Author Archives: @ayatutureporters

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Live Once Before You Die

I am sure you might have seen the movie, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ . If you haven’t, then try and get it. I don’t want to dwell on Benjamin, who happen to be the main actor. For now, let us look at the Captain of the Boat, “New Orleans”. When young Benjamin started working with the Captain, he noticed the lad’s zeal and enthusiasm with which he carried out his duty. Benjamin was always the first to volunteer when the Captain needs an extra hand. Mind you, though Benjamin was young in age, he had the physique of an old man. So the Captain thought he was an old man.

He wanted to know why Benjamin, despite his “old age” was always enthusiastic about the job. So he called him aside, to have a chat with him. He felt perhaps, being on a boat had been the life dream of Benjamin, and seeing it fulfilled must have been the reason for his enthusiasm. Being a Captain, and living his life on the sea, was not what he had wanted in life. He told Benjamin how he wanted to be an Artist.

His voice was laden with sorrowful regret as he narrated how his late father killed his dream of being an Artist.
“This boat business is our family business, and that’s the trade you must inherit”. With those words, the Captain’s fate was sealed by his father.

Most times, parents tend to believe they know better. And as such, compel their children to choose a particular career path. This is the bane of job dissatisfaction, and nonchalant attitude towards ones duty, as commonly experienced in our society today. At the end of the day, the adult life of the child becomes that of regrets.

Every humanbeing, comes to a time in life when he or she would decide what they want to live for. Anything outside that to them brings nothing but regret. They still have this sorrowful feeling somewhere beneath their skin. I understand that some children like Iheanacho might choose a path laden with troubles and untimely death, but if that is what he plan to live for, do you really have the right to stop him?

When Jesus was declaring woes on the teachers of his days, he knew they will come for him. He knew he won’t grow grey hair on the path he had chosen. But it was the life he wanted to live and die for.

Methuselah was recorded to live for over 969 years, aside the longevity, what else is he remembered for? But Speak of Jesus, Mohammed, Paul, Gandhi, Luther King Jr, and a host of others; how long did they live? But their impact and legacy had refused to die.

So before you start telling someone to take this path or that; to live life like this, or like that, ask yourself: “do I know what this person want to live for? Do I know what matters to him”?

Let ‘s Live life in such a way that our Deaths will never die.

For at the end of it all, we will only be remembered by what we have done, and not how long we have “existed”.
Have a great week ahead

Men-Pleasers Are Never Powerful In Prayer

Acts 4:18-20

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”~James 4:4

One of the reasons people are not powerful in prayer is because they are men-pleasers at the expense of God. It takes courage to pray because the devil will always attack your prayer time by bringing people to whom you can hardly say “No.” Of course, because you don’t want to look like somebody from heaven, disconnected from human beings, you succumb. I tell believers to be careful that you don’t have people in your life to whom you cannot say “no”; people that are not of God because if you do, the devil will always have them as his entry point into your life.

If you are fond of saying, “I’m praying,” every time people come to see you, you will hardly have any friends, but you can find the time to have that kind closet of environment. It can be found, it can be available, like Jesus did early in the morning. He didn’t offend anybody because they had not woken up. He woke up earlier than everybody, but to do that, He had to conquer His flesh to get a closet where He could pray.

Pray to your Father in secret and He will reward you openly with miracles, signs and wonders. You need to conquer your flesh. Many people cooperate with their flesh and the narrative of their life is one of prayer failure. God want you to be a prayer champion, a powerful person in prayer and you need to look at this principle of discovering the best time to have a closet atmosphere.

LET US PRAY;

Lord, I receive courage, boldness and wisdom to fight for my closet time and prayer hour. I declare a divine separation from anyone who can be devil handle in my life in Jesus name. Amen.

How To Enter Into Your Closet To Pray (3)

Proverbs 23:7; 1Corinthians 15:45-49

“But so much the more wentthere a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes come together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” Luke 5:15-16

Entering into your closet iswithdrawing from distractions, relationships, interactions with people, situations and circumstances; and going to pray. You have to withdraw fromthe problems you want to pray about so that it doesn’t destabilize you. Then yougo to God and unburden your heart and pray to Him and He will hear in the secret. It does not mean that you have to go into a closet like a toilet. However, you must learn the principle that sometimes, ‘the closet’ is a time when you are alone.

