CLIENT AND THE LIES THEY TELL TO PSYCHOLOGISTS

The need to see a clinician

We all need to see a clinician when our psyche begins to ‘malfunction’. We need advice from an expert, a professional who can hopefully alleviate our issues.  Should I now go to the psychologist? Most of us have asked that question at one time or another. Whether its anxiety, depression or that nagging ideation of suicide or homicide that just won’t got away, it can be hard to know when you should be seen by a clinician. There are no set rules that tell you when to go or when to wait. But some general guidelines might help you the next time you’re trying to decide. Mental health is an important part of our overall health and should never be ignored. Having issues with mental health is also very common and treatable. Please, call your clinician if are experiencing any of these signs of trouble with your mental health. Feelings of depression or sadness that don’t go away; Feeling extreme highs and lows; Having excessive fear, worry, or anxiety; Withdrawing from social interactions; Changes in eating or sleeping; Inability to cope with daily problems; Delusions or hallucinations; Substance abuse; Thoughts of hurting yourself or others.

But, why Lie?

This is common and it's not unusual for clients to lie to me. Sometimes, they do so because they are embarrassed. Sometimes they're afraid they are somehow going to "get into trouble" if they tell me the truth. As professionals believe me when I say “we have heard it all”. Years of experience shows the truth eventually ‘shows up’ especially   stretching the truth and leaving out important details, at other times, clients may be in denial when facts are presented to them. A client who is significantly off his baseline behavior is a red flag, or, after failing a drug test, might insist that he had to have been "framed" because he doesn't use drugs. Following, however are three key reasons for lying:

Clients want to be respectful: This is usually the case when the therapeutic relationship is yet to be developed. Essentially trust has not been established. Clients will just go along without challenge/clarification on all the clinician’s directions. Admitting to things like, "I didn't try the homework you suggested," or "I did the exact opposite of what we talked about last week." In an effort to please the therapist or to avoid any consequences, it's common for clients to lie about the work they're doing.

The topic is uncomfortable: Talking about a traumatic event or describing some poor choices (especially if it is sexually related) made is difficult telling another person. It's often easier to divert the conversation or deny any problems exist. It's tough to talk about things that stir up shame. In an effort to protect themselves, many clients deny circumstances or behavior that causes them to feel ashamed.

Denial: Sometimes, patients just aren't ready to admit the truth to themselves. So they minimize how much time they spend on social media or deny that their substance use creates problems for them because they don't want to face the truth. Also, announcing one’s failures, shortcomings, and setbacks each week is a blow to the self-esteem. To subvert this clients only talk about the good things they're doing.

Do psychologists know when you lie to them?

Psychologists have their training and experience which includes keen listening, observation and logical skills. These enable them to help ask the right questions, get to the root of their issues and command treatment. But, there’s no magic lie-detection skill clinicians acquired. The function and aim isn’t to judge but to help clients get a grip on their issues and give them traction that they can use to battle and overcome these issues. If a client is lying, then there is denial ultimately lying to himself/herself. And, lack of honesty towards oneself makes it very, very difficult to heal or to take responsibility and control. Almost all the time I expect my clients to lie to me. This is what they do. It doesn't mean they can't change, but many live in dysfunctional environments which breeds chaos, secrets, lies and omissions. With time and patience, conditions can be created where clients can be comfortable disclosing their feelings. There will always be unconditional positive regard from me as I will continue to be remind them they are in a safe place and that their confidentiality will always respected.

Now, what

So, what can psychologists do about lies in therapy? "In some cases, the best action is to do nothing," if you have the sense that pursuing the truth means the client may discontinue therapy altogether." The therapist may also find that a minor lie, such as why the client was late for a session, is better dealt with only if it occurs again or is part of a pattern that needs to be addressed. However if testing is necessitated this can be revealed. Tests such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) contains four validity scales designed to measure a person's test-taking attitude and approach to the test: Lie (L) – The Lie scale is intended to identify individuals who are deliberately trying to avoid answering the MMPI honestly and in a frank manner. A word of caution, interpretation of the MMPI Scales is never done in isolation. A clinician who uses the MMPI-2 would need to see all validity scales AND the clinical scales (plus supplementary scales) to render an interpretation of the entire profile of that client.

