The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the result of the governor election in Ondo state.

Lucky Aiyedatiwa, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner of the Ondo state governorship election held on Saturday.

Aiyedatiwa, the incumbent governor of Ondo state, won the election in all 18 LGAs with 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 117,845 votes.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Debo Ologunagba, PDP spokesperson, said the poll “runs short of all expectations and requirements of a free, fair and credible election”.

“The Peoples Democratic Party and indeed all lovers of democracy in Nigeria and across the world have just witnessed the worst election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),” the statement reads.

Ologunagba said the election “witnessed the height of electoral swindle, deceit and manipulation” allegedly perpetrated by the APC.

He said the poll “witnessed widespread election merchandising, monetisation and barefaced vote buying” and voter suppression.

Ologunagba said Nigerians and the international community should take “serious action” to stem all forms of election manipulation and preserve the nation’s democracy.

The PDP spokesman said the party will “take appropriate action” after reviewing the election outcome.

The Cable

Hezbollah media head killed in Israeli strike on Beirut, security sources say

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah confirmed its media relations chief Mohammad Afif was killed by an Israeli strike on a building in central Beirut on Sunday.

Israel has rarely hit senior Hezbollah personnel who do not have clear military roles, and its air strikes have mostly targeted Beirut's southern suburbs where the group has its heaviest presence.

Israel's military, which earlier declined to comment, issued a statement late on Sunday reporting it had "eliminated" Afif. The Lebanese health ministry said the strike had killed one and injured three.

A second, separate strike later on Sunday hit Mar Elias street, another central area rarely targeted by Israeli bombs, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV reported. The Lebanese health ministry said that strike killed at least two people and wounded 22.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire for more than a year, since the group began launching rockets at Israeli military targets on Oct. 8, 2023. That was a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, Israeli authorities say.

In late September, Israel expanded its military campaign in Lebanon, heavily bombing the south and east and the southern suburbs of Beirut alongside ground incursions on the border.

Israel's campaign in Lebanon has in the last year killed 3,841 people and wounded nearly 15,000 others, the Lebanese health ministry said on Sunday, a toll that did not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah rockets fired across the border have killed dozens of Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, Israel says.

A separate assault on the Gaza Strip in Israel's war against Hamas has killed more than 43,000 people, most of them civilians, according to Palestinian health officials.

LEBANESE SOLDIERS KILLED

In addition to targeting Hezbollah, the escalation has killed several soldiers of the Lebanese military, including two who died on Sunday when Israel attacked an army post in the southern town of Al-Mari, the Lebanese army said on X.

Two other soldiers were wounded, it said.

The strike in Beirut targeting the Hezbollah official hit the Ras al-Nabaa neighbourhood, where many people displaced from the southern suburbs by Israeli bombardment have sought refuge.

The Lebanese security sources said a building housing offices of the Ba'ath Party had been hit, and the head of the party in Lebanon, Ali Hijazi, told the Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed that Afif had been in the building.

Ambulances could be heard rushing to the scene, and guns were fired to prevent crowds approaching.

The Lebanese broadcaster showed video of a building whose upper floors had collapsed and civil defence workers at the scene.

Afif was a long-time media adviser to Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sept. 27.

He managed Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station for several years before taking over the group's media office.

Afif hosted several press conferences for journalists among rubble in Beirut's southern suburbs. In his most recent comments to reporters on Nov. 11, he said Israeli troops had been unable to hold any territory in Lebanon, and that Hezbollah had enough weapons and supplies to fight a long war.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

'Massive' Russian attack causes Ukraine blackouts

A “massive” Russian missile and drone attack has targeted power infrastructure across Ukraine, the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

At least 10 people were killed in the strikes, which hit the capital, Kyiv, as well as multiple targets in several regions including Donetsk, Lviv and Odesa.

Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said its thermal energy plants had suffered “significant damage”, resulting in blackouts.

The country's state-owned energy operator, Ukrenergo, says it will enforce "restriction measures" for the whole of Ukraine on Monday.

The co-ordinated assault overnight on Saturday was largest of its kind since early September, according to authorities and local media.

In total, around 120 missiles and 90 drones were launched, Zelensky said on Telegram.

"Peaceful cities, sleeping civilians" and "critical infrastructure" were targeted, Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said.

The Russian defence ministry reported that it had hit all its targets, saying that its attack was on "essential energy infrastructure supporting the Ukrainian military-industrial complex".

“Russian terrorists once again want to scare us with cold and lack of light,” was how President Zelensky put it.

Of course, anything that seeks to deny power to factories producing weaponry inevitably harms civilians too - indirectly, through the loss of electricity and frequently water, and directly, as missiles or fragments of missiles rain down from the sky.

The governor of the Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, said there had also been disruptions to heat and water supplies, although the latter was gradually being restored. Hospitals and other critical infrastructure were operating using generators.

Further east, the city of Mykolaiv was also hit. The region's leader, Vitaliy Kim, told the BBC that the people were resilient there, despite being attacked regularly.

"People are in a good shape and want to defend themselves. We do not want to lose our homes," he said.

In Kyiv, fragments from intercepted missiles and drones fell in several places, but there were no reports of injuries.

