A PASTOR'S BETRAYAL
PART 5
The courtroom was cold.
Grace sat stiffly on the wooden bench, her fingers clutching the edge of the seat as the judge’s voice echoed through the sterile room.
"Divorce granted."
Two words. That was all it took to end eighteen years of marriage.
Beside her, Michael sat with his head bowed, his broad shoulders slumped in defeat. Their three children—Sarah, Daniel, and little Joy—were huddled close to him, their faces streaked with silent tears. None of them looked at her.
Grace’s heart pounded so hard she thought it might crack her ribs.
Outside the courthouse, Michael approached her, his eyes red-rimmed.
"Grace," he whispered, his voice rough with emotion. "It’s not too late. We can stop this."
She turned away, but he caught her wrist gently.
"Please," he begged. "For the kids. For us."
For a fleeting moment, Grace hesitated. She remembered the way he used to smile at her in the mornings, the way he’d pull her close during cold nights.
But then Pastor Gideon’s voice slithered into her mind:
"He’s trying to trap you again. Don’t fall for it."
She yanked her hand away.
"It’s over, Michael."
His face crumbled.
Despite everything, Michael didn’t fight her.
Out of love—or maybe guilt—he gave her everything:
- 50 million naira
- A fully furnished house in a quiet estate
- A brand-new car
Their lawyer read out the terms, his voice monotone. Grace should have felt victorious. But all she felt was empty.
When it came to the children, the judge asked them one by one:
"Who do you want to live with?"
Sarah, her eldest, didn’t hesitate. "Daddy."
Daniel, her sensitive middle child, wiped his nose and nodded. "Daddy too."
Little Joy, only six years old, clutched her father’s leg and whispered, "I want Daddy."
Grace’s breath left her lungs in a rush, as if she’d been punched.
They didn’t choose me.
Her new house was beautiful.
Spacious. Quiet. Empty.
Grace wandered through the rooms like a ghost, her footsteps echoing off the polished floors. She slept in the middle of the king-sized bed, drowning in the silence.
At night, she cried until her throat was raw, until her pillow was soaked.
She missed Sarah’s laughter. She missed Daniel’s bedtime stories. She missed Joy’s tiny arms around her neck.
Most of all, she missed him.
But it was too late.
Pastor Gideon visited often, his smile wide and reassuring.
"You’ve done the right thing, Sister Grace," he said, patting her hand. "God is testing your faith. Stay strong."
He brought her scriptures about "new beginnings" and "breaking chains." He told her the children would understand one day.
But when he left, the loneliness swallowed her whole.
One evening, as she scrolled through old photos on her phone, Michael called.
Her finger hovered over the answer button.
Pastor Gideon’s warning rang in her ears:
"If you go back, you’ll regret it. He’ll never change."
She let the call go to voicemail.
That night, Grace dreamed of her old life.
She was in the kitchen, cooking while Michael hugged her from behind, his lips brushing her neck. The children were laughing in the living room.
When she woke up, the house was dark.
And she was alone.
The weight of her mistake crashed down on her.
What have I done?
Days bled into weeks.
Grace stopped wearing makeup. Stopped cooking. Stopped caring.
The money, the house, the car—none of it mattered.
One afternoon, she found Sarah’s hair ribbon tucked in her purse. She pressed it to her face, inhaling the faint scent of her daughter’s shampoo, and broke down.
She wanted to call Michael. To beg for forgiveness.
But pride—and the pastor’s voice—held her back.
Pastor Gideon called her to his office.
"Sister Grace," he said, his voice dripping with false concern. "I’ve been praying for you. God has shown me your next steps."
He slid a document across the table.
"Donation to the church’s new building project."
The amount: 30 million naira.
Grace stared at it, her stomach churning.
For the first time, she wondered—
Was this his plan all along?
TO BE CONTINUED...

YOUR TRUSTED CEED BRAND

Vanity and Waste Tinubu’s N39bn ICC Renovation and the Shame of Extravagance

At a time when Nigerians are groaning under the weight of inflation, food insecurity, joblessness, and decaying infrastructure, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to spend ₦39 billion renovating the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, and then renaming it after himself is a stunning act of self-indulgence and tone-deaf leadership.

The ICC was originally constructed in 1991 by Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida at a cost of just ₦240 million. Adjusted for over three decades of inflation, the cost of building a brand new, state-of-the-art conference centre today would be between ₦25 billion and ₦30 billion. That the government spent ₦39 billion merely to renovate the old one without major expansion or technological overhaul exposes just how bloated and questionable the expenditure truly is.

