Iran must now 'make peace', says Trump after US strikes on nuclear sites

Summary

• The US has bombed Fordo and other nuclear sites in Iran
  In an address from the White House, Trump warned Iran must make peace or future attacks will be "far greater"
  He called the strikes on Fordo and and two other nuclear sites a "spectacular military success"
  Iranian state media says part of the Fordo site was "attacked by enemy strikes", however authorities are yet to confirm the extent of damage
• Earlier, Iran's foreign minister said US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict would be "very very dangerous" while in Istanbul to meet the Turkish president

Trump's message to Iran - negotiate or expect more strikes

Trump's message to the Iranian regime was short, simple and direct: come to the negotiating table, or more strikes will come.

"If they do not, future attacks will be far greater," he said. "And a lot easier."

In the lead-up to the attacks, Trump had repeatedly - at least publicly - left room for negotiations to continue.

Now, he continues to leave the path open, but with the threat of further American strikes looming over Iran's leadership.

"There will be either peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days," he said.

Notably, Trump did not explicitly mention the possibility of regime change in Tehran. Instead, he made it clear the US considers the operation largely over. But if - and only if - Iran comes to the table.

The US has moved considerable military assets to the region, which suggests, as Trump noted, that the US is ready to move extremely quickly if the president so chooses.

Israel and US worked as 'a team'

Trump says thousands were killed by Iran's former military commander Qasem Soleimani.

"I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen, it will not continue."

He also congratulates Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they worked as a "team" to erase this "horrible threat to Israel".

Trump remarks lasted for about four minutes.

BBC

Israeli-backed group seeks at least $30 million from US for aid distribution in Gaza

An American-led group has asked the Trump administration to step in with an initial $30 million so it can continue its much scrutinized and Israeli-backed aid distribution in Gaza, according to three U.S. officials and the organization’s application for the money.

That application, obtained by The Associated Press, also offers some of the first financial details about the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and its work in the territory. That includes a projection of a $150 million monthly budget once the group’s current aid sites fully gear up — an amount equal to $1.8 billion a year.

The foundation says it has provided millions of meals in southern Gaza since late May to Palestinians as Israel’s blockade and military campaign have driven the Gaza to the brink of famine.

The group’s funding application was submitted to the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to the U.S. officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The application was being processed this week as potentially one of the agency’s last acts before the Republican administration absorbs USAID into the State Department as part of deep cuts in foreign assistance.

Two of the officials said they were told the administration has decided to award the money. They said the processing was moving forward with little of the review and auditing normally required before Washington makes foreign assistance grants to an organization.

In a letter submitted Thursday as part of the application, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation secretary Loik Henderson said his organization “was grateful for the opportunity to partner with you to sustain and scale life-saving operations in Gaza.”

Neither the State Department nor Henderson immediately responded to requests for comment Saturday.

Israel says the foundation is the linchpin of a new aid system to wrest control from the United Nations, which Israel alleges has been infiltrated by Hamas, and other humanitarian groups. The foundation’s use of fixed sites in southern Gaza is in line with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to use aid to concentrate the territory’s more than 2 million people in the south, freeing Israel to fight Hamas elsewhere.

Aid workers fear it’s a step toward another of Netanyahu’s public goals, removing Palestinians from Gaza in “voluntary” migrations that aid groups and human rights organizations say would amount to coerced departures.

The U.N. and many leading nonprofit groups accuse the foundation of stepping into aid distribution with little transparency or humanitarian experience, and, crucially, without a commitment to the principles of neutrality and operational independence in war zones.

Since the organization started operations, several hundred Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded in near-daily shootings as they tried to reach aid sites, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Witnesses say Israeli troops regularly fire heavy barrages toward the crowds in an attempt to control them.

The Israeli military has denied firing on civilians. It says it fired warning shots in several instance, and fired directly at a few “suspects” who ignored warnings and approached its forces.

It’s unclear who is funding the new operation in Gaza. No donor has come forward. The State Department said this past week that the United States is not funding it.

In documents supporting its application, the group said it received nearly $119 million for May operations from “other government donors,” but gives no details. It expects $38 million from those unspecific government donors for June, in addition to the hoped-for $30 million from the United States.

The application shows no funding from private philanthropy or any other source.

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia conducts heavy missile and drone strike on Ukrainian military airfield – MOD

The Russian military struck a military airfield and energy infrastructure in Ukraine in an overnight attack involving missiles and kamikaze drones, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported.

