brother, whom he claims was stealing from Rooney: “I caught him. And then, in order to defuse [the situation], he got a restraining order on me and told Mickey that I did it. Mark Aber was Rooney’s caregiver for the last year of his life, and Chris blames his brother for their mother’s unfortunate phone call from TMZ: “My brother, whom [Rooney] died in front of, didn't even have the decency to call my mom [upon Rooney’s death] . . . That's how evil these attorneys and my brother are."
Feuds among family members of the rich and famous are nothing new, but it’s especially distressing to see a family torn apart in this way—not only over money, but accusations of violence and stealing, all with the law forced to take sides. Mickey Rooney’s life was never free from scandal—he was married eight times, after all—but this is an especially tragic ending for a man who became a star because he could make people laugh.

Dani Alves critical of 'backward' Spain and wants banana-thrower shamed

Dani Alves eats part of a banana thrown at him during Barcelona's win at Villarreal. Screengrab: Sky

Dani Alves has hit out at Spain for being "very backward" in its approach towards racism and believes the fan who hurled a banana on the pitch in Barcelona's game away to Villarreal on Sunday should be publicly shamed.

Images of the Brazilian picking up the banana and taking a bite were beamed around the world and he was widely backed by the football community and celebrities. Villarreal subsequently announced they had given the supporter a life ban but Alves, who has criticised the level of racism in Spain before, felt it was not enough.

"If I could, I would put a photo of the fan on the internet so that he would be shamed," Alves told Brazil's Radio Globo. "There is racism against foreigners. They sell the country as being first world but in certain things they are very backward."

Alves admitted he did not expect his actions to receive so much attention. "I have been surprised by everyone's support. I did it without thinking. The world has evolved and we must evolve with it."

Fifa's president Sepp Blatter was among those who backed the player and tweeted that racism cannot be tolerated. Alves said that the world governing body should be more proactive. "Fifa must concentrate on things more important than La Masia. They need to give their attention to more serious things," he said, referring to the recent verdict that Barcelona were guilty of breaching regulations over the transfer of underage players.

Pep Guardiola: 'I made a mistake'

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola took responsibility for his side's UEFA Champions League semifinal loss to Real Madrid on Tuesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos struck braces in Real's 4-0 second-leg thrashing of the Bundesliga champions at the Allianz Arena, completing a 5-0 aggregate victory.

Guardiola said it was his error that led to Bayern's loss, while he was unhappy with the way his team used the ball after having the majority of possession in both legs.

"We played badly when we had the ball. That's my responsibility. I made a mistake," the Spaniard told a news conference. "It was a bit better in the first leg, but congratulations to Real Madrid."

Guardiola lamented his side's defending from set pieces, with Ramos heading in a corner and free kick in the first half. Ronaldo netted on the counterattack before halftime and completed the scoring with a cheeky free kick that went under a jumping Bayern defensive wall.

"We have to carry on now. If you don't play well and you defend set pieces badly, that's just how it is. You are being punished," Guardiola said. "We are at the highest level in Europe; such mistakes are punished right away."

Guardiola said he had been hopeful Bayern could reproduce the performances it put in against Premier League sides Arsenal and Manchester United earlier in the knockout stages.

"What we did against Arsenal and Manchester (United) did not work today," he said. "Also in the first leg in Madrid we had more control than today and at least a couple of chances. Today, just a few. That's why we have lost the semifinal. You play with the ball and if you don't have it that doesn't work."

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - WEDNESDAY- 30/04/2014 - CARE FOR THE BRETHREN BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

CARE FOR THE BRETHREN

MEMORISE

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

READ

Romans 15:25-27

25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.

26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.

27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.

MESSAGE

Apostle Paul in the Bible reading for today, teaches us one missing ingredient of true discipleship in today’s contemporary Church; which is the ministry of care. Despite the great anointing with which Apostle Paul was ministering to both Jews and Gentiles, it is amazing to read that the ministry of care was not absent from his vocation as a preacher of the gospel. It is also interesting to note that the lives of the early apostles of Jesus Christ were not only in alignment with the teachings of Jesus Christ but were also in alignment with their own teachings. Jesus Christ taught that his followers should be hospitable, kind hearted and generous. He said to us in Matthew 10:42 that:

“And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”

He exemplified this when He insisted on feeding the crowd that had been with Him for so long, contrary to the suggestions of His disciples that they be dismissed with empty stomachs. He made sure the crowd was fed before they were dispersed (Matthew 14:15-19).

In Matthew 25:35-40 the Lord further enunciated this principle saying:

“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

In light of these witnesses, children of God must therefore engage in the ministry of care along with any other ministries that they may have been called into. This makes our calling a complete and perfect one. The needy amongst us should be given consideration as our primary target of ministration on practical giving.

