They were expecting a visiting Head of State from another kingdom. The streets were lined with people. Schoolchildren were everywhere, holding and waving flags. The roads were completely cleared of all vehicles.

Then suddenly there appeared a raggedy-looking man, riding a bicycle. “Get off the road,” they jeered. “Clear off. Stupid idiot, what are you doing there?” Little did they know the man they were abusing was the visiting Head of State.

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” (Matthew 21:5).

Shepherd-King

Jesus was not the person they were expecting. They were accustomed to the pomp and circumstance of other “kings.” They had seen Pastor Patrick Anwuzia of Zoe Ministries Worldwide in his cortege of cars with licence plates: Zoe 1, Zoe 2, Zoe 3.

They had seen Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, with his train of Land Cruisers zooming around the streets of Lagos. They had seen Pastor Paul Adefarasin, with his fearsome bodyguards and retinue of escort cars. But they did not know what to make of this “pretender” from Nazareth.

This King does not drive around in a Rolls-Royce. He does not have chariots and horses. On the contrary, He is a lowly King who comes on a donkey. He was born in a manger. He works as a carpenter. He is not a university graduate. He has not been to the theological seminary. But something is telling about this “insignificant” King. This King is a shepherd.

Matthew recalls Micah’s age-old prophecy: “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.” (Matthew 2:6). Jesus is the Ruler who will Shepherd. But He is a different type of Ruler and a different type of Shepherd.

David was a ruler of physical Israel: and Jesus is the Ruler of spiritual Israel. David was the ruler of a kingdom of this world: and Jesus is the Ruler of the kingdom of God. David was a shepherd of sheep: Jesus is the shepherd of the sons of God.

David himself caught the revelation of Jesus, the Messiah, when he wrote his most famous psalm. He said: “The LORD is my shepherd.” (Psalm 23:1). That translates today to mean; “The Lord is my Pastor.” But if you dare to tell your pastor today that the Lord Jesus is your Pastor, I can assure you he will not take kindly to it.

Pauper-King

Jesus entered the world in a family so poor Mary had to offer two turtledoves, rather than the required lamb, as the sacrifice for her purification. (Leviticus 12:8; Luke 2:24). He grew up in a small non-descript town of Nazareth far from the seat of political power. He lived in obscurity as a carpenter for thirty years.

Finally, he inaugurated His ministry on a riverbank and, for only three years thereafter, crisscrossed the dusty roads of Palestine, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. Jesus says: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:20).

Jesus raised no army and sought no earthly position of authority. He ultimately humbled Himself by accepting death at the hands of evil men who, like Herod, saw Him as a threat to their position and power. And yet, through it all, Jesus is the true king. Indeed, He is the King of kings. But the outward display of pomp and pageantry is not essential to His stature as King. Instead, He sets up a whole new set of values, proclaiming that it is in these we are to find true fulfilment.

In effect, Jesus compels a choice. We can either see dominion in terms of outside splendour and power, or we can focus on strength of character to distinguish the inner core of greatness. We need to see in Jesus’ humility and self-abnegation the key to true greatness and glory. The believer should seek the inner liberty that defines dominion over the shackles of sin. It is this inner freedom and power that was exhibited by Jesus.

Unstoppable King

Jesus was in full control of Himself. He demonstrated His kingship by showing He has authority over the worst of man’s enemies- Himself. Jesus exercised absolute freedom from within. Power without self-control is no power at all. A true king must have the power to humble himself; to submit to God and to give up his rights in obedience to God’s commandments.

Jesus exhibited such total liberty of the spirit that He went about doing good. People looked for all kinds of ways to stop Him. The devil kept sending people to try and impede Him. When he sent Peter to dissuade Him from the cross, Jesus said: “Get thee behind Me Satan.”  Some argued that it is not lawful to be good on the Sabbath. But Jesus insisted it is lawful to do good every day of the week.

In the end, they decided to kill Him. They thought at least when He is dead and buried; He would no longer be able to do anyone any good. But that was a big mistake. His crucifixion turned out to be His coronation. When they killed Him, He rose from the dead, never to die again. Thereby, He demonstrated that even death cannot impede the goodness of God.

