Redemptive justice ON September 25, 2016 8:14 AM / IN Article Of Faith / Comments By Femi Aribisala

In death, the disadvantaged lose all their disadvantages; while the advantaged lose all their advantages.
Jesus says: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:44-45).
However, Christians honour this injunction more in the breach than in the observance. How can we possibly love our persecutors? Is this not asking too much of believers?
Imagine a situation where an unbeliever viciously attacks a Christian. He kills his wife and children and destroys all his property. Nevertheless, the attacker is allowed to go scot-free. Moreover, during the burial of his family, the Christian is counseled: “Vengeance belongs to God, leave the matter to him.” (Deuteronomy 32:35).
To add insult to injury, at the end of his life on earth, the bereaved man meets his attacker in heaven. They have both become heirs of salvation. I ask you, how acceptable would this be to him?
Consolations of God
What kind of discussion do you think Uriah would have if he were to meet David in heaven? How do you think he would feel meeting in heaven of all places the very man who slept with his wife, got her pregnant, and had him killed to cover his tracks?
Moses says: “(God) avenges the blood of his children.” (Deuteronomy 32:43). But does the Lord really repay? Can God give the offended true satisfaction? You have been used and abused; you have been spitefully treated and you take the matter to the Lord. What type of satisfaction are you likely to get?
The Lord would preach the gospel to you. He would tell you to forgive and forget. And if you don’t, the Lord himself would deliver you, the aggrieved person, to tormentors who will torment you until you forgive the offender. (Matthew 18:34).
But what about the offender; what would the Lord do to him? How would the Lord take vengeance on him? The Lord might simply ask someone to go and preach the gospel to him as well. If he receives it, he is pardoned. Would that be acceptable? Thus, Eliphaz asks Job if the consolations of God are enough for him. (Job 15:11).
Jonah’s predicament
Of all people to send to preach to Nineveh, God chose Jonah; a Jew. The Assyrians had oppressed the Jews for a long time. Nevertheless, God decided to send Jonah to them, not to destroy them, but to preach to them the gospel of repentance and salvation. Jonah would have none of it. He took a boat and headed for Tarshish instead; the exact opposite direction from Nineveh.
God would have none of that but decided to take Jonah to Nineveh against his will by a “submarine.” Jonah’s shipmates throw him into the sea and then God arranged for him to be swallowed by a big fish. Jonah did not need persuading after surviving that ordeal; he had no choice but to preach to his enemies. His preaching was so effective that everybody in Nineveh repented and God’s judgment on the city was revoked.
But Jonah was greatly displeased with this outcome. He complained: “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness, one who relents from doing harm.” (Jonah 4:1-4).
God’s unacceptable mercies
Jonah was so angry, he wanted to commit suicide. In spite of all the atrocities of the people of Nineveh, they received God’s free pardon. How can this be fair? You simply can’t get retributive justice from a God who is gracious and loving; whose mercies endure forever.
But is there not something strange about being upset with God because he is gracious and forgiving? Does this not put us in the same place as those evil Pharisees who persecuted Jesus because he healed a man on the Sabbath? (John 5:16). Since we are really telling it like it is, let us pull no punches here. Do you know the greatest injustice of all? The greatest injustice of all is if you, reading this here and now, end up as one of the heirs of salvation.
You, who were a crook, a liar and a cheat. You were a fornicator and an adulterer. You were an idol worshipper, a drunkard and a drug addict. You were proud, vain and riddled with deceitful lusts. Why in heavens name should God forgive someone like you? In the name of justice, it would be absolutely unfair for a sinner like you to spend eternity in heaven.
So let us call a spade a spade. If we are going to insist on justice, let there be justice for all. Since all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, justice without mercy means judgment for all. Therefore, I would rather have a merciful God than a God of judgment. Even if this means I have to spend eternity in heaven with Idi Amin or Adolf Hitler; so be it. Heavenly Father, let your mercy triumph over your judgment in my case. (James 2:13).
Redemptive calculus
Life is so unfair. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Some die young; some live to a ripe old age. Some are handicapped; others are bed-ridden with sickness. Some are handsome; some are ugly. Some are smart; some are stupid. Some are fast; some are slow. Some are successful; some are failures.
But life is unfair because what we call life is not the life of God. What we call life is precisely what Jesus came to redeem us from. He came to redeem us from a life of injustice; a life of up and down; a life of situations and circumstances; a life of sickness and health; a life of sin and death.
Life is unfair, but death is fair. The poor die and the rich also die. Moreover, when the rich die, they lose all their wealth. When the poor die, they lose all their poverty. When the sick die, they lose their sickness. In death, the disadvantaged lose all their disadvantages; while the advantaged lose all their advantages. Every valley is exalted and every mountain is made low. (Isaiah 40:4). Therefore, the fairness of God is revealed, not in life, but in death.
The believer is a dead man living a resurrected life. No matter what we go through, we can no longer talk of injustice. The word does not exist in the language of the kingdom of God. Neither can a believer insist on vengeance. To do so is to be in danger of revoking his free pardon.
Dearly beloved, you can no longer make a case about somebody’s injustice to you and demand retributive justice. Should you insist on satisfaction, God will also insist on satisfaction. A Christian who still insists on retributive justice is someone who refuses to understand or appreciate the pardon he has received from God.
Jesus says: “Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:8). Therefore, since you received pardon freely; pardon freely.

