By Abdu Rafiu
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stirred the hornest’s nest again this time with his endorsement of Peter Obi as his preferred President in the next dispensation just around the corner. Obasanjo is not a stranger to controversies. We are used to it now that whenever he makes a pronouncement there can be no sitting on the fence. Over the years he himself has developed a thick skin to the attendant uproar and argumentation when he makes pronouncement on national issues. It does not matter if he stands alone in the din that follows his position, thus putting the courage of his convictions on display. He cannot be right all the time; indeed the timing could be awkward, but he stands by how he sees things. One of the reasons he is backing Peter Obi is Obi’s appeal to the youths on the one hand and Obj’s wish on the other to wrest the country from what he sees and seemingly generally seen as the choking old order.
The youths are in the age of idealism, beautiful to behold and experience. They are driven by what is revealed in higher knowledge as melancholic temperament. The temperament ensues when a human soul slips into a stage of blood change. There are four stages of blood change everyone undergoes. For the youths, it is the age of dreams; they see the world upside down and they want to right wrongs and straighten it. They hit the air with their fists, jump up and chorus “We no dey gree! We no dey gree!! Aluta continua.” They take risks. Their lifestyle is bohemian! It is the time a young girl looks at her mother straight in the face and says, “Mom, that was your time, not mine.” It is youths who have the accustomed energy, enthusiasm and dynamism at their command. How wonderful it would be if the dreams and idealism could be sustained. They could effect changes! But the display of these attributes soon peters out and they join the rest of the society mostly promoting and living in rot. Some of our state governors whether military or civilians, commissioners and State Assembly legislators may not strictly be classified as youths but adults who cannot be said to be that old and far from youthfulness, driven by the blood change that powers choleric temperament.
What matters most at all times, however, is the degree of inner maturity with concommittant radiance manifesting character and wisdom, the latter also drawn from hidden connections through the instrumentality of maturity of spirit. Regional contestation in the hustings, the hustle and bustle before us, cannot be ruled out given the degree of general maturity of our inner beings as a people, no matter how subtle it may be and our efforts to play it down as a factor. Obasanjo would like to be counted as above that level given his roles and posture in national and international affairs. He has demonstrated this that he is gone past regional contestation, arguably closely matched by Archbishop Matthew Kukah. They denounced vigorously Buhari’s provincialism and brazen nepotismi in what Obasanjo called Fulanization and Islamization of Nigeria. Obasanjo would like to see his spirit roam far and wide, and not caught in a web of that nature nauseating to him. We do not have to agree with him, after all, we all have our choices, but we should not seek to diminish him on that account. Coarse language has been used against him; it smacks of bad manners.
Surprisingly, and I dare say, embarrassingly, Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo’s letter slamming her father, has resurfaced. The letter was given very wide publicity in 2013. It was in response to one former President Obasanjo fired to President Goodluck Jonathan, in which he accused him of two-facedness in some of his steps and what may be described as his body language. Senator Iyabo Obasanjo’s letter came from the blues, giving a catalogue of what she believed were her father’s own peccadilloes. She accused him of egoistic lust for power, describing him as a hypocrite. She accused him of cruelty to his family and of abandonment of children and grandchildren. She said he had a legendary reputation for maltreatment of women.
They were bottled grievances, dripping with disappointment and deep hurt. It would appear the grievances were shared by her siblings for none of them raised a finger excusing himself or herself from the charges against their father. The language of the letter is distasteful, to say the least, indeed awful. A language in which a daughter portrays her father as suffering from narcissistic megalomania must be considered an unusual letter, alien to African culture; indeed, the culture of the people of South West Nigeria in particular where it is an abomination to drag a father to the public square for humiliation–no matter what the supposed transgressions against the family may have been.
It is gladdening that Gen. Obasanjo has kept dignified silence of a father. Predictably, political opposition and adversaries have reissued the letter and are making mileage of it in the social media. In the Nigerian tradition, there are mechanisms to resolve family conflicts. Where such serious conflicts cannot be settled within the nuclear and extended family as in this case, respectable and iconic personalities are called to wade in. Three people come to mind as of now: Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Dr. Christopher Kolade and the Archbishop of Sokoto, the Most Rev. Bishop Matthew Kukah. Akin Osuntokun, Professor Olatunji Dare and Dare Babarinsa can be left to see to the arrangements, with the Alake of Egbaland assisted by the Olowu of Owu playing host to a strictly private family meeting.
The letter has played into the hands of some of our unscrupulous politicians, to whom nothing is high and sublime any more. How many among those brandishing and clapping, saying with glee, it’s good for him, (Obj), will accept a daughter taking them to the cleaners in the market place?
