A new Nigeria: The economics of survival

• By Bayo Ogunmupe

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G-7 nations

THE group of seven most developed nations, including Canada, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Italy, guard their fortunes jealously.

The G-7 summit at Schloss Elmau in the Bravarian Alps, in Germany, holds on June 7 and 8 this year. The G-7 nations are also united by shared values. They are the pioneers in resolving major challenges of globalisation. Germany, which now holds the G-7 presidency and is hosting the 2015 summit, wishes to continue making active contributions to the world economy.

Issues on the agenda of the G7 meeting are very germane. The German hosts are conscious of the expectations of the developing countries –which is why they will be focusing on the expiry of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in 2015.

The G-7 agenda includes support for independence of women. This involves promoting vocational education and making entrepreneurship more interesting for women.

Again, poor leadership must have prevented us from qualifying for membership of such summits. Even the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa could not suffice our membership, though we have both the population and the oil resources.

It is only the MINT group that could accommodate us. That group consists of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey. Buhari now has the onerous task of revamping the economy and creating integrity and transparency for Nigeria.

Those nations classified above have been so classified due to their technological advancement. They have been industrialized by their leaders, which empowered them with a high degree of economic clout occasioned by technological capacity.

Thus, those nations have come to wield such immense influence and respect among the comity of nations. It is instructive then that industrialization is the backbone of economic development of any nation.

Nigeria’s aspiration to be among the 20 top economies in the world by 2020 aimed at transforming from an agrarian to an industrial society should be pursued vigorously.

Economists, like Prof. Adedoyin Soyibo of the Ibadan School of Economics, have avowed the possibility of Nigeria attaining a development miracle in 10 years, given transparent leadership though this looks impossible at the moment with 170 million Nigerians depending mainly on oil.

Besides, unemployment is rising yearly with many school leavers being unable to get jobs. Other problems such as falling standard of education, weak institutions, weak Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) capacity and leadership failure, among other factors collectively keep us stymied. However, in spite of high expectations on the President-elect, it is pertinent to realize that these problems have persisted for long and that all of us must work very hard to solve them.

With the rebasing of the Nigerian economy in 2014, the country ranked 26th largest economy in the world with a GDP of $454 billion. This performance shot the economy well above those of South Africa, Denmark, Malaysia and Singapore.

The rebasing appeared more motivated by politics of shoring up the image of President Goodluck Jonathan to gain cheap popularity as the elections closed in; political because the level of poverty in Nigeria does not reflect a comparable statutory prosperity. On the quality of life, Nigeria cannot compare favourably with Singapore for example.

According to the UNDP Human Development Index report of 2014, the standard of living, life expectancy, literacy, education and quality of life show that Nigeria ranks 175th while Singapore ranks 34th out of 185 countries so measured.

That shows Nigeria’s rating on the low end of human development and Singapore on the high performance index of human development. According to a UNDP report, Nigeria has not been recording any remarkable progress in its human development index as against claims by the president’s advisers that the country’s economy is robust and resilient.

According to UNDP, life expectancy in Nigeria is 52 years while 68 per cent of Nigerians live on a dollar daily. For Singapore, it ranked second after Switzerland in the world’s top ten economies in 2014.

In fact, like most African states, Nigeria’s economy is inert since most of our foreign reserves are spent to buy foreign goods and technologies. Much has also been frittered away on trite issues as constitutional amendments and the Transformation Agenda.

What it will take Buhari to triumph, therefore, is pruning the high cost of governance, keeping electricity privatized, privatising the refineries and setting up a national full employment programme, to keep every Nigerian working. Indeed, the most urgent task is to restore electrical power to its optimum capacity.

This he can do by inviting a board of experts with power to invite and pay foreign power generating companies. There is yet another option: Let the Federal Government buy 30 per cent equity in every privatized state institution.

Through the 30 per cent, it could send spies into those institutions to observe what is going on there. For the past 30 years, Nigerians have celebrated corruption as a way of life.

