Hezbollah rockets land near Tel Aviv after large Israeli strike on Beirut

Lebanon's Hezbollah movement fired heavy rocket barrages at Israel on Sunday, and the Israeli military said houses had been destroyed or set alight near Tel Aviv, after a powerful Israeli airstrike killed at least 29 people in Beirut the day before.

Israel also struck Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, where intensified bombardment over the last two weeks has coincided with signs of progress in U.S.-led ceasefire talks.

Hezbollah, which has previously vowed to respond to attacks on Beirut by targeting Tel Aviv, said it had launched precision missiles at two military sites in Tel Aviv and nearby.

Police said there were multiple impact sites in the area of Petah Tikvah, on the eastern side of Tel Aviv, and that several people had minor injuries.

The Israel Defense Forces said a direct hit on a neighbourhood had left "houses in flames and ruins". Television footage showed an apartment damaged by rocket fire.

Israel's military said Hezbollah had fired 250 rockets at Israel, of which many were intercepted, with sirens sounding across most of the country. At least four people had been injured by shrapnel.

Video obtained by Reuters showed a projectile exploding as it smashed into the roof of a building in the northern Israeli city of Nahariya.

Israel's military warned on social media that it planned to target Hezbollah facilities in southern Beirut before strikes that demolished two apartment blocks, according to security sources in Lebanon. Afterwards, the IDF said it had hit command centres "deliberately embedded between civilian buildings".

On Sunday, the Israeli military said it carried out strikes against 12 Hezbollah command centers in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh.

On Saturday, it had carried out one of its deadliest and most powerful strikes on the centre of Beirut.

Lebanon's health ministry on Sunday raised the death toll from 20 to 29. It said a total of 84 people had been killed on Saturday, taking the death toll to 3,754 since October 2023.

The IDF did not comment on Saturday's strike in the Lebanese capital or say what it had attacked.

Israel went on the offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah in September, pounding the south, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut's southern suburbs with airstrikes after nearly a year of hostilities ignited by the Gaza war.

CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL AWAITS ISRAEL'S RESPONSE

The Israeli offensive has uprooted more than 1 million people in Lebanon.

Israel says its aim is to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people evacuated from its north due to rocket attacks by Hezbollah, which opened fire in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein highlighted progress in negotiations during a visit to Beirut last week, before travelling to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, and then returning to Washington.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday said a U.S. ceasefire proposal was awaiting final approval from Israel.

"We must pressure the Israeli government and maintain the pressure on Hezbollah to accept the U.S. proposal for a ceasefire," he said in Beirut after meeting Lebanese officials.

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu had convened a meeting of his security cabinet for 5 p.m. (1500 GMT).

Axios reporter Barak Ravid in a post on social media cited an unnamed Israeli official saying that Israel is moving towards a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.

But a separate report from Israel's public broadcaster Kan said there was no green light given on an agreement in Lebanon, with issues still yet to be resolved.

Diplomacy has focused on restoring a ceasefire based on U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 Hezbollah-Israel war. It requires Hezbollah to pull its fighters back around 30 km (19 miles) from the Israeli border, and the Lebanese army to deploy in the buffer zone.

The Lebanese army said on Sunday at least one soldier had been killed and 18 more injured in an Israeli strike that caused severe damage at an army centre in Al-Amiriya near the southern city of Tyre.

The Israeli military said it regretted the incident and was investigating, and that it was fighting against Hezbollah, not the Lebanese Army.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said the attack "represents a direct bloody message rejecting all efforts to reach a ceasefire, strengthen the army's presence in the south, and implement ... 1701".

Borrell said the EU was ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208 million) to support the Lebanese army.

($1 = 0.9600 euros)

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Medvedev outlines roadmap to ending Ukraine conflict

The conflict between Moscow and Kiev could be swiftly ended with no additional loss of lives if only NATO came to its senses and abandoned its belligerent policy towards Russia, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Al Arabiya in an interview published on Friday.

Allowing Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons for strikes into internationally-recognized Russian territory has made the US-led bloc a direct party to the conflict, said Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council. Kiev has launched several strikes using US-made ATACMS and HIMARS systems, as well as British-made Storm Shadow missiles.

Moscow responded by striking a military industrial facility in the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk (known as Dnipro in Ukraine) with a new intermediate-range ballistic missile equipped with a conventional warhead. On Saturday, Paris officially confirmed that it had given Kiev the green light to use French-made SCALP-EG cruise missiles in long-range strikes against Russian territory.

“The NATO member states have essentially got fully engaged in this conflict,” Medvedev said, commenting on the developments. The former president said these nations should understand that they are currently at war on the Ukrainian side. “They are at war with the Russian Federation.”

Not only do Western nations supply Kiev with weapons and financial aid, but they also provide targeting for Western-made missiles, Medvedev stated. Moscow has insisted that these systems cannot be successfully operated without the involvement of specialists from the nations that produced them.

Under these circumstances, no developments can be ruled out, Medvedev warned, pointing to Russia’s recently updated nuclear doctrine that allows a nuclear response to a conventional attack by a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear power, including a missile strike against Russian territory.

“Everyone who is currently stirring up the war hysteria, primarily within NATO, the US, and other states, should think about it,” the former president warned. Asked to elaborate on the potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia, he described it as a “realistic” possibility. He added, however, that Moscow would very much like to avoid that option.

“There are no madmen in the Russian leadership,” he stated, explaining that the nation’s nuclear doctrine was updated in accordance with modern deterrence needs.

According to Medvedev, the Ukraine conflict could be swiftly and easily ended with no need for any additional losses. If NATO merely “stops fanning the flames of war in Ukraine, this conflict can be ended with no expenses for humanity. No new expenses, at least,” he said.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces capture British man fighting with Ukraine, RIA reports

Russian forces captured a British mercenary fighting with the Ukrainian army in Russia's Kursk region, which is still partially controlled by Kyiv forces, a security source told Russia's RIA state news agency.

"A mercenary from Great Britain, who called himself James Scott Rhys Anderson, was captured. He is now giving evidence," the Russian source told RIA in remarks published on Sunday.

In a video posted on unofficial pro-war Russian Telegram channels on Sunday, a young bearded man wearing military clothing with what appears to be his hands tied in the back, says in English that his name is James Scott Rhys Anderson and that he formerly served in the British Army.

Reuters could not independently verify the video and the RIA and other media reports.

It was not clear when the video was filmed. The British Foreign Office did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment on the reports outside office hours.

The BBC reported earlier that the Foreign Office said it was "supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention".

Ukraine forces, which staged a surprise incursion in the Russian border region of Kursk in August, still control parts of it. However, Kyiv said over the weekend that it has since lost over 40% of the territory that it had captured, as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults.

