Obstacles
Obstacles either make or mar the man. Sometimes instead of looking at the challenges you are facing, in life, as opportunity to grow into maturity, we are deceived by pain to see it as God’s plan to stop us from daring greater heights.

I did say once in my book: “Be Youthful and Useful,” that obstacles are stones; either you make them a stumbling block or a stepping stone. This is because without obstacles there will be no tentacles.

Obstacles in times of urgent need and decision-making have made so many people to draw back. Everybody feels I am not ready for this now thereby allowing the situation to foster; that single act alone could result to fossilisation of any system or organisation. You know a true friend and a true brother when obstacles and adversities come. How true are we to where we belong? In Proverbs the scripture says: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” Prov. 17:17.

Negligence
This is one of the killer diseases in the church and family today. Everybody feels it is not mine to do, let the others do it. It is not mine to say, let the others say it, it is not mine to go, let the other go. When the job is said to be everybody’s job, it is logically nobody’s job. This agrees with an Igbo adage that says: “The goat that belongs to everyone easily sleeps away from home.” When there is a task for everyone and you are waiting for someone else to do it, and that someone is waiting for another just like that, you will discover that at the end nobody will do it, resulting to little or no growth in the system.

Sentiment/Favouritism
Seeking the favour of the king and leader has resulted to so many backwardness in the society today. When the adviser to the leader fails to say the truth to the leader just to gain his favour, it will not only place the leader at risk, but will also create a virus as deadly as ‘RaliaOdinga’ to the future generation.

That God allows you to be the adviser to the leader, today, is not a guarantee that you will be there forever. If you fail just to gain favour, you have not only failed that leader, but God and posterity. When that leader fails because of your wrong advice, you have failed and you even stand the chance of losing the said favour before the leader, if the truth is discovered at the end. The scripture affirms: “The king’s favour is toward a wise servant but his wrath is against him who causes shame,” Prov. 14:35.

Procrastination
If not now, when will it be? Someone said procrastination is a thief of time. There is time for everything was said by the preacher (Eccl. 3:1). When the time for a particular task is postponed, you are only adding pressure to the future.

God grants us equal time, each of these times require certain things to be accomplished. Failing to accomplish what is required could not only be deadly but detrimental to the future. According to great minds: Williams James in his opinion on this said: “Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of uncompleted task” and Don Marquis “Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday”

Until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it. – M. Scott Peck

Be wise today; it’s madness to defer, next day the fatal precedent will plead; thus on, till wisdom is pushed out of life – Edward Young

If you want to make an easy job seem mightily hard, just keep putting off doing it – Olin Miller

An unknown author said that the two rules of procrastination: first do it today; second, tomorrow will be today tomorrow. Sir Benjamin Franklin said that you may delay, but time will not.

In conclusion, in the words of Victor Kian: Procrastination is opportunity is natural assassin.

This year whatever your hand finds to do; do with all your mind and dedication.

• The Ven Stephen Wolemonwu is the Rector, Ibru Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor.