A Trip to Beautiful and Scenic Yankari Game Reserve in Bauchi State, Nigeria

The Yankari National Park is the premier game reserve in Nigeria. Yankari Park and Wikki Warm Springs are located around the Gagi River, approximately 1 1/2 hours by road, southeast of Bauchi Town. The beauty and size of The Yankari Game Reserve make it the most pop­ular reserve in Nigeria. Set up in 1956 and opened to the public in 1962, the main game-viewing areas of the reserve are open all year round - http://www.nigeriaembassyukraine.com.ua/yankari_game_reserve.htm

Beautiful Yankari Game Reserve located in the heart of Bauchi State's Alkaleri LGA , brings to me both cherished and not-so-great  memories. Coming in from Gombe State Airport ( unfortunately Bauchi State does not have an airport so you must choose between Jos Airport in Plateau State and Gombe State Airport),  you take about a 90- 120 minute drive to the junction where you turn into the Yankari  Game Reserve (YGR) road. The air is clean and there is a great deal of greenery as you take the drive up to YGR. Actually, as we drove up to the reserve it drizzled for short while and everything smelled fresh and pleasant.

When you get to the gate of the reserve, you will need to drive another  41 km or so to reach the the YGR camp where the hotel, training rooms and other buildings are located.  YGR is located over a 100km from Bauchi - the state capital.

As we embarked on the drive from the gate to the camp, I had mixed feelings. I did not know what to really expect but the there was a lot to see as we drove on - Guinea Fowls strolling  majestically from one side of the road to the other; their feathers glistening. We tried to maintain the speed limit of between 30-50km per hour. Obviously, some other driver may not have observed the suggested speed limit as we found one of the beautiful birds squashed to death on the tarmac.

The ride was very smooth, no potholes as the road was well and evenly tarred all the way to the camp. We also found many monkeys who ran deeper into the bush as we approached. We  saw what looked like Gazelles moving in a herd as we drove along.

When we got to the camp and the reception, we saw beautiful bungalows painted in a dark mud colour.  We were given keys to the outhouses, not very close to the reception. Apparently, many groups were having training workshops here and the better accommodation closer to the reception  area were all occupied.

When we got to where our assigned  rooms were located we were greeted by a colony of baboons. Great, we thought, we  were afterall, in a game reserve. I recalled my visit almost a decade ago to a game park in Kenya's Naivasha region in the Rift Valley. We also stayed in bungalows and often at night, the Hippos would come around and we would find  huge fresh droppings around our room doors as we emerged in the morning.

The difference here was that,  as we found in the rooms of some of my colleagues, the baboons actually find their way into the rooms. We could see their paw marks on the walls. In one of the rooms, they had actually removed  a ceiling board in the bathroom and the bathroom was strong with the stench of the baboons.

Wikki Warm Spring. Photo By Hammed Adefioye

We got rather worried when we found that in their desperate scavenging for food, they would quite effortlessly slide open windows and  even doors if these are not tightly secured. In fact one of the men informed us that the baboons were more likely to snatch bags from women whom he described as the "weaker sex". I wondered if baboons needed to be sensitized on gender issues until another explained that the apes were more likely to grab a bag from a woman because they  have found from experience that women are less likely to attack them or to retaliate. It was quite comic when a baboon stealthily entered the conference room and removed a bowl of Massa (a rice-based cake popular as a breakfast staple in Bauchi State). We also found a number of warthogs around the residential area of the game park. These herbivores generally minded their own business as they moved around the grounds.

There is a well stocked shop  with grocery  and other essential items as well as  a  museum and restaurant.  The tennis court which is closer to the meeting rooms needs some attention but seemed otherwise okay

The other minus we encountered in the reserve was fact that they did not have access to PHCN-generated power. The generator worked only from about 6am to 6pm in the hotel rooms; though the meeting rooms were supplied with power during the day. The camp is very large and so generating power only with generators can be capital intensive and would drain the little revenue that the reserve generated as a tourist center.  It was therefore not unusal that the camp grounds remained in pitch darkness when night fell. The only lights came from the outlying chalets and residential buildings. The darkness can be quite unnerving on your first night but as you stay longer, you kind of get used to it.

The Bauchi State government needs to look closely at this as well as issues of water supply and maintenance if the  reserve is to become a good revenue earner. The YGR is scenic and beautiful and has huge potential if well managed. Perhaps, a private firm with a good record can be contracted to run it? If well run, it would not only  bring in revenue for the state but also provide employment for the people of Bauchi State. While we were there, we saw a few foreign tourists  and a lot of other people including children, swimming at the  Wikki Warm Spring which is one of the great attractions of this reserve. The spring maintains a steady temperature of about 31 degrees centigrade. It is a beautiful and rare gem  and in addition, there is an ancient cave nearby.

We only really started to enjoy the facility after we were moved to the hotel rooms closer to the reception which had metal meshes to keep out the baboons and other creatures out.

For one thousand naira (about $7) only per person or six thousand naira (about $40) for a group of about six persons, you could enjoy a two-hour drive in the reserve vehicles through the forest trails and have the opportunity to view the Elephants and Lions; on a good day.