ACTION POINT

Set up a care-giving department in your local assembly for the purpose of meeting the needs of those who lack one thing or the other.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Revelation 8-11;

Psalm 93

Tuface Idibia: ‘I am tired of having babies, at this point in my life……

Award winning singer, Tuface Idibia aka Tubaba, has 7 children from 3 different women, including his wife Annie Idibia.
The singer however says he is done having children and that now is the time to focus on his wife, Annie and his family and friends.
While performing, at Gbenga Adeyinka’s Laffmatazz in Ibadan, he frequently used spiritual words like “receive it”, “take it” and when asked if the words he was saying on the stage ironically means that he was planning to have more children, he was quick to deny the insinuation with a declaration that he was done as far as having babies is concerned.

“I am tired of having babies. At this point in my life, I want to show my family all the love and support they deserve. I love my wife and there is not going to be anything like have babies outside wedlock. All I need to do now is to show love to my family and friends who stood by me over the years”, he said.

The Man Who Thinks He Has Solved the MH370 Mystery

Anyone familiar with modern Malaysia—and hey, that should include almost everybody in this era of MH370 coverage—knows the name "Dr. Mahathir." For more than two decades, Mahathir Mohamad, originally trained as a medical doctor, was prime minister of Malaysia. To put it in perspective for Americans, this was a span that included all of Ronald Reagan's time in office, plus that of the first George Bush, plus all of Bill Clinton's, plus much of George W. Bush's first term.

View photo

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"Dr. M" first came to political prominence with a famous/notorious book called The Malay Dilemma, which argued that the country's more-numerous, less-prosperous ethnic Malays deserved special favors from the government, because eons of life in their lush tropical paradise had made them less fit for economic competition than the hard-driving Chinese minority. (Mahathir was head of the dominant ethnic-Malay political party, the United Malays National Organization, or UMNO.)

To say that Dr. M is prickly undervalues that term. While serving as prime minister, he once got into what we'd now call a flame war with a 10-year-old schoolboy in England.* When Mahathir had a heart operation in the late 1980s, the local joke was that the point of the operation was to give him one (a heart). For decades Dr. M governed with a giant chip on his shoulder, and even out of office he's retained his trademark style, as he shows with his views on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.

Are most people puzzled by what happened to the plane? Do nearly all fault the Malaysian government's handling of the situation? They should shut up, Dr. M has explained. It's actually Boeing's fault. As he put it on his personal blog, picked up yesterday by the Malay Mail online:

I am very upset over MAS [Malaysia Airline System] employees being held hostage in Beijing by the relatives of the passengers of MH 370. I am upset because they are blaming the wrong people. The loss of the plane is due to the makers Boeing.
How can Boeing produce a plane that is so easily disabled? [And so on.] ...
MAS is not at fault, lax security or not. MAS flew a plane fully expecting it to perform the task. But the plane has somehow behaved differently. Who is responsible? Not MAS but certainly the makers of the plane — Boeing Aircraft Corporation.

The perfidy of the West knows no bounds. Meanwhile, even as Dr. M is solving the mystery, airline pilot Patrick Smith, of the Ask the Pilot blog, says that it is farther than ever from explanation:

Count me among those who feel that this is how ends: a mystery. The plane is out there somewhere, at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, and in all likelihood we’re not going to find it....
While I am not ruling anything out, my hunch is that a malfunction, rather than foul play or a pilot suicide mission, brought the plane down. A poorly handled decompression, for example, caused by a structural problem or windscreen failure. Or a catastrophic electrical failure combined with smoke, fire or fumes that rendered the crew unconscious. Granted that doesn’t totally jive with the evidence, but none of the theories do.

That's what makes the situation an enduring and perhaps permanent mystery. No explanation makes sense. Except, of course, Dr. Mahathir's.

---

* While we were living in Malaysia in the 1980s, a British schoolboy wrote to Mahathir lamenting the destruction of the rain forest, mainly for conversion to palm-oil plantations. Dr. M took the time to write a blistering personal note back to the boy, lambasting the hypocrisy of Western hand-wringers and their late discovery of environmental concerns. "They should expel all those people all the people living in the British countryside and allow secondary forests to grow and fill these new forests with wolves and bears etc., before studying tropical angles." The man had an edge. I described this episode and the general Malaysian situation in Looking at the Sun.

The more consequential side of his approach was his long legal persecution of his one-time protege, Anwar Ibrahim. For background see this. We loved living in Malaysia, but a notable item on the minus side of the ledger was the Mahathir-era governing style.

 

 

Rep to Jonathan: Dismantle democratic structures in 3 North-East states now

By Emman Ovuakporie

ABUJA — DEPUTY Chairman, House Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to dismantle all democratic structures in the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in the North Eastern part of Nigeria where there is currently a state of emergency.
Nkem-Abonta, who spoke to House Press Corps, said the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency must be checkmated now by ensuring that the present democratic structures are dismantled .
The legislator, who represents Ukwa East/West in the House, said it would amount to duplicity of role to have a military commander and a civilian administration in place in the affected states at this critical time.

MEETING—From left: Governors Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi) and Garba Umar, Acting Governor of Taraba, during their visit to Borno State, yesterday. Photo: Sahara Reporters.