King of Kings

On His resurrection, Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God all over the world. However, it was understood they would do this in the same pattern He established. They would not go in pomp or luxury. They were not to drive about in Jeeps and Pathfinders or live in the best hotels.

Instead, they would go with Jesus’ beatitudes boldly written on their hearts and live among their fellowmen humbly and as servants. Jesus says: “Whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:27-28).

How very different this is from the life that kings and mega-pastors of the world lead. Jesus says: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.” (Matthew 10:24-25).

Jesus’ example does not require the establishment of a pompous “Millionaire’s Club.” Neither does it recommend acquisition of jet planes. Nevertheless, some outrageous pastors now insist Jesus’ lowly donkey is today’s equivalent of a Lincoln-Continental salon car. 

Are Christians kings like Jesus? Or are we kings like Herod and our mega-pastors? Are we kings who exercise dominion over sin? Or are we kings who only rule over men? Are we kings in control of ourselves? Or are we fake kings ruled by our temperament? Are we puppet-kings under the servitude of cigarettes, alcohol, drugs and other demons?  

Jesus says: “Behold, I AM coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” (Revelation 3:11).

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The older I get, the more panicked I become when something slips my mind. Is forgetting my keys a sign of a more serious health condition, or did I simply rush out the door without grabbing them? 

My colleague Renée Onque interviewed neurologist Richard Restak about when memory lapses are cause for concern. Here are signs of normal memory lapses, ones that shouldn’t alarm you: 

• Remembering childhood moments differently than your siblings

• Taking the wrong exit on the way home

• Forgetting where you parked your car

Potential signs of serious memory concerns are: 

• Forgetting how to play games you’ve played often and are really good at, and not remembering what’s already happened in the game as you play

• Not being sure how you arrived at a place (by car or bus, driving yourself or being driven by someone else)

Luckily I don’t think I fall in the latter category. But how do I keep it that way? Restak offers some guidance on that too: “Avoid boredom, stay challenged.” 

He plays a memory game every morning in which he writes down 10 words before leaving the house to walk his dog and then recites them in order when he returns. 

By consistently doing small exercises like these, I can hopefully limit my memory lapses to occasionally forgetting my keys.

CNBC

Less than one month after the Port Harcourt Refining Company appeared to have resumed production, the facility has stopped working.

Our correspondent, who visited the refinery on Thursday, December 19, 2024, observed that the lifting of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) had stopped.

It was gathered that lifting of petrol actually stopped since December 13, as the 18-arm loading bay of the new Port Harcourt refinery was empty.

While about 18 trucks littered the stretch of the busy road leading to the refinery itself, nine trucks were spotted inside the parking yard, while the loading bay was empty.

The depot, which is usually a beehive of activities where tankers scramble for space at the parking yard, was a shadow of itself with literally no vehicular or human activity relating to operations.

$1.5bn celebration

Recall that the inauguration of the 60,000 barrel per day production capacity plant by the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, was met with celebration and fanfare. This was after $1.5bn was approved in March 2021 and spent on the rehabilitation of the facility.

During the re-opening of the facility, there was lifting of petrol to the excitement of the cheering crowd.

However, less than 10 trucks of petrol were lifted that day as against widespread claims that about 200 trucks carried petrol out of the bay.

Our correspondent also reported that no sooner had Kyari returned to Abuja than things returned to the old way, amidst allegations by stakeholders that the petrol lifted during the inauguration was old stock from the storage tank.

When our correspondent first visited the refinery three weeks ago, it was discovered that the loading bay was deserted without the lifting of products.

In response to the discovery, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria said operations were scaled down due to the calibration of meters at the loading bay and de-watering of the old stock, which had to be emptied to pave the way to receiving newly refined products.

A fortnight ago, tanker drivers drove in and started loading once again.

Journalists were also taken on a guided tour of the refinery, led by its Managing Director, Ibrahim Onoja.

Onoja stated, “The plant is running and we are trucking out our products. We have carried out an extensive revamp of this plant and changed most of the equipment.

“The pump and instrumentation, the cables are all brand new. So what we have done here is massive change and upgrade of the plant.”

Afterward, there was marked improvement as about 11 trucks lifted products, even as it was better the next day.

Back to default

However, when Saturday PUNCH visited on Thursday, it was learnt that production activities stopped one week ago.