As a public relations professional, I saw in my mind's eye, what do reserve could look like if the State government decides to turn the place around. Yankari Game Reserve is an asset to the State Government and they ought to do something about it and bring it to global standards in order to encourage tourists to come in from Nigeria and all over the world. Issues of security will need to be beefed up and the State will need to work at providing an airport so that tourists can fly directly to Bauchi and take the about 100 km ride to the game reserve. helicopter rides to the reserve from "Bauchi Airport"  will make the Yankari Game Reserve even more attractive. As Nigeria seeks to diversify the sources of revenue ( beyond petroleum) tourism is one area we can work at. Cross River State is already working at this, and we need other States to do the same. WE need to show-off the beautiful aspects of our land and culture to the world and cut down on the negative press and the single negative narrative that Nigeria attracts.

Love, the Nigerian Way (I sincerely hope that things are changing)

Often, we as human beings love to stick to the traditional ways of doing things. This is the way we have always done it and this is the way we must continue. We weave tradition into our daily chores and they soon become habits that we fear to part with. Change comes very hard to many of us. We resist it with a tenacity that people who know us may find hard to believe. Some traditions are good: Family values for one; they can provide stability to young people trying to find a path through life. The familiar can provide refuge and solace in a hostile and insincere world.

But why do we resist positive change? Female circumcision is one I hardly can understand. It is still practiced in many parts of the world; in Africa; and Nigeria is not exempt. When performed under aseptic conditions, it could mean death to the young girl most often in her infancy. It is a painful process to have a part of one's body (a private, sensitive and sensual part excised). it is usually performed for the benefit of the future male partner; not because it has any health benefits for the woman. In fact, it often leads to some very unhealthy consequences especially in extremely violent cases such as infibulation. Why is this done to the female or girl-child? They say it is to limit or rule out promiscuity.

I could think of a host of other things that we must change in Nigeria - early marriage (girls), male preference, Nigeria's high maternal and child mortality due to preventable causes; amongst others.

The gendered division of labour is another one I totally disagree with. How can you say you love a woman and you know she was up even earlier than you;  she labored at work for longer hours than you did and when you both return home late at night, you have a warm shower, curl up with the dailies in a nice warm couch and turn on your favorite TV program. She begins another round of work (this time unremunerated and unsung and not captured in any of the economics books in terms of GDP  or any other indices).

As she enters through the door, she immediately removes her shoes, changes into home clothes and heads for the Kitchen - often referred to as the "wife's department". I have overheard many a Nigerian male commenting - "I don't intrude; that is my wife's domain" (the kitchen).

So, Mrs. Superwoman resumes her second round of duty in the heat of the kitchen while Mr 'loving husband' enjoys a refreshing ice cold soda in the air-conditioned sitting room.

Dripping with sweat,  she finally emerges to set the table, "honey" or more likely, "daddy Rhoda", dinner is served. Mr. Handsome Husband peeps over the the edge of the oversized newspaper and remarks, "I hope it's not rice again. I ate jollof rice this afternoon when Richard and I went out for lunch". Somewhat apologetically, Mrs. Superwoman replies, "Ah, I did not know O. Should I make something else for you?". Mr. Handsome Husband is slow to respond because something has caught his attention on the local news. Mrs. Superwoman, lingers in the dining area,waiting to gain the attention of Mr. Husband so that she can face her other chores.

Mr. Husband finally leaves the TV alone and turns to face his wife.  "if it is not too much, maybe you can make me a sandwich. That will be just fine as I am not so hungry anyway". Thank God he did not ask for pounded yam and egusi. So, Mrs drags her tired body back to the kitchen. She sighs inwardly. If she had her way, she would be curled up in bed reading the novel she borrowed from her friend last month. She has only been able to read one chapter so far. She prepares the sandwich, serves Mr. Husband who hardly notices her presence and she rushes upstairs to supervise Grace's homework.

After dinner and a late night movie, Mr Husband peeps  into Grace's room to say goodnight and heads for the bathroom for a warm shower. He slips into his well laundered pyjama bottom and sprawls out on the 6 by 6 master bed, waiting for Mrs to perform the last of her wifely duties. This is love the Nigerian style.I sincerely hope that I am wrong and that the modern,young Nigerian male is different; more caring and loving and will take note of the fact that Mrs or Mommy Grace is human and has interests that are important for her wellbeing.     
She does get tired sometimes.

I can see the guys arming themselves with the now familiar  catch phrase, "Mrs has a maid to assist her in the chores".

I was thinking about the question of change when I read the account written by Paul in Galatians 2 where he dwelt on the issue of whether the new gentile converts to Christianity suffered some level of stigma from the Jewish Christians because of the fact that they were uncircumcised. Jewish males are mandatorily circumcised on the 7th day.

It is interesting that the Apostles who had been with Christ and who knew without a shadow of doubt that they were saved by grace and not works, who knew that 'the just shall live by faith' (even Peter the Rock) were still held captive by the tradition of circumcision. Speaking in the flesh, they desired the new converts to be circumcised. Yet salvation is achieved through faith and not by works.

