The Benin Republic is poorer than Nigeria, the citizens aren't as "enlightened" as most Nigerians living in the cities but they aren't lawless.

They are law-abiding!

You dare not beat any traffic lights in Cotonou.

Bicycles stop at traffic intersections...

If the Gendarmerie blow their whistle, you must stop; you will stop immediately.

You won't move because the consequences will befall you immediately.

Nigeria is the only place where people give all sorts of excuses for lawlessness.

From Igholo, Port Novo, Cotonou, Oidah down to Ilakondji, you will see orderliness, bikes remain on the bike lane on the express, they take responsibility, but Nigerians want a good country solely by the government and citizens are never at fault, everything and complaint is government!!!!!!!!!

In Lome, you can't have 4 passengers on your back seat in your car, all bike drivers put on a helmet, customers pay as high as 35k CFA for electricity monthly, but here we want everything free, we disobey all laws but cry at enforcement, we love our lawlessness but want a better country. ���

If we don't become better citizens, we won't produce better leaders because they will keep emerging from us.

We just want them to do everything, why must the government be arresting people for a pedestrian bridge instead of using sense?

Why throw dirt on road but expect it cleaned by the government

We think Responsibility is for the leaders only!!!!

The followers have no responsibilities!!!!

The majority of Nigerians just expect to find themselves in a safe environment while they remain insane

Change begins with you and me.

But the truth is better Nigeria will make better Nigerians.

Till the government and other institutions begins to function; nothing will change.
Corruption, bribery, nepotism, sex for grades, kidnapping, terrorism and so on must stop.

Police, customs, immigration, lecturers , civil servants must stop taking bribes and tips.

Government workers should stop expecting appreciation from public for doing their job.

Nigeria will not change until Nigerians changes and Nigerians will not change until our institutions becomes functional.

There must be consequences and punishment for every crime.

Yes, humans don't get better by themselves, laws and consequences enforced make them get better.

Everyone enjoys doing whatever they want once their is no consequence but these same set of people will behave if the system punishes any form of disobedience.

Interestingly, even foreigners misbehave once they get to Nigeria.

They do things in Nigeria they can’t imagine and get away with it.

They trample on citizens, rape our girls, bribe our politicians and ministers without consequences.

Our security personnel especially the police are their lapdogs.

Once they see money; they start wagging their tail and can kill fellow Nigerians for the foreigners.

All for money!

Again, you see my country men sit up and behave when abroad but throw caution to the wind once back in the country.

They know everybody has price from the police, customs, civil servants, judges, lecturers, doctors, nurses, security men and the list goes on.
Once they have the money, you can do what you want and get whatever you want in this country.

The Benin citizens are seen as law abiding because there's punishment for lawlessness and you can't escape it, no matter who you know or who you are.

Of course in Nigeria, if you catch a criminal in the act and take him to the police, the criminal will be O before you get home.

Such encourage the criminal to continue to be lawless?

If the lawless Nigerians should visit Benin Republic or any saner country, they sit up and behave.

This shows nothing is wrong with us, it is the system that we are simply responding to.
In conclusion, for Nigeria to change, our institutions be it police, customs, immigration, judiciary and so on must be functional.

We must stop worshipping money!
Everybody must be treated equally be it Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani, hausa or any other ethnic groups.

Corruption, bribery, favoritism, nepotism and s on must die. Workers must be paid living wages and above all, there must be consequence for any infringement of the law no matter who you are.

The President, governors, Senators must not be exempted.

The finger that sinned must be punished.

Only then can we have the Nigeria of our dream.

oluade11:

If we don't become better citizens, we won't produce better leaders because they will keep emerging from us.

Only then can we have the Nigeria of our dream.

100 likes for you!

We, are Nigeria. If we Nigerians behave like animals our country will not so much be an organised zoo, it will be a disorganised jungle where animals eat each other; but if I behave like an angel my country will become a heaven.

Join the Nairaland Democratic Party and be the change you want to see!

oluade11:
The Benin Republic is poorer than Nigeria, the citizens aren't as "enlightened" as most Nigerians living in the cities but they aren't lawless.

They are law-abiding!

The President, governors, Senators must not be exempted.

The finger that sinned must be punished.

Only then can we have the Nigeria of our dream.

Every great country was invented by great leadership.
Why?
Leadership builds Systems and Templates that the citizens follow.

In the case of Nigeria, leadership FAILED to produce systems and templates that citizens will follow.

The working systems that were inherited from out colonial past were destroyed by the leadership.

Now, we accuse the followers for producing their leadership forgetting that the followings are just imitating their leaders.

"WE THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA..." was penned not by the citizens but by the leadership. It was so good that the citizens followed because working systems were built.

If only you get the leadership right, the citizens will follow suit.

shadeyinka:


If only you get the leadership right, the citizens will follow suit.