RT/Reuters

Described by one scholar on its centenary as “perhaps the greatest historical movement of modern times”, the Berlin Conference West Africa Conference began shortly after noon on 15 November 1884. Interrupted only by a short break at the end of the year and the beginning of the next, historian, Adu Boahen, records that the conference ended on 31 January 1884.

On 26 February 1885, the powers gathered at the conference ratified the General Act of the Berlin Conference, which embodied their agreements. The week before the ratification of the General Act, according to historian, Godfrey Uzoigwe, the Lagos Observer newspaper lamented that “the world had, perhaps, never witnessed a robbery on so large a scale.”

Among the six goals identified by the General Act, the over-arching provisions set out “rules for future occupation of the coast of the African continent.”

Of the 15 countries that attended the conference, 14 were European: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Sweden-Norway, and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). All the European powers signed on to the General Act. The United States of America was the only non-European country at the table and also the only participating country that did not officially ratify the resulting treaty.

From Africa, the Sultan of Zanzibar had equally sought representation at the conference but had his ambition derisorily blocked by the United Kingdom.

Otto von Bismark, Chancellor of Germany which attained unification only 13 years earlier in 1871, hosted the Berlin Conference. Six years earlier, he had similarly played host to the Congress of Berlin called to stabilize the Balkan Peninsula at the end of the Russo-Turkish War in 1878. There was an irony to the fact that the same venue was to serve as the site of a conference to Balkanise a distant continent of about 30,302,861 square kilometres. For context, this is territory big enough to contain all of the USA, India, Europe, Argentina and New Zealand combined with some room to spare.

The Scramble for Africa preceded the Berlin Conference but the conference crystallised rules and doctrines that would govern the colonial occupation of Africa in its wake. In opening the conference, Bismark hoped that it would agree rules to regulate “the terms for the development of trade and civilization in certain regions of Africa”; assure free navigation of the Rivers Congo and the Niger; anticipate and avoid disputes as to new acts of territorial occupation in Africa and “further the moral and material wellbeing of the native population.”

The aftermath is controversial for predictable reasons. The continent lives with the consequences of decisions in which it did not participate and whose records are also outside its control. While the lingering consequences of Berlin continue to be debated, a few deserve to be highlighted.

First, as is evident from Bismark’s stipulations, the conference objectives and outcomes infantilized Africa and its peoples and habituated the world to the continent as lacking in agency and its territories as lacking in history or civilisation prior to the occupation that followed in the wake of Berlin. These ideas were to be subsequently embodied in doctrine, jurisprudence and treaty law. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ruled in 1918 that African territories were “so low in the scale of social organization that their usages and conceptions of rights and duties are not to be reconciled with the institutions or the legal ideas of civilized society.” The court offered no authority or support for this decision; there was none. This jurisprudence made its way into the provisions of Article 22 of the League of Nations Covenant which referred to these territories as being “inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world.”

Second, the logic of colonial occupation made atrocity inevitable and the traumas from that has assumed an inter-generational dimensions. Looking back at the period preceding the conference, however, Adu Boahen recalls that Africa “was far from being primitive, static, and asleep or in a Hobbesian state of nature.” The rules of the conference precluded any items on sovereignty whether of the European states or of the African territories. Yet the outcome created a logic that encouraged adverse assertions of sovereignty over African lands and peoples. John Kasson, the lead US delegate to the conference had argued that the establishment of “productive labour” in African territories “can only be arrived at through the permanent establishment of a peaceful regime.” The idea of permanent establishment of a peaceful regime over other peoples’ lands could only occur through occupation and rapine.

This is exactly what ensued in the aftermath of the doctrine of effective occupation consecrated by the General Act of the Berlin Conference embodied in the obligation assumed by the parties in Article 35 of the General Act “to insure the establishment of authority in the regions occupied by them on the coasts of the African continent sufficient to protect existing rights, and, as the case may be, freedom of trade and of transit.” Seven of the 14 countries present at the Berlin Conference went on to become occupying powers in Africa, namely: France, Britain, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Italy and Spain. Their campaigns of occupation were accompanied by violence which has been described as “brutal and deadly.”

In the quarter century from the end of the conference to 1910 when the period of active territorial occupation occurred, nearly every affected African country experienced a fall in population. The signal case was King Leopold’s Congo Free State about whom it has been said that the population crashed from “20 million in 1891 to only 8,500,000 in 1911. In other words, the King’s system resulted in the death of between 10 and 11.5 million Congolese as ‘a very conservative estimate.’” Contemporary movements for acknowledgement and reparations barely scratch the surface.

Third, as Ali Mazrui points out, the Berlin Conference ultimately saddled Africa with twin crises of both state legitimacy and governmental legitimacy. Governed as they were by logics of arbitrary and convenient externalities, colonial territorialization made no effort to foster legitimate political communities. The methods of divide and rule and of Indirect Rulewhich defined colonial administration, instead encouraged adversiarialism instead of coexistence within countries. As colony yielded to post-colony, these left legacies of political unrest, regime instability, and conflict.

Fourth, the boundaries created in Berlin have proved durable but not necessarily stable. To head off this problem, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) at its second Summit in Cairo, Egypt, in 1964, pronounced the continent’s borders at independence as a “tangible reality” to be respected by all member states. The reality has been a lot less sanguine. The continent’s borders are notoriously arbitrary and porous and many are disputed. One scholar has counted over 100 border disputes in the continent as well as “approximately 58 potential secessionist territories in 29” African countries championed by “at least 83 political associations and pressure groups.” A cottage industry in territorial dispute resolution exists, with 13 of 18 contentious cases submitted to the International Court of Justice from Africa being about inter-state boundaries.

The legacies of the Berlin Conference in and on Africa endure. The response of the continent’s leadership has until recently been lacking in coherence and urgency. The deepening of regional integration in the African Union which was supposed to address the colonial atomization of the continent has stalled. In parts of the continent, it is experiencing reversal or now confined only to trade in goods. Similarly efforts to address atrocity violence through transitional justice around Africa confine themselves to post-colonial violence, without recognizing or addressing the lingering traumas from colonial era violence. While the movement for reparations for colonial atrocities, including the repatriation of pillaged African arts gathers pace, it faces renewed resistance from the emergence of illiberal governments in the capitals of perpetrator states who were at the Berlin Conference. On the 140th anniversary of the Berlin Conference, these trends underscore the need for renewed attention to an event whose consequences for both Africa and international law were seminal but not always constructive.

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Medford, MA, while Chepkorir Sambuis a lawyer and researcher focusing on conflicts and peace processes in Eastern Africa.