Competition

  Competition ironically is what we are all about, and what we are fashioned and designed to be.
To think of it and how it play out is now left to the individual and also determines,shapes the personality.
It plays out healthily and unhealthily at times,it is goes a long way defining the character or attributes of the personality. It stems from background, the upbringing, the understanding, and at times ones understanding and interpretation of the whole lot.
Sad to say that we were all created with a different purpose in the mind of the creator.
Though the competition brought about our existence as a replacement for a disloyal,disobedient and ego seeking persona “lucifer”.
Who out of the creators annoyance with this egocentric attitude had to be damned,not minding that he was one of HIS best creation.
The competition we are all set for is not the competition at play here.
Self aggrandizement and self worth is what ours is, while it’s meant to be the other way round. It should be all about HIM, for HIM,with HIM.

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New motive

God I didn't ask for this much,before you gave me this much and in all I am very grateful.
Your gift, you said are without repentance, you have been true to your word,which is a reflection in my woman,and for her I can only be grateful.
He that findeth a (good) wife,findeth a good thing. For a fact I found a rare gem.
For a man to love is to show it,and the evidence of a man in love is the show of loyalty and respect.

Nothingness

What is it about life and existence, which goes beyond our immediate reasonings and understanding. It goes beyond our physical presence and all. In our quest for unasked answers,our attributes was formed and which gives birth to greed and the race for personal aggrandizement in all forms. The death of brotherly love and the eradication of extended arm of friendship with good intent and the purposeful elimination of trust in all facets. Which are not given anymore rather demanded,brutally or in a beneficial or reciprocal form. In all life and existence is all about getting served whatever you dished out.

PREFACE

  With profound thanks and gratitude to the Almighty for his prominence and his eminent and as looking ahead for his preeminence purpose. In all this I give him all adoration and references in all. I will sound ungrateful if my adorable wife is not mentioned,with her total support and dedication. I owe it all to you and our wonderful children. With a deep sense of gratitude to those who are involved from the birth of the idea,to the process and through to completion, you all know yourselves. The antagonists and the protagonists you've all contributed your own quota in ways you never imagined. Thanks and God bless you all.