Thank God for Paul, who received the spiritual mandate and responsibility to preach the Gospel to the gentile nations. He stood his ground vehemently; even against a spiritual elder like Peter, insisting that the yoke of adhering to the law and traditions should not be imposed on the new gentile converts.

Change is not cheap and does not come easy. We need men and women, like Paul who can stand by the truth and what is fair and just; irrespective of the opposition.

Fruits of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

• Love
• Peace
• Joy
• Long-suffering
• Goodness
• Kindness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control

... By their fruits, you shall know them... Fruits conform the Christian to Christ's image.

The Fruits of the spirit have to do with our character traits that we display daily in our engagement with others and in our spiritual walk with Christ.

I recall when I first gave my life to Christ many years ago as an undergraduate, I desired the Lord with a passion. And then one day, while I was praying with my friends (a group of young believers too), something happened that I cannot forget till today. We were deep in the spirit and suddenly, a scream came out of my mouth and it was as though something was wrenched forcefully out of me. The scream was such that it drew students from the surrounding hostels - hostile boys who threatened to break down our room door, if we did not bring out the man we were harboring. God intervened and a few leaders from the campus fellowship came to our rescue and helped to disperse the crowd that gathered at our door.

Even as a very young Christian;    barely months old, I knew I had been delivered of demonic possession, oppression or depression or something akin to this. But for the next couple of months, rather than thank God for the deliverance, I went from one spiritual leader to the next asking questions. My fear was "was I really saved? if I was, how come that I still had anything of the devil in me?"

I was so worried. The doctrinal belief then was that at the point of salvation; when the spirit of God comes into you, the Holy Spirit eliminates all contrary spirits and things in your life. It was a time of deep torment to me and nobody could provide answers to my nagging questions. "If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature; old things  have passed away". This must be understood in context. Yes, you are a new Creature in Christ. The old man with evil ways will recede to the degree that you allow Christ's image to be formed in you; the degree that you yield to the Holy spirit.

"Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" is a call to Christians not unbelievers. It shows that there is great work to be done on the New Man. being "Born Again" does not imply a magical transformation; it requires a consciousness about the place of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives : Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and  self-control.

It is really amazing how that as a young Christian, there was so much emphasis on the Gifts of the Spirit rather than the Fruits of the Spirit which will enable us to conform to the image of Christ.

When we have the foundation of the Spiritual Fruits (which build the integrity of character in us and makes us Christ-like ), then we would be able to operate effectively with the Gifts of the spirit - which have more to do with operations, the tools you need to exercise authority and do the Christian work. That is why 1st Corinthians 13 is so apt. The fruits will abide with us through eternity but the gifts will end here on earth. In heaven, we will no longer need prophets and the gift of tongues; the action would have been taken to another level.

Bearing the fruits of the Spirit in our lives takes some discipline: Remaining in the presence of God, reading and living the word of God. Christ is the word and if we are to be like Him, then the word must abide in us. bearing the fruits of the Spirit means that we have yielded ourselves to the Holy Spirit. The Fruits do not come down and into our lives in one fell swoop just as the mango tree does not yield all of it's fruits to us all at once. We must remain near the tree, water it and even tend it over time. As the time becomes ripe, we enjoy the pleasures of the fruits.

The Greatest Time Traveller of all Time

I was a bit bored a week ago... Maybe, not so bored as tired. The last two years have been mega challenging. I feel sometimes as though the world around me is an oyster shell where I am totally alone and enclosed.  Like John the Baptist, I feel like a lone voice crying in the wilderness. I am not a lonely person. Being alone in my space allows me to experience God in more unique and spectacular ways.

I wonder why that in such an interconnected world, with billions of cyberspace-savvy individuals glued almost permanently to email, facebook, twitter and a host of others, interpersonal relationships have cracked down the middle. The 21st century human finds it almost impossible to nurture relationships around him or her but has millions of friends in cyberspace. Divorce rates even in the so called conservative African context  have shot through the roof. 

Many smartly dressed and upwardly mobile persons, wielding mobile phones of all shapes and sizes - BBs, Ipads - possess hearts that have suffered a serious condition of  atrophy. So many out there crave the human touch - eye contact that says, "stranger, though I have never met you but  as long as you're God's creation, I care"; a gentle touch on the shoulder; a smile...our fingers are so adept on laptops and iPads but lack the sensitivity to touch hearts and lives. We are poor in the heart business while our bank accounts continue to swell in dollars and Euros like  busted septic tanks spewing their filthy waste all around.

Dear reader, I digress. I set off to write about my visit to the bookshelf but my heart is very heavy tonight. I must write to stay alive.

So there I was, standing in front of a bookshelf overcrowded with books I am dying to read or re-read. The refrain that runs around  my brain these days is: "I am too busy to read; too tired to read; I have to work hard for the money".

I digress again. So sorry. So, there I am in front of the bookshelf. I survey the vast titles - women empowerment, Christian literature, English literature, English Syntax, history  - I lovingly caress my favourite books - Wuthering Heights,  Crime and Punishment... I wonder how such a gentle and peaceful woman could be enraptured by such tempestuous works. Could it be that I have fires burning that may erupt some day under standard temperature and pressure? Who knows!