When Jiji launched in 2014, it entered a competitive e-commerce market in Nigeria, joining the likes of Konga, Jumia, and OLX, which had a two-year head start. But  Jiji soon positioned itself as a serious market player. It started by offering free listings for first-time users and partnered with phone manufacturers to ensure its app came preinstalled on affordable smartphones. In 2016, it inked a partnership with Airtel allowing users to access the platform without using mobile data.

Jiji’s ambitions grew beyond Nigeria. In 2019, it acquired OLX Africa and took over its operations in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania. This move helped JIji reach 300 million people across five countries, firmly establishing the company as a major online marketplace in Africa’s e-commerce space with a string of strategic acquisitions. 

In 2021, Jiji acquired Cars45, a platform that buys, sells, and trades used cars in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. In 2022, the company acquired Tonaton, its main competitor in Ghana.

TechCabal spoke to Anton Volianskyi, Jiji’s co-founder and CEO about the company’s journey and the challenges of scaling in different markets.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

TC:  What problem did Jiji aim to solve in Nigeria’s e-commerce market, and how did this shape the platform’s early offerings?

We identified a need for a platform where people could connect directly to buy and sell everything, from products to services. At the time, the market faced pressing issues around accessibility, affordability, and trust, with scams creating distrust in online transactions. To address this, we built Jiji to minimise the risks by facilitating direct transactions with no intermediaries. 

Our early offerings were shaped with this mission in mind: free listings, rigorous ad moderation, an AI-based security system, and an integrated chat feature enabling users to interact directly with sellers, all of which enhanced safety and user confidence on the platform. 

TC: What strategies and localised features contributed to Jiji’s growth and user adoption in Nigeria?

We introduced free listings for first-time sellers, localised content in languages like Hausa, and search filters tailored to Nigerian shopping habits. Partnering with phone manufacturers, we partnered with phone manufacturers to provide affordable Android phones preinstalled with the Jiji app, eliminating the need for downloads. Optimised for low-data usage, Jiji ensures accessibility for users across diverse demographics.

TC: What key challenges did Jiji face while scaling, and what measures were taken to overcome them?

One of the major issues was preventing scams on the platform. To address this, we invested heavily in AI-driven tools that detect and prevent fraudulent activity, instantly blocking suspicious users. Another challenge was stiff competition from global players like Ringier and OLX (Naspers) who had huge budgets. Unlike our competitors, we focused on cost-effective performance marketing and meticulously analysed the return on every dollar spent. This approach enabled us to compete favourably and helped us achieve market leadership while staying financially agile.

The COVID-19 pandemic also presented unforeseen hurdles. We had to rapidly reorganise our business to adapt to new market demands. Although the first quarter was challenging, the surge in online trading during the pandemic eventually sped up our growth. 

Finally, the naira devaluation had us rethinking and restructuring our financial strategy to align with new economic realities. Our commitment to cost-efficiency helped us avoid large-scale layoffs, further making Jiji a resilient and resourceful market leader.

TC: With the acquisitions of Cars45 and Tonaton, how has Jiji integrated these businesses and what unique value have they added to the platform?

Cars45 and Tonaton have complemented Jiji’s growth and diversified our offerings. For instance, Cars45 has helped simplify automotive transactions. For our buying customers,  they can browse a wide selection of vehicles, access detailed inspection reports covering over 200 checkpoints, and schedule physical inspections. 

For selling customers, we can now provide a platform that offers insights into potential selling prices backed by over 8 years of market data. Sellers can book appointments at any of our 70+ experience centres for quick, efficient inspections and sales. Dealers benefit from an online onboarding process, complete with free product training. 

Tonaton, on the other hand, has reinforced our foothold in Ghana, helped to expand our user base and consolidated our market position. With Tonaton and Cars45 under Jiji’s umbrella, we are getting closer to becoming a regional leader in classifieds. These acquisitions have enriched our marketplace by providing niche expertise and extending our service range.

TC: How does Jiji ensure operational efficiency across logistics, payments, and customer support in its various markets?

We achieve operational efficiency at Jiji by leveraging technology and a customer-led approach. While Jiji doesn’t handle logistics or payment services directly, we empower buyers and sellers to connect and manage transactions independently. This way, we ensure a flexible and user-driven marketplace experience for our users. We also have a customer support system, which includes managers who are just a call away, an AI chatbot system, and a support team ready to assist both buyers and sellers across our markets. 

TC: How is Jiji’s platform monetised across different regions, and have recent acquisitions and job listings diversified its revenue streams?

Jiji has a couple of revenue streams that support our growth across markets. Primarily, sellers pay for Premium Services, which allow them to have more listings and reach more clients, resulting in more leads and sales. We also tap into additional digital advertising income by generating ad revenue from Google through banner ads.

Recent acquisitions, such as Cars45, have diversified Jiji’s revenue streams even further. Through Cars45, we facilitate verified car sales and optimise our automotive offerings while adding another revenue channel. 

TC: What systems and processes are in place to maintain quality control and ensure a safe experience for users?

We prioritise quality control and user safety. We have moderation teams localised across our markets. They review ads and ensure compliance with our policies, and those of our host countries. Additionally, through our security systems, our AI-driven algorithms detect and flag suspicious activity on the platform, automatically blocking erring users. We also offer safety tips on our website and other verified official communication channels. This rigorous approach has helped build trust amongst our users and reduce fraud incidents to below 1%.

TC: Can you share insights into Jiji’s growth metrics and financial outlook, including its profitability?

Starting in 2014 when our Director of African Operations, Yuliy Shenfeld, visited Nigeria to hire our first staff, our growth has been remarkable ever since. We have expanded to have a staff base of over 1000 members. In 2023, Jiji attracted 65 million unique visitors, meaning that every fourth internet user in our markets engaged with our services. We have grown to have over 6 million active listings with a combined estimated value exceeding $10 billion. Jiji currently drives annual transaction volumes in the range of $10-20 billion.

We have also expanded to 8 African countries, supported by a team of 1,000+ dedicated members. Jiji now serves over 200,000 active sellers and SMEs, showcasing the wide appeal of our offerings. Our platform is highly rated on the Play Market with more than 200,000 reviews across our countries, averaging 4.7 stars in Nigeria, and welcomes over 12 million unique visitors monthly. 

TC: What are Jiji’s plans for future expansion within Nigeria and other African countries?

We are currently present across 8 countries – Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire. We recently launched Premium Services in Ethiopia. In terms of regional expansion, we’re exploring further growth in East and West Africa while also being committed to deepening our presence in Nigeria.

TC: Given that Jiji is ranked as the 42nd most-visited site in Nigeria, how does it plan to maintain or even improve its standing amid growing competition in e-commerce and classifieds?

