On the evening of 5 April 2012, the prime-time bulletin on the television news of the Malawi Broacasting Corporation (MBC), announced to the country that the president, Ngwazi Professor Bingu wa Mutharika, “had…taken ill and had been flown to South Africa for specialist treatment.” At another end of the capital city, Lilongwe, a presidential convoy was on its way to the Kamuzu International Airport (KIA), where an air ambulance awaited with instructions to fly a president who was supposedly alive but unwell to South Africa.

Earlier in the day, around 11:00 in the morning, Ngwazi Bingu had collapsed while receiving in audience the Member of Parliament representing the south-east constituency of the capital city, Lilongwe, Agnes Penemulungu. The judicial commission of inquiry which later investigated what transpired thereafter, received evidence which showed quite clearly that the presidential court had not prepared nor practiced for the possibility of a life-and-death emergency involving the president. Elton Singini, a senior judge, chaired the inquiry.

The commission of inquiry established as a fact that the president died earlier in the day inside the ambulance en route to Kamuzu Central Hospital in the capital city. According to the inquiry report, “the President was brought in dead (BID) at Kamuzu Central Hospital [KCH] at around 11.25 in the morning” of 5 April.

At the time of the news bulletin announcing that he was to be flown to South Africa later on the same day, Bingu had been dead for over eight hours. Despite being aware of this, the presidential retinue instructed staff at the hospital to apply cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the presidential remains for over two hours. In the process, they crushed his rib-cage.

More was to follow. At the airport, the air ambulance pilots from South Africa declined to board the body, citing the fact that their permission was to fly with a patient not a dead body. High level conversations ensued between Lilongwe and Pretoria. It may have helped and was certainly relevant that Malawi’s Foreign Minister at the time was Peter Mutharika, Bingu’s younger brother who was also intent on stepping into the shoes of his just deceased brother. Peter needed time to set the wheels in motion to leap-frog Vice-President Joyce Banda in the succession stakes.

South Africa’s President, Jacob Zuma, who had retired for the day had to be woken up to personally authorise the flight. Shortly after midnight on 6 April 2012, the air ambulance took off for South Africa. In Malawi, the people were told their president was headed to South Africa for medical attention. In South Africa, the authorities knew that the air ambulance on its way from Lilongwe would arrive with the dead body of Malawi’s president. Shortly after 02:30 a.m. on 6 April, the aircraft landed at South Africa’s National Defence Force (SANDF) Waterkloof Airbase on the outskirts of Pretoria. From there, the dead body was transferred to a mortuary.

The authors of all this malign chicanery designed to deceive the people of Malawi, however forgot to also notify the processes of bio-chemistry. By the time the body arrived the morgue in South Africa, it had been “in the open without refrigeration for about 18 hours after death.” As a result, the very important and high profile invitees to the state funeral of Bingu, which took place on 23 April, 2012, had to endure the uncomfortable company of flies, as well as the majestic fragrance of human putrefaction. As the report of the Elton Singini Commission of Inquiry recorded, “the body had started decomposing as evidenced by the smell and a few flies hovering around.”

Four years earlier, in August 2008, Levy Mwanawasa, the president of neighbouring Zambia, died in a military hospital near Paris in France. While attending the summit of the African Union in Cairo, Egypt, on 29 June 2008, Mwanawasa had collapsed following what was later understood to be an aneurysm (stroke). He was stabilised there before being transferred to France, where he died two months later. At his death, it came out that two years earlier, during his first term as president in 2006, Mwanawasa had suffered an earlier stroke. For that, he received extended treatment in the United Kingdom. No one told Zambians.

The year after the death of Mwanawasa, in June 2009, Omar Bongo, who had ruled Gabon for 41 years, died in a hospital in Spain. When he left Libreville at the beginning of the previous month, his compatriots believed that their president, the doyen and favourite of France Afrique, was away on a working visit – a phrase all too familiar to Nigerians – to his favourite haunts in Europe. At his death, it emerged that more than one month before his death, President Bongo had been hospitalised for cancer treatment in Spain.

President Bongo was not the last long-serving African president to die in Spain. On 8 July 2022, former Angolan president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, died also there after prolonged cancer treatment. Following his death, a family crisis broke out over his funeral, which delayed the repatriation of his remains to Luanda for more than one month. Six weeks after his death, in the third week of August 2022, a judge in Spain finally authorised the return of the body of dos Santos to Angola for burial.

When he departed Nigeria on 2 April, the presidency in Abuja issued a statement claiming that Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president, was off to France on a “short working visit”, during which he would “retreat to review the progress of ongoing reforms and engage in strategic planning ahead of his administration’s second anniversary.” They barely stopped short of telling Nigerians that their president was headed to Lourdes for the grace of its historic apparitions. Tinubu is a Muslim; it was in the middle of the Christian season of Lent and no one had apparently bothered to advise him or his image makers that it is usually Christians who undertake two week-long retreats in the middle of this season.

The day after the end of the initially announced 14 days, the same presidential retinue disclosed that the president had relocated from France to the United Kingdom, from where he was doing an excellent job as Nigeria’s president in Europe.

The evidence seems inescapable that Tinubu has significant health challenges and needs regular medical attention from doctors overseas. For this, his destination of choice is clearly France. In 22 months as president, Tinubu has made at least eight trips to the country under different guises, for a cumulative period of over 60 days.

While he’s been away this time, hundreds – if not more – have been killed in massacres in different parts of Nigeria. As president, Tinubu is also the commander-in-chief of Nigeria’s armed and security forces. Yet, from Europe, he is reported to be passing the buck to state governors to do that which only he has the tools to accomplish under Nigeria’s constitution.

