LENS - VIEW ~ By Ogbenነ Laa

How do we salvage our defective value system ? Today,I write about a certain man of God in one the Christain faith denomination around. I had a heated argument within me trying to determine whether I should reveal the identity of this church or not. My instinctive drive does not even have patience for such inner debate. But I desire not to heat up the already charged religious polity whereas my primary objective is to merely expose the questionable yardstick for our value system. By the way,value-system simply means the principles of right or wrong that are acceptable by an individual or social group. So said, my shout out goes to my readers who are Daddy G.Os' bootlickers. My disdainful respect for your 'spiritual ego' has successfully cautioned me from mentioning the name of the church involved in my tale. A man whom for the purpose of this story we shall address as Bro Joe is a dedicated man of God by all Nigerian standard. He has served in the vineyard of the Lord for quite some years. Of course,this selfless service comes with the prospect of becoming an ordained pastor soon. I want to believe this is standard practice except God fancies you and 'calls' you himself. Therefore,it is only fair to put it that Bro Joe's ambition was not inordinate. He was reasonable. But soon never came for Bro Joe after many years of 'apprenticeship.' Something was apparently wrong for Bro Joe was an acclaimed devout even within the his parish congregation. Younger brothers that joined the vineyard after him have all being posted to new parishes as pastors. God didn't 'promote' Joe-at least that's the impression the church hierachy gave. Anyway,that's my personal feeling on the whole insensitivity to Bro Joe's donkey years of service in the vineyard. God must have been telling the Church elders something inaudible to the rest of us sinners. As it turned out and quite sadly too, God didn't 'call' Bro Joe because he was not literate! Apparently, ability to communicate in good English does not qualify Bro Joe as literate. God wanted his Degree certificate too. As soon as Bro found this was what his 'promotion' delay was all about,he set out to right the wrong no matter at what price. Bro Joe began a full time degree course at the Federal University of Technology,Akure in Ondo state. This was some distance from his church in Abeokuta ,Ogun state where he is as active as ever. The five years he spent to obtain the degree certificate was spent shuttling between the two states. He spends the first half of each week for the church in Ogun state and the other half for the school in Ondo state. I guess since it was God that wanted him to have it,He, as a matter of duty saw him through the program. We can not say otherwise for Bro Joe never missed a test or assignment during the five years. Neither a single carry over. He passed out in flying colours. Everyone was happy for Bro Joe turned Pastor Joe. Everyone perhaps except his friend whom we shall call Mr Killjoy. Not that he was unhappy per se. But he had the nerve to question Bro Joe's credibility. Mr Killjoy was the one that housed Bro Joe in that five years of studying in the University. According to him,he has never seen Bro Joe with a course note whenever he comes around during that five years and it beats him hollow how Bro Joe made his Second Class Upper. What ensued between Bro Joe who was unimpressed by the question mark put on his integrity by his friend,Mr Killjoy is another is a story for another lesson. What have we learnt from my story ? We don't need an ouija board to know that Pastor must have been 'generous' to some lecturers during the span of his studies in a desperation to meet the value-system of his Christain faith denomination. Do we think such value-system is excusable if it breeds corrupt practices even among those who are supposed to be models to the pew. What moral justification would a Pastor Joe possess to preach or to paraphrase Tosin Ayo,'to reach out' to that lady prostituting her body for cheap marks from the lecturer? I could go on and on with scenarios Pastor Joe has no moral justification to poke his contaminated nose into. Something I can not comprehend is wrong with our value system. We put value on vanity. We succumb ourselves to undue pressure to impress people we do not care for. We use the money we don't have to purchase the goods and services we don't need. We wilfully make ourselves contestants in the rat race. And a sage once cleverly remarked,'the problem with the rat race is that even if you win,you are still a rat'. Sounds more like vanity upon vanity all is vanity. If the church is not getting it right,the future is bleak. ®Adedayo Olaoluwa fisayo aka Ogbeni La writes from the Sunshine State.

ECCENTRIC ONITSHA BILLIONIARE BURIES MUM WITH HUMMER JEEP

**FREE MADNESS** Donatus Ampa is a billoniare know for outrageous acts; Just recently he carried out his latest larger-than -life plan out by putting his $500,000 Hummer Jeep six feet under to buried his mummy,

According to Ampa, every one thought it is absurd when i said am going to bury my mum with my latest customise and finest automibile jeep.....In nutshell that is my own way of life. I love it HUMMER JEEP in lieu of CASKET ..

AGGRIEVED PDP MEMBERS BARRICADE WADATA PLAZA WITH COFFIN

**INCREDIBLE** Our politics and politicians are hilarious. So a coffin was brought to the PDP national secretariat in Abuja yesterday that sent PDP chairman and other party members running for their lives. LOL Angry PDP members from Rivers state yesterday staged a weird protest against the leadership of the PDP over the choice of former Education Minister Nyesom Wike as the party's Governorship candidate for River state in the 2015 elections. The protesters who stormed the party secretariat around 6am with the coffin, barricaded the entrance of the secretariat, stopping everyone who worked at the building from gaining entrance. The group was later dispersed by mobile police with five protesters arrested.