 

 

He said the state of emergency was an abnormality and to restore normalcy you need to surrender power to one common military commander.
He said: ”A situation whereby you have two captains in one ship is what we are seeing in the troubled states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.”
He explained further that “we should not fight insecurity with kid gloves. It should be a concern to everybody. If you run into a stop and search patrol team, whether you are in a hurry or not, you must stop and be searched, we must see everybody as a suspect.”
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/rep-jonathan-dismantle-democratic-structures-3-north-east-states-now/#sthash.NIMnPj87.dpuf

The shame of Murtala Nyako

SOMETIME in September 2006, I was in the Aso Drive, Abuja residence of Prof. Jibril Aminu, the Senator representing Adamawa Central in the Senate, conducting an interview for his biography. It was a sunny Friday morning. The interview was disrupted by the arrival of an important guest.
When this rather frail looking elderly gentleman was ushered into the study where we were sitting, I saw he was a vaguely familiar figure, wearing a grey-tinged beard.

Governor Murtala Nyako

 

“I am sure you know Admiral Nyako”, our host said, holding Nyako’s hand, “and in sha Allah the next governor of Adamawa State”. I was shocked. In the first place, Prof had equally given me the name of a different person for the same post.
Perhaps, it did not work out between them? In the second place, why Admiral Murtala Hamman-YeroNyako (GCON, CFR, rcds, D.(Agric), a man who had been military governor, member of the Supreme Military Council and Chief of Naval Staff? Was he also being exhumed from retirement just like Obasanjo? Well, I never knew he was also into partisan politics.
It turned out that he was not. He had gone big time into mango farming. In fact, he was widely known as Baban Mangwaro in the Yola locality where he operates his farms. Nyako was not thinking of politics, let alone being elected into the office of governor. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his friend of many decades, Prof. Aminu, had joined hands to shuffle former Vice President Atiku Abubakar out of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to prevent Atiku from running for president on its platform.
In the same manner that Obasanjo handpicked Governors Umaru Yar’ Adua as presidential candidate of the PDP and Goodluck Jonathan as his running mate, the President and Senator Aminu(who had been given full charge of the PDP in Adamawa State) went to Nyako’s farm and literally plucked him out to stand as their trusted candidate for PDP governor of Adamawa State to succeed Atiku’s flunkey, Governor Bonnie Haruna.
No sooner had Aminu done with the introduction than Nyako launched a most effusive glorification of the Professor of Medicine, calling him the “leader of our Party in Adamawa, a great intellectual of international repute and a source of inspiration to all Nigerians”. Listening to Nyako, I was a little bit afraid for Aminu. He sounded too glib, but who was I to complain since the Professor seemed quite gratified by the Admiral’s grandiloquent exaltation of him.
It was not up to six months after Nyako took over the reins of Governor of Adamawa State that I heard that yawa don gas between him and his “Party Leader”. Things had fallen hopelessly apart between them. This godfather thing never really works. Nyako had taken steps to assert his independence, including snatching the reins of the PDP from Aminu and his supporters. He used his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Tukur Bello, to stiff-arm Aminu. Bello is now occupying Aminu’s former seat at the Senate. Not only that, Nyako fully intended to hand over power to one of his sons after his eight years.
That did not go down well because, as rumour had it that, Aminu also had the same ambition for one of his sons, and so did Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who eventually was sponsored by President Goodluck Jonathan to become the National Chairman of the PDP.
The circumstances that led to Nyako’s departure from the PDP to the newly registered All Progressives Congress (APC) was traced to the irreconcilable differences between Nyako’s hunger to impose his son with his power of gubernatorial incumbency on the one hand, and Alhaji Tukur’s unbending resolve to use his position as National Chairman of the Party to crown his own son. Aminu had long been rendered a virtual bystander in the whole matter.
That is a taste of Adamawa politics for you. In Adamawa politics, just like that of Anambra, dog eats dog, and there is never really a permanent winner or loser, since the wheel of political fortune is always turning. But just like in Anambra politics, in spite of the sound and fury, you never easily get to hear about political assassinations, which is more rampant in South West Nigerian politics.
Nyako moved to APC, some say, because he was denied the opportunity to use the PDP for his purpose. But it remains to be seen if Atiku, a much savvier politician with deeper roots in the game will let him use the APC. He may climb down from his high governorship office and find no other alternative than to return to his farm from where he was picked by Obasanjo and Aminu.
Since Nyako went into APC, he has turned too viral for his own good, the good of people around him and the good of the country at large. Remember when, a few months ago, he snivelled that he is afraid of being “poisoned” by his colleague, Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, whom he has always sat next to due to the alphabetical order of seating in the Council of State meetings.
That accusation, as shocking and lowly as it was, came from the blue and gave an insight into the quality of mental and psychological make-up of this retired naval officer. Poison you for what! A Niger Deltan was once told, at a public function: “please don’t kidnap me!” There was laughter in the hall. He nimbly replied his heckler: “But you have no kidnap value”. There was applause. Need I say more?
Politics of bitterness
Nyako’s recent poisonous letter to his fellow governors of Northern Nigeria accusing President Goodluck Jonathan of using the prolonged emergency rule in the North East (including his Adamawa State) to perpetrate “genocide” with a view to “depopulating” the North was politics of bitterness taken too far. Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim, the apostle of “politics without bitterness” and a Nigerian legend from the North East, must have turned several times in his grave when this letter made its ugly way into the public arena.
It was a lunatic rant, and the only people I saw applauding it were the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), an equally rabid and frustrated outfit made up of expired former public office holders who believe that Nigeria is a colony of Northern Nigeria being illegally ruled by a Niger Delta impostor, President Jonathan.
Nyako’s letter is not just unbecoming of a retired Admiral of the Nigerian Navy; it just does not make sense, which is why I called it a lunatic rant.
Boko Haram terrorists were created by failed political leaders of Arewa, such as Nyako. They are Arewa citizens of Nigeria, in cahoots with their relations, friends, associates and hirelings from across the border, killing, maiming, burning, looting, annihilating, abducting and slaughtering innocent Nigerians who are mostly Arewa Muslims like themselves in a core Arewa enclave. Because they are our countrymen marauding a part of our country, President Jonathan mobilised the armed forces to flush them out. It is his constitutionally bounded duty to do so. If he fails to do it we will send him out of Aso Villa.
Jonathan has handled the crisis, as some say, with kid gloves, perhaps mindful of the inciting blackmail that the likes of Nyako are ready to bandy. Jonathan started with police action, then limited military action, before he recently sent in a combined military operation.
Perhaps, his major fault is his refusal to sack the democratic structures headed by governors, some of whom have been reported to be Boko Haram funders. Nyako obviously knows all about genocides, because he was part and parcel of the Nigerian armed forces that massacred defenceless Igbo civilians in the North in the aftermath of the 1966 coups and also murdered many more inside Biafra. So he can talk.
But the good thing is that every decent Nigerian has condemned the shame of Murtala Nyako, a man sent to Dartmouth Royal Naval Academy, Englandin 1962 to become an officer and gentleman. Quite obviously, the training did not go beyond the surface of his skin.
How could such a character have attained the highest rank in the Nigerian Navy – an Admiral – without being seen for whom he really was? Obasanjo and Aminu should apologise to Nigerians for excavating and imposing him on the people of Adamawa State to cause trouble for Nigerians. Vanguard.