The attack was the eighth large-scale one targeting Ukraine's energy facilities this year, DTEK said in a statement, adding that its plants had been attacked more than 190 times since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukrainian officials fear the most recent strike could signal another concerted Russian attempt to deplete the power grid as winter arrives.

Having already endured two-and-a-half bitter winters since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainians are bracing themselves for another.

“Here we go again" were the words of an official at one of Ukraine’s private energy companies, summing up the mood across the country on Sunday.

Through ingenuity and sheer determination, Ukraine has managed to survive each winter assault so far. There is every chance it will again, although its generation capacity is now less than a half of what it was in February 2022.

Poland, Ukraine's neighbour to the west, scrambled fighter jets to patrol its own airspace as a security precaution.

"Due to a massive attack by Russia, which is carrying out strikes using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones against sites located, among other places, in western Ukraine, operations by Polish and allied aircraft have begun," Poland's Operational Command said.

Hungary, which neighbours both Ukraine and Poland, was also on alert after drone attacks struck the westernmost Subcarpathian region - about 20km (12 miles) from the Hungarian border.

The country's defence minister said the "situation is being monitored continuously".

These latest attacks come as both Ukraine and Russia continue to try to anticipate how US President-elect Donald Trump will act once his administration takes power in January.

Trump has consistently said his priority is to end the war and what he describes as a drain on US resources in the form of military aid to Kyiv. He has not said how.

The US has been the greatest supplier of arms to Ukraine. Between the start of the war and the end of June 2024, it delivered or committed to send weapons and equipment worth $55.5bn (£41.5bn), according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organisation.

There are fears in Kyiv that it may come under pressure to negotiate an end to the war that may favour Russia's advances - Moscow continues to control a large swathe of Ukrainian territory.

Zelensky has said he is certain the war with Russia will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have under the new Trump presidency.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently told Russian state media of "positive" signals from the incoming US administration. But Russia has denied that a phone call took place in which Donald Trump reportedly warned the Russian president against escalating the war.

However, for all the talk of the possible changes coming when Donald Trump enters the White House, Sunday's attacks seem to indicate that, for now at least, the war’s grim realities are not changing.

Meanwhile, the leader of Germany - another Ukrainian ally - has defended a phone call he had with Putin on Friday, something Kyiv criticised as an attempt at appeasement.

"It was important to tell him [Putin] that he should not count on the support of Germany, Europe and many others in the world for Ukraine waning, but that it is now also up to him to ensure that the war comes to an end," Olaf Scholz said on Sunday.

He added that the Russian president had given no indication of a shift in his thinking on the war.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Moscow comments on Biden’s reported approval of strikes deep inside Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already shared his thoughts on possible Western approval for Ukraine to carry out long-range strikes deep within Russian territory, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

According to a report from the New York Times on Sunday, which cited unnamed American officials, US President Joe Biden has given Kiev the green light to deploy long-range American missiles against targets within Russia’s internationally recognized borders.

“The president has expressed his opinion on this matter,” Zakharova told news outlet RBK on Sunday.

In September, Putin stated that Ukrainian forces lack the capability to carry out attacks with Western-supplied long-range missiles without external assistance. “It is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is about deciding whether NATO countries become directly involved in the military conflict or not,” he said.

Putin added that if a decision allowing the strikes were made, Moscow would make “appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us.”

BBC/RT

Phillip Adenekan Adekunle Ademola had everything it takes for an excellent career at the highest levels of a judicial career. He was the grand-son of a king, the son of a Chief Justice and a prince in his own right. In another era, he could easily have become the first second generation Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN. It was his destiny to make neither and many still believe that he could well have been the ablest Justice of the Supreme Court Nigeria never had.

Born 27 July 1926, Adenekan Ademola finished his high school at Kings College in Lagos in 1944 and attended Higher College Yaba before proceeding to the University of London from where he graduated with a degree in law. When he qualified as a lawyer in 1951, his dad was already a judge, only the third Nigerian to be so appointed. Ademola practiced law for the next 19 years and spent three of those years also working as Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Egba Divisional Council in present day Ogun State.

When Yakubu Gowon gazetted his appointment as a judge of the High Court of the Western State of Nigeria on 18 June 1970, Ademola was just 45 years old. His dad, Adetokunbo Ademola, an Egba blue blood, had been in office as the CJN for 12 years. It was two years before Adetokunbo retired as CJN. Five years after his appointment as a judge, in 1977, another soldier, Olusegun Obasanjo, elevated Ademola into the pioneer cohort of justices of the Court.

A product of the mostly diffident judicial philosophy of the military era, he did not let the soldiers down. When some pesky Taiwanese litigants approached his bench in the Court of Appeal to hold the military to account for what looked like evident violations of human rights, Ademola elegantly counselled judges to “blow muted trumpets.” It was only a matter of time, many thought, before his diligent service was requited by setting him on his way to follow in the footsteps of his celebrated father to the Supreme Court. Many made it there who had but a fraction of his ability and preparation.