Start by leading yourself, you are very capable.

Just learn from a book or from a religious leader like Jesus Christ who shed blood so you may learn,.instead of ignorantly believing that which you can not be bothered to understand.

Once you understand and learn to lead yourself, you will become fishers of other human beings as promised. It means you will become a leader.

budaatum:


Start by leading yourself, you are very capable.

Just learn from a book or from a religious leader like Jesus Christ who shed blood so you may learn,.instead of ignorantly believing that which you can not be bothered to understand.

Once you understand and learn to lead yourself, you will become fishers of other human beings as promised. It means you will become a leader.

Out of the citizens come a tiny few privileged to lead: these are the ones who can lead the citizens either to prosperity or to penury! The greater the privilege, the more the number of people you can transform and the greater is the transformation (good or bad)

Wherever I'm given the opportunity to lead, my objective is to attain the collective total prosperity of those under my watch.

What you failed to notice is that Nigerians are what they are today because Nigeria made them so. I have bn to Benin(Republic) and Ghana and you really didn't portray the original picture. The citizens in these country are civilized because their country allow it. How do you expect Nigerians to be civilize when the country doesn't allow it. Is it Hausas going rampage on your land destroying your things while the police look on? The military brutalizing a sitting king for herders? Touts harrassing you while passerbyers and even police watches? How can you be sane to think of being civilize when all that your country offer is insanity. Okada in Cotonou will not carry you unless you wear that Akoto(don forget english name) and they are all numbered for easy identification. In Ghana when anyone fight, such person is tagged 'Nigerian' cuz they believe they are too civilize for that and only nigerians fight with every little provocation. Heal your people first and give them basic needs before you ask them of anytin

shadeyinka:

Out of the citizens come a tiny few privileged to lead:

Are you familiar with the hymn All things great and wonderful?

The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
He made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.

Look it up. You'd find the The second verse above that supports your position of "privilege" tends to disappear from modern hymn books.

The reason is that it is not true. No one is priviledged to lead. Those who lead you and whom you follow are those whom you look up to and think are superior to yourself, and looking up to them is either your personal choice - if you freely choose to look up to them and be led by them, or you are their slave if they have deprived you of the information that will enable you to make a choice and lead yourself, a la, Adam, again, and the poor Hausas whom you claim are okay with Fulani dominance of their entire life.

Some choose instead to make themselves lookuptoable, as in, they do the work to become fishers of people and lead. And they, like proper leaders, empower others to fish for people and become leaders too. The entire life of Jesus Christ you claim to worship instead of learn about and from, is a lesson in becoming a leader, unlike the God they wrote supposedly enslaved Adam in the Garden of Eden, I must insist! That's why Jesus went about opening your eyes so you may see where you are going and where you are leading others to instead of keeping you ignorant and naked and enslaved and blind in the Garden of Eden.

The eyes are to see where you are going, Jesus meant. If your eyes do not work, none of your senses will work and you will be enslaved in ignorance and unable to see where you are going and be unable to lead yourself or others. So shine your eyes!

Or is that not so, Shadeyinka, that it is the Spirit that led you here and that you have followed so that you may learn (be taught is the proper expression since it is against your will to learn!), to become a leader instead of thinking you are destined to be a follower?

sophxx:
What you failed to notice is that Nigerians are what they are today because Nigeria made them so.

Your reasoning is like saying the cart pulls the horse, which is obviously not true. The truth is Nigeria is what we Nigerians made Nigeria to to become.

Take the gutter in front of your house in which mosquitoes breed and kill people with malaria. Nigeria did not put the gutter there. We Nigerians put the gutter there then we poured our waste water in it to breed the mosquitoes that eat us and give us the malaria that kills us. In fact, to say we are competent mosquito and malaria farmers will not be too far from the truth!

Take bribery and corruption. We Nigerians pay the bribe to we Nigerians who receive the bribe to corrupt what we refused to properly do, so how can that be Nigeria's fault?

Take our governors, senators, and co. We elect them there without due diligence, and even sometimes collect some rice and kerosine, then we are surprised when the politician we collected rice and kerosine from recoups his or her investment by looting government money instead of paying us our wages.

Take police. They stop you in your car and you pay them bribe instead of making you have obeyed the law and have the correct particulars and your car is roadworthy.

Sorry, but you can not take shortcuts and then blame some non-entity for the result of your shortcutting! We are Nigeria. And our country is a reflection of that which abounds in our individual hearts. We make Nigeria whatever it is and whatever we want it to become.

shadeyinka:

Wherever I'm given the opportunity to lead, my objective is to attain the collective total prosperity of those under my watch.

Nobody is giving you the opportunity to lead anyone! Not in this democratic dispensation anyway, where you have to let your light so shine before others so they may see your good works and decide to follow you or not because they see your destination (or fruits) is a good and worthy one to be led to eat.