A handful of drivers were seen sleeping in their trucks while doing nothing.

One of them, who spoke Hausa, said he learned the lifting of PMS would resume next Monday.

He, however, expressed doubt about the information as he counted the number of days with his fingers and muttered, “Three days; they said they would load on Monday.”

The number of workers and visitors could easily be counted as there were more security men clad in black trousers and blue shirts.

The guards were stationed at the entrance of the depot and the loading bay, and inside the loading bay itself. They kept themselves busy as they chatted away.

Speaking to our correspondent, another truck driver said, “It was Friday last week they loaded last. About 15 trucks or so loaded that day. Since then, not even a single truck has been loaded till now.”

Asked if any explanation was given, he replied, “I don’t know. Nobody is giving us any information or telling us anything. Some trucks that were here have left. I’m just here because my director said I should wait a bit.”

Meanwhile, a petroleum product marketer, Dappa Jubobaraye, has decried the state of refineries in the country.

Jubobaraye alleged that since Kyari inaugurated the plant, no production had taken place, pointing out that everything was just a show.

He stated, “It was intended to deceive Nigerians that the refinery is working and that is why they came up with that show. That day, only about four or five trucks loaded products.

“The loading meter was not calibrated before they started operation. Of the 18 loading arms at the bay only three are working and they have leakages. So, they have been trying to load three, four, five trucks, sometimes 10 just to show that they are working while they are not working.

“Since Mele Kyari came and left, the independent marketers have yet to load products from this depot because the NNPC is yet to fix prices for them to buy tickets and start loading products. They are only loading them to their own mega stations.

“The situation right now is that loading of PMS is not taking place because they don’t have the intention to make this place work. It is just to deceive the people.

“If you come into this place (depot), you will see trucks packed and think that loading is on; but the truth is that they are not working. Some tanker drivers have gone because they can’t come and waste time here.”

He continued, “How can you come here with the hope of loading and you stay here with your truck for two weeks, for what? Before the work stopped last week, they were loading up to 10, 15 but below 20.

“Ordinary one of the arms in the loading bay can load up to 20 to 30 trucks in a day. But for now, they are using only three arms out of the 18 loading arms inside the bay and the three are just for PMS alone. They have not started loading DPK (kerosene) and AGO (diesel). And kerosene is what concerns the ordinary more.”

Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the NNPC, Femi Soneye, were abortive as he did not take his calls or respond to a text message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.

Punch

The Kaduna Court of Appeal has ruled that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) cannot seize foreign rice from markets or highways, limiting their enforcement authority to land borders only.

The December 6 judgment, delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Ntong Ntong, upheld a lower court's decision that acquitted businessman Suleiman Mohammed of illegal rice importation charges.

The case stemmed from a 2019 incident where customs officials seized Mohammed's truck containing 613 bags of foreign rice and 80 bags of millet on the Kaduna-Zaria expressway. The federal high court initially acquitted Mohammed in 2021, ruling that customs failed to prove illegal importation and noting that foreign rice imports are only banned through land borders, not seaports.

In dismissing the NCS appeal, Justice Ntong criticized customs for targeting traders instead of actual importers, stating "How can a fowl leave to attack who killed it to pursue who is de-feathering it?" The justice emphasized that the Kaduna-Zaria expressway is not a land border and that Mohammed was merely a purchaser, not an importer.

The court ordered customs to either return the seized goods to Mohammed or pay him their current market value. This ruling effectively restricts the NCS's authority to confiscate foreign rice to land border areas only, not within domestic markets or highways.

The judgment clarifies that while importing foreign rice through land borders remains prohibited, importation through seaports is legal, and customs cannot seize such products once they are being traded in local markets.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has cracked down on counterfeit rice operations, shutting down eight illegal rice shops and a warehouse in Nasarawa state's Karu Local Government Area. The agency also seized over 1,600 bags of allegedly counterfeit rice, valued at N5 billion, from markets in Abuja's Wuse and Garki districts.

Kenneth Azikiwe, NAFDAC's FCT directorate head, revealed that the operation uncovered facilities where counterfeiters were repackaging rice in branded bags at night. The illegal operation, run by a woman from a warehouse behind her residence, would move the repackaged products to a separate warehouse during daylight hours for sale to unsuspecting consumers.

