WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Airports reopen following Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Kazan

The airport in the Russian city of Kazan reopened on Saturday after temporarily closing earlier in the day following a Ukrainian drone attack, Russia's aviation watchdog said.

Russian state news agencies reported the drone attack on a residential complex and other areas in Kazan, some 500 miles (800 km) east of Moscow.

The Defence Ministry said the city had been attacked by three waves of drones between 7:40 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. (0440 and 0620 GMT). It said three drones were destroyed by air defence systems and three others by electronic warfare systems.

There were no casualties reported, agencies said, citing local authorities. The mayor of Kazan said on Telegram that all planned mass events in the city would be canceled over the weekend and that authorities would offer temporary accommodation to evacuees.

The Baza Telegram channel, which is close to Russia's security services, published unverified video footage showing an aerial object crashing into a high-rise building, producing a large fireball.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the attack, saying Ukraine was "taking out its impotent anger for real military defeats on the peaceful population of Russia".

Airports in Izhevsk, a smaller city northeast of Kazan, and Saratov, some 400 miles (650 km) south of Kazan, had also temporarily halted flight arrivals and departures, Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said via Telegram.

Restrictions at the airports were later lifted, Rosaviatsia said.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Almost 20 drones downed over four Russian regions, Black Sea last night

Overnight, air defenses downed 19 unmanned aerial vehicles in the skies over four Russian regions and the Black Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported.

"Last night, attempts by the Kiev regime to conduct terrorist attacks against facilities on Russian soil using fixed-wing UAVs were thwarted. Air defense forces on duty destroyed 19 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, including nine over the Belgorod Region, five over the Voronezh Region, three over the Black Sea, one over the Kursk Region and one over the Krasnodar Region," the ministry specified in a statement.

Reuters/Tass

The unnamed woman had just given birth to a baby five days before. Her body was still wet as Yoruba say of mothers who newly underwent the pangs of labour and delivery. Pains must still be ricocheting round her navel. Ex-Queen of the Ooni of Ife, Prophetess Naomi Silekunola, and an Ibadan-based broadcaster, Oriyomi Hamzat, had promised her and her baby free food. This was done in a blast of publicity inviting her kid and 4999 other children to a funfair. The event was slated for Islamic High School, Bashorun, a suburb of Ibadan. The organizers said it would be an unprecedented funfair of freebies never given before. Hamzat’s Agidigbo Radio, based in the capital of Oyo State, is undoubtedly the darling of the common people. It is top of the radar, traffic-wise. Hamzat popularized the medium as one that tends to the needs of the common people and discusses issues agitating their minds.

Scholars have posited that everyday matters woven round the existence of the ordinary man are sex, cheap sex, poverty, food, crime, alcohol, divorce, gambling and sexual violence. Matters that are queer, uncommon and mind-boggling, which cannot be divorced from those everyday issues, are given pride of place on Agidigbo radio. Listeners gravitate towards the radio in their multiple of thousands. It is on Agidigbo you would hear stories of a less than 20-year old lady whose pregnancy is being contested by two artisan boys. Salacious details that evoke laughter and tears ooze out of the radio. Hamzat himself, renowned for the phrase, “E bá wa gbé’nu sí mic” – kindly draw closer to the microphone – popularized that phrase. It acquired a life of its own, becoming synonymous with someone being under public scrutiny. Or one enmeshed in petty misdemeanor. It is no wonder that in the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) rating, Agidigbo is No 1 in Oyo State. So, it should be common sense that if you advertize a funfair that would give N5000 – about $3 USD – to hewers of woods and drawers of water, in this T-Pain economy of Bola Tinubu, you would get more than you bargained for. Senegalese author, Ousmane Sembène, whose 1960-written book, entitled God’s Bits of Woods, discusses the fate of these underprivileged people in details.