In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said that the attack, which was carried out with high-precision air-, land-, and sea-based weapons, as well as explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicles, targeted the infrastructure of a military airfield and an energy facility that supplied Ukrainian forces in Donbass with fuel.

“The goal of the strike has been accomplished. All designated targets have been hit,” Russian military officials reported, without disclosing the location of the targets.

In a separate statement on Saturday, the ministry claimed that Russian warplanes, drones, missiles, and artillery had destroyed several UAV production workshops, as well as ammunition depots in Ukraine.

Ukraine, meanwhile, reported a massive Russian strike on energy infrastructure in the city of Kremenchuk in Poltava Region.

The Ukrainian military estimated that Russia deployed nearly 300 kamikaze drones, and eight missiles in its overnight attack.

In recent weeks, Russia has launched a series of strikes, targeting Ukrainian military-related facilities, after Kiev significantly ramped up its own cross-border drone strikes. Moscow has described the escalation as Kiev’s attempt to derail the ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

On Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that a combined strike, similar in style to the one reported on Saturday, hit military-industrial facilities in Kiev Region, as well as in the Ukrainian-controlled part of Zaporozhye Region.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine asks allies to allocate 0.25% of GDP to boost its weapon production

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on Ukraine's Western partners to allocate 0.25% of their GDP to helping Kyiv ramp up weapons production and said the country plans to sign agreements this summer to start exporting weapon production technologies.

In remarks released for publication by his office on Saturday, Zelenskiy said Ukraine was in talks with Denmark, Norway, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Lithuania to launch joint weapon production.

"Ukraine is part of Europe's security and we want 0.25% of the GDP of a particular partner country to be allocated for our defence industry and domestic production," Zelenskiy said.

As the war with a bigger and better-equipped Russia has intensified in recent weeks, Ukraine's need for new weapons and ammunition is constantly growing.

This year Kyiv had secured $43 billion to finance its domestic weapon production, Zelenskiy said.

Member nations of the NATO military allianceare expected to meet next week in The Hague, to discuss higher defence spending.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has proposed that countries should each agree to spend 5% of their GDP on defence and security measures.

Zelenskiy said he was likely to visit the NATO summit, adding that several meetings with Western leaders had been set up on the sidelines. He also said that he hoped to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.

Last week, Zelenskiy attended the Group of Seven summit in Canada as he sought to discuss stronger sanctions against Russia and more military support for Ukraine with Trump there.

But he failed to meet with the U.S. President as Trump left a day early for Washington to address the Israel-Iran conflict.

Ukraine currently covers about 40% of its defence needs with domestic production, and the government is constantly looking for ways to increase production further.

Kyiv plans to launch joint weapon production outside of the country and will start exporting some of its military production technologies, Zelenskiy said.

"We have launched a program 'Build with Ukraine' and in summer we will sign relevant agreements to start exporting our technologies abroad in the format of opening production lines in European countries," Zelenskiy said.

The discussions focused on producing different types of drones, missiles, and potentially artillery, he said.

RT/Reuters

It is 20 years since the sage, Chinua Achebe, penned a famous open letter rejecting President Olusegun Obasanjo’s award of the Commander of the Federal Republic.

For those who have forgotten, or who for some reason do not know, here is the full message, which was sent from Annandale-on-Hudson in New York, where the writer lived at the time.
“October 15, 2004
“My Dear President Obasanjo,
“I write this letter with a very heavy heart. For some time now, I have watched events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay. I have watched particularly the chaos in my own state of Anambra, where a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connections in high places, seems determined to turn my homeland into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom. I am appalled by the brazenness of this clique and the silence, if not connivance, of the Presidency.
“Forty-three years ago, at the first anniversary of Nigeria’s independence, I was given the first Nigerian National Trophy for Literature. In 1979, I received two further honours – the Nigerian National Order of Merit and the Order of the Federal Republic – and in 1999, the first National Creativity Award.
“I accepted all these honours fully aware that Nigeria was not perfect, but I had a strong belief that we would outgrow our shortcomings under leaders committed to uniting our diverse peoples.
“Nigeria’s condition today under your watch is, however, too dangerous for silence. I must register my disappointment and protest by declining to accept the high honor awarded me in the 2004 Honors List.”
His beloved Anambra was in turmoil, a product of the machinations of Nigeria’s political elite, led by Obasanjo himself.

