Apart from General Sani Abacha, I have met one-on-one with every Nigerian leader since 1992, from General Ibrahim Babangida. However, I have only participated in one televised live group media chat with former President Olusegun Obasanjo. 

If you have met Obasanjo before – whether for an interview or anything else – you might agree that he’s a handful and more. You never know what to expect with Obasanjo, especially when he is in his lair. 

I narrowly missed being punched by the former president during an untelevised interview in his Library in the Villa in 2004 for asking why his government was letting a political outlaw, Chris Uba, run amok in Anambra State. The combined effort of presidential aides, the late Remi Oyo and Julius Ihonbvere, rescued me from Obasanjo’s fury.  

Are you OPC?

My experience wasn’t very different during the live presidential media chat. I had asked him why he ordered a shoot-on-sight against members of the militant Yoruba self-determination group Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), which operated mainly in the South West, Obasanjo’s home base.

He was livid. He warned me, on air, that if I were going to bring the irreverence of my weekly column to the Villa, he would immediately throw me out of the panel. I insisted on an answer, to which he said, “If you’re a member of OPC, tell your people that I mean what I said!”

Three presidents, different styles

Presidents Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari, whom I also met at different times in different untelevised encounters in the line of duty, were distinct in their peculiar ways. 

Yar’Adua spoke a little, measuredly and candidly. Jonathan was gentle, felicitous, and vulnerable without a care in the world. Buhari was taciturn, defensive, and tight-lipped, except when you touched on a raw nerve, mainly around his family or his relationship with Babangida, with whom he has had a fascinating Tom-and-Jerry relationship. 

I poked Buhari on this soft spot in an untelevised group interview in 2016. His unusually animated, angry reply inspired a widely publicised story that covered The Interview magazine, entitled “Why Babangida removed me from power.”

Road to interview

The Monday televised interview with President Bola Tinubu differed in many ways. Multiple sources, including those inside his cabinet, had pressured him to host an interview many times, but he refused, insisting that the time was not right and that there was much to be done. 

In October, 17 months into his presidency, there was a nearly interview on the eve of the planned second round of the #EndBadGovernance protest. He cancelled at the last minute for personal reasons. 

When I received a message on December 18 that I had been selected for a panel to interview the president, I assumed it would be live. Not that there’s any journalistic rule forbidding a recorded interview. Some of the best interviews I’ve read about or seen, from Oriana Fallaci to Larry King, were recorded. In a more recent example, the CNN interview with President-elect Donald Trump was recorded on November 25 and aired on December 12.

Live or recorded?

However, I hoped the interview with Tinubu would be live – a point I later found was shared by all panel members – because this was the first nearly halfway into his presidency. If eating this toad had taken 19 months, it’s better to eat it big for Nigerians to hear their president engaging them unfiltered. 

The choice of live or recorded can sometimes be tricky. Like Ebenezer Obey’s famous story in the song of the Journeyman and his Donkey, you can’t please everyone. Some want it live because it allows spontaneity and could sometimes be a window on the persona of the interviewee. Others prefer a live interview for traps to catch the interviewee in their unguarded moments, which is why others oppose it.

The panel

We—a panel of seven—comprising Reuben Abati (ARISE TV/ThisDay), Maupe Ogun-Yusuf (Channels TV), Nnamdi Odikpo (NTA), Jide Otitoju (TVC), Umar Farouk Musa (VOA), Ruth Olurounbi (Bloomberg News), and me—wanted to have this interview live and for two hours for the reasons I’ve explained.

That didn’t happen. Hours before the interview, which was postponed from Sunday to Monday because of the tragic deaths from palliative stampedes in different parts of the country, we finally settled for 90 minutes. The questions were entirely ours to decide, and that was what happened. 

Some folks have been upset that the interview was not live and, to make matters worse, not a brawl. One gentleman, obviously with a heavy heart, said, “I expected my seniors on the job to rattle the President.” I get that. Another was not even interested in the interview. He aimed at me instead, saying that even though I’m an Igbo man (which I’m not), I did not wear a red cap (which I’ve never worn) because of an “inferiority complex!”

To cut or not?

It's the nature of recorded interviews—and this one was no exception—that not everything is aired. Twenty questions were prepared, and at least 17 were asked point-blank, excluding unscripted queries and follow-ups. 

Among the unaired questions were whether the President considered Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), a political liability and whether direct payments to the local governments were not a derogation of the principle of federalism, which recognises the centre and the states as the fundamental constituent units of the federation. 

Questions also arose about #Endsars and state police and whether the president would request the Code of Conduct Bureau to release his assets, as one or two newspapers requested under the FOIA of 2011.

His answers were fascinating. He described Wike as a performing minister and a very good man. He said it twice, slowly but louder and with a hearty laughter of approval the second time. In response to the Supreme Court's judgement on local government autonomy, he said, “There are at least two ideological views on that. The thing is that the constitution created the local governments, and there isn’t such a thing as ‘unfunded mandate.’” 

Translation: If the law created local governments, it is not unlawful for them to receive their funding directly. That debate continues.

