This is the kukoyi Family Tree that I just posted. Thanks to Alhaji Musibau Olatunde Kukoyi (my father) and Bro Yemi Kukoyi in Baltimore U.S.A
Friday, March 27, 2009
Kukoyi Family Tree
This is the kukoyi Family Tree that I just posted. Thanks to Alhaji Musibau Olatunde Kukoyi (my father) and Bro Yemi Kukoyi in Baltimore U.S.A
Thursday, March 26, 2009
God Bless Nigeria
Author: Dr. Tony Rapu. Date: Aug 2006
One obvious problem that Nigerians have is that they almost never have anything good to say about their country.
Our ordinary everyday conversations are studded with criticisms of the government and observations on the hopelessness of the Nigerian condition. Nigerians freely pour scorn on their country. The country is the butt of endless jokes and parodies. Perhaps no other people on earth so readily disparage their own nation as quickly and as often as Nigerians do.
By and large our attitudes towards our country are those of apathy, cynicism and contempt. This is largely due to our long history of disappointing governments and dashed hopes. Over the years we have developed a distrust and disdain for government. We alternately heap our (at times unrealistic) expectations on government and then flay them mercilessly afterwards for their inability to meet our expectations.
Tragically we have now transferred our contempt for the failure of government to the land itself. This is reminiscent of the story of ancient Israel on their way to inherit the Promised Land. Israel was poised on the border of Canaan and yet failed to possess it because they disparaged the Land. That generation was then condemned to wander and perish in the wilderness because they despised the land that God had given them.
There is a spiritual principle that holds that you cannot curse a land and expect to be blessed by it. It is a negation of the law of sowing and reaping. The words we speak are also seed and we reap from a land the negative words and attitudes that we have sown, as it were, into the land. In the case of the Israelites, they failed because they deemed that the Promised Land, a gift from God, was not worth the effort of possessing it.
God, in turn, deemed that the Israelites were not worthy of the land He had promised their fathers. Is there a possibility that not a few Nigerians are actually roaming around in the wilderness of poverty, hardship and deprivation simply because they themselves have cursed the land of their birth.
Perhaps we need to begin to see Nigeria as our promised land in spite of the giants in the land. We need to stop despising the land of our inheritance. The Israelites retreated because their perception of giants and fortified cities prevented them from seeing the milk and the honey (the true potential) of the land. It is a known fact in business that the first people to profit in any given industry are those that can see its potential.
It was in fulfillment of this truth that Joshua and Caleb, the only two men who believed in the viability of the land were the only men from their generation who eventually entered the land. The giants and their fortified cities were not insurmountable. Similarly the challenges that we are facing as a people today are not insurmountable problems; we should see them as challenges that are normal in the ordinary course of nation-building.
The lesson that the Israelites failed to learn that first time and which we must learn now is that there are no ready-made nations. Truly there are giants, (obstacles and personalities) and fortresses (seemingly impenetrable systems and structures) that must be conquered. Because we have rejected our promised land with our words and actions, perhaps the land is equally rejecting its inhabitants; offering them thorns and thistles instead of milk and honey.
Nigerians deserting their villages in the rural-urban drift or fleeing abroad in brain drain are manifestations of the biblical imagery of a land vomiting out its inhabitants. In contrast the generation of Israelites that finally received the Promised Land was the generation that fought to possess every inch of their inheritance.
It was only through consistent hard work and battle for the soul of their nation that they were able to possess the land and enjoy its blessings. We have to develop a Godly orientation of ownership and responsibility over Nigeria as our own land of promise. When we approach Nigeria from this light, we sow seeds of hope and faith that will yield fruit that will bless its inhabitants.
Ironically the nations that Nigerians are fleeing to are nations that themselves have imbibed this truth, received their countries as their own promised lands and paid the price for their development. King Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs, “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.” What we say about our country matters.
Americans understand this when they say “God bless America” and call their land “God’s own country”. In the same vein, we too must begin to bless Nigeria and see it as God’s own country too. We must put an end to our cursing. This is the principle behind patriotism, national flags and National anthems. When Israel was taken into captivity in Babylon, God sent a message to the people through the Prophet Jeremiah.