 

No right thinking Nigerian ‘ll accuse his President of genocide — Kalu

       

By Daniel Eteghe

LAGOS— Former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, yesterday said no right thinking Nigerian would accuse his President of genocide.

Orji Uzor Kalu

 

Orji was reacting to a memo written by Governor Murtala Nyako of Adawama State to Northern Governors’ Forum, alleging genocide against President Goodluck Jonathan, in view of the Federal Government’s war on terror.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, Kalu also called on the Federal Government to seek help from foreign countries such as the United States of America, Germany and others, in rescuing the over 200 female students abducted by members of Boko Haram sect from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.
The former governor said he could not ascertain why President Jonathan would want to kill the people he was ruling, stressing that the problem of Boko Haram was also affecting the President.
Cautioning Governor Nyako, Kalu said Nigerians should be mindful about whatever they say as some allegations were far too weighty to be joked with.
He said: “I have a lot of respect for Admiral Nyako but no right thinking Nigerian should be accusing his President of genocide.
“Why does he want to kill people that he is ruling, the president is weigh down by the problems. If you know where I live, the president is my neighbour and I know people don’t leave those compounds sometimes 3 am, sometimes 4 am. I think as politicians we should have restrain in what we say and what we don’t say.”
According to Dr. Kalu, the unity of the country was far bigger than anybody as nobody owns the country urging that politicians should see the unity of the country as something they should work together to build.
“So people like Nyako, I have a lot of respect for him, I cannot at this stage say that he was misquoted because I expected him, if he was misquoted to come out openly and say so because the unity of this country is more important than Nyako, than Jonathan, than Orji Kalu, this unity is more important than anybody, nobody owns this country, this country is for all of us, we have equal stake in this country, Jonathan just happens to be the president, Nyako just happen to be the governor, kwankwanso just happen to be Kano State governor so you can see Theodore A. Orji happens to be governor of Abia state and I happen to be ex-governor, you happen to be a journalist, so we have a chunk in the place, so it is not for anybody, it is like you see people from Ebonyi they will tell you that Elechi is not doing anything, it is not true , Nigeria is the only country been govern by rumour, once people don’t like you maybe once you don’t give egunje you are now a very bad man” Kalu said.
Speaking on the 200 abducted students, Dr. Kalu affirmed that Nigeria military lack intelligence wondering why after some days the location of where the abducted female students are could not be located by the Nigerian government.
“The military are playing their role now but they lack intelligence, military are supposed to have surveyor intelligence, people with good intelligence, ask them to shoot, they go ahead and shoot, so we have not done the right thing by just giving guns to them, we are pursuing Boko Haram with guns, it is not the right thing to do”
“I want both the Federal Government and the Service Chiefs to work more on intelligence, it is not work of gun, I know what I am saying because I have witness some services of international intelligent agencies, what we are having here is not what they have, they are just not doing intelligence right and I still believe that intelligence are not right, if the intelligence were right, even where those girls are now supposed to have been located” he said.
He further called on the government to involve the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in America and other countries to bring to an end the menace of Boko Haram in the country.
According to him, “You cannot do this business without the Musak and without the CIA, I say this time without number, anybody thinking that Nigeria will be an enemy to America, we have to be best friend of America, we have to be best friend of the UK, we have to be best friend of Germany and we have to be best friend of China, we have to be best friend of the successful people so that we can be successful ourselves, so only when these best friends are involved, intelligence will come because these guys have gone up there, they have technology, the google earth, the one use by American military and American intelligent agencies are very superior, with their help, by now, we supposed to have found indication where these girls are and where they are been stationed and how they were removed, 200 people is not a joke to be remove, we suppose to have a track, a clue where and how they were removed, it is not an easy thing to move 200 people on the street”
 

