TO MY IGBO BROTHERS AND SISTERS

TO MY IGBO BROTHERS AND SISTERS

I think  we the Igbos have a problem within the Nigerian context. Our problem is that we deliberately or most times unknowingly marginalize ourselves thinking that others are marginalizing us. To me, we must put off that idea that people are marginalizing us. Actually, we are the ones that first marginalized ourselves before others came in to marginalize us.

For example, we have abandoned our cities for other cities in search of where to do business. We have developed cities like Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Ibadan, Benin City, Abuja, etc. We forgot that one thing government considers in siting projects is populations. They also consider markets. Of all cities and towns in the Igboland only Onitsha, Aba and Nnewi are the ones where things are happening in the east.

Why can't we develop our land and make it tourist destinations within Nigeria? Must we wait for our own country before we begin to develop? Let us build our place so that Nigerians can depend on us. We should stop accusing successive government of marginalizing us when we can do something that will make us sought after. We have the manpower, we have the financial power but one thing lacking is leadership. We lack leadership because of our selfishness and greed. We should put them aside and begin to think of how best we can make our Igbo nation the envy of other parts of Nigeria.

Who says people from Kano, Sokoto, Maiduguri can't constantly come to our land to buy things they need? Who says people from neighbouring countries can't come to patronize us? Must we go there to establish before we think of making it.

Let us think of coming to develop our place and stop waiting for someone else which may never come. The earlier we start thinking about that, the better for us.

WEDNESDAY FOOD FOR THOUGHT (17TH AUGUST, 2016)

WEDNESDAY FOOD FOR THOUGHT (17TH AUGUST, 2016)

"When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; When health is lost, something is lost; When character is lost, all is lost!" - Unknown

Character is achieved not received. They can only grow out of the substance of the man's soul. Character makes us. It is the very essence of living full and rewarding life. Today, many of us especially in this country have thrown character over the board and now behaves as cruel and bad as animals. We lack character in our home and the society. People can do anything without recourse.

Today we have so many challenges in our society because we have neglected the real maxim of a true African - "Good name is better than riches." Now we can kill, kidnap, rape, steal public funds, hide people's files in the offices until our palms have been greased and many other ways we now behave abnormally.

According to Froude, "You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one." Therefore, we must do something to develop character that are in conformity with the best moral standard and the ideals of true African spirit.

1) Moderation and Self discipline: We must moderate our actions and discipline ourselves. In moderating our actions, we should be extremely careful in choosing our words for thought precedes words and actions. Our thoughts and actions should be weighed in the scale of moral standard and humanity. Hurting others with carefree attitude will never bring out the best of character in us.

2) Empathizing with others: When you place yourself in another persons' position, you will always apply the golden rule of "Do unto others what you will want them to do unto you." Until we begin to behave in such manner, we can't develop character that will be pleasing to man and ideal for our society

3) We should be our brothers keeper.

4) Add wisdom to your knowledge.

There are many more to say but for now, I say good day and God bless you.

Tabugbo Uzoma

TUESDAY FOOD FOR THOUGHT

TUESDAY FOOD FOR THOUGHT

A strong man should not glory in his strength, neither the man fully armed in his armour - My Daily Covenant with God

Few years ago, we buried a young lady in our church. She was a barrister. As I looked at her obituary poster, I saw beauty and brain. She was aged 43 years with her doctorate degree in law. At her death, her beauty went with her. Her degrees became irrelevant. Then I asked myself, who will use this degree to work? It became invalid and no more useful.

Some people who have such degree and beauty are out there boasting that they have them while some have abandoned theirs. Why will you boast of your strength? Goliath saw David and despised him; cursing him with his gods for daring to stand out to challenge him. He thought his strength was enough. He thought his war experiences were enough. He thought that his stature and age were enough but they were not. He was humiliated.

What are the basis of your glory? What are the things you have and you boast with them? Are they your beauty; your certificate, your job, your family, your knowledge, your wisdom, etc? Don't glory in them. Rather, be humbled because you have them. In this life, nothing lasts forever. That thing you have and glory on it, has been used by others and dumped. Soon they will fade away be it beauty, wealth, power, position, etc. They will one day disappoint you. Therefore be humble in appreciation of what you have and return all the glory to God.

