RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian military desertions skyrocketing – FT

More than twice as many Ukrainian soldiers have been charged with desertion this year than in 2022 and 2023 combined, the Financial Times has reported. The spike in desertions has hampered Kiev’s ability to replenish its thinned-out ranks.

Ukrainian prosecutors opened 60,000 cases against deserters between January and October of this year, the British newspaper reported on Saturday, noting that those convicted face prison terms of up to 12 years.

For some of these men, desertion is seen as the only way of getting off the front lines to rest. Ukrainian lawmakers dropped a provision from a bill earlier this year that would have allowed the country’s longest-serving conscripts to be demobilized in the coming months, and service members told the Financial Times that the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) lacks the manpower to give troops shorter four-week rotations off the front lines for rest and retraining.

”They’re just killing them, instead of letting them rehabilitate and rest,” one officer told the newspaper.

Those killed are replaced by ill-trained and unfit draftees. In an earlier article, Ukrainian commanders told the Financial Times that on some busy sectors of the front, 50 to 70% of these new conscripts are killed or wounded within days of starting their first rotation. Those who survive often go AWOL as soon as they can, the newspaper reported.

Some choose to desert while at training camps in NATO countries. An anonymous Polish security source told the Financial Times that around 12 Ukrainian men abscond from training centers in Poland every month.

Earlier this week, a Ukrainian MP told the Associated Press that as many as 200,000 soldiers may have deserted since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022.

There are around 350,000 active-duty soldiers in the UAF, although heavy losses – more than half a million since February 2022, according to the Russian Defense Ministry – have seen the country’s longest-serving soldiers replaced first by almost a dozen NATO-trained divisions, and then, after these divisions were chewed up during last year’s disastrous counteroffensive, by unwilling conscripts.

Press-ganged off the streets and dragged out of nightclubs to serve, these draftees include the blind, the deaf, and the mentally handicapped, according to recent media reports and testimony from Ukrainian lawmakers.

”Men who are the right age for the military draft are scared to walk freely in the street,” one draft-dodger told The Telegraph earlier this week. A recruiter concurred, telling the newspaper that approaching a potential conscript is often “like dealing with a cornered rat.”

The UAF is seeking to recruit around 160,000 new soldiers in the coming months. To reach this target, the US has begun pushing the Ukrainian government to lower the minimum draft age to 18, down from 25, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian drone attack in Russia's Bryansk region killed child, governor says

One child died in Russia's western Bryansk region following a massive Ukrainian drone attack, the local governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Sunday in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Bogomaz said the attacks completely destroyed one house in the Starodubsky municipal district.

According to a Telegram channel called Mash, an 11-year-old boy died after a drone hit a five-story residential apartment in the region.

The Russian defence ministry said its air defences destroyed 29 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 20 in the Bryansk region, seven in Kaluga region, and one each in Smolensk and Kursk regions.

The strikes come after Russia launched a record number of drones targeting Ukraine on Tuesday, cutting power to much of the western region of Ternopil and damaging residential buildings in the Kyiv region.

RT/Reuters

On 20 October, I was gloomy. It was four years since  the #EndSARS protests by Nigerian Youths against police brutality and the bloody reprisals that followed in its wake. I scrolled my phone with intention of exiting the #EndSARS sorrows. Instead, I scrolled unto premium tears.

On Premium Times, I stumbled on an articleheadlined, “Theresa Chikeka: The retired judge who is chief judge of Imo State? By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu”. I take anything written by Odinkalu seriously because he bears a torch in the dark times we find ourselves in this country. By his flint we hope to find guidance to the paths that could make life liveable for those coming after us. The opening phrases of the article read as follows:

“The judicial career of Francis Chukwuma Abosi was supposed to last only seven years. In the event, he did 12 and may well have reached 20 years if events had not intervened. In his 12th year as a judge in April 2020, while serving as the Acting President of the Customary Court of Appeal of Imo State in South-East Nigeria, the National Judicial Council (NJC) mercifully ended it all.”

The story was not about Francis Abosi though. It was about Theresa Eberechukwu Chikeka who was appointed a judge of the High Court of Imo State on the same day as Abosi in 2008. Theresa Chikeka schooled, did Youth Service, and worked on the basis that she was born on 27 October 1956 and should have retired at 65 in October 2021. Instead, she changed her year of birth from 1956 to 1958, thereby making her eligible to retire in 2023 instead of 2021. On 28 June 2022, Imo State House of Assembly confirmed her as Chief Judge, more than eight months after she should have retired.

On 18 November, the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended the sack of Chikeka for age falsification. Additionally, “the council found that Grand Khadi Mahdi of Yobe State had three different dates of birth – December 10, January 28, and July, all in 1959, while his actual date of birth is 1952. The council held that Babagana, the Grand Kadi of Yobe, committed an act of misconduct in violation of Rule 02908 (i) and (ii) of the Public Service Rules, 2021 and ought to have retired from service 12 years ago.”

I am scandalised to learn that falsification of age by judicial officers is this rampant. How many more retired judges remain in service of the judiciary? The judicial officer’s calling is to do justice and, in some instances, convict people who cheat the system, falsify documents, or depose falsehoods on oath. What is the moral justification for persons like Abosi, Babagana, or Chikeka to purport to dispense justice on others?