The unnamed woman heard or was told about the alliance by Queen Naomi and Hamzat to provide succor for her new born baby. Not minding her “wet body”, she strapped her fragile new born baby to her back and headed for Basorun. By 5am, the venue was already bursting at its seams with persons. Did some wicked people land Naomi and Hamzat in trouble spiritually? This is a question being asked in some quarters.

If Hamzat and Silekunola emerge from their current travails unscathed, they may learn to seek our Mothers’s faces in subsequent ventures. It is said that such gathering of a large crowd involving women and children are sacred and must be looked at from the lens of teleology. In his “Òṣòròmọ̀nìgà: Representations of witchcraft in Yoruba films,” (Nordic Journal of African Studies – Vol 30 No 2, 2021) Olusegun Soetan of the African Studies Department, Pennsylvania State University, venerates the place and value of witchcraftcy which he called àjẹ́ism.Òṣòròmọ̀nìgà, said the scholar, is one of the many cognomens of witches in Ifá divination systems and praise poetry. According to him, “among the many supernatural phenomena in Africa is witchcraft. (It) is both cultural and sacred, and its practices suggest that specific individuals have supernatural powers that enable them to bend physical and cosmic laws.” Known as àjẹ́ in the Yoruba society, Igbo call it amoosu while, in the Maka tradition of Cameroon, it is known as gris-gris.

Dauda Epo-Akara, a notable traditional musician, chanting the cognomen of  witches, once said that if a cook who is preparing to pound yam fails to factor the Aje into its preparation, the pounded yam would lose its taste due to a myriad pf tiny un-pounded yam specks called “kókó” that will dot it. In the same vein, said Epo Akara, any cook preparing a meal of àmàlawho fails to factor the Mothers into its preparation will have the àmàlà’s otherwise solid morsel become as watery as pap. Ulli Beier however disclaimed this widely held notion of Àjé as inaccurate. In a 1958 piece, he said Àjé “represents rather the mystic powers of womanhood in their more dangerous destructive aspect.” Perhaps, in concert with Silekunola’s Ifè palace enemies and Hamzat’s traducers in and out of the microphone, the Mothers ganged-up to do the duo in last Wednesday. After all, Ebenezer Obey, the Juju music great, once sang that those who pound evil for their fellow beings advertize no physical pestle, nor mortar – “agún’bàjé ò l’ódó”.

Sorry, I digressed. By the time the unnamed mother newly-delivered of a baby arrived Basorun, it was brimming with a never-seen-before gathering of people. Her baby later became one of the 35 people trampled to death in the scramble for food. The baby returned to its maker without being given the traditional seven-day name. The BBC, in its report of the tragedy, said the 35 children “died in a crush after thousands turned up on the promise of free food.” According to it, some people slept overnight at the school gate so as not to miss the chance to be among the first 5000 to access the free food. Many attempted to force their way through, some parents attempted to scale the fence and some mothers threw their children inside the fence while they climbed the walls. 

So, this past week, Ibadan wept. Everyone, even anyone, who was as unfeeling as to be capable of eating the barbecued bony and fleshless heads of a vulture and tortoise, must have wept with Ibadan. The agony reverberated throughout the rusty-roof city. Mothers wept uncontrollably. Tears became an infection, afflicting, at supersonic speed, eyes of anyone who heard of the tragedy. But the deed had been done. Thirty five lifeless bodies of the glory of Nigeria’s tomorrow lay in a heap. Someone showed me their gory photo. It reminds me of Palestinians’ bodies killed in airstrikes by Israel laid in a heap, waiting for the Salat al-Janazah prayer for the dead. Or hairs-peeled, disemboweled goats laid in heaps on an abattoir table by butchers. It was as if the trampled-to-death children of Ibadan were asleep. You couldn’t see death on their faces, except that life had escaped their nostrils. Mothers rolled on the dusty floor of Islamic High School’s football field where death chose to conduct its dawn raid. A few minutes after the raid; after the bodies had been taken to freeze inside the mortuary, Death’s mementoes lay on the football field. They had been abandoned in panic in the melee and now served as reminder of the human loss. They ranged from children’s sandals, torn books and cracked school desks. And gallons of tears that the greedy and unfeeling earth swallowed. Death must have sat somewhere treating himself to huge gourds of palmwine.