THURSDAY FOOD FOR THOUGHT - BEWARE OF PEOPLE'S PRAISES

THURSDAY FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Beloved, pause for a minute, have you ever asked yourself what do God say about you? During our Birthday Anniversaries and eventual obituaries, people speak all manner of good things about us. No one dares to say we are good here but poor or very bad in the other area. Are you easily carried away by all those eulogies people heap on you? Don’t be deceived by those eulogies. Majority are not true. Here is an example.

A priest served in my home town. He had a very bad character that made the Church committee of my town to petition the Bishop for his transfer out of the town. At last the Bishop transferred him out. On the day of his send forth, people spoke extensively about his good works. Nobody dare to caution him to avoid what made them to petition the Bishop. I was highly irritated by their hypocrisy. I stood up that told my people they were like the Pharisees - who wash outside of the cup but the inside is dirty. I acknowledged the few good works he did and caution him to avoid the mistakes he made in my home town. Days later, the priest of blessed memory call me and thanked me for the courage I displayed and advised me to keep it up.

We should be wary of people who sing our praises often and again. Most of them are undoing us. Appreciate the man that conftonts you with your wrongs. Such is a man that loves you.  For the courage to point out your wrongs means he wants you to improve and become not only better but the best. Encourage your friends to always tell you the areas of your weaknesses while also emphasising the areas of your strength so you can improve on your weaknesses and uphold your strength.

Most importantly, we should know how best to tell our friends about their wrongs and weaknesses in humility and not out of arrogance. God bless you and have a great day.

Tabugbo Morgan Uzoma

AFRICA, WAKE UP FROM SLUMBER

AFRICA, WAKE UP FROM SLUMBER

For over one week now, I have been going through over 842 Anioma Proverbs in Ubulu Okiti dialect written by my father. It opened my eyes to see and appreciate the debt of wisdom of our forefathers. I saw brilliance, knowledge and insight in that work. The thought that has been in my mind in the past week is, if only these wise sayings were documented.

Suffice to say that our forefathers were not timid, ignorant or illiterate in our own standard. It is the Western world that made us to see it so because they brought their own education. The problem our forefathers had was inability to document the wisdom God impacted on them.

Unfortunately, we in the present generation in Africa have not learnt from the mistakes of our forefathers. Presently, our people are not willing to write and document words of wisdom God has graciously given to them for the good of the masses and  posterity. For example, I have always challenged my fellow priests on this. Many of them preach good messages which end only in the four walls of the church they pastor. They are many of them God has used mightily more than what we see in the Western world but not a greater number of people heard about it because they were not documented.

Presently, we are fortunate to live in a time where documentation is easy with computers and internet. We should maximise this singular opportunity to write on our rich cultures, proverbs, wise sayings of our elders, etc and bring them online in a bid to present true picture of Africa and not what the Western world told us about ourselves. It is one great way to show the world that Africa is not a dark continent. We should act now that we have the opportunity.

DID REV FR MBAKA SAY SO?

DID REV FR MBAKA SAY SO?
I have read a story online where it was written that Rev Fr Mbaka said he is going to suffer in his new station. It has kept me wondering for days now. How can he say such thing? Has he turned against God that took him to prominence? Has he now lost faith that God is able to turn his desert to a flourishing land? Has he forgotten that God can make a way where there is no way. Such actions and utterances that you have been transferred to suffer has now given room to people who are now speaking evil and condemning the decision of the church as witch hunt.

I am a priest and I know that our call takes us to different parishes. In some parishes or station, the priest may have the privilege of enjoying good vicarage and in some other places the priest will live in a house that is not good enough for pigs. I left a vicarage where I lived in a storey building containing two flats and well furnished to a vicarage of two rooms. I lived in the two room apartment for nearly 6 years. From there I am now in a four bedroom flat.

For Rev Fr Mbaka to have said that he is going to suffer in his new station because it is a one room apartment has led me to question his spirituality of recent. Has he forgotten God? Was it not God that made him? Why not get your friends in your former station and other places to help you build a decent vicarage? Will going to your new station stop your ministry or reduce your anointing?