‘I’ll consider’

On state police, he said he didn’t expect any obstacles but expected a negotiated outcome in the country’s best interest. His response to the question on asset declaration was even more fascinating. I remember that in 2012 this question left Jonathan with a media chat black eye. He was asked if he didn’t care about the growing public demand that he should declare his assets. In what was initially thought to be a slip, he said, “I don’t give a damn!” That turned out to be a damn good headline the next day. 

Tinubu took a different approach. He said he had done his part by filing his assets as required by the law and would do so again at the point of exit. But when asked if he would ask the CCB to release it since there is currently no law mandating the CCB, despite the FOIA, he said, “I will consider doing so.” That, I think, is worth holding onto.

Everything couldn’t be covered in a one-hour broadcast, and perhaps one live or recorded interview will hardly satisfy the pent-up hunger to hear the president. But one presidential interview at a time, the gap is closing.

** Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of Writing for Media and Monetising It.

If you wanted to figure out what really matters for raising happy, successful kids, you’d need to randomly select a bunch of babies from a broad spectrum of backgrounds. Then you’d need to follow them for decades. Only after measuring a multitude of factors about their personalities, families, schools, and neighborhoods could you tease out what matteredand what didn’t.  

That sounds like a tall ask. But thanks to a team of dedicated psychologists who have been following and intimately recording the lives of more than 1,000 kids from the New Zealand town of Dunedin since 1972, we actually have such a study. 

The scientists now have more than 40 years of data. What has it all revealed about how to raise well-adjusted, financially successful kids?  

What 40 years of data says about raising successful kids 

More than 1,000 scientific papers worth of insight, actually, as this deep-dive article from Science into the history of “one of the more comprehensive and probing investigations of human development ever conducted” makes clear. 

Analyses of the Dunedin data have found that most troublemakers grow out of juvenile delinquency, that mental health problems are more common than previously believed, and that early puberty is particularly stressful for girls. 

It’s a grab bag of fascinating results, but which is the most useful for entrepreneur parents hoping to give their kids the best shot at a good life? Perhaps the incredible importance of building kids’ emotional intelligencefor later-in-life success.

The best predictor of kids’ success? Emotional intelligence 

Parents often stress about their kids’ academic performance, worth ethic, and behavior toward others. Those things are clearly important. But according to the Dunedin study, none of them is the best predictor of whether a particular child will grow up to lead a satisfying, financially stable life. Neither is the wealth, education, or socioeconomic status of the parents. 

What seems to matter most is whether kids understand their emotions and manage their reactions to them constructively. 

Psychologist Daniel Goleman, often referred to as the godfather of emotional intelligence for his role in popularizing the concept, summed up the Dunedin findings in a recent keynote: “What they found was that in their 30s, the strongest predictor of financial success was cognitive control, stronger than IQ and stronger than the wealth of the family they grew up in. So how well you do in your life depends on your levels of cognitive control.”

EQ is a skill, not a trait. 

You may have heard of the famous (if much debated) marshmallow test that asks kids to resist eating a tasty marshmallow for a few minutes to get two marshmallows later on. This is the kind of emotional intelligence Goleman and the Dunedin researchers are talking about. 

It’s the ability to understand and, if necessary, override your feelings and impulses. There’s an incredible amount of science to show it impacts not just how successful kids are later in life, but how we all do in life. (For confirmation, you can ask Adam Grant or Oprah.) 

Which might make you worry if you suspect your kid wouldn’t be able to resist gobbling that marshmallow. But there’s good news from Dunedin for parents. Not only did the study show just how important EQ is for kids’ later success, but it also showed that this kind of EQ isn’t an inborn trait. It can be cultivated. 

“The research indicated that self-control is not only a personal trait but can also be influenced by external factors such as parenting, education, and early intervention programs. Children who receive support and guidance in developing self-control skills tend to fare better as adults. This underscores the importance of fostering these abilities from a young age,” explainspediatrician Harry Goldstein 

How to cultivate your child’s EQ

There’s plenty of advice out there on how parents can support the development of their kid’s EQ. Tips include helping your child talk through their emotions and empathizing with them, modeling curiosity and humility, and even exposing them to art and literature as a way to think through the complexities of being human. 

Read up on fostering emotional intelligence by following the links above for more information, but the essential takeaway for parents from the Dunedin study is just how valuable EQ is for kids. 

Emotional intelligence isn’t just about being nice or even keeled. It’s a fundamental skill that greatly impacts how well kids do emotionally and financially. Which means parents should probably pay as much attention to it as they do to report cards and manners. 

Inc

An Israeli soldier who died 417 days after his Oct. 7 wounds has become a symbol of sacrifice

For more than 400 days after being critically wounded during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, Yona Brief tried to recover. But after losing both legs and enduring medically induced comas, the combat medic died in late November.

The dual Israeli-American citizen has come to symbolize the sacrifice by hundreds of fallen soldiers in what many in Israel see as a war for the country’s survival.

“He became a symbol of ‘Don’t quit,’” said his mother, Hazel. His father, David, compared him to the oil that lit the candelabra in the Hannukah story, miraculously burning longer than expected, according to Jewish tradition.

More than 800 Israeli soldiers have been killed since Hamas’ attack, about 300 of them on the initial day and the rest in Gaza or in the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Thousands of others have been wounded, many of them seriously. The war in Gaza has killed nearly 45,000 Palestinians, while over 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to local health officials.