Dear Reader, I am digressing  yet again. Perhaps you should put a rein on my thoughts..."I live because I write" or is it that 'I write because I live?'

So, there I am in front of the bookshelf. Some books are so mildewed...I skip them - Girls at War; I wonder how  Achebe ever came up with such a title. My fingers glide over other books - public relations,  corporate sustainability, my friend's work about Edo history. I sigh, I think of friends that touch one's life at a point in time and then disappear down the road; they disappear like vapour from  life's teapot or life's pot of  egusi soup. This is why I started thinking of the time traveller.

While still ruminating on whether to read Joyce Meyer's Battlefield of the Mind again, I spot this paperback publication in an attractive orange and white colour. Though very frayed at the edges, I nevertheless stand on tip-toe and stretch to pick it out of the rows and rows of neatly stacked books. I mutter under my breath,  "there is a time for everything under the sun". How come that in all these years, I do not remember ever reading H.G. Well's Selected Short Stories?

I reverently flip over the initial pages. Aha, there it is; my name and the city and date where and when I purchased the book – Calabar:  It brings back strong emotions and memories. The date reads 8th of May 2002. Is it a coincidence that I am writing this piece in May, nine years down the road?

I turn more pages and the “Time Machine” is the first chapter I come across. I wonder, 'did the writer of the movie,  The Time Traveller's Wife' receive his inspiration from Mr. Well's short story?

Intrigued,  I make a cup of tea and lay down on my bed with the title I have finally selected. Ready to travel through time and space in the pages of the book.

"...space, as our Mathematicians have it, is spoken of as having three dimensions, which one may call Length, Breadth and Thickness, and is always definable by reference to three planes, each at right angles to the others", observes the Time Traveler who is the chief protagonist of this strange tale.

He continues, "...why three dimensions particularly - why not another direction at right angles to the other three". Pursuing the same train of thought he argues, " there is no difference between Time and any of the three dimensions of Space except that our consciousness moves along it". Following on this argument, the Time Traveler invents a Time Machine that can take its passenger back and forth in time; sometimes at giddying speeds of one year per second.  

This ability to accelerate into the future and  and to go back into the historical domain reminded me of one of my most cherished Bible verses.  It states that God Almighty knows the end from the beginning. He can move with fluidity from the foundations of the earth (when chaos existed and the three- in-one Godhead held a conference on  the status of the earth and decidedly intoned, "Let there be...” and the awesome creation story was put into motion...And the invisible became visible. The invisible things are eternal, endless; while the visible world is transitory.

Unlike the Time Traveller, I believe that rather than being a linear line where you have only the past and the present, Time surrounds the other dimensions of space which because they are visible belong to the class of transitory elements – they are bound to get exhausted  and  to pass away.

Time is invisible;  thus, it is eternal. Every man and woman who wears the visible human body knows that the body will only live in a portion of the time resource which is very limited in comparison to the unlimited and inexhaustible resource that Time represents. The visible body which we see has restricted access to an average of 75 years  out of Time's  endless and inextinguishable expanse. When the earth body which is visible exhausts its allotment of the Time resource, it releases the invisible part of the man or woman – the part of the human  person which is eternal.

My conclusion is that God is not a time traveller who has access to only the past and present and cannot control his movement through the futuristic and historical realms. God owns Time. He is the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and end. His motion in Time is not linear. He can create time and stop time; He can even shorten Time and lengthen it for that matter. He controls all the dimensions of Space. He can reposition them and defy the laws of gravity [Jesus did and so did Elijah, and Enoch. In the case of the floating axe head, was it a defiance of gravity or  control of the laws of magnetism?] Truth is, God is the quintessential Time Traveller of all time.

When Jesus came down to earth, he came to demonstrate that human beings can operate like the Godhead. He said, if you have faith as little as mustard seed, you can command an inanimate object - a mountain - to be repositioned in time and space and it is bound to obey. He said we can do greater works than He did. We can also control time and make it work for us. We can  also shorten time, lengthen it and stop it by Faith.  Prophets constantly reach into the future to prepare people to face the future and to be prepared and in control.

May 14, 2011.

Crossing the Threshhold

For the better part of a week now, the Church body has been praying for a manifestation of the miraculous in our midst. We, by His Grace, have tried to maintain an unbroken prayer chain of 12 hours of prayers a day, from 12 midnight to 12 noon daily.

 While praying one of those mornings, God laid some things on my heart, which I felt I needed to share with the Body.

How can we hope to cross the threshold – move from the physical to the spiritual and miraculous  realm without FAITH?  Without faith, it  is impossible to please God and fundamentally, we cannot escape the fact that the Just shall, [and must] live by faith.  [Hebrews 10:38]].

Where  does that leave us? Let us look at the definition of faith is in the scriptures. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” [Hebrews 11:1]  Faith is the bridge with which you can cross from the physical to the spiritual realm; the realm of the miraculous.