Press Release: The Legislature and its Self-Indictment

In the First Republic, the then Legislature, that is the Senate and the House of Representatives, failed to play its role as the custodian of democracy and defender of the Constitution as well as being the vehicle for socio-economic development by acquiescing to the military’s takeover of power albeit anchored on the prevailing Ethno-National contradictions brought to the fore by that military action. Likewise, its re-establishment as the National Assembly in 1979 eventually exhibited this inability to resist the attempt at truncating the will of the people as witnessed in 1983 and remained in limbo, with the exception of its feeble resistance in the aftermath of the “June 12” crisis, until resuscitated again in 1999. 

This background provides the backdrop for the Legislature now being the vehicle for the entrenchment of Nigeria’s socio-economic underdevelopment and resistance to Change, being an avenue for its members to showcase their lack of purpose, reveling in jostling for what they always refer to as juicy positions without having the faintest idea on how to produce the juice itself.

It has so far  ensconced  itself within the anti-Change paradigm via a combined conspiracy of sorts anchored on hampering of the Change Administration’s efforts  not only in governance but also in its socio-economic thrust as now being witnessed through legislative blackmail on the budget and contrived scarcity of fuel combined with the shenanigans of the Judiciary with legal professionals cavorting with attempts at ensuring  denial of justice through all forms of legal shenanigans and a lackadaisical  approach to peoples’ security manifested in the various  conflicts exemplified by the age-long herdsmen terrorism, long left to fester over time by the State Apparatus, including the Legislature, which all pointed to attempts at  stampeding  the people  into a frenzied expectation of an immediate solution to a long-standing problematic through some form of precipitate action against the Change Agenda.

All routes towards any form of Change as well as sustenance of any status quo depend on their legitimacy. The Change Administration and the Legislature are both legitimized by their electoral mandates, hence the full expression of legitimacy by each side would either ensure compatibility of expectations or automatic opposition of one against the other; in this instance, it is  the Legislature  against the Change Administration through  its attempts to truncate Change efforts under the assumption that the expectations of Change would fizzle out and Nigeria would revert to the status quo ante with Nigeria’s continued over-reliance on rent collection as the basis for her economic fortunes and misfortunes and upon which the entire political edifice of the country rests, with the Legislature being the prime beneficiary, yet without living up to its responsibilities as the front line of the Change Agenda. 

When President Buhari wondered why the First Republic was able to create working infrastructure for the country but not so in the over sixteen years of civilian rule, with all the financial resources at its disposal, it should be pointed out that the First Republic was, to a large extent and as the circumstances of the period permitted, characterized by its dependence on, and recognition of the Peoples it represented; its Legislative functions  being derived from and reflecting the economic, social, cultural and political expectations of the Peoples; neither distancing  nor leeching from the peoples thus being actually responsible to its constituents which formed the basis for its legitimacy in spite of its failure  to re-establish it  based on these  imperatives when confronted with its negation by the military.
The issue to be resolved with today’s Legislature has nothing to do with efficiency or making it more productive through any sort of means but with its negation, its re-establishment, more so when it has fallen short of the expectations of its own legitimacy by making itself a vehicle for a political paradigm incongruent with economic or social development where its anti-development nature is a consequence of the failure of the socio-political environment that gave rise to it in the first instance and must necessarily lead to its negation; this not being a function of a more      robust activity on the part of some members but in ensuring the reflection of  the will of the people as the Legislature’s raison d’etre, the ultimate in legitimacy.
The will of the People is anchored on their extant peculiarities manifested in, for example, the age-long Niger Delta disaster and its leaders’ acquiescence or otherwise to this politically-induced economic malaise; the contradictions within the East on the Biafran question; the continuous attempt by hunters in the NE to be involved in anti-Boko Haram efforts, the various Ethno-National resistance to herdsmen terrorism, all of which are intertwined with the necessity for Change and none of which had ever  been made an issue of  Legislative debate  in spite of the recent introduction of a “Grazing Bill” as if the entire problematic of herdsmen terrorism is simply about grazing opportunities.

Not only is herdsmen terrorism not a recent phenomenon to which the Nigerian State apparatus, with the Legislature as a prominent player, had over time, turned a blind eye, it is also not only applicable to Nigeria as it spreads across the West and Central African Regions thus setting it at par with the Region’s experience with political terrorism as exemplified by Boko Haram as well as the Islamic State in West Africa.  These terrorists operate as herdsmen, roaming all over West and Central Africa such that the current attempt at a “Grazing Bill” will not only formalize their land-grabbing intentions but also affect the structure of the Nigerian State in the long run, an act tantamount to treason on the part of the Legislature.
Based on the legislature’s failure to recognize these phenomena, thus obviating its legitimacy, the Change Administration must now take the lead by utilizing its own legitimacy to re-create the Legislature without being encumbered by the Constitution.
Since 1999 and up till this moment, the Legislature had been on a merry-go-round of amending the  Constitution, which shows not only the defectiveness of the Constitution but also a consistent inability by the Legislature to arrive at a plausible Constitutional paradigm for Nigeria and this on-going effort, while not  expected to materialize until 2018, is an expression of the Legislature’s self de-legitimization with this 2018 time-table being very close to new elections definitely affecting the amendment exercise, thus showing that the National Assembly is completely disconnected with the Peoples of Nigeria and in dissonance with the Change Agenda thereby making this attempt another  self-repudiation of its legitimacy.
  
How then should this needed Change be effected? It is a well-known fact that the 1999 Constitution was based on a false premise, to wit: “We, the People”. In legal terms, this premise does not, by itself, grant any powers and rights not specified in the Constitution; just as it cannot itself, being a statement of the principles in this Constitution, be based on a false premise, a situation which has now given room for its operators to act the way they had always been acting. 
That such a premise as “We The People” is false implies that the entire principles, powers and rights it purports to embody are also false since “We, The People” had no hand in its making, directly or indirectly, being a product of military fiat which was not acting and did not act on behalf of “We, The People”, even as by so doing, its producers unwittingly affirmed the Peoples’ sovereignty. This false preamble only means, on the one hand, not binding on “We, The People” on whose behalf such an assumption was made, and on the other, “We, The People” need to exercise our right to correct this anomaly by ensuring that the Constitution is indeed a product of “We, The People”, the only guarantee of its legitimacy and anchor for the Change Administration.

With the Legislature having frittered away its legitimacy by its own free will, Egbe Omo Oduduwa proposes that the Change Administration should  utilize its own electoral legitimacy by substituting its proposed Town Halls with Regional or Ethno-National Conventions, with or without central funding, as deliberative platforms on Nigeria’s Political Economy whose outcomes would be ratified in Regional/Ethno-National Referendums; culminating in a Constitutional Convention with the express purpose of re-creating the Legislature as well as formally setting the foundation for socio-economic development of the Nigerian Peoples while also addressing errors of omission or commission of the past.  The existing Legislature will have no choice but to go along with this Peoples-based process or try to negate it; either way, the question of legitimacy would have been tabled and its resolution will be anchored on the expectations of the Peoples of Nigeria in tandem with all of their cultural, economic, social and political paradigms in whatever manner they manifest. 

Shenge Rahman Akanbi, Femi Odedeyi
For and on behalf of Egbe Omo Oduduwa
(egbeomooduduwa1945@gmail.com)

--- On Sun, 4/17/16, Egbe Omo Oduduwa <egbeomooduduwa1945@gmail.com> wrote:

FREEDOM FOR ALL By Obafemi Awolowo First Address of Chief Obafemi Awolowo As President of the Action Group On 28th April, 1951 To the Conference of Party Members at Owo

Gentlemen,

The pleasant duty of introducing the Action Group has been entrusted to me.

 

On the 21^st March of this year, the Action Group was introduced to the public through the Press, and its aims and objectives were clearly set out.