More insultingly, Babangida never named the centre after himself, even though he initiated and completed it. Tinubu, however, after refurbishing it, decided to stamp his name on it converting a national landmark into a personal monument. It reeks of egotism and disrespect for public trust.

The ICC project is only one in a disturbing pattern of vanity-driven and excessive spending under this administration.

The Lagos to Calabar Coastal Highway, an ambitious 700-kilometre project, is has been awarded at staggering costs of ₦15 trillion, with only about 30 kilometres completed so far. It has displaced communities, triggered public outrage, and remains a drain on already overstretched national resources.

Adding to the spree, the presidency recently acquired a new Airbus A330 aircraft for $100 million, despite an already oversized presidential fleet. At a time when the naira is battered and millions cannot afford transport fare, the government is buying luxury jets.

Other wasteful allocations include:
   •   ₦5 billion to renovate Dodan Barracks, the President’s Lagos residence
   •   ₦4 billion for the Vice President’s Ikoyi residence
   •   ₦21 billion to complete the new official residence of the Vice President
   •   ₦5 billion for a presidential yacht, smuggled into the 2023 supplementary budget

To the government’s credit, the minimum wage issue has been resolved, and workers are receiving their new pay. But this gain is overshadowed by a mountain of unpaid pensions, leaving retirees in penury, and the unfulfilled agreement with ASUU, which remains a bull in a china shop threatening to plunge the university system into fresh chaos.

The administration claims to be building a legacy. But legacy is not about plastering one’s name on public buildings or cruising on billion-naira yachts. True legacy lies in reviving industries tackling insecurity and building new legacies anchored on inclusion, accountability, and shared prosperity.

At a time like this, every naira must count. Nigeria cannot afford to spend like a wealthy nation while borrowing to survive.

This is not responsible leadership.
It is reckless indulgence.
And Nigeria deserves better.

Thank God for a brand new day.
It's already a good day.

The APC is deploying divisive tactics to brand Peter Obi as an ethnic candidate, hoping to diminish his rising popularity ahead of 2027. But we see through their propaganda. We know the truth.

Peter Obi is not an ethnic champion he is a national visionary. A leader who has stood, and continues to stand, for every Nigerian  Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Ijaw, Tiv, and every other group without bias or prejudice. His record speaks louder than their lies. From education to healthcare, from economic reform to youth empowerment, Peter Obi has reached across regions, religions, and tongues with policies grounded in justice, equity, and progress.

They want to divide us. We must not let them.

In a time when Nigeria cries out for unity, competence, and integrity, Peter Obi offers hope not to a tribe, but to a nation. His passion is not for a section of Nigeria, but for all Nigerians.

Let us resist the merchants of division. Let us reject the politics of hate. Let us stand together for the Nigeria we deserve a Nigeria where leadership is earned through vision and service, not propaganda and fear.

Peter Obi is not the candidate of a tribe. He is the candidate of the future for all Nigerians.

STRAW, a brand new Netflix drama by Tyler Perry, is dropping in less than 12 hours a single mother, a spiral of misfortune, and a world quick to judge

Drap Tap First Liberian Internet Celebrity To Purchase A Private Jet ?

Liberian billionaire Drap Tap posted a video of himself in a Private jet. His brand name [ Billionaire Drap Tap - BDT ] is clearly written on the jet along side his photo .

Safe to say Drap Tap the King of Blink Blink now own a PJ . You think his jewelries are palm butter but he's catching international flights

“You might be aware of a video which has been circulating on social media showing me in what some have misunderstood as brandishing a firearm. I want to assure you of this — that, that was certainly not a firearm, and at no point did I point such at anyone.- Paul Adefarasin.
Islamic Religious Extremists In Ogun State, Yoruba Land, Stabs An Igbo Lady To Death

Today, we received the report of an Igbo woman identified as Mrs Blessing Eze who was stabbed to death by some Islamic religious extremists in Ogun State. The Extremists  goes about collecting unlawful levies from traders for the June 6th Eid Mubarak prayers. It was gathered that the Islamic Extremists had Unlawfully taxed the Info market traders  the sum of 1,500.00 Naira per shop for the Eid Mubarak prayers on June 6.  When they stormed the market in  collection of the money, it was in the morning and Mrs Blessing Eze told them that it is still morning and that she had not sold anything for the day. She told them to go and come back later but they refused and then began to destroy her goods. She then firmly buckled one and demanded that they pay for her goods they have destroyed. That was when they stabbed her. One of the Islamic Extremists collecting the unlawful levy quickly brought out a knife and stabbed the woman in the chest right in her shop, and she died.
For clarity sake, these extremists are Muslims but their act is criminally. That is why we called them extremists because we don't want to believe that they were sent from the mosque to go and extort or to go and kill people in the market,  unless otherwise.

