Nation Building Is Not a Stroll in the Park: Lessons from Finland

A reflection on nation building inspired by Finland’s national strategy. Explore how strong institutions, civic culture, and long-term thinking can help Nigeria move beyond corruption toward sustainable development.

Abstract

The Government Resolution on the Strategy for Securing the Functions Vital to Society upholds national sovereignty, the security of society, and the livelihood of the population under all security situations.

The Resolution takes internationalization, changes in the security environment, and changes in the structures of society into account.

It identifies and defines society’s vital functions, determines their desired end states, and assigns strategic responsibilities to the relevant ministries.

Society’s Vital Functions

• Management of Government affairs

• International activity

• National military defence

• Internal security

• Functioning of the economy and infrastructure

• The population’s income security and capability to function

• Psychological crisis tolerance

  End of Abstract

The document from which the abstract was taken was published by the Government of Finland in 2006. 

Read it here: https://www.defmin.fi/files/858/06_12_12_YETTS__in_english.pdf

It inspired me to write an essay titled Nation Building. That essay grew into many chapters and eventually became a 40,000-word book, which I titled Apprentice Nations: The Anatomy of Failure.

I hope to publish it before 2026 runs out.

Food for Thought

Finland

• Population (2019): 5.5 million

• GDP (2018): US$276.7 billion

Nigeria

• Population (2018): 195.9 million

• GDP (2018): US$397.3 billion

We do not need to read the document in detail.

Just scan through it.

Perhaps we will begin to understand that nation building is not a stroll in the park.

It is not easy.

It requires a strategy.

And it requires love.

Love for God.

Love for country (patriotism).

And love for its people—our compatriots.

If everything else fails...
If there is no strategy...
If the country requires restructuring...
If corruption rages left, right, and centre...

Love should never fail.

Its light should illuminate our path as we trudge across the treacherous terrain in which we find ourselves.

---

Corruption Exists Everywhere

Here is an excerpt from an online sources.

Corruption in Finland

1. Finland's overall corruption is low, according to public opinion and global standards.

2. The Corruption Perceptions Index, released by Transparency International in 2017, reported that Finland was the third most transparent country in the world, after Denmark and New Zealand.

3. According to a Transparency International survey, an overwhelming majority of people in Finland do not witness cases of corruption involving public officials or institutions during their lifetime.

4. Existing corruption tends to be structural, arising from networks of wealthy individuals who favour one another in business. Private companies also have no disclosure requirements.

5. The relatively few instances of corruption involving government include decision-making in state investments, political donations, election funding, tax evasion, gifts, hospitality, and conflicts of interest.

---

So What Is the Magic?

Finland

• Labour Force: 2.75 million

Nigeria

• Workforce: 59.873 million

We have criticized every government from 1960 to date.

What has it achieved?

Why do we want to continue down the same road of complaining... of criticizing... of calling for revolution?

Why not try something new?

Something different?

Self-leadership?

Culture change?

A revolution in thinking?

What Is the Government of Finland Doing Differently?
What Are the People of Finland Doing Differently?

1. They Trust Institutions

Most Finns expect the police, courts, tax authorities, and civil service to act fairly most of the time.

That trust reduces the temptation to "find someone who knows someone."

2. They Obey Rules Even When Nobody Is Watching

Paying taxes, queuing, stopping at pedestrian crossings, and respecting public property are widely accepted social norms.

People generally assume that rules exist for everyone's benefit.

3. They Think Long-Term

Policies are often designed with decades in mind rather than the next election cycle.

Investments in education, infrastructure, and institutions are seen as nation-building rather than political trophies.

4. Public Service Is More Professional

Many civil servants are expected to serve the institution rather than whichever political party is in power.

Competence is highly valued.

5. They Have Low Tolerance for Corruption

Corruption still exists, but there is little social acceptance of it.

A public official caught abusing office faces serious legal and reputational consequences.

6. They Value Education

Education is viewed not merely as a pathway to employment but as a means of producing informed, responsible citizens.

7. They Protect Public Property

Roads, parks, schools, libraries, and public buildings are generally treated as belonging to everyone—not as belonging to "government."

8. They Build Consensus

Finnish society has a tradition of consultation and compromise.

Political opponents often disagree strongly, but there is broad agreement on protecting the institutions that keep society functioning.

9. They Separate Personal Relationships from Public Duty

Friendship, family, or political affiliation is less likely to override formal procedures than in many developing countries.

10. They Cultivate Psychological Resilience

Notice that Finland's national strategy even includes psychological crisis tolerance as one of the vital functions of society.

They recognise that a nation's strength depends not only on roads, electricity, and the military, but also on the ability of its people to remain calm, informed, and resilient during crises.

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The Most Important Difference

Perhaps the most important difference is this:

The average Finn tends to ask, "What is good for Finland?" before asking, "What is good for me?"

No society lives up to that ideal all the time.

But the closer a nation comes to making the common good part of its everyday culture, the easier it becomes to build strong institutions—and the harder it becomes for corruption to flourish.

---

What Can Nigeria Do Starting Now?

The question is no longer whether Nigeria has potential.

It clearly does.

The real question is:

What can be done immediately, with the institutions and people we already have?

The answer is not a single reform or a grand announcement.

It is a sequence of practical, compounding steps that gradually shift incentives, behaviour, and trust.

1. Start with "Islands of Functioning Systems"

Nigeria does not need to fix everything at once.

It needs to prove that systems can work somewhere, consistently.

• Pick a few federal and state agencies (e.g. passport offices, tax authorities, procurement units).

• Fully digitise their processes end-to-end.

• Remove discretionary human bottlenecks where possible.

• Publish service timelines and enforce them publicly.

The goal is simple:

Make a few public services predictable, fast, and corruption-resistant.

Once citizens experience reliability in one area, expectations begin to shift everywhere else.

2. Make Transparency Default, Not Optional

Transparency should not depend on political will or media pressure.

Starting now:

• Publish all government procurement above a defined threshold online in real time.

• Make budgets machine-readable and publicly accessible.

• Include named beneficiaries and evaluation criteria for contract awards.

• Make FOI compliance automatic, not adversarial.

In systems that work, opacity is treated as a risk, not a privilege.

3. Reduce Discretion, Not Just Corruption

Corruption thrives where individuals have too much unchecked discretion.

Ask instead:

• Can this decision be standardised?

• Can it be automated?

• Can it be independently verified?

Examples include:

• Standardised procurement scoring.

• Digital identity-linked welfare distribution.

• Automated tax assessment for small businesses.

• Clear, published promotion criteria in the civil service.

The goal is not to "find better people."

It is to design systems where ordinary people behave well by default.

4. Rebuild Merit in Public Institutions

No country develops beyond the quality of its bureaucracy.

Starting now:

• Recruit civil servants strictly on merit.

• Standardise and audit entrance examinations.

• Reduce political appointments in technical agencies.

• Base promotions on measurable performance.

When merit becomes real rather than symbolic, institutional memory begins to form.

5. Treat Trust as Infrastructure

Trust is not a feeling.

It is the product of repeated experience.

To build it:

• Publish ministry performance dashboards.

• Allow independent audits with public summaries.

• Protect whistleblowers.

• Ensure misconduct attracts visible and consistent consequences.

When citizens see that rules apply equally, compliance becomes cultural rather than forced.

6. Invest in Civic Norms, Not Just Policy

No system survives without shared norms.

Nigeria must deliberately reinforce:

• Tax compliance as civic duty.

• Protection of public property.

• Rule-following as strength.

• Long-term thinking over short-term extraction.

This is slow work.

But it is foundational.

7. Build Feedback Loops That Actually Work

A system that cannot correct itself eventually collapses.

Nigeria needs:

• Independent statistical agencies.

• Strong audit institutions.

• Media free to investigate.

• Courts that resolve public-interest cases efficiently.

