Fear and superstition have taken over Nigeria, and church pastors are having a ball preaching occult miracles of emptiness.
I have a book here with me entitled God, Faith and Reality by Sam Akowe that packs a punch in dealing with the modern-day reality of fatalistic belief that only God can solve all the problems of mankind.
An astute believer in positive thinking, Sam Akowe argues scientifically that it is incumbent on the individual to achieve success without any anchor whatsoever on spiritual forces.
It is indeed ennobling seeing a Nigerian author with the courage of his conviction such as Sam Akowe delineating God and science.
He started out in life with the Christian faith of unwavering belief in God only to later develop an inquisitive mind that raised pertinent questions about things he “previously accepted as truth.”
In the search for the truth, he had issues with matters like injustice, wondering why “bad things happen to good people.”
He does not totally dismiss the God factor, for he does stress: “It is safe to say that God or something greater than humankind has created this world and everything therein, and God has bestowed upon us human beings the abilities to dominate all other things.”
He then forges ahead to make a case for science which has in time improved the lot of mankind beyond the bald belief “that only God can do all things.”
Akowe deplores the antics of the new-generation Christian pastors who preach magical miracles that are neither here nor here, citing the 2012 instance of people of African descent who lost their lives to AIDS in London because a certain pastor told them that God had healed them such that they stopped taking their antiretroviral medication!
For Akowe, the pastors who preach deliverance as the cure-all for the so-called “generational curse” inflicting abject poverty on whole families are only chasing shadows.
He argues that every person should look inwards and exercise the power he or she already possesses for the needed solutions to manifest.
The menace of illiteracy, poverty and bad governance ought to be challenged by the people, Sam Akowe asserts, insisting that it is nonsensical when people claim to “pray to God to annul the country’s sins.”
He puts the pathetic case of Nigeria and sundry African countries on the front burner thus: “Many African countries are rich in mineral resources such as oil, diamond, gold, iron, zinc, and many more. It is sad to know that many of these countries do not get the revenue accruable to them from the sales of their individual resources. For example, Nigeria in West Africa is the world’s tenth largest oil producer. Therefore, Nigeria ought to be the richest country in Africa and also rank as one of the financially stable countries in the world. Instead, corrupt politicians, government contractors, and crooked businessmen and women are richer than the country. Oil revenue goes into individuals’ pockets instead of the national coffer. In the light of all these atrocities, what do Africans do? They turn to God for solutions. Africans should be bold enough to confront bad government for wrongdoings.”
The Akowe principle is that “you are the architect of your fate.” He charges all to confront their fears. Success of course comes through creating and identifying opportunities.
For him, “only risk takers can be successful.” He advises against building on a wrong foundation, denoting that “everyone is a gambler” in a positive sense.
In the mode of the pursuit of greener pastures, Akowe makes this cogent point: “You can run away from your home, town, city, country, and indeed people close to you, but you cannot run away from yourself.”
He takes as good guide the old maxim, to wit, “time waits for nobody.”
Negativism is built on superstition and blame culture thus aiding ignorance to wreak havoc. It helps to separate fiction from reality for one to earn good results and a healthy bank balance.
For Sam Akowe, the key phrase is “positive thinking for realistic change.”
The author, a Managing Director of Life Choice Coaching, is a highly sought-after member of The International Association of Professional Organizations (IAPO).
A holder of BA (Hons) Humanities (Behavioral Sciences) and a Certificate in Counseling from a London University and College, he has well “over 15 years work experience supporting vulnerable young people and adults with diverse issues ranging from drug and alcohol misuse, ex-offenders and dislodged young persons in creating career paths through education/training and generally reconnecting with society.”
“Before migrating from Nigeria 25 years ago to United Kingdom,” the personable Sam Akowe says, “I worked in the finance and legal industries for a combined period of 14 years.”
Published in 2015, God, Faith And Reality by Sam Akowe is a very timely and courageous book in this age of occult miracles of emptiness.