One of the greatest tragedies of Nigerian society is how we have managed to turn honest labour into a source of shame.
In London, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada and other developed societies I have visited recently, a cleaner is not automatically considered inferior. A carpenter is a professional. A plumber is a skilled worker. A construction labourer is a productive member of society.
People earning minimum wage are not automatically stripped of their dignity.
You can meet a cleaner driving a beautiful car, living in a decent home and raising children with confidence. Not because every cleaner abroad is wealthy, but because society has built systems that give ordinary workers a better chance at a decent life.
Now come to Nigeria.
A cleaner is often treated as someone who has failed in life. A security guard can be insulted by someone whose only achievement is having more money. A carpenter is looked down upon until his services are urgently needed. Domestic workers are sometimes treated as though poverty has cancelled their humanity.
We have created a society where the dignity of a human being is increasingly measured by the size of their bank account, the car they drive, their job title and the people they know.
And this is destroying us.
The same Nigerian who respectfully greets a cleaner in London may return to Lagos or Abuja and humiliate someone doing exactly the same job.
What changed? The occupation or our mentality?
There is something fundamentally troubling about a society where the people who clean our hospitals, construct our homes, maintain our roads, protect our buildings and repair our infrastructure can work tirelessly and still struggle to afford the most basic necessities of life.
Meanwhile, we celebrate unexplained wealth and sometimes give more social recognition to people who produce absolutely nothing of value.
This is one of the contradictions we must confront if we genuinely want to build a civilized nation.
Civilization is not measured by the number of billionaires a country produces. It is also measured by how ordinary people are treated, how fairly productive work is rewarded and whether someone can earn an honest living without surrendering their dignity.
A country cannot develop sustainably when young people would rather appear wealthy than become productive because society respects the appearance of success more than the value of work.
The cleaner is not inferior to the banker. The carpenter is not inferior to the engineer. The labourer is not less human than the politician.
Their responsibilities, skills and earnings may differ, but their human dignity must never differ.
Nigeria must become a country where honest work pays enough to sustain a decent life, where vocational skills command respect and where no child grows up believing that becoming a cleaner, mechanic, farmer or artisan makes them a lesser human being.
The real disgrace is not earning a living by cleaning toilets. The real disgrace is building a society where someone who cleans toilets honestly cannot live with dignity, while someone who steals public money is celebrated.
Until we correct this mentality, we will continue producing a generation that worships wealth instead of productivity.
Is our biggest problem poverty, or have we also developed a culture that disrespects the very people whose labour keeps society functioning?
Wisdom can become stale when it's not serviced by continuous learning at Jesus' feet. The written and Rhema word is the wisdom bank of the living Word-God.
Operating in divine wisdom is a lifelong task. There are no finish lines in the school of wisdom.
keep seeking, and doing.
My spiritual father in the faith is Bishop Dr David O. Oyedepo.
As your years, so shall your strength be.
A trans-generational Blessing to the Body of Christ. An enigma in the Faith, full of wisdom and faith. Meek, with a heart for God and for souls.
Happy birthday, Papa.
ITโS A CELEBRATION!
Today, we celebrate a man whose voice has reached nations, whose ministry has raised generations and whose life continues to point people to Christ.
Happy Birthday to our father and leader, Bishop David Oyedepo!
We celebrate you today and always.
Drop your birthday wishes and prayers for Bishop in the comments!
@WhiteHouse I agree!
In fact very few president in US history has been more open and engaging with the press than Pres. Trump.
When so-called free speech of the press keeps stirring up Nat. security concerns, then Sovereignty comes first. The Whitehouse, and the Presidency reflects such.
We shouldn't confuse agitation and restlessness-driven activities with action-driven faith. Many times, faith means being still, knowing, and acknowledging God's sovereignty.
-Paul Idahosa.
ARE WE USING EVERY LEGITIMATE DOOR?
Romans 10:14โ15 โ Homes, streets, schools, workplaces, campuses, media, digital platforms and missions can all become channels for the gospel. Are we going where people actually are?
Operation by all means Witnessing Pattern like Apst. Paul.
IS OUR WITNESS HOLISTIC AND CREDIBLE?
Matthew 5:16 โ People should encounter both the message of Christ and the love of Christ. Are we serving communities, building trust and demonstrating the gospel without replacing proclamation with social action?
Witnessing is supernatural.
ARE WE MAKING DISCIPLES, NOT JUST COUNTING DECISIONS?
Matthew 28:19โ20 โ The Great Commission does not end with a raised hand or a prayer. What happens after the response? Is there follow-up, baptism, teaching, fellowship, maturity and multiplication?
Disciples change the world
A President and the Endless Question of His Past
As a citizen of no other country, who has never sought foreign citizenship even when doing so became fashionable, my loyalty to Nigeria and my faith in her destiny remain unshaken.
Yesterday, 30th of August, being Sunday, I fervently prayed for our nation and for those entrusted with the solemn responsibility of leadership. I found myself deeply saddened by the direction in which our country is heading.
It is profoundly embarrassing that we have reached a point where a sitting President is asking a foreign court to withhold records concerning his past, particularly records relating to matters of legitimate public interest.
Leadership, in my humble view, demands the courage and humility to confront oneโs history โ to acknowledge mistakes, provide candid explanations where questions arise, and, where necessary, apologise and seek forgiveness. True authority is strengthened, not diminished, when a leader accepts responsibility rather than seeks to shield uncomfortable aspects of the past from legitimate scrutiny.
This becomes particularly important when questions concern educational credentials. Issues surrounding foundational schooling โ primary and secondary โ should not remain unresolved or be addressed primarily through legal proceedings. Nigerians deserve clear, credible, and verifiable explanations, especially when such had been submitted in the past.
My deepest concern is the example this sets for more than 200 million Nigerians, particularly the over 30 million young people in schools. The nationโs highest office should exemplify integrity, accountability, transparency, and ethical leadership.
An imperfect past is part of the human condition. What matters is the willingness to confront it with humility, honesty and deep apology, to make amends where necessary and, when circumstances so demand, to place the interests of the nation above personal ambition.
When will our political class fully appreciate that individual ambitions are temporary, while the nation endures? The Presidency is an office held for a season; the moral standards established by those who occupy it can influence generations.
Nigeria is greater than any one person, and the integrity of the Republic must always come before the interests of the individual.
A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO
I beg you in the name of God, take a moment and watch this clip.
โIf you ever think that Christian or Muslim or any of the 371 tribes is the problem of Nigeria, Iโm here today to let you know that you are living in an illusion that has been created to divide Nigeria.โ
Every African should see this video of a bilateral discussion between President Emmanuel Macron of France and representatives from Burkina Faso.
No one has made me happier for and prouder of Africa than the ladies in the video. Ibrahim Traorรฉ has the best brains around him.โ๏ธ
The land of the free, and home of the brave! Happy 250 anniversary to the greatest nation on earth, perhaps ever. The USA. ๐ฑ๐ท
Congratulations Pres. Trump.
Today, America wakes 250 years later as a beacon of hope, a republic entrusted to its people, an idea that changed the world.
A nation worth preserving. A dream worth pursuing. A freedom defended by every generation.
Happy 250th, America! ๐บ๐ธ
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! President Trump turns 80 today.
The nation's 45th and 47th president celebrates a milestone birthday as the country prepares to commemorate America's 250th anniversary.