To experience the miraculous, to step over the threshold of the physical into the realm of the miraculous, you must synchronise your heartbeat with the heartbeat of God. You must act on blind faith like Peter did when in a raging storm on a dark night, he took (what on the physical realm would be) a suicidal step; he stepped into the sea.  For  a brief and blind  moment in time he acted by faith. He synchronised his heartbeat with the heartbeat of his master Jesus; for one brief moment in time, faith operated in him to such a level that he took the plunge into nothingness… regardless.. because he had his eyes riveted on Jesus. [ Mathew 14: 29].

For you to step into the realm of the miraculous, there must exist a synchronicity between thought, word and action. It is our thought [processes], our thinking that becomes pregnant and bears the fruit of the word.  It is when you sow the word  and act based on these seed-words that the miraculous will manifest in the physical. In the Holy Trinity, the son does nothing outside of what he sees the father do. There is unity. No divisions between the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. For the miraculous to manifest, there must be  unity between thought, word and action. As a man thinks, so he is.

How did Peter connect so perfectly with the Master that he could take the plunge into a bottomless, raging sea  on a dark stormy night. Imagine the scenario; re-enact it in your mind – this was a stark, raving mad decision to take. But Peter connected with the master; at that moment, he crossed the threshold into the miraculous. What would have been considered the action of  a lunatic in the physical realm  became a miracle.

I said earlier that,  to experience the miraculous, to step over the threshold of the physical into the realm of the miraculous, you must synchronise your heartbeat with the heartbeat of God. What is the heartbeat of God? His heartbeat is his will, his desire, his purpose. You must become God’s love, His confidant. He must develop confidence in you to reveal his innermost thoughts to you. Then you will have connected with God as Peter did with Jesus and you can move from operating in the physical to operations in the spiritual and miraculous realm. When you synchronise with the heartbeat of God, connect with God, then you will “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2B)

Are you ready to take the plunge? Don’t take  a dive into the ocean at Bar Beach. Start with the little everyday things and build on your faith in the Lord.

Arit Oku,  January 26, 2006

Resurrection Power (The Force Behind the Easter Story)

Though often celebrated solemnly and sometimes quietly, Easter remains one of the most significant Christian celebrations. On Easter Friday, our Lord and savior Jesus Christ submitted to death on the cross in obedience to God's plan for mankind's redemption. In Jewish culture, this was one of the lowliest of deaths. It was not surprising that the creator of the universe, Jesus the Christ, was flanked by two common criminals  after he  was nailed to the cross at Golgotha.

The Easter story is one of the most fascinating I have ever heard;  as fascinating  as the birth of Jesus which the world celebrates with such pomp and  fanfare. 

What does Easter mean to me? The son of the Most  High God, humbled himself, was born onto this world. He manifested in human flesh but this did not make Him any less God. The bible says the fullness of the  godhead dwelt within the human form of Jesus who was fostered by Joseph, the carpenter. Joseph was the fiance of Jesus' mom - Mary who was chosen as God's vehicle to fulfill his plan of redemption for you and I and every other male and female on God's earth. Jesus was 100% man and 100% God as he grew up prancing down the roads and walks  of  the little town of  Nazareth  and until he completed his ministry at age 33 years.

The first time I really read and understood the Easter story was the time I gave my life to Christ. Suddenly, the scales literally fell from my eyes when the Holy Spirit increased my understanding of the spiritual issues. Previously, it was just a nice story or at best a Christian myth as intellectually inclined people are likely to describe it.

As the star actors/ actresses of the Easter story -  Judas Iscariot, the high priest - Caiaphas, Pilate and his wife as well as the Jews -  played the roles that they were scripted to play from the foundations of the world, they fulfilled several prophesies recorded in the scriptures long before the Easter events unfolded. Had they known...

What are the things that really, really excite me when I read the Easter story as a believer? The first thing is the fact that as the saviour of the world  writhed   in pain from the contemptible treatment he received from the self-same folks he came to save and from the nails that were driven into  different parts of his anatomy - darkness fell on the land  and  lasted from 12 noon to about 3pm.

Jesus cried out, "Eli, Eli lama sabachthani" which means "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me". Some bible scholars have explained that as the filth and sins of the world were heaped on his son, our thrice holy God turned his back on his son for that brief moment in time; and for Jesus, who had endured the unendurable, this was just too much!

Then, a divine and breathtaking  thing happened as Jesus died to  resurrect on the third day. He conquered death for us all. He became the first of an uncountable number of sons and daughters of God endowed with resurrection power.

The  bible records: "Then behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after  His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many" (Matthew 27:46-53). Resurrection power  was demonstrated  in full public glare.

Why did the temple curtain slit down the middle? The death and resurrection of Jesus brought an end to the era whereby only the High Priest  had the authority  to venture  behind the curtain into the Holy of Holies where God's presence was, represented by the ark of covenant and other Holy implements.  Others were relegated to the outer courts. Annually, the high priest  was the only human permitted to present  the blood of animals for the cleansing of the sins of the people in the Holy of Holies. Usually, the priest would approach this annual assignment with great trepidation. This was a very tricky business because even the High Priest was  a ‘man’ and so, also susceptible to sin. Since Adam, sin  had became part of man's make up or DNA. So, a rope would be tied around the waist of the priest with which they would drag the dead body of the priest out; just in case he did not make it out alive.

