AFRICAN PLUME

By Akin Ojumu Christianity has always battled Satan’s corruptive influence. Right from its inception, heresies, errors, and false teachings have put down root within the Church. These have resulted in confusion and division among the faithful and the destruction of the faith of many. Early Christian writings addressed these errors forcefully, and the erroneous teachers were vehemently and relentlessly condemned. For instance, the theme of Book of 1 John is the separation of truth from error. Apostle John called on true Christians to test themselves to see if their faith is authentic. Letters of Paul to Ephesians, Galatians, Corinthians, Colossians, and Timothy were, to a large extent, written to denounce gnostic teachings – one of the earliest heretic doctrines and false beliefs – sweeping through the congregation of Believers at Ephesus, Galatia, Corinth, and Colossae at that time. In 1 Timothy 6:20-21, Paul warned Timothy about the danger of the fast-spreading gnostic teachings: “O T

By Akin Ojumu One of the many reasons the Body of Christ is in such a terrible state today is because the people of God pay lip service to the Bible. The severity of the morbidity of the Church is directly attributable to the de-emphasis on the written Word of God, and a wholesome emphasis on human wisdom, subjective feelings, and unproven experiences.  Whereas the Bible tells us that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God,” the people are being taught something entirely contrary. Faith now comes from the dreams and visions of apostles and prophets, it comes from sowing all kinds of seeds, it comes from looking at a wand hoisted by the GO, and it comes by sitting on chairs prayed over by the gods of men. Serious Biblical exegesis has been jettisoned and a total reliance on the Bread of life by which we grow has been thrown out of the window. In their place, covetous heretics employ all manners of gimmickry and greedy charlatans deploy all kinds of trickery. They explo

By Akin Ojumu This commentary is an exchange I had with a good friend of mine who was puzzled by Hezekiah’s callous response to the prophecy of destruction that was going to come upon his people and asked what I thought about it. My Friend’s Concern: The response of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:19 puzzles me greatly. How does a father think this way? I tried to contrast it with Josiah's response in 2 Kings 22:19-20 and 2 Kings 23. Josiah was promised a quiet death, yet he still acted! What made the difference? What’s the lesson here for me? My Own Response: Your perplexity is not misplaced. It’s absolutely in order to find disquieting, the response of King Hezekiah to the terrible things that was going to happen to his offspring and his nation in the future. I share your dismay. Below are my two cents on these two kings of Judah and the issues you’ve raised. Beyond being of the lineage of David and kings of Judah, Hezekiah and Josiah, his great grandson, have a lot of things in comm

By Akin Ojumu Being the trust-but-verify guy that I am, while fact-checking a social media post by one of my High School friends, in which Bishop David Oyedepo was quoted to have linked the adversity of Job to his tithing habit, I was shocked, but not at all surprised, to find a 2019 video that did indeed confirm what my good friend shared.  In Bishop Oyedepo's telling, the real cause of Job's afflictions was his failure to pay tithes. According to him, God removed Job's divine security and allowed Satan to buffet him with calamity because the man was a habitual tithe defaulter. Because Job didn't tithe, his life became really tight. Here is the Bishop in his own words: “You can't see anywhere where Job tithed. So, his blessing was not secured. You can't find anywhere where Job tithed. No! He was overly committed to giving liberally to the poor and God was committed to bless him. But there was no security.” Just so it's absolutely clear. Bishop Oyedepo's

By Akin Ojumu For all their dullness and uppity snobbishness, there are few things to love about the British. Their parliamentary debate, for one thing, is comparable to none. Stepping onto the floor of the British Commons is like entering a lion’s den or a Roman colosseum where you get eaten alive. The floor speeches are brutal, ruthless, and merciless. It's a place where politicians wield words, as swords, as deadly weapons to rip the heart out of their opponents. Boris Johnson, the frazzled haired British PM, who himself makes it a habit of ruthlessly taking down his opponents, was at the receiving end of the Sword of Damocles a few days ago, when he stood to face questions about his attendance at parties hosted at 10 Downing Street where alcohol was served at a time when his own administration had instituted a nationwide lockdown and restriction on movements and social gatherings were curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In reminiscence of the scene in Julius Caesar, whe

“A Bolekaja Can't Take You to a Future and a Hope” By Akin Ojumu Many of us warned Nigerians of the peril of hiring a tired old man, who is decades past his prime, for the job of overseeing a large and complex country like Nigeria; a task that demands a razor-sharp mental acuity, ample vigor, and boundless vitality. Instead of heeding those warnings, overwhelming majority jumped on the bandwagon of change and hinged their hope on a decrepit jalopy to take them up the steep hill to the next level. Predictably, the mammy-wagon, aka Bolekaja , broke down less than a quarter of the way up the hill, and Nigerians are now facing the harsh realities of their blunder. The country is in total chaos, things are falling apart, and the center is struggling to hold. Every waking moment in Nigeria is like a repeating nightmarish Groundhog Day of agony, misery, and horror. You would think by now, six years later, Nigerians have suffered enough and have learned their lessons. Wrong. They are at i