Across the country, the menace that is Nigeria today was being sown. Capturing the situation as being “too dangerous for silence,” the famous writer turned down Obasanjo’s offer. Over the years, a few others have done the same.

The Achebe drama was replayed in 2011, when President Goodluck Jonathan, whom Obasanjo had put in place as Vice-President in 2007, again placed him on the Honours list.

The writer expressed impatience, explaining, “The reasons for rejecting the offer when it was first made have not been addressed, let alone solved.”

2007 was the year that The Economist, in response to Obasanjo’s “do-or-die” elections, which enabled the PDP to continue his political bloodline after his third-term effort failed, published its famous “Big man, big fraud and big trouble” comment, saying that “the organised vote-rigging and fraud…suggest that Nigeria may be sliding backwards again.”

Obasanjo’s EFCC stalwart, Nuhu Ribadu, enjoying a gleaming international reputation at the time, characterised the concern as being beyond corruption.

“It’s gangsterism. It’s organised crime,” he told the magazine.

But perhaps we were sliding forward, not backwards?  Nigeria’s world has certainly turned around, or upside down, since then: Bola Tinubu is now President.  Ribadu, who as chairman of the EFCC, was the first to pronounce and denounce the corruption of Mr Bola Tinubu as governor of Lagos State, is now Tinubu’s National Security Adviser

Similarly, President Tinubu’s current Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, turned down his National Honour nomination in 2011, when he was a federal legislator, claiming not only that the honours should not be disbursed as presidential favours but that “we have had many rotten eggs on our honours list.”

That was before he was discovered to have been disbarred in 2007 as a licensed lawyer in the United States, having been found to have stolen money from a client and failed to meet his membership obligations.

But if Ribadu was right about political gangsterism and organised crime in 2007, that is but a juvenile joke today.

If Achebe was alarmed and dismayed by well-connected renegades in one state in 2004 or even in 2011, Nigeria has matured into the “bankrupt and lawless fiefdom” he feared.

It was in 2004 that I characterised the PDP the “Profoundly Decadent Party,” a label I have restated over the years. It was a rotten, unprincipled assemblage of men, just as APC was, and is, except that APC now oozes a stench nobody thought was possible.

As early as late 2013, the warning bells were clanging, leading one to wonder whether APC was any less dangerous, and then to understand that each was the other by a different name.

And then APC took it further, announcing its murder weapon in the words of now-Senator Adams Oshiomhole: “Once you join the APC, your sins are forgiven.”

We have since learned the unstated corollary: “Once you are in the APC, your sins can multiply freely.”

This is why we have experienced 10 years of a political party whose only triumph is in lying and propaganda. Because APC embodies corruption, it cannot combat the menace; in its hands, the anti-corruption agencies shamelessly encourage and nurture it.

Within months in 2015, the APC Manifesto was abandoned, and the party forgot its so-called mission of C-H-A-N-G-E once it had acquired power.

Muhammadu Buhari’s May 2019 announcement that APC would lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years is a hoax the current government does not dignify with any further mention.

In 10 years, APC has rendered meaningless the rule of law as it has the constitutional separation of powers: the legislature and the judiciary now practically belong to the executive.

In APC’s hands, the insecurity in the country mutated from a mouse into a tiger. Consider that Tinubu, finally compelled to visit Benue State last week over the large-scale killings there, expressed surprise (wink!) that no arrests had been made, as if law enforcement matters in Nigeria.

Tinubu treated his Benue visit like a political pilgrimage, with local school children dragged into pouring rain in their uniforms to be violated and victimised all over again.  He did not visit the grieving communities, either, only issuing directives to the security agencies as if directives are the same as a strategy.

Nearly two years ago, Tinubu recalled Nigeria’s ambassadors worldwide, claiming he wanted “world-class efficiency and quality.”  They have not been replaced, leaving Nigerians abroad naked. Last week in Iran, Nigerians in that country were abandoned.

That is how Nigeria is now governed: with nepotism, narrow- mindedness and self-interest taking the place of public service and ethics.

This is the country in which President Tinubu announced his 101-person 2025 National Honours, allegedly to mark Democracy Day.  Some of them in the number among Nigeria’s finest, and I applaud them.

But are they not instead diminished by our hollowed-out realities?  Nigeria is a country on the edge: bleeding, nervous, angry and hungry.