Serving in Israel’s military is compulsory for most Jews. Soldiers’ service is revered, and Israelis see their sacrifice as deeply moving. Public opinion in previous wars has often been swayed by high soldier casualties.

Months before Brief was called into action on Oct. 7, he had been seriously wounded, also in his legs, by a pipe bomb during a commando raid while serving in the occupied West Bank.

The weekend of Oct. 7 was his first on duty after his recovery.

As militants attacked from Gaza, he and his seven-soldier commando unit raced to join the Israeli army’s house-by-house war in the communal farming villages, military bases and towns along the border.

His father said Brief’s unit was ordered to clear the Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Hamas fighters ambushed them, killing two soldiers.

When Brief rushed to help one of them, he was shot 13 times.

Suddenly, his training as a medic was used to save himself.

His father said he cinched tourniquets around his mutilated legs and dragged himself and a fellow soldier into a nearby bullet-ravaged home. There, the family of Hadas Eilon-Carmi hid in a reinforced room and later described Brief as the soldier “full of blood.”

Brief was evacuated to a hospital hours later. The other soldier, his commanding officer, died at the scene.

The hospital stay was grueling, too. Brief was the most critically wounded patient from the Oct. 7 attack to be treated at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, the country’s largest hospital.

After his legs were amputated, he teetered between life and death.

He had more than 20 surgeries. His doctors told Israeli media he received more than 200 units of blood. The hospital brought specialists and surgeons from around the world in a bid to save him.

Eilon-Carmi’s family became close with his family, visiting Brief in the hospital and praying for his recovery.

“Yona represents everything I want an Israeli to be,” she said.

Brief’s determination to live became a source of inspiration for the doctors and medical staff, who had been overwhelmed by work and heartbreak in the early days of the war, said Steve Walz, the international spokesperson for Sheba Medical Center.

Though there were periods when Brief was in a medically induced coma, he was often awake and lucid, even lively.

He was grateful for what remained, his mother said.

He worked out in his hospital bed, raising a barbell above his head. He sang and danced with visitors. Once, he even left the hospital to spend the night in his family home but his medical issues brought him back.

Brief’s parents said there were sparks of joy in the nearly 14 months after he was wounded. Chefs cooked him special meals like sushi. Politicians and influencers visited, and Israel’s top musicians played by his bedside. He turned 23.

But while his parents said his spirit never wavered, his liver finally failed after months of heavy medication.

Hundreds attended his funeral, and tributes poured in from all walks of Israeli life.

“With Yona, every day he had to fight for this victory and that’s why his heroism is extraordinary,” said Chili Tropper, an Israeli opposition lawmaker who became close with Brief and his family. “For him, during 417 days, every single day was a war.”

AP

In his Christmas message, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has criticized the federal government for its failure to address the widespread hunger and economic hardship that have led to deadly stampedes in several parts of the country. The tragic incidents, which occurred last week during food palliative distributions in Oyo, Anambra, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), resulted in the deaths of at least 67 people. Bishop Kukah described these tragedies as a symbol of the desperation many Nigerians are experiencing due to the government’s inability to respond effectively to the country’s deepening hunger crisis.

“The tragedies that occurred in Okija, Ibadan, and Abuja, where innocent people lost their lives in stampedes at food distribution points, are a metaphor for the desperation that citizens have been thrown into,” Kukah said. He attributed these avoidable deaths to the government’s failure to adequately address the economic crisis, stressing that the lack of concrete measures to tackle hunger has exacerbated the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.

The bishop expressed dismay over Nigeria’s stagnation despite its 60 years of independence, lamenting the lack of progress in governance, which he blamed on entrenched issues of ethnicity, nepotism, and greed. He called on the government to work more closely with institutions, such as the Catholic Church’s St. Vincent de Paul Society, which helps provide for the vulnerable, to address the widespread poverty and hunger.

Kukah also highlighted the barriers preventing Nigeria’s youth from participating in politics, particularly the high cost of running for public office. While he acknowledged the positive impact of the “Not Too Young to Run” initiative, he noted that the financial and bureaucratic hurdles still make it difficult for young people to engage in politics. The bishop urged the government to extend educational loan schemes to those pursuing vocational and technical skills, ensuring that opportunities are accessible to all, not just those attending universities.

Addressing the country’s insecurity, Kukah linked the crisis to corruption, unemployment, and religious extremism, calling for a comprehensive plan to secure the nation. He warned that Nigeria cannot win the war against insecurity without tackling these underlying issues.

While mourning the tragic loss of lives in the recent stampedes, Bishop Kukah concluded by calling on the government to ensure that the basic dignity of Nigerian citizens is upheld, and to work more effectively with institutions that promote the common good of society. He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and prayed for peace in the country.

“May God grant eternal rest to the dead and console their families. It is the duty of government to ensure minimum dignity for our people,” he said.

A tragic airstrike on Wednesday morning has left several villagers feared dead in two communities in Silame Local Government Area of Sokoto State. Fighter jets, reportedly targeting terrorists from the Lakurawa group, bombed the villages of Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa, situated near the Surame Forest—an area known to be a stronghold for bandits and terrorists.