The best way to deal with the scourge is to privatise every department or agency of government wherever possible. As Adedoyin Soyibo said in his book, Images: Prologue to Africa’s Development and Economic Renaissance, the country can adopt the emulation strategy that advanced development in the industrial societies of the West. Soyibo went on to say that what Nigeria needs is trade, not aid. This is imperative when we consider the level of trade in the world.

In Africa, trade among states is only 12 per cent. Whereas in Asia, it is 48 per cent, in North America, 47 per cent while in Europe it is 70 per cent. Let Buhari increase trade among African countries to make Nigeria become the industrial hub on the continent. To privatise the NNPC, let us look to how other OPEC members are managing their oil companies. All Buhari needs to do is to imitate and invite other nations for assistance. All things are possible to him that believeth. •Ogunmupe lives in Lagos.

Nigeria: How to Develop Your Winning Streak

TO cultivate a winning streak, you must believe while others are doubting; plan while others are playing, decide while others are delaying and prepare while others are daydreaming. Also, you must begin while others are procrastinating, work while others are wishing, save while others are wasting. Moreover, you must always listen to others, smile while others are frowning and persist while others are quitting.

To win in life requires three things, one: you must start your goal. That seems obvious, but many of us are stuck in the starting blocks, waiting for something to propel us into action. What has God equipped and called you to do? Step out and announce yourself for action, and He will empower you. Two, you must give your goal, your all. Athletes in the Olympics don't save their efforts for their final drive. They concentrate on nailing every single run, increasing their chances for a gold medal. Don't settle for mediocrity at any stage of your life. Three, you must never quit for winners don't quit while quitters never win. Paul said: "Run in such a way as to get the prize," Cor. 9:24.

Commitment is a willingness to do whatever it takes to win. It is a promise to yourself from which you cannot back down. There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested, you do it only when it is convenient. But when you are committed, you accept no excuses, only results. Only you can decide whether the rewards are worth the effort. You cannot live on junk food and have a healthy body. Commitment means paying your dues and disregarding your critics. Difficulties will always tempt you to believe your critics are right such that following a course of action to an end will always require courage. The scripture says: "Rise up, take courage and do it," Ezra 10:4.There is an invisible reservoir of abundance that is tapped when you obey God's laws. The Torah says, "The blessing of the Lord makes rich and adds no sorrow," Pro. 10:22. Jehovah's ability to bless you does not depend on what's happening to the economy. When you obey Him, He will "Open the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing, there will not be room enough to receive. And He will rebuke the devourer for your sakes," Mal 3: 10-11.Sometimes, when you achieve what you are striving for, you find they are not very fulfilling. But as you look back, you realize that your greatest joy was not in the goal you achieved but in the growth you experienced on the way. The Japanese Nobel prize winning chemist, Koichi Tanaka describes this phenomenon and how it came about during the pursuit of his dream. As he worked on how to create ions with lasers, he says, "I failed for months before I succeeded in making an ion. I continued despite failures because I enjoyed the journey. It was fun, that fun enabled me to persist." That persistence helped him to win the Nobel prize. We don't have such people here because, as a former colony, we are used to being led and fed. You too have the potential to discover many wonderful things like Tanaka. For me, writing these columns has taken me out of my comfort zone. It has elevated my thinking and raised my self esteem. It has given me confidence and confirmed my sense of purpose. My pursuit of my dream has become so enticing, that I now ask myself: "Did I make the dream or the dream made me?" when your mind accepts a new idea it is forever changed. Once stretched, your mind takes on a new shape and never goes back to its original form. When that happens, you experienced true fulfillment. When you dream, you become ageless.

Our champion this week is Patrice Lumumba, the African nationalist leader and first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was prime minister between June and September of 1960. He was born in July 1925 at Onalua, the Belgian Congo. He was a member of a small Batetela tribe which later became significant in his later political life. His two rivals, Moise Tshombe, who led the breakaway Katanga Province and Joseph Kasavubu who later became the nation's president. Both came from large, powerful tribes from which they derived their support, giving their political movements a regional character. In contrast, Lumumba's party emphasized its all-Congo nature. After education in Protestant schools, Lumumba went to work in Port Empain where he became a trade unionist. Then he became a columnist in a Congolese newspaper. Later he founded the Congolese National Movement, the first nationwide political party. In an eventual election, Lumumba scored a sweeping victory, becoming premier in June 1960. Then Katanga broke away, but Joseph Mobutu, later known as Mobutu Sese Seko, seized power as a colonel in the Congolese army. Mobutu later reached a working agreement with Kasavubu. Seeking to travel out of the Congo, Kasavubu forces captured Lumumba in December 1960, on January 17, 1961 he was delivered to the Katanga secessionist regime where he was murdered. His death caused a scandal throughout Africa and he retrospectively became Congo's national hero.

