WOMAN OF THE SUN: Marriages fail because both parties expect too much from each other – Pastor Okonma

Pastor Soibi Okonma is the General Overseer of Disciples of Christ International Ministries, Lagos. A Kalabari woman but married in Ibusa, Delta State, Soibi is one woman who has defied the challenges of being a woman pastor and has continued to grow stronger in the Lord’s vineyard. In this interview, she spoke about the challenges of being a female pastor, marriage and her contributions to the development of other women especially widows in the fold
Excerpts:

Some people say that career women do not do well in marriage. Do you agree and if yes, why is this so?
Basically, marriage is extremely demanding, but people don’t get to see it as that. Marriage is a situation where you decide whether to make it work. Many of us face challenges in our offices, but we don’t quit. Instead, we choose to make a success of it.  But when it comes to marriage, it becomes a different ball game. I feel that many parents don’t train their children for marriage. We don’t emotionally talk to our children about marital expectations. A lot of people get into marriage thinking it is a fairy tale. Our expectations are a bit too high for the other person who is also expecting somebody to pamper him and be a mother and sister. So we come in with two ideas, it is like walking on two different top lines.
So, the career woman has to come to a place where she understands that her husband also needs emotion; he needs somebody who is strong. The husband has to understand that the woman needs somebody who is strong. If we bring this trend into marriage, marriage is not for weaklings. Marriage is about responsibility. For a career woman, who is doing so much and is expecting sympathy from her husband, she expects total concern; she needs to find a balance. The thing is everybody has to work out a pattern that will help our marriages work.

What are your challenges as a female pastor?
There are meetings that I have gone to and it is like God is only speaking to the men, when people come out from the prayer land prophesies come on. You find that 80 per cent of the people who step out are men. For me, as a woman and as a pastor, it is challenging but I think it is something that everybody can do, if you are sure God has called you. The important thing is that you make sure God has called you because if God doesn’t call you, you will struggle. If God calls you, there is a passion in you that makes you not to stop and nobody can stop you. There will be situations, crisis and problems, but you won’t be able to stop. There was a time in my life that as a pastor, I just wanted to resign. For me that is an experience I truly cherish.

How have you used your ministry to help other women?
When you help a woman, you helped her family. So, helping a woman is not about just one person; every time you touch a life, you probably touch other many lives. We empower women financially for their business. We did some last year. Now we have started working with widows.
We have started financially empowering women on small scales and rebuilt some others whose businesses were shutdown. There is a woman recently that we have to help put her shop back again because her children feed from that shop. We also run a school for indigent children. We have given scholarship to these children because their parent couldn’t pay their school fees. But truly we need people to help us with that because having to provide their accommodation, feed them as well as paying their school fees is a big burden.
We need people to assist us because we have qualified teachers who are working with us we need to be paid. If we can keep families back on track with the little assistance, we will be happy knowing that there is a secured future for them.

What has life taught you?
Life has taught me that God can do all things. Life has taught me that God can restore marriages that you think is over. Life has taught me that with God, nothing is impossible. I believe it is not over for anybody. If you can only believe in God, all things are possible to them that believe.

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Photos: Jay Z, Beyonce and Blue Ivy go sight-seeing in Paris

The Carters, who have been in Paris for about a week now following their show in the city, caused quite a hysteria when they went sight-seeing in the city of love yesterday...with their security detail of course...and Beyonce was the photographer for the family. See all the adorable photos after the cut...

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I may sing again if the right song comes - Genevieve Nnaji says

I liked Genevieve as a singer o, don't know what y'all are talking about. That her 'No More Crying o', was a banger to me...hehe. Anyway, looks like she hasn't put her singing ambitions to rest. She said in a new interview that if she finds the right song, she will sing again.

 

Speaking with Channels TV at the relaunch of her clothing line in Lagos on Sunday, Genevieve said;

"I think everything comes at its own time. Fashion is here at its own time. I don't believe I must do everything but if the right song comes and the right situation arises for me to lend my voice, I would definitely. So no, singing is not ruled out(don't worry)" she said

The actress also says that revamping her clothing line will not in anyway affect her acting career

"Nothing affects my acting. Acting is something I do with my soul so it embodies a lot of things. For me, I don't know about anyone else, acting is spiritual, so if I do not embody a character or a story or a script, it's going to be extremely difficult for me to be convincing and I don't like that because I am somewhat of a perfectionist" she said

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$1bn Azura-Edo power plant kicks off

foundation laying ceremony of the $1 billion Azura-Edo 1,000 megawatts gas-powered Independent Power Plant will hold on Friday, 10th October, 2014.
The first phase of the project, which was conceptualised in 2010 and jointly incubated by the Edo State government under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Amaya Capital, the key promoters of Azura Power West Africa Ltd, is 450-500 mega watts to be scaled up to 1,000 megawatts in the second phase.
The Azura project is the first Nigerian power project to benefit from the World Bank’s “Partial Risk Guarantee” structure which was specifically created to meet the developing needs of emerging markets globally. The Azura-Edo IPP is expected to create the template for the successful development of IPPs in Nigeria and Edo State is playing a pioneering role in determining the future of Nigeria’s power sector.