References

Farber, B.A., et al. APA, 2019 Secrets and Lies in Psychotherapy

Baumann, E.C., & Hill, C.E. Counselling, Psychology Quarterly, 2016 Client Concealment and

 Disclosure of Secrets in Outpatient Psychotherapy

Slepian, M., et al., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2017, The Experience of Secrecy

Farber, B.A. APA, 2019 Working with Client Lies and Concealment
www.apa.org/pubs/videos/4310003

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-therapy/201610/why-people-lie-their-therapists

THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE

“We see death coming into our midst like black smoke,

a plague which cuts off the young,

a rootless phantom  which has no mercy

or fair countenance.”  - Jeuan Gethin

The current outbreak of Coronavirus is unprecedented in the annals of world epidemics; lately declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, it spells doom for both man and country. It has wrought in its wake both health and economic crisis; a very dangerous combination. So far the virus has been contained in its lethality than previous plagues; thanks to medical science, but this will not be so for long.  World economy will not be the same again; not with China, the factory of the world under lockdown. With shortages of everything from auto parts to generic medicines and production delays in things like iPhones and HP computers and printers, a great deal of pain is coming from the closing of Chinese factories. That proliferating damage has central banks and financial analysts talking about a global recession; while stock markets all over the world are in a state of turmoil: Some like the New York Stock Exchange was forced to suspend trading on Thursday.

From tennis tournaments to horse racing, football matches, NBA, formula 1 and even the Tokyo Summer Olympics stand threatened: Even Arsenal FC is under quarantine and its matches postponed; this also applies to Real Madrid with Manchester City match cancelled. Good soccer games are now being played to empty stadia and might soon be cancelled all together. Death on a mass scale is being predicted and attack rates of 50 to 70 percent of world population, is now a possibility.

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) is worse than the coming Biblical battle of Megiddo or Armageddon. God is indeed angry with man for his transgressions and inequities. For the first time in millennia, Islam's holiest site the Kaaba in Mecca was 'completely deserted'. The decision to suspend the Umrah which comes ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan starting in late April, which is a favored period for pilgrimage, has spelt spiritual doom to many aspiring pilgrims. It is unclear how the Coronavirus will affect the Hajj, due to start in late July. Catholics now receive Holy Communion on their palms. Getting very serious; with nations increasing testing and travel restrictions.

Deen Koontz  in his 1981 book, ‘The Eye of Darkness’ (fiction) referred to  ‘The Wuhan-400’ a virus apparently developed as a bioweapon with a 100 percent fatality rate, but  on the contrary, COVID-19 has a fatality rate of 0.2 percent. While the Wuhan-400 only has an extremely short four-hour incubation period, the COVID-19 requires an incubation period between 2 to 14 days. Finally, the Wuhan-400 was said to only affect human beings, but the first cases of Coronavirus are believed to have been from animal to human interactions.

There have also been attempts to link the Coronavirus to the coming of the ‘Four Horsemen’ of the Biblical Book of Revelation signaling the End Time. Conspiracy theorists also mentioned the predictions of Nostradamus 500 years ago about the coming plague. However, according to Brian Dunning, the author of the Skeptoid podcast, Nostradamus’ predictions requires a great deal of hindsight to link to world events. Dunning said Nostradamus’ writings are grossly misrepresented and not genuine forecasts of the future. “His writings are exploited in a number of fallacious ways: Ambiguous and wrong translations, ‘creative’ interpretations, hoax writings, fictional accounts, and the breaking of non-existent codes within his quatrains all contribute to a vast body of work, all of it wrong; and trivialize his good works in favor of a pretended history of paranormal magical powers."