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - MONDAY- 28/04/2014 - LIVING ABOVE THE STORMS BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

LIVING ABOVE THE STORMS

Memorise

And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israe

MESSAGE

Meteorologists have observed that there are different kinds of storms. The nature of these storms varies by their location. Some places are stormier than others. Storms also vary in strength, the level of danger they pose and the extent of damage they cause. Relating this to life’s situations, storms can take different forms in the life of a person. A storm could be economic, political, financial, social to name but a few. The storms of life put men under intense pressure and have the capacity to toss them to and fro. Although storms may be an undesirable natural phenomenon, their occurrence has some great advantages for human life and the environment. Similarly, the storms of life have hidden advantages too. Men have found ways to predict storms and have devised methods to control and reduce the level of damage they cause. By applying different precautionary measures, people are able to survive the impact of storms. If such measures have proved successful, how much more will God’s safeguards protect us from the storms of life?

One of the titles of our Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. He has the power to calm or stop any storm. In Matthew 14:22-32, Jesus instructed His disciples to get into the ship and cross over to the other side. Midway into the journey, a storm arose threatening to sink their boat. This kind of storm is opposed to progress. It could be a form of opposition on the journey to marriage, in the path of ministerial progress, on the course of a career line or in life generally. The intervention of Jesus brings calmness into any storm. A storm confronted the men upon whom the future of the church depended. It was not only a threat to their lives but also a threat to their destiny and assignment. Storms can challenge progress no matter the Commitment put into the journey so far. The disciples had left everything to follow Jesus, yet a storm beat against their direction of progress. It is very dangerous to be caught by a storm on the sea of life without Jesus in the boat. The advantage the disciples had was that they had a relationship with the Lord. So when the storm arose against them, the all-knowing Master was quick to intervene. If the obedience of the disciples faced a storm on the sea, what is the hope of those on a journey of disobedience? Divine presence is the secret of living above the storms of life. When Jesus is reigning in your life, against all odds, you will surely get to your destination in life. Are you willing to allow Christ to bring the power of His presence into the storms of your life just like the disciples did in John 6:21? Your willingness to receive and allow Him is very important.

PRAYER POINT

Father let your presence put an end to every storm in my life.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Revelation 1:1-3:13; Psalm 91

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - FRIDAY- 25/04/2014 - GREATNESS IS COSTLY BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

GREATNESS IS COSTLY

MEMORISE

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Acts 10:38

READ

Judges 13:2-5

2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.

3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

MESSAGE

God is in the business of making champions out of men and He is already making some people champions. However, there are some people who may not want to become champions. You may wonder why. It is because the cost of becoming a champion is very high! In those days when I used to be a boxer, when you are preparing for a tournament, there were certain things you had to do. For example, you would wake up by 5 a.m. and do some road walks. You beat the air while you jog. You cannot eat certain foods when you are preparing for a championship. To be a champion is not an easy thing. To remain a champion is even harder. When you become a champion, there are several people who will be seeking to dethrone you.

It is beautiful to be a champion but it is better to be made a champion by God. It means having God as your coach and that means every little thing you do, God as your coach will magnify it into something big. In the scripture, we find champions who did little things, but God decided to magnify whatever they did. In Exodus 14:21, Moses lifted his hand over the Red Sea and went to sleep. By the time he woke up the following morning, the sea had become an expressway. In 1 Samuel 17:45-50, David slung a stone and the next thing we discover is that Goliath was dead. To become a great person therefore, all you need to do is to allow your Senior Partner and Coach breathe into your little effort and all that represents Goliath in your life will begin to fall. As a champion being moulded by God, if God asks you to go out and preach, you must go out and preach. If He asks you to follow-up converts, you must obey. If he asks you to fast, you must fast. If He says He does not want you to fast, you must obey. You should do exactly what He wants. There is no room for you to be directed by any other person apart from Him. In Matthew 6:24, He said if you are going to be great, there is no room for divided loyalty.