I thank Odinkalu for amplifying the situation, keeping it in the front burner and insisting that the right thing is done. It remains to be seen if the NJC’s recommendation directing compulsory retirement and refund of salaries by the number of months that Babaganda and Chikeka respectively overstayed their judicial tenure will be implemented.

However, retirement and refund of salaries alone are, in my opinion, not proportionate punishment for the misconduct established. I think that there should be additional consequences for the misconduct by Abosi, Babagana and Chikeka. They have each done considerable damage to the standing of the judiciary and to the careers of other persons who could have been President of Customary Court of Appeal, Grand Khadi, or Chief Judge who would have filled the vacancies had they left the judicial service when they were due. Their conduct also implicates several heads of crime, including fraudulent misrepresentation, forgery, and perjury.

The Difficult Question

The more difficult question is: what is the fate of judgments or proceedings delivered or conducted by these judicial officers after the time that they ought to have retired?

The judiciary is not like the executive where acts done by a person who is not the governor or duly appointed executive member could still be saved by several theories, such as the doctrine of necessity. Nor is the judiciary like the legislature where the participation of persons not qualified to do so would not necessarily invalidate laws made. Of course, participating in parliamentary proceedings when unqualified is unconstitutional under section 57 of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999.

However, that did not deter people like Salisu Buhari from forging their age and qualifications to claim eligibility to become elected to the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 3 June 1999 to 23 July 1999. Laws, resolutions or proceedings made while he was speaker did not become void. Salisu Buhari would later confess, resign, apologise, and be convicted of his crimes. President Olusegun Obasanjo extended a pardon to him after the courts sentenced him to two years in prison for those crimes.

Numerous lawmakers had been in the national or state assemblies making laws while not eligible to be in those places. The constitution in those instances provides that the ineligibility of a lawmaker does not make the law made invalid. No one has bothered to ask if without those ineligibles, the legislature would have been quorate to begin with.

The enquiry as to whether the acts of Chikeka, Mahdi Babagana, or Abosi would remain valid is important because of its implications for the validity of their decisions after they should have retired. The case of former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, is relevant here.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted Orji Kalu for stealing the equivalent of about US$700m from the state’s coffers. The trial court convicted and sentenced him to about 12 years in jail. Before the conclusion of the proceedings, the trial judge (Muhammed Idris) was nominated a justice of the Court of Appeal. Orji Kalu applied for Idris to continue and complete the trial. Section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) allowed a judge of the High Court elevated to the Court of Appeal to continue to sit as a High Court judge for the purpose of concluding partly heard criminal matters which s/he was handling before the elevation.

Idris granted Orji Kalu’s application and concluded the trial despite his nomination to the Court of Appeal. On appeal, the Supreme Court held that Idris was no longer a judge of the Federal High Court on the day he convicted and sentenced Orji Kalu. It therefore set aside the proceedings. On 2 June 2020, Abdullahi Liman ordered the release of Orji Kalu from custody, claiming that the decision of the seven-person panel of the Supreme Court meant that his conviction was wrongful and there was no basis for him to remain in custody. Inyang Ekwo on 21 September 2021 restrained EFCC from re-arraigning Orji Kalu, holding that to do so would breach the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy.

The principle in this decision is clear. So, what happens to the decisions rendered by Chikeka, Babagana, Abosi or any other unqualified judge rendered after they were supposed to have retired? What about accused persons convicted or acquitted by Chikeka et al? Will the Orji Kalu precedent be democratised and who will bear the cost of wasted time and resources of the State and litigants? It is not just enough for Abosi, Babagana, Chikeka and others to disgorge salaries unlawfully earned. They deserve their day(s) in court.

** Johnson Agwu, a lawyer, writes from Lagos.

When I think about rebranding, it’s a bit like cleaning out my closet. At first glance, everything seems fine—comfortable, familiar. But when I start looking closer, I realize some of the clothes I’ve held onto no longer fit who I am or where I’m headed. That’s when I know it’s time for a refresh, not just to feel better about the present, but to reflect the future I’m stepping into.

Rebranding is similar. It’s not about discarding everything, but about taking stock, making purposeful changes, and positioning yourself for where you want to go next.

Why are you rebranding?

Before diving into colors, logos, and messaging, the most important question to ask is: Why are you rebranding? Without a clear purpose, your rebrand can fall flat or even damage the company’s image.

Some common reasons to rebrand include:

This Health Food Founder Would Rather Go Broad Than Niche

• Target a new audience: Your current brand may have served you well for years, but as markets shift, you may notice your message resonating with a different demographic or generation. Rebranding can help you reach them more effectively, positioning your company to speak to their values, aspirations, and needs.
• Business evolution: As companies grow, they often expand their offerings or shift their focus. A rebrand can communicate this evolution, ensuring your image aligns with your company’s current and future direction.
• Reputation management: Sometimes, a rebrand is necessary to distance a company from negative associations. Whether it’s a public relations crisis or an outdated reputation, rebranding can give you a clean slate.
• Competition and differentiation: If your market is saturated or your brand is blending into the background, a rebrand can set you apart from the competition and reinforce your unique value proposition.

