Category: Nigeria

State of emergency declared in Nigeria

From the BBC:

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared a state of emergency in Ekiti State, following the impeachment of the local governor for corruption.
Mr Obasanjo said he was taking action because the governor’s sacking had been unconstitutional, and to prevent Ekiti descending into chaos.
Both the chief justice and the attorney-general have said Ayo Fayose’s sacking was illegal.
Political tension is rising in Nigeria, ahead of elections next year.
Mr Fayose has denied reports that he had fled the country, saying he was in hiding because he feared for his life but remained governor.

Census results in Nigeria delayed

From andnetwork.com:

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is due to release the results of a census conducted in March 2006, but will probably postpone any announcements until after the 2007 general election.
Censuses are controversial in Nigeria because rival ethnic and religious groups have tried to use them to assert their numerical superiority and claim a larger share of oil revenues and political representation. Splits between Nigerian Muslims and Christians and among the country’s 250-300 ethnic groups are so incendiary that census officials decided to not ask citizens this year about their religious affiliation or ethnicity.
It however, does ask people where they live, which can serve as a crude index of ethnic or religious affiliation because these groups are often highly geographically concentrated, with Muslim groups such as the Hausa and Fulani in the north, and Christian and animist groups such as the Yoruba in the southwest and Ibo/Igbo in the east.
According to the Population Reference Bureau, the March census was met with protests, boycotts, charges of fraud, and at least 15 deaths. Thousands of enumerators walked off the job because they hadn’t been paid, and many people in large swaths of the country say they still haven’t been counted.
The country hasn’t conducted a census since 1991. Most estimates put the population anywhere between 120-million and 150-million.

Playing catchup (or How I’ve Returned Home)

Well for the record, I’m back home in Texas.
It’s so weird to think that less than 48 hours ago I was in Jos, Nigeria.
We arrived in Dallas yesterday at 2:30 p.m. and while jet lag doesn’t seem to have kicked in to bad (yet) the world lag has.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the things I need to remember to do in the next couple days to get caught back up.
Today when I came to work I found out that only moments before a friend and co-worker was injured on our press here at the paper.
Pray for him. His hair was caught in the press and as I understand it, some of his hair and scalped were ripped off. Apparently the injuries were not life threatening but he was taken by air ambulance to a hospital in Dallas.
I remember thinking moments before I left home this morning that it was odd to hear ambulances and firetrucks again, little did I know they were rushing to our office.
So it’s back to the daily grind and trying to find meaning in it all.
It was funny that on the plane back I watched The Devil Wears Prada and Click. In both movies people are searching for meaning in the daily grind. Is success all that it’s cracked up to be?
I think Solomon tells us otherwise, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”-
before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when men rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
when men are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags himself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then man goes to his eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.
Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
or the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
or the wheel broken at the well,
and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
“Everything is meaningless!”
Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Ecclesiastes 12:13&14

Pray for peace and God’s will in Nigeria. Pray that Christians will continue to be bold and affect those around us.
And pray for our group. Pray that we will continue to be bold about our faith in Texas as we were in Nigeria.
God bless and thank you again for all your support.
Just an FYI: I plan to post pictures as soon as I can sit down and sort through them and I plan to keep my Nigeria blog active with information regarding our trip next year as well.