 

Since then the Action Group has been unfolding itself and fulfilling its aims and objectives more by action than by words.  The most eloquent tribute to the growing strength of this young organization is that all those who are gathered here this morning – accredited representatives of the entire Western Region – are members of the Action Group.

 

The aims and objectives of the Action Group have not only been published as I said, but are contained in the Draft Constitution, copies of which have been forwarded to you.  I will not, therefore, take your time by repeating them.

 

There are, however, two items in the aims and objectives which I should like to emphasise, since they are the very basis of the Action Group.  I refer to items (1) and (3).  The two are complementary and they read as follows:

 

(1)    To bring and organize within its fold nationalists in the Western Region, so that they may work together as a united group, and submit themselves to party loyalty and discipline        

(2)    To prepare and present to the public programmes for all Departments of Government, and to strive faithfully to ensure the effectuation of such programmes through those of its members that are elected into the Western House of Assembly and the Federal Legislature.

 

The attainment of these two aims implies [identification] of adherence to basic principles, and [identification] of methods in the application of the principles.

 

If any group of people fail to agree as to basic principles and as to the methods to be adopted in applying those principles, it is impossible for them to work within the same fold, and to submit themselves to party loyalty and discipline.

 

The basic principles which have brought the members of the Action Group together are summarized in the following motto:

 

                        LIFE MORE ABUNDANT

                        FREEDOM FOR ALL

 

It is our belief that the people of Western Nigeria in particular, and of Nigeria in general would have life more abundant when they enjoy:

 

(i)                  Freedom from British Rule

(ii)                Freedom from Ignorance

(iii)               Freedom from Disease and

(iv)              Freedom from Want.

 

In our view, the rule of one nation by another is unnatural and unjust.  It is maintained either by might or by complete subordination, through crafty means, of the will and self-respect of the subject people to the political self-aggrandisement of the tutelary power.  There can be no satisfactory substitute for self-rule.

 

Therefore, British tutelage is to be denounced without any reservation.  In principles,  it is indefensible.  In practice, it has been characterized by extreme planlessness and disregard for the vital interests of the people.

 

After almost 100 years of British Rule, our land is still riddle with unspeakable ignorance, disease and want.

 

An ignorant and poverty-stricken people are the easiest preys to political enslavement and economic exploitation.  Diseases of all kinds follow in the wake of ignorance and want.

 

The basic principles which, therefore, have brought us together within the fold of the Action Group may be stated in the following words:

 

1)      The immediate termination of British Rule in every phase of our political life.

2)      The education of all children of school-going age, and the general enlightenment of all illiterate adults and all illiterate children above the school-going age.

3)      The provision of health and general welfare for all our people.

4)      The total abolition of want in our society by means of any economic polity which is both expedient and effective.

 

Having agreed on these basic principles, it becomes necessary to take the next step, namely:  to agree as to common methods in the application of those principles.  This is a very important step:  because, even though people may agree as to principles, if they don’t agree as to methods of application it would not be possible for them to work together.

 

It is in order to evolve those common methods that some members of the Action Group were commissioned to prepare papers not only on Government Departmental subjects but also on the organizational problems of the Action Group.

 

It will be our duty at this at this Conference to declare our irrevocable adherence to the principles already enunciated and to fashion out from the papers which are already submitted on various subjects what our common methods of application shall be.

 

Once we have succeeded in doing these two things the fulfillment of our aims and objectives is well-nigh achieved.  All that we would need in addition would be persistence and consistency in the pursuit of our principles, and resolution and discipline in the execution of our common methods of application.

 

I would like to say that this, in my humble opinion, is the first time in the annals of Nigeria that a political party is reared on a really scientific basis.  For if all the leading members in the Action Group have more or less identical conceptions as to the principles which shall guide their activities, and jointly evolve common methods of applying those principles, it is my firm conviction that the organization will be successful and lasting.

 

Only we must make sure about two things, namely:  that our principles are just, and that our methods are practical.  For nothing defeats their own ends so easily as unjust principles and impractical methods of approach.