However, we can learn from the past as scientists have looked to history to model how pandemics might progress. Several major plagues were documented in the Ancient world, and they tell us something about how diseases and populations interact. The most ancient in our written history, the Plagues of Pharaoh, were (according to the Book of Exodus) visited upon Egypt. Several were infestations rather than infections, but the plague of pestilence which killed all the cattle was an infectious disease which could easily have been rinderpest. The plague of boils was a festering, contagious, skin eruption which could have been impetigo, and some historians have suggested that the final plague, the death of the first born, might have been due to infected food which was given selectively to the first born when times were lean.

The ’10 Plagues of Pharaoh’ show the fear such calamitous events inspire, sweeping innocent and guilty aside together. Though, they give us cultural references they tell us little more, as they were essentially local events. However, there have been more devastating plagues that resulted in widespread deaths on an unimaginable level.

The Plague of Justinian (541–542 AD) with recurrences until 750 AD was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire and especially its capital, Constantinople, as well as port cities around the entire Mediterranean. Some historians believe the plague of Justinian was one of the deadliest pandemics in history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 25–50 million people during two centuries of recurrence, a death toll equivalent to 13–26% of the world's population at the time of the first outbreak. It was exacerbated by the lack of hygiene, rather than person-to-person transfer that, was responsible for the devastating worldwide consequences.

The Black Death reached Europe in 1348, also known as the Pestilence, Great Bubonic Plague or the Plague was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia; a third of Europe's population, 50% of England's.

The Great Plague of London, lasting from 1665 to 1666, was the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England. ... The plague was caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium. It killed an estimated 100,000 people—almost a quarter of London's population—in 18 months.

Bubonic plague is largely preventable with good public health measures and, now, is treatable with antibiotics. It shows us how a disease can move through a population and can keep coming in pandemic waves.

Disease and epidemics occur as a result of the interaction of infectious agent, host, and environment. An understanding of these interactions is crucial to determine the best approach to prevent or control the continuing spread of an epidemic; hence the current resort to lockdown of whole population and quarantine. This is supported by history: As the 1918 influenza epidemic spread through the US, Wilmer Krusen, Philadelphia’s health commissioner, allowed a huge parade to take place in which some 200,000 people marched. In the following days and weeks, over 12,000 residents had died. Whereas in St. Louis, by contrast, a public health commissioner named Max Starkloff decided to shut the city down; only 500 deaths were recorded. The per capita fatality rate in St. Louis was half that of Philadelphia. Are we prepared to shut down mosques, churches and ban Owambe parties and other contact gatherings when ‘the come comes to become’?

Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic disease, has almost 100%, rapid mortality. It may cause a local plague as it is highly infectious, but, as it is rapidly lethal and confined to certain temperature and humidity zones, it tends to be rapidly shut down, first by its own lethality and secondly by its lack of tolerance of varied geo-zones. Despite this, it has continued to ravage our land.

Influenza, on the other hand, passes all three challenges. It is easy to transmit, of low mortality and is able to survive in all ecological zones and, indeed, alone on hard surfaces for several hours. Thus, whenever the virus merges with a new immunogenic identity, the conditions are met for pandemic spread.  Coronavirus or the 11^th Plague meets all these conditions, hence its seriousness for world attention.

To contain disease we can strike at several points:  Reducing the susceptibility of individuals - through immunization, through improved nutrition which improves natural resistance, and through our immune systems gradually evolving resistance to the disease itself.

Reducing transmission at the setting - through hygiene control, wearing of barriers such as masks and gloves especially for care-givers, and control of transmission vectors: Hence, the need to isolate and quarantine patients.

Reducing spread - through limiting the movement of exposed or infected individuals was famously employed during the Black Death when the infected were boarded into their houses until they died or got better. The same approach is being followed in China, Italy and all countries where the 11^th Plague has spread to.

