Young Women Leadership Program 2015 Launch by GOTNI with funding by Oxfam in Nigeria: Pictures

Finding Reality: The Journey through Fundamentalist Christianity, Schizophrenia, and Self-Actualization - Stephen Mufutau Awoyemi

I remember vaguely that she was lying on the bed reading a book with many pages. She seemed to be concentrating. I asked her, “Aunty what is this book you are reading”? She replied “the Bible”. “What is the Bible”? I asked. It is “God’s word” she responded. I must have been 8 or 9 years old at the time. That was my first conscious encounter with religion. 

All previous encounters had been passive, unconscious, and insignificant. I took personal interest in this Bible and began to read it. I was deeply fascinated as I found a new transcendent consciousness which I never really experienced before. However, I was soon to abandon this new found interest being a child. I picked it up again at the age of 12 when my foster parents began to couple their attendance at an orthodox church (Catholic) with a Pentecostal church. A new wave of Pentecostalism was sweeping Nigeria, gaining a critical mass since the late 1970s through the early 1980s. In the year 1989, I became a born again Christian, a brand of Christianity that grew in power and numbers like wild fire in the dry season in Nigeria. Having a simple and sincere disposition I followed the teachings of this religion.

 When I attained puberty I struggled with sexual desire, feelings of guilt, and self-repression. My impression was that the human was vile and corruptible, as was reinforced by repeated sermons. I pursued morality without a basic awareness of what is, but to please God in order to get a reward, which was immediate blessings and ultimately heaven, and to avoid punishments or curses, with the worst being eternal damnation in hell. As I began to grow older, approaching adolescence, I sought for my own personal experience of the stories I read about in the Bible. Miracles of the age to come, the supernatural, and eschatology became obsessions. I knew that I had no experiential knowledge of these things. I wanted evidence to validate my dogmatic reality--a reality that was capricious and based on only what I had read and heard from humans like myself. I had to. I had no alternative. It was the only worldview I had and it was becoming unstable and troubled with doubt. But how could I doubt it? How dare I reject my worldview? Instead, I looked for evidence to support and reinforce it more. 

GOTNI launches weekly buzz videos - This Week at GOTNI, Episode 1-3

We started bringing you scoops from our daily leadership activities from GOTNI, while also intimating you and keeping you abreast of trends. Today, we published the 3rd episode but have compiled the 3 part video for 3 weeks to you.

Watch them all: Today's episode

Last week's episode

and the very first week's episode is here

Do watch and let us know what you think, at the comments section. To reach us via email, info@gotni.org. Have a beautiful weekend!

~TGIF

Nigeria Honours Dr. Myles Munroe

Dr. Myles Munroe would have been 61 years old on Monday, April 20th, 2015 if not for that heart-wrenching plane crash in November 2014. The news of his death and that of his dear wife, Ruth Munroe has been one of the hardest news of our century due to the impact his life and teachings is making across the globe.

So much as been said and done in honour of what he stood for: “leadership” “kingdom principles” “national prosperity” and more and on April 20th, Nigerians will be celebrating and honouring his legacies. This memorial event will feature keynote address, tributes, documentaries, music and testimonies and more so, ways to lead a life of purpose.

As a God general, nation builder, astute father, faithful husband, exemplary pastor, world consultant, dexterous author and leader per excellence, Dr. Myles Life lessons are uncountable and his impact transcends generations. 

We thank God for making his life a showcase that we can all become what we are born to be. So we decide to identify once again his nuggets, assess his impact and deliberately honour him.

You must be a Myle Munroe impactee!

If you are, join us at Reiz Continental hotel ,Central business District Abuja by 6pm on Monday, April 20th, 2015 in honour of this unforgettable icon.

Myles Munroe lives on!

To get an invitation card, visit GOTNI office at #4 Oguda Close off Lake Chad crescent, Maitama Abuja. 