Excluding the five years and three months of the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan, from February 2010 to May 2015, Nigeria has had a presidency in near-permanent occupancy of sanatoriums overseas for 15 years. The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which Tinubu led, was aggressively voluble in asking for candour on the health status of a terminally ill President Umaru Yar’Adua. After going into marriage with Muhammadu Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to create All Progressives Congress (APC), it made a virtue of unlooking when Buhari took up residence in foreign hospitals for much of his presidency.

It should be no news that a man of Tinubu’s age is unwell. Those invested in concealing that reality from Nigerians are more interested in protecting their present perquisites than in the wellbeing of their principal or of the country.

The presidency is more than just an office. For those around the occupant of the office, it also means money, power, and privilege. To preserve it, most people in and around the presidency take liberties, sometimes, even with the wellbeing of their principal or with accountability to the people in whose name he holds office. For the country and even for the president, the wages of this interminable subterfuge are prohibitive.

** Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a professor of law, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and can be reached through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Scott S. Powell Across cultures throughout human history, people have sought to flee oppression and escape persecution. A recurring theme in Western literature and in modern classics such as Superman and Disney originals, which revolve around the struggle between good and evil, is the need and critical role for a rescuer or savior. Easter is the celebration of the finished work of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the ultimate rescuer and savior for mankind, who sacrificed his life to provide forgiveness of sin — enabling all who believe in Christ to have a direct relationship with God. That no other religion makes the claim that it was founded by a messiah makes Jesus the most revolutionary figure of human history. Still, some assume Christianity is like other religions that require followers to perform certain works and rituals acceptable to God. Not so with Jesus, for he implores us in Matthew 11:30, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When a learned Jewish Pharisee, whose life required living up to stressful “dos and don’ts” of the Mosaic law, asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus answered simply that if we love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, we will have fulfilled all the laws. Christ is absolutely unique in other ways. First, he is the only Person in history who was pre-announced starting a thousand years before he was born, with eighteen different prophets between the 10th and the 4th centuries B.C. predicting his coming birth, life, and death. Hundreds of years later, the details of Christ’s coming birth, life, betrayal, and manner of death validated those prophecies in surprisingly accurate and minute detail. One thousand years before Christ, David prophetically wrote about the crucifixion of Christ, at a time when crucifixion was unknown as a means of execution. The death of other religious leaders — such as Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Muhammad, and Confucius — brought anticlimactic endings to their lives and work. But Christ came into the world as God’s son to die and pay the price for man’s iniquity. His sacrifice was the ultimate climax of his life, done for the benefit of mankind — opening the way, for all who believe — to earthly fulfillment and certain joyful afterlife. The essence of Easter’s celebration of the resurrection is that Christianity’s founder, Jesus, is still alive, having overcome death. No Jew ever believed that, after Abraham died and was interred, his tomb ever became empty. After Buddha died, no disciple ever claimed that he saw or spoke to him again. As for Muhammed and his teachings that are the basis of Islam, he never appeared to his followers after he had died at age 62. His occupied tomb, located in Medina, is visited by tens of thousands of devout Muslims every year. The “seeing is believing” evidence of God’s power and love is that Jesus was brought back from being dead in a tomb to being alive — resurrected — so that people would have living proof of who he was. The New Testament provides accounts from multiple sources who witnessed Jesus firsthand after the resurrection. Jesus made 10 separate appearances to his disciples between the resurrection and his ascension into heaven — a period of 40 days. Those appearances were to individual disciples, several disciples at the same time, and once to 500 people at one time. It is noteworthy that there were no accounts or witnesses who came forth and disputed these appearances, or called it a “hoax” — not even one. Nor is there any record of any witness accounts that were contradictory. Skeptics of the biblical account of Jesus must come to terms with the fact that there is more reliable historical evidence for his life, teachings, miracles, death, and resurrection than there is evidence for any other historical figure of ancient times. Consider for instance that the authenticity of Alexander the Great, who was born some 350 years before Christ, is based on two original biographical accounts of his life by Arrian and Plutarch, which were written some 400 years after Alexander died. The manuscripts of Virgil and Horace, both of whom lived within a generation of Christ, were written more than four centuries after their deaths. Yet no one doubts Virgil and Horace lived and authored great poetic masterpieces. Similarly, the historical record of Alexander the Great is unquestioned. The reliability of ancient history is determined by three variables: the number of eye-witness accounts, the lapse of time between eye-witness accounts and the written record, and the number of surviving manuscripts of that written record.      Looking at that big picture, there are about 1,000 times more manuscripts preserving the deeds and teaching of Jesus in the New Testament (about 25,000) than there are preserving other classical ancient works of historic figures who lived at approximately the same time, with the exception of Homer, whose Iliad is backed by 1,800 manuscripts. But that is still less than one-tenth the number of ancient manuscripts that back the authenticity of Jesus’ life recorded in the New Testament. We know the historical Jesus through four different accounts known as the Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — not written hundreds of years later, but within a generation or two of Jesus’s life. Apostles Matthew and John provide eyewitness accounts from their years of walking with Jesus as disciples. Mark also had eyewitness experience, although he was likely only a teenager during the public ministry of Jesus. Luke, the doctor, learned about Jesus from his friend Paul, the apostle who wrote most of the letters of the New Testament. Because of their experience with the resurrected Jesus, the apostles were in a unique position, knowing with certainty that Jesus was truly the Son of God. They had witnessed the unparalleled love, profound teachings, miracles, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If the claims about Jesus were a lie, the apostles would have known it. That is why their commitment to their testimony was so powerful and compelling. Additionally, the apostles’ willingness to die for their claims has tremendous evidentiary value — and confirms the truth of the resurrection. No one will die for something they know is contrived or false. Seeing, talking to, and touching the risen Jesus transformed the apostles, who then committed the rest of their lives to sharing the message of salvation through Christ. The historical record suggests that, apart from John (who was banished to the island of Patmos for his testimony of Jesus), the other eleven apostles — including Matthias, who replaced Judas, the betrayer of Jesus — died as martyrs for their beliefs in the divinity of Christ. It turns out that Easter, which has its ultimate meaning through the resurrection, is one of ancient history’s most scrutinized and best attested events. Easter is the commemoration and celebration of the single event that transformed the world forever. The Federalist

Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has called on President Bola Tinubu to abandon any plans for re-election, citing Nigeria’s worsening economic crisis and insecurity under his administration. Baba-Ahmed argues that Tinubu’s policies have failed to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians, making his 2027 bid untenable.