In any of these cases, having a clear reason for rebranding will guide your decisions and ensure you stay on track. Here are six considerations for your rebranding.

1. Rebrand for the customers you want

One key to rebranding success is understanding that you’re not rebranding for the customers you currently have—you’re rebranding for the customers you want. This mindset shift is crucial. If your company is starting to resonate with a specific generation or demographic, rebranding can be the perfect opportunity to refine your messaging and push toward them.

For example, you might notice that your products or services are becoming popular with younger consumers, or you’re gaining traction in a different geographic region. A rebrand can align your company’s image with their values and preferences. Whether it’s through more modern design elements, a refreshed messaging tone, or a shift in your overall identity, the goal is to appeal to this new group without alienating your existing customers. It’s a balancing act, but when done well, it can open up entirely new markets for your business.

2. Don’t survey your current customers

It might seem like a good idea to survey your current customers before diving into a rebrand. After all, they’ve been with you through thick and thin, and their loyalty has kept your business going. But here’s the truth: Rebranding isn’t about keeping things as they are. Asking current customers what they think about your rebrand can backfire, as their feedback is likely to pull you back toward what they’re already familiar with.

While customer opinions are important in many aspects of your business, a rebrand is often about moving forward and making changes that will appeal to a new audience or take your company in a fresh direction. Your current customers might be attached to elements of your brand that need to change in order to grow. Trust your vision and your market research, and focus on what will drive your business toward your future goals.

3. Streamline decision making

Limit the number of decision makers involved in the rebrand. Too many cooks in the kitchen will create confusion, slow the process, and dilute your vision. Every new opinion adds another layer of complexity, and it’s easy to get bogged down trying to please everyone.

Instead, put together a small, focused team that can make decisions quickly and efficiently. This team should include people who understand the brand, the company’s goals, and the target audience’s needs. With fewer voices at the table, you’ll have a clearer direction and a faster path to launching the new brand.

4. Keep the core values intact

While rebranding is often about change, it’s essential to keep your company’s core values intact. What makes your brand unique should still shine through, even in its new form. The trick is to refresh your image without losing the essence of what has made your business successful.

Ask yourself: What aspects of the brand must remain untouched? It could be your commitment to quality, your focus on sustainability, or your dedication to excellent customer service. Make sure these key elements are carried forward in the new brand so that your rebrand feels like a natural evolution, not a complete departure.

5. The visual elements

When most people think of rebranding, they immediately picture new logos, updated color schemes, and fresh design elements. And while these are certainly important, they are the outcome of your rebrand, not the starting point. The visuals should be a reflection of your rebrand’s strategic goals.

That said, it’s important to ensure that your new visuals communicate your company’s new direction and resonate with your target audience. Keep the design consistent with the message you want to convey. If you’re targeting a younger, more modern audience, bold, minimalist design choices might be the way to go. For a more established or traditional audience, subtle updates to your classic look may be more appropriate.

6. The rollout: Introduce the new brand

Once the hard work is done and your new brand is ready to go, it’s time to plan your rollout. A successful rebrand doesn’t happen overnight; it requires careful planning and communication with your audience. Consider creating a timeline that allows for a gradual transition, easing customers into the new look and feel.

Be transparent about why you’re rebranding. Let your customers know what’s changing and, more importantly, why these changes are happening. This can help minimize confusion and keep your loyal customers on board as you move into the next phase of your company’s journey.

Rebranding is more than just a visual refresh—it’s about repositioning your company for the future. It’s an opportunity to redefine who you are, what you stand for, and where you’re headed. By rebranding for the customers you want, keeping the process streamlined, and staying true to your core values, you can create a brand that’s not only modern and relevant but also built to last.

Inc

Northern Nigeria is seeing a surge in opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s proposed tax reform bills, with regional groups and political leaders condemning the measures as harmful to the economic interests of the North. The four bills—aimed at overhauling the country’s tax system—are currently under review in the National Assembly. However, their swift progression has sparked widespread anger in the northern states, with accusations that the reforms favor southern Nigeria, particularly Lagos, at the expense of the North’s economic stability.

The bills—entitled the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, and the Nigeria Tax Bill—passed a second reading in the Senate last week, despite vocal objections from northern lawmakers and leaders. Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele described the bills as crucial for streamlining tax revenue administration across Nigeria, eliminating double taxation, and boosting private sector investment. However, many in the North view the reforms as unfairly burdensome, potentially exacerbating the region’s already dire economic conditions.

The latest flashpoint occurred when the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who represents Kano North, presided over the Senate plenary where the bills passed the second reading. Northern youths, particularly from Kano, have sharply criticized Jibrin, accusing him of being insensitive to the needs of his constituents. In an open letter, the Northern Youth Assembly condemned Jibrin’s support for the bills, claiming they would “further relegate the region economically and commercially.” The group expressed outrage that Jibrin appeared to prioritize the interests of southern Nigeria over the pressing challenges facing the North, including poverty, unemployment, and infrastructure deficits.