Without feedback loops, even good policies decay.

---

The Deeper Shift

The Finnish example is not about copying Finland.

It is about understanding a deeper principle.

Development is not primarily about resources. It is about systems that align incentives over time.

Finland did not eliminate human nature.

It designed institutions where human nature is constrained, guided, and made productive.

---

The Real Starting Point

Nigeria does not need to wait for perfect leadership or perfect conditions.

It can begin by asking one question about every proposed reform:

"Does this change behaviour at scale, even if people are imperfect?"

If the answer is yes, it is worth doing.

If the answer is no, it is probably another cycle of reform without transformation.

---

Final Thought

Nation building is not a moment.

It is a long alignment of systems, culture, and incentives.

Nigeria's task is not to become another country.

It is to become a country where:

• Rules are predictable.

• Institutions are trusted.

• Corruption is structurally difficult.

• Competence is rewarded consistently.

That process can begin today.

Not tomorrow.

Today.

I rest...

Don Kenobi
#BigAgendaAfrica 

Nation Building Is Not a Stroll in the Park: Who Is Will Build Nigeria?

Nation Building Is Not A Stroll In The Park

Ideas, Institutions, and the Urgent Need for Nation Builders

Why do nations succeed while others stagnate? A reflection on why Nigeria needs thinkers, builders, innovators, and institutions—not endless political outrage. By Don Kenobi, Founder of BigAgendaAfrica.

Europe was not transformed by endless outrage and anecdotes...

It was transformed by ideas.... 

The Switzerland of the early twentieth century became a meeting place for scientists, philosophers, engineers, economists, artists, and entrepreneurs. They argued. They disagreed. They challenged one another's assumptions. Bad ideas died. Good ideas survived. Better ones emerged.

Civilizations are built that way.

Not by applause.

Not by hashtags.

Not by personality cults.

By thinking.

---

The Crisis of Thought

Now look at us.

In too many parts of Africa, diversity of thought is treated as an act of rebellion. Independent thinking is viewed with suspicion. We celebrate conformity, reward mediocrity, and mistake loyalty for intelligence.

We have universities.

We have lawyers.

We have engineers.

We have economists.

We have professors.

Yet our greatest national industry seems to be commentary.

What is the purpose of knowledge if it never leaves the pages of journals, conference halls, and newspaper columns to reshape society?

---

When Dysfunction Becomes Normal

Take something as ordinary as Falomo Bridge.

A bridge in the heart of Lagos.

Road safety and security officials routinely stop motorists at random to demand driver's licences. No probable cause. No specific suspicion. Just random stops.

Yet this is a country battling kidnappings.

Every forced stop creates another point of vulnerability.

A criminal does not need sophisticated technology to exploit such a system.

He only needs a uniform—and enough audacity to impersonate authority.

Why have we accepted this as normal?

Where are the constitutional lawyers asking whether these practices are compatible with the rights of free citizens?

Where are the public-interest lawsuits demanding policing methods that are both lawful and effective?

The law should not merely describe society.

It should improve it.

---

We Need Builders, Not Commentators

We do not need another thousand popcorn articles that harvest likes today and are forgotten tomorrow.

We need lawyers who litigate ideas.

Engineers who redesign systems.

Economists who rethink incentives.

Teachers who produce citizens instead of examination machines.

Entrepreneurs who solve problems instead of merely chasing contracts.

Public servants who understand that government exists to reduce friction in the lives of ordinary people.

---

How Nations Are Actually Built

Nations are not transformed by slogans.

They are not transformed by outrage.

They are not transformed by endlessly ridiculing those in power.

They are transformed by ideas—tested in debate, refined through criticism, and eventually embodied in institutions that protect liberty, reward productivity, and uphold human dignity.

That is the philosophical foundation of BigAgendaAfrica.

We are less interested in winning arguments than in building systems.

---

Beyond Political Theatre

Every election follows the same script.

Atiku calls X a thief.

X calls Y a thief.

Supporters spend months defending one accusation and amplifying another.