Senator Iyabo’s 10-year-old letter has been exhumed and life driven into it following former President Obasanjo throwing his weight behind Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party. In the atmosphere of political heatwaves sweeping through the country, Obasanjo’s accustomed declaration of support and choice has pitched him against traducers. I am not wading into the controversy exhaustively nor will the column get into conversations on Marriage as well as Children and their claim on their parents. They are subjects for some other days. What is urgent for now is the resolution of the conflicts in Obasanjo family and getting members to eschew bitterness and hate. They should be persuaded to cultivate love among and for themselves—for their own sake. The consequences of failure to do so, could be unspeakably calamitous in future. We must all be wary of where our paths lead us after this earthly sojourn. What will be the nature and experiences for the Obasanjos and all of us in the next earthlife if permitted to have yet another go at it, especially as the cycle is closing under the pressure of the special Star heading towards the earth in a straight line which I hinted at last week.
It is the Great Comet! It is the return of the Star of Bethlehem that accompanied the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth to bear witness to Him. At that time, the Star came with Love. The Star of Bethlehem is returning with a different mandate under the Wings of the Holy Spirit, the Justice Arm of the Almighty Father. It is coming at this time of the Age of the Holy Spirit with Justice, the Sword of which is already beaming with purification Rays sweeping through all lands. The chaos and confusion engulfing the earth are the effects of the Rays. In years to come, it will be relentless.
As it has been pointed out in this column a few times, we human beings do many things out of ignorance of the Laws and beyond-the-earthly weavings and higher correlations of life and existence. Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo has vowed that her letter was the last communication with her father for life. She must be persuaded to reconsider her stance. In the way Creation Laws work, if the conflict is not settled, it cannot be farfetched to conceive of the paths of the principal actors in the family bitter disagreements crossing in another earthlife. The conflict will be carried over into another earthlife in the future and with intensified hate and bitterness. We can then consider this frightening scenario of Iyabo being Olusegun Obasanjo’s mother which may likely be the case. The possibility of her abandoning him on a refuse dump is not inconceivable! The Laws governing Creation are incorruptible, perfect and self-enforcing. All those who may be brought together to vent their anger resulting from a carry-over bitterness will not be released until there is full atonement. Are we not told, “Ye shall not get out thence until thou hath paid the last farthing”?
FROM EDO TO CHINA WITH LOVE!
Come with Dr. (Mrs.) Dorcas Ejemeh Krubu for an experience of “A Promise Fulfilled: A True Life Story…”
The word reincarnation is derived from Latin, literally meaning entering the flesh again. Reincarnation as a belief has always been held by the great majority of mankind in Orient. It is a concept which is known and understood as a given fact of life in almost all ancient cultures from Africa to Europe and to the Americas. It is pertinent to note that this belief was prevalent even at the time when technologically driven information exchange across continents and peoples was not in place, something which otherwise would have been argued as the product of the propagation of colonial expansionist religious belief and philosophy. Thus, it goes to show that the knowledge of reincarnation is an integral part of the human consciousness borne out of the inner recognition of Creation realities and life phenomenon.
Some researchers such as Ian Steven and Jim Tucker have investigated the issue of reincarnation and published reports of children’s memories of previous lives in peer-reviewed journals and in books titled Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation and Life Before Life. The work of Psychiatrist Ian Stevenson is probably the best known, if not the most respected collection of scientific data that appears to provide scientific proof that the reality of reincarnation is indeed unquestionable. Instead of relying on hypnosis to verify that an individual has had a previous life, he instead chose to collect thousands of cases of children who spontaneously remembered a past life. He has over 3,000 cases of such. Many people, including skeptics and scholars agree that these cases offer the best evidence yet for reincarnation. He also matched birthmarks and birth defects to wounds and scars on the deceased, verified by medical records such as autopsy photographs, in Reincarnation and Biology cited by Caderet, 2005.
The human spirit is in material Creation for the purpose of acquiring the degree of maturity that opens up for it the path of experiencing life consciously in the Spiritual realm, Paradise. The development, which has a definite time frame, cannot be attained in one earthlife; hence, the necessity for reincarnation. At physical death, the soul departs the body and if reincarnation is to take place, it is the old soul that enters into and takes possession of the new body.
The Laws of Attraction of Homogeneous Species and the Law of Reciprocal Action principally regulate the circumstances into which we are born. The way and manner in which we lived in the past has a strong bearing on our present life. Life is an unbroken chain and all experiences are absorbed by the soul. Hence it may not be out of place to posit that our present relationships with fellow human beings who cross our paths at different points in time may be as a result of interactions in the past. That is, strong ties from former earthlife may bring people together for the purpose of reconciliation, restitution or mutual advancement.