“Weep for Your Children, O Daughter of Nigeria” By Akin Ojumu Having redefined corruption and concluded that it isn’t necessarily thievery, the onijibiti in government go to town. Like scavenging vultures swooping on a rotting carcass, the predators pick apart the national cake until there’s nothing left but bare bones. They amass onto themselves an unthinkable amount of wealth from the nation’s coffers with which they live in such opulence that ordinary Nigerians cannot conceive even in their dreams. The barawo go on to stump around the country flaunting their ill-gotten wealth in the face of hapless Nigerians who, discarding self-respect and sinking to grotesque obsequiousness, grovel and cower before the onye oshi . As they are chauffeured along in a convoy of exotic bulletproof automobiles, the shouts of “ Baba ke , you are too much, go on so ohun , ma jaiye ori e ajepe ,” trail them like siren. Then, with the money siphoned from the national purse, the plunderers of the nation’s

“That Time When a Good Name Was Currency”  By Akin Ojumu There used to be a time when Nigerians would look at the shenanigans going on in the Banana republics in Africa and around the world and were able to shake their heads, shrug their shoulders, let out an audible sigh, and say, with all the national pride they could muster, “This can never happen in Nigeria.”  Those were the good old days. It was a time when, as a people, Nigerians jealously guarded the soul of their nation, shielding it from the corrosive influence of self-centered tyrants and their self-serving collaborators.  Back then, being an “Omoluabi” in the public square mattered a great deal. Ringing in the ears of every public official was the voice of their parents back in the village telling them, “Ranti omo eni ti iwo nse,” that is, “Remember the child of whom you are.” The petrifying fear of engaging in any activity that would soil the family’s good name was a self-check so strong that it stopped many public servants

Application Timeline: Opened on November 16, 2021 Closes on Saturday, January 15, 2022. Selection Process TechGirls participants are selected based on the eligibility requirements below. Independent selection committees composed of industry leaders and regional experts review applications. United States Embassy personnel in your country of permanent residence interview semifinalists. If you are a U.S. applicant, please see the U.S. Youth Ambassadors program page. 2022 Eligibility Requirements Students eligible to apply are those who: (1) Are from one of the following eligible countries/territories: Sub-Saharan Africa (AF) – Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa East Asia and Pacific (EAP) – Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Mongolia, Taiwan, and Vietnam Middle East and North Africa (NEA) – Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, and Tunisia South and Central Asia (SCA) – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan Western Hemisphere (WH

By Akin Ojumu Pastor Blinks is a Ghana-based prophet who has been especially called by the “spirit” into an area of ministry that has been left fallow for far too long. Anointed from on high with supernatural power, the prophet is charged with a unique and singular assignment, which is to attend to the hygienic needs of his female church members. As they say, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” The godliness of a church is directly proportional to the wholesomeness and purity of its members. This is especially true for female hygiene. If a church desires to be on fire for God, its women must be super clean. It’s only congregations with supremely hygienic women that experience the powerful display of God’s power. It was for this very purpose that Pastor Blinks was called, to keep the women clean so that the power of God may be seen. And the man of God goes about his calling with great relish. Sunday services are cleansing services. The female church members receive “spirit-filled” speci

“Open the Floodgates of Your Holy Fury, Let It Rain” By Akin Ojumu “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14). As a Christian, there’s a lot riding on you. If you say you are a Believer in Christ, then act like it. You can’t profess to be of the light and live as though you belong to darkness. Your light must shine by reflecting your good works for the whole world to see so that they may glorify your Father in Heaven.  Until the watching world see that your deeds match your creed, they are never going to see the Lord. So, it’s expected of you, as a Christian, to always be at peace with all men (i.e., love people) and you must live a holy life (love God). It’s when you love people (following peace with all men) and love God (by living in holiness – i.e., a life of continuous sanctification) that people will see, and want to serve, the Almighty God. It's the righteous living of the Christian that attracts sinners to Christ and

“A Church Too Obese To See Its Own Waistline” By Akin Ojumu Christianity is at the weakest and lowest it has ever been. At no other point in its two-century long history has the church been this spiritually bankrupt, and never has the Body of Christ been this corrupt. The very same people called to be the light of the world have become black holes into which light enters and dies and turns into darkness. Those who are meant to be salt that preserves the earth have gotten maggoty, festering everything they touch. How did you fall from glory, O Church, saints of the Almighty God? How have you become this empty, you who are supposed to strengthen the nations! The current state of the church is the real-life enactment of that popular saying, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”  The hideousness that now characterizes the church is what always happens to people who ignore their calling, forget their purpose, and desert their mission. It's eerily similar to wha

“Persecution Doesn’t Kill The Church, It Only Makes It Stronger” By Akin Ojumu In its early days, the church enjoyed a moment of bliss. As they fellowshipped and broke bread together, singing praises to God, the nascent movement flourished as more and more people were added to their number. In addition, they enjoyed the goodwill of the people,  Having thus settled into a comfort zone and gotten accustomed to a familiar territory in Jerusalem, complacency began to set it in. The early Christians forgot that the place of their assignment was beyond their zone of comfort.  The Lord's command that they will be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even beyond their shores to the uttermost part of the earth seemed like an imperceptible whisper and a faded memory. They, instead, pitched their tents in Jerusalem among their fellow Jews, believing the work of redemption was for the benefit of Israel only. That was the case until the Lord rustled up their cushy nests