The crackdown came following direct orders from NAFDAC Director-General Mojisola Adeyeye, who mandated action to ensure only safe, quality food products would be available to Nigerians during the holiday season and beyond. Azikiwe emphasized that such counterfeiting practices are illegal and mislead consumers who believe they are purchasing quality products.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Israeli military says Yemen missile lands near Tel Aviv, 14 lightly injured, ambulance service says

The Israeli military said it failed to intercept a missile from Yemen early on Saturday that fell in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area, and the ambulance service said 14 people received mild injuries.

Paramedics were treating 14 people with minor shrapnel injuries and some were taken to hospital, the ambulance service said in a statement.

The Israeli police reported receiving reports of a fallen missile in a town in the Tel Aviv area.

The Iran-backed group Houthis in Yemen have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

On Thursday, Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen and threatened more attacks against the Yemeni group.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Putin challenges West to ‘technological duel’ with Oreshnik

Russian President Vladimir Putin has challenged Western leaders to put ther modern air defense systems up against Moscow’s new hypersonic Oreshnik missile in what would be a “technological duel.” 

During his annual end-of-year press conference on Thursday, Putin was asked to comment on opinions expressed by some foreign military experts suggesting that the Oreshnik can easily be shot down by Western missile defense systems.

“Well, if those Western experts you mentioned believe that, they should suggest to their employers in the West and the US to conduct a technological experiment. For instance, a high-tech duel of the 21st century. Let them identify a target in Kiev, concentrate all their air defense and missile defense systems there, and then we will strike it with an Oreshnik. Let’s see what happens. We are ready for such an experiment. Is the other side ready?” Putin asked.

The president explained that given the technical characteristics of the Oreshnik and the current missile defense systems deployed by the West, it would be impossible to stop the missile or its hypersonic warheads after it had been launched.

Putin suggested that the results of such a “duel” would be of great interest to both Russia and the US, whose air defense systems are currently operating in Ukraine. Putin was also asked why the Oreshnik is named the way it is, to which he confessed that he doesn’t actually know.

The Russian military carried out the first-ever combat test of the Oreshnik on November 21, using it to destroy a Ukrainian military industrial facility in Dnepr with multiple hypersonic warheads. Putin said at the time that the decision to unveil the Oreshnik was made in response to Ukraine's long-range strikes on internationally recognized Russian territory made with Western permission.

Putin had previously explained that the Oreshnik can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads, which travel at ten times the speed of sound, making it impossible for Western air-defense systems to intercept them.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Six killed in Ukrainian missile attack on Russia's Kursk region, acting governor says

Six people, including one child, were killed on Friday in a Ukrainian missile attack on the town of Rylsk in Russia's Kursk region, the acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, said.

Ten wounded people, including a 13-year-old, were taken to hospital with minor injuries, Khinshtein wrote on Telegram.

"What happened today is a huge tragedy for all of us," he said. "We grieve together with the families of the victims. No one will be left without support."

Those responsible would receive "well-deserved retribution", he said.

Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, later told a session of the Security Council that Moscow would be quick to respond to the "unambiguous move by the Kyiv regime".

"As you can well understand, our response to this targeted crime against peaceful Russian citizens will not be long in coming," he told the session.

Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the incident.

Khinshtein said Ukraine had fired U.S.-supplied HIMARS rockets, damaging several buildings including a school, recreation centre and private residences in Rylsk, some 16 miles (26 km) from the border with Ukraine's Sumy region.

An unconfirmed earlier report by the Mash Telegram channel, which is close to Russian law enforcement, put the death toll at seven.

The channel published unverified video showing damaged buildings and cars on fire in a city street.

Khinshtein, posting later on Telegram, said the attack had also disrupted heating and gas networks and work was under way to restore supplies to more than 80 residences.

Ukrainian troops still hold part of Kursk region after bursting across the border in a surprise incursion on Aug. 6. Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual press conference on Thursday that they would be expelled, but declined to set a date for when this would happen.

Khinshtein, who served as a State Duma deputy until he was appointed acting governor of Kursk by Putin earlier this month, accused Kyiv of deliberating targeting civilians in the strike.

Both Ukraine and Russia regularly accuse the other of attacking non-combatants, and both deny it.