Extortion is a crime and no crime  bypasses the punishment of the laws. When has Muslims started taxing people for Eid Mubarak prayers? And, why should people compulsorily pay you for your own prayers?  Giving is by willingness, you don't force people to give to you. We believe that no true Islamic leader will send his people to go and force 1,500.00 Naira out of traders and to kill any trader who refuses to pay.
Mrs Blessing Eze did not refuse to pay, rather she told them to go and come back later that the time was still early for her to raise such an amount of money. But they refused and then killed her. This is how crimes are committed in Nigeria but the most painful thing is that when it is committed by Muslims against an Igbo person or against a Christian, justice will be denied.

If there would be no justice for this woman, then we might be left with the option to believe what people have been parading about that "Islam is a religion of violence". People have been saying this but we just don't want to believe it because inasmuch as we know that some Islamic worshipers are evil, there are many good ones in there who are not violent and this also extends to every other religions.

Fingers crossed, but the case of this woman will never be swept under the carpet just like that. We are demanding justice for her and, every Islamic person who believes that Islam is not a religion of "violence" must stand up for this woman's justice. All those involved in her death must be arrested and made to pay for the crime they committed. Of course, no payment will bring back the dead, but they must pay for it. It must not go like the case of Deborah Samuel.

Family Writers Press International

*A true life story meant for women or men who always taught it's done with them when their marriage doesn't bring forth children.*

*She Adopted 5 Boys Nobody Wanted — 27 Years Later, They Did Something She Never Expected.*

*Gloria Adebayo was 35 when life tested her strength. After five years of marriage and multiple failed fertility treatments, her husband walked away — no explanation, just a short note on the kitchen table:-*
*“I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry.”*

*The silence that followed was deafening. Gloria battled loneliness, shame, and the heavy weight of dreams unfulfilled. But she wasn’t the kind of woman to stay down for long.*

*In 1997, during a volunteer shift at a local child welfare center in Lagos, she met a set of brothers — five boys, all under the age of 10, abandoned by their relatives after the death of their parents.*
*No one wanted to adopt them because they came as a group. And so, they stayed… waiting.*

*Something in Gloria’s heart stirred.*

*She didn’t have the resources. She didn’t have a husband. But she had love — so much love, and she knew it wasn’t meant to stay locked up in her heart.*

*One by one, she brought them home. First Segun, then Tunde, then the twins, Ikenna and Ifeanyi, and finally, baby Chuka. Raising them wasn’t easy — there were hospital visits, school fees, tears, and teenage drama. But there was also laughter, dancing in the rain, and Sunday mornings filled with jollof rice and gospel music.*

*Years passed. The boys grew. One became a civil engineer. Another started a non-profit. One moved abroad and became a teacher. Two others joined the police force. But they all remained close to home… and close to Mama Gloria.*

*In December 2024, on her 62nd birthday, they gathered in her small compound — and surprised her with a key.*

*A brand-new house. Bought and built by all five of them.*

*“We know you never had much,” Segun said, holding her trembling hands. “But you gave us everything. You gave us a home when we were forgotten. And now, it’s our turn.”*

*Gloria couldn’t speak.*
*The woman who once cried herself to sleep wondering if she’d ever be called “Mama” now sat surrounded by five grown men calling her “The greatest mother in the world.”*

*She didn’t just adopt five boys.*
*She raised five kings.*

*Source: Rosy world CRN*

The possible major cause of restiveness and insurgency in a country is poverty orchestrated by unemployment, religious bigotry and maladjustment, and ignorant of how to take advantage of opportunities like what we have now in gada.chat social media platform which is capable of turning around a nose diving economy of empoverished or financially struggling nations.
Let us welcome gada.chat, our signature aspect of the Brando group of companies.

Brainiacs Africa is Hiring

A Surprise Planning Company Within Life Camp Axis of Abuja is in need of a *Communication Manager(Partime)*

*Workflow: 5days On|5days Out*
*Salary: 100k/Mo + Accommodation + Meal*

*Job Responsibilities*
● Manages clients’ online presence, including online customer and community engagement. ● Coordinate with the head of the operation to develop and implement strategies to build and strengthen the client’s brand in the digital space.
● Provides daily support to all segments of the workforce on digital content creation through customer service tools.
● Develops and produces social media communications content for our client's social media pages.
● Monitors social media and responds to community questions and concerns, supporting our client's strategic priorities of increasing trust in the community through clear and engaging dialogue.

Send a direct message to +234 708 428 8340 to get started.