The Boiled Seed.

An aging king woke up one day to the realization that should he drop dead, there would be no male in the royal family to take his place.He was the last male in the royal family in a culture where only a male could succeed to the throne - and he was aging.He decided that if he could not give birth to a male, he would adopt a son who then could take his place but he insisted that such an adopted son must be extraordinary in every sense of the word.So he launched a competition in his kingdom, open to all boys, no matter what their background. Ten boys made it to the very top.There was little to separate these boys in terms of intelligence and physical attributes and capabilities.The king said to them, 'I have one last test and whoever comes top will become my adopted son and heir to my throne.' Then he said, 'This kingdom depends solely on agriculture. .So the king must know how to cultivate plants. So here is a seed of corn for each of you.Take it home and plant and nurture it for three weeks. At the end of three weeks, we shall see who has done the best job of cultivating the seed. That person will be my heir-apparent. 'The boys took their seeds and hurried home. They each got a flower pot and planted the seed as soon as they got home.There was much excitement in the kingdom as the people waited with bated breath to see who was destined to be their next king.In one home, the boy and his parents were almost heartbroken when after days of intense care, the seed failed to sprout.He did not know what had gone wrong with his. He had selected the soil carefully, he had applied the right quantity and type of fertilizer, he had been very dutiful in watering it at the rightintervals, he had even prayed over it day and night and yet his seed had turned outto be unproductive.Some of his friends advised him to go and buy a seed from the market and plant that.'After all,' they said, 'how can anyone tell one seed of corn from another?' But his parents who had always taught him the value of integrity reminded him that if the king wanted them to plant any corn, he would have asked them to go for their own seed. 'If you take anything different from what the king gave you that would be dishonesty.Maybe we are not destined for the throne. If so, let it be but don't be found to have deceivedthe king,' they told him.The d-day came and the boys returned to the palace each of them proudly exhibiting a very fine corn seedling.It was obvious that the other nine boys had had great success with their seeds.The king began making his way down the line of eager boys and asked each of them, 'Is this what came out of the seed I gave you?'And each boy responded, 'Yes, your majesty.' And the king would nod and move down the line.The king finally got to the last boy in the line-up.The boy was shaking with fear. He knew that the king was going to have him thrown into prison for wasting his seed.'What did you do with the seed I gave you?' the king asked.'I planted it and cared for it diligently, your majesty, but alas it failed to sprout.' the boy said tearfully as the crowd booed him.But the king raised his hands and signaled for silence. Then he said, 'My people behold your next king.' The people were confused. 'Why that one?' many asked..'How can he be the right choice?' The king took his place on his throne with the boy by his side and said, 'I gave these boys boiled seeds. This test was not for cultivating corn.It was the test of character; a test of integrity. It was the ultimate test.If a king must have one quality, it must be that he should be above dishonesty.Only this boy passed the test. A boiled seed cannot sprout.' Never!!We live in a society that has become obsessed with success and many showsuccess at any cost. We say the end justifies the means. It is the tragedyof life.You see, failure often is an invitation to God to show that he is allpowerful and does not need help to make us great or to bless us.You know, sometimes God looks for people who will trust him completely nomatter what so he could show the world that it is not by might or by powerbut by his spirit.God sometimes ordains failure. But many seek to circumvent divinely ordained failure by resorting to dubious means.When a civil servant builds a big house and sends his five children to expensive schools when he does not have a second source of income, is that not a case of a boiled seed sprouting?When a minister of state is able to sustain a lavish mistress and at thesame time put up houses from his income as minister, is that not a case ofa boiled seed coming to life?We should stop cheering rogues in WORLD!.Boiled seed does not sprout. Never!!!Next time you see a successful person, find out what kind of seed he was given and ask him, 'how come your boiled seed has sprouted.

We as a nation can't suceed on the backdrop of worship of wealth.Be yourself always.Life is not about how rich you are,but how contented you are.Ferive joy from the people around you,not your riches.

THE SOJOURNER
Having packed my bags to an unknown land, I have come to appreciate our dear country. Though I appreciate our country based on the conditions i met in Aberdeen, I detest our leaders the more. There is not supposed to be much difference between us. The way Nigerians over here judiciously obey laid down rules, I believe they will also obey back home. But one important ingredient missing in Nigeria, has not been the desire to follow, but the willingness to lead with an open mind, fairness to all and responsible. In as much as their are no clear cut signs of our Government been sincere, the generality of the masses will always feel bad and release little or no energy towards the project called Nigeria. I use the word 'PROJECT’, not that I believe that Nigeria has a fixed life cycle like all projects.No.But Nigeria of today’s order can not, will not and shall never stand the test of time.
The insincerelity of our Government can also be seen in the way and manner it handled the Boko Haram (Western education is evil) saga. The President openly pledged to investigate the extra-judicial killing of the leader, one Mohammed Yusuf and one Alhaji Buji Foi, a former commissioner in Borno State, yet he failed again!!!. I am of the opinion that there is a conspiracy theory surrounding the killings. But that could be put to rest if Government of Y'Ardua was able to redeem its pledge of investigating the two killings.
Here in Aberdeen, I am yet to see the sight of gun; never seen a police man with gun, yet I have not witnessed any robbery incident. I have always believed that you don't effectively police a nation by brandishing arms to its citizens.No, rather effective policing can be achieved by the use of modern security procedures and technologies...which our security agents are yet too embrace.
What about our political system, lies! Lies!! Lies!!!Our politicians believe in the do-or-die politics of the homo-sapiens. Credibility is a very big issue in Nigeria. Most of our problems will reduce if our elections start producing credible leaders. How we can achieve this, we can only think of credible leaders from our electoral system, when the electoral umpire is credible. So as it stands, the Chairman of INEC has a very big duty to this Nation. Produce credible leaders, and we will have a great nation.
I don't believe we are lazy, no we are not. We a great collection, if tapped into can turn to world power, the potentials are there, just the enabling environment.I believe we will get that evirnment.
But in all these,i am a Nigerian,Still a Nigerian and will sureley die a Nigerian.
Nigeria,the land of my birth.
Nigeria,the resting place of my forefathers.
Nigeria,the beauty of my heart.
Nigeria,my identity.
Nogeria,the resting place of my body and soul.
I SHALL RETURN TO THEE AND THEE ALONE!!!

KIDNAPPING: A CASE FOR N.C.C
The advancement of communication has been an important tool in the fight against crime, used by security operatives the world over. In well organised societies, lots of sinister plots have been suppressed at the incubation period, thanks to communication technology. It's even more reliable considering the fact there is no room for error in the digital world. The importance of communication in modern day policing of our environment, in the face of clear and present dangers, are well shown in epic films like '24', 'Alias' etc.Though they are make believe, but they are an eye opener of what we have been lacking in our country.Call tracing and Triangulation are so important in the work of a security operative, it simplifies his work. It makes it easier for him to safe guard the masses. For Nigeria to claim to be part of the global village, and yet lack the benefits that are synonymous with the technologically enhanced global village is appalling.Everyday,scores of dare devils patrol our streets, while innocent citizens are hound into prison, all based on the judgement of one drunken policeman. Let technology lead the way in our fight against organised crimes!It's no secret that no Country, State, Town or village can develop itself all alone by its citizens, giving rise to the popular saying 'No man is an island unto himself'. The works of Nigerians in U.S are well known, so also the Jews, rumour has it that they are the bedrock of America's technological advancement. So, if Nigeria is to be great, it must attract foreign direct investments. But how can we attract foreign direct investments in the face of all these kidnappings, militancy and assassinations? Kidnapping has killed us. We are caught in an inescapable network of criminality, driven by greed, hopelessness, hatred and neglect. How can we convince foreigners to come, when we ourselves, go to more serene places like Ghana, Togo and even Benin for our leave