To maintain our standing, we’re focusing on improving user experience on the platform. We will keep exploring partnerships to meet the ever-changing needs of our users and provide localised solutions, features, and promotional tools to help businesses grow. We aim to keep pace with user expectations.

Techcabal

Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently review his administration’s economic policies, citing the growing hardship faced by Nigerians. The plea was part of an eight-point communiqué issued at the conclusion of a two-day meeting held at the Plateau State Government House in Jos.

Bala Mohammed, chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and governor of Bauchi State, signed and presented the communiqué, expressing empathy for Nigerians enduring economic challenges under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government.

“The forum empathises with Nigerians who are groaning under the oppressive economic hardship foisted on the nation by the policies and decisions of the APC-led federal government,” Mohammed said. “We call on the president to urgently review both macroeconomic and fiscal policies to address the welfare and well-being of Nigerians.”

The governors pledged to continue implementing policies within their states aimed at alleviating the suffering of citizens and ensuring development.

Focus on Party Unity and Reforms

Beyond economic issues, the forum also addressed internal challenges within the PDP, including calls for greater unity and collaboration among members. The party has faced internal crises since 2022, with factions divided over leadership issues, including the tenure of Umar Damagum as acting national chairman.

Mohammed urged the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting by February 2025 to address the leadership disputes and litigation plaguing the party.

“The period between November and February will be dedicated to addressing existential problems confronting the party, with a deliberate timeline to resolve leadership and unity concerns,” Mohammed said.

The governors also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the PDP as a platform for democratic governance and promoting electoral integrity and accountability in the broader political landscape.

The PDP Governors’ Forum emphasized its resolve to tackle the socio-economic challenges facing Nigerians while working to restore unity and trust within the party.

Tea selling joints are often regarded as lifesaving places for most bachelors, and to a larger extent, households in times of emergency.  

The business, also known as fast food in some quarters and one of the most lucrative in disguise, has kept the pockets of its operators full for decades owing to the numerous services rendered.

Tea lovers, especially bachelors, always patronise the joints in the morning and evening. And most of them are often located by roadsides in makeshift shops where they can be easily seen.

Although they may appear insignificant, some people have made it a habit to visit tea shops as their first port of call in the morning before reporting to work and the last place to visit at night before going to bed. It is mostly a meeting point for friends also to gist before closing for the day.

Establishing a tea vending outlet does not take a fortune as all that is needed are tables, benches, a nice place to boil water or fry eggs, and provisions, including loaves of bread and noodles.

However, with the current economic hardship and the hike in the price of consumables—foodstuff and beverages in the country, the tea selling business is engulfed in a range of challenges with significant threat to its survival in northern Nigeria, where it is much pronounced and practised.

According to the Global Tea Market Size 2018-2026 report by Statista, the global tea market was valued at over $52 billion in 2018 and is projected to rise to over $81 billion by 2026.

When Weekend Trust visited a popular tea vendor, Murtala Muhammad, at the Fagge C area of Fagge Local Government Area, he said the economic downturn in the country was taking a toll on their business.

“Before the economic decline, things were normal and going well, but now, we are facing difficulties in the business.

“Everything we are using is expensive. Before now, I used to buy one and half mudus of sugar, but now, I only buy half. I don’t mix sugar with anything, so it is just to manage it like that.

“For noodles, I used to buy two cartons everyday, but now, I buy half carton. From three crates of egg, it is now half a crate. I used to buy different kinds and flavour of tea bags, like seven of them, but now, it is only three.

“There are no customers now; you will open and sit like that, unlike before when you had to engage more hands to help you. Nobody is buying because there is no money.

“When a customer that was used to eating three eggs, two noodles, tea with milk cannot buy half of that, you know there is a problem. Now, I hardly fry five eggs a day for customers,” Muhammad said.

It was gathered that before now, a cup of tea was N50, but it is now sold at the rate of N150 to N200, depending on the flavour. A sachet of noodles that was sold at N300 is now N500; and one egg that cost N100 is now N300.

Tea lovers who spoke to Weekend Trust lamented that they could no longer afford their favourite meals, so they have been forced to look for alternatives.

Anas Murtala said, “I used to eat eggs, noodles, tea and milk, but now, I buy tea without milk and bread. Before now, I would take tea with milk, beverage, and bread with butter, and noodles with eggs, at least three, but it is no longer so.

“The last time I ate noodles was over five months ago because I can no longer afford it.”

Our correspondent also gathered that while the cost of dishes served at tea joints is threatening the business, vendors are devising various means to maintain their customers.

One of the customers at tea joints, Ibrahim Umar, lamented that he had resorted to eating spaghetti in place of noodles owing to the hike in its price.

“This is where I eat in the evening hours everyday, except when I am out of town. 

“It came to a point that I reduced my food to a single sachet of noodles and two eggs, but now, I can’t even do that, I only eat spaghetti. As you are aware, most of the tea sellers are now cooking spaghetti with beans, which is a little bit easier.

“We can no longer eat eggs and noodles; and even spaghetti is not everyday,” he said.

Shamsuddeen Sabiu also said that a tea vendor, Saleh Mai Shayi, had been his companion for years, but he was forced to look for an alternative.

He said, “I was used to eating noodles with eggs in the morning and evening everyday, but I no longer do that. The last time I ate noodles was two weeks ago.

“We now eat spaghetti and drink water. I drive a commercial tricycle, but honestly, it is difficult.”

Bilya Garba also said, “We can no longer eat noodles and eggs and tea with milk the way we used to; we are just managing. Honestly, things have changed and we are now devising other means to keep our stomachs full. As you can see, I am having a combination of cheap things to eat.”

Daily Trust

Israeli strikes in central Beirut kill at least 20 as diplomats push for a cease-fire

Israeli airstrikes Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 20 people, officials said, as the once-rare attacks on the heart of Lebanon’s capital continued without warning while diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 66 people were wounded in the strikes, which were the fourth in central Beirut in less than a week.

The escalation comes after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to the region in pursuit of a deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population. On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and the fighting.

An eight-story building is turned to rubble

The 4 a.m. strikes destroyed an eight-story building in central Beirut. Hezbollah legislator Amin Shiri said no Hezbollah officials were inside. The attack stripped the facades from some nearby buildings and crumpled cars.

“The area is residential, with closely packed buildings and narrow streets, making the situation challenging,” said Walid Al-Hashash, a first responder with the Lebanese Civil Defense.

Israel’s military did not comment on the casualties.

Also Saturday, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, according to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency.

Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area, said those killed were Palestinian refugees from nearby al-Rashidieh camp who were out fishing.