Local residents have claimed that over 10 villagers were killed and many others injured when bombs dropped on the peaceful communities at around 7am. One villager, who survived the attack, described the scene as one of chaos, with innocent people, many of whom had no criminal background, suddenly caught in the bombing.

Silame LGA Chairman, Abubakar Muhammad Daftarana, expressed his concern, noting that while the assessment of damage was still ongoing, the villagers were primarily peaceful and uninvolved in criminal activity. He refrained from giving specific casualty figures, citing the ongoing efforts to assess the full scale of the damage.

In response to media reports of civilian casualties, the Nigerian military has firmly denied targeting non-combatants. Abubakar Abdullahi, the joint media coordinator for Operation Hadarin Daji, stated that the airstrikes were aimed specifically at identified locations linked to the Lakurawa terrorist group, which has been terrorizing local communities. Abdullahi emphasized that all military operations are based on “thorough intelligence and reconnaissance missions” to ensure precision and avoid civilian harm.

He further explained that the military follows a rigorous process to minimize risks to innocent lives, but acknowledged that terrorist groups may attempt to exploit such incidents through disinformation. Olusola Akinboyewa, spokesperson for the Nigerian Air Force, confirmed the airstrikes were carried out based on credible intelligence from multiple sources, including aerial surveillance. However, he stated that any reports of civilian harm would be thoroughly investigated, and updates would be provided accordingly.

The conflicting accounts of the airstrike have raised concerns, with locals mourning the loss of life, while the military defends its actions as part of the broader fight against terrorism and banditry in the region.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia launches 'inhuman' Christmas Day attacks, Ukraine says

Russia attacked Ukraine's energy system and some cities with cruise and ballistic missiles plus drones on Wednesday in an "inhuman" Christmas Day assault, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Nearly three years into the war, the strikes wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said.

U.S. President Joe Biden denounced the "outrageous" attack and said he had asked the U.S. Defense Department to push forward with a new surge of military aid to Kyiv.

Half a million people in Kharkiv region were left without heating, in temperatures just a few degrees Celsius above zero, while there were blackouts in the capital Kyiv and elsewhere.

"Today, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhuman? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones," he said.

Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed it had conducted a "massive strike" on what it said were critical energy facilities supporting the work of Kyiv's "military-industrial complex".

"The aim of the strike was achieved. All facilities have been hit," it said in a statement.

Ukraine's military said its air defences downed 59 Russian missiles and 54 drones overnight and on Wednesday morning.

Biden, who is being replaced by Donald Trump next month, said the purpose of the attack was "to cut off the Ukrainian people's access to heat and electricity during winter and to jeopardize the safety of its grid".

Washington has committed $175 billion in aid for Ukraine. It is not certain the flow will continue at that pace under Trump, who has said he wants to bring the war to a quick end.

In Moldova, Ukraine's western neighbour, pro-European President Maia Sandu said one Russian missile crossed through her country's airspace during the air assault.

"While our countries are celebrating Christmas, the Kremlin has chosen the path of destruction, launching strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and violating Moldova's airspace," Sandu wrote on social media.

Moldova has seen several cases of drone fragments landing on its territory and missiles passing through its airspace.

Ukrainians were marking their second Christmas on Wednesday, according to a new calendar in another step towards erasing Russian influence.

Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, set up in 2018, agreed in 2023 to move away from the traditional Julian calendar used in Russia where Christmas is on Jan. 7.

Russia has intensified attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector since spring of this year, damaging almost half of its generating capacity and causing prolonged blackouts.

'RUSSIA WEAPONIZES WINTER'

Ukraine's air force said Kharkiv was attacked by ballistic missiles. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram there was damage to civilian non-residential infrastructure, without giving more detail.

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said the fatality there occurred in an attack on regional power facilities.

"Since the morning, the Russian army has been massively attacking the Dnipro region. It is trying to destroy the region's power system," he said.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook that Russia was massively attacking the power sector and that restrictions on electricity supply were in place.

Ukraine's largest private energy company DTEK said its generating facilities were attacked, with power equipment seriously damaged, in the 13th large-scale assault on the energy sector this year.

"We appeal to every ally of Ukraine to end this state-sponsored terrorism now by giving our armed forces the air defence ammunition they need to protect essential energy infrastructure," DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said in a statement.

"Russia's Christmas gift to Ukraine: more than 70 missiles and 100 drones, directed at Ukrainian families celebrating in their homes and the energy infrastructure that keeps them warm," said U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink.

"For the third holiday season, Russia weaponizes winter."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian barrage hits Ukrainian defense infrastructure – MOD

Russian forces conducted massive long-range precision strikes against targets in Ukraine on Wednesday morning, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported.

Missiles and drones were launched at “critically important objects of Ukrainian energy infrastructure supporting the operation of the military-industrial complex,” the ministry said in a regular update. The Russian military said it had achieved all the goals it set for the strikes.

Moscow used some 70 missiles and over 100 kamikaze drones in the attack, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Kuleba claimed. Targets in six regions of the country came under fire, the senior official said, blaming damage caused by the weapons for exacerbating power and heating problems in Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities announced rolling blackouts to stabilize the power grid, after detecting incoming Russian weapons. Energy Minister German Galuschenko said the measure was necessary to minimize the fallout from the expected damage.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky claimed that Moscow deliberately “chose Christmas” for the strikes, referring to the fact that many Christians celebrate the holy day on Wednesday.