NB. Forgive me people for quoting Bible (one book), and for not quoting Quran also! It is poverty on my part that I know it more than the Quran which I would also quote if only the verses fell off my typing fingers like the book I do quote for Christ did warn that living by only one book will malnourish. I do not quote because I believe or for you to believe, which I categorically do not nor want you to, but so the words therein may be considered. I would be grateful if someone would find me equivalents in the Quran because I know the Words are there too.

budaatum:


Nobody is giving you the opportunity to lead anyone! Not in this democratic dispensation anyway, where you have to let your light so shine before others so they may see your good works and decide to follow you or not because they see your destination (or fruits) is a good and worthy one to be led to eat.

NB. Forgive me people for quoting Bible (one book), and for not quoting Quran also! It is poverty on my part that I know it more than the Quran which I would also quote if only the verses fell off my typing fingers like the book I do quote for Christ did warn that living by only one book will malnourish. I do not quote because I believe or for you to believe, which I categorically do not nor want you to, but so the words therein may be considered. I would be grateful if someone would find me equivalents in the Quran because I know the Words are there too.

God gives everyone of us opportunities to lead either as an elder brother, a team leader, a father, a head of department, head of centers, directors, chairman, governor, senator or even president.

Within such opportunities, let's strive to make our subordinates prosperous in body, soul and spirit without any form of nepotism. Then our lights as Christians will shine as Christ commanded!

That's why I said:
Wherever I'm given the opportunity to lead, my objective is to attain the collective total prosperity of those under my watch.

shadeyinka:

God gives everyone of us opportunities to lead either as an elder brother, a team leader, a father, a head of department, head of centers, directors, chairman, governor, senator or even president.

The facts just do not support your position.

No God gives anyone the "opportunities" to lead. What you are at best given is the potential to learn to be a leader, and after much learning you just might be able and competent to lead others.

We read even in the God Book of elder brothers being led by their younger brothers, and lowly shepherds leading mighty nations and kingdoms. Even Moses began from the most humble beginnings, as did Mohammed and Jesus Christ, and their opportunity was that of being able to learn, the potential we all have these days.

I am saying all this because of the fallacy of your destiny not being in your hands which is not true. You would not believe but despite however you might assume I may feel about your unwillingness to learn because you pressume to know it all already, I will say again that my faith that you may be a great leader in is immense, but first must you learn to lead yourself. And it starts by being honest and not lying to oneself or others just so one might seem smart when in fact one just is very stupid and ignorant

Funny. Here's one I just completed about claiming to know how Mars came into being, or how the moon and the sun came into being, or how Uranus came into being.

budaatum:


The facts just do not support your position.

No God gives anyone the "opportunities" to lead. What you are at best given is the potential to learn to be a leader, and after much learning you just might be able and competent to lead others.

We read even in the God Book of elder brothers being led by their younger brothers, and lowly shepherds leading mighty nations and kingdoms. Even Moses began from the most humble beginnings, as did Mohammed and Jesus Christ, and their opportunity was that of being able to learn, the potential we all have these days.

I am saying all this because of the fallacy of your destiny not being in your hands which is not true. You would not believe but despite however you might assume I may feel about your unwillingness to learn because you pressume to know it all already, I will say again that my faith that you may be a great leader in is immense, but first must you learn to lead yourself. And it starts by being honest and not lying to oneself or others just so one might seem smart when in fact one just is very stupid and ignorant

Funny. Here's one I just completed about claiming to know how Mars came into being, or how the moon and the sun came into being, or how Uranus came into being.

I have spoken from the point of view of the scripture:

1 Corinthians 4:7
"For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?"

From this point of view, leadership is a privilege. Since inception of Nigeria, we have had less than 20 Presidents out of a population of 200-300 million. It is a great privilege to lead as a President. Some people strive for it with every resources they have such as MKO Abiola, but never get it. It is a privilege to be a Father for not everyone who has a wife can father a child.

When politicians ruling u don't even raise their children in the shithole!
Anybody with half a brain knows Nigeria is a criminal enterprise, where life means nothing, where people risk perilous boat rides to escape to Europe,

shadeyinka:

I have spoken from the point of view of the scripture:

1 Corinthians 4:7
"For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?"

From this point of view, leadership is a privilege. Since inception of Nigeria, we have had less than 20 Presidents out of a population of 200-300 million. It is a great privilege to lead as a President. Some people strive for it with every resources they have such as MKO Abiola, but never get it. It is a privilege to be a Father for not everyone who has a wife can father a child.

First, you have not spoken from the point of view of the scripture, but from your own understanding of Scripture just as I also always do, and saying otherwise is a lie and a boast!