Despite a warning last month by Israel’s army to avoid Lebanon’s southern coast, “you can’t tell someone who needs to eat that you can’t fish,” Bikai said.

The Health Ministry said other airstrikes killed eight people, including four children, in the eastern town of Shmustar, five others in the southern village of Roumin, and another five people in the northeastern village of Budai.

Sticking points in cease-fire talks

Two Western diplomatic officials on Saturday described disputed points between Israel and Lebanon in cease-fire negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks.

The current proposal calls for a two-month cease-fire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. Thousands more Lebanese army troops would patrol the border area with U.N. peacekeepers, and an international committee would monitor the deal’s implementation.

The officials said Israel wanted more guarantees that Hezbollah’s weapons are removed from the border area. Israeli officials have said they would not agree to a deal that did not explicitly grant them freedom to strike in Lebanon if they believe Hezbollah is violating it.

Lebanese officials have said the inclusion of such a term would violate their country’s sovereignty. And Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said this week that the militant group would not agree to a deal that doen’ts not entail a “complete and comprehensive end to the aggression.”

Lebanon and Israel also dispute which countries would sit on the monitoring committee. The officials said Israel refused to allow France, which has been close with Lebanon since its colonial rule there ended. Lebanon refused to have Britain, a close ally of Israel.

Deadly strikes in Gaza and people trapped in rubble

In northern Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 80 people, total, were killed on Thursday and Friday, including near the Kamal Adwan and Al-Ahli hospitals. It said dozens of people were trapped under the rubble.

Israel’s army said it wasn’t aware of a strike near Kamal Adwan, and it didn’t respond to questions about the other attacks.

On Saturday, at least six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Associated Press reporters and staff at Nasser Hospital.

“Suddenly we woke up to dust, smoke and a fire,” said one grieving father, Ahmad Ghassan. “We found him dead and his brother injured.” Another father wept as he carried his child’s body in a bloodstained sheet.

And Al-Awda Hospital said it received six bodies after Israel shelled a house north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

The Palestinian death toll from the 13-month-long war surpassed 44,000 this week, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. It has said more than half the dead are women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.

The Israeli offensive in Gaza has devastatedwide areas, and around 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands live in tent camps with little food, water or basic services.

At least two women were shot dead Saturday while waiting in line for bread in central Deir al-Balah, relatives and witnesses told the AP. It was unclear who shot them and why.

The United Nations says its attempts to support hard-hit northern Gaza, which has been the focus of a renewed Israeli offensive for weeks, have been denied or impeded, and that less than 20% of the population has remained there since the offensive began.

Jordan security forces kill man who opened fire near Israeli Embassy

Authorities in Jordan say they shot and killed a man who opened fire on a police patrol near the Israeli Embassy, an attack that left three police officers hurt.

The shooting happened early Sunday in the Rabiah neighborhood of Amman, the Jordanian capital.

Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said in a statement that a man was shooting in the area, and police pursued the shooter.

“He was chased and surrounded, so he started firing gunshots at the security force, which in turn applied the rules of engagement, which resulted in the killing of the perpetrator,” the statement said.

It did not identify the shooter.

Israel and Jordan reached a peace deal in 1994. Tensions have been high between the two countries amid the Israel-Hamas war, which has decimated the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Putin signs law forgiving debt arrears for new Russian recruits for Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Saturday on debt forgiveness for new army recruits signing up to fight in Ukraine, a Russian government website showed.

Agencies reported that the law provides for forgiveness of up to 10 million roubles ($95,835) of debt arrears for those signing contracts with the Defence Ministry to fight in Ukraine for at least a year, beginning on Dec. 1.

The law applies to all potential recruits who have had debt collection proceedings opened against them before Dec. 1.

Russia has bolstered military recruitment by offering increasingly large payouts, in some cases of many times the average salary, to those willing to fight in Ukraine.

The tactic has enabled the army to increase manpower in the conflict area, while avoiding another round of the general mobilisation that prompted a mass exodus from Russia in Sept. 2022.

Central bank figures have shown that Russians assuming increasing levels of consumer debt since the Kremlin ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022, even as the central bank increased its key rate to 21% in October.

($1 = 104.3455 roubles)

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

France greenlights Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has said that Ukraine may use French missiles to attack targets in internationally-recognized Russian territory, without confirming whether such strikes have already taken place.

In an interview due to be broadcast by British state broadcaster the BBC on Sunday, Barrot said that Paris does “not set and express red lines” on its support for Kiev, and that long-range strikes on Russian soil may be carried out by Ukraine “in the logics of self-defense.”

France has provided Ukraine with an unknown number of SCALP-EG cruise missiles, which Kiev has already been using to attack targets in Crimea and the four former Ukrainian regions that joined the Russian Federation in 2022. The SCALP-EG, known as the Storm Shadow in the UK, is an air-launched British-French cruise missile with a maximum range of 550km (390 miles).

Barrot’s comments came a day after the Ukrainian military confirmed that Storm Shadow missiles were used for the first time in an attack on Russia’s Kursk Region, where Ukrainian troops launched a cross-border invasion in August. Russian air defenses shot down two of the British missiles, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Last weekend, US President Joe Biden reportedly authorized Ukraine to use American-made ATACMS ballistic missiles in long-range strikes on Kursk Region. Within days of Biden’s decision, which has not been officially confirmed by the White House, Russian air defenses intercepted five ATACMS missiles over Bryansk Region, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said. Another one of the American-made missiles was damaged and fell on a military site, the ministry added.

French President Emmanual Macron said in May that he would consider authorizing the use of SCALP-EG missiles on targets deep inside Russia. Earlier this week, Barrot told reporters that Macron remained open to the idea. His comments to the BBC mark the first time that a French official has confirmed that Ukraine may use the missiles for long-range attacks on Russia.

Barrot did not confirm whether such attacks have already taken place.

Russia responded to last week’s ATACMS and Storm Shadow strikes by attacking a military industrial facility in the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk with a new ballistic missile. The nuclear-capable hypersonic missile called the Oreshnik rained down multiple warheads on the facility at lightning speed, and will be mass produced and incorporated into Russia’s arsenal in the coming months, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Putin accused the US and NATO of deliberately escalating the conflict, and declared that Russia will achieve all of its military objectives regardless of which weapons systems Kiev uses. Further attacks with Western weapons will result in retaliatory strikes on targets of Moscow’s choosing, he said in a televised speech on Thursday, concluding: “make no mistake: there will always be a response.”