Those listed who really deserve to be celebrated but are really just being used to cloak the filthiest should be “emitting smoke from seven orifices,” as the Chinese would say.

Can something moldy be used to disinfect and clean?  Can someone, or something, deficient in credibility and integrity define or grant them to another?

I know a few lions who would have growled and roared their disapproval from the tallest tree.  As it is said, you must be careful when a naked man offers you a shirt.

Because two people, then, are naked.

Punch

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness…and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” - 2 Timothy 4:7-8.

Introduction

The Apostle Paul, a man widely (and rightly) regarded as a Christian leader for all time, was a true exemplar of the Christian way of life. As we learn from his writings and accounts of others, in all that he did, he was truly an ambassador of the Gospel to the Gentiles, a father to many, and certainly not one to back down from a fight. From the cusp of adulthood until he was saved by the Lord Jesus on his way to Damascus, Paul had spent his entire life devoted to fighting, and thereafter, he continued fighting, but in the service of the good and righteous One.

Before we turn to the focus of this piece, the good fight, it may perhaps be worth considering briefly the other side of the coin, that is, the ‘bad fight’. This consists of ‘zealous religious pursuits’ to which we are sometimes, like Saul of Tarsus, devoted – and the ‘righteousness’ of which we are quite convinced of – but which, in God’s books, do not count for much and may take us down the slippery slope of hate, jealousy and unholy anger.

The Good Fight

What, then, is the ‘good fight’? In 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Paul articulated and commended certain things to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith (things Paul himself had done, and which qualified him for a crown of righteousness).

For the avoidance of doubt, the good fight, which is the centerpiece of our calling as believers – is as set forth in this missive from Paul to Timothy: “preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine…but watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry” (2 Timothy 4:2-5).

I posit that these above present to us a very vivid, true and an acceptable kingdom lifestyle, failing which will doubtless result in undesirable consequences in form of stronghold of unbelief, creating distractions from our major goals in life. However, the consequences also show up in the forms of sicknesses of the mind or body, stagnation, setback, marital problems, and all forms of addiction, depression and lusts. And, unfortunately, all of these become complicated, especially when such individuals refuse to give attention to godly, Biblical counsel from wise and elderly people who have accomplished what they are just wishing to attain.

Now, one of the most useful dynamics of living is in being able to overcome challenges and win through the battles of life as they come up. However, this cannot come to be until we learn to fight aright. Thus, the important question arises: how do we fight to win through and finish strong?

It is important to note from the onset that most of the serious battles man constantly faces are not carnal (2 Corinthians 10:4). Hence, it would require the fights of faith to win and overcome them. Strong holds can still lose their grip if we learn to fight aright, or else we miss it.

To fight aright, we must recognize that it is faith’s fight that wins the battle, not carnal fights. This is done by fighting the enemies with the Word of God, speaking boldly in prayer to issues and situations that contend with our joy, and fighting from our stands of righteousness in Christ Jesus.

We must also keep in mind the fact that all of life’s major battles start and are controlled in the spiritual realm, well before they manifest in the physical. In this regard, the Bible instructs us not to be complacent or carnally-disposed, but to fight from our privileged position of victory in Christ Jesus, using the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:12).

Finishing Strong

In closing, I must stress that it does not suffice to simply fight, as a strong start that is not sustained only ends in whimpering shame and makes the fighter the subject of ridicule. Ask Samson, a warrior divinely bestowed with supernatural strength, but who failed to finish strong. Ask Demas, who fought alongside Paul but ultimately forsook the faith, “having loved this present world” more than prize of the high calling of Christ.

Indeed, what qualifies a believer for the crown of righteousness is the ability to sustain the vigor and fervor of the fight to the very end. As the Master Himself said in Luke 9:62, “no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Please, make no mistake about it: Satan will always fashion his weapons, but God foretold us that the devil’s arsenal against us shall not prosper. And most certainly, with the armor of God, you’re skewed to win, always!

Beloved, I pray that the Almighty God, the wellspring of life and strength, the One who has bestowed us with all things pertaining to life and godliness, including the armor to do battle, will grant you the grace to fight the good fight of faith, and the stamina to last the long haul for His glory here on earth, that a glorious crown of righteousness may be yours for eternity. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Archbishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987

When I met the Lord, I became suddenly open to the spirit world. Jesus said to me: “Femi, blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.” (Matthew 13:16).