And I am daring to ask you to say what it is that you see with your own God given eyes that Jesus opened for you so that you may use them and see. Do you understand from that how you and I differ, Shadeyinka? Note, understand? I am not asking you to agree or believe because I know you have a brain in your head and can use it when yiu want to.

The fact is that every leader of Nigeria has strived very hard to become the leader. Some of them even killed to become the leader so how can it possibly be a God given privilege? Can you not see that is the same sort of thinking that makes some say it is the will of Allah?

You mention Abiola, and say he strived but never got it. But is it not true that he was a leader in other things, like in his businesses and in his community? If so, why limit him to leader of Nigeria which he never achieved yet disregard his leadership in business and in his community? Do you not know that the title he was given, Arẹ Ọna Kakanfo is a title given to commanders of the army in Yoruba land, and a commander leads?

You mention father. Is a father a leader in your own book when it is very obvious there are many fathers who can not even lead their own prick to the right toto not to talk of lead their family?

Yes, it can be said that everything you have is from God, but as we can see, you still got to get off your ass and work for it because God does not feed lazy fuqs! If you had done no work, first to learn to read, and second to learn to understand what you read, you would most definitely not have had the privilege to be communicating with buda, and recognising you did work, is not a boast (except when you try to make out you have "spoken from the point of view of the scripture" as if only you have a direct line to God, of course), but just a recognition of the work you must have done, because if you had not done any work, everything I have written here will be so too far above your level and sound like Japanese to you or the words out of satans mouth.

Below is what the Holy Spirit made me prepare in advance of your post.

budaatum:
We pray for our daily bread and then become atheists when God does not prepare a table before us as if God lied when God is written to have said:

"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Which means, do not be a lazy fuq!

And,

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Which means, lazy fuqs will surely die.

I guess when hunger catch some people they will get off their lazy asses and bless themselves or die for their lack of getting knowledge and wisdom and understanding.

And by the way, I am continously praying that you and I can one day do "What is God", but we will seriously need to evolve our understanding first.

budaatum:


The facts just do not support your position.

No God gives anyone the "opportunities" to lead. What you are at best given is the potential to learn to be a leader, and after much learning you just might be able and competent to lead others.

We read even in the God Book of elder brothers being led by their younger brothers, and lowly shepherds leading mighty nations and kingdoms. Even Moses began from the most humble beginnings, as did Mohammed and Jesus Christ, and their opportunity was that of being able to learn, the potential we all have these days.

I am saying all this because of the fallacy of your destiny not being in your hands which is not true. You would not believe but despite however you might assume I may feel about your unwillingness to learn because you pressume to know it all already, I will say again that my faith that you may be a great leader in is immense, but first must you learn to lead yourself. And it starts by being honest and not lying to oneself or others just so one might seem smart when in fact one just is very stupid and ignorant

Funny. Here's one I just completed about claiming to know how Mars came into being, or how the moon and the sun came into being, or how Uranus came into being.

budaatum:


Are you familiar with the hymn All things great and wonderful?

The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
He made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.

Look it up. You'd find the The second verse above that supports your position of "privilege" tends to disappear from modern hymn books.

The reason is that it is not true. No one is priviledged to lead. Those who lead you and whom you follow are those whom you look up to and think are superior to yourself, and looking up to them is either your personal choice - if you freely choose to look up to them and be led by them, or you are their slave if they have deprived you of the information that will enable you to make a choice and lead yourself, a la, Adam, again, and the poor Hausas whom you claim are okay with Fulani dominance of their entire life.

Some choose instead to make themselves lookuptoable, as in, they do the work to become fishers of people and lead. And they, like proper leaders, empower others to fish for people and become leaders too. The entire life of Jesus Christ you claim to worship instead of learn about and from, is a lesson in becoming a leader, unlike the God they wrote supposedly enslaved Adam in the Garden of Eden, I must insist! That's why Jesus went about opening your eyes so you may see where you are going and where you are leading others to instead of keeping you ignorant and naked and enslaved and blind in the Garden of Eden.

The eyes are to see where you are going, Jesus meant. If your eyes do not work, none of your senses will work and you will be enslaved in ignorance and unable to see where you are going and be unable to lead yourself or others. So shine your eyes!

Or is that not so, Shadeyinka, that it is the Spirit that led you here and that you have followed so that you may learn (be taught is the proper expression since it is against your will to learn!), to become a leader instead of thinking you are destined to be a follower?

I am not against the fact that to lead successfully you must first learn to lead yourself.
I have spoken from the point of view of the scripture:

1 Corinthians 4:7
"For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?"

From this point of view, leadership is a privilege given by God. Since inception of Nigeria, we have had less than 20 Presidents out of a population of 200-300 million. It is a great privilege to lead as a President. Some people strive for it with every resources they have such as MKO Abiola, but never get it. It is a privilege to be a Father for not everyone who has a wife can father a child.

