Ogiri John Ogiri

"Agreed, God can do all things; it is in His nature to do so. But we must be careful not to make God a substitute for our natural efforts.That will amount to an inexcusable laziness. We should not abandon to God what we can do on our own. For instance , it will be foolhardy to abdicate to God my responsibility to light my gas and prepare my dinner because I have faith in the omnipotence of his nature to do all things.  The reality is that what God cannot do exists not because He naturally lacks the power to do it but because it will be a contradiction of His gift of dominion and "Free Will" to man. This is why I find it hard to accept that, the same God who handed the earth to man to dominate and control in Genesis 1:28 would then expect us to give up our duty and wait for Him in everything. " And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creature...

  By Ogiri John Ogiri. Let me use myself as a case study. I haven't made money yet. I still live in a rented apartment. I still trek; I do not own a car even though I desperately need one as I write. I am still struggling to make money but I am patient enough to work with due diligence and wait for my time.  Look, there is a time for everything and everyone. When that time comes and meet you prepared, you will smile and have the last laugh. I believe that as long as I remain committed to doing my little best everyday, I will definitely breakthrough the dark wall of poverty into the green zone of prosperity and secure happiness. I won't take to crime because I want to make money.  This is the conviction that drives my daily life. My fellow Youths,  There are socially-approved gateways to wealth. So, stay in the queue, do your duty and wait for your time. Avoid the temptation to breach the socially-approved protocols in your attempt to make money. You won't...

God is not a Being over whom we should divide and fight one another for relevance, God is definitely not a phenomenon to be debated; He is an unwinnable argument. On the contrary, God is a worthy Being to be accorded perpetual adoration and worship by the examples of mutual love and kindness we show one another. God did not create any religion. He created the community of humans who in turn created religion as a medium for expressing their awe for the omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence of God.  I should suppose, therefore,that it couldn't have been in the nature of God to have encouraged his followers to hate, denigrate, maim and kill one another to prove His supernatural supremacy. Can we therefore see religion as a means to the end, not as an end in itself? © Ogiri John Ogiri.

By Ogiri John Ogiri. Do you know? What you lack can be used as a bait to lure you into crime or kill you. What you desperately need can become a weapon someone might use to kill you. Yes, money, cars, accommodation, love, jobs, etc have been used to lure many desperate people into crime and grave before. They are still being used to lure many young people into crime and untimely death. Be careful. Control your appetite. You must not buy or consume everything your heart desires particularly if those things are not yours. Be patient with yourself. Do not blame yourself, your parents or your roots for your predicament. The most important thing is that, you are here now and you can change your past for good but do not rush yourself into success. Work yourself into it. Take your time; take it slowly but diligently. Avoid the unnecessary comparison and the competition with others. Live within your means. Know this: what you cannot genuinely afford now does not belong to you. If you cannot p...

We are at liberty to regret our actions but we should never be bogged down by regrets of our past mistakes.We should rather appreciate that it is a privilege to make mistakes, for every mistake we ever make provides for us rich experiences and new learning opportunities for the future. Learn your lessons and move on. Forgive those who may have hurt you; ask forgiveness of whoever you may have hurt,learn your lessons and move ahead exuding such a beautiful smile as common to you. Never stop smiling but never forget the lessons! © Ogiri John Ogiri.

By Ogiri John Ogiri. In recent times, perhaps accentuated by the current harsh economic conditions of our nation, some self-seeking profiteers, who have made a lot of money from the God enterprise in the past using God's name, have decided to adopt a more forceful approach to the collection of their perceived "entitlements" from the congregation, (many of whom are highly gullible and economically vulnerable) in order to continue to remain financially liquid in the highly volatile economy. The latest approach is to de-emphasize and deflect the focus of Christian giving and charity far away from the Needy to the greedy.  While this may mean nothing to the enlightened because they know better what the scripture says, it may not be so for those whose investments in Faith alone is higher than their investments in both Faith and Reason. It therefore becomes imperative to emphasize a few points that can help to give a proper perspective to the essence of Giving and T...

         By   Emmanuel Gandu  SETTING THE TONE Political and religious upheavals have characterised the life of Nation States over the centuries. Nations and nationalities have found the use of both politics and religion not only as a stepping stone but also as veritable weapons for the attainment of power for the purposes of achieving the means  to governance, for control of resources, socio economic, territorial conquest and boundaries. They go to war internally and externally because of this urge for dominance and control. A few of the instances for mention include the following : (1) The 30 year war between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland over the British Protestant settlers domination of the indigenous Irish Catholics. This conflict lasted from 1968 until the Good Friday agreement of 1998. (2) The unending Arab - Israeli war that have continued to take the lives of thousands including then Egyptian president Anw...