Some people have a home atmosphere that it is not possible to have this kind of a fellowship with God in the morning. Some women have a situation at home that it is only in the evening when the children are out praying or the husband has not come back from work that they can be free from distractions. They can have that time as their closet time and maximise it.

The devil will always attack your closet time. He will focus on that time that you need privacy with God, but at other times when people are with you, he leaves you alone. And then there are times the Holy spirit comes to you to stir you up to pray. You need to withdraw from people at such times. Many times, to get a closet kind of environment, you have to excuse yourself from human presence. Just say, “please excuse me, I just want to spend the next ten minutes with God,” then go somewhere. When you begin to practise that courageously, people will respect you for it and then you will discover that you will begin to be more powerful in prayer.

LET US PRAY:

Dear Holy Spirit, I permit You to call me apart in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life to a place or prayer. I receive the sensitivity to know when You are drawing me and when the devil is attacking in Jesus name. Amen.

HON. BOB TYOUGH: A Prey Of Political Propaganda (2)

By Vershima Orkuma Hemen

Continue from last Saturday here:
https://ayatutureporters.news.blog/2021/09/18/hon-bob-tyough-a-prey-of-political-propaganda/

I always read with disgust, the deliberately misleading and mudslinging articles in the social media, against the person of Hon. Bob Tyough, arising from his stewardship at the National Assembly. Looking by the vitepurative and blackmailing approach of the authors within and outside Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency. Their intentions by the gross misrepresentation of facts and the outright calumny is to paint Bob Tyough black as to gain political traction for his opponents.

It is not difficult to know the direction from the virulent attacks comes, given the identity of it promoters in the social media. The frustration of Hon. Bob Tyough’s opponents is understandable. They have found that they can not sufficiently question his intimidating report card. Not with the ubiquitous evidence of his achievements across Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency. Therefore, they want to disparage the manner of his achieving success.

With all the sulfurous attacks, those who care to know genuinely would tell you that there is no arguing the assertion that Hon. Bob Tyough, for his unimaginable achievements as the first time Reps, has become an enigma. This is so because until he appeared in the horizon, the people had concluded that the office was more or less for personal aggrandizement.

In addition to his high level of visibility and vibrancy on the floor of the green chamber, more than the ranking Reps members, the ubiquity and quality of his constituency projects, he has changed the perception from negative, where by other Reps members catered only for their party men and cronies, to positive as he engaged on the hoi polloi projects. And the evidence are irresistible.

Special Interventions; With the predatory Fulani heldsmen unremitting attacks on the hapless Benue farmers with some part of his constituency extremely becoming target. Hon. Bob Tyough, intervened and facilitated the distribution of relief materials to the IDPs in the affected areas of Moon, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Again, when there was a communal crisis in Utange Council Ward, which resulted in the losses of lives and properties, Bob Tyough identified with the victims and provided relief materials such as food items, clothes, mattresses, etc.

Rural Electrification; Hon. Bob Tyough has provide and installed a 40kw solar mini-grid in Ichor, the electrification of Wantor Moldem Secondary School to Tse Ikpa and Use-Mbayev has been successfully completed. While work is still on-going in many other council wards.

In the area of Employment; With the high level of unemployment in the country and the lackadaisical attitude shown by the government in creating jobs opportunities for the masses, Bob Tyough has been able to facilitate the employment of over twenty (20) people across his constituency in the Federal Government Agencies and Palastatas. Among the beneficiaries are; Dr. Dogoh Adzua Samuel, Mr. Agor Terhemen, etc.

Foundation has finally been laid for the procurement of drugs and laboratories equipments for primary health clinics across Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency.

Given the brief excursion into Hon. Bob Tyough phenomenal achievements as a first time Reps, is it not logical then that the working legislator be sent back for a second run of excellent representation especially as he would be a ranking Reps with power to attract more benefits to his constituency? Hon. Bob Tyough has shown that he does not dwell in distractions that could limit a legislator from performing optimally.