Thinking Habits And Lifestyles Of Winners

THE habits and lifestyles of winners are worthy of emulation. Those who by inspiration and perspiration have become wealthy have memoirs which can help aspiring millionaires. Sadly, the mediocre do not seem to want to emulate these rich people. Instead mediocres become envious, detesting the successes and progress of the rich. Granted that the rich are often obnoxious, lousy and arrogant, this does not change the facts that they are successful.

For example, since the victory of the President-elect, Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari, they have been criticising the former Lagos state governor, Chief Bola Tinubu for sponsoring the merger of four opposition parties to form the All Progressives Congress, the platform which carried Buhari to victory.They say we don’t even question the integrity of Tinubu who, they say has turned politics into profitable business. We say, such envious attitudes don’t exist among the rich. It isn’t your business to question Tinubu’s morals. Those are provinces of God and the Nigeria Police Force. What aspiring winners do is to concentrate on their goals, work at them and succeed in them.

Thinking on how Tinubu made his money does not add value, riches and substance to your existence or greatness. Those aspiring to replicate Tinubu’s greatness should focus on the strategies and skills deployed to produce success. Being resentful of those who have what you desire will only make what you desire move even further away from you. This is a reason why many fail to achieve the wealth and riches they desire. Their resentment will continue to drive wealth away from them. Resentment creates negative emotions such as anger, envy, bitterness and spite which clutter your mind preventing creative problem solving to enter into it. When you are building your wealth, you should research on the rich. You should read biographies and visit the abode of the rich.

We have discovered the negative mindset of Nigerians do inhibit the realization of their goals. Instead of planning their own greatness, they are busy regaling themselves with the myths of how Tinubu obtained contracts to build a hotel or that Mike Adenuga must personally interview every manager before he is employed by Globacom. To me, the way we think and believe sentenced most of us to poverty. The Torah says: ‘‘Speak gracious words to edify and not words that wound as words fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver,” Prov. 25: 11. You cannot be great without knowledge. Which is why you should engage yourself in the acquisition of knowledge rather than vendetta. If you desire wealth you should read the biographies of wealthy people where they will tell you how to make it. The secrets of wealth are in the stories and experiences of the rich. Peter Daniels, the richest man in Australia, is reputed to have read six thousand biographies. Bill Gates, the richest man in the world is known to read and review thousands of books every year. Moreover, a study of the wealthy revealed that rich people are voracious readers. No wonder, they are successful. As an aspirant to greatness, you have no excuse when memoirs of the great abound everywhere. You don’t have to repeat the experience of failure that others have undergone. You can simply avoid the mistakes of others through reading the testimonies of others.

A recent edition of Forbes magazine captured the accounts of a Nigerian billionaire who recently bounced back from failure. The oil company of the billionaire in question was taken over by others owing to excessive debts. The essay was able to show the strategies this billionaire applied to enable him bounce back. This article is replete with lessons for every aspiring entrepreneur that could save him from failure. Because riches start from the mind, driven by our attitudes and mindset, if you want to excel, you must nourish your mind with knowledge. You can only be as great as your knowledge.

Our champion this week is Sir Vidiadhar Suraj prasad Naipaul (August 1932 to 2012), the Trinidadian writer of Indian descent who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. Naipaul is well known for his pessimistic novels set in the developing world which the Swedish Academy called suppressed histories. Descending from Hindu Indians who had immigrated to Trinidad as indentured labourers, Naipaul left Trinidad to attend the University of Oxford in 1950. He subsequently settled in England. His earliest books, The Mystic Masseur, 1957, The Suffrage of Elvira, 1958, and Miduel Street, 1959 are ironic and satirical accounts of life in the Caribbean. His fourth novel A House for Mr. Biswas, 1961, was a much more important work and won him recognition. In other books, Naipaul explored the personal and collective alienation experienced in new nations struggling to integrate their native and western colonial heritages. Naipaul was knighted in 1989 and awarded the Nobel Prize in 2001.