Tensions between the warring sides have ratcheted up since Tuesday, when a top Russian general, Igor Kirillov, was killed by a bomb in Moscow. Ukraine's SBU intelligence service claimed responsibility for the assassination.

RT/Reuters

The Scratcher Girls is an unconventional relaxation therapy studio that charges clients up to $130 per hour for back-scratching and tracing services so relaxing they can put people to sleep.

Over the years, we’ve featured our share of unusual services here on Oddity Central, from renting fat people by the hour to professional cuddling and human bed warmers, so we can’t really say we were shocked about the world’s first professional back-scratching service. Founded by 55-year-old Toni George, The Scratcher Girls is the world’s first back-scratching studio and it has been offering scratching and tracing services for years. George claims that she has always enjoyed getting back scratches and one day came to the realization that she may not be the only one, so she decided to start her own back-scratching service. She has been using the 3-inch-long manicured nails to scratch people’s backs ever since, charging up to $130 per hour.

“Back scratching has always been a passion of mine since I was a little girl,” Toni George wrote on The Scratcher Girls website. “This obsession led me to paying my children for back scratches. Until this day I am still paying my grandchildren for a good ol’ back scratch.”

“One night, while sleeping, the idea of a back-scratching service came to mind and left me wondering if others would pay for this service like myself,” George added. “This epiphany left us doing lots and lots of research and here we are today as The Scratcher Girls brand.”

In case you’re wondering what professional back-scratching is all about, George claims that it is raking a scratching therapist’s nails down a client’s back, limbs, scalp and even the insides of their ears in a way that is both relaxing and euphoric. Using light scratching and tracing movements with the tips of the nails, the therapist helps the client release “endorphins such as serotonin,” and also “connect or balance energy fields”.

George recently told The New York Post that her studio charges up to $130 per hour of back-scratching, adding that the service has proven so popular – especially with the ASMR community – that she and her therapists routinely travel to major metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles or Philadelphia to see clients.

Oddity Central

Nigerian businesses anticipate further depreciation of the naira through early 2025, despite maintaining overall optimism about the macroeconomic environment, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria's November 2024 Business Expectation Survey.

While businesses expect the naira to weaken over the next three months, they project a potential recovery in the six-month outlook. This sentiment spans across all business sectors, with the construction sector showing particular optimism about its operations.

However, the survey revealed mixed economic indicators. Businesses expressed pessimism regarding several key metrics, including business activity volume, financial conditions, credit accessibility, and order volumes. Despite these concerns, companies, particularly in the agriculture sector, plan to increase hiring in December 2024.

In a separate Consumer Expectation Survey, the CBN reported that households remain pessimistic about the broader economy. Consumers anticipate rising costs in transportation, rent, vehicles, housing, and medical expenses. However, most respondents (61.1% and 57.6% respectively) believe that prices of household items, while still high, will gradually decrease over the next two months.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over the recent claim that the website of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was hacked, calling the incident “suspicious” and suggesting it could be an attempt to undermine the credibility of the agency’s data. The NBS reported on Wednesday that its website, www.nigerianstat.gov.ng, had been compromised, advising the public to disregard any information posted there until further notice. The agency’s website displayed a “Page hacked” message, with the site still unavailable as of Wednesday evening.

The alleged hack comes just a day after the NBS published its Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) for 2024, revealing alarming figures about Nigeria’s security crisis. The report indicated that 614,937 Nigerians were murdered in one year, while over 2.2 million were kidnapped. It also noted that Nigerians paid a staggering N2.23 trillion in ransom between May 2023 and April 2024. Atiku, in a statement, linked the hack to the timing of the survey’s release, suggesting that it could be an attempt to discredit the data.

“The coincidence of this so-called hack coming shortly after the release of damning stats on security is suspicious,” Atiku said, adding that the claim was part of a larger pattern of “bad tidings” under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He warned that politicizing data released by the NBS would be “counterproductive” and undermine the integrity of the statistics, which are vital for national planning, development, and research.

Atiku also expressed concern over the potential politicization of the NBS data, emphasizing that the agency’s reports should remain free from political interference. “These are strange times in Nigeria,” he said, hoping that the incident was not an underhanded attempt to tarnish the reputation of an essential public institution.