They were to bless the land of the evil Babylonians; they were to seek the peace and prosperity of the land. They were to pray to God about the land. In its peace God declared they themselves would find peace. Paul urges us to pray for our governments that we may dwell peaceably in the land. We also have to mentally separate the government from the land. Our frustrations with the government should not be transferred to the land.
One obvious problem that Nigerians have is that they almost never have anything good to say about their country.
Our ordinary everyday conversations are studded with criticisms of the government and observations on the hopelessness of the Nigerian condition. Nigerians freely pour scorn on their country. The country is the butt of endless jokes and parodies. Perhaps no other people on earth so readily disparage their own nation as quickly and as often as Nigerians do.
By and large our attitudes towards our country are those of apathy, cynicism and contempt. This is largely due to our long history of disappointing governments and dashed hopes. Over the years we have developed a distrust and disdain for government. We alternately heap our (at times unrealistic) expectations on government and then flay them mercilessly afterwards for their inability to meet our expectations.
Tragically we have now transferred our contempt for the failure of government to the land itself. This is reminiscent of the story of ancient Israel on their way to inherit the Promised Land. Israel was poised on the border of Canaan and yet failed to possess it because they disparaged the Land. That generation was then condemned to wander and perish in the wilderness because they despised the land that God had given them.
There is a spiritual principle that holds that you cannot curse a land and expect to be blessed by it. It is a negation of the law of sowing and reaping. The words we speak are also seed and we reap from a land the negative words and attitudes that we have sown, as it were, into the land. In the case of the Israelites, they failed because they deemed that the Promised Land, a gift from God, was not worth the effort of possessing it.
God, in turn, deemed that the Israelites were not worthy of the land He had promised their fathers. Is there a possibility that not a few Nigerians are actually roaming around in the wilderness of poverty, hardship and deprivation simply because they themselves have cursed the land of their birth.
Perhaps we need to begin to see Nigeria as our promised land in spite of the giants in the land. We need to stop despising the land of our inheritance. The Israelites retreated because their perception of giants and fortified cities prevented them from seeing the milk and the honey (the true potential) of the land. It is a known fact in business that the first people to profit in any given industry are those that can see its potential.
It was in fulfillment of this truth that Joshua and Caleb, the only two men who believed in the viability of the land were the only men from their generation who eventually entered the land. The giants and their fortified cities were not insurmountable. Similarly the challenges that we are facing as a people today are not insurmountable problems; we should see them as challenges that are normal in the ordinary course of nation-building.
The lesson that the Israelites failed to learn that first time and which we must learn now is that there are no ready-made nations. Truly there are giants, (obstacles and personalities) and fortresses (seemingly impenetrable systems and structures) that must be conquered. Because we have rejected our promised land with our words and actions, perhaps the land is equally rejecting its inhabitants; offering them thorns and thistles instead of milk and honey.
Nigerians deserting their villages in the rural-urban drift or fleeing abroad in brain drain are manifestations of the biblical imagery of a land vomiting out its inhabitants. In contrast the generation of Israelites that finally received the Promised Land was the generation that fought to possess every inch of their inheritance.
It was only through consistent hard work and battle for the soul of their nation that they were able to possess the land and enjoy its blessings. We have to develop a Godly orientation of ownership and responsibility over Nigeria as our own land of promise. When we approach Nigeria from this light, we sow seeds of hope and faith that will yield fruit that will bless its inhabitants.
Ironically the nations that Nigerians are fleeing to are nations that themselves have imbibed this truth, received their countries as their own promised lands and paid the price for their development. King Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs, “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.” What we say about our country matters.
Americans understand this when they say “God bless America” and call their land “God’s own country”. In the same vein, we too must begin to bless Nigeria and see it as God’s own country too. We must put an end to our cursing. This is the principle behind patriotism, national flags and National anthems. When Israel was taken into captivity in Babylon, God sent a message to the people through the Prophet Jeremiah.
They were to bless the land of the evil Babylonians; they were to seek the peace and prosperity of the land. They were to pray to God about the land. In its peace God declared they themselves would find peace. Paul urges us to pray for our governments that we may dwell peaceably in the land. We also have to mentally separate the government from the land. Our frustrations with the government should not be transferred to the land.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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