But nobody asks the only question that matters.

Who is designing the Nigeria our children will inherit?

How does today's political theatre help the little boy in Ipetumodu who walks several kilometres to school on an empty stomach?

How does it help the farmer whose produce rots because there is no road?

How does it help the entrepreneur paying for diesel, private security, and satellite internet because the state has failed to provide the basics?

---

The Only Questions That Matter

Who is thinking?

Who is designing?

Who is building?

Because, in the end, nations are not inherited.

They are engineered.

Who. Is. Going. To. Build. Nigeria?

That is my question.

---

Obi Akaraiwe | Don Kenobi
#BigAgendaAfrica

---

Final Reflection

This is not intended as a political rant.

It is a manifesto.

BigAgendaAfrica exists because nation-building begins with ideas—ideas tested through rigorous debate, translated into practical systems, and sustained by institutions that outlive personalities.

The question is not merely who should govern Nigeria.

The deeper question is:

Who is building Nigeria?

The Snake, the Saw, and Pastor Niemöller: How Hatred Turns on Itself

What do an ancient parable,

Martin Niemöller, and the Bible have in common?

They all warn that hatred, division, and injustice

eventually consume those who embrace them.

THE SNAKE AND THE SAW

There is an old parable about a snake.

One night, it entered a carpenter’s workshop looking for rest.

As it slithered across the floor, it accidentally crossed a handsaw.

The blade made a small cut on its belly.

The snake assumed it had been attacked.

In anger, it bit the steel—only wounding itself.

Still enraged, it wrapped itself tightly around the saw, determined to crush its “enemy.”

But the saw only cut deeper.

Until the snake died.

The saw had never attacked it.

The snake destroyed itself fighting what it misunderstood.

---

PASTOR MARTIN NIEMÖLLER UNDERSTOOD THIS TRUTH

“First they came…”

His words were not merely about Nazi Germany.

They were a warning about silence.

A warning about division.

A warning about what happens when we permit injustice to be done to others because we imagine it will never reach us.

Many people vote believing the pain will fall on someone else.

Immigrants.

LGBTQ people.

Minorities.

Political opponents.

“The undeserving.”

But hatred is never selective in its consequences.

---

WHAT FOLLOWS IS ALWAYS CHAOS

When politics becomes about enemies instead of solutions:

• Trust collapses.
• Institutions weaken.
• Families divide.
• Democracy begins to erode.
• Society grows unstable.
• Eventually, everyone pays the price.

Those who elect chaos to hurt others soon discover that chaos does not recognise allies.

It consumes them too.

The snake hugs the saw.

The saw remains a saw.

The snake bleeds.

---

THE LESSON IS AS OLD AS SCRIPTURE

“Whoever digs a pit will fall into it.”
— Proverbs 26:27

“Whoever digs a pit may fall into it.”
— Ecclesiastes 10:8

“He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into the hole that he made.”
— Psalm 7:15

When we celebrate injustice because it happens to “them,” we merely prepare the ground for the day it comes for us - #OldManInTheMolue 

---

CHRIST TAUGHT A DIFFERENT WAY

Love your neighbour.

Love your enemy.

Protect the vulnerable.

Stand with the stranger.

Not because compassion is sentimental.

Because it is the foundation of every enduring civilisation.

Hatred always promises victory.

More often than not…

It delivers only self-inflicted wounds.

Think of the haunting photographs from the end of the Second World War.

A nation that had once marched in immaculate uniforms, saluting its imagined racial superiority, was reduced to utter ruin. Civilians stood in long lines as Allied soldiers dusted them with DDT to combat the lice and disease that accompany war and devastation.

The contrast is unforgettable.

The arrogance remained only in memory.

The consequences remained in reality.

---

THE CONCLUSION

From Pastor Martin Niemöller: Evil never stops with its first victim.

From the snake and the saw: Hatred always destroys the hater.

From Scripture: “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it.”

Three witnesses. One truth.

I rest my case.