Orthodox Christians, the predominant religious denomination in Ukraine, use a different calendar and will celebrate Christmas on January 7. Kiev has been pushing the population to mark it Western-style rather than sticking to the traditional religious date as part of its campaign to sever all cultural and spiritual ties with Russia.

The Russian military previously reported the interception overnight of 59 Ukrainian drones launched against targets inside Russia. Of those, 26 robotic aircraft were downed over the border Belgorod Region, according to the statement.

On Wednesday morning, a powerful explosion rocked a shopping mall in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz, setting it on fire. Regional head Sergey Menyailo reported that it was likely caused by a downed plane-type drone, adding that investigators were looking for evidence at the scene. A woman was killed in the incident.

Reuters/RT

Within a mere four days, an estimated 70 people were recorded dead from three different instances of stampedes that occurred in Ibadan, Oyo State; Okija, Anambra State; and Abuja. In the case of Ibadan, the organisers had promised to give several gifts to as many as 5,000 children, but so many people turned up that the event went out of their control. Funny, when I heard the chief organiser, Olori Naomi Silekunola, promoting that event and saying they expect as many as 5,000 children, I briefly thought, “There we go again, the Nigerian penchant for stating figures without thinking of their import!”

In Nigeria, we have this habit of seeing figures as little more than zeroes on paper rather than an illuminative source of logical planning. Innumeracy—that is what they call it. While the term has been used for describing quantitatively incompetent individuals, it is hardly ever applied to a culture. But when you think about it, Nigeria variously suffers from this; it shows up when disasters like stampedes occur. Any event that involves 5,000 children will involve at least 2,500 parents if one parent brings two children. To Silekunola who kept announcing the number of expected guests and induced a hunger-driven public to attend her event, the idea of 5,000 children in a confined space probably never struck her as unwieldy. I doubt she can adequately visualise what 5,000 people would truly look like in space. Or she did not think so many people would respond to her invitation?

A statement attributed to Oriyomi Hamzat, one of the organisers of the carnival, stated that when he went to inspect the venue a day before the incident, she met Silekunola there, and “she said the place was more spacious than the place they wanted to use (earlier)”. But by what metrics did either she or Hamzat arrive at the logical conclusion that the place would be sufficient for the number of people they were expecting? Did they measure and calculate the space according to the number of people per square meter or simply use their eyes to judge? Did they factor in the number of exits and entrances necessary for a crowd that huge even if there were no gatecrashers?

Ideally, it should not be an individual event organiser’s job to work out the mathematics. It is the government’s responsibility to provide guidelines for every space where more than 50 people will gather. Every event centre should have safety protocols limiting the number of people who can occupy available space. You should also not be allowed to claim that you have a space that can contain, say 5,000, until you demonstrate the capacity to handle emergencies that can occur because of that many people staying within a confined space.

Not to exonerate the organisers of the event, but what was the Oyo State Government doing when they heard repeated announcements that 5,000 children were being invited to a carnival that would take place within a school compound? Now, they have arrested the event organisers, but are they taking responsibility for their own failures?

Our lack of quantitative sophistication is why we are a society where anyone can get away with anything. There is a reason we build a massive event centre to host large gatherings but forget to add parking spaces commensurate with the number of people we say can occupy the building. Hardly anyone even thinks of an evacuation plan as they design such buildings. God help you if a disaster breaks out.

An innumerate society does not count to plan; they plan and then count later. When they eventually count, they tamper with the figures because they are not looking for the truth; they just want to score some goals. That infidelity with numbers routinely shows up in every aspect of our lives. To date, nobody can definitively state the population of Nigeria. We go by exaggerated estimates. We plan in darkness.

Underlying the drama that followed the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics’ release of figures of kidnapping across the country is still the problem of our inability to count (and account for ourselves) properly. According to the 2024 NBS Crime Experience and Security Perception Report, 2.23 million kidnapping incidents reportedly occurred during the year, with 63.5 per cent of these occurring in the North-West geopolitical zone alone. The report stated that N2.2tn was paid as ransom, an average amount of N2.7m per incident. Not long after the report was published on their website, they rescinded it and claimed their website was hacked. And this is the organisation that is supposed to supply the government figures with the data with which they will plan our lives? I find their lack of institutional integrity more worrisome than their curious figures.

 Tinubu and his friend

One of the remarkable moments in the otherwise dull presidential chat that President Bola Tinubu had on Monday was when he referenced his friend. He said, “People are learning management. A friend used to brag to me that he had five Rolls Royce. The other day I saw him in his Honda Accord. He said that’s where you put me. I told him, ‘I did not put you there.’ But he said it was because of fuel prices that he could no longer maintain five limousine-type vehicles. It is not negative to learn to manage. Switch off the light to control your electricity bill. Let us learn to manage.”

Please file this under the list of things that never happened. Tinubu has no such friend. It is easy to tell he cooked up the story. Note that he did not say he actually ever saw the five Rolls Royce but only knew about it because the friend bragged about it. Yet, the same Tinubu who knew of his friend’s stupendous wealth through reported speech somehow saw him in a Honda Accord (and probably driving himself too)! Where and when did he manage to see this friend in a Honda? In Aso Rock or on the streets of Bourdillon?