On more than two occasions, Ademola was actively considered for elevation to the Supreme Court. He had the intellect and pedigree for the role and no one could accuse him of judicial levitas. In the end, it was not to be. There was a persistent objection from another scion of an equally famous Egba dynasty who relentlessly levied serious complaints against Ademola which were never dispositively determined. But that was considered enough to ultimately park his judicial career in the cul-de-sac of the Court of Appeal. In 1991, Adenekan Ademola retired from the Court of Appeal. Reflecting his cultured intellectual outlook, he was appointed thereafter as the inaugural Director of Studies of the National Judicial Institute.

In those days, judicial integrity was taken seriously and even the slightest whiff of integrity deficit or exposure attracted career consequences. Olumuyiwa Jibowu was the first Nigerian Justice of the Supreme Court. His reputation as a judge appeared impeccable. In 1957, it emerged that Olumuyiwa had written a letter to an old friend, one Mr. Savage, which was said to have content that made references considered to be insalubrious about the leader of the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroons (NCNC), Nnamdi Azikiwe. One year later, when his name came up for consideration to become the first indigenous CJN, the contents of the letter were enough to force Olumuyiwa’s withdrawal from contention. The beneficiary was Adenekan Ademola’s dad.

Today in Nigeria, closeness to politicians is widely perceived to be a boost to judicial ambitions, not a constraint. A judge of the Federal High Court has recently gone on record to say that to be appointed a federal judge today in Nigeria, “one must either have the backing of the presidency or a political party.”

A widely respected continental medium recently reported under the caption “Why Nigerian judges love Nyesom Wike”, that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is “lauded like a rock star in judicial circles.” Part of the reason for the judicial superstardom of the FCT Minister is his material “generosity” towards judges.

This was not always the standard judicial fare.

The 1983 elections in Nigeria were quite contentious. Those were the first to be supervised by civilians under the presidential system. Many of the disputes over election outcomes ended up in court. Emmanuel Obioma Ogwuegbu, whose death at 91 recently became public, was then a judge of the High Court of Imo State. He later joined Adenekan Ademola in the Court of Appeal. The year after Ademola’s retirement, Ogwuegbu proceeded to the Supreme Court where he served for 11 years before retiring in 2003.

One night shortly after the 1983 elections, Ogwuegbu received an unusual night-time visitor at his official residence in Aba. Onyeso Nwachukwu who died in 2022 was a pious man, an Elder in the church, and the state chairman of the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN). On this night, the party chairman arrived with his wife, who blagged her way into the house by dropping the fact that she was a high school contemporary of the judge’s wife at the Community Girls Secondary School, Elelenwo, Rivers State.

Under the guise of a social visit, the party chairman visited to plead the cause of the beaten NPN governorship candidate, Collins Obi. The election petition was yet to be heard and the panel to hear it was not even announced. But the party wanted to advance the judge onto the panel as its “person.”

Ogwuegbu firmly reprimanded him before ushering him out of the house.

On the grounds of the compound but unknown to the judge, the party chairman had parked a brand-new Range Rover car complete with cellophane frills. As Justice Ogwuegbu ushered him out of the house, he noticed the party chairman walking to slide into another well-appointed sedan. So, he asked who the owner of the new Range Rover was. In response, the party chairman sidled up to the judge to inform him that he was the proud recipient of the four-wheel gift for his end of year.

Ogwuegbu smiled and pleaded with the party chairman to spare him further hardship. He explained that he had enough problems maintaining his Mercedes Benz car on his judicial salary and could not afford the financial exposure of trying to maintain an exponentially more expensive car. He insisted that the party chairman had to go with the car in the same manner that he brought it onto his compound. Ogwuegbu later begged off election tribunal duty because of this.

With reluctance, Elder Onyeso Nwachukwu drove out in the Range Rover which was manifestly meant to bribe an honest judge. For the remainder of his life, however, he lived in awe of Ogwuegbu because, he said, the judge belonged to that rare breed who could not be bought.

Honorable Justice Emmanuel Obioma Ogwuegbu was part of a generation in which judging was a deservedly elevated calling. In return, society honoured people like him with the honorific “My Lord”, an acknowledgement that they were called to a job that is truly divine. Today, the senior-most lawyers publicly twerk to partisan orchestras conducted by people who were in professional diapers when they were already in the Inner Bar and judges are made to believe it is kosher to enjoy political joy-rides and be serenaded with four-wheel bribes by politically exposed persons.

There will be time to return to the matter of how judicial integrity descended into their current morass and to address what can be done about that. For the moment, it is time to honour the memories of a generation of men and women, epitomised by Emmanuel Obioma Ogwuegbu, who put the “honorable” into the appellation, “Honourable Justice.”

** 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..

Saturday’s Ondo State governorship election was marred by widespread reports of vote buying and other electoral irregularities, despite assurances of a free and fair process. Civil society organizations Yiaga Africa and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) highlighted troubling incidents across the state, with both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused of engaging in brazen electoral malpractices.

Yiaga Africa, in its preliminary report, revealed that both major parties were involved in vote buying at multiple polling units, offering cash inducements ranging from N5,000 to as much as N20,000 per voter in exchange for votes. The group noted incidents in wards such as Odulufe, Omoke, and Ogubgobe in Ile-Oluji LGA, where APC agents were observed handing out N20,000 to voters. At other polling stations in Ifedore and Akure South LGAs, Yiaga Africa also documented agents from both APC and PDP distributing smaller amounts in exchange for votes, with no intervention from security personnel.