The opposition has been fueled by concerns that the tax reforms, particularly the proposed increase in VAT, would place an additional burden on already struggling businesses and households in the North. Islamic clerics from the region have also voiced their objections, with some suggesting the bills are being rushed through the legislative process without sufficient consultation. Mansur Ibrahim, a prominent cleric from Sokoto, accused the government of using "force" to push through the reforms, warning that they could harm the livelihoods of ordinary Nigerians.

This mounting resistance has prompted calls from northern leaders, including former governors and religious figures, for the suspension of the bills. The Northern Governors' Forum and the National Economic Council have both raised concerns about the potential negative impacts of the tax reforms on the North’s economic prospects.

Despite the growing backlash, proponents of the reforms argue that they are necessary for modernizing Nigeria’s tax system and ensuring fairness across the country. However, with northern political and religious leaders uniting against the bills, and with further debates and public hearings expected in the coming weeks, the proposed tax reforms face significant hurdles before they can become law.

As tensions rise, the political fallout from the proposed reforms may continue to shape the discourse in the National Assembly, with northern lawmakers vowing to scrutinize the bills further and ensure that the interests of their constituents are not overlooked.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it is yet to obtain the full text of a recent judgement of the Court of Appeal’s ruling, which exempted personal items from import duty charges.

According to the NCS in an X post on Thursday, the service will respond to the judgment in the coming days, after a thorough review of its content.

“The service is yet to obtain the full judgement to enable her study and take the next line of action. In coming days, the service will respond accordingly after a careful study of the content of the judgement,” the NCS stated.

The NCS was responding to an inquiry by the former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah, seeking to confirm NCS’s knowledge of the recent judgement and if it intends to implement the ruling.

Background

On Thursday, the Appeal Court upheld the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja in the case of Chikaosolu Ojukwu, a legal practitioner and the Nigeria Customs Service.

Mr Ojukwu had sued the NCS for unlawfully detaining him at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, upon his arrival from the United Kingdom on February 20, 2022.

His items, four iPhone 13 Pro phones, were seized.

He was also compelled to pay N404,417 import duty charges on the four iPhones.

Undeterred, Ojukwu instituted legal action at the Federal High Court against the Nigerian Customs Service Board, the Nigerian Customs Service, and First Bank Plc.

He sought damages of N160 million and prayed Justice Ahmed Mohammed to declare the customs service’s actions unlawful and a flagrant breach of his fundamental rights.

In the suit filed on his behalf by his legal representative, Segun Fiki, Mr Ojukwu based his argument on the provisions of section 8 of the Customs, Excise Tariff, etc. (Consolidation) Act and paragraph 7 of the Second Schedule to the Act.

In his ruling, Justice Mohammed held that citizens who have not been outside Nigeria for at least nine months were not required by law to pay import duties on their personal effects not meant for sale, exchange, or barter.

Justice Mohammed also ordered the Nigeria Customs Service Board and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to pay the plaintiff the sum N5 million as damages.

The ruling by the Appeal Court sets a significant precedent for how customs officials handle personal items and the scope of import duties under Nigerian law.

PT

‘Fisayo Soyombo, founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), says everything he told army personnel while he was being interrogated was leaked to suspected oil thieves.

Soyombo spoke on Saturday when he appeared on Arise Television.

The pioneer editor of TheCable was detained for three days by the 6 Division of the army in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital. He was released on Friday.

Soyombo had said he was released because news of his arrest made it to social media.

The FIJ founder said he does not trust any public institution in the country because of his experience investigating stories as undercover journalist.

“How can you grill me at the 6 division and everything I told you, the illegal bunkerers were telling me. Every single thing,” he said.

“The real grouse of the army is that one, I did not carry them along. I would not deny that I have low trust for Nigerian public institutions.

“A small two-minute diversion. Last year, I did an undercover investigation on an orphanage selling babies. I bought a new born baby for N2 million. I took the baby to NAPTIP, I looked after that baby.

“After I handed over the baby to NAPTIP, I sent a representative to go there every month. Her birthday, we bought a gift, Christmas same. We woke up one day and NAPTIP shut the door on us.”

He alleged that two of his mobile phones were stolen by one of the soldiers who detained him.

The Cable

No fewer than 54 bodies have been recovered from the boat accident involving about 200 traders in Kogi State.

The figure was disclosed to our correspondent on Saturday by the Head of Operations covering Kogi State at the National Emergency Management Agency, Justin Uwazuruonye.

Uwazuruonye said, “The figure of the recovered bodies as of today (Saturday), according to the Kogi State Emergency Management Agency, Red Cross, and NEMA is 54. They were recovered dead.

“We tried to know if they could make the manifest available, but they said there was no manifest, and if there is no manifest, we can’t say the exact number of passengers on the boat. Besides, it was a night journey, and none of them had life jackets on.”

The National Inland Waterways Authority confirmed the boat accident on Friday.

The Head of NIWA’s Media Department, Suleman Makama, stated that the traders were traveling to a market in Niger State on the boat when it capsized along the Dambo-Ebuchi section of the River Niger.