Finally, those that have determined to attack Bob Tyough’s credibility instead of spending mental energy on how they could sell their preferred candidates, should realised that no amount of falsehood against the people’s representative would give their principals any advantage. They should change tactics and perhaps they would succeed to convince a few out of the whole lot who already have the mindset that Bob Tyough opponents are only good for jokes.

How To Enter Into Your Closet To Pray (2)

Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed”~Mark 1:35

Your closet can be a place or a time. In the life of Jesus, He rose up very early and prayed in a solitary place in order to practice this truth. He went to a place where He could have a closet kind of environment, where He could have privacy and even there, they sought Him. And when they found Him they said to Him, “All men are looking for you.” That’s why many people don’t pray and don’t succeed in praying.

I want to show you one important principle for a successful prayer hour. The principle is that when you wake up in the morning, change your location and get up from the bed. Many people don’t pray successful because they wake up from the bed and stay on the same bed to pray and they mostly fall back asleep. The devil and your body don’t want you to pray and they will cancel your desire to pray and you will find out that you regularly overslept and are now only ready for work. That’s what Jesus said when He said “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26.41; Mark 14:38).” This means it takes more than a willing spirit to pray. It takes a conquered flesh to pray.

If your home atmosphere does not provide that in the morning, there could be another time. It could be another time in the evening or an all night. In the life of Jesus Christ, you will find out that many times He prayed in the middle of the night, all night long.

LET US PRAY;

Lord, thank you for delivering me from the weakness of my flesh. As I commit to relocating from where I slept in order to pray, I receive the hand of the Lord strong upon me in Jesus name. Amen.

HON. BOB TYOUGH: A Prey Of Political Propaganda

By Vershima Orkuma Hemen

Power, they say, belongs to God, and He gives it to whomever He wills. While I subscribe perfectly to that saying as a believer in the sovereignty of God, I am not oblivious of the role played by men and women who have made themselves little gods and resorted to aiding or hindering the ambitions of fellow mortal men. Looking through the lens as a social and political observer, I can say with certainty that the only burden Bob Tyough, carries is that of well-orchestrated political propaganda that has been sustained over the years against his personality.

Hon. Bob Tyough, must be the most vilified House Of Representative member in the history of Benue State. He is abused and bad mouthed with ferocious intensity. This really has nothing to do with his records in office. He is by no means the ‘worst’ Reps Kwande/Ushongo has ever seen, as a matter of fact, he is one of the better ones.

Bob Tyough, opponents would have us believe that he is the ‘worst’ Reps, but in less than three years he has been able to sponsored three bills, co-sponsored two bills and sponsored five motions, beating many of the old timers at the green chamber of the National Assembly.

Unlike other Legislators who focused on empowering only their party members with motorcycle and granding machines, Hon. Bob Tyough, embarked on the people oriented projects that will be of benefits to all and sundry irrespective of their political affiliation. The result has been remarkable and overwhelming.

Bob sponsored and pursued the restoration of Mata and Mbagwa State Assembly Constituency which has come to reality.

Women and Youth Empowerment; He facilitated the establishment of a skills acquisition centre in Adikpo, under the aegis of a World Bank project, know as Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS). It is on record that Kwande/Ushongo is the only Federal Constituency in Benue State with whom the World Bank has initiated that project with; and it did not take place until Bob Tyough became Reps Member.

Also, he donated the sum of One Million Naira to Mbagba/Mbakyan Women Multi-purpose Cooperative Society. Members of the co-operative can obtain non interest loans from the fund for their businesses and farming activities.

Bob Tyough, sponsored over three hundred and fifty beneficiaries for NIRSAL loans, Federal Government Artisan Survival Fund and Federal Government Grants. In his letter of appreciation to Hon. Bob Tyough, by Mr. Keshi Thaddeus Terhile of Utange Council Ward, read thus; “…In my lowly status, you searched and found me worthy to be part of the Federal Government loan through NIRSAL.” “…I was overwhelmed when I received the credit alert of N473,000 from NIRSAL Microfinance Bank.”