Similarly, the CDD reported that party agents were seen distributing money to voters in several wards, including Ifon and Iba Akoko, where APC agents provided N10,000 per voter and PDP agents offered N5,000. The report also revealed disturbing incidents where voters openly displayed their ballots to party agents, in a practice referred to as “see and buy,” to prove their vote was cast in favor of a particular candidate before receiving payment.

Security forces were notably absent or complicit in these activities. In some instances, such as at St. Barnabas Primary School in Ifon, CDD observers saw police officers arguing over money allegedly shared by party operatives, with complaints that some officers received more money than others. Despite these public violations, the security personnel present often failed to take action, with observers noting a general lack of professionalism.

Yiaga Africa condemned the widespread vote buying, calling it a “corrupt practice” that undermines the integrity of the electoral process and contributes to political inequality. The organization called on security agencies to take stronger action to deter such activities and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.

In addition to vote buying, there were other disruptions. Voters at the Leo Hospital polling unit in Akure South LGA were forced to delay voting due to the malfunctioning of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), leading to frustration and a brief disruption. Security agents were eventually called in to restore order.

Despite these challenges, the election day process was relatively peaceful overall, with many citizens turning out early to vote. Yiaga Africa and CDD both acknowledged the professionalism of election officials, particularly in terms of the timely arrival of materials and the widespread use of BVAS across the state. However, both organizations urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to address the serious issues of electoral fraud and ensure that election results are accurately and fairly collated.

The reports from Yiaga Africa and CDD underscore the ongoing challenge of electoral integrity in Nigeria, with vote buying continuing to plague elections at all levels.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has condemned the current state of Nigeria under President Bola Tinubu, describing the country as a “failing state” beset by widespread corruption, poor leadership, and insecurity. Speaking at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, Obasanjo argued that Nigeria’s troubles are a direct result of the “immorality and corruption” permeating the nation, which he said is sinking deeper into chaos and underdevelopment.

In his keynote address, titled “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria”, Obasanjo pointed to the leadership style of President Tinubu, who, during his campaign, popularized the slogan “Emilokan”, meaning “it’s my turn.” Obasanjo decried the “Baba-go-slow” and “Emilokan” era, referring to Tinubu’s governance as a continuation of failed leadership that has worsened the country’s descent into insecurity, division, and instability.

“The situation in Nigeria is bad and worsening,” Obasanjo declared, noting that the nation is gripped by violence, political discord, and rising youth unrest. He attributed these problems to the country’s corrupt political system, which he said is driven by a political elite engaged in “state capture.” State capture, as defined by Obasanjo, is a form of corruption where powerful elites manipulate national policies, legal environments, and resources for personal gain, often undermining the public good.

“State capture is one of the most pervasive forms of corruption,” Obasanjo stated, drawing from definitions provided by global organizations like the World Bank and Transparency International. “What is happening in Nigeria—right before our eyes—is state capture. The purchase of national assets by political elites, the allocation of resources to benefit specific groups, and the manipulation of public institutions are clear manifestations of this crisis.”

Obasanjo elaborated on how state capture occurs subtly, through the close alignment of business and political elites, often backed by family ties and mutual financial interests. He pointed to how key national assets, such as land and minerals, are being allocated to elites and their families at discounted prices, and how legislative, executive, and judicial bodies are now subject to manipulation by these powerful interest groups.

This, Obasanjo argued, has led to a situation where the public interest is no longer prioritized. Instead, policies, laws, and regulations are skewed to benefit select groups, often at the expense of the broader population. He warned that such practices have severely impacted Nigeria’s economic development, the provision of essential services like education and healthcare, and the overall quality of governance.

The former president’s comments reflect a growing disillusionment with the Tinubu administration, as his government has been accused of failing to address corruption, enhance security, and deliver on promises of national unity and development. Obasanjo called for stronger legal frameworks, both domestic and international, to combat state capture and its damaging effects on Nigeria’s democracy and development.

While acknowledging the legacy of late literary icon Chinua Achebe, Obasanjo emphasized that the writer’s values of integrity and leadership are sorely needed in today’s Nigeria. The country, he said, is in desperate need of leaders who prioritize the public good over personal gain.

Obasanjo’s remarks underscore the deepening crisis in Nigeria under the presidency of Bola Tinubu, with critics highlighting the lack of progress in tackling the root causes of the country’s instability. As insecurity, corruption, and economic hardship continue to plague the nation, the former president’s warnings serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need for change.

Two flash bombs fired into garden of Netanyahu's home in north Israel

Two flash bombs were fired towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in the northern Israeli town of Caesarea on Saturday and fell into the garden, police said.

Neither Netanyahu nor his family were present and there was no damage reported, it added in a statement.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the incident crossed "all red lines" in a post on X early on Sunday.

"It is not possible for the Prime Minister of Israel, who is threatened by Iran and its proxies who are trying to assassinate him, to be subject to the same threats from home," Katz said.

He also called on security and judicial agencies to take the necessary steps.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog condemned the incident in a post on X and said an investigation was underway.

"The incitement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu crosses all boundaries. Throwing a flash bomb into his house tonight is crossing another red line," Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also said on X.