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Chief Press Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Mr Peter Okhiria, said the Azura-Edo IPP would provide over 4,000 direct and indirect jobs for the people of the state from the construction to the post-construction period of the project.
According to him, “the Azura-Edo Power Project is a clear demonstration of the confidence of the international community in the economy of Edo State. It is an indication that Edo State is investor-friendly as the Government under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has put in place the necessary infrastructure to attract investors to the state.”
According to Okhiria, “this is another project conceptualized by the Edo State Government under the Public Private Partnership Programme to unlock the industrial potentials in the State and make the state the nation’s energy hub.”
The foundation laying will be done by President Goodluck Jonathan.

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Nigeria at 54: Not yet the dream of our founding fathers

Despite the many problems, plaguing the nation, Nigerians will today celebrate 54 years of the country’s existence as a sovereign state, having attained independence from erstwhile British colonial masters on October 1, 1960. A number of activities have rightly been lined up for this august celebration because, whichever way we view it, Nigeria remains one. It is   the only country on earth that we can call our own. So, our disparate peoples need to work in concert to salvage it and overcome the current challenges.
The continuing existence of our different peoples as a nation state for 54 years in spite of tenuous strains to our unity is by all standards a great achievement. Even though the lofty dreams of our founding fathers remain largely unfulfilled, our ability to stick together and keep our hopes for a better country alive, should spur us to greater efforts to overcome our present problems and build a country we can all be proud of.
However, as we roll out the drums in commemoration of this remarkable occasion, it is necessary to reflect deeply on the nation’s journey so far.  It is apposite that we take stock of all that we have done well and the ones we bungled, with a view to making amends and getting back on the track that could lead us to the type of country, which our founding fathers envisaged, and of which we all dream.

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Pastor Chris and his critics (2)

BETWEEN 2003 and 2004, a small group of inveterate spoilsports, parading themselves as publishers (of soft-sell maga­zines), journalists and phony cler­ics, ganged up against the person of Rev. Chris Oyakhilome, a quintessential man of God, and against the Believers’ Loveworld Inc. (aka Christ Embassy), a flour­ishing and powerful ecclesiastical ministry founded by him. That was when I wrote the article of the above title that was published on page 63 of the Wednesday, Sep­tember 10, 2003 edition of The Guardian. The said article is now chapter 23 of my book, “The Way It Is” (Vol. 1).
Bewildered and frightened by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s giant strides in the spiritual realm, this group vigorously craved the sup­port of the then Federal Govern­ment in its rabid crusade against Pastor Chris’ TV miracles and teaching programmes.
The Federal Government was promptly enlisted in the web of the journalist-pentecostal-orthodox-cleric conspiracies and banned Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s TV healing programmes on the envy-soaked ground that miracles had no place in Christianity in spite of the numerous scriptures, includ­ing, but not limited to Mark 16: 17-18, 1 Cor. 12: 9-10, which make Christianity incomplete with­out miracles that characterized the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ. Following the unconsti­tutional and illegal ban, a group of concerned lawyers, including this writer, donned their wigs and gowns and repaired to the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, to file an ac­tion against the banning authori­ties. Not unusually, that action was effectively smothered by the court in deference to the Federal Government. In the event, Pastor Chris had to shift his base from Nigeria, his motherland, to South Africa, where he established a blossoming Healing School. The loss of Nigeria became the gain of South Africa! Today, the Christ Embassy Healing School, apart from being in South Africa, is in Canada, United States of Ameri­ca, United Kingdom, etc.

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MTN Empowers Link Forum Winners with N10million

(L-R): Ibrahim Mohammed, Senior Manager, Customer Care, MTN; Mohammad Jubrin, MD/CEO, Suntrust Mortgage Bank;Akinwole Oludayo; Adekunle Adebiyi, GM Regional Operations, MTN; Dr. Kazeem Mustapha,Executive Director, United Healthcare (H.M.O) and Mr. Hetal Shah,Director Operations, Mara Group& Mara Mentor, during the presentation of N2.5 million cheque to Akinwole Oludayo, one of the winners of 2014 Budding Entrepreneur Challenge at the grand finale of this year's MTN Link Forum held at Transcorp Hilton

MTN Link Forum is an innovative and interactive platform that is focused on advancing the aspirations of budding entrepreneurs and professionals, by providing them with the opportunity to interact with renowned and successful Nigeria Business icons, who shared with them knowledge, experiences and insights on their business success.

