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The Mao Zedong Model

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  Mao Zedong, popularly known as Chairman Mao, was successful with his noble goals for China through despotic means. His leadership was severe, dictatorial and personalized. For as long as Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution lasted, thousands of Chinese died of starvation and inhuman labor. Mao and his co-travelers argued that the same was the price their people had to pay for re-education. This brand of governance ensured the extermination of the heroes of the civil war and the old party chieftains by the President's armed squad. Chairman Mao is perhaps the role model of those who hold sway in Nigeria today. Indeed, some state governors, are  among several other political office holders, who adore the President. Those in support of this argument insist that on a number of occasions, kneeling  down to greet and/or consult with the President are common place.  They maintain that this is only a sign of respect in the traditional African setting. However, those against this order o
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The True Vine

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  There is no distinction between the vine and its branches. From the moment it emerges from the soil, the vine begins to spread. It is its branch. To belong to Jesus Christ is to be part of the true vine. For this reason, we can pray in complete confidence, because when our wills are united with his, we will pray as part of the living vine. The image of Jesus Christ is all about growth, which happens organically, from within the very substance of the vine. Nourished by the sun, by rain and chemicals which feed it from the soil in which it is planted, the vine forces its way into the light. We have here an image of growth which gives us a powerful understanding of what it means to belong to Jesus Christ
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Teachers' Day-Oyo teachers pledge continued loyalty to state governor

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  Teachers in Oyo state have pledged their continued loyalty to the state governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde for his good deeds to them. The teachers made this pledge on Saturday through the chairman of the state wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers(NUT), Comrade Raji Oladimeji during the 2024 World Teachers Day celebration in Ibadan, Nigeria. ''On behalf of all the teachers in Oyo state, I say thank you father, we will remain loyal. We appreciate the governor for so many things he has done for us. Kindly permit me to mention a few of the laudable achievements so far recorded since the assumption of office as the Executive Governor of Oyo state: 1)Prompt and regular payment of teachers' salaries on the 25th day of every month or earlier should that date fall on a holiday or weekend; 2)Payment of N25,000 palliative to teachers since October 2023, to cushion the negative effect of the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government. 3)Mass promotion of qualifed secondary school tea
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Thomas Birch Freeman

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  Thomas Birch Freeman, who was the son of an African father and an English mother, was born in 1809. At an early age, Birch Freeman was accepted into the Methodist Church. He began a missionary career on the then Gold Coast (now Ghana). On his arrival in Badagry, Nigeria, he discovered that there was no Church. Without being discouraged, he started his evangelism under a tree. Afterward, he built a missionary house, while he was among those assisting him build a place of worship. Having spread the gospel satisfactorily in Badagry, he moved on to Abeokuta, where he conducted the first Christian service in the ancient town, in front of Oba Sodeke's palace.
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Private school teachers in Nigeria lament poor salaries

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  Teachers in prim ary and secondary schools in Nigeria have expressed worries over their poor salaries and despicable conditions of service. The teachers, who lamented that they were experiencing great difficulties in meeting up with their domestic obligations, stressed that the new minimum wage of N70,000 may not be realistic in a number of private schools in the country. Mrs. Memuna Ibrahim, a teacher in the Lube area of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) disclosed that salaries in private schools were very ridiculous,''most of these schools pay below N25,000'' However, Ejembi Ada, a teacher in a private school in Akwanag in Nasarawa state, maintains that most private schools don't issue letters of appointment and conditions of service, these schools treat teachers like casual workers.'' Interestingly, Matthew Audu, a teacher in a private secondary school in Lokoja, Kogi state, noted that the poor treatment of teachers in private schools has
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Prisoners of Debt

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  People are uncomfortable with language, which suggests hierarchies and power relationships. However, we are happier with the language of equality. None of us is entirely happy with the thought of being a prisoner of a servant. These are words which have few honorable associations with us.  So what is the mystery which Christ proclaims ? It is precisely the liberty we most desire, a liberty which is a mystery or infinite treasure because it makes us all members of the body of Christ. In Christ, we are offered the true equality of belonging. These days it is very difficult for people to feel that they belong to anything. We are deeply scarred by the kinds of greed or apathy which set whole communities against each other. Let us pray for global healing between nations which have made servants of each other and prisoners of debt; let us pray for world unity.  
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Economic Hardships-Workers in Nigeria should celebrate life-Labor Leader

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  Workers in Nigeria have every cause to celebrate being alive and faced with the excruciating economic hardships in the country. The assertion was made by the chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union and Associated Institutions(NASU) University College Hospital(UCH)branch, Ibadan, Nigeria, Comrade Kehinde Abiona. ''My own position is that anyone that is alive today has every cause to celebrate, basically for the gift of life in the present harsh economic climate in the country. Workers in Nigeria have every cause to celebrate being alive. The economy is biting very hard. However, one thing I want to appreciate the Federal Government for, is the prompt payment of the new minimum wage of N70,000. We at UCH have already received the new minimum wage for September. Comrade Abiona also appealed to the Federal Government to take urgent steps to salvage the very disturbing economic situation in the country, saying ''I appeal to the government to ensure good livin
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Oyo Government not taking our welfare seriously-Health Workers

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  Some health workers in Oyo state have expressed reservations over the continued delay of the state government to meet their demands. The health workers, who are members of the Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals(NUAHP), Hospital Management Board unit, lamented that the state government ''is not taking our welfare seriously.'' ''The state government has continued to treat health workers on its payroll with levity. We are not happy about this, the government should urgently address our demands, they stated. However, the chairman of the unit, Comrade Olanrewaju Ajani disclosed that of all the demands of the health workers, the state government had only reviewed the hazard allowance. ''Before the 21-day ultimatum we gave the state government on 4th March 2024 elapsed, the government appealed to us to be patient. We appeal to the state government to do something on time. We have provided enough evidence. It is only the hazard allowance that has bee
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We want a Living Wage-Federal workers

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  Federal workers in Nigeria have vowed to reject any amount that does not translate to a living wage. The workers made this vow through the former chairman of the Oyo state council of the  Trade Union Congress(TUC), Comrade Andrew Emelieze. ''We call for justice, we demand a decent, fair and just living wage for the federal work force. We will resist and reject anything less than a living wage. Our government should also not forget to clear all outstanding arrears owed to the federal workers. We specially call on the NLC/TUC to be very reasonable and pragmatic in their negotiation for a new national minimum wage. We are in total support of the position of the NLC/TUC for a yearly review of the national minimum wage,'' Comrade Emelieze stated.
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Ceaseless Prayers

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 Let us pray ceaselessly for God to open the eyes of those who have political power and have become committed to unjust economic policies and deep social injustices.  Amos 8:4-14 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, 5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? 6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;  yea , and sell the refuse of the wheat? 7 The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. 8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as  by  the flood of Egypt. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in t
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