In October, a drone was launched towards the premier's home in Caesarea, without causing any harm.

To the north, Israeli forces have been trading fire with Lebanon's armed Hezbollah group since October 2023. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's incident.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia open to Ukraine talks based on June proposals, Putin tells Scholz

Russia is open to talks to settle the conflict in Ukraine based on the proposals that were announced at the Foreign Ministry in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as they spoke by phone, the Kremlin said.

"As for the prospects for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict, the Russian president noted that the Russian side has never refused and remains open to the resumption of the negotiations that were interrupted by the Kiev regime," the Kremlin said in a statement. "Russia's proposals are well known and outlined, in particular, in a June speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry."

Putin held a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry in June, where he listed the conditions for talks with Ukraine. They include the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, Ukraine’s commitment to adopt a non-aligned status, denazification and demilitarization of the country, and the lifting of all Western sanctions. The president insisted that all these conditions should be enshrined in fundamental international agreements.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

G7 confirms pledge to impose severe costs on Russia for Ukraine war

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies on Saturday reiterated a pledge to keep imposing severe costs on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, through sanctions, export controls and other measures, and vowed to support Kyiv for as long as it takes.

"Russia remains the sole obstacle to just and lasting peace," said a joint statement published on Saturday, adopted "in support of Kyiv as the thousandth day of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine approaches."

Italy holds the 2024 rotating presidency of the G7, which also includes the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Britain.

"The G7 confirms its commitment to imposing severe costs on Russia through sanctions, export controls and other effective measures. We stand united with Ukraine," the statement added.

The Yoruba believe in the law of causation, a principle of philosophy which says that, every change in nature is produced by some cause. To buttress this, they posit authoritatively that a tree will never fall in the forest and kill peasants at home. Following this causative trail, they also say that rafters will never sink and kill a passerby (Igi kìí dá l'óko kó pa ará ilé; àjà kìí jìn k’ó pa èrò ònà). Sakara music lord, Yusuff Olatunji, appropriated an ancient Yoruba words of incantation while paying obeisance to the powers and principalities of this world, otherwise called coven initiates, the “àwòròsàsà”. By doing this, he also explored this principle of causation. The rafters can never collapse at the tender feet of a climbing cat – “Àjà kìí jìn m’ólógbò l’ésè, ó d’owó èyin àwòròsàsà,” he sang.

How true for all seasons are these aphorisms? For the recently deceased General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, the trees in the forest of a soldier fell while he was fighting wars in reptiles-laden forest and several deadly operations in creeks. They didn’t kill him. Those same trees, in the form of a mere disease, fell and, like a hawk picks a chicken off existence, he is suddenly killed.

Danish philosopher, poet and social critic, Soren Kierkegaard, reminds us that death is the only finality and certainty. While every other thing about life is finite, with death, it is as sure as the sun will rise. Kierkegaard however said that death is an uncertain certainty because it is not constrained by time nor circumstance. It can strike at any time. Yoruba’s perception of death is not dissimilar to this. They see Death as one insufferable, ugly, wicked and charcoal-dark gnome whose sense of justice is zero. Kierkegaard is almost at one with this ancient Yoruba epistemology of dying and death. He said that, in death, the dead return to dust, to nothingness that they had always been. He proceeds to say that the dead’s efforts to leave any form of immortality of name behind them get frustrated by the hand of time.

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, General Lagbaja died on November 5 at the age of 56, allegedly from the pangs of cancer. Last Friday, he was given his rites of passage into the bosom of Mother Earth, what humanity profoundly labeled “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

In its zero sense of justice, Death offers no explanation for the pain it brings when it perpetually annihilates persons whose births are celebrated. Every hour, humanity loses hundreds of its earthly migrants, reducing them to one unwanted mound flushed six feet beneath earthly surface. The finite nature of man and his perishability were espoused by late reggae musician, Majek Fashek, when he sang “heaven and earth will pass away…but my guitar will never pass away.” If the dead have the power of cognition at their departure, Majek must by now have realized that, against his musical submission of how finite every other thing but his guitar was, the totality of the human race is finite. This includes individuals and cultures which pass away. Everything, including everything about man, eventually passes away. Kiekergard espoused the above in his book entitled At a Graveside’: Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions.

From all the testimonials about him, Lagbaja was apparently a good man. His classmate at St. Charles Grammar School, Osogbo, 1984 set, Bimbo Kolade, in a moving tribute to a man he called by his acronym, TAL, fittingly described his passage as the calamity wreaked on a pod of kolanut by diseases and pests. A kolanut pod can be afflicted by a variety of fungi, one of which is called Penicillium. These fungi cause the nuts to discolor, shrink, or rot. Pests like Kola weevil, moth and worms can also attack kolanuts. When they do, they bore deep into its earthly existence, remove nourishment from it and ultimately take away its masculinity.  In his dirge to Lagbaja, Kolade seemed to have gone into the rafters where ancient Yoruba elders keep their possessions and philosophically explained the impact of Lagbaja’s passing. He had written, “Kòkòrò ‘ò jé a gbádùn obì t’ó gbó,” translated to mean, the kola weevil has delinked us from the benefit of chewing a rotund and mature-to-eat kolanut.