When Jesus the son of the Most High God who knew no sin, shed his blood on the cross of Calvary, it meant that the blood of the lamb that takes away the sins of the world was available for the forgiveness of the  sins of mankind; no matter how  hideous that sin may appear to human beings. The biblical principle is that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. All we are required to do is ask in faith. Then, the blood of Jesus would cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Thereafter, covered by the blood of Jesus, we have free entrance or access into God's presence - the Holy of Holies - and we can enter into His presence without fear. The blood of Jesus converts us from outcasts (separated from God because of our inherently sinful nature) to sons and daughters of God.

Thank God for the blood of Jesus that takes away the sins of the world! The bible puts it  succinctly: if by faith we believe and accept Jesus as our personal savior, 'we are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light (the kingdom of God's dear son, Jesus.) I am sure no one wants to hang around in darkness if he or she can be transferred into a light-filled domain at no cost. Jesus has paid the complete price for our redemption.

All quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible. 

MONEY: Making It, Enjoying It, and Giving It Away

For the first time in 2007, one Nigerian  made it into the annual publication by Forbes magazine of the world’s billionaires. While Bill Gates was dislodged from the  number one position he had enjoyed for some years (moving to third place) by  another American, investor Warren Buffett, Nigeria’s own renowned industrialist, Aliko Dangote slipped into the 334^th position [with a net worth of  US$ 3.3bn]. On the list of Africa’s billionaires, Dangote holds an enviable 5^th position. Other African billionaires include Egyptians Naguib Sawiris  and Nassef Sawiris  and  South Africa’s Nicky Oppenheimer and family. The African billionaires, most of them entrepreneurs, represent   wealth running into billions of dollars.

Having a Nigerian and a host of other Africans on this list is a good  thing as it presents a different face of Africa; a more promising and positive outlook from the usual stories of poverty, hunger, disease and corruption. Africa also boasts of the finest crop of forward thinking and visionary entrepreneurs and industrialists.

The vast majority of other Nigerians, can hardly comprehend such wealth; running into ten digits and above. Aliko Dangote and other wealthy Nigerians (and there are probably hundreds of others in this  category) have a rare chance to make history;  to use the advantage that they have to lead the fight against poverty, maternal and child mortality and morbidity, HIV and AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and the increasing problem of illiteracy. These are all high priority areas for Nigeria reflected in the  Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Almost every sector and facet of the Nigerian way of life needs some level of rehabilitation.   

There is a role that you can play as a Nigerian and you need not belong to the billionaire category to do something; to contribute to changing the circumstances around you; to become a philanthropist; to be concerned enough to contribute your quota to the fight against underdevelopment, poverty and death. The needs are so enormous that governments alone cannot solve all the problems; even if they had the political will to do so.

Nigeria currently has the 2^nd  highest maternal mortality ratio in the world; second only to India.  What this means is that  for many Nigerian women, pregnancy  often does not end in  rejoicing but in  death. More women are dying unsung in the underserved rural areas and some regions of the country. Many of these deaths can be easily prevented.

Let us take a closer look at the  HIV and AIDS  issue as an epitome of the development challenges that Nigeria is facing at the moment and the critical entry points through which support can be channeled.  Although the prevalence rates appear low, Nigeria ranks third in terms of the actual numbers of people infected with HIV after India and South Africa. Estimates indicate that nearly 4 million Nigerians are HIV positive.

According to the records (Nigeria UNGASS Report 2007),  only 16.67 percent of  adults and children with advanced HIV infection are accessing  Antiretroviral  (ARV) Therapy. Even for the privileged few who are able to access ARVs,  issues of sustainability arise; how to ensure continued access to these drugs becomes a key concern because they are expensive drugs (and out of the reach of  most of the people who really  need them to stay alive) and the government and donor sources may sometimes be difficult to access, irregular or even unavailable!  Ideally, once a person living with the virus commences use of ARVs, the treatment is meant to be sustained throughout the lifetime.

Unfortunately also, only  about 5 percent of  HIV positive pregnant women are benefiting  from the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission  (PMTCT) programme. This is a critical strategy  for truncating the spread of the virus. If  we could  ensure that all Nigerian babies are born AIDS-free, this would be a giant stride forward. This is not impossible to achieve either.

There is also the issue of  orphans and vulnerable children left behind as a result of the HIV and AIDS crisis. Less than 10 percent of  households of orphaned and vulnerable children aged 0-17 receive  basic external support in caring for the child or children. Unfortunately the hardest hit communities are facing the problem of children-headed households in scenarios where  the orphans are so many that the traditional extended families are no longer able to absorb any more children. In situations like this, even the basic necessities  of food, clothing and shelter are hardly assured and education may be completely out of reach. Some of these ‘abandoned’ children contribute to the growing street kid problem.

 These are just a few of the entry points where concerned Nigerians, philanthropists can extend a hand of support. There is a role to play as a donor, volunteer or advocate.

As noted elsewhere by Chinua Akukwe:  “A unique situation now exists for significant intervention in the fight against HIV/AIDS by the richest people in the world. It is possible to turn the superstar entrepreneurs and richest people of our time into superstar philanthropists in the fight against AIDS. The key to the intervention of the super rich is to narrow down areas of potential impact on AIDS relief so that they know they are making a significant and measurable difference” (emphasis added.)