Don Kenobi

#MyFrancisEssays

In loving memory....

The Gospel, LGBTQ, and the Problem of Performative Christianity 

A Christian Reflection on Christ's Treatment of Sinners, the Dignity of LGBTQ People, and the Meaning of Grace

"Destroying Which Family?"

Man 1:
"You extreme leftists are bent on destroying the family with your LGBTQ agenda and your anti-Christ ideology."

Man 2:
Destroying which family?

The people destroying families are not those who insist that every human being deserves dignity.

The people destroying families are those who strip healthcare from seniors, undermine the social safety nets that keep vulnerable people afloat, and pursue policies that make life increasingly difficult for ordinary families.

They keep giving themselves tax breaks while everyone else is expected to tighten their belts.

Parents are forced to work longer hours simply to keep food on the table, leaving them with less time to raise their children.

Seniors who lose access to affordable healthcare suffer unnecessary anxiety, declining health, and, in some cases, premature death.

Families lose not only loved ones but also the wisdom, stability, and affection of grandparents who should have been there longer.

Those are the things that destroy families.

Not treating people with dignity.

So stop deceiving yourselves.

---

How Would Christ Respond?

If Christ were walking among us today, how do you think He would treat people who identify as LGBTQ?

He has already shown us.

Jesus never condoned sin.

But neither did He dehumanize sinners.

He defended the woman caught in adultery from those who wished to stone her.

He ate with tax collectors and sinners.

He touched lepers.

He spoke with the Samaritan woman.

He always spoke the truth—but He did so with compassion, dignity, and hope.

---

Are We Focusing on the Wrong Sins?

Why, then, do some professing Christians speak as though sexual orientation were the only sin that matters?

What of greed?

Pride?

Corruption?

Cruelty?

Hatred?

Oppression?

Lying?

The love of money?

Scripture condemns all of these.

---

Truth Without Dehumanization

Treating people with dignity is not an antichrist agenda.

It is profoundly Christlike.

The Christian calling has never been to shame people into the Kingdom of God.

It has always been to bear witness to the truth in love.

What is done is done.

The question is not where someone has been.

Taking a public stand against LGBTQ+ people does not make us holier.

Grace is not cheap.

The question is what they—and we—will do with the grace God now offers.

For that is the question Christ asks every one of us, not just "them."

I rest my case.

Don Kenobi

#OldManInTheMolue

#MyFrancisEssays

Austria's 42% Income Tax, Culture, and What Vienna Taught Me

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Vienna Reflections: Culture, Identity, and the Emotional Labour of Being Black

A reflective essay on Austria's 42% income tax, Vienna, culture, identity, hospitality, and the emotional labour of being Black. A Nigerian perspective on society, civilisation, and intercultural understanding.

An Evening To Remember

July-26-2024: 42% income tax. Austria. That was the figure shared with me by a highly intellectual Nigerian gentleman I had the privilege of spending an evening with.

I told him he is one of Nigeria's best-kept secrets—and I meant it. Easily one of the most brilliant Nigerians I have met in a long time.

PhD holder. Federal Government College, Sokoto alumnus. (If you think you know who I'm talking about… na you sabi.)

Our host that evening was warm, thoughtful, and deeply engaging.

I hope I'm able to write about the wonderful evening I spent in his palatial home in a manner that fosters genuine intercultural understanding.

But for now, I want to focus on what it opened in my mind.

Vienna: A Moment That Stayed With Me

During my stay in Vienna, I did not see a single person sleeping on the streets.

But I did notice one shirtless, unkempt man with jagged hair and no shoes walking briskly near St. Stephen's Cathedral.

I am ashamed to admit this:
I avoided eye contact.

Why?
Because he was black.

Since then, I've tried to rationalise it.

Maybe it was a skit.
Maybe there was a camera.
Maybe it wasn't real.

Perhaps.
But perhaps not.

What stayed with me was not what I saw—but what I did.

A Conversation About Civilisation and Culture

That evening, our conversation drifted into politics, culture, and the future of civilisation.

