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From
The Publisher's Desk 
We are so grateful
to God for everything He has made
us to be. We thank Him especially
for your life and interests. As
though it will not be out, we have
seen the successful publication
of the third issue of our magazine
in 2008. A vision comes TRUE! Thank
you for your support.
Sometimes a vision can be the dream
of your heart, a burden the good
Lord lay upon you – it can
be a project, career, business or
even family affairs. You can visualize
it in your inner man from conceptualization
to actualization. If you have a
dream for dream’s sake and
sit down to talk about it, the dream
dies as the days go by. But if you
trust God who birthed the dream
in your heart, and put some machinery
in place, and pursue it vigorously,
it will be definitely actualized
and you will feel fulfilled.
The Faith Builders in collaboration
with the Chaplains Fellowship of
Nigeria Inc. Maiduguri Command find
themselves in such happy moment
as part of their dreams was fulfilled
on May 13, 2008. The dream to help
in the reformation and rehabilitation
of Nigeria Prisons and inmates has
begun and never to stop by the enabling
of the Most High.
This edition of our magazine is
dedicated to the Nigeria Prisons
Service, Borno State Command. It
focuses on making Nigeria and in
fact our generation a better, safer
place to dwell in. Helping the poor,
rejected and down trodden is our
concern and by the grace of God,
we are determined to fulfill this
vision.
Dare to have a vision! Remember,
a visionless, purposeless, goalless
person, is a futureless person.
Your future can be birthed today
as you go through this edition.
Another important thing in your
life of vision is how you pursue
it. Again remember, your dream is
like a seed, if nurtured properly,
it survives otherwise, it dies.
Whatever is your life’s dream
(in your family, career, business,
ministry, etc.) receive the grace
of fulfillment now, in Jesus’
name. Can you say amen to that?
Have a wonderful time and remember
to add value to somebody’s
life today.
Chaplain Rev. Festus A.
Ekenyere
 COMMISERATING
WITH THE AFFLICTED
Every living being
knows that certainly there is an end
to this world and the journey of life.
But the question is how many people
live as though there is an end? How
will you be remembered when you are
gone to the world beyond before the
end of the world? Since nobody is
an island, you come across different
kinds of individuals daily; does your
life add value to theirs? You may
wonder why I ask these questions.
It may interest you to know that a
little help you render to the helpless
is taken note of by eternity. I would
like us to consider the helpless poor,
the sick, the prisoner and in fact
the less privileged amongst us and
share our lives with them.
Let us take our text this month from
Matthew 25:31 – 46.
"When
the Son of man shall come in his glory,
and all the holy angels with him,
then shall he sit upon the throne
of his glory: And before him shall
be gathered all nations: and he shall
separate them one from another, as
a shepherd divideth his sheep from
the goats: And he shall set the sheep
on his right hand, but the goats on
the left. Then shall the King say
unto them on his right hand, Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world: For I was
an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I
was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick,
and ye visited me: I was in prison,
and ye came unto me. Then shall the
righteous answer him, saying, Lord,
when saw we thee an hungred, and fed
thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took
thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison,
and came unto thee? And the King shall
answer and say unto them, Verily I
say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto
me. Then shall he say also unto them
on the left hand, Depart from me,
ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave
me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye
gave me no drink: I was a stranger,
and ye took me not in: naked, and
ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison,
and ye visited me not. Then shall
they also answer him, saying, Lord,
when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst,
or a stranger, or naked, or sick,
or in prison, and did not minister
unto thee? Then shall he answer them,
saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye did it not to one of the least
of these, ye did it not to me. And
these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into
life eternal.” (KJV)
Jesus
began this discuss by laying emphasis
on the fact that thee must of necessity
be an end. There is going to be a
time of reckoning and accountability;
a time of eternal separation and reward.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way
– “For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ;
that every one may receive the things
done in his body, according to that
he hath done, whether it be good or
bad.” II Corinthians 5:10.
The
second coming of the Lord Jesus and
the end of the world cannot be overemphasized.
It is as certain as seasons and times.
The Lord wants us to understand that
“all nations” shall be
gathered before Him. Yes! He will
judge the world. Your skepticism cannot
change this fact. The important thing
you should think now is where you
will be when He comes for the eternal
separation – on His right hand
side or on His left. The righteous
would be set on His right while the
unrighteous on His left.
Now let us consider His words of comfort
to the righteous – “Then
shall the King say unto them on his
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the
world:” v.34
His
reasons – “For I was an
hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was
thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was
a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked,
and ye clothed me: I was sick, and
ye visited me: I was in prison, and
ye came unto me.”
Notice in vv.37-40 that the righteous
did not understand that eternity took
note of what they were doing. The
love of Christ, which was shed abroad
in their hearts, compelled them to.
The righteous felt that if not for
the grace of God, they would have
been the ones sick, hungry, thirsty,
naked, without home and even in prison.
You see, you did not make yourself
what you are today. It is all by the
GRACE OF GOD!