holidays. Will you blame anyone? No.Even Obama is aware! I am sure that in the nearest future, Nigerians will stage their wedding ceremonies in Ghana and other of our peaceful West-African neighbors. Insecurity is the dangerously structured dam that has blocked the flow of development in Nigeria.I am not unaware of the root cause of these vices; Over the years, our leaders were more concerned in the acquisition of wealth (vanity, I call it), without any meaningful developmental planning, job creation to cater for the teeming population. So the new generation created some sets of employment for themselves, evident in the high number of kidnappings, armed robbery, militancy and assassinations. But is this the way forward? All these will lead to more underdevelopment, which will catch up with us all; militants, kidnappers, just every one of us.We can only attract foreign direct investments, by making use of modern technological developments, one of which is communication technology, and not RE-BRANDING alone,(Madam Minister, you can't re-brand a rotten fish for sale. The smell will scare away buyers.).Let us recognise the urgency of the moment and the need for powerful antidotes to combat the 'disease' of insecurity; we were once safe in our land! I believe the fight against insecurity, with kidnapping as the focal point of analysis, being in vogue now, is a fight for all; F.G, NCC, SECURITY FORCES and even MILITANTS.Militants are involved because kidnapping is the first born of militant's pregnancy. We can't fight it without them, because it affects them as much as it affects us…if only they know.Many years after setting up NCC, it is unimaginable that all we can make out of communication technology is no more than making calls and sending emails, this is a total failure! Eight good years after the introduction of mobile communication, NCC is yet to make use of this enormous tool in the area of security. Its unthinkable that after 8 years of GSM, Mr A. can buy a SIM card at Oshodi,place a call to the president of this nation, insult him and throw away the SIM at Mile 2.Why can't we have a data base for all the mobile subscribers in this country? What better way to fight crime, than knowing the position of a suspect at any time't'.According to NCC, we have a total of 133 million installed capacity for mobile subscribers, assuming every Nigeria on the average, has two mobile lines, this gives us a total of about 65 million subscribers, whose bio data like names, picture, genotype, blood group, DNA, residential address, state of origin, town/village, occupation, active mobile numbers, which can be documented. NCC can set up outpost in all state capital and major towns, for data collation. The existing mobile subscribers can update easily by visiting the outpost stations of NCC, some will ask, why not allow mobile operators to do it, but since those ones are in business, they may compromise. The update of existing mobile users should not be a problem, it can be done bit-by-bit, even if we achieve this under a 5 year program, we are still at no loss. New mobile SIM cards should not work until the required information's are attached to it.What do we stand to gain by going through all these stress? They are enormous. The success of the rescue operation of the Canadian woman kidnapped in Kaduna is a handy example of fighting crime with technology. It was stated that mobile operators were involved in the real-time location of the kidnappers, in collaboration with covert security agents. The question now is, why not apply same technique to other kidnap cases in other parts of the country. Selective treatment will not stand the test of time, against the desperation associated with kidnapping. If a concrete structure is not put in place to treat cases like this, we will be engulfed by the trend.Declaring capital punishment for kidnappers will not help, in the same way it failed to subdue armed robbery. If the country is not made uncomfortable for kidnappers, it will not be comfortable for us. Electoral reform is not the answer, Electoral reform will be meaningless if the stage is for ever volatile for its implementation.2011 is around the corner, be sure that politicians will be kidnapped or assassinated before the elections. By securing the identities of all mobile subscribers in the country, we can by chance, lay hand on some important information that can save lots of innocent lives.Agencies like Police, National Population commission, armed forces etc can all benefit from this setup, when coordinated together. These are the kind of re-branding we want to see. Then Madam Re-brand can easily re-brand our sauntered image, when the activities of 'yahoo-yahoo' boys are taken care of, when kidnappers are easily rounded up, and their victim released.