Our bodies are the tool the organism uses to multiply and spread. This is true from bubonic plague to the common cold.

Influenza spreads extremely easily through coughing and sneezing, and is infectious well before it is symptomatic; so also is the Coronavirus.

New diseases generally come from old diseases. Managing a pandemic is a problem for the world, not just individual populations. The WHO’s  Global Alert and Response network (GAR) works towards combating the international spread of outbreaks ensuring appropriate technical assistance.

It's also worth remembering that we only know we have a pandemic when we have one. Planners must spot those organisms that have the potential to become a pandemic. Thus pandemic planning can seem like doom mongering when nothing much happens. But we need to be on top of the game at all time and not until an epidemic breaks. Public health experts continue to tell us that it's not a matter of if there will ever be another lethal global pandemic, but when. That when is now here in the form of Coronavirus? Are we ready?

Reflecting on diseases and how they have interacted with our ancestors through history can be interesting. We cannot, however, be complacent and we must be ready to plan. New diseases can emerge at any time - witness SARS, avian flu and HIV in recent times - and others will come to challenge us.

There are many epidemiologists who talk about the potential of the virus in terms of attack rates globally that could be between 50% and 70% of the global population. To date, this is the most frightening disease the world has encountered and that includes Ebola, MERS and SARS; and it's frightening because of the combination of infectiousness and a lethality that appears to be many folds higher than flu.

To this extent therefore, the 11^th Plague like other pandemics in the past must be addressed with all that we have. There’s nothing to stop it, besides government interventions, “social distancing,” and personal precautions.

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend; Aku Corona ooooo!

Babatunde  Jose

Babatunde Jose

 +2348033110822

ECHOES FROM THE LAGOON

"And do not kill yourselves, surely God is most Merciful to you."

— (Quran 4:29)

The Lagoon beckons the distressed, the frustrated and the depressed. It calls on the down-in-the-dumps to come end it all and leave this unjust and unfair world; a world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, impoverished and immersed in want and perpetual debt. Taking stock of his lot in life, the depressed begins to contemplate checking out and ending it all. That is when the ‘Lagoon’ beckons and offers a final solution. But is it the solution?

For millions, the lagoon beckons; a metaphor for a call to commit. . . . It calls to the depressed, frustrated, distressed and dispirited who having lost all hope have gotten to their tethers’ end and would contemplate suicide as a final solution.

There are however, many other causative factors to the incidence of suicide and this would include the mental state of the person. There are many who are clinically depressed and are prone to suicidal instincts. People who take their own lives as a result of failed amorous affairs, family matters or even failure in expectations. Many are who leave notes while others just take the plunge to save face after a terrible emotional fiasco.

What has led to the spate of suicide in our clime? Why take one’s life? Why jump into the Lagoon? It is the culmination of the vagaries and vicissitudes of the time; economic hardship on a scale never experienced before and still getting worse. There is abject poverty in the land and it now walks about naked without any shame, let or hindrance. People are now picking food from the proverbial dustbin with careless abandon; and the rich are not excluded as many harbor their own problems; many are in debt and at the mercy of AMCON. The rich too are crying and many are not only distressed but depressed. The cheap money has stopped coming in; proceeds of corruption, graft, grand larceny and outright pen robbery. The banks have been knocking at their doors and they have nowhere to run. AMCON has become more radical in its approach at debt recovery and properties are being seized. Yet we are the biggest economy in Africa; this unfortunately is not reflected in the socio-economic wellbeing of our people because we practice a ‘witchcraft’ economy which records 2% growth without commensurate development. No light; we wallow in constant darkness, failed leadership and clueless followers; lopsided political structure and an unjust and inequitable authoritative allocation of values. Our revolution of rising expectations has become one of rising frustration. The ‘lagoon’ therefore beckons. Many have answered the call of the lagoon but are unsung and unknown. Many deaths   are not natural and unreported. Many are buried without proper death certificate which is often procured for a fee. Records of death and cause of death are not properly kept, which is a sad commentary on the administration of birth and death in our country.