Speaking on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’ on Friday, Baba-Ahmed stated that the signs of Tinubu’s impending electoral defeat are unmistakable. He urged the president to recognize the growing discontent among Nigerians and step aside.

“I expect Tinubu to throw in the towel if he is that smart politician,” Baba-Ahmed said. “Everything is there for him to see—he’s going to lose in 2027. There are two possible candidates I cannot mention who will be his nemesis. His time has come.”

Baba-Ahmed criticized the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing former President Muhammadu Buhari of failing to deliver development, security, or anti-corruption efforts—a legacy he claims Tinubu is continuing.

“Buhari did not fight corruption. Neither will Tinubu ever do this,”he said. “Nigerians are suffering, and they are beginning to wake up. If this democracy cannot work for the people, then bad leaders will have no hiding place. We must heal this nation, recover, and unite as brothers and sisters.”

Tinubu’s Camp Responds with Defiance

In response, Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, dismissed Baba-Ahmed’s remarks as “flawed, devoid of reason, and empty.”

Dare insisted that Tinubu’s economic reforms—despite widespread hardship—are yielding results, citing IMF approval as evidence. He argued that performance, not “armchair theories,” will secure Tinubu’s re-election.

“Politics is not for theorists or the faint-hearted,” Dare said. “Tinubu will win comfortably in 2027 because his tough choices are already improving the economy.”

A Nation at a Crossroads

As Nigeria grapples with soaring inflation, unemployment, and insecurity, Baba-Ahmed’s critique resonates with many frustrated citizens. While Tinubu’s allies remain confident, the Labour Party stalwart insists that Nigerians are ready for change—and that 2027 will be their chance to demand it.

“Their time is up,” Baba-Ahmed declared. “The people will decide.”

Former Minister of Defence, Retired General TY Danjuma, has renewed his call for Nigerians to take proactive steps in defending themselves, warning that the country’s security crisis cannot be resolved by the government alone.

Speaking during an Easter gathering held in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State to appreciate his staff, partners, and affiliated companies, Danjuma stressed that the rising tide of violence from bandits and terrorists demands a collective response.

“If our people do not stand up and defend themselves, bandits and terrorists will take over our society,” Danjuma warned, urging citizens to adopt self-defence measures as a vital strategy in safeguarding their communities.

The elder statesman highlighted citizen self-defence as insecurity deepens in Nigeria and emphasised that preparedness is key to preventing the complete breakdown of social order.

The Guardian

Israel's Netanyahu says military to increase pressure on Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday he had instructed the military to intensify pressure on Hamas after the Palestinian militant group this week rejected an Israeli proposal for another temporary truce, instead demanding a deal to end the war in exchange for the release of hostages.

In a late-night televised address, Netanyahu said that while war came with a heavy price, Israel had "no choice but to continue fighting for our very existence, until victory."

Egyptian mediators have been working to restore the ceasefire, which Israel abandoned last month after seeking to extend a temporary truce that had seen 38 hostages released.

Hamas, whose militants carried out the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, has said it would only free the remaining hostages under a deal that ends the war.

Earlier on Saturday, Hamas said that it had recovered the body of a guard killed in an Israeli air strike this week and who was holding Edan Alexander, an Israeli dual national soldier believed to be the last American citizen held alive in Gaza.

The fate of Alexander was unknown, Hamas said. Netanyahu did not mention Alexander in his remarks.

Israel has pounded Gaza with air strikes since the ceasefire collapsed. Palestinian health authorities said at least 50 Palestinians had been killed in strikes on Saturday.

President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff said in March that freeing Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native who was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, was a "top priority". His release was at the centre of talks held between Hamas leaders and U.S. negotiator Adam Boehler last month.

Hamas had said on Tuesday that it had lost contact with the militants holding Alexander after their location was hit in an Israeli attack.

Fifty-nine hostages are still held in Gaza, fewer than half of them are believed to be still alive.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson had no comment on the status of Alexander, but reiterated that Hamas must immediately release him and all remaining hostages, and that the militant group "bears sole responsibility for the war, and for the resumption of hostilities."

Israel put Gaza under a total blockade in March and restarted its assault on March 18 after talks failed to extend the ceasefire. Hamas says it will free remaining hostages only under an agreement that permanently ends the war; Israel says it will agree only to a temporary pause.

Since renewing its attacks, Israel has seized swathes of Gaza and ordered hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate in what Palestinians fear is a step towards permanently depopulating swathes of land. The Gaza health ministry says 1,600 people have been killed in the past month.

Palestinian health officials said the military had escalated its strikes across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 92 people in the past 48 hours, at least 50 of them on Saturday.

On Friday, the Israeli military said it hit about 40 targets across the enclave over the past day. The military on Saturday announced that a 35-year-old soldier had died in combat in Gaza.

US-IRAN TALKS

Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas' Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.

He dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing "impossible conditions".

Netanyahu spoke after a second indirect meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials where the sides agreed to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal.

Oman, which is mediating between the countries, stated that discussions aim to reach a binding agreement ensuring Iran is completely free of nuclear weapons and sanctions, while maintaining its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy.