Email: info@gotni.org

Call 08063956224

Feel the fear – Yes I can: by Felix Iziomoh

“Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.”- Roger Crawford

Challenges are an everyday part of life, Yes, I can do it is a phrase we hear all the time, and these are words that keep us going strong. A few years ago, I had to find a way to cope with financial and family issues which could have ruined my life. Before I was admitted into the University, it was a tough one for me; when I was admitted into the University, I faced other tough challenges. Often, when we face challenges in our daily lives, our stumbling blocks seem very small in comparison to what many others face. The impossible can be realised with persistence and determination, no matter the unusual. Even the most far away dream can be realised with persistence and determination. I continually review the decisions I made in past years and see that I had to believe in myself and never give up the struggle for my survival.

I strongly believe that my Yes, I can attitude really empowered me to always go for what I wanted. During my sad moments, I found strength in my ability to survive by respecting the power within me. This is the same power which is in us all. I always try to accept life's challenges as an opportunity to explore new things. With persistence and determination, you can overcome challenges. We are familiar with persistence and determination; they are the words of achieving victory. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence and determination. You may have heard the story of Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, and believe he is the stuff of which real leaders are made. Knowing his story, it is easy for us to think about this leader as someone who belongs to a particular cultural tradition, empowered by some extraordinary qualities that smooth his path towards inevitable success. His is the story of a man who has faced significant legal challenges; he fought a long legal battle over allegations of racketeering, corruption, money laundering and fraud. In December 2005, Zuma was charged with raping a 31-year old woman. On 6 April 2009, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) dropped all charges against him. He won the election on 6 May 2009 and was sworn in as president of South Africa on 9 May 2009. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

 Some have believed in the past that leaders are marked out for leadership early in their lives, and if you are not a leader, there's little that you can do to become one. Fortunately, that is not the way we see it now and research supports this. The modern view is that through patience, persistence, determination and hard work, one can become a highly effective leader. Every organization or collection of people, from large to small, requires devoted and skilled leaders. It is said that everything rises and falls on leadership, and it is true. Every group, be it families, towns, churches, organizations and even nations, fulfils its purposes and potential based on the leadership they have shown.

Email: flelixi@yahoo.com

The Big dreamer, Tomorrow's Leader - Somto Mbelu

Before a house is built, there must be a prototype of that particular building on paper. Were the idea has being conceived already. For one to lead effectively. One has to be able to see into the future. He has to be able to think and reason forward. When one thinks and plans towards the future. The actions and way he lives every day. Must work in connection to what he wants to become or achieve in the future. Nothing happens by chance. Some of the inventions which are in use now. Has being conceived by inventors a long time ago.

 I remember very well several years ago. Then I was a teenager, there once lived an old man. This old man had provided virtually all the answers to every question that were ever asked or brought to him. One day two young men decided to prove the old man wrong for the first time.

Somtochukwu Mbelu

They caught two birds and went straight to the old man with their hands closed tight with birds. They said old man! You have always provided answer to all questions ever asked in this village. So now, tell us these birds we got in our hands are they life birds or dead birds. The old man was astonished to hear this strange question for the first time.

The two young men had decided beforehand that if the old man answers the question by saying “the birds are dead ‘they will release the birds from their hands and let the birds fly away but if the old man on the other one says ‘the birds are alive’, they will quickly squeeze the birds in their hands to death to prove the old man wrong so either way the old man would be wrong. Even the old man knew this and decided not attempt that dreaded question. But concluded by telling them that, it all depends on them to decide whether the birds are alive or not.

You see, friends. The poorest man in the world is the man without a dream. The most frustrated man in the world is the man with dream that never become a reality. I am sure that everyone, no matter the race, culture, nationality or socio-economic status; no matter how rich or poor we are, weather we were born in the bush, village or amidst marble floors, we all dream.

 Everything depends on our decision on how we want to carry on in this life. It all depends on the big picture we see or conceive within us. If you can think it, you can do. Whatever God can do for you is what your mind has failed to think. As far as your mind can think anything it can achieve it. That is why we must strive to feel our mind with positive thoughts. Cause everything comes from within.

Dreams are a bit parts of our lives and you must do whatever it takes to make them a reality by the plans you make, the cause you take and things you do. Don’t dwell on the past mistakes: Leave yesterday behind along with its problems, worries and doubts. Realize you can’t change the past but you can start a new tomorrow. Don’t try to do everything at once take a step at a time.

Stay strong, start something new. Dream big cause there no limitation to what you can dream and achieve. So dream on and get set to lead the future.

Somtochukwu Mbelu.