For
similar reasons the unrighteous were
condemned – vv.41-46. the opportunity
was there for them to utilize but
they were so selfish and myopic that
they never think of the hereafter.
Are you like that? Bulk of the things
that will lead people to hell are
the things they fail to do. Principal
among them is man’s failure
to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and
Saviou. Thin about that now!
Among
the acts of benevolence rendered by
the righteous was their visit to the
prisons. He said, “I was in
prison, and ye came unto me.”
This is one area the Chaplains Fellowship
of Nigeria Inc. focused. They believed
in the rehabilitation and reformation
programs going on in the Nigeria Prisons.
I was privileged to lead the Maiduguri
Command of the Fellowship to the prisons
and we understood in practical terms
why it is important to contribute
our quota to reform the inmates and
rehabilitate the prisons.
One
of the things that disturbed my mind
as we walked around the prison yard
was the age brackets of the inmates.
Majority of them are very young viable
individuals. I saw wonderful potentials
wasting away. The first question that
came to my mind was why are these
people incarcerated and their liberty
restricted within the four walls of
the yard? A very simple answer of
course – They committed one
crime or the other; even though some
of them may be innocent – they
are victims of circumstance and cruelty.
That is understandable, but let us
look at the society wholistically
especially the Nigerian state.
I believe
most of the crimes committed in this
nation are “PROTESTANT”
crimes. Nigeria is a wealthy nation,
but the wealth circulates among the
privileged few and their families.
The poor, less privileged ones (who
are the majority) know this and they
want their own portion of the national
cake. They do not know how to go about
it lawfully so they pick up arms.
There are worst criminals in this
nation who do not pick up arms but
puck up biros because they are privileged
to occupy one position or the other.
The
larger society does not help matters
anyway. The communities from which
these few elites come from do not
bother to know the source of their
wealth before recognizing and conferring
one chieftaincy title or the other
on them. Their families and friends
demand outrageous favours from them
as soon as they get into office, and
because we do not have respect for
moral values any more, we force them
to steal public funds and do things
against public interest to satisfy
us and their ego.
Again
an average Nigerian is too materialistic;
as a result, he attracts so much insecurity
and lives in perpetual fear. Why living
in fear and torments if the majority
of the citizenry are comfortable?
No amount of security meetings will
solve the problem of insecurity in
this generation until we realize that
we must be our brother’s keepers.
A situation whereby, “I will
serve you and my children must serve
your children …” will
never give room for security and crime
free society.
If you
agree with me that there is something
like “protestant” crime
– crime borne out of anger of
total neglect then, our policy makers
should think twice and go back to
the drawing board. Is it not annoying
to see Nigerians starving in Nigeria?
You may not understand because you
are up there. You can afford to feed
your family sumptuously. A country
that cannot feed her citizens talk
less of providing accommodation for
them is heading for civil anarchy.
Time shall come when 50% of our annual
budget will be allocated to the provision
of security and yet the rich will
keep living in fears.
Let
us visit the prisoners; let us give
them hope. Even those who are criminals
by “nature” are willing
to repent as we share the love of
God with them. There is no need of
terrorizing one another, no, it is
uncalled for. Let us pull resources
together and make the Nigeria prisons
centers of learning such that whosoever
that comes out of it will be a regenerated
Nigerian – a Nigerian with a
new heart. If we do that today, we
will have a safer tomorrow and God
will reward us in the world to come.
Please
Nigerians, especially those of you
in authority and the few privileged
ones, remember there is an end to
every tunnel. The Day of Judgment
is at hand and all our works will
be made manifest. The Apostle Paul
said in Ephesians 4: 28 “Let
him that stole steal no more: but
rather let him labour, working with
his hands the thing which is good,
that he may have to give to him that
needeth” There is always the
needy. In fact the Bible says –
“For the poor shall never cease
out of the land: therefore I command
thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine
hand wide unto thy brother, to thy
poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.”
– Deuteronomy 15:11. God does
not expect you to give to the poor
that which you stole from the public
treasure. It means you stole from
the poor and give a pinch to him.
Oh! Who is fooling who? But unfortunately
that is what is obtainable in our
communities today. Imagine a government
functionary executing a million naira
communal project out of the billions
he/she stole from the same public
he/she is representing (or said to
be representing). The poor ignorant
public in return confers on him/her
the highest title in the land. Again
I ask who is fooling who? We will
give account of our works one day.
As John
the Baptizer was about to baptize
the people at Jordan River, he preached
his finest message and said –
“And now also the axe is laid
unto the root of the trees: every
tree therefore which bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down, and
cast into the fire.” –
Luke 3:9. The people heard him well,
“every tree therefore which
bringeth no forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire.”