In his televised address, Netanyahu said he was committed to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Hamas on Saturday also released an undated and edited video of Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot. Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda.

After the video was released, Bohbot's family said in a statement that they were "deeply shocked and devastated," and expressed concern for his mental and physical condition.

"How much longer will he be expected to wait and 'stay strong'?" the family asked, urging for all of the 59 hostages who are still held in Gaza to be brought home.

The war was triggered by Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel in 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to local health authorities.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Putin announces temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in his country’s war with Ukraine, the Kremlin said Saturday.

The war has raged for more than three years and cost the lives of tens of thousands of people on both sides. 

"Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 to 00:00 from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce,’" Putin said in a video posted by the Russian ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"I order that all military actions be stopped for this period."

In the video, Putin is joined by Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

The move appeared to be scoffed at by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who said shortly after the announcement that air raid alerts were ringing out across Ukraine.

"As for yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives—at this moment, air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine," Zelenskyy wrote on X while giving an update on troop positions. It wasn’t entirely clear if he was addressing the truce.

"At 17:15, Russian attack drones were detected in our skies. Ukrainian air defense and aviation have already begun working to protect us. Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life."

Zelenskyy wrote that Ukrainian forces were battling in the Kursk region and holding their positions. 

"In the Belgorod region, our warriors have advanced and expanded our zone of control," he wrote.

Russia’s Defense Ministry, however, said its forces pushed Ukrainian troopsfrom one of their last remaining footholds in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops staged a surprise incursion last year.

He later added that Russia had "ignored" the United States' proposal for a 30-day truce after Ukraine "responded positively."

"If Russia is now suddenly ready to truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly — mirroring Russia’s actions," Zelenskyy said. "Silence in response to silence, defensive strikes in response to attacks."

He said if an Easter ceasefire actually takes hold, he proposes extending it longer. "That is what will reveal Russia’s true intentions — because 30 hours is enough to make headlines, but not for genuine confidence-building measures," he said. "Thirty days could give peace a chance."

He added, "As of now, according to the Commander-in-Chief reports, Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided. Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow. We know all too well how Moscow manipulates, and we are prepared for anything. Ukraine’s Defense Forces will act rationally — responding in kind. Every Russian strike will be met with an appropriate response."

The temporary ceasefire comes after President Donald Trump on Thursday said an 80-page minerals deal will be signed with Ukraine in one week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later amended that it would likely be signed on April 26. 

Details on the agreement still remain relatively unknown, though recent reporting by Bloomberg has suggested the U.S. has eased back its demands of repayment for its aid in Ukraine’s fight against Russia from $300 billion to $100 billion. 

On Friday, Trump said the U.S. will "just take a pass" at peace efforts for Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to agree to ceasefire terms. 

"If for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say 'you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're going to just take a pass," Trump told reporters. "But hopefully we won't have to do that."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine again violated US-brokered energy ceasefire – Russian MOD

The Ukrainian military has targeted power lines and a gas pipeline in several Russian regions, again violating a US-mediated moratorium on such strikes, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has claimed.

Moscow and Kiev agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days following a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on March 18.

In a statement on Saturday, the Defense Ministry said that the “Kiev regime continues unilateral attacks on Russian energy infrastructure,” reporting ten such strikes within the past 24 hours alone.

According to officials in Moscow, Ukrainian attacks damaged a power line and a gas conduit in Belgorod Region, with six more instances, mostly involving Ukrainian drones, reported in neighboring Bryansk Region, where power lines and several substations also sustained damage.

On top of that, Ukrainian shelling damaged a power line in the Donetsk People’s Republic and a substation in Kherson Region during the same period.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the “month [of moratorium] has indeed expired,” adding that “as of this moment, there have been no other instructions from the supreme commander-in-chief, President Putin.”

The official stated that Moscow viewed the US-brokered initiative positively and acknowledged “certain progress” despite Kiev’s violations.

”The Russian Federation adhered to this moratorium, which cannot be said about the Ukrainian side,” Peskov told reporters.

Since March 18, the Russian Defense Ministry has on multiple occasions accused Kiev’s forces of violating the partial ceasefire concerning energy infrastructure, while Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has maintained that Kiev’s forces have abided by the moratorium.

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter truce effective from 18:00 Moscow time through midnight on April 21.

While he expressed hope that Ukraine would reciprocate, he also said that the “Kiev regime has violated the agreement on pausing energy infrastructure strikes more than a hundred times.”

Putin stated that Ukraine’s reaction to the ceasefire would be a clear indicator of whether Kiev is sincerely willing to engage in negotiations to end the conflict, adding that “[Russian] troops must be prepared to respond to any violations or provocations.”

Fox News/RT

In July 2005, I was aboard an Egypt Air flight from Cairo to Lagos on my way from Saudi Arabia. As we approached the Nigerian air space, the pilot announced that we would be landing in Kano because the Lagos airport had been closed. An airplane had crash-landed and blocked the only runway at the time, leading to the diversion of flights. I found it unsettling as I had meetings to attend and I was unsure of when we would leave Kano. But as we were lamenting over the situation, one passenger said at the top of his voice: “Why will Nigeria not be like this when the country is perpetrating injustice against us in the Niger Delta? Nigeria can never develop until we have resource control!”

That was quite a jump. Some of us were shell-shocked. What is the logical link between Nigeria’s underdevelopment and closure of a runway to evacuate a damaged aircraft? Such accidents can happen anywhere in the world — resource control or not, “true” federalism or not, “fiscal” federalism or not, “restructuring” or not. On the flight, we had been discussing Nigeria’s issues in good spirit. Passengers from different parts of Nigeria agreed that we were bedevilled with serious problems — many blaming the leaders, some blaming the followers, and others attributing the situation to structural issues, but our Niger Delta compatriot completely went off the rails.

