- Is God really in control of this my business?
- Is He really the doorway, the source and inspiration to my new path?
Faith in God, obedience to follow through on the path that He (the Almighty God) is leading you, and reliance on the Bible as the Word of God are the major ingredients that can help you move beyond the pains and distress associated with great losses and disappointments of life. They are the key to real success in business.
Fact is Real success in business goes beyond making money.
By Bernice Ego Michael, Institute of Archaeology and Museums Studies, Jos Plateau State.
INTRODUCTION
The Igbos are located majorly in the South Eastern part of Nigeria. The area consists of the following states: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, and some parts of Rivers and Delta states.
Igbo cosmology simply means Igbo world view about creation, the universe and the things around them, including the belief of the Igbos.
To them (Igbos), Chukwu is the supreme God, the maker of heaven and earth; and the creator of the stars, humans, nature and even the deities that control lives and livestock.
Igbos see god as Chukwu Okike, who started his creation on the anthill. Their ancestors landed on the anthill through a rope from the sky. The Goddess of the earth: Ala, was levered as the mother goddess. In Igbo cosmology the supreme deity Chukwu (God) is in close communion with the sun. Chi is so central in Igbo thought that it is portrayed in most of their names. Chi is associated with success or failure than with wickedness or righteousness. They see the day as bringer of daylight as well as the agent of Chukwu. They belief that each individual is born with special Chi as said earlier. They believe in the lower deities that serve the Chiokike: God of creation. These deities include “Ala spirit” earth goddess; it is a guardian spirit of the luring descendant and moral rectitude. They also believe in the principal spirit of the sun called "Anyanwu”, Igwekala, and the god of thunder and lightning called Amadioha. Other deities are related to the river, stream, forest, sacred wood, agriculture, and days of the week which are structured into 4 week days: Eke, Orie, Afo and Nkwo. Ajoku is one of the principal deities of the Igbos, and it is believed by them to be in-charge of the yam.
During my inter-diocesan apostolic work (that took place at the end of my 2nd year Theology studies in 2001) in Afara in Owerri Archdiocese, I had a knock on my door a day or so towards the end of my apostolic work in that village.
As I opened the door, it was the least of anyone I had expected to see. A beggar who normally sat at Afara motor park/ junction was standing before me.
The seemingly old motor park beggar who never dared entering my room said to me with a low voice: “I am not mad. I am only a woman with a broken heart.... I lost everything that I had and now depend on the goodwill of the people.”
As I was about saying something, she continued without giving a breathing space: "I do come to Church but you may not have seen me because I always stay outside."
The international organization, Jah Put Ah Hand, also known as JPAH, which made presence in Nigeria recently with the appointment of a Country Director, Mr. Victor Yashim, a renowned development consultant and strong advocate for a more coordinated, more cohesive, and well enhanced economic driven development packages through a more functional, competency oriented, and impact driven cooperative societies in Nigeria has been on top of his game since his appointment in the early part of the year, 2023.