He was brilliant.

And I found myself listening more deeply than I usually do—taking mental notes not just of his words, but of the direction they opened.

At the centre of it was a provocative idea.

That perhaps liberal democracy has largely run its course.

That the United Nations was phenomenally successful in advancing that project.

And that perhaps it is now time for the world to organise itself more intentionally around the cause of culture—around respect for all cultures.

Perhaps we should increasingly pursue our aspirations on the basis of the things that unite us, and culture is surely one of them.

What Small Countries Reveal About Big Questions

Consider:

• Austria: — ~9 million people

• Switzerland — ~8.5 million

• The Netherlands — ~18 million

Combined, they are still smaller than Lagos, Kano, and one large Nigerian state.

Each of these countries has a relatively cohesive cultural identity.

Nigeria does not.

Why, then, are we surprised that they are able to organise themselves around production and build infrastructure that serves their everyday needs?

Nigeria's challenge has been the far more complex task of building unity across hundreds of languages, histories, and worldviews.

And despite what politicians say, that is not a flaw—it is a reality, no different from gravity. Yet machines are engineered—organised precisely—with that reality in mind.

Gravity exists. The challenge is to design systems that work with it rather than pretend it does not.

Hospitality, Humility, and a Nigerian Moment in Europe

At the end of the evening, we called an Uber.

Our host looked at us as though we were completely mad!

"This may be Europe - but we are Nigerians" he said.

Then he called his son.

"Go and drop them."

(And it was in the biggest and grandest Mercedes I'd ever entered)

That simple act of hospitality stayed with me.

Nigerians! I love you all!!

Did I mention he was Muslim?

Moments like that remind you that culture is not theory. It is lived generosity.

Austria Again: The Quiet Discomfort

But back to Austria and its 42% income tax.
There were beggars.

A limbless man.
A man sitting quietly near the cathedral exit.

And again, I confess:
Though I wanted to, I gave neither of them anything.

I also avoided eye contact.
Not because they were black this time.

But because I am black, 

and they were not.

Even now, I cannot fully explain that instinct. It was not logic. It was reflex.

And that is what unsettles me most.

The Emotional Labour of Being Black

The emotional labour of being black is rarely spoken about.

It is:

• Constant awareness.

• Constant recalibration.

• Constant perception management.

• Constant fear of reinforcing stereotypes.

• Split-second identity calculations.

It is exhausting.

And often invisible.

Maybe one day I will fully understand my own reactions.

For now, I simply document them honestly.

Because sometimes honesty is not resolution.

It is the beginning of clarity.

Closing Thought

Austria gave me more than clean streets and high taxes.

It gave me a mirror.

A conversation about culture gave me a framework.

And personal moments of discomfort and gave me questions I still carry.

Perhaps the real link between all three is this:

How societies organise externally often reflects how individuals organise internally—around identity, perception, and belonging.

And sometimes, the hardest borders to cross are not national.

They are internal.

Don Kenobi

#BigAgendaAfrica
#CultureNotStructure 
#ReCultureNotReStructure 

Wendi & Mum

The example of Perpetua and Felicity, and the Counterfeiting of Christ...

The Counterfeiting of Jesus Christ

Have you Fallen For The Counterfeited Christ? Are you following him confidently?

Did the ancient rebellion of the Nephilim foreshadow humanity's recurring temptation to replace the true Christ with a counterfeit?

Don Kenobi reflects on: Genesis, the Gospel, the example of Perpetua and Felicity, and the Counterfeiting of Christ...

---

A Theological Reflection

What follows moves beyond history into theological reflection.

Whether or not one accepts this interpretation, it offers an interesting lens through which to consider both the Gospel and humanity's recurring temptation to replace Christ.

Perhaps one way of viewing the Gospel is through the lens of the Nephilim.

---

God's Rescue Plan

If the corruption before the Flood involved not only moral decay but also the corruption of humanity itself, then perhaps Christ's mission was, in part, God's great rescue operation: to preserve and redeem humanity.