It is quite obvious that lack of logical reasoning is a major issue in Nigeria, particularly in matters of social order, public discourse and public administration. At the risk of exaggerating this, I would say it is impacting negatively on our quality of life. Have you ever seen signs of “do not urinate here” in a city where there are no public toilets? Have you ever seen someone on a flight trying to force a rectangular suitcase into a square space? Have you ever visited a website with an image showing only the tie and breast pockets of the featured person because a portrait-size picture has been placed in a landscape space? These are clear indications that something is wrong with our thinking.

My friend, David Adeoye, and I always find ourselves discussing Nigeria during our early morning exercise. We try to reason together on our root problems. I would say this article was largely influenced by his suggestion that we need to amend our elementary curriculum to start teaching logical reasoning at that level. Most students do not progress beyond elementary education. David is of the opinion that our problem-solving capability will improve if we are given to logical reasoning earlier in our lives. It may be of interest here that European countries as well as South Korea and Japan teach critical thinking and logical reasoning into their curricula. The difference is clear.

Talking about good governance, we also see that logical reasoning is critical to problem solving. It is vital to policy making. More than anything else, our leaders need to understand logic. When a governor, for instance, wakes up and says he is banning open grazing, the first question I would ask is: so, have you provided the alternative? The easiest thing for a leader to do in the world is to make a pronouncement. The harder part of the job is analysing and preparing for the consequences of the pronouncement. When you want to initiate a policy, you need to sit down, think through it, consult, calculate the costs and plan transition management. That is the logic of a smart problem solver.

How can we tackle insecurity if we do not shut the factory producing bandits, kidnappers, terrorists, robbers, etc? We can budget $10 billion to buy weapons all we like but for as long as children are not going to school and those who go to school end up jobless and idle, the production line for the crimes will remain active. Rather than address the foundations of these endemic issues by applying sound logic to policy making, we are more interested in sleazy and phoney contract awards. And in the warped logic of those milking the system, the money they have made will buy them personal security. They are not asking themselves: how come their mansions in London do not have a fence?

The Lagos house of assembly has asked the state government to enforce the tenancy law which prohibits “unreasonable” rent hikes. “Excessive increment of rents by landlords in Lagos state has led to increase in homelessness,” one member said. “Rents in my constituency have spiked by as much as 200 percent,” another added. Their ultimate solution? Enforcement of rent law in a state with massive housing deficit! Nothing about government building affordable housing estates (as Lateef Jakande did in the 1980s), nothing about removing the heavy levies on new constructions, nothing about incentives for private investment. Let’s just enforce the law and rents will crash!

In the area of social order, when Nigerian motorists do certain things on the road — such as parking at a junction or overtaking at a bend — my instinct is to think they are selfish and reckless. But the problem may be deeper. How many motorists actually reason that parking at a junction narrows the space for others to turn? How many motorists reason that when they overtake at a bend, they are unsighted and can run into an oncoming vehicle? They may indeed be selfish or reckless but their thinking faculties also need to be inspected. Some road users just do not have the capacity to think or to anticipate danger. Only God knows how many lives are lost daily because of this poor thinking.

The CBEX catastrophe is yet another scam in our long history of “wonder banks”. I grew up hearing about “money doublers” who would help you turn N10 to N20. The police used to warn us that if the man could truly double the money, he wouldn’t be in that business. He would just be at home doubling money for himself. This scam was modernised by fraudsters masquerading as bankers and investment managers. Is it easy to turn $1,000 to $2,000? You can blame our greed and get-rich-quick mentality for the success of the fraudsters, but we also abandon our brains and fall victim. Our decision-making is ruled by emotions rather than wisdom. Judgment is inevitably often lacking.

Finally, it is not just social order and public administration that are devoid of logical reasoning in Nigeria. Public discourse is starved of this cognitive power. Watch the TV, listen to the radio, read the newspapers and go through social media posts. Anyone who has some respect for logic will puke at the quality of debates and discussions on many of these platforms. I once read a post and comments where people were arguing that it is better to create jobs than to build infrastructure. What!!! It is not just the framing of the question (as if building infrastructure does not create jobs) that shocked me but also the arrogance with which people promoted the ignorance. We are in deep trouble!

In my first year at the University of Lagos where I studied mass communication, one of the compulsory courses was ‘Writing for the Mass Media’. The course lecturer was Adidi Uyo, the greatest English teacher that I know of and one whose teaching shaped my use of language till today. He broke down the English language into atoms, taught us the mechanics and techniques, and guided us on how to apply them to journalism. He broke writing for the media into four blocks: Facts, Logic, Rhetoric and Grammar — which he gave the acronym FLORG. Part of classwork was for us to FLORG newspapers by pointing out the errors of facts, logic, rhetoric and grammar in their articles.

In regular life, we seem to pay attention to rhetoric (figures of speech, use of flowery language, etc) and grammar (parts of speech, is and was, noun/subject agreement, phrases and clauses, etc). However, in argumentation, we tend to neglect the two critical blocks: facts and logic. This happens so often that I have almost lost faith in public debate in Nigeria. We have eloquent and smart people spewing fluent gibberish on TV, radio and social media day and night. They have zeal, no doubt, but they lack knowledge. Zeal without knowledge is hazardous. An argument that is heavy on rhetoric and grammar but light on facts and logic is as dangerous as a rifle in the hand of a deranged sniper.

I read comments on social media posts in advanced societies and I get educated all the time. Yes, they have their lunatic fringe — as is to be expected in any human society — but enlightened voices are not in short supply. For instance, I have read so many arguments on the Trump tariff rampage that I am now better educated on international trade dynamics. There are people making emotional arguments, as usual, but you can see subject-matter experts exploring all the different angles even from their own biases. I am amazed at the respect for facts and logic. If you follow debates on Nigerian social media, you will be crushed by the preponderance of ill logic and twisted facts.