Out of 497 young business professionals that participated in this year’s budding entrepreneurship challenge, Nwaje Lucky, Akinwole Oludayo, Muhammed Salisu and Ogunlana Olumide emerged as the overall winners. Each of the winners received N2.5 million business grants. While ten participants with the best business ideas were also selected for a fully sponsored trip to the 2014 World Entrepreneurship Forum taking place in Lyon, France.

The General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN, Mr. Kola Oyeyemi said, “MTN is committed to initiating ideas that make life better for all its customers. The MTN Link Forum is one of these ideas. What MTN has done is to create a platform where budding entrepreneurs can interact with accomplished entrepreneurs and role models, so as to garner insights and knowledge on making a success of their businesses”.

Speakers at this year's MTN Link Forum include the Managing Director of Nigeria's online trading firm, Jumia Nigeria, Dr Jonathan Doerr; the Director of Operations of Mara Group &Mara Mentor, an online mentorship community, Mr. Hetal Shah; the Managing Director of Nigeria's leading online hotel booking firm Mr. Marek Zymyslowski; the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Suntrust Mortgage Bank, Mr. Muhammad Jubrin; the Executive Director of United Healthcare, Dr. Kazeem Mustapha among other notable business icons in Nigeria.

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Lagos to begin probe of Synagogue building collapse on Oct. 13th

The Lagos State Government announced on Friday Oct. 3rd that the coroner it inaugurated to probe the circumstances surrounding the 6-storey Synagogue building which collapsed on September 12th and claimed more than 115 lives will commence sitting on October 13th.

According to Punch, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice said in a statement that the coroner’s hearing will take place at the Coroner Court on the premises of the Ikeja Lagos State High Court.

The coroner is to be headed by Magistrate O.A. Komolafe, and the witness list are: The Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, the Lagos State Ministry of Works, the Surveyor-General of the state, the SCOAN building contractors, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria and the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism.

Also to testify are the National Emergency Management Agency, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the Nigerian Red Cross Society, the Lagos State Fire Service and the Lagos State Transport Management Authority.

Others are the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Chief Medical Director of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, the Chief Medical Examiner of the state and officials of the Emergency Centre of the Igando General Hospital, Lagos State.

Various print and electronic media houses such as The PUNCH, The Nation, Daily Independent, The Vanguard, P.M. News, the News Agency of Nigeria, Channels Television and Television Continental are also expected to testify before the coroner of inquest.

The General Overseer and founder of SCOAN, Pastor T. B. Joshua, families of the victims, an eyewitness, Lindiw Ndwande and the chairman of the Youth League’s International Relation Committee of South Africa, Mr. Rebone Tau, have also been listed as witnesses.

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Morocco 2015 AFCON qualifiers: Moses, Babatunde doubts for Sudan game

There appears to be bad omen for Nigeria ahead of the crucial two-legged Africa Cup of Na­tions qualifier against Sudan.
The Super Eagles need to win both matches on Saturday at the National Stadium in Abuja, and on Wednesday in Khartoum, to put Nigeria’s qualifica­tion for next year’s tournament back on track, having picked just a point from the last two games.
But with winger, Victor Moses and midfielder Babatunde Michael already doubts for Saturday’s

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Oshoala too hot ahead Namibia 2014

Canada 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Most Valuable Player, Asisat Oshoala, yester­day scored a hat-trick in Super Falcons’ 5-2 bashing of Abuja All Stars team to send a warning signal to Nigeria’s opponents at the forthcoming Africa Women’s Championship in Namibia.
Oshoala grabbed the first three goals inside 23 minutes to justify her call-up to the senior Women’s national team after her superlative showing at the recent junior World Cup in Canada where Nigeria’s Fal­conets lost to Germany 1-0 in the final.
The nimble-footed striker put Fal­cons in front as early as the fourth minute, when she latched on to a through pass from strike partner, Desire Oparanozie, to chip over the head of the All Stars goalkeeper.
She made it two in the 20th min­ute from a goalmouth scramble and completed her hat-trick in the 23rd when she beat an off side trap to make it 3-0.
The All Stars were quick of the mark in the second half and deserv­edly reduced the tally with a goal in the 47th minute. The veterans piled up pressure but the Falcons defended well to ward them off.
Francesca Ordega and Ngozi Oko­bi increased the lead to 5-1 in the 73rd and 80th minutes respectively, before the All Stars scored from the spot to bring the final scores to 5-2.
Meanwhile, Director General of the National Sports Commission, Gbenga Elegbeleye, who was among dignitaries that watched the game, expressed satisfaction with the re­silience and style of the Falcons and charged the girls to go to Namibia and do the country proud by winning the trophy.
“I am impressed with the way you beat a male team and I can only urge you girls to take this form and men­tality to AWC and reclaim the title. I will join you the moment you reach the semi finals and hopefully cheer you to win the cup,” the DG stated.