Another colleague of his' in the military, General J.J. Ogunlade (rtd), former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division Sokoto and Force Commander, Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), in another moving tribute, said “Lagbasky,” the pet name he used to call him, was “one of the most seasoned field commanders in the Nigerian Army,” who he “had the honour of collaborating (with) on numerous operations,” while lauding his “exceptional skills as an infantry soldier and his remarkable prowess as a paratrooper” which “highlight a profound dedication to his responsibilities.”

Professor of anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Eyal Ben-Ari, in his Epilogue to Considering Casualties, a Special Issue of the Armed Forces & Society journal (2005, Vol. 31, No. 4) espoused the theory of “good death” in the military. According to him, “militaries around the world must deal with – handle, manage, or interpret – the casualties perpetrated by them and suffered by their own members.” In other words, the military not only manages violence, injury and demise of its members which include deaths in battles, skirmishes, or engagements, it must also manage the fatalities attracted from traffic accidents, sicknesses, suicide, or training. The military top echelon in virtually all countries prioritizes the welfare, death and remembrance of their compatriots. They get sunk into every aspect of their lives, as well as their deaths. The military, in other words, said Ben-Ari, is responsible for soldiers’ body-building, their bodies-in-use, their body-bags and their “body disposal.”

Taking its cue from a hunter’s traditional funeral rites for a departing hunter which the Yoruba call ìsípà ode, the Nigerian military, on Friday, saw off its late Olúóde (Head of hunters), Lieutenant General Lagbaja at the National Cemetery in Abuja. A solemn moment, the ìsípà was attended by top military brass, government officials and members of the diplomatic corps. If you have ever witnessed an Ìrèmòjé – a Yoruba chanting of poetry and rites of passage for a departing hunter – what the military did in Abuja on Friday was a fitting mimicry. Tributes, similar to chants of a deceased hunter’s cognomen and family poetry, marked the rites for Lagbaja with the Olori Olúóde, the Head hunter, or the Ológbojò, head of the masquerades, Nigeria’s Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Bola Tinubu, not only attending the burial of his leading war chief, but handing him a posthumous national honour. While conferring the Commander of the Federal Republic (COR) on Lagbaja, Tinubu said it was a mark of appreciation for his invaluable contributions to Nigeria’s security. Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, in his tribute, also described Lagbaja’s passing as a call to action for the military.

Perhaps out of esprit de corps, awareness of their own perishability as well or keeping with an ancient tradition they felt they were compelled to honour and reify, traditional Yoruba hunters also keep the memory of a deceased hunter alive. By the way, in traditional Africa, hunters were the soldiers who represented the military command. Warriors like Ogedengbe Agbogungboro of Ijesa land, Basorun Ogunmola and others were hunters and generalissimos. The ìsípà is thus, in a way, a celebration of the god, Ògún. This deity, who became an Alaafin of Oyo, in his early life, was said to have been a hunter. While deifying Ogun, he is memorialized as the controller of all human iron implements which ranged from cutlasses, guns, to swords. Bade Ajuwon, in his “The Preservation of Yoruba Tradition through Hunters' Funeral Dirges,” published in the Journal of the International African Institute, (Vol. 50, No. 1, 1980), delved into the intricacies of the funeral for the hunter. The Ìrèmòjé, a performance of Yoruba hunters' funeral dirges, according to him, “is of great human interest because it is an indispensable rite at all the major crises that may affect members of the hunters' guild.” He said it is evidently a means of emotional outlet for the hunters left behind by the deceased and his family.

Yoruba mythology believes that Iremoje was a coinage by Ifa, who is known as “the god of wisdom and of divination.” Ìrèmòjé is actually a lamentation personally demanded by the Ogun as a performance by his followers “as part of a rite of passage for deceased hunters from earth to heaven.” Ogun was said to have decreed the model of the performance of Ìrèmòjé for the emulation of his followers. Its observance is a ritual used to propitiate their god, a means of communicating with a deceased hunter, and also used to make a thorough appraisal of, in the words of Ajuwon “the successes and failures of deceased hunters in their professional career on earth.” While the Ìrèmòjé is being chanted, a significant historical connection is made with the ancestors of the deceased hunter, emphasizing the hunting victories and heroic deeds of the late hunter. “They praise (the late hunter’s) fine character, his kind heart, his professional skills and techniques, commend his memorable deeds as a hunter, or at least the courage with which he faced ordeals in life,” said Ajuwon. In another journal article, Àjùwòṇ said the Ìsípà Ode rites represent “to the Yoruba hunters a final separation of the deceased hunter from the earthly hunters’ guild. It is the hunters’ belief that once the deceased hunter finally loses his membership in the hunters’ earthly guild, he shall no longer hunt with the living hunters.”

Two Yoruba Ìjálá and Ìrèmòjé chanters who represent the finest art of and who were the most popular ìjálá artists are/were Ògúndáre Fọ́yánmu and Àlàbí Ògúndépò who incidentally hail from Ogbomoso, Oyo State. While Fọ́yánmu’s poetry was a popular brand in the 1970s/80s/90s in Yorubaland, and sold in vinyl, I saw an old but agile Ògúndépò the other day at the burial rites for late ex-Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Adeniyi Koleosho doing what he has almost a global renown for.