I’m always asked why my social media engagement is zero, even when I am constantly under attack. But how do I engage with someone who says the UN will take over a country if protests last for two weeks? Where do we even start the discussion from? How do I argue with someone who doesn’t know the difference between presidential and parliamentary systems? How do I engage with someone who is arguing authoritatively that it is “people’s constitution” that develops a country when the UK, Canada and New Zealand do not even have a constitution? How do you engage with those who don’t want to learn but would resort to insult to cover up their shallow intellect?

Indeed, can a country rise above the intellectual capacity of its leaders and its knowledge industry? Can public policy be any better when there is no rigour in the thinking behind it? Can public discourse be constructive and productive when the thought leaders — or the loudest voices — have no respect for established facts and lack the capacity to reason logically? Can the citizens live an orderly life when they do not think before they act or talk? These are interesting questions we need to ponder upon. While I do not know the possible outcomes of improving our IQ by teaching logical reasoning in secondary schools, I am fairly assured that it is an experiment worth undertaking.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

SEC SCANDAL

After the horse had bolted from the stable, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) came out to say CBEX, the digital trading platform that had been scamming Nigerians for a while with promises of out-of-this-world returns, was not registered to operate in the capital market. The regulator said it was commencing investigations after “investors” had reportedly lost N1 trillion. Typical Nigerian regulator. CBEX had been advertising on social media all along, selling double-your-money schemes to vulnerable Nigerians, yet SEC claimed it did not know. This is a big indictment on its surveillance unit. It is very important for the regulator to clean up its act and become more proactive. Negligence.

ON YOUR OWN (OYO)

Oyo state government has decided to surcharge anyone sinking borehole. In the first place, government is supposed to provide water. It has failed so woefully that citizens are now spending their own money to provide water for themselves, despite paying taxes. That should be a shame for the government but our thinking faculty is so impeded that it has instead become a revenue-generating idea: for every meter of borehole sunk, citizens will now pay N14,000. That automatically jacks up the cost of providing water for yourself. States and LGAs, like AMAC, even charge people for using generators. Government is trying to profit from citizens’ response to its own failures. Sickening.

TINUBU IN PARIS

President Tinubu has been in Paris for over two weeks on a “short working visit”. In the meantime, Benue and Plateau states have been witnessing a bloodbath. Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno state, said Boko Haram is gaining more territories. And the Lakurawa terrorists are unrelenting in their massacre of poor Nigerians in the north-west. I remember when the PDP was in power and how the APC used to take advantage of every terrorist attack to issue statements, creating the impression that it was because President Goodluck Jonathan was incompetent. I try to imagine the statements Lai Mohammed would have been issuing today if the PDP was still in power. Politics!

NO COMMENT

Rivers state is fast becoming the drama capital of Nigeria since Nyesom Wike, the former governor, fell out with Simi Fubara, his handpicked successor. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) moved its annual conference from Rivers to Enugu state to protest against the “illegal emergency rule”. The emergency administration retorted: “In that case, kindly return the N300 million you collected as hosting rights.” But the NBA said the N300 million is but a gift (quite some gift in these hard times). Fellow Nigerians, we would never have known of this secret “gift”. Yoruba elders say something like: may people not discover what we were cooking that set the house on fire. Hahahaha.

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us ~ 1Corinthians 5:7.

Preamble:

Happy Easter Sunday, beloved friends and brethren. This is not just another Sunday; it’s Easter Sunday, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.The Son of God walked among us as a Son of Man, died a sacrificial death once for all, but He arose and now lives forever(Hebrews 10:5‑14). Alleluia!

Easter is the oldest and the most deeply Christian feast of the year, which is celebrated with greatest excitement, joy and hope in the hearts of all true believers. Unarguably, it’s one of the greatest and most momentous events in human history.

Christ’s resurrection is the key-stone of the arch of our holy faith and, therefore, very central to true Christianity. It’s the firm foundation, promising restoration and eternal life for all humanity through our Saviour Jesus Christ.

During Easter, we celebrate the almightiness of God, the incredible depth of His redeeming love, the vicarious sacrificesof Jesus Christ and the matchless power of the Holy Spirit that raised Him from the dead.

Yes indeed, the Cross was really heavy, but the love was very much stronger. Thus, we can always find reasons to rejoice in the glorious hope that is now ours because of the gracious event of the first resurrection morning.

Jesus Christ Is Our Passover Lamb

Some people erroneously claim that Easter is related to some ancient pagan worship. This is a very big error, which is based on mere speculation and shoddy scholarship.

In early Christian times (150–600 AD), this feast of the celebration of Christ’sResurrection was universally known as “Pascha”, being the original Aramaic word for the “Passover” (Hebrew, Pesach). Christians took over this word, “Pascha”, because Christ, our Passover Lamb, died and rose from the dead around the time of the Jewish Passover feast (Exodus 12:3-11).

Meanwhile, historical records also indicate that when Christian missionaries reached England around 600 AD, which was many centuries after “Pascha” began, they decided to use the English term “Easter” for the “Pascha” when speaking English. In other words, the Christian world referred to this festival as “Pascha” for centuries before anyone in England mustered the idea of calling it “Easter”.

We’re quite aware that, over the years, the claimants of this erroneous idea have frantically tried to tie the “Paschal Celebration of Christ’s Resurrection”, otherwise known as “Easter” to one so-called goddess of theirs named “Eostre”, whose honour feast was said to have been celebrated in those days. 

Meanwhile, I find this very curious, absurd, misleading and highly entertaining. Why? The fact that a culprit answers a name that sounds very close to mine doesn’t automatically make me a criminal. And, the fact that a murderer shares the same birthday with me doesn’t necessarily mean that I should stop celebrating my birthday.