If you have something to offer as a priest, no matter the 'cave' or remote area you are transferred to, people will come there, looking for you. The mistake Rev Fr Mbaka made was to think that he has built an empire for himself and could not be transferred. You don't have to think that way.

That good thing you were doing in your former station, go and continue in the new station. No parish has the sole right to or autonomy of your ministry. Fr Mbaka should remember that in his ordination vows, in promised to serve wherever he is sent. He should not make mockery of God that called him because He is able to take care of him anytime, anywhere.

THE DESTINY OF THE COCK IS NOT THE SAME WITH THAT OF THE HEN

THE DESTINY OF THE COCK IS NOT THE SAME WITH THAT OF THE HEN

After ministering in the church on Tuesday, January 12, 2016, a pregnant lady who is a member of our church came to me. From her look, it was obvious she was apprehensive. She said that she is sick and needed prayers. I laid hand on her and prayed for her. As I was praying I had an inner ministration that she is very afraid stressed up. After the prayer, I asked her and she confessed that she is indeed very apprehensive concerning her chances of safe delivery. This was not her first or second pregnancy. That was the third pregnancy.

I told her that the fact that people die in the motor accident, has not stopped people from buying vehicles and using them. That food has killed many people has not stopped people from eating. It is a well known fact that the destiny of cock is not the same with that of the hen. That some women have died during delivery doesn’t mean that she will die. I made her to understand that in her present state, devil will always come to minister wrong things to her by telling her of people who have died during child delivery but will fail to tell her that many have delivered successfully without stress like Hebrew women. I counselled her and she was relieved.

Most people have the habit of calling up problems for themselves through apprehension and fear. As children of God, we live by faith and we are justified by our faith. If we are truly children of God, we should believe God’s word and live by it. Our actions shouldn’t be based on impulse rather it should be based on our faith in the word of God. The word of God is infallible. It can’t fail us if we actually believe God and His promises. We have many well known cases today and those in the scriptures.

Why are you afraid or apprehensive of going into that marriage, relationship, project, mission, journey, etc? Is it because many have failed? Are you afraid of becoming pregnant because people have died? Will people not still become pregnant and give birth? Your case as a Christian ought to be different. It is only through difficulties that we can prove our faith and that is when God will honour us. Move ahead and venture because venturing is the only way to succeed. I believe that you can make it in that business, marriage, studies, etc. Arise today and ward off every fear because your case is very different. God has not destined you to die prematurely or to be a failure rather; He has destined you for greatness if and only you will follow Him in faith.

I wish you good luck as you take a step of faith this year.

Your friend,
Tabugbo Uzoma  

          

MEDITATION ON CONSISTENT CHRISTIAN LIVING

CONSISTENT CHRISTIAN LIVING

Our Christian faith and lives are peculiar in many aspects. One of them is in the area of standard expected of us by God. The standard is more of spiritual than physical. What God expects from us are all the same; repentance, righteous living, etc. The Christian life starts when someone repents of his or her sins and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord, and Saviour. The true Christian life should be patterned after the life of Christ in terms of character and attitude because Christ is the image of God. These include His humility, righteousness, etc. It is expected at salvation that we should put off all the old character that are inimical to the new life expected of us as Christians. Paul mentioned them in Ephesians 4:22. We are also expected to put on the new man created to God in righteousness and holiness. The Christian life should be consistent with the life of Christ.

Consistent in this aspect means coherent or reliable. Christ has given us a model to follow as His followers. His attitude is well spelled out in the scriptures and all things He expects us to do. These are the patterned to suit the kingdom He has gone to prepare for us. We can only inherit that kingdom if our lives here conforms that that of Christ and His expectations of us. According to Paul in his letter to Ephesians, consistent Christian living demands that we should clothe ourselves with the new nature void of sin; we shouldn’t tell lies but the truth always as we are all part of Christ. We should also remove anger and not to hold grudges. We should avoid using bad and foul language on one another. These and many others are little sins that are common among Christians which are not consistent with Christian living. Consistent living also includes personal and corporate prayers and study of the word of God. 