Getting God’s Consent For Your Project

God in Heaven. image source extras.inyork

JEHOVAH does not look at the things man looks at. David’s father didn’t think himself fit to be Israel’s next king, which was why when Samuel came looking for a successor to King Saul, he presented his eldest son, Eliab, who was a General in the Israeli army.

Prophet Samuel was impressed. Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely God’s anointed stands here.” But Jehovah told Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.” God does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks on the outward appearance but Allah looks at the heart.

When it comes to your life’s calling, only God’s opinion counts. In order to fulfill his destiny, David had to overcome his family’s opinion of him. Any time you see people pursuing a mid-career change, you can be certain that they had been living someone else’s dream and had lost their way. Nobel prize-winning essayist, Joseph Brodsky, observed: “One’s task consists, first of all, in mastering a life that is one’s own, not imposed from without, no matter how noble its appearance may be.

For each of us is issued but one life, and we know how it all ends. It would be regrettable to squander this one chance on someone else’s experience.” It isn’t too late to invite God to your project. Just do what God wants you to do by your intuition and capacity. Ask God for a dream of your own and He will give it to you.

Sadly, try as you may, you will never fulfill a dream that isn’t your own. You locate your dream by studying your personal history. You will live the life for which Jehovah created you, only after you figure out your life’s project. When a dream is right for you and you are right for a dream, you are single-mindedly magnetized to it.

Paul told Timothy, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young.” The young person has no clear picture of himself. He sees himself only in the mirror of his parents. A child who is told repeatedly that he is a bad boy, or is lazy, or no good, or stupid or clumsy, will tend to act out this picture. You can only get Allah’s consent if you follow His will.

The Philistines made a raid on the Valley of Rephaim. Then David inquired from God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hand?” God said to him, “Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.” At Baal Perazim, David commented, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water. Thereafter, they called the place Baal Perazim, meaning breaking-through.”

To get a breakthrough in your life, you must do like David: First, he reminded himself that God had made him King. You must know what you stand for. Second, David enquired from God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines?” God does not respond to your need, He responds to your obedience. When you have obeyed Jehovah, you will win. Third, David gave God credit for his victory: “God has broken through my enemies.” Chronicles 14:11.

Sometimes, God will do it for you. At other times, He will do it through you. That is why you must hear from God before you settle on a particular project. You cannot obey God and have Him abandon you. When you obey God, He will grant you a breakthrough.

Our champion this week is Baron Paul Julius Reuter, the German-born founder of one of the first news agencies, which still bears his name. Of Jewish parentage, he became a Christian in 1844 and adopted the name Reuter.

Reuter was born in Kassel, Germany in 1816. He became a clerk in his uncle’s bank in Gottingen, Germany, where he made the acquaintance of the eminent Mathematician, Friedrich Gauss. At that time Gauss was experimenting with electric telegraph that was to become important in news dissemination.

In 1843, he joined a publishing concern in Berlin, which published political pamphlets. After hostilities arising from his pamphlets, he moved to Paris, France in 1848. Reuter then started sending news he translated from French to Germany. In 1950, he set up a news agency between Brussels and Germany. Moving to London in 1851, he set up a telegraph office near the London Stock Exchange. With daily newspapers flourishing, Reuter persuaded publishers to subscribe to his news agency. His first spectacular success came when he transmitted to London the text of a speech by Napoleon III starting the Austro-French war in Italy.

The spread of undersea cables helped Reuter extend his services. Reuter was created a baron by Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1871. He was given the privileges of this rank in England. He retired as managing director of Reuters in 1878 and died in Nice, France in February 1899. His Reuters news agency is still thriving at 164 years.