Whatever the case is, it should always be remembered that this glorious Christian celebration of “Christ’s Resurrection” is called “Easter” only by English-speaking Christians. The rest of the world calls it some other derivatives of that. For instance, the Yorubas call it “Odun Ajinde”, meaning “the Festival of the Resurrection”.

Today, with greatest excitement, the real Christian world commemorates theresurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, our “Passover Lamb” (1Corinthians 5:7). By His vicarious sacrifices, death and resurrection, He changed the world about 2025 years ago. Those who know this and truly believe it certainly enjoy it. Alleluia!

The Evergreen Message of Easter for All People

The Resurrection of Christ is not just a historical event, but a present reality. This victory of Jesus Christ over death is not just a testament to His divine power, but also a promise of new life for all who follow Him in true faith.

Easter is not only about the Resurrection of Jesus, but also about the resurrection of all who believe in Him. Easter commemorates our resurrection from a life of sin, godlessness and mediocrity, and this was made possible by Christ’s resurrection.

Personal resurrection was made possible for Peter, who turned away from Jesus after His crucifixion, but was restored and rehabilitated after Christ’s Resurrection. It was made possible for Thomas also, who doubted Jesus but became a passionate believer in Him after Christ’s Resurrection.

The resurrection must have the same tremendous effects upon our lives as we express our faith in Jesus Christ and put our implicit trust in Him even now.

Furthermore, through His resurrection, we now have the noble opportunity and the matchless grace to rise above the shadows of despair and hopelessness that life sometimes casts upon us.

Of a truth, we all occasionally face challenges that leave us feeling trapped and without a ray of a coming sunshine. We all experience times that look like valleys of despondency, when we need our hopes to brighten up again on our career paths, in our life’s assignments, in family life, or in our health.

Particularly, these are difficult times, globally! There are wars, insecurity, socio-political issues, as well as stress and distress in many quarters of the world, resulting in economic conundrums and downturns, with a large chunk of the populace finding things unpalatable and depressing on many fronts. Suffering and struggling to barely survive, many have resigned to eating their bread without butter!

Yes, we might counsel that governments at all levels should do better to devise more effective ways of reaching the masses with some interventions or palliative measures. That’s always an easy, necessary and generic counsel to offer.

Nevertheless, I dare say that there’s a better way to live. It is by living, walking and operating in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, every day. With these, we can engage grace to make true  progress in life despite all the economic realities around us.

When we open our hearts to the power ofChrist’s love, we will allow Him to work in us and through us, bringing new life and virtues to even the darkest situations of our lives.

In Christ’s victory over death, we find confidence that no circumstance is beyond supernatural intervention, no lack is beyondHis sufficiency, and no social challenge is beyond the turnaround that He gives.

Christ’s resurrection demonstrated God’s supremacy over death. Death, the last enemy of man, was swallowed up in victory publicly, perfectly and permanently (Revelation 1:18). Consequently, there should be nothing left to fear. This truth should instill confidence in us, and make us fearless, no matter what happens around us.

We should also allow this resurrection season to revive us, and increase our faith, hope and confidence in God for the emergence of better and greater human communities. Christ’s victory that culminates in His resurrection must assure us that even amid trials, God is at work to give us joy in the place of our mourning.

Alleluia! Jesus Christ died for us, but He didn’t stay dead. Easter Sunday came after the grim Good Friday, and the grave couldn’t hold Him captive! He arose on the third day at the first resurrection morning, and He lives on forever more!! Yes indeed, He is alive, even today!

This enduring truth should provoke in us boundless joy as we celebrate the Lord this season and every day! We must cling to this hope and allow it to fill our hearts with courage and peace, no matter what challenges we face, any day. Thereafter, the resurrection power will truly avail for us. You won’t miss it, in Jesus name. Amen. Happy Resurrection 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

In 1997, I rented a building in Victoria Island, Lagos for two years for N1.5 million. When I did, God told me He had given the building to me, even though I was only a tenant. I believed Him because I have a mind of Christ. He says to me, “Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.” (Matthew 13:16).

The mind of Christ hears the voice of Jesus and believes the word of God. Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27). Jesus’ sheep do not lean on their own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5). It did not make sense to presume I would own an expensive house in an exclusive part of Lagos when I was just the tenant.

“Nevertheless, at Your word (Jesus).” (Luke 5:5). So, I spent N6 million renovating a building not my own, but promised to me.

After two years, when my tenancy expired, the landlady’s lawyer approached me. She said the landlady would like to sell the building and would like to sell it to me. I never even asked to buy it. She told me the landlady’s father willed the building to her. She had never even seen it before. She lived in Chicago with her American husband.

She wants to sell the building in Lagos so she can buy a building in Chicago.

So, in 2000, I bought a building in Victoria Island, Lagos, at the ridiculous price of only N26 million. I did not even have the money to pay for it. I paid in instalments over four years, and God miraculously provided the final N10 million.

Fast forward 25 years, and I now understand that the building is worth N3 billion. That is now the cost of the land. That is what Jesus does. “It is He who gives (us) power to get wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18).

Nouveau Schools 

In 2010, I established a school in the building. It grew to comprise 104 children. But then I lost most of my international children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, God gave me a dream in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. I saw a classroom in the school full of children. Next door, I saw my assistant. I knew even if heaven and earth passed away, this dream would not pass away. 

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2:3). 

So we started looking for additional space to accommodate the increased number of children God promised to bring. 

We found a suitable building just two doors away from us. This building seemed purpose-built for us. It had about 24 rooms, and it was vacant. 

I went to inspect the building with two delegations. The first time, with people from the school. The second time, with my wife and family. We all agreed the building was ideal. But when we asked how much it would cost to rent it, we were told N25 million naira a year. 

