Lord Anunoby,
You surprise me. I guess that if Dr. Goodluck Jonathan or General Ibrahim Babangida his backer also announced a similar theological interest in the Almighty, you would not be so hard on them.
First of all a slight correction – that Rabbi Akiva was not a convert but came from a family of converts (bear in mind that King David's grandmother Ruth – was also a convert)
Here's Devarim/Deuteronomy 30:6 : "And the Lord, your God, will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, [so that you may] love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, for the sake of your life."
It was only on the day that I got married - a civil ceremony at the US embassy in Freetown, in 1969 - that I realised how truly ignorant I was since I had never studied any religion at secondary school or at University. I first became interested in religion after reading an article on Yoruba sculpture by Ulli Beier (in the Institute of African studies library, at Legon, in January, 1970.
I admire Mr. Obasanjo's latest move - not the PhD in theology or the Doctor of Divinity per se – any Elmer Gantry can do that (my youngest daughter has an M.A. in theology , more than a decade later recited the apocryphal prayer of Manasseh by heart whilst I checked the text – her grandfather was a professor of religion - but I admire Brother Obasanjo 's motive for going for it – and not as a recluse either, however much he may be disgusted with all the deceit that characterizes much of politics, not to mention the deceitful politics, suicide bomings, and international terrorism that's being conducted in the name of religion
For some of us, it's true: Gotta serve somebody , so we ought not impute any suspect motives to Brother Obasanjo after he has so explicitly told us that the purpose of his studies is "to deepen his knowledge of God and serve Him better"
The quality of the teaching may not be the same as the divinity schools in Harvard and Yale or the Vatican , the course material could also be another matter altogether and although Saul/ St. Paul (Christianity's premier theologian) is not the dean of his faculty or his supervisor, perhaps the purity of his motivation will suffice, as I've heard it said that "Jesus lives" and it was he who is alleged to have said, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God"
Just as it was Richard Alpert, who said, "If your psychotherapist happened to be Buddha, you would get enlightened in the process" This kind of statement clearly has implications for Christianity too, that if Jesus of Nazareth happened to be your therapist you would probably wind up as a son of God in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Lord Anunoby, if you believed that, wouldn't you go for it, with all your heart?
(The Almighty wants us to be holy, whereas Jesus is alleged to have said, " If you want perfection then follow me!"
Two days to Yom Kippur
CH.
On Wednesday, 1 October 2014 05:02:46 UTC+2, Anunoby, Ogugua wrote:
There are clearly implications for the integrity of Obasanjo's intention and NOUN's credibility as a serious academic institution. Is there any hope that these expensive jokes that are some Nigerian politicians' trademark will cease anytime soon? I wonder.
oa
-----Original Message-----
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafric...@googlegroups.com ]
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 2:45 PM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Fw: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Obasanjo Enrols For PhD At NOUN
Interesting!
However these do not seem to me to be good and convincing reasons to run a Ph.D program.
As for NOUN, well for a country that has witnessed signification allegations of certificate forgery you can critically ask what it is in a position to turn out and offer the public and how the public has been positioned to perceive it.
As the saying goes- cheap things are costly and costly things are cheap!
And I dare add dangerously cheap!
L.O.Ugwuanyi,Ph.D
--- On Tue, 9/30/14, Kola Fabiyi <fab...@live.com> wrote:
> From: Kola Fabiyi <fab...@live.com>
> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Obasanjo Enrols For PhD At NOUN
> To: NaijaO...@yahoogroups.com, naijain...@googlegroups.com ,
> naij...@googlegroups.com, niger...@yahoogroups.com,
> usaafric...@googlegroups.com , Talkn...@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 6:50 PM Obasanjo Enrols For PhD At
> NOUN
>
> INFO NIGERIA / 2014-09-30 18:35
>
> Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has enrolled for a Master of Arts
> (MA) and PhD degrees at the National Open University of Nigeria
> (NOUN). He registered to study Christian Theology in the School of
> Arts and Social Sciences.
>
> Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Vincent Tenebe stated that
> although admission and registration in universities were not usually
> announced or celebrated, but for a special case like this, it is
> allowed. Obasanjo however urged the management of the institution to
> treat him like any other student. Although he said he recognised the
> role of courtesy in his case, but he said he would be more comfortable
> being treated like an ordinary student.
>
> The 77-year-old explained why he decided to register at NOUN when he
> first did years ago.
>
> "Primary, to acquire knowledge, particularly in Christian Theology,
> not because I want to be a pastor but rather, to know God more and be
> able to serve Him better.
>
> "Secondly, I wanted to make a statement that no matter one's age or
> position, there should be no barrier to continuous learning.
>
> "Thirdly, I wanted to showcase this university, knowing full well that
> this country will at no foreseeable future be able to provide adequate
> access to millions of Nigerians who are yearning for knowledge," he
> said.
>
> Obasanjo, who graduated with the first group of students in January
> 2009, therefore called on Nigerians seeking for knowledge to consider
> enrolling at NOUN. He said NOUN is by no means inferior to the
> conventional universities.
>
> He also urged the alumni of the university to try their best to
> support the school.
>
> Tenebe commended Obasanjo for resuscitating NOUN, as part of numerous
> efforts by his administration to develop education in Nigeria. He
> described Obasanjo as a leader to be emulated for his quest to see
> Nigeria develop through the use of new technology in education.
>
> Obasanjo's enrolment in NOUN, according to Tenebe has boosted student
> population; which had increased from 16,000 in 2010 to 308,000 in 2014
> with over 150,000 active students.
>
> Tenebe pleaded with the federal government to start allowing NOUN law
> graduates for study at the Nigerian Law School. He also asked that
> other graduates of the university be allowed to participate in the
> National Youth Service Corps scheme.
>
>
>
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