God gives opportunities for us to lead at whatever the capacity and at our level, we can use the opportunity well or we can waste or squander or even reject such opportunities: that is left to us as humans to do. But it doesn't change the fact that God gives us OPPORTUNITIES to be an elder brother, a team leader, a father, a head of department, head of centers, directors, chairman, governor, senator or even president according to 1 Corinthians 4:7

shadeyinka:

I am not against the fact that to lead successfully you must first learn to lead yourself.

That's honourable of you.

Now let me ask you to remind me if I ever forget to lead myself, for in so doing you will be like iron sharpening iron making me an effective leader of myself, and when I grow up I might be privileged to fish for human beings. Just one thing. Ensure it is in the same Spirit with which you posted the above, and not in that spirit that makes you assume that buda is bitter or needs cooling off because that level is far too basic for to still be at considering the amount of work that is before one, and perhaps before you too, I would hope.

The below is for hint purposes only.

budaatum:


First, you have not spoken from the point of view of the scripture, but from your own understanding of Scripture just as I also always do, and saying otherwise is a lie and a boast!

And I am daring to ask you to say what it is that you see with your own God given eyes that Jesus opened for you so that you may use them and see. Do you understand from that how you and I differ, Shadeyinka? Note, understand? I am not asking you to agree or believe because I know you have a brain in your head and can use it when yiu want to.

The fact is that every leader of Nigeria has strived very hard to become the leader. Some of them even killed to become the leader so how can it possibly be a God given privilege? Can you not see that is the same sort of thinking that makes some say it is the will of Allah?

You mention Abiola, and say he strived but never got it. But is it not true that he was a leader in other things, like in his businesses and in his community? If so, why limit him to leader of Nigeria which he never achieved yet disregard his leadership in business and in his community? Do you not know that the title he was given, Arẹ Ọna Kakanfo is a title given to commanders of the army in Yoruba land, and a commander leads?

You mention father. Is a father a leader in your own book when it is very obvious there are many fathers who can not even lead their own prick to the right toto not to talk of lead their family?

Yes, it can be said that everything you have is from God, but as we can see, you still got to get off your ass and work for it because God does not feed lazy fuqs! If you had done no work, first to learn to read, and second to learn to understand what you read, you would most definitely not have had the privilege to be communicating with buda, and recognising you did work, is not a boast (except when you try to make out you have "spoken from the point of view of the scripture" as if only you have a direct line to God, of course), but just a recognition of the work you must have done, because if you had not done any work, everything I have written here will be so too far above your level and sound like Japanese to you or the words out of satans mouth.

Below is what the Holy Spirit made me prepare in advance of your post.



And by the way, I am continously praying that you and I can one day do "What is God", but we will seriously need to evolve our understanding first.

You seem to think I mean that leadership just fall on just anyone: no!
Everything good that we have is a gift from God because nothing is automatic.

I used to have an autistic friend: no amount of schooling could make him excel in academics and life (he is completly dependent on his family for his sustenance). It isnt his fault that he was born with an extra X chromosome. He didn't receive the grace or potential for such exploits. I have another friend, we graduated from the saame University. He was brilliant and highly successful as he got a job in one of the highest paying banks then. However, on one of his official trips, he had an accident and was the only one who died in the vehicle. He had the potential for greatness, but he didn't have the grace for long life. In this sense, all our achievements are privileges we get from God whether we worked hard for it or not.

There is no guarantee that hardwork and dedication will produce success but without hardwork and dedication, exceptional opportunities given to us by God for success, leadership and excellence would be wasted.

Everyone in this world has been given his own grace for leadership in several areas of endeavours it's only that we recognize the exceptional cases of those who achieved great feats like governors, Senators, Presidents etc while ignoring the mother of some children, class monitor, farm managers etc who are also leaders in their own rights.

Just as faith without work is dead, some kinds of leadership positions cannot be attained without competing with others. It is stupidity to take a fatalistic position that since God is the one who gives success, we do not need to prepare for examinations to pass with flying colours. I will never take such position even with respect to leadership. Success in leadership need hardwork, preparation, dedication and a good heart: against this, there should be no argument.

Like I said:
Opportunities to be a Father can be lost, wasted, mismanaged, squandered or effectively utilized
Opportunities to be a team leader can be lost, wasted, mismanaged, squandered or effectively utilized
Opportunities to be a class monitor can be lost, wasted, mismanaged, squandered or effectively utilized
Opportunities to be a Senator can be lost, wasted, mismanaged, squandered or effectively utilized
Opportunities to be a President can be lost, wasted, mismanaged, squandered or effectively utilized

Everything depends on our CHOICE to Serve with Honour, Integrity, Love, Fairness and Decisiveness with the AIM of attaining the overall PROSPERITY of our followers.

shadeyinka:
There is no guarantee that hardwork and dedication will produce success but without hardwork and dedication, exceptional opportunities given to us by God for success, leadership and excellence would be wasted.