That immediately put paid to our plans. The money was just too much. There was no way we could afford it. In any case, the additional children had yet to arrive.

A few years later, we went back to enquire about the place. We were told the landlord was tired of waiting for us but had rented it to someone else. That “someone else” has spent a lot of money renovating it. It is now an exceptionally beautiful building two doors away, with colourful flower decorations.

Blunder Upon Blunder

The Bible says about the church in the wilderness. “Again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” (Psalms 78:41).

I have now discovered that that is precisely what happened to us. We limited Jesus, the Holy One of Israel. That was why we thought we could not afford the N25 million rent. 

A few weeks ago, a colleague, Simon Ezeh, alerted me about some people who could help us develop our own property into a high-rise building. They said they would give me N300 million to relocate, while the new building was being constructed.

I then realised that I had made a big blunder in 2021. Why did I think God could not provide me with the N25 million rent? I did not think so because I limited the Holy One of Israel. I forgot that with God, nothing will be impossible. (Luke 1:37). I did not think it was possible because I reverted to the mind of a man instead of the mind of Christ.

Jesus says, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’” (Matthew 17:20). 

Unanswered Questions

Why did God give me the dream at the time he did? Why was the perfect house vacant at that particular time when I could not afford the rent? Why did the agent tell us the landlord was tired of waiting for us? Do coincidences exist? Certainly not! God is not a coincidental God. “He works all things according to the counsel of His will.” (Ephesians 1:11).

The mind of Christ recognises that everything he needs is at hand. He automatically meets everyone God has appointed to help him. He is led to everyone that God has appointed for him to help. The psalmist says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.” (Psalm 37:23).

When I am broke, God tells someone to register their child in my school. Or He tells my wife to buy me lunch. Or He tells my niece to send me some money.

“The Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” (Jonah 2:10).

The God who speaks to fishes surely speaks to men. Indeed, He speaks to so many people without speaking to them and they do what he wants them to do. They think they are the ones doing it, but no, it is the Lord.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8).

The person who has the mind of Christ recognises that God is the determinant of everything. He proclaims:

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’ Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.” (Isaiah 46:9-11). TO BE CONTINUED.

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

Diane Schrader

Western culture has been weaponized for many decades to legitimize whatever narrative the powerful want to push.

This should be self-evident after the COVID-19 debacle, where nearly everything that was labeled a "conspiracy theory" turned out to be true, and nearly everything the powerful told us turned out to be false. Remember President Biden threatening us with a “winter of death” or promising that the shot would prevent contracting COVID?

Christianity is a complete, evidence-based worldview that stands on its own

But it goes back much further than that, and it isn't always about following the money, although that's a pretty reliable measure of who's benefitting from any particular research study.

Now, in the "I didn't see that coming" department, there was a recently published peer-reviewed medical journal article that criticizes corrupt medical journals and their corrupt peer-reviewed studies. Um, what?

Since virtually all the "science" that gets reported in the media — the "science" on which public policy is made and the "science" that subsequently affects our everyday lives in countless ways — tends to stem from peer-reviewed research in medical journals, this is a significant admission.

Obviously, our mainstream media has not reported it, but we can come back to that another day. For now, I want to focus on the result of the faulty assumption that "science" provides unassailable answers to any questions — much less life's biggest searches for truth. Because for many decades now, the most unquestionable, absolutely carved-in-solid-rock "truth" from "science" is this: Everything evolved from something else, and we are all a product of nothing but random chance.

But that is simply not true.

God's word isn't fooling around

When Moses, the author of Genesis, wrote the first five books of the Bible, he was not writing metaphorically.

Moses recorded history in great detail, beginning with the origin of time all the way through Israel's exodus from Egypt to God's faithfulness in the wilderness. But what I want you to see is how Moses records the first seven days of creation.

At the end of every divine act of creation, Moses records God uttering a holy declaration over His finished work: "And God saw that it was good," and in the case of humans, "very good." The reality is that until the Fall, described in Genesis 3, there was no death in the world God had created.

This is where the theory of evolution crumbles, according to scripture.

The theory of evolution requires death — and a lot of it — before humans even come on the scene. But if death had been part of God's original creation, He would not have described it as "good." The Bible, therefore, easily discredits the "science" of secularism's evolutionary golden calf.

Our uniqueness in God's creation

But Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 both teach that God made humans in His image. In fact, He made us with His own hands and breathed into us His spirit to bring us to life. In contrast, all of the other creatures and the rest of natural creation were simply spoken into existence.

It bears repeating: God made humans in His image. Animals are not equivalent to humans. Nature is not equivalent to humans. Each and every human being is a precious creature made in the image of God. This is why believers must be pro-life and opposed to any philosophy that places any other creature or creation above human life.

This, of course, has political ramifications.

We are not going to support, for example, protecting a tiny fish with a policy that puts human life at risk (looking at you, California). Of course, if you think you are just an advanced form of a monkey, you don't really have any grounds on which to say you're more important than the little fish. And many people in the world put themselves in that category according to their worldview.

But the scriptural worldview — that God created the world and He specially designed humans — is just one of the preliminary arguments that explain why believers must not try to fit the "evolution square peg" in the "creation round hole."

Do people have to understand and believe in biblical creation to be saved? No, they do not. But once we place faith in Jesus, we want to learn as much as we can about Him, and that means understanding the beginning of creation.

We should not acquiesce to a theory that has never and can never be proven; a theory that tells us we are random cogs in a wheel with no greater meaning; a theory that is presented as “the science” without the evidence to back it up.

I’m confident stating this: Christianity is a complete, evidence-based worldview that stands on its own — and the whole Bible, including the opening chapters, supports that big picture.

The Blaze