However, this was double-edged. I could see and hear both the positive and the negative spiritual. After a few months, the pastor in my church came to see me. He had a dream in which the devil was laughing at me, boasting that he would drive me mad.

The Lord asked me to wait on Him for three days because He had something to reveal to me.

Divine revelation 

On the third day of my fast, I was sitting in my study all by myself, when something mind-blowing happened. The power of God suddenly overshadowed the room, and the Lord started to talk to me. What was so dramatic about this, and it has never happened to me like that since then, is that the voice came from “heaven.” It did not come from within me. It came from somewhere in the ceiling.

The Lord told me to take a pen and write down what he wanted to tell me. Then He said: “Femi, there are two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. Everybody you are ever going to meet will come from one of these two kingdoms. It is your responsibility to determine which kingdom the people you meet are from.” 

“If the person is from the kingdom of your Father, you must determine why I want you to meet him. Every person you meet, you will meet for a reason, and you will meet by appointment. Nothing that will ever happen to you will be coincidental. Nothing will ever happen to you by happenstance. Everything that will happen in your life will happen for a reason. It is your responsibility to determine precisely what the reason is.”

As I was writing this down, I was covered with tears. I wept uncontrollably. I could not believe the Almighty God was giving nonentity me such privileged information. What did I do to deserve this Almighty visitation? What did I do to deserve God’s private tutorial on life? I was overwhelmed.

Kingdom dynamics

This revelation goes to the heart of God’s providence. It means that everything about a man’s life works according to God’s script. As David observes to God:

“You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!”(Psalm 139:16).

It means that if you stand on the street and a car passes by, it did not just happen. It was “programmed” to happen. Everything is by divine contrivance. God leaves nothing to chance: “We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.” (Proverbs 16:33). 

“All things are of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:18). “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.” (Romans 11:36).

God weaves the lives of everyone together as a weaver does the threads of a cloth. Combined, they are all designed to form a particular pattern and design. To those who find this difficult to believe, Jesus says: “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29).

Just think; there are over eight billion people alive today. In your lifetime, you are unlikely to meet even 10,000 of them. There is a reason why you meet the few that you meet.

Look again at this episode in the Bible:

“As (Jesus) was walking along, He saw a man blind from birth. ‘Master,’ His disciples asked Him, ‘why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?’ ‘Neither,’ Jesus answered. ‘But to demonstrate the power of God. All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, for there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end.’” (John 9:1-4).

According to Jesus, everything happens for a divine reason. God’s purposes were served even by this man’s blindness. He was blind in order that he might be healed, and that God would thereby be glorified.

No coincidences

This means nothing about a man’s life is haphazard. Since Jesus died for everybody, we are too important to God for Him to just leave us at the whims and caprices of the devil. Neither are we under situations and circumstances. On the contrary, we have dominion over them. 

Jesus reaffirmed this, quoting the psalmist: “You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.” (Psalm 82:6. John 10:34). Therefore, take nothing for granted. Gather up even the fragments of your life so that nothing is lost. (John 6:12). 

Everything that will happen to you is going to be from God. If someone takes you out to eat, it is God. If someone gives you money, it is God. If someone abuses you, it is God who is behind it. “Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge (God), and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes.” (Proverbs 3:5-7).

If you give something to someone, thank God for giving it to him. God did it. It is God: “who performs all things for (us).” (Psalm 57:2).

If you give something to someone, thank God for giving it to him. God did it. It is God: “who performs all things for (us).” (Psalm 57:2).

Jigsaw puzzle 

The life of a man is a jigsaw puzzle that God assembles. That jigsaw includes every word you speak on earth: “The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:1). It includes everything you do: “The way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23).

That is why you could not have been born in another century. You could not have been anywhere else except where you are right now. You could not have been doing anything else right now, except reading this article. 

Without interfering with your free will, God puts you in a particular space where your dispositions are precisely suited to his will. It is like acting in a play. The Director told you that you could say whatever you liked and do whatever you wanted in every scene. 

But He foreknew you. He knew your character and your inclinations. He knew if you saw certain things, you would not stand idly by. He knew those situations where you would be inclined to react in a particular way. 

So, He told you: “Be yourself.” But by being yourself, you acted exactly according to His script, because He is the Uncaused cause of everything: “(He) works all things according to the counsel of His will.” (Ephesians 1:11).