The lamentable deaths of children in Ibadan have since been enveloped by politics and doublespeak. Yes, there was acute negligence on the part of the organizers of the children's funfair event. From tissues of information available, not only didn’t they seek government’s permission, safety measures were cavalierly or nil-observed. Their defence that they expected 5000 children but at conservative estimate, between 7500 and 10,000 children and parents attended, was wonky.

Among others, President Bola Tinubu, according to his media chief, “expressed sadness over the tragic incident” as usual, “extended his condolences” and cried that “this is a deeply painful moment for the entire nation.” He said he was “determined to prevent similar tragedies” and “uncover the truth behind this tragedy as “It is imperative to determine whether negligence or deliberate actions were involved” because “Our children’s safety and well-being remain paramount” and “No event should ever compromise their safety or take precedence over their lives.” Bla bla bla.

But, as my people say, until the lion kills the Chief Hunter, the war between hunters and the crew in the wild cannot end; nor can the dance come to a halt until the donkey farts. If Tinubu does not focus on bettering the lives of Nigerians but chooses, at the drop of a hat, to jump on a vacuous globetrotting and aimless junketing in the name of seeking non-existent investors, more Nigerians will come to grief. Shorn of politics and hypocritical talk, let us tell Tinubu to his face that he is vicariously liable for the death of the Ibadan 35 kids. His accomplices are those glib-talking aides and party buffs who deodorize the pains of Nigerians in the last 19 months, decorating sufferings in beautifully sounding reform epithets.

As I have said ceaselessly, while the Tinubu government claims the president is on a reform binge, he has succeeded in killing multiple of hundreds of our countrymen and sent hundreds others into the streets. Ravaged by depression, they whisper to space as they occupy a world of their own. Thousands die for inability to procure drugs for simple ailments. Many families and homes are embroiled in social crises as a result of a huge emasculation of their husbands, breadwinners’ manhood. Wives are lured into prostitution due to their husbands’ economic dis-masculinity. Children meet their waterloo in the process of augmenting their parents’ meager daily breads. Yes, reforms, all over the world, are painful exercises but Tinubu’s isn’t merely painful, it is cruel and bears the visor of Dracula. Yet, the reformists wallop in ostentation, mindless and Satanic corruption and flaunt their loots in our faces.

The dusts of trampled bodies in Ibadan had hardly settled than Nigeria witnessed similar stampedes this weekend. They happened during food distributions, leading to the deaths of at least 30 people on Saturday. While 20 people reportedly got killed in Okija, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra state, ten others died at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama area of Abuja. Handled by individual and private institutions at both venues, the food distributions suddenly went awry when hungry would-be beneficiaries began to trample on one another. In March of this year, a similar stampede happened in Bauchi State which claimed the lives of an eight-year old girl and six other people. Like the Ibadan tragedy, the victims, alongside others, had stormed the house of a businessman who invited residents to collect N5,000. In October of this year, 153 people got burnt to ashes while they were scooping fuel from an overturned fuel tanker which exploded. The tanker had been coming from Kano State and heading towards Nguru when it overturned. Granted that Nigerians are used to a life of freebies no matter the risks that ensconce those freebies, Nigeria’s grueling economic realities have quadrupled the number of Nigerians who would take risk without considering its downsides. No sermonization of fair play, decency or normalcy can penetrate the deaf ears of the hungry.

Thus, when Tinubu and his minders try to push the blame of last Wednesday’s tragedy in Ibadan and the ones in Abuja and Anambra State to “crowd control breakdown” and vowing to avert similar tragedies, they look at the ailment and not its root cause. There will be many of such tragedies to come unless Tinubu stands up from his fanny and administers Nigeria like a committed leader.