In the beginning of a new year like this, it is important that we should take stock of the life we have so far lived to determine if we are still living in consistent with what God has called us into. In taking such stock, we should use the scripture as our mirror to see what we are in reality. If actually we are children of God (Christians) we should obey His voice (John 10:27) and follow His instructions (Ex. 20:1ff). We should live as our Father in terms of love for Him and selfless service for humanity. We should empty ourselves of all manner of pride, selfishness, grudges, anger, bitterness, etc and repent of them. Are you living in obedience to the word of God? Are you following Christ as your Shepherd by obeying His voice? It is only when we are doing these that we can live consistently as Christians who will be worthy of God’s kingdom at last. Think about it!

WHERE DO YOU BELONG?

Tabugbo Morgan Uzoma & Prisca Chimdifu Uzoma assert in their devotional (My Daily Covenant with God) of today, January 7, 2016 that "Some people place their happiness in the wealth and honours of this world. Their portion is in this life; they look no further; they desire no more; these are their good things (Luke 16:25). However, a godly man takes the Lord for the portion of his inheritance and his cup, and nothing less will satisfy him." This was the position of David, the Psalmist as he states that God is his portion (Psalm 119:57).

Every Christian should have the understanding of what Christian faith entails. To every true christian, God should be the ultimate in his or her pursuit in life. A true Christian wholly depends on God for everything he or she need. He trusts in God to sustain him or her and for survival. He/she is never moved by the threatening from people. 

Today, most Christians have placed their happiness on wealth, gifts and honours of this life, and thus they pursue these worldly things vigorously at the expense of their faith. They are now consumed by the riches and affairs of this world. They no longer see themselves as pilgrims rather they have fixed their eyes on the things of the world as against the heavenly things as Apostle Paul admonished us.

Beloved, where do you belong? Do you belong to the group that have placed their happiness in wealth and honours of this life and you no longer look further or you belong to the godly people that have Lord God as your portion? To the godly, nothing else matters to him/her. Remember that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Let your focus be in Christ alone so you can live live well and attain eternal life at the end in Jesus name.

   

20 LIFE LESSONS THAT HELPED SHAPED ME IN 2015

20 LIFE LESSONS THAT HELPED SHAPED ME IN 2015

1. A good or bad life is matter of choice.

2. Whatever is your responsibility in an establishment or organisation, make sure you teach someone how to do it.

3. Challenges of life are not meant to pull us down. If face squarely, it will help to discover the best of our lives. Therefore, embrace challenges to discover the potentials in you. No man has ever used half of his potentials in his life time.

4. Nothing last forever. Therefore, do not die for anything.  

5. Always allow God to avenge or fight your battle. Doing it on your own may lead to overstepping your bounds.

6. Life is too short. Therefore maximize every opportunity that comes your way.

7. Never regret what you could not do in life for that is in the past. Use your present to right the wrong of the past.

8. Always be courageous enough to say ‘sorry’ or ‘you have hurt me’ instead of holding resentment.

9. Always be yourself every moment of your life whether alone or in the public.

10. Make good friends always and love people but take time to trust them. Allow them to prove their love or friendship.

11. You can never become what you dream of in life when you consider what people say or will say about you.

12. Never forget that you are human. You can change, make mistake or disappoint others.

13. In life we need someone to hold the ladder for us to climb to any level we aspire. No man is an island indeed. The person may be your mentor, parents, etc.

14. To be a good leader, you must be a good listener

15. Kindness and charity are the best virtue we can use to appreciate the mercies of God.

16. Being a leader in any establishment or organisation doesn’t bestow on you the whole knowledge to make things work there. As a leader, you can learn from or get good suggestions from your subordinates.

17. The group of people that come to you when you assume any position are the likely people who will pull you down.

18. You can only become a legend and hero of many when you ignore your weakness and emphasizes your strength.

19. Don’t beg for respect. It can only be earned.

20. You are the only one that can make things work for yourself.

I appreciate my friends and fans. Through my relationship with them I have learnt some of these lessons. Keep encourage me. God bless you.