One very wise jamerflepz is teaching how to become an average drummer. I did not tell him, but when I read it my eyes became wet with emotions at the education he gave me, and I now think perhaps you will appreciate it too.

jamerflepz:
Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. To be an average drummer ain't that hard. People say it is. A lot of drummers don't wanna be average, I don't know why. But if you do, Just follow this steps.

1) Don't practise: please don't. Practicing is overated. But when ever you do decide to pick up the sticks, don't stress yourself, 30 minutes of practise once or twice a week is enough for you. You might not get better at drumming, who cares! This is what comes with being an average drummer.

2) Watch for fun: there are lots of drum lessons on Youtube. Bro, ignore them all. Don't do what the good and amazing drummers do. These guys watch both drum lessons and drum covers from professionals. They don't just watch, they also practice and creatively apply them when they play. But you are an average drummer, you don't need the lessons. Just focus on the drum covers or solos by the professionals and keep wishing you can play the drums the way they do.

3) Don't play to the music: I do see professional drummers in a band play a track without actually doing any fancy or unnecessary rolling on the drum kit. They keep it simple. Please don't be that guy. Roll. Anywhere, anytime, just roll. Do some crazy freestyle. Even when they tell you to keep the groove simple, tell them to gettout. You might, no sorry, you will lose the Gig, no wahala. It is what is it.

They say being average doesn't pay. It makes you worse. No one calls or recommends you for a Gig. You don't get better on the drums, you are just there. I don't think I ever want to be that guy. So imma just do the opposite and get better as a drummer. But if being average is your thing. Ride on.

Ps: this is just a note to myself. No too take am serious. Lol

As far as I am concerned, God is as is said about the faith that makes one do the work in the first place, but I am a farmer, and would see it that way I guess.

You see, sometimes I plant maize. First I do a lot of work of the sort that is described as ask and seek and knock to find out the best maize to plant, and the best time to plant it, and the best way to prepare the soil and when to put the seed in the ground and what fertiliser to apply and when to weed. Now, you see all that ask and see and knock that I do? That is me imbibing the Logos, which the English has unfortunately reduced to the Word and thereby lost some of its meaning, but which thankfully we read is Jesus Christ the Messiah, which I put into that which I do, and after I have done all that work to put Christ the Logos into the planting of my corn seed, God now comes and pours water on it from heaven in God's own time, and God shines sunshine on it too at the right amount, and God sends insects to fertilise it, and in due time my one single seed of corn that I put in the ground produces maize a thousandfold.

I can assure you that without all the hardwork and dedication of taking advantage of using the senses the Lord God has given me to ask and knock and seek to put Jesus the Logos into the planting of my maize God will not farm my land with me and I will be planting in vain and will surely fail, but because of the faith with which I dedicate myself to the hardwork to ask and seek and knock with all my heart and soul and mind and being, my success is guaranteed by the Lord God Almighty even before I begin.

I'm like one of those [url=https://classic.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A1-13&version=KJV]virgins[/url] I guess. Not the foolish ones who took their lamps and were too lazy to take Jesus with them, but the wise one who took extra Jesus in their vessels with their lamps.

budaatum:


One very wise jamerflepz is teaching how to become an average drummer. I did not tell him, but when I read it my eyes became wet with emotions at the education he gave me, and I now think perhaps you will appreciate it too.



As far as I am concerned, God is as is said about the faith that makes one do the work in the first place, but I am a farmer, and would see it that way I guess.

You see, sometimes I plant maize. First I do a lot of work of the sort that is described as ask and seek and knock to find out the best maize to plant, and the best time to plant it, and the best way to prepare the soil and when to put the seed in the ground and what fertiliser to apply and when to weed. Now, you see all that ask and see and knock that I do? That is me imbibing the Logos, which the English has unfortunately reduced to the Word and thereby lost some of its meaning, but which thankfully we read is Jesus Christ the Messiah, which I put into that which I do, and after I have done all that work to put Christ the Logos into the planting of my corn seed, God now comes and pours water on it from heaven in God's own time, and God shines sunshine on it too at the right amount, and God sends insects to fertilise it, and in due time my one single seed of corn that I put in the ground produces maize a thousandfold.

I can assure you that without all the hardwork and dedication of taking advantage of using the senses the Lord God has given me to ask and knock and seek to put Jesus the Logos into the planting of my maize God will not farm my land with me and I will be planting in vain and will surely fail, but because of the faith with which I dedicate myself to the hardwork to ask and seek and knock with all my heart and soul and mind and being, my success is guaranteed by the Lord God Almighty even before I begin.