There is no situation that God does not control. There is no heart that is immune to His power. Therefore: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7).

“In everything give thanks.” (2 Thessalonians 5:18).

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; www.femiaribisala.com

Chris Enloe

Jesus flipping tables in the Temple is not a permission slip for violent protests.

As pockets of Los Angeles and other major cities descended into chaos this week — violent protests orchestrated by leftist agitators angry that the Trump administration is enforcing immigration laws — a meme about Jesus went viral.

Jesus didn't torch Roman government buildings, loot businesses, attack Roman authorities, or cause destruction for the sake of chaos.

Eventually plastered on the front page of Reddit, the leftist meme depicts Jesus' famous temple tantrum — when he flipped over tables in the Jerusalem Temple courts — and included the sarcastic line with quotes of mockery, "Destruction of property is not a valid form of protest."

The meme, which Reddit moderators later deleted, is clever. But it's also incredibly dishonest.

Behind the viral image is a destructive lie: Jesus was a woke political protester who used violence to fight injustice. And if Jesusprotested with violence, then violence is a justified form of protest, right?

Wrong.

Jesus' sacred confrontation

Following his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple courts and, according to the Gospel of Matthew, "drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves (Matthew 21:12-13).

You can imagine the scene. An indignant Jesus, days before his execution, drives out merchants and money-changers. Coins clatter to the ground. Tables flip. Animals scatter. Chaos erupts.

Jesus even fashioned a "whip" as a protest instrument, according to the Gospel of John. In modern vernacular, it appears Jesus engaged in "civil disobedience."

But Jesus was protesting neither Rome nor secular injustice. Rather, he was purifying the Temple, the house of God, the place where God's presence literally dwelt. He wasn't targeting outsiders (i.e., secular authorities) but insiders (i.e., the Jewish establishment) because they had allowed a sacred space to be misused.

"Jesus' explicit protest is against the misuse of God's house for trade instead of prayer," writes Bible scholar R.T. France in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew.

"It is where the trade is being carried out rather than how that is the focus of his displeasure. And that means the protest is directed not so much against the traders themselves but against the priestly establishment who had allowed them to operate with in the sacred area," France explains. "Commercial activity, however justified in itself, should not be carried out where people came to pray, and a temple regime which encouraged this had failed in its responsibility. This was, therefore, apparently a demonstration against the Sadducean establishment."

Importantly, Jesus "was not leading a popular protest movement." Instead, the incident is meant to draw attention to Jesus' messianic identity and divine authority, according to France.

This is why Jesus quotes from two prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah:

• Isaiah 56:7: When Jesus declares, "My house will be called a house of prayer," he is making clear that he is concerned with proper use of the Temple's sacred space.
• Jeremiah 7:11: When Jesus accuses the Jewish leaders of turning the Temple courts into a "den of robbers," he is accusing the leaders of hypocrisy: While they use pious words to show apparent reverence for God, their behavior proves they do not have proper respect for God's house.

The Bible is clear: Jesus was not inciting a riot.

On the contrary, Jesus is a prophet who, like the prophets before him, was issuing a prophetic rebuke. It was a moment of divine judgement for Jewish leaders — not a license for modern-day destruction.

Not a riot

With leftist violence back in style, the meme went viral because it serves an insidious purpose: Leftists seeking to justify violence want to weaponize Jesus to sanctify their chaos.

But there is a world of difference between Jesus' righteous anger and the senseless violence of anti-ICE leftist protesters.

Jesus didn't torch Roman government buildings, loot businesses, attack Roman authorities, or cause destruction for the sake of chaos. The Temple courts, after all, technicallybelonged to Him.

Standing in his Father's house, Jesus was confronting the corruption of the leaders responsible for supervising and protecting God's house. In that regard, Jesus was restoring what Jewish leaders had tarnished — not burning it down. Jesus demonstrated a holy anger, and it served a heavenly purpose.

Flip your tables

Jesus is not a leftist protest mascot. But the meme gets one thing right: We should be like Jesus.

We should love what God loves, and we should hate what God hates. We should honor what God honors, and we should always defend God's truth, opposing all attempts to corrupt it.

To be like Jesus is not to justify violence and excuse chaos. Instead, it requires pursuing God and his righteousness and, ultimately, following Jesus to the cross.