STRANGE HABITS OF LIFE-LONG WINNERS

Medals. Photo: trophiesunlimited

MOSTLY, our lives are pretty satisfactory. Our jobs are bearable, since we get along with most of our cowokers while our careers are moving along reasonable clip. At our leisure hours, our lives are happy too. Besides, we keep friends and family with room for happiness and companionship.

However, there is room for you to think, that maybe, with a slight change in the way you handle your affairs, your lives could improve significantly. It is certainly true that it takes just a slight change in the way you live, perhaps a relocation to another city, to make a huge difference in your prospects for successful achievement.

Try these simple, strange, habits for radically improving your life right now and see if the results you experience aren’t significantly better.

One, always do what you say you are going to do. Long ago, I learned the importance of following through on my promises. While in High School in the 1960s, I spent summer holiday with my friend Shamsudeen Amali, in the home of Professor Robert Armstrong, then the Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan.

In the quarters of the professor, I came in contact with Bertrand Russell’s books. Armstrong had about ten different books of Russel, most of which I read avidly at the time. I enjoyed Russel’s command of language and I prayed to write like him. I even wrote Russell, then a Nobel prizewinner in philosophy, although he was a professor of mathematics.

My dream of writing books was fulfilled only recently just because I voiced the desire and a friend paid for the publication in dollars. So, always do what you wish to do, even if you have changed your mind. You will build bridges of trust that will continue to improve your life over time.

Two, the deeper you get into your career, the more time you spend at desks, robbing you any chances for exercise. But doctors have found that exercise does not just improve your physical health, it improves your brain as well, giving you greater focus, concentration, sharpening your memory and lowering stress.

Three, change your scenery. Sometimes, it takes just a change of scenery to shake things up for the better. Researchers affirm that prosperity resides in neighbourhoods, that you could become more prosperous only by changing your residence. Therefore, for your prosperity travel to a different city or town.

Take a vacation to a different country; just break out of your old routine. Four, give yourself a face-lift. Volunteer by joining a non-profit organization which is devoted to a cause you are interested in. such organizations include a cancer society, helping internally displaced persons find homes or helping the unemployed find jobs.

Five, get a new set of friends by shifting your life into a higher gear and constantly adding new acquaintances. Your new friends will naturally foist on you, new perspectives and experiences. Six, change your career, unless you are very happy with your present occupation.

A new career will throw you out of your comfort zone. Perhaps, you can improve your life b y taking a break from your current routine. Seven, stop trying to be someone you are not. Just be yourself, there is no other person like you; you are perfect the way you are.

Eight, as a relief from boredom, attend week-long conferences. There is nothing like going back to school. It will keep your mind sharp, giving you greater opportunity to excel in your career. Nine, forgive that person whose remembrance irks you, makes you bluster. Truly, he has mistreated, cheated you. Instead of letting him hold you back, forgive him or her; then move on. Ten, it is easy to get stuck in a rut; get unstuck by pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Do something each day that you normally wouldn’t do. Put yourself into an experience that would actually push you out of your set routine.

Our champion today is Julius Rosenwald, the United States merchant and unorthodox philanthropist who opposed the idea of perpetual endowments. He frequently offered large gifts on condition that they be matched by other donations. He was notable for his aid to the education of blacks. Born in Springfield, Illinois in August 1862, went to High School and opened clothing business in New York City (1879-85), and Chicago (1885-95).

Then, Rosenwald bought a quarter interest in sears, Roebuck and Company which became the world’s largest mail-order house and chain of retail stores. In 1910, he succeeded Richard Warren Sears as president and in 1925, became chairman of Sears.

Under his leadership, Sears began manufacturing its own merchandise. Generous to charities; in 1917, he established Julius Rosenwald Fund, the chief purpose of which was the education of blacks. Augmented by other private gifts, the fund paid for the building of more than 5,000 schools in 15 southern states. In 1929, he built a Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and contributed heavily to the University of Chicago. He died in Chicago in 1932.

Be Passionate About Your Future

• By Bayo Ogunmupe on May 31, 2015 12:00 am

PASSION is the starting point of all achievements. There has never been anyone who achieved anything of value, who wasn’t passionate about it. Passion is the energy that fuels your dream. Your road to greatness is cluttered with problems and disappointments. And if you don’t have the correct mindset, your dreams could die there. During periods of disappointment, always remember that Jehovah gave you your dream. So, go back to Him and ask for the strength to propel you forward.