The way militaries all over the world deal with the casualties they suffer, the ways in which they deal with their own fatalities are not dissimilar from the way traditional hunters deal with their own dead, too. The question has always been why the military command and the Nigerian state, had to do what they did for Lagbaja on Friday, spending humongous resources and time? Ayo Adeduntan, in his What the forest told me: Yoruba hunter, culture and narrative performance, (2019) citing an earlier Ajuwon submission, gave an explanation. According to him, it was an act of “terminating interaction with the dead.” He justified the Ìsípà ode for hunters thus: “Since all hunters straddle the spiritual and the physical realms… Considering that the hunter’s encounter with spirits, sometimes of the dead, is often anything but friendly, he finds it more agreeable to redefine relations with one’s own dead so that they find their rightful place as ancestors to whom the living hunters must relate as superiors instead of joining the sundry footloose spirits that trouble earthly hunters.”

As myths most times surround passages of the Olúóde, myths also surround the passage of Lagbaja. The late Chief of Army Staff hailed from Ilobu, in Irepodun Local Government of Osun State, a town which straddles two others, Erin Osun and Ifon who are constantly warring with one another. At his death, some traditionalists and the people of his hometown alleged that Lagbaja’s death was unnatural. The spiritualists also declared that Lagbaja’s spirit could be invoked for vengeance on those connected with his early passing. A traditionalist, Awopegba Ifagbemi pleaded with the Federal Government to release Lagbaja’s corpse to them for a spiritual exercise that would fight his perceived killers. Another said his “killers would not go scot-free.” Lagbaja was said to have begun the building of a hospital for the people of his Ilobu town but the adjoining town claimed the land belonged to it, necessitating the late General building same hospital in the three warring communities. Some people were said to have believed that the people who killed him were the “kòkòrò ‘ò jé a gbádùn obì t’ó gbó”-the kola weevil which transformed into the cancer that allegedly ate up Lagbaja.

Tinubu, the Chief Olúóde’s bestowal of a posthumous COR honour on Lagbaja may also have its roots in the totem of Yorubaland. In very many communities, Yoruba people honour fidelity agreement with even animals. Odidere, the parrot, for instance, is an iconic bird which is a symbol of the city of Iwo due to the significant role it played in the creation of the city. Another case in point is the relationship of the snail to the people of Erin-Oke, located in same Osun State. A mythical accident of history in the 18th century which involved King Akinla Aladekomo was the precursor of the remembrance of this fidelity. Akinla had a ravishingly beautiful wife called Omolere, who one day went to the farm with her maid. On getting to the farm, the Queen reportedly dropped her Iró, the cover-cloth, on a tree while she got embroiled in the task of pruning of weeds. As she did this, small snails which in Yorubaland are called Ìpére, crawled down to the Queen’s clothing and as they crawled, spat their traditional sticky saliva which, when dry, resembles a man’s semen, on it.

When the Queen got home and her husband the king saw the curious hieroglyphics which he took for a sign of sexual intercourse, suspecting adultery, he was furious. Though the Queen pleaded her innocence, the King disclaimed all entreaties and exploding in a fit of anger and impetuosity, ordered that the Queen be beheaded, alongside her maid, who he reasoned must have witnessed the adulterous session but failed to disclose it. Unfortunately, at the death of Queen Omolere, Erin-Oke began to witness the spiritual import of this tragic murder. A string of calamities began to happen in the entire sleepy town which included poor harvests, violent storms, pestilence, epidemics, sudden and premature deaths, among others. The town’s Ifa oracle diviner declared to the king that he was the harbinger of these calamities. As an appeasement of the warring spirit of the beheaded Queen, Ifa recommended deification and eternal remembrance of Queen Omolere. Her effigy was carved and painted in her favourite red colour while small snails, the Ipere, became a taboo for Erin natives which they must never touch nor eat.

Another totem eternally venerated in Yorubaland in the mould of Lagbaja’s COR is the monkey. This is done by the people of Owo in Ondo State. Town remembrancers say that, on their journey from Ile-Ife, the progenitors of Owo people enjoyed a special help from some monkeys who guided them through the forests to their present location. As fidelity with their benefactors, Owo kings, rulers and traditional priests decreed eating of monkeys a taboo among the town’s indigenes, whether they are within or outside the town, wherever they reside.

The death of Lagbaja, as philosophers say, is a pointer to death as an individual experience. You will die your own death and I will, mine. German philosopher, Martin Heidegger, in his “Being and Time” postulations, has a response to those who lament that Lagbaja died in his plumule, even before he flowered. Heidegger said, “As soon as we are born, we are old enough to die.”

Sleep well, the Olúóde of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me ~ Ezekiel 2:2.

Introduction:

It cannot be overemphasized that every excelling goodness on earth is a product of the grace of God. Grace is favour minus the sweat and the duress of labour. Gracebrings promotion without certain known and essential credentials (Romans 9:16).

No matter how impossible things appear to be, there will always be a performance for the man who has contacted God’s exceeding grace. Even in situations where “able” men have had it rough, the ordinary man with God’s grace will still make a headway, because the Almighty God is on his side.