 

With these few remarks, I believe that I have succeeded in portraying to you the rock-sure foundation on which the Action Group is erected.  We are here in this historic Conference to reinforce and to add to the superstructure already built, by the pledge of the leaders inhabiting the two Zones (YORUBA AND MIDWESTERN or WESTERN AND EASTERN) of the Western Region.

 

It is true we speak different languages;  but it does not require any laborious research to discover that, broadly speaking, we originated from common stock; and that in any event our political and cultural associations have been of such long standing as to make us look upon one another as close relations.  And above all, we are Nigerians whom both Nature and Constitution have joined together.  It is within our power to remain together.

 

In the first release of the Action Group it  has been made abundantly clear both in item (5) of the aims and objectives and in the body of the release that it is not the intention of the Action Group to embark on Regional politics exclusively.  It is sheer necessity that has compelled us to decide to get together to put our own house in order.

 

As an earnest of our good faith, the subjects on which policy papers have been prepared are not confined to Regional subjects but cover Central subjects as well.

 

Furthermore, the Action Group is not meant to be an ad-hoc or temporary organization.  It has come to stay and it will live forever.

 

We have promised, and we mean to abide by our word, that if a countrywide organization acceptable to all is established, we would not hesitate to become the Western Regional Working Committee of such an organization.  But it is clear now from all accounts that such an organization will not emerge before the general elections under the new Constitution.

 

It must, therefore, be our hope and our endeavour that as soon as we have duly consolidated and strengthened our position throughout the Western Region, we should, in cooperation with nationalists in other Regions, influence the formation of a countrywide organization on the same realistic and scientific lines as the Action Group.

 

I have no doubt that we all know that the realization of all our aims and objectives depends chiefly on our having a substantial majority in the Western House of Assembly.  With unity, determination and hard work, it should not be difficult for us to get all our candidates elected into that Assembly.

 

We are not fighting for seats in the House of Assembly because we desire power for its sake.  We believe that, in a partial sense though, the new Constitution affords us an opportunity to be of better service to our people.  We are a party – in fact the only party in Nigeria definite ideas and practical programmes for the advancement of Nigeria towards early freedom and prosperity.

 

Our enemies and detractors are already at work.  They are seeking to dwarf our stature in order to delude the public that they are taller than we are.  They are also seeking to divert us from our noble and constructive courses in to the barren land of petty strife and fruitless controversy.

 

I believe I am voicing your sentiments, when I say that we do not  grudge other parties their professed popularity and excellence.

 

But it is mean and cowardly, and an evidence of weakness and utter demerit, for any group of people to attempt to commend themselves to the public by the negative process of belittling and condemning others.  Strong, courageous, resourceful and self-confident people are never afraid of rivals or competitors.

 

It is not an easy matter to resist the temptation of being dragged down the drains of bitter recriminations and press war.  But if we are to attain our objectives we must resolve to pursue our course unflinchingly without paying the slightest heed ‘to the envious, and the asses that bray.’

 

What our people want to know above all things else is not the defect or incapacity of this or that organization, but the plans and programmes which we have for improving their lots and the relative merits of such plans and programmes. 

 

Such plans and programmes we have;  and what is more they are plans and programmes which could be put into execution within a period of five years.

 

Our line of action is therefore clear.  Whilst our enemies and detractors busy themselves with abusing and decrying us, we should direct all the machinery of our publicity towards the propagation of the excellence and the relative superiority of our programmes and the suitability of the men who will put forward to execute them.

 

In this way we would succeed in commending ourselves to the public by our sheer merits and our merits only.  This in my view is a nobler attitude;  and if we remain true to it, we are bound to succeed where our detractors fail.

 

 

Taken from  “Voice of Reason:  Selected Speeches of Chief Obafemi Awolowo” Vol. 1, Fagbamigbe Publishers (1981) Pages 195-200

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