In Education; Bob facilitated and fully built the ICT Centre at St. Andrews Secondary School, Adikpo. He also distributed text and exercise books across secondary schools within his constituency as well as the on-going scholarship programme for students within Kwande/Ushongo.

In addition, there is on-going renovation of primary schools and provision of seats, tables and assorted teaching materials to schools across his constituency. At the take-off of the distribution of text and exercise books at St. Andrews Secondary School, Adikpo, the president of the National Association of Kwande Students (NAKS), Comrade Bem Iortim, who is also the media handler of the APC aspirant Hon. Terkimbir Ikyange, remarked that; “Bob Tyough actions are unprecedented in the history of Kwande/Ushongo.”

In Agriculture; Bob supplied farm inputs and agrochemicals to co-operative societies across Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency.

In Health Care; There is on-going renovation of primary health clinics at different council wards in Kwande/Ushongo. Bob Tyough, also paid hospital bills of over 50 patients across his constituency. Some of the beneficiaries are; Mrs. Mamnenge Iorliam Asom, Mrs. Dorcas Umbur, etc. The evidence are overwhelming.

In the area of water; Hon. Bob Tyough, procured one drilling ring for his constituency to ease water scarcity in the area. There is on-going drilling of over one hundred and twenty (120) motorised borehole across twenty six (26) council wards of Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency as well as all the abandoned boreholes were repaired. At the flagging-off of the drilling of over one hundred and twenty motorised boreholes at Koti Apera, the Legal Adviser of the All Progressive Congress (APC), for Mbagba /Mbakyan Ward, Hon. Iorhemen Wanche observed that; “This is commendable. No doubt, we require this, we appreciates it and we will continue to give every moral support that the cooperation requires, the boreholes would help alleviate the water scarcity challenge been faced by the people.”

These are by no means the tokens of the ‘worst’ Legislator.

To be continued.

Do We Still Have Elders In Benue?

By Vershima Orkuma Hemen

“Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!”~Ecclesiastes 10:16

There is a very popular saying in Africa which literary means ‘curse does not kill someone that has grandchildren’.

This saying originates from the fact that someone that had grown old enough to have grandchildren should be an elder. And as it is expected of elders, they should have some level of integrity and self-respect, which should keep them away from evil activities that attract curses and insults.

Being an elder back then makes you a fair and unbiased judge, and also it entrusts the reputation of being truthful on the person. I can recall how it was a taboo to speak up against the opinion of an elder in a way that insinuates that the elder is lying. I still have a vivid picture of an incident that transpired in my secondary school days, at the City Comprehensive Secondary School, Bauchi, when the school driver, an elderly man in his late sixties, gave a doctored report about one of my classmates, and the reaction from our principal when I tried to set the records straight.
“Are you saying baba (as he was fondly called), is lying?” He asked me. Out of courtesy, I could not answer ‘yes or no’, but deep inside me, I knew he was lying!

Over time, the decadence in the society is no longer seen only among the younger generations but also displayed by those that were supposed to set the yardstick. With the return to democracy in Nigeria, there has been a steady decline in our morals as every election year takes us lower on the moral scale. Now I fear if there will be any shred of morality left after the next five election years, i.e, in twenty years from now.

The level at which men, old enough to be grandfathers, lie shamelessly and behave in manners youngsters would not behave, is a call for serious concern.

Take the Slurred Benue APC stakeholders Press Release in Abuja and that utter nonsense by Ihyarev APC leaders in Makurdi for example, the shameful display of men, who are leaders and elders in their own right at their various communities, act shamelessly and throw tantrums like children that were poorly trained, speaks so much of the future of morality in the land. It is even more worrisome because their foot soldiers who come on social media to defend these shameful acts are mostly my generation.

This makes it therefore difficult for me to turn a blind eye, as the possibility of their proteges to continue these disgraceful actions, scare the hell out of me, daily.

Going forward, we must learn to tell ourselves the truth. Else we might bring upon us the curse as stated by the preacher when he said; “Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning.”
We cannot continue on this path, for the end, therefore, is doom.
We must collectively remind our elders and leaders of what is expected of them.