‘Echoes from the Lagoon’ is a play, written by late Rasheed Gbadamosi, which described the society at the time it was written. The play portrays a corrupt society and the presence of clan stratification, oppression and greed. The society has not changed from that time. Rather, it is now worse.

Low-income countries have the highest burden of suicide. Suicides are associated with psychopathologies such as depression and hopelessness. Poverty, scarcity and economic crisis are associated with psychopathologies. During economic crisis which cause problems in the banking sector and downturns in stock markets, bankruptcies, house repossessions and rises in unemployment and hopelessness, suicide become very rampant. Hopelessness is common in people living in slums, with young males under 30 at greater risk than any other group.

Most religions are against suicide and regard it as a sinful act.

According to the theology of the Roman Catholic Church, suicide is objectively a sin which violates the commandment "Thou shall not kill".  The Catholic Church used to deny suicides a Catholic funeral mass and burial. However, the Church has since changed this practice. The gravity and culpability for that sin changes based on the circumstances surrounding that sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 2283 states: "We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives." Paragraph 2282 also points out that "Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide."

The Orthodox Church shows compassion, however, on those who have taken their own life because of mental illness or severe emotional stress.

Studies have shown that suicide levels are highest among the retired, unemployed, impoverished, divorced, the childless, urbanites, empty nesters, and other people who live alone. Suicide rates also rise during times of economic uncertainty. (Although poverty is not a direct cause, it can contribute to the risk of suicide). People living in the most disadvantaged communities face the highest risk of dying by suicide.

A report, Dying from Inequality, Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Suicidal Behavior: SUMMARY REPORT 2017 showed that financial instability and poverty can increase suicide risk. Suicide is a major inequality issue. It was found that income and unmanageable debt, unemployment, poor housing conditions, and other socioeconomic factors all contribute to high suicide rates. Tackling inequality should be central to suicide prevention and support should be targeted to the poorest groups who are likely to need it most.

Every year close to 800 000 people take their own life and there are many more people who attempt suicide. Every suicide is a tragedy that affects families, communities and entire countries and has long-lasting effects on the people left behind. Suicide occurs throughout the lifespan and was the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds globally in 2016.

Suicide is a global phenomenon in all regions of the world. In fact, over 79% of global suicides occurred in low- and middle-income countries in 2016.

Countries with higher levels of poverty have higher levels of pediatric and adolescent suicide, according to research presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Conference & Exhibition. The rate of suicide by firearm also increased as poverty levels increased, researchers found.

Allah says: “take not life, which Allah hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: Thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom. (Quran 6:151); “Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: For verily Allah hath been to you Most Merciful! (Quran 4:29).   There are two forms of suicide, the formal which involves the actual carrying out of the deed such as hanging, firearms, stabbing, electrocution, ingesting poison, self immolation, running under a moving train and jumping into the Lagoon. There is however a passive suicide which involves committing acts that might lead to death or doing those things which one ought not to do that might eventually leads to death such as starving oneself to death. There is however an extreme form or ‘X-Suicide’ commonly referred to as mass suicide when a group of people simultaneously kill themselves. In March 1997, California's 911 emergency line dispatchers got a call in Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego. When police turned up at the location on March 26, they found the bodies of 39 people, all dressed identically and neatly tucked in their bunk beds, with plastic bags tied around their heads. All of them were members of the eccentric Heaven's Gate cult. The Movement For The Restoration Of The Ten Commandments Of God (MRTCG) in Kanungu, Uganda was a fringe Catholic group convinced that the world would come to an end when the millennium calendar began. However, when the world did not end as expected, followers began to doubt their leaders. So a second date for the 'Judgment Day' was announced: March 17. On March 17, 2000, some 300 followers -- including 78 children - headed for a last celebration before salvation hit them. Instead, what happened was mass self-immolations and poisoning. In the 1970s, the self-styled prophet Jim Jones established a "socialist utopia" community in Guyana named Jonestown. In November 1978, that Jonestown pretty much ended when the outside would discover the rotting bodies of 918 followers of People's Temple. The Jonestown massacre is the greatest human-made tragedy in the history of the United States, topped only by the September 11 terrorist attack. A Muslim is obligated to exercise patience at times of affliction and fight injustice to the best of his ability. He is not commanded to commit suicide to escape afflictions. Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend Parting Shot: The Corona virus portends a recipe for mass suicide on a scale never before contemplated if our leaders in this country do not, as a matter of urgency, put in place crowd control policies that would stem the spread of this epidemic. All contact religious activities should be suspended for now. If soccer loving Italians can place a ban on spectatorships at football matches; Saudi suspending Umra and probably Hajj if care is not taken; closure of schools in many countries and suspension of Juma’at services in Iran, we have no reason not to follow suit.