Reuters/RT

In ???????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????? – ???????????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ????????????????, ???????????? ???????? ???????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????: 

Essays by Ulli Beier, edited by Wole Ogundele, (2001) Horst Ulrich Beier, famously known as Ulli Beier, had an engaging narrative about the power and powerlessness of dogs. He entitled the narrative, Dog Magic of Yoruba Hunters. In it, Beier related how his dog, which he provocatively named Tańtólóhun, (who can compare with God?)’s weird tantrums, which occurred in Osogbo in the early 1960s, could mirror the insufferable power and limitations of dogs. The motive of telling the story, he said, was to “demonstrate the extraordinary power of hunters over dogs.”

Otherwise very gentle dog, whenever Tańtólóhun saw a particular elderly priest of Oya goddess guest of the Beiers, she suddenly went abrasive. The priest, said the German-Jew literary octopus, had just lost his following and as such, little or no worship activity went on in his shrine. Whenever the priest branched at the Beiers’ home on a visit, Tańtólóhun suddenly went haywire, grew inexplicably aggressive towards the priest, growling and barking. The old priest, too couldn’t explain the oddity. He threatened not to visit the Beiers again unless the weird and wild Tańtólóhun was curtailed. The Beiers’ friends’ explanation for Tańtólóhun’s tantrums was that, “the priest liked to eat dog meat, and because of this, often performed the annual sacrifice for a group of Ogun worshippers in Osogbo... the dog sensed his perverse attitude to dogs and her uncontrollable anger stemmed from that.”

Tańtólóhun’s hatred for the Oya priest intensified. “One day, she even started to tug at his long flowing agbádá with her teeth. Infuriated, the priest shouted that if the dog did it again, he would have to ‘put medicine’ on her. The very next day, the dog rushed out again and this time, the priest turned round, speaking incantations at her.” The second day, as the Oya priest was passing by, Tańtólóhun repeated the same weird bellicosity. “She rushed out again barking and tried to grab the priest’s agbádá. Angrily, the priest turned and spoke his incantations. The dog fled back into the house. But this time, she did not recover. Instead she behaved in the most frightening manner. She rolled her eyes, snarled at everybody and foam appeared in her mouth. We could not be sure that she had not developed rabies. Even if it weren’t so, it was obvious that in her present mood, she would sooner or later attack people. She did not appear to recognize any of us. We quickly evacuated all the people from the house. There were usually a dozen children playing on the ground floor. Then we locked her into the house,” lamented Beier.

Another friend of the Beiers’, the head of hunters in Osogbo, the Olúóde, upon being told of Tańtólóhun’s fate, offered to help. He was promptly ushered into the solitary prison where Tańtólóhun was locked, lest no human be the victim of her madness. Ten minutes after, the Olúóde came out laughing. “The dog followed him, wagging her tail as if nothing had happened. Tańtólóhun had no recurrence of her strange behaviour (again)... The Olúóde said he did not give the dog anything to eat, that all he used was incantations."

Beier, the man who told that story, was born July 30, 1922, and exited this plane on April 3, 2011. Beier gave Nigerian literature teeth to bite in the twilight of and immediate post-colony (1950 to 1967). His interest in traditional Yoruba culture and arts was almost an obsession. While teaching at the University of Ibadan, tthe German-Jew veered off to live in Western Region cities of Osogbo and Ede in his quest to conduct anthropological researches on the Yoruba. Inspired by philosopher and French intellectual, Jean Paul Sartre’s essay Orphee Noir, in 1957, Beier founded the magazine, Black Orpheus which became the first African literary journal in English and a leading market for the publication of contemporary Nigerian authors. He also, in 1961, co-founded the Mbari Artists and Writers Club in Ibadan as an ensemble for new writers, dramatists and artists, where they could gather and weave the tapestry of their arts. It is on record that Beier fired the writing zeal of writers like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, among many others. In 1962, he co-founded the Mbari Mbayo, Osogbo Club with Duro Ladipo and translated his drama, published as Modern Poetry (1963). In 1966, Beier published his own play, The Imprisonment of Obatala, 

using the pseudonym, Obotunde Ijimere. He was husband to Susanne Wenger, the famous Austrian-turned-Nigerian Osun sacred grove priestess, who, upon dissolution of her marriage to Beier, married the local drummer, Lasisi Ayansola Onilu.

Sorry, I digressed. Last week, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum, which held at the Yale University in the United States, threw a mound of earthly pigment Yoruba called ògúlùtu. When you throw ògúlùtu, it scatters in conceived and incidental directions. He threw the ògúlùtu in the direction of Bola Tinubu, president of Nigeria. But again, as the Yoruba say, it is a ripe baby orange which invites slingshots of rods and pebbles on its mother (omo osàn níí kó póńpó bá ìyá è). In Yale, Obasanjo took a swipe at not only Tinubu but unnamed Nigerian leaders he called “Baba-go-slow” and “Èmilókàn,” under whom he said Nigeria had become a failed state.

Immediately I read it, I knew Tinubu’s Tańtólóhun dogs like Ulli Beiers’, would relapse into their weirdest bellicosity. Tinubu keeps a kennel of Rottweilers he unleashes on perceived haters. Atiku Abubakar is one of them. While delivering his keynote address entitled “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria”, Obasanjo outlined Nigeria’s worsening challenges, which included pervasive corruption, mediocrity, immorality, misconduct, mismanagement, perversion, injustice, leading to a state capture. He also alleged that the Nigerian judiciary had been reduced to wriggling maggots which feast on rotten flesh of politicians. He also took a swipe at Tinubu’s wobbly leadership, the concerning state of the economy and the sagging credibility of Nigeria under a government that advertises so much motion but no movement. “More than N700 billion in cash bribes were paid by citizens to public officials in 2023,” he further alleged.

Immediately after this, the Oya priest received one of the vilest attacks from Tańtólóhun. In the narrative of the Beiers’ dog above, it will be recalled that the German-Jew literary octopus’ friends’ explanation for the dog’s weirdness was that the Oya priest might have been suffering for his perverse attitude to dogs, especially his penchant for turning the dog’s kindred into buffet during annual Ogun worshippers’ sacrifices. Ogun worshippers are notorious for not only wickedly beheading dogs during such sacrifices but turning the hapless animal’s meat into delicious barbecue.

So, in the bid to stave off accusation of bad governance that is almost a refrain on the streets of Nigeria, simply re-echoed by Obasanjo, like Beiers’, Tinubu’s Tańtólóhun dogs went berserk, growling and barking for the whole of last week. In a statement titled, ‘Former President Obasanjo was not an ideal leader to emulate,’ Tinubu’s Chief Tańtólóhun leading the pack, accused Obasanjo of hypocrisy. “He presided over the worst election in Nigeria (and now) demands the sack of the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission.” He barked ad-nauseam on the Obasanjo third term agenda, how Chinua Achebe, “a universally acclaimed moral, cultural and literary icon” had “scant regard for Obasanjo,” and rejected “the third highest national honour bestowed on him... in 2004,” the unconstitutional impeachment of four PDP governors, the Halliburton bribe scandal, dud investment of $16bn in electricity, “which left the country in utter darkness,” the aluminium smelter company, ALSCON sale, among others. Onanuga growled however that his boss was “diligently (working) to overcome the country’s economic challenges” and advised Obasanjo “to temper his self-righteousness in his public discussions regarding our nation’s temporary difficulties” and spend “his remaining years...reflecting on the missed opportunities during his own time in leadership, both as military head of state and civilian president,” he said.