Perhaps the Lord came so that every man and woman willing to receive Him, however few remained faithful, would still have a path back to God.

For God is love.

God is grace.

He would not abandon humanity without first making a way home.

Perhaps, then, the Gospel can be viewed as God's determination to preserve humanity while extending redemption to every person who freely chooses the way of Christ.

If so, the Cross declares that no corruption, no ancestry, no lineage, and no darkness lie beyond the reach of Christ's redeeming blood.

---

The Oldest Deception

But another question naturally follows: What if the ancient rebellion did not end?

What if the same spirit that sought to corrupt humanity before the Flood now seeks to corrupt humanity's understanding of Christ?

If so, perhaps the greatest deception is not to deny Christ altogether.

Perhaps it is to redefine Him—to replace Him with a counterfeit Christ.

A Christ who tolerates evil instead of calling people to repentance.

A Christ who excuses injustice instead of confronting it.

A Christ who blesses oppression instead of defending the oppressed.

A Christ who blames victims rather than bearing their burdens.

A Christ who plays favourites among races.

A Christ whose blood is somehow incapable of washing away the mythical "curse of Ham."

In short: A Christ fashioned in the image of fallen humanity rather than the image of God.

---

The Christ of the Gospels

Yet this is not the Christ of the Gospels.

The real Christ crossed every boundary that human beings erected.

He touched the untouchable.

He welcomed the outcast.

He defended the powerless.

He broke down walls instead of building them.

His blood was shed for every tribe, every tongue, every nation, and every people.

Could it be, then, that the "curse of Ham" fable is itself a product of the very spirit that sought to corrupt humanity before the Flood—and now seeks to corrupt humanity's understanding of Christ?

For Scripture nowhere teaches that Christ's redeeming work is limited by race, ancestry, or genealogy.

Let me say that again:

Nowhere.

In Scripture.

Is it taught that Christ's redeeming work...

...is limited by race, ancestry, or genealogy.

Instead, Scripture declares:

"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (John 1:12)

And the so-called "curse of Ham" raises its voice in protest:

"What about me?"

But Scripture smiles and replies:

"I have already answered you."

And then it speaks:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)

If that is the testimony of Scripture, then no tradition, no ideology, and no man or woman—regardless of office, rank, or title—has the authority to say otherwise.

---

Perpetua and Felicity: One Humanity in Christ
The Witness That Shook an Empire

Perpetua and Felicity: One Humanity in Christ (The Witness That Shook an Empire)

The earliest Christians understood the truth of the Gospel in a way that should put many modern Christians to shame.

The story of Perpetua and Felicity reminds us why.

Perpetua and Felicity could scarcely have come from more different worlds.

Perpetua was a young noblewoman of Carthage—well educated, from a prominent family, and the mother of a nursing infant.

Felicity was an enslaved woman, heavily pregnant when she was arrested, with none of Perpetua's status or legal privileges.

Yet both had embraced Christ, and for that they were imprisoned together during the persecution under Emperor Septimius Severus.

In Christ, noblewoman and slave became sisters.

Their shared imprisonment, steadfast faith, and eventual martyrdom proclaimed a revolutionary truth: the Gospel creates a new humanity in which class, wealth, status, and privilege are eclipsed by a common allegiance to Jesus Christ.

Together, they entered the arena convinced that death was not defeat, but the doorway to eternal life.

The Roman Empire could imprison their bodies.

It could take their lives.

But it could not conquer the faith that united them or the hope that sustained them.

Their witness exposed the spiritual poverty of an empire built upon domination.

Rome arranged humanity into ranks.

Christ made them sisters.

That is the Gospel.

And any Christianity that cannot see the full dignity of every human being—regardless of race, ethnicity, social status, or background—has already ceased to see Felicity standing beside Perpetua as an equal.

That Christianity has already begun to replace Christ with a counterfeit.

---

The Counterfeit Christ

The Counterfeit Christ

If this reflection contains even a grain of truth, then the great spiritual battle is not merely over whether people believe in Jesus.