In the midst of this, all Tinubu’s APC is bothered about is winning elections. While the bodies of the 35 dead were in the morgue in Ibadan, on a visit to the party’s National Working Committee in Abuja, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, called on the National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, to replicate the party’s recent electoral banditry in Edo and Ondo States as blueprint to reclaim Oyo State. Ganduje himself, like a skunk-drunk sailor, had said his party would create chaos in Osun and Oyo states to snatch and run with the states. Trust politicians, they think not about lives but the next election.

If Tinubu needed to hear – and per chance is bothered – these calamities, in the words of Bob Marley, are becoming a natural mystic that is associated with excruciating hunger and suffering. Both were brought on hapless Nigerians by the Tinubu government. “Many more will have to suffer; many more will have to die,” Marley warned. You can shawl the abdication of responsibility by the government in beautifully-sounding reform language. The truth is, figuratively speaking, this government’s inhuman reform gambling, which my people call “èyí je, èyí ò je,” is the culprit. It was what served the 35 innocent Nigerian kids in Ibadan, as well as the countrymen who died in stampede in Abuja and Okija, as Christmas season meal to be devoured by the incisors of the rapacious Death.

I wish you a merry and prosperous Christmas, longsuffering people of Nigeria, in the midst of this parlous season.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth ~ John 1:14.

Preamble:

Glory to God in the highest! The spirit of the Yuletide is very much evident all around us. It behoves us, therefore, tocontemplate the glory of the Lord’s incarnation, its radiance in the face of Jesus Christ, and its all-time significance to all humanity worldwide.

Whenever we think of the Christmas story, we always remember that unusual event that occurred in Bethlehem Judaea over 2000 years ago (Matthew 2:1-23). That’s absolutely remarkable!

Indeed, it’s worthy of high note that angels heralded the event, and actually sang to rejoice with men on that occasion (Luke 2:1-20). Even stars trekked to announce the Saviour’s birth and to give direction to the holy location where it happened.

However, the quintessential note is that Jesus Christ, who is the heart of the story, actually preceded Bethlehem. He’s the eternal King of the most sacred honour, who denied Himself the glories of heaven to seek and to save us (Luke 19:10).

We will certainly meet Him closer in this discourse, but at this point we would like to define some terms, viz, “behold” and “glory”.

To behold means “to see”, “to gaze or give a closer attention to”, “to contemplate”, “to look at intensely, thoroughly and thoughtfully”. That is pretty straightforward, but the other word, glory, is not exactly so.

The word, glory, does not lend itself to any easy definition because it manifests itself in different dimensions to different people. Particularly so, defining the glory of God is like an impossible task. God is in a class by Himself. He has infinite perfections, infinite greatness and infinite worth.

Notwithstanding, the original connotations of the word, “glory”includes: “brightness”, “clearness”, and “effulgence of splendour”. Glory conveys the idea of a physical manifestation of the state of high dignity, preeminence or majesty. It also signifies honor, renown, reverence, adoration, and worship, and it describes that which is worthy of confidence and trust.

Meanwhile, the Apostle Paul hints that glory comes in “weights” (2Corinthians 4:17). Everything carries varying “weights” of glory: sun, moon, stars, and houses, certificates, words, etcetera(1Corinthians 15:41). Succinctly, glory speaks to the true significance, nature or attribute of a thing.

Flowing from these above, we can safely summarize that God’s glory reflects His weight, His indescribable power and His unfathomable majesty. It describes the form in which He manifests His presence to His people. Jonathan Edwards said, “the glory of God is the weight of all that He is to us".

Happily, as children of God, we’re enabled to behold His glory. When John the beloved said, “we beheld His glory,”he was actually giving an eyewitness account of his personal encounter with Jesus (1John 1:1). Remember the majestic incident of Christ’s transfiguration (Matthew 17:2).