FACE TO FACE WITH LERE ~ OLAYINKA

Lere Olayinka, the Special Assitant to Governor of Ekiti State of Nigeria Opens Up Lere Olayinka is a journalist and politician who shoots straight no matter whose ox is gored. He is the Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose. Personal branding is a leadership requirement; how far would you go in branding yourself for the success of your career and development as a leader? I am not a formal person. I am also not a protocol person. I do things as my spirit leads me. However, I love to be seen in the picture of a problem solver, someone who is accessible to everyone, answers all phone calls and respond to all text messages. To achieve this, I can go to any length and I do not mind any inconveniences. We know that you are a successful man; What's success to you and how do you go about it? I do not see myself as a successful man yet. I am still struggling, striving to put my name on the lips of the entire people of the world. Nevertheless, I see success as a relative term, just the way I see wealth. Tell us about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant to you? The recent one is getting the immediate past governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi out of office and its eventual accomplishment. From the very day Fayemi assumed office, I knew he was not the desire of God for Ekiti State and I set out to confront the government. Two weeks after Fayemi became governor, I wrote an article titled; “Ekiti: Between men and God” which I ended thus; “In Ekiti, the reality is that men have passed their own judgment, which implies that all that is needed to win an election through the judiciary is for a loser to destroy electoral materials by whatever means, including setting INEC office ablaze. The beneficiaries of the judgment have not stopped giving glory to the man, who made it possible. But there is yet one other judgment that will come soon, which is that of God. When it does, no one, except Himself will take the glory.” On this project, I faced death! I was brutalised, arrested, charged to court for sedition and detained for days. If you were given a contract, loved everything about it, and are paid what you asked for; what kind of offer from another institution would make you change your mind? If I get another offer that will be more beneficial to the people around me, I will change my mind on any other offer no matter how mouth watery. Looking back into your journey and what you have achieved so far; who and what inspired you? I am an independent minded person and a realist. I do not live my life waiting for miracles to happen because I do not believe anyone can get to eat say Eba without having to get Gaari and boil water. My journey of life has not been easy, because of my background but I have refused to be defeated by hereditary poverty and failure. For instance, I left secondary school at less than 14 years but instead of going further with my education, I went into shoemaking for six years. For six years, I was an apprentice shoemaker and a shoemaker. I later worked for four years as an office messenger before going to school. All along, I have been inspired by the desire to achieve results and make my mark despite being born without spoon in my mouth. If we're sitting here a year from today rejoicing what a year it's been for you in your role as Special Assistant to the Governor of Ekiti State on Media; What would you say you have achieved with your team? I want to be seen as a bridge between the government and the governed. The one through whom the public gets to hear the truth, nothing but the truth about the government. And most importantly, I love to see myself as a changer of the public perception of the government. Which animal would you compare yourself with? I am not a lover of animal but I like the attitude and character of dog. Dog does not betray its benefactors. That is why the Yorubas say “aja o kii gbagbe oloore.” Dog is also a wise animal. It protects its own children and benefactors against external aggression. Do you easily get worried with any negative comment about you or your institution? I don’t get worried about those negative comments. In fact, they encourage me to fire on because when you hit the desired target as a political communicator, your must be abused. I have been called names, even my parents were not spared, but I am not deterred. It is part of game and I have played the game long enough to know this. You have been impacting your community, your voice has been heard in so many platforms; please tell us what you have done so far and what are your plans for the future? Unfortunately, apart from championing the cause of the people through my job as a journalist, I am yet to see myself as having done much for my community. What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last before you sleep? Like I said earlier, I am not a protocol person. I do things as they come and what I do today might not be what I do tomorrow. But in most days, the first thing I do when I wake up is to check my phones. What calms you down when you are stressed? I hardly get stressed because I work 24 hours and do things at my own pace. For few readers that don’t know you, what would you like them to know about you and to always remember you for? Lere Olayinka is a kind of man you get to meet on the streets. He is a free minded person. He is a lover of peace and hater of oppression. Lere Olayinka is someone who says his mind without minding whose ox is gored. He hates sycophancy and bootlicking and love to be seen in his own mirror.

DESMOND ELLIOT WINS APC HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY TICKET

Reports coming from Surulere, Lagos venue of the All Progressives Congress (APC)Primary Election for the House of Assembly have it that a Nollywood actor, Desmond Olusola Elliot has emerged victorious. Desmond Elliot, who hail from Olowogbowo family house in Surulere, Lagos is seeking to represent Surulere Constituency 1 in Lagos State House of Assembly come 2015.

Desmond Elliot defeated the incumbent member representing the constituency in the state House of Assembly kabir Lawal by 39 to 62 votes.

ARMED HOODLUMS INVADES ADO-EKITI PRISON FREED INMATES

Attempt to free NIYI ADEDIPE (Apase), Sola Durodola (Inter Party), R TEN chairman, Adebayo Aderiye (Oju Igo) and other

APC thugs remanded in prison custody over their alleged involvement in the murder of former NURTW Chairman, Omolafe Aderiye was foiled this morning. Armed hoodlums were said to have invaded the Ado Ekiti Prison along Afao Ekiti road early this morning. Some of the prisoners were set freed. Among those who escaped was OJU IGO but he was rearrested .

BOKO-HARAM INVADES YOBE VARSITY KILLED SCORES

News reaching us from Damaturu, Yobe State capital indicates that gunmen, suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect, Monday morning invaded state capital shooting at anybody on sight. It was gathered that the gunmen’s first point of attack was the Yobe State University located in Damaturu. The attack, which is ongoing at the time of filing this report, has crippled early morning movement in the northeastern state.