”No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

As a divine champion, after you prosper, your prosperity must not replace God. The only way to ensure this is that as you make it, you must be willing to let it go. If you want to be great, you must realise that the blessing is not for you to begin to build material things around yourself. No matter the opposition to your greatness, you will always win and sing joyfully.

KEY POINT

A great person sees every mountain as a potential testimony.

Jonathan More Intelligent Than Most Nigerians Put Together, Says Ogbemudia

President Goodluck Jonathan is experiencing turbulent times in his leadership of the country because he has stepped on toes in the process of executing his Transformation Agenda, a two-time ex-governor of the defunct Bendel State, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia has said.

According to him, “Jonathan is more intelligent than many of us put together. He is pushing the programmes to transform Nigeria and those who do not want change are opposed to him. In the process of transforming the country he is stepping on people’s toes and they are opposed to him”.
Dr Ogbemudia, who also described the current Minister of Works, Arc. Mike Onolememen as the “best Minister of Works since 1960”, urged Jonathan to give the Minister five more years because “I have drove through llesha-Ife-Ibadan-Abeokuta-Lagos Road and the Minister is a blessing to Nigeria and Edo state in particular. And if he is given another five years, potholes and bad roads will be a thing of the past in Nigeria”.
While lamenting that despite the laudable programmes of the Goodluck Jonathan administration, some Nigerians are still not happy, the retired Army General asserted that “when you see the Benin-Lagos-Shagamu road you will no doubt come to the conclusion that a great percentage of the transformation is on the way.
“Before now, from Benin-Lagos, none was tarred except small plantation, about four miles, all others red earth and when you get to Lagos you are red unless you tie some napkins over your head.
“So I think that Jonathan should be allowed to complete his job, we should give him the maximum support we can so that when it is our turn, his supporters will also support us”, he pleaded.
Ogbemudia noted that the president was having sleepless nights working on how he could put Nigeria back on track, therefore, he should not be distracted.
He added: “They should keep away from him those people who are pursuing their personal interest”.
When asked if he will support Onolememen for governorship in Edo state come 2016, Ogbemudia stated that “he has not told me he is running for governorship. You don’t back people who don’t tell you about their ambition. Apart from that because he has done well in one sector does not mean that he will do well in other sectors”.
The former governor instead stressed the need for the minister to remain in his current position where he can make “Nigeria proud” rather than “make things difficult for himself” by vying for the Edo governorship seat.

7 Things Remarkably Happy People Do Often

Happiness: everyone wants it, yet relatively few seem to get enough of it, especially those in their early forties. (I'm no psychologist, but that's probably about when many of us start thinking, "Wait; is this all there is?")

Good news and bad news: unfortunately, approximately 50 percent of your happiness, your "happiness set-point," is determined by personality traits that are largely hereditary. Half of how happy you feel is basically outside your control.
Bummer.
But, that means 50 percent of your level of happiness is totally within your control: relationships, health, career, etc. So even if you're genetically disposed to be somewhat gloomy, you can still do things to make yourself a lot happier.
Like this:


1. Make good friends.
It's easy to focus on building a professional network of partners, customers, employees, connections, etc, because there is (hopefully) a payoff.
But there's a definite payoff to making real (not just professional or social media) friends. Increasing your number of friends correlates to higher subjective well being; doubling your number of friends is like increasing your income by 50 percent in terms of how happy you feel.
And if that's not enough, people who don't have strong social relationships are 50 percent less likely to survive at any given time than those who do. (That's a scary thought for loners like me.)
Make friends outside of work. Make friends at work. Make friends everywhere.
Make real friends. You'll live a longer, happier life.

2. Actively express thankfulness.
According to one study, couples that expressed gratitude in their interactions with each other resulted in increases in relationship connection and satisfaction the next day--both for the person expressing thankfulness and (no big surprise) for the person receiving it. (In fact, the authors of the study said gratitude was like a "booster shot" for relationships.)
Of course the same is true at work. Express gratitude for employee's hard work and you both feel better about yourselves.
Another easy method is to write down a few things you are grateful for every night. One study showed people who wrote down 5 things they were thankful for once a week were 25 percent happier after ten weeks; in effect they dramatically increased their happiness set-point.
Happy people focus on what they have, not on what they don't have. It's motivating to want more in your career, relationships, bank account, etc. but thinking about what youalready have, and expressing gratitude for it, will make you a lot happier.
And will remind you that even if you still have huge dreams you have already accomplished a lot--and should feel genuinely proud.

3. Actively pursue your goals.
Goals you don't pursue aren't goals, they're dreams, and dreams only make you happy when you're dreaming.
Pursuing goals, though, does make you happy. According to David Niven, author of 100 Simple Secrets of the Best Half of Life, "People who could identify a goal they were pursuing(my italics) were 19% more likely to feel satisfied with their lives and 26 percent more likely to feel positive about themselves."
So be grateful for what you have... then actively try to achieve more. If you're pursuing a huge goal, make sure that every time you take a small step closer to achieving it you pat yourself on the back.
But don't compare where you are now to where you someday hope to be. Compare where you are now to where you were a few days ago. Then you'll get dozens of bite-sized chunks of fulfillment--and a never-ending supply of things to be thankful for.