Meanwhile, Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, has called for inter-agency collaboration to prevent waterways accidents.

Ododo, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Ismail Isah, expressed sadness over the accident, saying he was concerned that most of the victims were women, petty traders, and artisans involved in legitimate business activities.

He expressed concern about the dangers on the waterway linking Kogi with Niger State.

“The waterway linking Kogi and Niger State is becoming increasingly dangerous as a result of frequent boat accidents,” he said.

The governor called on relevant authorities to ensure that safety measures were put in place to minimize risks associated with water transportation in the country.

“Efforts should be made through inter-agency collaboration to prevent further accidents and coordinate emergency response,” he noted.

Ododo commiserated with the families of those involved in the accident, promising that the government would support those injured in their recuperation.

Punch

An Israeli strike in Gaza kills World Central Kitchen workers. Israel says 1 was an Oct. 7 attacker

An Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday killed five people, including employees of World Central Kitchen. The charity said it was “urgently seeking more details” after Israel’s military said it targeted a WCK worker who was part of the Hamas attack that sparked the war.

WCK said it was “heartbroken” and it had no knowledge anyone in the car had alleged ties to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, adding it was “working with incomplete information.” It said it was pausing operations in Gaza. It had suspended work earlier this year after an Israeli strike killed seven of its workers.

The Israeli military in a statement said the alleged Oct. 7 attacker took part in the assault on the kibbutz of Nir Oz, and it asked “senior officials from the international community” and the WCK to clarify how he had come to work for the charity.

The family of the man named by Israel, Ahed Azmi Qdeih, rejected the allegations as “false accusations,” and confirmed in a statement he had worked with the charity. Israel named him as Hazmi Kadih.

The strike highlighted the dangerous work of delivering aid in Gaza, where the war has displaced much of the 2.3 million population and caused widespread hunger.

At Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, a woman held up an employee badge bearing the WCK logo and the word “contractor.” Belongings — burned phones, a watch and stickers with the WCK logo — lay on the floor.

Nazmi Ahmed said his nephew worked for WCK for the past year. He said he was driving to the charity’s kitchens and warehouses.

“Today, he went out as usual to work ... and was targeted without prior warning and without any reason,” Ahmed said.

In April, a strike on a WCK aid convoy killed seven workers — three British citizens, Polish and Australian nationals, a Canadian-American dual national and a Palestinian. The Israeli military called it a mistake. That strike prompted an international outcry. Another Palestinian WCK worker was killed in August by shrapnel from an Israeli airstrike, the group said.

Another Israeli airstrike Saturday hit a car near a food distribution point in Khan Younis, killing 13 people, including children. Nasser hospital in Khan Younis received the bodies.

“They were distributing aid, vegetables, and we saw the missile landing,” witness Rami Al-Sori said. A woman sat on the ground and wept.

Save the Children said a local employee was killed in one of the Khan Younis airstrikes while returning from a mosque.

And the director of Kamal Adwan hospital reported a strike in Tal al Zaatar in Beit Lahiya in the north where Israeli forces are operating, and estimated based on witness accounts that well over 100 dead were under the rubble. He said the area remained inaccessible.

Hamas releases new hostage video

On Saturday, Hamas released a video of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. Speaking under duress, Alexander referred to being held for 420 days and mentioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent $5 million offer for the hostages’ return.

“The prime minister is supposed to protect his soldiers and citizens, and you abandoned us,” Alexander said.

Netanyahu’s office said that he spoke with Alexander’s family after the release of the “brutal psychological warfare video” that held “an important and exciting sign of life.”

“(Netanyahu) reassured me and promised that now, after reaching an arrangement in Lebanon, conditions are right to free you all and bring you home,” Alexander’s mother, Yael, told demonstrators in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening.

A statement from U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett called the hostage video “a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own.”

“The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately — and would have ended months ago — if Hamas agreed to release the hostages,” it said.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in their count but say over half the dead were women and children.

Ceasefire appears to hold

Efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have faltered. But the U.S.- and France-brokered deal for Lebanon appears to be holding since Wednesday.

On Saturday, Israel’s military said that it struck sites used to smuggle weapons from Syria to Lebanon after the ceasefire took effect. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities or Hezbollah. Israeli aircraft have struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon several times, citing truce violations.

Israel’s strike in Syria came as insurgents breached its largest city, Aleppo, bringing fresh uncertainty to the region.

The truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah calls for an initial two-month ceasefire in which the militants should withdraw north of Lebanon’s Litani River and Israeli forces should return to their side of the border.

Many Lebanese, some of the 1.2 million displaced, streamed home despite warnings by the Israeli and Lebanese militaries to avoid certain areas.

“Day by day, we will return to our normal lives,” said Mustafa Badawi, a cafe owner in Tyre.

The toll of conflicts

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli drone strike on Rub Thalatheen village killed two people and wounded two others, and another hit a car in Majdal Zoun village. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said three were wounded, including a 7-year-old child.

Israel’s military said it had been operating to distance “suspects” in the region, without elaborating. Israel says it reserves the right to strike against any perceived violations.

Israel seeks to ensure that tens of thousands of displaced Israelis return home. But they have been apprehensive.