John Piper rightly noted that the Lord’s glory is “the going public of His holiness”. Nevertheless, the dimensions of the Lord’s glory in our individual experiences depend largely on how much time, attention, devotion and earnestness we are ready to spend in His presence to “behold” His glory.

To be sure, whenever we rightly behold His glory, there will be something to see, learn and have!

What Do We See When We Behold The Lord’s Glory?

The mystery that John unraveled in John 1:14 was that we can now see the glory of God in Jesus Christ! Paul also corroborated this in his second letter to the Corinthians when he said we can behold the glory of God “in the face of Jesus Christ”  (2Corinthians 4:6).

Undoubtedly, Jesus Christ is the absolute revelation of God in human form (John 1:14)! In the divine glory, we see the beauty of Christ for Whom He is! The totality of God's glory is found in Him (Colossians 2:9).

What Do We Learn When We Behold the Lord’s Glory?

The first thing that strikes us most vividly when we contemplate the Lord’s glory is the depth of God's love for us (John 3:16).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). That takes us back to the creation story: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

We can see here the eternal nature of Jesus Christ! He has always been and will always be. Jesus Himself is God: “…the Word was God”. Through Him all things were made.

Jesus, the Word, is the very message of God to humanity. He is the Light that spoke light into being (Genesis 1:3; Matthew 5:14). His glory is the authority and power that dispel darkness. Albeit, with all His majesty and excellency, He condescended, became man, and moved to our neighborhood to dwell with us!

Jesus' humility is nonpareil, and His incarnation a grand miracle of love (Philippians 2:5-11)! C.S. Lewis wrote: “He who is beyond all space and time, the uncreated, eternal God came into nature, into human nature, descended into his own universe, and rose again, bringing nature up with him”. What a matchless love indeed!

The most incredible dimension of this love is the fact that this King of glory now dwells in God’s children (Colossians 1:27). Thus, we must be “God-inside conscious”, and our manifest joy of Christmas must inclose the reality that the headquarters of the universe is inside us.

Furthermore, beholding the Lord’s gloryreveals the true character of God: "We beheld his glory ….. full of grace and truth". The nature and the character of God are fully displayed in the person of Jesus Christ (John 14:6-7, 30; 2Corinthians 5:21).

Again, carefully beholding the Lord’s glory reveals His marvelous grace! Moses earnestly desired to see God’s glory. Thereafter, the Lord passed by him and proclaimed His grace, faithfulness and mercy (Exodus 34:1-6).

In this same manner, the abounding love of God, His grace and goodness are revealed to humanity in the face of Jesus Christ today.

What Do We Have When We Behold the Lord’s Glory?

Transformation is the first present we receive in the Lord’s presence. Beholding God's glory transforms people into His image, and it grows them to be more like Jesus (2Corinthians 3:18; 5:17). In addition, those who crave to behold God's glory enjoy His goodness (Exodus 33:18-21).

Moses prayed, "Show me your glory."And the Lord answered, "I will make all of my goodness to pass before thee…"God’s glory is most articulated in His goodness that human beings enjoy today (James 1:17).

Most significantly, those who behold the Lord’s glory, and receive Him by faith, enjoy His gift of salvation (John 1:12).Whereas sin separated man from God, grace has now appeared to qualify us for a sweet fellowship with Him (Titus 2:11-14).

Where grace and truth meet, there you meet Jesus. There’s nothing more grace-filled, and nothing more truth-filled than the good news that the Saviour was born, and He’s even here with us!

Meanwhile, the Lord’s glory can only be spiritually discerned (1Corinthians 2:14). Whenever we do, we enjoy the beauties of His matchless love, tenderness, wisdom, purity, holiness, spirituality, meekness, power, riches and majesty.

Beloved, the Christmas story isn't about what we can do to get to God, but about what God has done to get to us, tabernacle with us, make His glory known to us and draw us closer to Himself. His love is lofty, rich, andwonderful. You won’t miss it this season, in Jesus name. 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

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.

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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