4. Do what you excel at as often as you can.
You know the old cliché regarding the starving yet happy artist? Turns out it's true: artists are considerably more satisfied with their work than non-artists--even though the pay tends to be considerably lower than in other skilled fields.
Why? I'm no researcher, but clearly the more you enjoy what you do and the more fulfilled you feel by what you do the happier you will be.
In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Anchor says that when volunteers picked, "...one of their signature strengths and used it in a new way each day for a week, they became significantly happier and less depressed."
Of course it's unreasonable to think you can chuck it all and simply do what you love. But you can find ways to do more of what you excel at. Delegate. Outsource. Start to shift the products and services you provide into areas that allow you to bring more of your strengths to bear. If you're a great trainer, find ways to train more people. If you're a great salesperson, find ways to streamline your admin tasks and get in front of more customers.
Everyone has at least a few things they do incredibly well. Find ways to do those things more often. You'll be a lot happier.
And probably a lot more successful.

5. Give.
While giving is usually considered to be unselfish, giving can also be more beneficial for the giver than the receiver. Providing social support may be more beneficial than receiving it.
Intuitively I think we all knew that because it feels awesome to help someone who needs it. Not only is helping those in need fulfilling, it's also a reminder of how comparatively fortunate we are--which is a nice reminder of how thankful we should be for what we already have.
Plus, receiving is something you cannot control. If you need help--or simply want help--you can't make others help you. But you can always control whether you offer and provide help.
And that means you can always control, at least to a degree, how happy you are--because giving makes you happier.

6. Don't single-mindedly chase "stuff."
Money is important. Money does a lot of things. (One of the most important is to create choices.)
But after a certain point, money doesn't make people happier. After about $75,000 a year,money doesn't buy more (or less) happiness. "Beyond $75,000... higher income is neither the road to experience happiness nor the road to relief of unhappiness or stress," say the authors of that study.
"Perhaps $75,000 is the threshold beyond which further increases in income no longer improve individuals' ability to do what matters most to their emotional well-being, such as spending time with people they like, avoiding pain and disease, and enjoying leisure."
And if you don't buy that, here's another take: "The materialistic drive and satisfaction with life are negatively related." Or, in layman's terms, "Chasing possessions tends to make you less happy."
Think of it as the bigger house syndrome. You want a bigger house. You need a bigger house. (Not really, but it sure feels like you do.) So you buy it. Life is good... until a couple months later when your bigger house is now just your house.
New always becomes the new normal.
"Things" only provide momentary bursts of happiness. To be happier, don't chase as many things. Chase a few experiences intead.

7. Live the life you want to live.
Bonnie Ware worked in palliative care, spending time with patients who had only a few months to live. Their most common regret was, "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."
What other people think--especially people you don't even know--doesn't matter. What other people want you to do doesn't mater.
Your hopes, your dreams, your goals... live your life your way. Surround yourself with people who support and care not for the "you" they want you to be but for the real you.
Make choices that are right for you. Say things you really want to say to the people who most need to hear them. Express your feelings. Stop and smell a few roses. Make friends, and stay in touch with them.
And most of all, realize that happiness is a choice. 50 percent of how happy you are lies within your control, so start doing more things that will make you happier.

 

 

 

•  

Obamas Get Some Extra Attention at Easter Church Service in D.C.

WASHINGTON - The Obama family today attended an Easter service in the capital, drawing special attention from the pastor and a warm reception from the congregation.
The first family's decision to skip church on Christmas Eve and Christmas while on vacation in Hawaii four months ago did not go unnoticed, among media outlets both religious and mainstream. Today, they made up for lost church time.

The Obamas made a short trip to the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church (which is actually off 16th St. NW, after moving over 30 years ago), eschewing St. John's Episcopal, a church traditionally visited by presidents that sits across Lafayette Square from the White House, where the Obamas have attended church services in the past along with a few other area houses of worship.
A tan-suited President Obama and the first family sat in the second row of a middle section of pews.
The Obamas received some extra attention from the pastor, Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, who directed part of a prayer at the first family, asking God to "surround our president … Bestow upon him a wisdom that indeed comes from you … Even yes, when the light of a flame turns into the harsh glare of criticism, tend to his spirit."
He also asked for heavenly attention to "sister Michelle" and offered thanks for God's "hedge of protection" around Sasha and Malia and asked that the church's "prayers might envelop them with love and encouragement."

The Obamas were mobbed by fellow churchgoers when Harkins encouraged attendees to greet those seated near them. Despite his explicit instructions to "stay where you are" and leave the first family alone, attendees bunched around the Obamas near the front of the church.
The first family smiled and shook hands with the congregation, and as phone photos were snapped and older women greeted the first daughters, Harkins gently admonished everyone to back off.
"Amen," he repeated several times, trying to move on to the rest of the service.
"I didn't know we had as many people seated in this front section," he said, later adding: "Y'all went and did exactly what I told you not to do," remarking on the first family's graciousness.
During a keyboard interlude between hymns, a man stood up and shouted, "God bless President Obama!" shaking his hands in the air. The congregation applauded.
The first family didn't acknowledge much of this extra attention, instead sitting quietly and declining to draw attention to themselves at the front of the medium-sized church

 

How Obama’s White House Lost Ukraine in a Few Stupid Steps

By Patrick Smith

No one wants to say so, but the Obama administration has backed the wrong horse in Ukraine, and the misguided wager is a big loss. It is hardly the president’s first failure on the foreign side, but it may prove the costliest of his many to date.