“No, it will not be like before,” said one Israeli evacuee, Lavie Eini.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel and Hezbollah kept up cross-border fire until Israel escalated with an attack that detonated hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah. It then launched an intense aerial bombardment that killed Hezbollah leaders including Hassan Nasrallah, and a ground invasion in October.

More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel, over half of them civilians, as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.

Hamas’ October 2023 attack killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostage.

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine loses over 36,800 troops, 225 tanks: situation in Russia’s Kursk Region

The Ukrainian army lost over 250 troops in the Kursk area in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Ukraine’s losses have reached 36,850 troops and 225 tanks since fighting began in the region. Russian forces continue their operation to eliminate Ukrainian units.

TASS has gathered the main information about the situation in the region.

Operation to wipe out Ukrainian units

- Units of Battlegroup North defeated the forces of the 21st, 41st, 44th and 47th mechanized brigades, the 17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade, the Fifth Tank Brigade, the 80th, 82nd and 95th air assault brigades, the 36th Marine Brigade, as well as the 112th, 116th, 117th and 129th territorial defense brigades of the Ukrainian armed forces near Alexandria, Viktorovka, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Leonidovka, Martynovka, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Nikolsky, Novoivanovka, Plyokhovo and Sverdlikovo.

- Tactical and army aircraft crews and artillery units hit enemy troops and equipment near Alexandria, Guyevo, Daryino, Kazachya Loknya, Kruglenkoye, Kubatkin, Lebedevka, Martynovka, Nizhny Klin, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Novoivanovka, Plyokhovo, and Sverdlikovo, as well as Basovka, Belovody, Vodolagi, Zhuravka and Loknya in the Sumy Region.

Ukrainian losses

- The Ukrainian armed forces lost over 250 troops in the past 24 hours.

- Russian forces destroyed two tanks, two infantry fighting vehicles, an armored combat vehicle, four motor vehicles and two mortars.

- Since the start of fighting in the Kursk area, the enemy has lost more than 36,850 troops, 225 tanks, 160 infantry fighting vehicles, 123 armored personnel carriers, 1,202 armored combat vehicles, 1,060 motor vehicles, 305 artillery pieces, and 40 multiple launch rocket systems, including eleven US-made HIMARS launchers and six MLRS launchers, as well as 13 missile launchers, seven transport-loading vehicles, 70 electronic warfare systems, 13 counterbattery radars, and four air defense radars.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says war has damaged most of its civilian airports

Fifteen of Ukraine's civilian airports have been damaged since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was quoted as saying by local media on Saturday.

Ukraine, which the state aviation service says has 20 civilian airports, has been exploring avenues to partially open its airspace. It has been completely closed since the start of the war.

Ukrainians who want to fly abroad currently have to go via road or rail to neighbouring countries to catch flights. For those living in the east, the journey out of Ukraine can take a day in itself.

"We conducted a risk assessment and determined the needs of the air defence forces to partially open the airspace," local news agency Ukrinform quoted Shmyhal as saying at a transportation conference.

"Security issues and the military situation remain key to this decision," he said.

Shmyhal added that Russia had attacked Ukraine's port infrastructurenearly 60 times in the last three months, damaging or destroying nearly 300 facilities and 22 civilian vessels.

A senior partner at insurance broker Marsh McLennan told Reuters earlier this month that Ukraine could reopen the airport in the western city of Lviv in 2025 if regulators deem it safe and a political decision is made.

Tass/Reuters

In 1992, Leon Mugesera, a senior politician in the then Rwanda ruling party, gathered a crowd of supporters at a rally held in the town of Kabaya. At the rally, Mugesera labeled the minority Tutsi “cockroaches,” who must be eliminated. He then asked this East African ethnic group to go back to its place of birth. He was quoted to have said: “Anyone whose neck you do not cut is the one who will cut your neck.” This “cockroach” typecast glued to the Tutsi ethnic group.  Two years later, about 800,000 of them got brutally slaughtered, hacked to death and raped in a 100-day period of genocide. Twenty years later, a Rwandan Judge, Antoine Muhima, sentenced Mugesera to a life term in prison for “public incitement to commit genocide, persecution as crime against humanity, and inciting ethnic-affiliated hatred.”

You may think the inconsequential is not consequential. In Mugesera’s Rwanda of 1994, a dirty, tiny insect that many don’t reckon with became the tinder that lit the whole country. It was the cockroach. The Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups have so many things in common like the Igbo and Yoruba of Nigeria. Hutu and Tutsi were its major ethnic groups and respectively account for more than four-fifths and about one-seventh of Rwanda’s total population. Unlike the two Nigerian ethnic groups, Hutu and Tutsi, together with the one percent population-Twa ethnic group, speak Rwanda, also called Kinyarwanda. This indicates that the tripod ethnic groups of Rwanda have lived together even before the 5th century.