Nehemiah was passionate about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. When his enemies tried to sidetrack him and discourage him, he answered, “I am doing a great work. I cannot come down,” Nehemiah 6:3. Thus, it is God who gives you the power to run and leap. So, you cannot sit back, fold your arms and think that He will do it all for you. Between being inspired by your dream and your dream’s manifestation, there will be a lot of perspiration from you. As parents know, it is much harder having and raising babies than conceiving them. Thus, if you have passion for your dream, the price won’t stop you. You will wake up every morning and draw on the grace of Jehovah to take yet another step in the direction of what you know God put you on earth to achieve.

A mother eagle knows that if she waits for her young to get out of the nest and fly on her own initiative, it will never happen. So, she pushes her out. That is certainly radical. But baby eagles learn to fly and fulfill their destinies that way. To succeed in life, you must stay within your strength and knowhow, but continually move outside your comfort zone. You can never accomplish anything of value while living within your comfort zone. We seldom move outside our comfort zones. We always resist it. We like to live in safety and comfort, avoiding struggle. As you grow old, you become more complacent, killing passion and the competitive spirit. Complacency clips our wings, keeps us from soaring, no matter how much we want to. To succeed requires initiative, taking risks. However, when you get to the door of opportunity, you are supposed to push. So, step out in faith, take the initiative, and believing in God, Providence will empower you.

Press forward to the prize. Then, you will be happy, because success is the key to happiness. Happiness and success go together. Success is directly proportional to the degree of pleasure you derive from what you do. Dreams come true when gifts are set on fire with passion. The best career advice for you is to discover your innate passion; first, get what you want, then after that, enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind enjoy their dreams.

Get ready to move ahead. “I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised.” (Joshua 1:3) Can you imagine how Joshua felt stepping into Moses’ shoes? He needed assurance. So, God told him, one: “I will give you every place where you set your foot.” Here, Jehovah is saying, just step out in faith and claim your inheritance. Just walk towards it and take possession. Two: “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life.” Though Joshua faced relentless criticism, yet he survived. There were 31 kings, seven nations and giants the size of telephone poles waiting for Joshua in Canaan. But every battle he fought was an opportunity for God to show Himself strong on his behalf. Three: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” If you are anxious about your future, recall Allah’s faithfulness to you in the past. At the end, Joshua acknowledged that not one of God’s promises to him failed. Every promise was fulfilled. So, God who came through for Joshua will come through for you, too.

Our champion this week is Charles Stark Draper, the American aeronautical engineer, notable as a designer of navigational and guidance systems for ships, airplanes and rockets. Born in Windsor, Montana, the United States in October 1901, Draper died in Massachusetts in July 1987.

Draper joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1935. Three years later, he became a professor and was placed in charge of the Instrumentation Laboratory. He immediately began developing a gunsight for naval anti-aircraft guns, which was installed on U.S. naval vessels during World War II.

In 1951, Draper became chairman of the aeronautical department of MIT. Then, his navigation system for aircraft was successfully tested in 1953. The system allows a plane to fly thousands of miles without reference to outside aids. In 1954, Draper introduced yet another system, which was incorporated into U.S. guided missiles, including the Polaris. His laboratory also developed the guidance systems for the spacecraft of the Apollo Project, which landed man on the moon. He was the greatest instrumentation engineer of his time.

ou Have What It Takes To Succeed

• By Bayo Ogunmupe

JEHOVAH gave him success in everything he did,’’ Genesis 39:3. That is my prayer for you. To succeed in anything however, there are certain attributes you must have. One, morals: What are you willing to do in order to get to where you want to be? You can’t get there just any kind of way. You must have boundaries. Now, all of us have broken the rules at sometime. But thank God, we had rules to break. We were able to realign ourselves because somebody had pitched a tent on where right is. Today, folks don’t care what is right. Two, methods: your methods are your roadmap. A goal without a plan is like a road to nowhere. First, the goal, then the plan and then the process. Adopting these simple three-step formula helps you understand that you won’t just leap into the middle of your dream, or get there overnight.