It is against this backdrop that I wish to relay my personal experience on reincarnation which was unsought for but rather came to me in a natural but astonishing manner.
Could it be an intuitive drive?
One afternoon, on the 19th of February, 2003, to be specific, after series of research work in the laboratory, I slumped on a chair in the office right in front of a computer and dozed off for a few minutes. During the nap, I found myself shopping with ease amidst people who looked very much like Chinese. By the time I woke up, the dream experience made a strong impression on me and I felt deep within me that it was more than just a dream. Acting on the spur of the moment, I turned to the computer in front of me, went to google.com and typed teach in China. These words came to me even without any forethought and as I clicked on search, right before me was a lot of openings. I quickly edited my Curriculum Vitae and sent it to four tertiary institutions. By the next morning, three institutions had replied and their responses were positive. One specifically asked for my telephone number which I obliged. By 7am on the 21st of February, 2003, I got a call from one of the institutions asking to know when I would be able to resume work. The other two tertiary institutions wrote to inform me that I would be accepted and that they would send my invitation letters shortly. By the beginning of the third week in which I ventured on this path, I was having three invitation letters from three different Chinese universities; one in the North, one in the east and the other in the west of China. As soon as I got my visa, I withdrew my services from my employers in Nigeria.
The journey on a new path
On the 6th of April 2003, I departed Nigeria for China. I arrived Beijing the capital city the next day. From there, I proceeded to Taiyuan City, Shaxi Province in the company of my employer’s representative who came to pick me. Soon as I settled in, I signed a one-year contract. During this period, I was as it were riding on invisible wings and soaring on high. My soul knew so much inner peace and joy that words could hardly explain. The first day I went to the market, I did it on my own with no direction from anyone; the market looked very familiar in every sense. While pondering over the familiarity of the market, it came to me that it was the place I saw in the short nap I had in my office on the 19th of February which preceded my path to China. My work schedule allowed me ample time to myself and as a result I made it an obligation to really go site seeing for recreational purposes. Towards the end of my contract, I had the strong desire to relocate to another part of China for the purpose of familiarizing myself with the country. This time around, my plan was to go to the southern part of the country as I did a lot of travel in the northern region within one year. To make this dream come true, I started seeking for employment in the southern region. Fortunately, I got another job but my employer did not release me. With this development, I had to stay back for another one year. At the end of the second year, another barrier to my relocation reared up, I was specifically put under obligation to handle a project. All efforts to make my employer release me proved abortive. However, towards the end of the third year, a colleague recommended me to a tertiary institution in Jiangxi Province and I was offered employment.
Strong ties arising from past earthlife
In July 2006, I relocated to Jiangxi Province. During my first lecture with a new class of about thirty students, I tried to acquaint myself with them by way of getting to know their names, they all gave Chinese names, but most of which were similar. For the purpose of my class and easy interaction with them, a student suggested I should give them English names. So, starting from alphabet A-Z, I wrote some names on the board so that they would have enough to choose from. In no time, we were done with the names and I had my class. After the class, a 19-year-old girl came and introduced herself to me. She told me the English name she chose during my class was Carla and that I should address her as such. Wow…I told her it was a pleasant surprise, that my daughter’s name is Carla.
The young lady was very warm and fond of me. We became very intimate in a unique way. Almost always, she would walk me to my apartment after my lectures. Close as she was, there was caution as if she had something to tell me that she was not comfortable with. I sensed it and I kept looking for ways to make her talk; this made her a bit more relaxed. One day, she asked me about my faith and beliefs with specific questions on reincarnation. I answered that ‘reincarnation is a fact of life, whether one believes it or not, it does not change anything.’ I was very careful with my choice of words because my employment contract did not permit me to discuss religion or any topic that tends towards spirituality with students and colleagues except fellow foreigners. Hence, I explained reincarnation in the light of traditional belief in some parts of Nigeria. To this she heaved a sigh and said ‘yes, you have made the job easy for me.’ I asked her ‘what job’? She said I should not worry but that I needed to follow her to her hometown to see her mother. To me her request was a tall order. I told her I would need some time to think about it but she would not give me breathing space. After much pressure, I promised to go with her at the end of the first semester which coincided with spring vacation.
NEXT WEEK: THE DROPPING OF THE VEIL FROM THE EYES AND STUNNING REVELATIONS!
Dr. (Mrs.) Dorcas Krubu, back home, is a lecturer in a Nigerian University.
The Guardian
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