Babatunde Jose

 +2348033110822

TROUBLED WATERS

When facing difficulties, our weak faith can sometimes drive us to question the fairness of it all. In this context, we should remind ourselves that believing in al-Qadr (Allah’s divine will and decree) is one of the pillars of Islamic faith.

“No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence...” (Quran 57:22-23)

As believers we should recognize that only Allah’s Grace and Mercy can deliver us from challenging situations. Life is full of twists and turns. We will all experience many highs and moments of great happiness, but there will inevitably be periods when we experience pain, sadness and tougher times. It's in these moments that we find comfort in the people closest to us. We all look for that special person who's prepared to reach out a helping hand and ease our troubles with love and support.

For many observers, today's world seems indecipherable. The Earth is in such jeopardy that some scientists speak of a new accelerated geological era. The resurgence of barbarism and terrorism in the name of religion is seen as a historical regression.

At the same time, waves of technological innovations are constantly surging, particularly in the fields of energy and information — sources of economic, ecological and social transformations. These advances point to an accelerated evolution of the human being.

Never has the present been subjected to such a tectonic shock between its future and its past, the consequences of which seem difficult to foresee and can sometimes be distressing. Even science cannot offer all the answers: We are dealing with uncertainties and even science is unanswerable.

Between naïve belief in the unlimited benefits of technology and resignation to the cycle of calamities, there is room to build global governance aiming at organising a geopolitical order to derive the best of the human experience.

These are indeed times that test the faith of men and push them to the periphery and ultimately the warm embrace of atheism. The afflicted never asked or prayed for it. Innocent souls book seats on a plane to travel only to suffer the misfortune of catching the dreaded Coronavirus from a satanic passenger seated next to them on the flight; or the innocent passenger who is infected by the Uber driver. These are perilous times indeed and it demands divine intervention. No matter how many times you wash your hands and sanitize; pray not to enter the same vehicle with an ‘alakoba’ (harbinger of misfortune), ‘odaran’ or plain agent of Satan.

We all know that although we should take the appropriate and recommended measures to stay safe, everything is ultimately in Allah’s hands. Allah alone knows how everything will work out: That is after we have done the needful. We should pray for the health and safety of ourselves as well as of humanity.

The Principal of Bethlehem school who died last Sunday trying to save the life of her student is not guilty of misadventure, neither were the 70 victims of the explosion and owners of the 100 houses that were destroyed. It is however sad and lamentable that our leaders were busy in Abuja meeting over the fate of the Chairman of their party instead of jetting to the scene to empathise and sympathize with the victims.

The same lackadaisical attitude and impunity has been demonstrated over the current pandemic. It took divine intervention for them to announce the cancellation of the Sports festival slated for Benin at a time when the whole world is under lockdown. According to Martins Ifijeh ‘Despite the looming trouble posed by COVID-19, Nigeria waited until the outbreak surged before taking strong travel measures against the virus; an action long overdue for a country with one of the weakest health systems in the world’.