In any case, stories like this one are not parsed for their truth value. We scrutinise them for what they say about the person telling them. Around this time in 2022, then-President, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), revealed how a friend had begged him to speak to the FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, to allocate him a parcel of land to sell so he could use the proceeds to marry another wife. As I said in an article then, the kind of conversations presidents have (or they say they do) with their friends is telling of their character and the quality of the company they keep. If you get a chance to talk to the president, even if he is your friend, you should be asking for a favour of land allocation to build an industry and not your sagged libido.

For Tinubu, whose “friend” is at best imaginary, this supposed conversation is telling of his sadism. If truly he had a friend who was stupendously wealthy enough to have five Rolls Royce and the person now drives a lesser-valued car, he should be seriously worried about that kind of misfortune under his administration. Even if the person were a political opponent, such a fate befalling them should be a loud indication to Tinubu that the country is not prospering. If a person who boasted five Rolls Royce can downgrade so much, that means the person who started with a Honda Accord is now crawling. If you were a humane leader, that would be an epiphanic moment. The revelation should have prompted you to vow to change the course of your nation’s fortunes, not dismiss such a staggering tale of oríburúkú as needful asceticism.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Punch

Christmas celebrations across the globe have taken on a more somber tone this year, with Nigeria particularly hard hit by economic challenges that have dampened the festive spirit.

In Nigeria, where inflation has reached a 28-year high of 34.6%, markets that typically bustle with holiday shoppers are unusually quiet. Traders across major cities including Lagos, Abuja, and Kano report dramatically reduced sales as food prices have skyrocketed. A bag of rice that cost N41,000 last year now sells for N90,000, while a basket of tomatoes has surged from N20,000 to as high as N70,000.

"We are not happy about the situation because customers are complaining bitterly, but we have no choice but to sell at these prices since we also buy at higher rates," said a Lagos trader identified as Iya Mustafa. The situation has been exacerbated by high fuel prices and transportation costs following the removal of fuel subsidies.

The economic strain has forced many Nigerians to scale back their holiday celebrations, with the World Bank reporting that poverty now affects 104 million people in the country, up from 79 million five years ago.

Meanwhile, in Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, Christmas Eve was marked without the usual festivities due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The customary lights and giant tree in Manger Square were absent, and tourist numbers have plunged from 2 million in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 in 2024.

Other global celebrations showed contrasting scenes. Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral celebrated its first Christmas Eve Masses since the 2019 fire, welcoming about 2,000 people. In Syria's Saydnaya, residents gathered for a rare moment of joy around a towering Christmas tree, while in the United States, communities faced travel disruptions and some, like Madison, Wisconsin, mourned recent tragedies.

However, the situation in Nigeria exemplifies the broader economic challenges facing many regions this holiday season. As one shopper in Abuja noted, "I couldn't buy as much as I needed. We will manage whatever I can afford" – a sentiment echoing across many Nigerian households this Christmas.

The steep rise in prices has transformed what is traditionally a period of celebration and family gatherings into a time of careful budgeting and scaled-back festivities, with many Nigerians forced to choose between basic necessities and holiday celebrations.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Advent season is about preparing our hearts, minds and souls to welcome the birth of the King of Kings. It is those magical and mystical weeks after Thanksgiving that lead to Christmas — and as Pastor Max Lucado has said, Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter. 

The two big Christian holy days are eternally linked. Lucado told Fox News, "Christmas begins what Easter celebrates."  

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. Easter is about what He was born to do.

In the last few decades, that knowledge has taken a back seat to the hustle and bustle of shopping, parties and Santa Claus. Even the "comfort and joy" heralded is more about general feelings of delight and glee than the meaning of the birth of the Lion of Judah.  

As one theologian said, all of these things are fine — but we should remember that they all flow from one event: the birth of the Savior.

Just as with the meaning of each Advent candle, there are four things to keep us laser-focused on what Christmas is all about — and what it leads us to know and understand. 

They are the hope prophesied in the Old Testament; the peace of the Incarnation; the joy it brings; the love we can experience — and Jesus Christ as the culmination of all. 

Hope: The Prophecies

When the first candle was lit, it begins the hope that is in every human heart, that there is a love that surpasses all understanding. That hope has its origins in the Old Testament. 

Woven through the Bible's Old Testament are hundreds of prophecies that tell of a Messiah, a Savior, that will be born sometime in the future. Many of the prophecies, like those in Isaiah, were written centuries before the birth of Jesus. 

Cumulatively, they predict the conditions of His birth, meek and lowly; the location of His birth, Bethlehem; to whom He will be born, a virgin; and what He is coming to do — the Lamb of Godwho takes away the sins of the world.

Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, said that if we just look at the geneology of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — through to the tribe of Judah and the royal line of King David, King Solomon and continuing up to the beginning of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew — Jesus is the strongest candidate for this Messianic figure. 

Hanegraaff says, "The lineage is so precise that no imposter can walk through the doorway of that prophecy."  

Theologians aren't all in agreement as to how many of the Old Testament prophecies Jesus fulfills. It could be anywhere from 100 to 400. 