Reuben Abati, one of Nigeria’s foremost public intellectuals, has faced a gaslight of Hiroshima and Nagazaki proportion simply because he made an otherwise very innocuous statement about land purchase in Igbo land. In the course of this, Abati has suffered an unprecedented harangue. The attacks were seemingly coordinated, like the convocation of ants on a diabetic’s pee. From home and abroad, this famous member of the Arise TV commentariat received cudgels and arrows that were obviously beyond his harmless commentary. For any watcher of Nigerian ethnic relations, it will be clear that Abati’s “sin” was not the TOS Benson statement but the “sins” of his Yoruba forebears.

The barbs had hardly subsided when singing sensation, David Adeleke, known professionally as Davido, also got caught in this war of attrition. Davido is a Nigerian-American songwriter and record producer regarded as one of the most important Afrobeat artistes of the 21st century and who helped popularize the genre globally. He has gone down in history as one of Africa’s most influential artistes and an ambassador. Last week, Davido’s head was caught in the barbed wire of ethnic hate that was erected over a century ago. While appearing on The Big Homies House podcast, Davido caught the ire of ethnic warlords masquerading as patriots when he advised Black Americans not to relocate to Nigeria. He cited bad leadership, an inchoate exchange rate, and rising oil prices as reasons for the warning. He had said: “It is not cool back home. The economy is in shambles. It is not cool back home. The economy is in shambles. I do my part, I am an ambassador. When I go home and I am filming, I am not going to show the bad parts.  I am talking about the situation in the country. Now the exchange rate is messed up, a lot of stuffs are not going well. The economy is just not good enough. The oil price is too high. Imagine the country that produces oil, paying more for it than a country importing oil.” He and Abati received confetti of inhuman labeling similar to Hutu’s typecast of Tutsis as “cockroaches”.

The first noticeable schism between the Hutu and Tutsi came in 1990. The downing of an aeroplane flying over Kigali which had the country’s second president, Juvénal Habyariman and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira, on the evening of April 6, 1994 burst the bubble. Hutu extremists were allegedly behind it. “Cockroach” then sneaked into conversations between the two ethnic groups in the next few months. Intense Hutu propaganda which fueled hate and fear in the country’s Hutu population began. Rwandan politicians now latched on this for the extinction of Tutsis.

Tutsis were referred to as cockroaches which must be exterminated. Matters came to a head in 1994 when the whole Rwanda exploded in a total anarchy of mass killings, arson and rape. The army and Hutu militia groups named the Interahamwe (“Those Who Attack Together”) and Impuzamugambi (“Those Who Have the Same Goal”) helped in the chaos and bloodshed. As it is currently happening in Nigeria today between Igbo and Yoruba, the social media is being massively used to reinforce hatred between the two ethnicities. It was the same way, in Rwanda, radio broadcasts were used to fuel what eventually became genocide. Hutu civilians were urged to kill “cockroaches,” their Tutsi neighbours. Over 200,000 Hutu were said to have been part of the genocide.

I went into narration of how the Rwandan genocide began to show that ethnocide does not begin with a bang. It starts like the unnoticeable crawl of an insect. Ethnic animosities between Igbo and Yoruba started on the basis of fear and suspicion. It was reflected in the three political parties. The Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) was dominated by the Hausa-Fulani and, pari passu, the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), by the Igbo, as well as the Action Group (AG), Yoruba. Three Nigerian leaders also emerged through that ethnic prism: Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, who represented the Hausa-Fulani north and the NPC, Nnamdi Azikiwe of the NCNC, the Igbo stock and Obafemi Awolowo, a Yoruba of the AG. Even the establishment of newspapers of the period reflected ethnicities.

Two events during this period clearly revealed that the ethnic rivalry between Igbo and Yoruba was going to last for long. One was how the disaffection between the two, in February 1941, caused a great split which occurred in the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) a main nationalist organ for fighting colonial rule. The split occurred over the contest for the Legislative Council seat between Samuel Akisanya and Ernest Ikoli and the place of the NYM in the said election. It fanned embers of tribal disunity within the Yoruba which swayed Yoruba votes against Ikoli. By then, a highly beloved Azikiwe had begun to scoop the resentment of the Yoruba over his alleged divisive politics. It prompted Yoruba to rally round Ikoli who then ensured that he won the legislative seat. After the election, the remaining NYM members showed open hatred for Zik and his Pilot newspaper which led to his eventual resignation from the NYM. The bitter hostility against him was not only because they felt he was solely responsible for the Akisanya crisis in the movement, they also felt that Zik’s Pilot, during the crisis, damaged the reputation of the NYM and its leadership beyond reasonable doubt. He was alleged to be mirroring and trumpeting, in his newspaper, intra-divisions and fissures which were detrimental to the well-being of the movement.  

The second was Zik’s attempt to become the Premier of the Western region in 1951. Azikiwe, with his charisma and widespread popularity, was poised in the March of that year to capture not only western Nigeria but southern Nigeria in totality. Yoruba believed it was an insult for Zik to contest to conquer their region. This was what was carried over to the civil war period where hate against each other was manufactured by both Igbo and Yoruba to sustain the theory of ethnic domination earlier touted.