That means, like Jesus, we flip the "tables" of our own lives — the idols, sins, and lies that lead far from God and unto death — and allow God to cleanse and restore us, just as Jesus did to the Temple on his way to the cross.

The invitation is not to violence but to eternal transformation. Follow Him, indeed.

The Blaze

Despite worsening poverty and institutional dysfunction, Nigerians remain among the most generous and humane people in the world — a testament to the nation’s enduring social spirit even as governments at all levels continue to fail their citizens.

This paradox is starkly illustrated in the 2025 UN World Happiness Report, which ranks Nigeria 7th globally for helping strangers, placing it ahead of many wealthier nations in acts of spontaneous kindness and personal generosity. The report, produced by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, covers 147 countries and evaluates well-being through self-reported happiness and prosocial behaviors like donating, volunteering, and offering help to strangers.

However, beyond this glowing endorsement of Nigerians’ humanity, the report exposes a more troubling reality: Nigeria ranks 105th out of 147 countries in overall happiness and well-being — a sharp indication of the depth of dissatisfaction and hardship experienced under the country’s broken public systems.

Strong People, Fragile Institutions

What emerges is a familiar pattern: a compassionate, community-oriented people navigating life in a country where institutional trust is dangerously low and government structures routinely fail to deliver basic accountability, justice, and social support.

A simple question in the report — what happens if you lose your wallet? — paints the picture clearly:

• 33rd: If found by a stranger

• 71st: If found by a neighbour

• 126th: If found by the police

Nigerians overwhelmingly trust individuals over public institutions — a devastating commentary on law enforcement and public governance. Citizens turn to each other, not the state, for help and protection.

The report identifies this as part of a broader trend in sub-Saharan Africa where personal networks compensate for government failures. Kenya (4th), Liberia (2nd), and Sierra Leone (5th) also rank high in helping strangers but fare poorly in overall happiness and institutional trust.

Kindness Is Not Enough

The report warns that while Nigeria’s grassroots compassion is admirable and resilient, it is also a coping mechanism — not a substitute for functional systems. Helping strangers, the study suggests, becomes a vital, direct way to do good when larger structures have collapsed.

This dynamic also explains Nigeria’s lower ranking in formal charitable donations (45th) compared to its high rating for direct kindness. In a nation where public institutions are widely distrusted, Nigerians prefer face-to-face giving over channeling support through official platforms.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, one of the report’s editors, summarized the dilemma:

“Societies that rank high for kindness but low for institutional trust may struggle to scale social support beyond immediate, individual interactions.”

In other words, Nigerians are doing the best they can — but without strong, transparent institutions, their efforts cannot be transformed into sustainable national progress.

The Real Message for Nigeria’s Leaders

The findings present a clear indictment of governance in Nigeria. Citizens continue to show the world their generosity, empathy, and moral strength, even as they are betrayed by a political class that has failed to build credible institutions or deliver meaningful reforms.

What Nigerians need is not just admiration for their kindness, but action — public accountability, institutional reform, and a reorientation of governance toward service rather than power.

Until then, the story of Nigeria will remain one of a good people failed by bad systems — heroic in individual acts, but weighed down by the absence of collective justice and functional governance.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has prohibited independent non-executive directors (INEDs) from assuming executive positions, such as chief executive officer (CEO), within the same company or its group.

In a June 20, 2025 circular, the regulator notified public companies and capital market operators of its stance on the "Transmutation of Independent Non-Executive Directors and Tenure of Directors."

The SEC stated that allowing INEDs to transition into executive roles undermines their neutrality and objectivity, conflicting with governance principles in the National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) and the SEC Corporate Governance Guidelines (SCGG).

“Public companies and significant capital market operators must immediately cease the practice of converting INEDs into executive directors within the same company or group,” the SEC directed.

New Tenure Limits for Directors

The commission also introduced a 10-year maximum tenure for directors in major public interest entities, extendable to 12 years within the same group. Additionally, CEOs and executive directors must observe a three-year cooling-off period before becoming chairman.

Under Section 355(r)(iv) of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025*, the SEC mandates that former CEOs or executive directors appointed as chair may serve no more than four years in that role.

“These directives take immediate effect and are mandatory. Companies must incorporate them into board appointments and succession planning,” the SEC emphasized.

Existing tenures of affected directors will count toward the new limits. The move aims to strengthen corporate governance by ensuring board independence and preventing excessive concentration of power.