As a philanthropist, you can map out the specific areas of interest or concern where you want to put your money  and working  with organizations like Sonflower Development Initiative (SDI), you can work out the details including choosing the  implementing organization and  performance indicators to measure step-by-step, the  change that you want your money to achieve. You can follow-up and be rest assured that your money is achieving the value that you want. In this way, you will not only be  investing in the future of others but  saving  precious lives.

Nigerian cultures, historically have been caring and nurturing cultures -  caring for the extended family, for  members of the clan, for  the sick and aged; and for widows, orphans and vulnerable children. Modernization, the struggle to survive in a very stifling socio-economic context as well as the massive rural-urban shift has tended to erode these positive aspects of Nigerian cultures.

Philanthropy is derived from the Latin philanthrōpia,  and Greek, philanthrōpos, which refer to love of mankind in general.  Philanthropy is defined as an activity performed with the goal of promoting the well-being of fellow men and women. Philanthropy refers to planned giving – to  acts of dispensing and or receiving aid in the form of a gift from individuals or groups; in other words, enabling flow of resources from  those who have, to help the poor, needy and underprivileged and to support development.   

Development work in the form we know it today,  involving a variety of actors – not for profits (non-governmental organisations –NGOs),  religious organisations and charities as well as multi and bilateral donor agencies, individual givers, volunteers and a host of other players work within the boundaries  and parameters of philanthropy -  the need to care for the weak, the less privileged, the poor and vulnerable and to engender development and growth. So far, the resources for this kind of work in Nigeria have been largely provided by donors, foundations and charities based in Europe and the Americas. 

But as many more Nigerians begin to enjoy business success and prosperity, there is a need to look inwards.  In the words of Akukwe, let’s turn our “superstar  Nigerian entrepreneurs and richest people of our land  into superstar philanthropists in the fight against [underdevelopment and poverty]”.

The American, Henry Ford established philanthropies that have outlived him and still carry out his vision. Andrew Carnegie, a renowned philanthropist rightly observed that: “It is well to remember that it requires the exercise of not less ability than that which acquires it, to use wealth so as to be really beneficial to the community”.  Os Guinness was right on track when he said, “Giving and caring are humbling because money carries with it, three distinct challenges – making money, enjoying money and giving it away”.

This is an auspicious time because more Nigerians are making money, they are enjoying money and also giving it away especially in terms of acquiring more cars, the fanciest jeeps, landed property, buying designer clothing and throwing lavish parties in which whole streets  and highways are taken up. Philanthropy is  also another way to “give away”  some of that money in an organized and planned way;  to make a name that lives on long after  the givers’ death. We remember Ford and Carnegie today, not so much for the huge businesses or property they owned,  but  because they invested in the  lives of people in their time, and today, the investments they made are still enriching the lives of people in Nigeria and globally.

Arit Oku is Team Leader of  Sonflower Development Initiative (SDI), a Lagos-based NGO.  Sonflower promotes  a culture of philanthropy and planned giving to support the most vulnerable sectors. Email: arito@sonflowerng.org  

(Written in 2007 and first published in the Sunday Guardian  newspaper.)

What an Awful Amount of Pollution!

I have worked all day in the office.  We ran on a  petrol-fueled generator all eight hours we were at work.  It was one of those days  when the power- generating  company  here  - Power Holding Company of Nigeria  (PHCN)  - was unable to supply even one hour of power during the workday.  There is a popular joke here that the company  is ‘holding’ onto the power and that is why it is unable to distribute power efficiently.   I think one of the most ridiculous sights ever,  was when I visited the office of the electric company  to file a complaint; only  to find that even the Power Holding Company of Nigeria is using a generator to run its  daily  affairs!

 So all the firms  in my office block had to run their  individual generators all day.  Multiply this with the millions of businesses in the country, small, medium and large, and you  can imagine that we have an awful amount of  fossil-fuel run generators all spewing their deadly gas endlessly.  I was told that some of the big  industries simply depend on  their generators twenty-four hours a day because their production processes are very  sensitive and cannot be interrupted by unpredictable power outages. 

Over here, we are so used to the  generator noise that you can almost guess correctly when PHCN does supply power – maybe for a few minutes, an hour or  maybe for longer.  Suddenly, the generators start going  off, one after the other. An eerie and unusual calm  settles over the land.   On a good day when the power  comes  on for a few hours,  in my  subconscious, I dread so totally the thought that the power supply will most certainly go off suddenly and without warning;   I jump inwardly if someone suddenly switches off the light  in the room; I imagine that  the inevitable  has happened.

So, having  been without electricity supply all day at work; I dread what would happen at night. I need to cook dinner and to do some work; do some reading.  My heart sinks.  My daughter probably has homework from school too.  Do I have any  petrol left after last night’s use? I may have to run my mini generator at home  all night too.  What an awful amount of pollution!  So I am dreading the thought of  a noisy night abuzz with generator  noises  of different  levels – the newer ones are kinder emitting a steady purring sound. But not so the old, overused and dying generators – they emit such an unkind guttural sound – like any overtired and overused engine.