I'm like one of those [url=https://classic.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A1-13&version=KJV]virgins[/url] I guess. Not the foolish ones who took their lamps and were too lazy to take Jesus with them, but the wise one who took extra Jesus in their vessels with their lamps.

I think you still completely get me wrong. I have NEVER said that success require no hard work, planning and deliberate dedication. I have only said that:

There is no guarantee that hardwork and dedication will produce success but without hardwork and dedication, exceptional opportunities given to us by God for success, leadership and excellence would be wasted


The strategy is to:
WORK as if EVERYTHING depend on Work
PLAN as if EVERYTHING depend on Planing
Put in DEDICATION as if EVERYTHING depend on Dedication
However, in spite of all this, NOTHING in this life is GUARANTEED to go our way

If there is no WORK, no PLANING and no DEDICATION, opportunities for Success in Leadership will be Wasted, Squandered, Mismanaged or Lost.

Grace is only profitable to he who is prepared!

I was not disagreeing with you, shade. I was just showing you that the right and proper (as in Jesus led) hard work and dedication has never failed to produce results, at least for me.

The house the Lord (of Knowledge and Wisdom) builds, is not built in vain: the city the Lord keeps the watchman wake not in vain; buda's corn that the Lord graces produces maize a thousandfold . Psalm 127:1 (bav)

Think about our discussion on an engineer building a bridge with incomplete knowledge (as in without Jesus the Logos) and you might get what I mean when I say all the work such an engineer does will be in vain because God will not grace such laziness and incompetence despite all their work. But if that engineer accepts Jesus into his work, the meaning of which is if the engineer dedicates to studying hard, which is work, to learn the skill, which is the Word of Engineering, as in, accept Jesus the Logos, into his or her life (work), God will grace that engineer with future projects, because it is the [url=https://classic.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13%3A11-12+&version=KJV]knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven[/url] that Whoever has knowledge and wisdom and understanding will be given an abundance of knowledge and wisdom and understanding. And whoever does not have knowledge and wisdom and understanding, even what they have will be taken from them sonthey remain stupid and ignorant and the unprofitable servant shall be cast into the outer darkness and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

See it as us discussing, as in your iron sharpening my iron, instead of us arguing who's right or who's wrong. I'd likely be making some sense to you then, for it is as you have said, with my additions in blue:

shadeyinka:
If there is no WORK, no PLANING and no DEDICATION (as in no Jesus Christ the Lord of Knowledge and Wisdom and Understanding called the Logos), opportunities for Success (God's Grace) in Leadership will be Wasted, Squandered, Mismanaged or Lost.

budaatum:
I was not disagreeing with you, shade. I was just showing you that the right and proper (as in Jesus led) hard work and dedication has never failed to produce results, at least for me.

Thank goodness!

budaatum:

The house the Lord (of Knowledge and Wisdom) builds, is not built in vain: the city the Lord keeps the watchman wake not in vain; buda's corn that the Lord graces produces maize a thousandfold . Psalm 127:1 (bav)

Psalm 127:1
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-- for he grants sleep to those he loves.

budaatum:

Think about our discussion on an engineer building a bridge with incomplete knowledge (as in without Jesus the Logos) and you might get what I mean when I say all the work such an engineer does will be in vain because God will not grace such laziness and incompetence despite all their work. But if that engineer accepts Jesus into his work, the meaning of which is if the engineer dedicates to studying hard, which is work, to learn the skill, which is the Word of Engineering, as in, accept Jesus the Logos, into his or her life (work), God will grace that engineer with future projects, because it is the [url=https://classic.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13%3A11-12+&version=KJV]knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven[/url] that Whoever has knowledge and wisdom and understanding will be given an abundance of knowledge and wisdom and understanding. And whoever does not have knowledge and wisdom and understanding, even what they have will be taken from them sonthey remain stupid and ignorant and the unprofitable servant shall be cast into the outer darkness and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

GEJ had grace for leadership. From his primary school, he had been favoured by God to lead wherever he was. Unfortunately, he wasted his grace to change Nigeria to be the greatest country in Africa.

· Goodluck Jonathan was Assistant Head Boy in primary school. The Head Boy got expelled. Goodluck took over.
· Goodluck was Assistant Senior Prefect in secondary school, the Senior Prefect died, Goodluck took over.
· Goodluck was Deputy Local Government Chairman. The Chairman got implicated in corruption and got removed from office. Goodluck took over.
· Goodluck was deputy governor to Alameiseigha. We all know that story; no one except him survived the oil concession scandal and Goodluck took over.
· Goodluck was Vice President to President YarAdua:- he became President of Nigeria!
https://www..com/talk/topic,37164.0.html

A classic case of mismanaged grace. His major weakness was that he had no plan to LEAD Nigeria to greatness. He's a good man but he wasn't prepared to effectively utilize his grace for the good of Nigeria.

budaatum:

See it as us discussing, as in your iron sharpening my iron, instead of us arguing who's right or who's wrong. I'd likely be making some sense to you then, for it is as you have said, with my additions in blue:

Thanks so much. I guess I misunderstood you.

