I start with the telephone calls I received last week from two readers who wanted to know if I had published a book on what the Heavenly Father told me during our one – to – one discussion on polygamy, the payment of tithes, the day Jesus Christ was born and if Christians and Muslims worship Him or different deities. As I informed them I have not. I will do so after publishing the book I am working on now on the Catholic Church and the Popes, which I hope to finish writing this year and which, by the grace of God, will be published next year.
Last week’s column was on the enquiry I will make from the Lord on how the world came to be populated by different races (Blacks and Caucasians), when the Bible Book of Genesis shows that He created only one couple, Adam and Eve, and not two or more couples of different colours. Another issue I will raise with Him was how Adam and Eve came to have grandchildren. Because Genesis 4:1 – 16 shows that they had only two children, Cain and Abel, who were both male. There is no report in the Holy Book that they had a daughter or daughters. Yet, verses 17 – 28 of the same Chapter 4 has it that Cain had a wife, who bore him a son named Enoch. So, how did Cain come about his spouse? Was she created miraculously by God as was the case with Adam and Eve? And why was her birth not reported in the Bible?
If Adam and Eve had a daughter and she was the one Cain married that meant they committed incest. Something that is contrary to what the Lord said in Leviticus 18:9 that a man must not have intercourse with the sister or stepsister. If Cain and his wife were siblings, I will find out from the Ancient of Days why, instead of only Adam and Eve, He did not create another couple or couples to have avoided an incestuous situation?
Also of interest to me is finding out from the Immortal Father of creation how many years the world and mankind have been in existence? Because going by the stories in the 66 Books in the Holy Bible from Genesis through Revelation, the earth and its people came into being about six to seven thousand years ago. Whereas the information provided by scientists on Pages 179 – 181 in the 1980 edition of the Reader’s Digest Almanac and Yearbook, published by the Reader’s Digest Association Incorporated, Pleasantville, New York, United States shows that the first animals in the world began to live in the oceans about 1.2 billion years ago.
While another report in the book has it that the fossils (remains) of people found in Zambia in 1921, Mount Carmel in Israel in 1929 – 34, Steinheim in Germany in 1933 and Swanscombe in England in 1935 – 36, showed that they lived about 300, 000 – 25, 000 B.C. Fossils found in Java in Indonesia in 1891 dated one million to 500, 000 B.C. While the remains of people found in Tanzania in 1959 – 63 were dated as 1.8million years old. So, there is a need to find out from the Lord which of these two views is correct.
To be continued next week with the debatable age of King David and the manner Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ which need clarification from the Heavenly Father.
Ebenezer Bbabatope, the great
I have used the suffix “The Great” as a cognomen or epithet in the headline because while most people call Chief Ebenezer Abayomi Oluwole Babatope ‘Ebino Topsy’, I always call him ‘Great Ebino.’ For the sake of the young ones who may not know, Ebino is derived from Ebenezer while Topsy is the stylish rendition of the last four letters (Tope) in his surname of Babatope. I call him Great Ebino because that is the type of friend he is to me and because of his uncommon achievements in politics and church recognition. Which are accomplishments that surpass those of most of the people of our generation who left secondary schools in the period of 1962 – 65 and the universities in the years 1968 – 70.
I studied at the University of Ibadan (1965 – 68) where I obtained a B.A (Hon) History degree while he graduated from the University of Lagos with a B.A. (Hon) degree in History and Philosophy in 1969. But of all those I know in the two universities or elsewhere in the sets of 1965 – 70, only Ebino, Chief Jubril Martins Kuye and Professor Eyitayo Lambo, my colleagues in the 1965 – 68 class at the University of Ibadan, became ministers in a federal cabinet.
But Ebino was the first of the lot. He was the Minister of Transportation and Aviation from November 1993 – March 1995 in the government of late General Sani Abacha. Lambo served as the Minister of Health in the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999 – 2003). While Kuye was a Minister of State for Finance during the period, but was later a full – fledged Minister in charge of Industry in the government of President Goodluck Jonathan (2010 – 15).
Ebino’s political fame began in 1978 when as a senior administrative officer at the University of Lagos Chief Obafemi Awolowo appointed him the Director of Organization of the newly formed Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). As the sage himself used to say: “Only the deep can call the deep.” This means that he must have chosen 35 – year – old Ebino for such an important political office because he saw him as a responsible, serious – minded, hard – working, committed and principled ideological young socialist.
In the realm of religion, of all the graduates of our generation, Chief Babatope and Sir Remi Omotoso are the only ones I know who have been honoured with the knighthood title by any church in the country. They are both John Wesley Knights of the Methodist Church of Nigeria.
Next week: Chief Babatope as a star columnist of the Nigerian Tribune and the debt of gratitude I owe him and the late trio of Dr. Tai Solarin, Chief Bola Ige and Chief Bisi Onabanjo who were also columnists of the doyen newspaper.