We can no longer continue to have children as our leaders and elders.

Enough is enough.

How To Enter Into Your Closet To Pray (1)

Vershima Orkuma Hemen

“But thou, When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which is in secret shall reward thee openly.” ~ Matthew 6:6

In the passages we have been considering for the past months, Jesus is teaching principles that should govern your prayer time, else you may not get answer to prayers.

While Jesus described hypocrites in verse 5, He described a child of God coming to the Father in verse 6. When Jesus said “Enter into thy closet,” He was referring to a place where you can be alone and you can pour your heart without fear of somebody eavesdropping or disturbing and distracting you.

In practice and transposing that on our prayer life, your closet will be a place or a time that you are free from distraction strations of life, that you can have privacy with your God and your Father to interact, discuss and share your heart with Him; and hear what He has to say to you without anything restraining you.

Have you been in a church service before where the priest says God is telling him that everybody should make three requests and whatever they ask God will answer? People usually turn away from other people and say things they don’t want any other person to hear. That is, many times when we are praying and people are there, we may be saying things that we don’t really mean- things that we want to say to impress people. And prayer is never for the sake of another person or for impressing another person.

LET US PRAY:

Lord, I thank you for the opportunity to come into your presence; deliver me from wandering thoughts and distractions in the place of prayer in JESUS name. Amen.

Don’t Pray As Hypocrites Do!

By Vershima Orkuma Hemen

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they be seen of men. Verliy I say unto you, They have their reward”. ~ Matthew 6:5

Jesus said, “…you shall not be like the hypocrites.” In this context of prayer, a hypocrite is a man who does not believe in prayer itself but does it to please people so that people can think that he is close to God. It is a form of religious deception. Jesus gave the example of the Pharisees and the Sadducees of His days as a prototype of the hypocrites.

It was not the posture or place of their prayer that was wrong but their motives to be seen by men and to be hailed and praised as somebody who could pray. Jesus said that praise and human applause was their reward. Prayer is a two-way communication between a man and his God for fellowship and for changing situations and circumstances that requires divine intervention and divine involvement. You can’t afford to pray simply to show off. Some people do so and that is all the reward they will get.

Another problem many believers have with Matthew 6:5 is that in a bid to avoid the rebuke of Pharisees, some believers say, “Well, my prayer is just between me and my God. I’m praying silently in my heart.” That is not what Jesus was saying here. He was neither teaching silent prayer nor praying in your bedroom alone; rather, He was dealing with the motives of the hearts of the people.

LET US PRAY :

Lord, purify my heart, let it be as gold in your presence. Deliver me from wrong motives in the place of prayer in JESUS name. Amen.

Rep Tyough Begins Drilling of 120 Borehole For Constituents

By Vershima Atsaregh

Member Representing Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency, Robert Tyough, on Saturday flagged off the drilling of one hundred and twenty, (120) motorised boreholes across the twenty six (26) council wards of his Constituency.

Speaking during the flag-off of the exercise at Agba-Mbakyan Traditional Council Hall, Koti-Apera in Mbagba-Mbakyan Council Ward of Kwande Local Government Area, Rep Tyough said he intends to deliver a total of one hundred and twenty motorised boreholes across the federal constituency with at least four boreholes in each of the fifteen council wards of Kwande and eleven in Ushongo Local Government Areas.

He said the aim of the water project is to provide good water for the people of his constituency thereby reducing health hazards caused by unhygienic water and assured that all the one hundred and twenty boreholes will be delivered within one year.

Rep Tyough said he was working on bringing other democratic dividends such as youth and women empowerment programmes and called on the people to exercise patience.

Speaking to Nanev Development Association of his efforts in Abuja so far, shortly before the flag off, Rep Tyough revealed that he momentarily had put on hold his scholarship scheme because he had to save money for the procurement of a drilling rig to facilitate his desire for the water project. He noted that now that he had gotten the rig, he would drive the exercise to conclusion. He therefore, thanked the students for their patience.

Many members of the Koti Apera community came out with excitement to witness the flag off exercise.