However, evangelist Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham, says Isaiah's prophetic voice is one that many are familiar with. 

Says Graham, "That there would come the Messiah who would be a wonderful counselor, Almighty God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father — and by His stripes we would be healed."

One of the strongest ties from the Old to New Testament, says Lotz, is the Exodus, in which the Israelites were told to put the blood of a lamb on the doorpost so the angel of death would pass over. The Israelites would be saved by putting themselves under the protection of the blood of a lamb.

For centuries after the Exodus, Jews remembered the Passover by sacrificing a lamb. The sacrificial lambs had to be without blemish. So the shepherds, who watched after these animals, wrapped their legs with strips of cloth, aka swaddling cloths, to protect them from injury.

It was a dirty job, tending the sheep. It was also considered defiling. So shepherds were not allowed into the temple where the sacrifices took place.    

A little more than 2,000 years ago, the Bible says when the angels came to announce the birth of Jesus, they came first to those shepherds tending the sheep.

From Luke 2:10-14:  "Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’"

Says Lotz, "They were in the fields outside of Bethlehem. That's where the Passover lambs were kept. And so God … was announcing to these shepherds who watched over the Passover lambs that would be sacrificed in the temple, that the Passover lamb had been born."

As for the strips of cloth, the swaddling clothes — this is how the shepherds would know this was the long-awaited Messiah, the Lamb of God.  

There are many historians and archeologistswho doubt the Bible's account of the Exodus. That would mean, if the account of a mass migration of tens of thousands of Jews is not true, then it would also negate much of the biblical narrative, including the sacrificing of the lambs.

But investigative filmmaker Tim Mahoney says there is evidence of the Exodus. Mahoney is the director and producer of "Patterns of Evidence: Exodus." 

He said on a recent episode of the "Lighthouse Faith" podcast, "I can tell you that there's archeological evidence of a smiting of the Egyptians. And then in our films, it shows that this group of people just leave."

Mahoney added, "And so the evidence in the Old Testament is there for setting up this understanding that there would need to be a sacrificial lamb. And that is, you know, the story of Christ coming to be this pure, part-man, part-God being who would be sacrificed for our sins."

Peace: The Incarnation

The second Advent candle gives us the peace our heart craves. But it can only happen when we understand the Incarnation. 

While the birth of Jesus describes what happened that first Christmas, it's the Incarnation that tells us what it means. 

It means that the Creator of the Universe took on human flesh and made His dwelling among us. 

This is the part that separates Christianity from every other religion.

The Gospel of John tells it most poignantly by echoing the opening of Genesis, "In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the Word was God." 

A more probing analysis of that line finds that the Greek word for "word" in most English translations doesn't really get to the heart of what John is telling us. 

The Greek word for "word" is Logos. It means far more than words on a paper or even the spoken word.

The Logos is the underlying reality that is holding up the world. It means the science, the philosophy, the nature of the physical world as well as all that we experience — they meet as one in this Logos. 

And what John is saying is that this Logos took on human flesh and made His "dwelling among us."

Further scrutiny reveals much about the word "dwelling." Some translations will use the word "tabernacled," which divulges a tie to its historical context. 

"And the Word [Logos] became flesh and Tabernacled among us."  

The Tabernacle of Moses was the portable tent and mobile temple. It was the Israelites' dwelling place for God as they wandered in the wilderness. The Incarnation, "God with us," means God dwells within. He is the living and breathing Tabernacle.

Hanegraaff says this is no small matter: "This is not just an event. It's not just a discussion. It's the discussion. The Incarnation separates all of human history."

Christianity makes a claim that no other religion makes, that Jesus IS God. It's not that Jesus has divine qualities or is divinely inspired. He is God come to us in human form.

One pastor said, "You can reject the claims, but don't mistakenly believe Jesus is just a teacher or adviser."

Said Timothy Keller, "The Gospel is Good News, not good advice." The Gospel is the Good News of what God has done to save us, not a set of teachings about how we can save ourselves.    

Keller was the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City; he

In his 1991 sermon "God With Us," he revealed why people shouldn't be offended at Christianity's exclusive claims. He also understood how those claims don't sit well in a pluralistic culture in which all religions are treated equally.

Said Keller, "Every other religion says morality and goodness is enough ... Christianity comes along and says, ‘No. Your situation is so dire that morality and goodness will never be enough. The unique Son of God had to come and die for you and you have to put all your hope and trust in Him.’"

Keller said this is not narrowness. Instead, "it's a radically different diagnosis of your problem."

For example, he said, "Suppose you were sick and you'd gone to see several other doctors. And every one of them said, 'It's not serious, just rest and drink lots of fluids and you'll be fine.' But what if I came along, and I'm a doctor and I say to you, 'The other doctors are wrong. You are terminal unless you take this particular medicine.' How would you respond to me? Would you say, 'I don't want to deal with you because you're narrow-minded'? No. You'd say, 'You're either right or you're wrong, but you're not narrow-minded. I need to find out if you're right.'"

Said Keller, "I may be  crazy, or I may be a liar, or I may be right. But it has nothing do with narrowness."

Joy: Events, Christmas Carols, singing

The third Advent candle is about Joy. 

