Re: It’s tough, holding onto hope

We must remain hopeful

MY Dear Garba Deen Muhammad, I really enjoy reading your Friday columns in the Daily Sun. They are very brilliant, patriotic, educative and enlightening pieces. Your piece of Nov. 20, 2015 has given overview of the many dimensions of insurgency and terrorism and their causes and the global efforts to counter them. I totally agree with you that in these difficult times, all of us must be hopeful and keep hope alive. And pray to Allah, the Almighty and All-Knowing. He alone has power over everything so that He helps us to overcome all evil among us, including terrorism and insurgency. Well done. Allah’s blessings to you and your family. Engr. Muhammed Abba-Gana, CON Former FCT Minister

Signs of end-time

GARBA, the happenings around the world now are signs of end-time, as predicted in the Bible. End-time is the moment the present world would go into extinction to be re- placed by superior spiritual modus where the devil and its acts would become extinct. What a beautiful and peaceful world that would be. Simply unimaginable!

According to the prediction, at end-time, there will be wars coupled with strange happenings all around. What part of the world, East, West, North or South is at peace now? None. Does a situation where young people surrender themselves to death, believing it would take them to salvation, not strange a happening? So, many happenings these days are beyond human comprehension. The choice of settling them rests with the Almighty God. What we require is not the might or superiority of one religion over another because only God knows those who are truly serving Him.

Therefore, Garba, the happenings around the world now are signs of the end-time; as predicted in the Bible. What is required of the world now is to submit itself to true service of God; irrespective of religious beliefs. Humans should always remember that empty we came into the world and empty we will go back to face judgment over our deeds on earth. So, we require true supplications, through our various religions, to God for forgiveness of our sins so He could change things over better for our transient existence on earth. Most of the killings going on in the world stemmed from religious differences. Is killing of one by another not against God’s law in all religions of the world? I pray God to minister to our hearts to make us truly work and walk along His designed path on earth, Amen.

LAI ASHADELE 11/23/2015 2:08:29 PM (layiash- adele@yahoo.com)

All hands must be on deck

Dear Garba,

THANKS for the above topic. As usual, you provided indepth analysis of the harm posed to humanity by the current wave of terrorism, sweeping across the globe. It’s now clear that all nooks and crannies of the world are potential targets so, all hands must be on deck to fight the scourge. If it’s not Sinai today, it’s Paris tomorrow; if it’s not Paris tomorrow, it will be Kano next tomorrow and if it’s not Kano next tomorrow, it will be Mali the next day. Imagine Russia, which hitherto had little or no cases of terrorist attack outside its soil, is now a victim of international terrorism. Thanks and have a great weekend. Dr. Maurice Umeakuka, Fedpoly, Oko.

We will overcome
AS we regularly observe with shock the massacre of harmless and innocent citizens by rebellious and heart- less criminals, one cannot but agree with you, that, it’s tough, holding onto hope. No one seems to be safe any- more from the shores of Africa through to other parts of the world, the entire globe looks like one huge arena of battlefield.
The rational of the recent Paris attack, is because of the French involvement in the Syria fiasco said the Islamic State. But here in Nigeria the eagerness of the people in authority to play the nice guy at the initial stage of this Boko Haram insurgency (though debatable) became the reason these satanic and mindless butchers, unleashed their terror on the innocent, the affrontery not only to slaughter our people but also the boldness to ravage and occupy parts of our territories.

It is comforting that the present government are doing the needful to bring this insurgency to an end, they have taken the bold step and the battle to the enemy and are on top of the game, hence the successes recorded in recent times. Experts in the field of warfare have described suicide bombing as unconventional war, now being applied by these insurgents because their strongholds have be deciminated by our gallant soldiers, these suicide bombings can be defeated or reduced to its barest minimum these scholars say, through information and intelligence gathering and the participation of the citizenry.

Having noted the huge sacrifice and relentless efforts of our armed forces, we must not only be hopeful, but also faithful that we will overcome for “Faith is sub- stance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1) and as the Holy book also says in Romans 8:14, “we are saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one hope for what he sees?

While we applaud our officers and men in the battle arena, while we pray for our gallant men and women who have offered to sacrifice their lives that we might live, while we thank our government for their commitment to win this battle, we must hold onto hope that we shall be victorious. Johnny, Abia

Nigeria will succeed

OGA Garba, Nigeria is a good country. We need good leadership from mature minds.
Let our leaders believe in delegating power to the younger generation, not circulating old people over and over. The nation will succeed. RAL Consult Isiokpo Ikwerre LGA of River State, John Iheanyi Tasie

Re:Olisa Metuh: Still de-marketing Nigeria

BUT for posterity and the records, I would have, like many, ignore your vague logic in your column of Friday- November 6, 2015 with the above caption. You were one of the few columnists I admired until your recent posturing, which smacks of mischief and beclouded your sense of judgement.

Your take on certain individuals contained in the piece under review even though unsubstantiated is defamatory, to say the least. How on earth will you describe an accomplished lawyer, a senior advocate, a seasoned politician, a successful businessman, philanthropist and former minister of the Federal Republic as a “mercenary”????? Ex- cept you know something else other than the decent roles played by KT Turaki, SAN, in his capacity as the deputy DG, PCC in charge of the North, one cannot comprehend what your perception is, regarding what he ought to be doing, which informed this narrow line of thinking? Was his contributions at campaign rallies not adjudged civil, decent and issue-based?

If you people have chosen to be myopic to the myriads of obfuscations and perspicacity the Buhari contraption has imposed on our national psyche, then I will only urge you to steer clear of names like KT Turaki, SAN,who has carved a niche for himself as an active legal practitioner long before even the Goodluck Jonathan presidency with which you have chosen to deride him. Even though he served in an irregular ministry where he had to start even the office afresh, he was soon to make a success of his first assignment as the Chairman of the Presidential Dialogue Committee where far-reaching recommendations were articulated for the Presidency, among them freeing innocent arrests, victim support committee, continuos dialogue, etc. Embarrassingly, even the insurgency that Buhari has severally referred to as a fraud, has now topped his priority; traveling night and day, cap in hand, begging even dependent neighbours to come to his aid. What an irony…..or have we suddenly lost memory of Buhari’s assertion in the build up to his presidency……that any at- tack on the citizens without clue beyond 24 hours has the sinister hand of government? Have we not been witnesses to even more audacious attacks lately. Is government a conspirator to these ceaseless attacks? Are we not living witnesses to renewed and daring agitations for secession under Buhari’s watch? From east, west and throughout…. is the story not the same?

How about the increasing slide to anarchy, dictatorship and statelessness? Are all of these the making of Goodluck Jonathan, Metuh or the PDP? The affront and invasion on the institution and sanctity of the Akwa Ibom government; the shameless drama against former NSA – Dasuki; the brazen violation of democratic tenets; primitive and politically motivated persecution of perceived enemies; directionless economy, etc. Are you also, in all honesty, proud of the so-called “saints” Buhari is giving Nigeria as ministers? Give me a break, Garba, people like you should be courageous and sincere in striking objectivity when you write, else you will soon realise that the danger in our polity occasioned by mediocrity and the celebration of falsehood will be traced to your doorsteps. May God deliver us. Ibrahim Abdullahiabdullahiibrahim247@gmail.com