Does anyone care? Have policy makers concerned tried to compute the damage to the environment  that our generator –run economy is causing? What of the danger to our health and the several fire accidents and deaths  that these have caused?  Sometimes, whole families are wiped out. Who cares, really?  On some evenings when I visit the local gas station to buy my own supply of petrol, I  am always amazed at the sight of long queues of people – men, women and even children,  all carrying different  sizes of jerry cans  and bottles, getting ready for the long night with no electricity.

I glance at my watch. I am getting a bit fidgety. My colleagues  have left already. I was busy preparing  a presentation for the next  day for a meeting with a prospective client. It’s getting quite late. I decide to shut down and go home.  After I switch the generator off, its pitch dark and I  need to use the light from my mobile phone to lock up and descend  the winding staircase…. All around me I am engulfed by generator sounds as I proceed to my parked car.

As I round the bend to my  home, my heart sinks! The noise is there all around me… like  a national emblem. I  wonder, soon the politicians seeking  elective offices will get on the campaign trail again promising uninterrupted and steady power and water supply, good transportation system, good roads, free education – the very same promises they have made since Nigeria’s Independence in  1960.

I think to myself, it is such a shame that with all the sunlight we have, we are still dependent  on petrol or  diesel - fueled  generators.  A larger percentage of the population still depends on kerosene or firewood as fuel gas; whatever happened  to the new emerging solar powered stoves and lanterns?  Why are they not available or accessible to the Nigerian populations?  Why have various governments over the years failed totally to solve Nigeria’s gnawing power problem? Why?

Sadly, the few  solar-powered flashlights and lanterns   seeping into the market are of such poor quality that those who buy them find they hardly last more than a few  days or weeks.  Many of these are locally fabricated  or poor quality imports from the  lower end of the Asian markets. Nigeria is a dumping ground for a lot of garbage. The poor  and already over-stretched have become skeptical about solar technologies because their experience of  using these gadgets has not been pleasant at all.

Unknowingly, a deep sigh escapes from deep inside me. As I let myself in, I find my daughter bent over her homework, the lantern that is providing some illumination,  casts a huge giant  shadow of her across half of the sitting room wall. The huge shadow really bears no resemblance to her  real form bent over her books.  

I turn on my battery run radio to catch the evening news : “Fellow Nigerians, I am here to bring change;   vote me as your presidential candidate and let us bid farewell to power failure…”   My daughter looks at me,  a cynical smile  cast on her young pretty  face as she lets out  a chuckle that says it all, “Liar, liar”.

Naked I Stand ( A poem that captures how I feel as the new year is born)

A Note: Usually, I enter the New Year with a sense of power, confidence and the ability to achieve great things and I would inevitably draw up a list of resolutions, dreams, strategies... But  2010 was different. The year was one of the most challenging that I faced and through it all I came to realize that no amount of strategies could have produced the results I got. God was with me when I "walked through the valley of the shadow of death"   economically, spiritually, physically and emotionally - when all seemed lost. He delivered me from all manner of snares.  For once on a New Year's eve, I was overcome by a great sense of my mortality, a fear that with each passing year, the hour glass of my life seems to run out faster... I  went over the eternal question that I believe generations before  me have posed: Have I  fulfilled even a tenth of the purpose for which I  was born and for which I have traversed this earth over the last decades?   That day when I shot through my mother's birth canal, a  crying, helpless mass of blood and flesh ... the journey began for me as it does for every individual; for every human person.  I was completely overwhelmed by the realization of my finiteness in this awesomely vast, precious  and beautiful universe. I asked myself if over the decades I  have set the right priorities? Have I loved, laughed  enough? Have I shared my life with others? Have I shared my knowledge and experience to guide others? Have I written all the books and poems I have longed to write? Have I seen the most beautiful sunset yet; enough to melt even the stoniest heart? have  I enjoyed the fragrance of wild flowers at night, set the stars alight, waltzed under the moonlit sky? Have I brought up my children right? When I  take the last bow on life's stage, will there be a standing ovation in heaven and on earth? Will I leave a mark, a dot, a memorial  on my infinitesimal little spot on the highway of time?

Naked I Stand  

I tremble, vibrations rock my feeble frame

Awe-struck

Before your majesty

Creator of  the heavens and earth

I stand naked

No veneer of cover upon

My naked frame

You wrench  of every vestige of hypocrisy

Like a whirlwind, violent, intense, directed

You tear off every shred of pretense

Every human-invented cover

Every veneer of civilized woman

Righteousness like rags, filthy

Naked I stand

But even that is not enough

You separate  muscle from muscle

Vessel from marrow

Bone from sinew

Fiber from tendon

Until nothing

Absolutely nothing remains

hidden from your knowing

From your all-seeing gaze

I tremble  the more

I am weak and cold

For I know that you know

Just when I think  it is over for me

Naked I came

To return to the elemental

To dust

You extend a hand

Endless, eternal

Rock of ages

You whisper, “Come”

“For I have loved you with an everlasting love”.