The Beiers’ Tańtólóhun had every reason to growl at the dog-eating Oya priest. It however didn’t reckon with an eternal Yoruba aphorism which preached caution. In traditional African Yoruba society, cloth dry-cleaning was a craft natives embarked upon. Early in the morning, these alágbàfò 

stormed homes of their clients to collect stacks of used clothes which they took to streams to wash. After washing them, for the clothes to last longer and give them fascinating smells, alágbàfò garnished them with a blue dye called aró. The aró’s cost is then added to their fees. So, when a bedwetting client haggled the price of the aró, the Yoruba say while the whole world was entitled to so haggle, it ill behoves a bedwetter to do same.This, Yoruba express as, “ó ye gbogbo eni k’ó yo’wó aró, sùgbón kò ye atòólé.” Did the bedwetter take into consideration the unpleasant task of divorcing their clothes from oozing smell of urine and the indignity behind their affliction?

So, even if the whole world could cast off the beam in Obasanjo’s eyes, it is not the governance bedwetters of Aso Rock of today. While Tańtólóhun was entitled to be miffed at the Oya priest for peremptorily turning its kin into gourmet meal, does she think the world, too was blind to how she pounced on reptiles and rodents, devouring them? Moreover, Tańtólóhun should have known, again as Yoruba say, that it is not all leaves that the Babaláwo plucks nor is it every palm tree that the palm wine-tapper climbs. While some leaves are sacred, with all of them taboo to be plucked after the morning dew had ceased its water blessing, if a palm-wine tapper does not carefully select the tree to climb, he could be stung by a deadly puffadder which has made the palm-tree top its place of hibernation. Ayinla Omowura, Yoruba Apala music colossus, expressed this as “gbogbo ewé kó l’òjáwé ńjá, gbogbo òpe kó l’onígbà ńgùn” and warned the climber and leave-plucker to beware.

To start with, I am not aware of any of the allegations made by the Tańtólóhun dogs against the Oya priest that is a lie. In human relations, Obasanjo has been described as the proverbial African witch who seeks the destruction of her benefactors. He makes mincemeat of his benefactors. An example touted in this regard is S. B. Bakare, the Ijesa multi-millionaire of the 1970s/80s who rescued him from the bullets of Colonel Bukar Suka Dimka. Obasanjo is also one of the most hated Nigerian leaders alive, mostly due to his 

kénimánìí (lest others have) and kénimátóni (lest others attain my status) traits. Both are epistemic analytical standpoints of human relationship used in understanding and interpreting people’s actions and inactions. Obasanjo has always fought his kin to the hilt, beginning with Obafemi Awolowo and MKO Abiola, his secondary school senior. The ostensible reason is for him to be the only Yoruba to attain his national height. He once riled the world when he said that the presidency Awolowo sought unsuccessfully was delivered to him on a platter. Rather than his kin, Obasanjo preferred lifting people of other ethnicities. The few kin of his who were struggling to be at the top, like Mike Adenuga Jr., Obasanjo attempted to destroy them.

Not minding the above, a saying that will readily dissolve Tinubu’s Tańtólóhun dogs’ tantrums against Obasanjo is that even if a hyena develops boil - a painful, pus-filled bump - on its face, it is beyond the remit of the chicken to point it out. A chicken is too miniature in people’s estimation compared to a hyena, just as no one dare peer light into the dilating eyes of the lion. Obasanjo is too elephantine in stature for anybody to demean.

In Nigeria’s 25 years continuous governance, one tree that makes its democratic forest is Obasanjo. It may sound intangible, but we know that Obasanjo has an ancestry that he can point to. I doubt if there is any other leader who is emblematic of this country and who the rest of the world connects than him. I once traveled with Obasanjo to Congo Kinshasa and saw how Felix Tshisekedi and the whole DRC laid red carpet for him. From Nigeria’s first loan of US$13.1 million from the Paris Club of Creditor Nations, taken from the Italian government in 1964 for the building of the Niger Dam, her debt rose to US$36 billion in December 2004. Obasanjo, on June 29, 2005, used his international leverage to have the Paris Club give a US$18 billion debt relief package to the country. No other leader, before and after him, has succeeded in doing this. Many institutions of government which Nigeria enjoys today, the EFCC, ICPC etc - though they are almost comatose now - were all built by him. He brought dignity to Nigeria and his years in government lifted this country’s pride tremendously. More importantly, he didn’t disgrace the Yoruba race.

Yes, Obasanjo’s lust for power, that me-and-only-me (àf’èmi, àf’èmi) spirit, sowed the seed of his third term ambition which he now shamelessly denies. However, none of his several limitations could be as destructive as to have some insolent and abrasive Tańtólóhun dogs compare him with Tinubu. Yes, they are both lucky to have risen this high; Obasanjo, in spite of his perceived wickedness, selfishness and Tinubu, for the mucks that glue to his past and present. The lofty pride that oozed off Obasanjo while in office cannot be said of the government that the Tańtólóhun dogs were last week unleashed to bay blood for and defend. Barking and growling, their teeth tugged at the agbádá of the Oya priest, they were a pitiable sight as they attempted to stave off Obasanjo’s deadly punches. What did Obasanjo say that is untrue about the pestilence that the Tinubu government has brought on Nigerians in the last 18 months? Nigeria today mirrors every definition of a failed state. Is it the excruciating hunger, go-slow, corruption, a felonious judiciary, an INEC that has gone to the dogs and whose chairman needed to be sacked to allow sanity into Nigeria’s electoral system? What?

Let me close this homily by asking the Olúóde, who has the powers to put a leash on his Tańtólóhun dogs, to do so immediately. In doing so, I will borrow two advisory sayings of the Yoruba. In one, they caution that, even if a Tańtólóhun dog is suddenly seized by insanity, it should mind the billowing red-eye of the fire - “t’ájá bá ńsínwín, k’ó má wo’nú iná òyèlà.” In another, Yoruba warn that anyone who assumes that the way an edible vegetable called tètè is grated and made into soup is same way another variant of the vegetable, the wild dáguńró, is eaten will be eating poison!