Why are we so temerarious? Some claim the virus is powerless in warm climate; a notion that has been debunked by the WHO in its latest bulletin. It is also not supported by the cases being reported in other African countries which share the same tropical clime with us. In West Africa it is in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mauritania, Senegal and Togo. In Central Africa it’s in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and of course it’s in East Africa  and the Horn of Africa too; Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Tanzania.

We continue to live in self-denial while countries are engaged in pre-emptive actions. Experts have varying explanations for why Coronavirus has not yet hit Africa hard; some say it is slower to spread due to the continent’s relatively limited international links. However, the continent’s public health systems have never been well-funded, and experts warn that this vulnerability, along with crowded conditions and poor sanitation in cities, and the unpredictable movement of populations, could make outbreaks impossible to control. “I don’t believe, if we have a large influx of people with the virus, we can cope,” said Oyewale Tomori, a professor of virology and former president of the Nigerian Academy of Science.

It is when the Pandemic hurricane makes a landfall that it will dawn on us that we have committed a national hara-kiri of unpardonable dimension and then the blame game will start. Unfortunately for our leaders there will be no overseas hospital to fly to for treatment. Their eyes will come down and they will know that Coronavirus is a Leveller. The fear of Coronavirus is now the beginning of wisdom.  Except here; where our leaders are yet to come up with a concise policy on how to address the terrible situation. The President is not offering the desired leadership required in times like this.  In Ghana, their President has addressed the nation twice in the last week, rolling out instructions and reassuring the people. I hear that the Senate is begging the President to address the nation: They would need the services of a Shaman to do ‘etutu’ before he can hearken to their call.

“If Coronavirus can poke China in the face, rattle America to a state of panic, dislocate Iran from her socio-political cohesion, force Italy to a humiliating and gruesome lockdown; and bend the hypocritical British to lockdown ubiquitous London, you can then imagine the huge devastation Coronavirus will cause if it is allowed to thrust its notorious tentacles in our Nigeria of today!”

As if this is not enough, 20 people lost their lives in a pipeline explosion last Sunday during which over 100 buildings were destroyed in Abule Ado in Lagos. Who said the gods are not angry? We cannot even manage our affairs but watch other countries less endowed than us getting things right. And if we cry on to God to save us from our leaders, people will start denigrating and insulting us for bringing God into the equation. Who do we turn to?

We live in a time when it is not popular or politically correct to be a follower of God. God and His people are mocked by the media. They are portrayed as narrow-minded, bigoted, judgmental, and self-righteous phonies. Our values and morality are scoffed at, and religious zealots are condemned and vilified. Yet there is a case for faith and a need for God in our lives.  We live in a time where right is called wrong and wrong is called right. There is widespread moral degeneration in the land and those that are godly are feeling more and more like David did when he wrote Psalm 12: “Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.  They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. . . . . . . For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.  . . . . . The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.” 

When we see the corruption and godlessness that surround us every day, we need to pray for one another so that we will be strong and not influenced by the world. We need a bridge over our troubled waters. These are very trying times indeed.

So we need to pray for our leaders, that they should do the needful. Pray that they will make good decisions and uphold what is right. Even the huge funds being allocated to fight the Pandemic are not safe from the epidemic of corruption.

“It is important we all follow the advice of the WHO (World Health Organization) and the governing bodies on how we handle this current situation. Protecting human life must come above any other interests”. -  Christiano Ronaldo

In the light of the ungodly society that we find ourselves in, we need to do everything that we can do to live beyond reproach. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Proverbs 14:34

Remember;

“ . . verily, with every difficulty, there is relief: Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.” (Quran 94: 5-6)

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend

Parting Shot: It sure might feel apocalyptic, but this is not the end of the world! Coronavirus might feel like the End Times. But it is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, neither is it the end of the beginning.  But not if you ask those who have spent years focusing their message on the Book of Revelation — the New Testament’s final book.

Babatunde Jose

Babatunde Jose

 +2348033110822