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Pastor held over death of little boy

A pastor (names with­held) in one of the new generation churches in Ozoro, Isoko North Local government Area of Delta State has been arrested over the death one Evi Samson.
The pastor who is also a Registrar in a Magistrate Court in the state was said to have administered black concoction on the victim as an antidote for an ailment.
Father of the deceased, Uwhemwu who reported the matter at the police sta­tion, said he took his son to the pastor for prayer.
He added that the sus­pect gave his son the black concoction to drink follow­ing which the victim devel­oped swollen head and eyes in the night of the same date and died afterwards.
But the pastor who is now cooling his heels in po­lice custody denied respon­sibility for the death, saying that what he gave to the boy was a bottle of coke.
Public Relations Officer of the Delta State Police Command, DSP Celestina Kalu who confirmed the in­cident yesterday and stated that the victim’s corpse has been deposited in the hospi­tal for autopsy.
DSP Kalu said discreet investigation in the matter has already commenced, adding that some charms from the suspect’s shrine behind the church were recovered when his house was searched.

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Husband of two wives impregnates daughter, 16

A father from hell, 42-year-old Segun (surname withheld) who allegedly impregnated his only daughter (name with­held), a 16-year-old JSS 2 student in Ig­beti, Oyo State is now in prison custody for committing the abominable act.
It was gathered that the sordid story began on December 1, 2013 at Gboro compound, Igbeti, when the suspect was said to have asked the victim to come and live with him. Thirteen years earlier, he had divorced the mother of the victim, who was about three then. After the divorce, the mother took cus­tody of the victim and then remarried. Much later, the victim began living with her father.
Continuing the tale, Oyo State Com­missioner of Police, Mr Kola Sodipo revealed that on the fateful night, Se­gun demanded that the victim should undress. She refused and attempted to escape. He threatened her with a cut­lass and then raped her, unconcerned about the excruciating pain she felt, being a virgin.

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WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN ABIA?

There is a piece of good news from Aba! Now the city can be compared to Lagos. Anyone who leaves home for another location in the same city gets to spend hours on the road. Where the problem lies is the Lagos situation would be as a result of distance. The Aba situation?
For the last seven years, we from Abia state have heard lots of stories on how Abia has become the America of our time. Roads have supposedly been repaired and people are in love with the governor. The sad part is that we only get the evidence from the corrupt Nigerian media alone. Honestly, whenever I move through the streets of Aba and Umuahia, I wonder whether I have run either mental or I probably am in another state. This is because nothing of all the noises the corrupt Abia state government make is true. Roads in Aba are unbelievable and shockingly embarrassing. Sometimes I wonder whether the governor is on leave. Sometimes I wonder whether he loves Aba the way it is. Sometimes I wonder how heartless humans could be.

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Ghana to export electricity to Nigeria

Ghana is planning to export thousands of megawatts of electricity to Nigeria, Ivory Coast and other neighbouring countries that have power deficit.
The Ghanaian President, Mr. John Mahama, who made the disclosure at the Africa Global Business and Economic Forum in Dubai on Wednesday, said his government had made huge investments in power generation that would enable the country to export excess electricity to Nigeria and others.
'We have given priority to electricity generation in our country. We have prioritised energy in such a way that we want to become the hub for power production in West Africa. We want to generate electricity to the point that excess power can be exported to Nigeria, Ivory Coast and other countries that have power deficit,' he said.

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Boko Haram Leader, Shekau Says He's Alive In New Video

 

BEVERLY HILLS, October 02, (THEWILL) - Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has dismissed Nigerian military claims of his death in a new video on Thursday, according to the AFP.

The new 36-minutes video according to the news agency showed Shekau in combat fatigues and black rubber boots, standing on the back of a pick-up truck and firing an anti-aircraft gun into the air, saying, “Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath…  Nothing will kill me until my days are over…”
“I'm still alive. Some people asked you if Shekau has two souls. No, I have one soul, by Allah. It is propaganda that is prevalent. I have one soul. I'm an Islamic student.
“I'm the Islamic student whose seminary you burnt… I'm not dead,” he said reading from a script, according to the AFP.
The Nigerian military had last week released photos to prove that it had indeed killed Shekau in Konduga, Borno State during a battle.

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