There's certainly a lot of it in New York City, though it's considered one of the most secular places in the world. Yet it is known as one of the top cities to visit for Christmas, regardless of a person's religious background.

Among the options every December, thousands attend the "Messiah" sing-along at Lincoln Center. 

People of different cultures, races and religionscome together armed with their own vocal scores to sing what could be considered a divinely ordained musical masterpiece.

The libretto of George Friedrich Handel's "Messiah" is a version of the biblical narrative of redemption, a compilation of Old and New Testament verses of Scripture that talk of this Messiah, Christ the Lord, who comes to us. 

"He shall purify the sons of Levi" — that "surely, He has born our griefs and carried our sorrows." And of course, "Hallelujah, the Kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And He shall reign forever and ever." 

Handel's "Messiah" is the luxury car version of the Christmas carol. But carols are just as theologically rich with the reality of Christmas.

"Joy to the World, The Lord is come ... Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns ... No more let sin and sorrow grow ... He comes to make these blessings flow, Far as the curse [sin] is found."

Pastor Lucado says that while Christmas has gotten overly commercialized with all the buying and selling, the Christmas carols piped into retail outlets are opportunities for people to hear the Christmas story. Says Lucado, "You know, when I go into a shopping mall and I hear ‘Silent Night’ [and other songs], there's Gospel in those songs."

Love: God knows your heart

As the fourth Advent candle is lit and we look at Christmas Eve, it is time to see the fullness of this event.   

Lucado says forgetting that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus would be like forgetting the Fourth of July is about the founding of America. 

Says Lucado, "Can you imagine if all of a sudden on the 4th of July we could not mention the United States or the birth of our country? Even if you're not pro-American, you acknowledge that the reason this event happens is the birth of our country."

In the end, says Lucado, "the Christmas story is about a narrative that no human being could have ever imagined: It's about our great Creator, our blessed Lord, the God who has always been, who has all power, and who holds the entire universe in the palm of his hand." 

He said, "God loved us so much that He chose to enter the world, but not as a king or as an emperor, but as a baby. And not just as a baby — but in the most humble circumstances imaginable."

Lucado is a bestselling author whose bookshave sold over 150 million copies. He spoke on the "Lighthouse Faith" podcast recently, saying the most important thing to remember about Christmas is that this is about hope and love. 

Jesus was not born in a chalet or in a palace, or in a large city like Rome or Athens, but born instead in some forgotten little one-camel town called Bethlehem. 

He entered the world through the birth canal of a simple Jewish girl into the calloused hands of a simple carpenter.

Says Lucado, "The way He entered the world is, to me, the message of Christmas, that He would so love us, that He would become like us. And that He would so be like us. That there would never be a person who would say, ‘Jesus cannot understand me.’"

He added, "Because if you're poor ... Jesus has been poor. If you're forgotten ... Jesus was forgotten. If you're cold ... Jesus was cold. Everything that any human could ever experience, our Savior experienced."

Lucado also said, "That's the message of Christmas — how far Christ would go to reach the people he loves." The message of Christmas is, "For God so loved the world..."

The fifth and final Advent candle, of course, is the one we light on Christmas Eve. 

This candle represents Jesus — the culmination of the previous four. He is our Hope, our Peace, our Joy, and our Love.

Fox News

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) is ending the year on a high note, with investors adding over N1 trillion to their portfolios last week, marking a remarkable rally ahead of the Christmas season. The market continued to gain traction on Christmas Eve, as the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.82%, closing at 102,186.03 points, bringing the total market capitalization close to N62 trillion.

This sharp rise in investor wealth is attributed to a combination of strong buying interest, particularly in blue-chip stocks and consumer goods companies. The ASI’s gains last week, which saw it rise from 99,378.06 points to 101,129.09 points, reflect its best weekly performance since March 2024. Over the week, investors saw a boost of N1.062 trillion in market value, with major players like ARADEL, GTCO, and Zenith Bank driving much of the upward momentum.

Despite some declines in major stocks such as MTN Nigeria and BUA Cement, the market has remained buoyant, with a year-to-date return of 35.2%, outpacing the nation’s inflation rate of 34.6%. The surge in the stock market is also being fueled by year-end buying, as many investors take positions before the holidays, pushing some companies to achieve new 52-week highs.

MTN Nigeria’s share price, which had been under pressure in previous weeks, saw a 9% gain on Christmas Eve, contributing to the overall positive sentiment. Similarly, UBA emerged as the most traded stock by volume, with 51 million shares changing hands, while DANGCEM led in trading value at N11.14 billion. The market saw 37 stocks appreciate, with MRS and IKEJAHOTEL both gaining 10%, leading the day’s rally.

This pre-Christmas surge is reflective of a broader trend in Nigeria’s financial markets, where the rally in equities has provided a welcome boost for investors looking to close the year with strong returns. With the market capitalization now nearing N62 trillion, there is a sense of optimism despite the broader economic challenges the country faces.

The ongoing bullish trend underscores the growing confidence in Nigeria’s stock market, as investors prepare for a festive season marked by both economic hardships and rising opportunities in the financial sector. However, with high inflation, the steep cost of living, and concerns about insecurity, many Nigerians may remain cautious about the holiday season, as they balance the joys of the festive period with the reality of financial strain.