As a Discussion topic:
It seems great grace is like a double edged sword when the gift is seen more as an achievement rather than a gift to which an account would be required by God the giver.

DJ Cuppy will never in her life worry about what the rest of us will consider as necessities (Housing, Feeding, Money, Travel etc) because she was born to the family of Mr Femi Otedola. How much is her contribution to her net worth?

But as the scriptures say:
Luke 12:48
“to whom much is given, much will be required”

There are some grace that seem to just bless the work of one's hands. When we plant, water and tend our crops and God blesses the works of our hands to an extent that we have a flourishing and prosperous farm, don't we exclude God and think that our success is solely a product of our hard work?
Deut 8:17-18
You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."
But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

I am of the opinion that when we see all our achievements as gifts from God, we will maximize how we affect positively people's lives from the fruit accruing from such opportunities and attainments .

oluade11:
The Benin Republic is poorer than Nigeria, the citizens aren't as "enlightened" as most Nigerians living in the cities but they aren't lawless.

They are law-abiding!

The finger that sinned must be punished.

Only then can we have the Nigeria of our dream.

Even though your observation is correct the comparison is quite imbalance.
First of all in 1960 Nigeria's population was 45million that of Benin is just 2million, today Nigeria's population is estimated to be well over 200million and Benin is only 12million.
While in terms of ratio Benin rose 6 times as against Nigerians 4 liftings, a clear 30% high than Nigeria.

But the ratio of increase is not the problem here but the volume. Ask yourself in all your history books have you read any where of an African leader precolonial, leading a 200million homogeneous kingdom. Homogeneity in this case is about authoritative boundaries. No? Definitely not.
So it goes to show blacks were not prepared for such responsibility, and over this time the population was exploding. The peoples priorities became misplaced, the military took over, years of conflict and directionless set in, then democracy came the people found themselves in the middle of the ocean with no compass and the leader had no prior knowledge of displacement of heavenly bodies.

The result, the leaders easily gets drained and became overwhelmed, in the face of dizziness and confusion they gave in to the easiest and less demanding of the emotions they felt/feel Greed.

shadeyinka:
GEJ had grace for leadership. From his primary school, he had been favoured by God to lead wherever he was. Unfortunately, he wasted his grace to change Nigeria to be the greatest country in Africa.

I laugh, lol. You see, we human beings can be arrogant sometimes, and instead of admitting my ignorance, I would assume to know more than I really do know, so I will say you are bitter, or you need to cool down as if I am omniknowitall and can see in to your mind and heart to know how it is that you feel, when the truth is, I, buda, is an ignorant fuq, though I would of course never ever confess that with my own mouth or write it here for anyone to see. Tufia, as some would say, may God forbid bad things!

My point is that the above opinion is your own opinion. Who's to say Jonathan would not be seen as a great leader sometime in the future?Was Christ not a disappointment in his lifetime to the point we swapped him for a criminal and spat on him and stabbed him and crucified him and afterwards, many many years afterwards, instead of admitting our crime, we wrote books to now say he is alive and is God and we and build temples in which to worship him and claim that only through him shall we be saved?

shadeyinka:

I am of the opinion that when we see all our achievements as gifts from God, we will maximize how we affect positively people's lives from the fruit accruing from such opportunities and attainments .

"Of the opinion". I like that. The thing is, there are many who see their achievements as things they worked hard for and still they use their abilities to positively affect other people's lives. One may be an atheist and work really hard to become a doctor or a lawyer and then dedicate one's life to the benefit of others. It is the lesson of the Parable of the Orangutan I keep pointing out to you. Many fail to realise that the Samaritan was a non-God worshipping and a non-God believing pagan, yet Christ said it is he that one should emulate and not the Levite and the Priest who sinned precisely because of their belief in God.

I guess one way of seeing it is all things are created by God for the use of God regardless of what one may think. Kind of like the Hausa saying "Will of Allah", I suppose. If one sees others as God's creation, and if one's own theology is "in as much as I have done for Shadeyinka whom I see before me, God whom I see not is pleased", one would be able to discuss as we are currently doing, even after I called you bitter and said you needed to cool down, because like magic you could have become very bitter and boiled over in anger and we'd have still been trading insults now like two devil children. But because you have an understanding of the power of turning the other cheek, the slapper got tired in the end.

In all we do, God first, I say, and by God I mean the good. And then shall goodness and mercy, which is what God's Grace is, be with you always.