There are methods you must employ and stay with. Three, means: When God gives you a vision, look for His provisions. If you cannot find any, either the timing is wrong or what you want differs from what Jehovah wants for you. God’s provision may come as an idea that hits you suddenly or a thought that incubates in you over time.

Certainly, Jehovah’s provision will always involve the help of others, so walk in love wherever you go. Four, management: Jesus said, ‘‘To whom much is given, of him shall much be required,’’ Luke 12: 48. Though some people may think it is over when God gives it to you. No, it is just beginning. And guess what your biggest management challenge will be? Yourself. That is why David prayed, ‘‘Order my steps in thy word,’’ Psalm 119:133. Most manufactures are imitations of nature. Aeroplanes are imitations of birds and the like. The Columbia space shuttle’s guidance system starts only when it is several miles up in space. The point is, God’s guidance system kickstarts when you are in motion. That means you have to move around, you must not get stuck in the same spot praying. God said, ‘‘you will hear from Me once you have done what I’ve already put before you.’’ Sometimes we know what God wants, but we don’t like it. So we pray hoping Jehovah will change His mind and rubber-stamp what we desire.

Likewise, ‘‘By faith, Abraham when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going,’’ Heb. 11:8. When you follow God you will go out not knowing as much as you would like to. Advisers, study groups, think tanks, business plans and projections notwithstanding, there comes a time when you have to move in God’s direction. Just as your car’s lights don’t shine round the next corner or over the next corner or over the next hill, God will give you direction on an ‘‘as need to know’’ basis. That was why Paul wrote: ‘‘We walk by faith, not by sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7. Indeed, that is the only way to go. It keeps you closer to the creator. God’s guidance system from where Columbia’s space shuttle was coined, usually takes a lifetime to learn.

God guides us by closing one door before opening another. Abraham didn’t know where he was to go, but he knew he could not stay where he was. That was enough to create movement in the right direction. Knowing you cannot stay where you are is often the starting point of Jehovah’s guidance. That was the time to move. In Paul’s dream, he saw a man in Macedonia, Greece, pleading with him, ‘‘Come over here and help us,’’ That settled it, Paul went over to Greece. God was sending him there to preach the gospels. Paul believed his gift to God was his willing heart and his mobility and that God’s gift to him was that He would always guide him to where he needed to be. What God prevents, denies or keeps us away from, is as much divine guidance as what He permits and opens up to us. Every door that didn’t open, every opportunity you didn’t get is as much divine guidance as those that clicked, so learn to live according to the will of Allah.

But we have seen how some missed their destinies by shunning principles and being attracted by filthy lucre. Bola Ige missed his opportunity of running for a life in Aso Villa through accepting to serve in Olusegun Obasanjo’s cabinet. Also some of our respected leaders, either through religious fanaticism or ethnic hatred, missed presidential slots and renown through dumping parties they helped build and missing the glory of achievement. Just to tell you that you can miss your opportunities by misreading divine guidance.

Our champion today is Karl Donitz, the German naval commander and creator of Germany’s World War II U-boat fleet which wreaked havoc on the Allies in World War II. He also succeeded Adolf Hitler as German head of state. Born in 1891 in Berlin Dotnitz entered the German navy as a teenager. He served as a submarine officer in the Black Sea and the Medilerranean in World War I, after Hitler came to power he supervised the creation of a U-boat fleet over which he was appointed commander in 1936.

In the middle of World War II in 1943, he was called to replace Admiral Erich Raeder as commander in chief of the German navy. His royalty and ability soon won him the confidence of Hitler. In April 1945, shortly before the collapse of the Nazi regime, Hitler appointed Donitz head of the northern military and civil command. Finally in his testament Hitler named Donitz his successor as president, minister of war and commander in chief of the armed forces of Germany. Assuming the reins of government in May, 1945, Donitz retained office till the end of the war In 1946 he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Tribunal at Nurnberg. Released from prison in 1956, and retired on government pension, Donitz published his memoirs in 1958. He died in December, 1980.