Since then, ethnic relations animosities between Igbo and Yoruba have been marked by the saying that the hen which perches on a rope will sustain double inconveniences between it and the rope. As it is now, the ethnic relations are comparable to a spectator watching rough trades of tackles on a football field. Gradually, relations between the two ethnicities are becoming frightening rough tackles. They may not be visible to the eyes but bruises decorate the legs of the two teams. And now, the tackles are bringing out blood. Yet, spectators are enjoying the brutal blood spillage. Psychologists describe this love for blood spillage as hemomania. It is a clinical disorder where personal excitement hallmarks one’s own oozing blood. And just as Rome was not built nor destroyed in a day, the trade of tackles worsens by the day. In its description of ‘gradual destruction’, Yoruba liken it to the plantain (ogede). When the plantain gradually ripens and human beings beam with joy, Yoruba ask if human beings also realize that as it ripens, the plantain is also rotting? “Ògèdè ńbàjé, e l’ó ńpón,” they say.

If you do a thematic analysis and ethnic assessment of commentators on Davido’s statement, you will find the same Abati ethnic lens in it. Davido’s mother was Igbo. Since the 2023 Lagos election when the Igbo-dominated Labour Party had taken the shine off the ruling APC, the Igbo and especially its LP gubernatorial candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, whose mother is also Igbo, have been literally declared personae non gratae for their “political impudence.” While Yoruba commentators, especially those in alignment with the ruling APC, have been gas-lighting Davido, his “mother’s people” – the Igbo – have supported him tremendously. Today, when you make comments on national affair, you will get positive or negative review based on your ethnicity, not the content of your comment, and the ethnic group the person making the review is from. The question to ask is, in what way was Davido wrong? What did he say that is unreal about Nigeria and its despicable leadership? Should Davido tell lies about Nigeria because he is an ambassador? So, what was that character called Patrick Doyle saying when he dragged his senescence into the fray, rather than being bothered about his most pressing family issues?

Among Igbo and Yoruba today, just as you had in 1994 Rwanda among Hutus and Tutsis, there is a high dosage of collective ethnic categorization. Each sees/saw the other as enemy. While Tutsis lost their individual identities, Yoruba and Igbo have lost theirs too in the ethnic war that is fought, not with bullets and swords, but with the tongue. As reflected by Janine Clark in her “Learning from the Past: Three Lessons from the Rwandan Genocide” (African Studies, 68, 1, April 2009) when Hutus were hacking Tutsis to death, their refrain was, “Unwanzi ni umwe ni umutusi” – the enemy is one. In an interview with a Hutu genocide perpetrator, on account in the article, he said “we no longer looked at them (Tutsis) one by one; we no longer stopped to recognize them as they had been, not even as colleagues” while another said, “I don’t remember my first kill, because I did not identify that one person in the crowd. I just happened to start by killing several without seeing their faces.”

Scholars have tried to find out why there had to be such inhuman labeling by the Hutu of Tutsi as “cockroaches” before their mass murders. One said the reason is that, “people do not ordinarily engage in extraordinary evil until they have justified to themselves the morality of their actions.” He said that in the Rwandan genocide, the génocidaires had to justify their actions on the basis of their belief that the Tutsis were enemies. Another justification is to see your erstwhile brother as “the other.” In Rwanda, victims were seen by the perpetrators of genocide as “the others” who must be dehumanized. According to Waldorf, “perpetrators of mass atrocity are far more likely to dehumanize their victims” and this “involves categorizing a group as inhuman either by using categories of subhuman creatures (that is, animals) or by using categories of negatively evaluated inhuman creatures (such as demons and monsters)”.

This was exactly what Nazis also did when they branded the Jews as parasites. In Rwanda, Tutsis were labeled ‘cockroaches’ (inyenzi) as a precondition for killing them. Some Rwandan génocidaire were also quoted as saying “we no longer considered the Tutsis as humans or even as creatures of God.” Igbo and Yoruba have devised similar labels for each other. Their own “cockroaches” today are “Ofe manu, Yibo, Ajòkútamámumi” weaponized to describe “the other.”  Some of these were used for Davido and Abati.

Wherever genocides occur, whether in Rwanda, in Pol Pot’s Cambodia or extermination of Jews, there is always an over-preferencing of ethnic identity. Yoruba and Igbo are today overpricing the primacy or supremacy of their ethnic identities. As a Yoruba, I have lived with both ethnic groups enough to know that there are evil and good people among them in equal proportion.

Any discerning mind following the exchange of vitriol by the two ethnic groups will discover that you only need a pin to burst this bubble of ethnic hatred. And arrive in Rwanda. The tensions are already gathering. Even people you would expect to know, among the two ethnicities, see things from ethnic prism. Their close to a century of animosities has wiped off mileages they made in ethnic relations in the past. Igbo no longer remember that Yoruba Francis Adekunle Fajuyi was assassinated in a counter coup led by northern officers when he volunteered his life for Igbo Aguiyi Ironsi. Ironsi was alleged to have been killed by top northern soldiers. Yoruba also forget today that it was to Michael Okpara that the Awolowo rump of AG ran to for alliance when S. L. Akintola attempted to worst it.

Elders of Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities must anticipate that Rwanda is afoot. They must find ways of changing this hate-laced narrative. The time bomb is ticking.