They were caught to the throat and
sought for a way of escape. Look at
verses 10 – 14, “And the
people asked him, saying, What shall
we do then? He answereth and saith
unto them, He that hath two coats,
let him impart to him that hath none;
and he that hath meat, let him do
likewise. Then came also publicans
to be baptized, and said unto him,
Master, what shall we do? And he said
unto them, Exact no more than that
which is appointed you. And the soldiers
likewise demanded of him, saying,
And what shall we do? And he said
unto them, Do violence to no man,
neither accuse any falsely; and be
content with your wages.”
YES, “BE CONTENT WITH
YOUR WAGES.”
WAR
AGAINST STIGMATISATION (WAS)
OF EX-CONVICTS
In
my own opinion, a prisoner is any
one who is bound by anything that
is capable of restricting one’s
“innermost desired move”.
It is often times associated with
evil and its influences. There is
no human being under the sun that
has not been in one prison or the
other. In fact, there is nobody without
any ugly past. If yours is not told,
it does not mean it is hidden from
“the eyes of Him with Whom we
have to do” – Hebrews
4:13.
I would
like you to consider critically Apostle
Paul’s expression of his deepest
anguish recorded in Romans 7:18-25
– “For I know that in
me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth
no good thing: for to will is present
with me; but how to perform that which
is good I find not. For the good that
I would I do not: but the evil which
I would not, that I do. Now if I do
that I would not, it is no more I
that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me. I find then a law, that, when
I would do good, evil is present with
me. For I delight in the law of God
after the inward man: But I see another
law in my members, warring against
the law of my mind, and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin which
is in my members. O wretched man that
I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with
the mind I myself serve the law of
God; but with the flesh the law of
sin.”
One
thing is certain: every one has gotten
an instinct to serve God in righteousness.
But … there is something in
man that restricts this “innermost
desired move” – SIN! We
were all at one point or the other
prisoners of SIN. So many people who
live outside the physical walls of
a prison yard are living right inside
the spiritual walls of “their”
prison yard and their task master
is Satan. How do you describe a normal
healthy man taking pleasure in homosexuality,
alcoholism, corruption, divers’
kinds of addiction, assassination
and such like? These groups of people
are prisoners even of their own conscience.
No body with his right senses wishes
to be a drunk but you see, just like
all other vices, those who engage
therein cannot help themselves. So
they are prisoners in a broader sense
of it.
Now
let us be sincere to ourselves. If
we have at one point in life or the
other had an ugly past, why should
we point our destabilizing fingers
at people who have finished their
jail terms? The earlier the society
recognizes and accepts these people
the better for all of us.
I have
been privileged to work with a repentant
armed robber who served several years
in Akure prisons as my associate Pastor.
You need to hear the testimony of
this Pastor-evangelist and throughout
the period he was in our ministry,
I saw the evidence and fruit of repentance
in him. Imagine what would have become
of him if the Bible school Registrar
did not accept to train him and even
after his Bible School we refused
to accept him in the ministry because
he WAS an ex-convict. I tell you,
the society would have seen the worst
of him.
Always
remember, nobody is 100% perfect.
We walk towards perfection in life
so, let us accept anyone who has successfully
served his/her jail sentence with
love. So many of them have their destinies
shaped in there. They are coming out
of jail to help build a better Nigeria.
God
bless you abundantly. Always keep
in mind the WAS OF EX-CONVICTS
– War Against Stigmatization
of Ex-Convicts.
IT
IS TIME TO SHOW LOVE AND CONCERN
In
a brief ceremony shortly after the
arrival of men and officers of CFN
Maiduguri Command led by the Northeast
Zonal Commandant, Chap. Rev. Festus
A. Ekenyere at the New Prison, Maiduguri,
he officially presented five singer
sewing machines, foot-wears, cloths,
etc.worth hundreds of thousands of
naira to the Assistant Controller
of Prisons in charge of Abaganarram
New Prisons, Alhaji Abdullahi Gambo.
Our
vision is to help make our prison
yards centers of learning and skill
acquisition. The tailoring workshop
of this yard is well equipt now. The
carpentry and welding workshops are
yet to be equipt. We are believing
God for resources to do that very
soon. So we appeal to the general
public to donate generously to this
noble vision.
In the
short circuit room we discovered that
lack of power supply frustrates the
officers in this department. We felt
too bad seeing how much is lost in
productivity in this country as a
result of lack of power supply. We
hope to provide a generating set here
to anhance efficiency and productivity.
Yes we can!
We
present some pictures of our visit
to the prisons here.
LET'S
PLEAD FOR THE WIDOWS
"Learn
to do will: seek judgment, relieve
the oppressed, judge the fatherless,
PLEAD FOR THE WIDOWS."
The
Faith Builders have identified the
plight of some seventeen widows in
a remote commutity. They need your
help in any way you are led to. It
takes the sum of twenty thousand naira
or just two hundred US dollars monthly
to give them a sense of belonging
to this lovely world. We are therefore
pleading for them. PLEASE
JOIN US TODAY!
If you are
led by the Lord to support this program
please contact us immediately. Log
on to our support page and fill the
form provided for that.
The good
LORD bless you abundantly!
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