Grace is an outflow of the blessing of God (Genesis 33:23, 39:21; Exodus 3:21, 11:3, 12:36). It’s a supernatural admixture ofchance and divine timing, which we all call opportunity (Ecclesiastes 9:11). Grace naturally makes you a wonder on earth(Psalms 71:7).

When grace speaks, protocols are suspended, transgressions are overlooked and qualifications (or disqualifications) are set aside. With grace on your side, connections are not too important and, in fact, they’re sometimes ruled out of order. With the backing of grace, age, size and strength are no longer counted as critical factors of enthronement.

Grace and glory are inseparably intertwined! Grace is required to produce glory, which is essential to promote grace. Meanwhile, we all have personal responsibilities to the grace of God.

Our Personal Responsibilities To God’s Grace!

Everyone who has received divine grace, and is duly exposed to the truth of God’s Word via a genuine revelation of the Holy Spirit, must choose to manifest God’s glory and yield sufficiently to justify His wisdom.

There is something locked up in you that the world is waiting for. God’s Word is a seed, and when it’s properly sown into a man’s heart, the man himself becomes a servant-seed (Psalms 22:27-31). This is what makes those who bear the precious seed of God's Word dangerous materials against the devil.

Beloved child of God, the entire creation is waiting with greatest eagerness for you to manifest in glory (Romans 8:18-19). If you delay your manifestation, fake champions will continue to enjoy a field day!

Nebuchadnezzar thought there was no god beside him until the three Hebrew children showed forth the glory of the Son of God (Daniel 3:25). Even Pharaoh thought he was the Alpha and Omega until Moses showed up.

Until you manifest in the glorious power of God’s grace, those you are sent to liberate from intimidation and defeat will continue to wriggle under shackles. If Joseph had died in captivity, Israel would have been helplessly famished, and her glorious destiny would have remained hazy.

Darkness continues its rule unabated until light appears. You carry the spirit of grace and the seed of dominion within; therefore, you are a debtor to the world. The glory of the earth is incomplete until you release the portion of God's glory in you (Numbers 14:21).

It’s Time For Action!

Friends, your “today” is very important to your “tomorrow”. Your today conceives and delivers the fulfillment in your tomorrow. Your feats today are the requisite credentials for your enthronement tomorrow.

Trash the failures of the past, conquer the challenges of the present, blindside the fear of the future, and crush all the roadblocks on your life's journey to distinction. With daring tenacity, push through forcefully, and you won’t experience an empty tomorrow.

Like Benaiah of old, carry yourself with courage in the power of the Holy Ghost (2Samuel 23:20-23). Even when you’re in a difficult arena, and faced with complicated danger or anxious moments, go forth to conquer and be ever set on the course to win in life.

A glorious future is reserved for those who can forget the past and command their nerves to see God in their future(Philippians 3:13-14).

Life has no discrimination against the works of valour. Social status or gender barriers are only in the mind. If you act in valour, your background notwithstanding, you will still earn the honour.

Jael was just an ordinary woman, but she was accorded the honour of a full general when she killed Sisera who, as captain of Jabin at that time, had become a fish bone in the throat of Israel. Thereafter, the entire world sang the praises of her high feat (Judges 5:24-27).

You were not created to live like a commoner. Our Creator-God is the Most High, and you will, most certainly, be dishonouring Him if you live as the lowest nameless creature. Know that answersproduce distinction, and it is results that terminate common insults.

Stop robbing the world of the benefit of your uniqueness. Show up now, and become a “somebody” for God. Dare great things with Him; at the hours of honor you will not be dismayed. Men and brethren, it's time to go forth in the might of the Holy Spirit.

Irreducible Atmosphere for Breakthrough Grace!

There’s a ruggedness of faith that always comes with grace, which makes it impregnable to failure. The following will lubricate the grace of God in your life and invigorate your faith, any day!

A lifestyle of righteousness is very basic here (Psalm 5:12). When Jesus Christ, the Righteousness of God, dwells in you and you consistently yield to Him, grace will never be frustrated in your life (Galatians 2:21).

Furthermore, the way you use your peculiar gifts, talents and treasures to impact lives and make the world better in the power of the gospel will define the atmosphere of the divine grace you carry (Psalms 45:12).

The currencies of grace and glory are to be spent, not hoarded! Let’s arise and go forth, therefore, developing our businesses/careers, winning souls for Christ, touching lives for good and making the world more livable to the glory of God (Titus 2:11).

These, of course, bespeak an ever-readyKingdom-mindedness (Psalms 102:13-14).Primarily, the grace of God is bestowed on us to project the glory and the power of God. When we lay this to our hearts, the grace of God will find a resting place in our entire being.

Nevertheless, please keep in mind that you cannot have the mind of the kingdom if you’re not a citizen of the kingdom. You must be born again (John 3:3). This you can do today by repenting of your sins and embracing the love and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

As you do, the embodiment of God’s grace, Jesus Christ, will dwell in you supernaturally, and people around you will begin to see sufficient proof of God’s goodness in your life and destiny.

Friends and brethren, this is your due time for glorious manifestations. No force from the depths of hell will be able to hold you down any more. You will start to outrun those who have run ahead of you. The zeal of the Lord shall perform it. You won’t miss it, in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Archbishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987