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For a while it was possible to pretend, just barely, that supporting the coup against Viktor Yanukovych, the elected president hounded into exile in February, would prove a sound judgment. Obama always came across as a welterweight in the ring with Vladimir Putin, simply not up to the Russian leader’s command of all available moves. But one could imagine Secretary of State Kerry clearing an exit corridor with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Related: With Ukraine on the Brink, the West Plays the Long Game
For a while it looked as though the provisional government in Kiev might prove worthy of bailout funds from the U.S., the European Union, and the International Monetary Fund, despite the new regime’s legitimacy problems. Putin took (back) Crimea and prompted little more than impotent bleating, true. But there was hope that this new bunch could hold together what remained of the nation at least until the elections scheduled for May 25.
It is all by the boards now. Regardless of how you may construe these past six months in Ukraine, we have just watched a failed effort to wrest the nation straight out of Russia’s sphere of influence and insert it into the West’s. It is now easy to conclude that the second-term Obama White House has not one foreign policy success to its credit and none in prospect. (The first term looks little better, for that matter.)

Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Mideast, Syria, China, and probably Iran in coming months: Nothing ad hominem here, but figuratively speaking, the failure-prone Kerry has crashed more helicopters in the desert than Jimmy Carter ever ordered airborne.
Success in Ukraine was never in the cards for this administration. But it slipped beyond all grasp late last week, when the provisionals ordered a military operation to quell dissent in the numerous eastern cities where pro–Russian sentiment tends to be strong. Touching and pathetic all at once, an account of the result is worth reading simply as a reality check.
Related: Why Germany and Poland Are Winners in the Ukraine Crisis
There is no coming back when your soldiers and security forces not only refuse orders once in the east, but volunteer their ammunition, guns, tanks, artillery, and personnel carriers to the locals, saying they have no stomach for the mission. Readers may disagree, but I will never take the provisionals in Kiev as other than the opportunistic imposters I took them to be from the first. The first conclusion here: Kiev should get no money from anyone until a proper government is elected to office.
Next came the agreement Washington, the E.U., Moscow, and the provisionals negotiated in Geneva last Thursday. Instantly it appeared to make even less difference than the little it was first expected to.
Related: Why Putin’s Adventure in Ukraine is Doomed
Washington immediately complained that Russia refused to call off its operatives in the east, who are supposedly to blame for all the unrest. Three big problems here.

1. Russia’s role is not completely clear, but when there are 40,000 Russian troops stationed around the Eastern perimeter of Ukraine, it gives insurgents a lot of confidence.
2. It stretches credibility to suggest that the residents of eastern Ukraine are empty-headed such that Moscow has them all playing the same music without any thought of their own.
3. Three, a firefight Sunday at a roadblock in the east almost certainly involved paramilitaries in support of the provisionals. Moscow asserted that they were from Right Sektor, the neo-fascists who rammed the provisionals into power three months back. It is a sad measure of Kiev’s credibility, but in any detached judgment the Russians’ account cannot be dismissed. If true, it took Kiev three days to breach the Geneva agreement.

Obama took an extraordinary step Saturday, and again there seems no turning back from it. As The New York Times reported, the president has just declared Cold War II, having concluded that there is no working with Putin even if a solution in Ukraine develops.
Related: Why Germany and Poland Are Winners in Ukraine Crisis
The project is to “ignore the master of the Kremlin, minimize the disruption Putin can cause,” and “effectively make Russia a pariah state.” All of this is advanced as position-of-strength imagery and strategy.
It can be read as such only by the gullible. Turn this around and Obama has just announced a pout that amounts to his surrender to a statesman who has boxed his ears in every round.
Apart from this, it is compounding error to bring back the confrontation at the Cold War’s core. Just as wrong is NATO’s new plan to push its presence as close to Russia’s frontiers as it can.
Are we now watching the start of another generation of needless tension and division between Europe and its easterly neighbor? It is the obvious risk as of this past weekend, and it is already evident the economic costs will be formidable: wasteful military and security spending, redundant infrastructure in the hundreds of billions of dollars, opportunity costs that simply cannot be calculated.
Most immediately, Washington and the European allies ought to be reversing course and turning Ukraine into a field of cooperation with Russia by way of a commonly supported bailout devoid of geopolitical motivation. This kind of thinking is now antique idealism, of course—something to hang in a museum.

A decade and a half into a new century and the place of foreign policy has already shifted. A good one is essential to any nation’s well-being in this new era. As things stand now, Ukraine is due to show us the damage a bad one can do.