Africa's push for local currency payments systems - once little more than an aspiration - is finally making concrete gains, bringing the promise of less costly trade to a continent long hobbled by resource-sapping dollar transactions.

But efforts to move away from the dollar face strong opposition and the threat of retaliation from U.S. President Donald Trump, who is determined to preserve it as the dominant currency for global trade.

The move by Africa to create payments systems that do not rely on the greenback mirrors a push by China to develop financial systems independent of Western institutions. Countries like Russia, which face economic sanctions, are also keen for an alternative to the dollar.

But while that movement has gained a sense of urgency due to shifting trade patterns and geopolitical realignments following President Trump's return to the White House, African advocates for payment alternatives are making their case based on costs.

"Our goal, contrary to what people might think, is not de-dollarisation," said Mike Ogbalu, chief executive of the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System, which allows parties to transact directly in local currencies, bypassing the dollar.

"If you look at African economies, you'll find that they struggle with availability for third-party global currencies to settle transactions," he said.

Africa's commercial banks typically rely on overseas counterparts, through so-called correspondent banking relationships, to facilitate settlements of international payments. That includes payments between African neighbours.

That adds significantly to transaction costs that, along with other factors like poor transport infrastructure, have made trade in Africa 50% more expensive than the global average, according to the UN Trade and Development agency.

It is also among the reasons so much of Africa's trade - 84%, according to a report by Mauritius-based MCB Group - is with external partners rather than between African nations.

"The existing financial network that is largely dollar-based has essentially become less effective for Africa, and costlier," said Daniel McDowell, a professor at Syracuse University in New York specialising in international finance.

HOMEGROWN SYSTEMS

According to data compiled by PAPSS, under the existing system of correspondent banks, a $200 million trade between two parties in different African countries is estimated to cost 10% to 30% of the value of the deal.

The shift to homegrown payments systems could cut the cost of that transaction to just 1%.

Systems like PAPSS allow a business in one country, Zambia for example, to pay for goods from another like Kenya, with both buyer and seller receiving payment in their respective currencies rather than converting them into dollars to complete the transaction.

Using currencies like the Nigerian naira, Ghanaian cedi or South Africa's rand for intra-Africa trade payments could save the continent $5 billion a year in hard currency, Ogbalu told Reuters.

Launched in January 2022 with just 10 participating commercial banks, PAPSS is today operational in 15 countries including Zambia, Malawi, Kenya and Tunisia, and now has 150 commercial banks in its network.

"We have also seen very significant growth in our transactions," Ogbalu said, without providing usage data.

The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's private sector lending arm, has, meanwhile, started issuing loans to African businesses in local currencies.

It views the switch as imperative for their growth, relieving them from the currency risks of borrowing in dollars, said Ethiopis Tafara, IFC's vice-president for Africa.

"If they are not generating hard currency, a hard-currency loan imposes a burden that makes it difficult for them to succeed," he said.

GEOPOLITICS AND THE TRUMP FACTOR

Africa's campaign to boost regional payments systems has found a platform at the Group of 20 major economies, with South Africa leading the charge as holder of the G20's rotating presidency.

It held at least one session on boosting regional payments systems when South Africa hosted a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors. And South Africa wants it to follow up the talk with concrete actions. The next meeting of G20 finance officials is scheduled for mid-July.

"Some of the most expensive corridors for cross-border payments are actually found on the African continent," Lesetja Kganyago, South Africa's central bank governor, told Reuters during a G20 meeting in Cape Town in February.

"For us to function as a continent, it's important that we start trading and settling in our own currencies."

Talk of moving away from the dollar - either for trade or as a reserve currency - has drawn aggressive reactions from President Trump, however.

After BRICS - a grouping of nations including Russia, China, India and Brazil along with Africans like South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia - weighed reducing dollar dependence and creating a common currency, Trump responded with threats of 100% tariffs.

"There is no chance that BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, or anywhere else, and any Country that tries should say hello to Tariffs, and goodbye to America!," he wrote on Truth Social in January.

In the months since, Trump has demonstrated his willingness to use tariffsto pressure and punish allies and foes alike, a strategy that has upended global trade and geopolitics.

No matter its intentions in moving to more local currency transactions, Syracuse University's McDowell said Africa will struggle to distance itself from more politically motivated de-dollarisation efforts, like those led by China and Russia.

"The perception is likely to be that this is about geopolitics," he said.

Reuters