It is over which Jesus they believe in.

False religions openly reject Christ. But False Christianity does something far more dangerous - It keeps His name while quietly replacing His character.

Perhaps, then, the oldest deception has never been to reject Christ - but to replace Him....

....To preach His name while emptying Him of His nature.

To speak of Jesus while following:

• A Christ who sanctifies pride.

• A Christ who baptises prejudice.

• A Christ who excuses cruelty—even to the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses.

• A Christ who blesses hatred.

• A Christ who leaves the old man untouched instead of making him a new creation.

The enemy achieves his greatest victory not in  persuading the world to reject Christ, but in persuading it to embrace a counterfeit Christ...

And the deepest battle of our age is not whether humanity rejects Christ, but whether it can still recognise Him.

I rest my case

Don Kenobi

#OldManInTheMolue

#MyFrancisEssays

Discernment in an Age of Propaganda: Be Wise

Beware: Those Who Banalise, and Launder Evil Are At The Door!

What happens when evil is no longer denied, but explained away?Drawing on Hannah Arendt, engineering, and personal reflection, this essay explores the subtle process by which commentators launder evil  until atrocities begin to seem understandable—and why discernment has never been more important.

About thirty years ago, a prominent Nigerian intellectual—whose name I will not mention—told my brother something that has stayed with me ever since.

He said he had studied cultures around the world and had encountered one with no concept of the devil.

At first, that sounded admirable.

He did not think so.

He found it deeply disturbing.

Why?

Because where there is no devil, there is often no evil.

Deceiving another person, manipulating them, or taking advantage of them is no longer regarded as morally wrong.

It simply becomes part of the game of life.

That conversation returns to me whenever I listen to certain commentators today. They refuse to call evil by its proper name. Instead, they present themselves as balanced, nuanced, objective, sophisticated—even intellectual.

But moral neutrality in the face of evil is not wisdom.

It is surrender.

Hannah Arendt famously wrote about the banality of evil. Increasingly, however, I find myself thinking about something related, yet distinct:

The laundering of evil.

We have all heard the arguments.

"Yes, they committed atrocities... but look at the infrastructure."

"Yes, thousands died... but look at the technology."

No.

Progress never cancels wickedness.

Roads do not justify murder.

Economic growth does not erase cruelty.

Every act of evil demands an accounting.

The moment we begin weighing bridges against bloodshed, or prosperity against persecution, we have already lost something essential—and civilization itself begins to unravel.

As an electronics engineer, I often think of the old telegraph system.

A signal travelling a long distance becomes weakened by the resistance of the copper wire. To restore it, relay stations were placed along the line. Many people do not realise that the earliest relays effectively served as signal amplifiers.

Some commentators perform a similar function.

They amplify narratives.

They strengthen weakened signals.

But instead of amplifying truth, they amplify the banality of evil. They launder the reputations of individuals, empires, and nations, making atrocities appear understandable—even reasonable.

We should be wary of this.

Deceit comes in many forms.

Indeed, I think deceitfulness may be among the worst traits a human being can possess.

A deceiver corrupts not merely actions, but perception itself. He makes evil appear good and good appear evil.

That is profoundly dangerous.

I will not go much further, except to say this:

We must remain vigilant.

I have often thought about Padre Pio.

People came to him for confession, and on occasion he would send them away abruptly—sometimes with harsh words—because, it was said, he discerned that they were not truly repentant.

It was even said that he could "smell" sin.

Whether one takes those stories literally or not is beside the point.

The point is that some people develop an extraordinary sensitivity to deception.

People sometimes accuse me of overreacting.

Perhaps.

But I would rather be overly sensitive to deceit than become incapable of recognising it.

The world order is shifting before our eyes. This is precisely the time for heightened discernment.

Choose your friends carefully.

Test motives.

Question narratives.

And above all...

Speak the truth.

Civilization depends on it.

I rest 

Don Kenobi

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