The Fuji music house of commotion

Like every lover of Yoruba traditional music, language and culture, I have of recent been inundated with requests to lend a voice to the newest raging fire in the Fuji music genre. Since the passage of Sikiru Ayinde Balogun, popularly known as Ayinde Barrister or Agbajelola Barusati, there have been longstanding tiffs on whom of the trio of Ayinde Omogbolahan Anifowose, KWAM 1; self-named King Saheed Osupa (K.S.O.) and Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, was the “King.”

These musicians’ recent quest for supremacy is not new. From time immemorial, supremacy battles have been part and parcel of Yoruba music. Apparently now tempered by modernity, in the olden days, the battles were fought with traditional spells, incantations and talisman aimed at deconstructing and liquidating their rivals. Mostly fought on genre basis, I submit that pre and post-independence entertainment scene would have been livelier, far more robust than it was but for the acrimonious liquidating fights of those eras.

In the Sakara music, Abibu Oluwa, a revered early precursor of this Yoruba musical genre, who reigned in the late 1920s and 1930s, had Salami Alabi Balogun, popularly known as Lefty Salami, Baba Mukaila and Yusuff Olatunji as members of his band. Oluwa praise-sang many Lagos elites of his time, especially Herbert Macaulay to whom he sang his praise in the famous track named “Macaulay Macaulay.” In it, he sang the foremost Nigerian nationalist’s alias of Ejonigboro – Snake on the Street and prayed that he would not come to shame.

Sakara also produced the likes of S. Aka Baba Wahidi, Kelani Yesufu (alias Kelly). It was sung with traditional Yoruba 

instruments like the solemn-sounding goje violin whose history is traced to the north, and the roundish Sakara drum, beaten with stick and whose appearance is like that of a tambourine. Sakara music is often called the Yoruba variant of western blues music because of its brooding rhythm though laced with a high dosage of philosophy.

When Oluwa died in 1964, he literally handed over to Lefty who, born on October 1913, died December 29, 1981. Lefty, a talking drummer under Oluwa, churned out over 35 records before his demise, one of which was a tribute to Lagos monarch, Oba Adele (Adele l’awa nfe – Oba Adele is the king we want) and another to the Elegushi family. I dwelt considerably on Sakara because it is believed to have had considerable influence on other genres of traditional African Yoruba music, especially Apala and Fuji, with the former sometimes indistinguishable from Sakara.

Apala music, whose exponent is said to be Haruna Ishola, originated in the late 1930s Nigeria. Delivered with musical instruments like a rattle (Sekere) thumb piano, (agidigbo) drums called Iya Ilu and Omele, a bell (agogo) and two or three talking drums, Apala and Sakara are the most complex of these genres of traditional Yoruba music, due to their infusion of philosophy, incantations and dense Yoruba language into their mix. Distinct, older and more difficult in mastery than Fuji music which is considered to be comparatively easy to sing, Ayinla Omowura, Ligali Mukaiba, Kasumu Adio, and many others were Apala leading lights of the time. The three genres have very dense Islamic background.

The latest entrant of all the three genres is Fuji. Pioneered by Ayinde Barrister no doubt, for an Apala musician biographer like me, I am confused that Omowura, as far back as early 1970s, asked listeners in need of good Fuji music to come learn from him – “Fuji t’o dara, e wa gbo l’owo egbe wa…” Sorry, I digressed.

While KWAM 1 emerged with his Talazo music from the ashes of his being a music instrument arranger for Barrister’s musical organization in the early 1980s, the feud in the house after Barrister’s death erupted when narratives allegedly oozed unto the musical scene that KWAM 1 referred to himself as the creator of Fuji music. He however promptly denied the claim. For decades, Osupa and Pasuma were locked in horns over supremacy of the Fuji music genre. In August 2023, the two however seemed to have decided to thaw their feud as they shared stage with Wasiu Ayinde, at Ahmad Alawiye Folawiyo, an Islamic singer’s 50th birthday celebration in Lagos. KWAM 1 glibly acted as their senior colleague at the event.

As an indication that they are no bastards of the teething and recurrent supremacy battles that emblemize traditional Yoruba music, the three Fuji music icons seem to have gone into the trenches again. It first started with Taiye Currency, an Ibadan-based alter-ego of Pasuma picking a fight with the musician who self-styled himself Son of Anobi Muhammed’s Wife. In a viral video, Currency had disclaimed reference to Pasuma as his “father” in the music industry. In another video not long after, KWAM 1, like some kind of father figure, was shown asking Currency to go and apologize to Pasuma.

A few days ago, a video of Osupa went viral. Therein, he was chastising a particular hypocrite he called “Onirikimo” and “alabosi”, who is “stingy and is ready to shamelessly collect money from those under him.” Osupa also claimed that this “shameless elder” had strung a ring of corn round his waist and should be ready to be made fun of by hens. Watchers of the endless tiffs among these Fuji icons swear that KWAM 1 was the unnamed Fuji musician Osupa was casting aspersion on.

The trio of Sakara, Apala and Fuji music also witnessed such petty squabbles. While many claim that the fights were promotional gambits aimed at having their fans salivate for their hate-laced musical attacks against one another, some others claim that the rivalries were genuine. In the Apala music scene, Haruna Ishola and Kasumu Adio fought each other to the nadir, with Adio, who sang almost in the same voice and cadence as Ishola, suddenly vamoosing from the musical scene. Rumours and speculations had it then that a mysterious goat bit Adio and rendered him useless. While Ayinla Omowura also fought Fatai Olowonyo, Fatai Ayilara, among others in the Apala genre, the duo of Yusuff Olatunji and S. Aka also feuded till their last days. This is not to mention the interminable fight between Kollington Ayinla and Barrister.

If the tiff between the trio of KWAM 1, Osupa and Pasuma is about age and Yoruba traditional respect for elders, KWAM 1 would easily go away with the trophy of the best of the three. However, if philosophical depth, musical elan, research of lyrics and deployment of Yoruba language are at issue, none of the other two musicians can unbuckle Osupa’s sandals. Osupa began his musical career in 1983 as a teenager and has gone through the mills, his late father being a musician, too and Awurebe music lord, Dauda Epo Akara’s musical contemporary.

Unlike their predecessors, the three Fuji musicians are literate and should thus address their musical issues in more mature manner. Osupa even recently bagged a degree from the department of Political Science, University of Ibadan. One thing they should know is that, whether one is supreme to the other or not, their fans will readily queue behind the brand that delights them.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need ~ Hebrews 4:16.

Introduction

It has been shown over the ages that God’s mercy is a major all-time need of man. Why? Man doesn’t always get what he deserves, but what mercy delivers to him: “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:16).

Naturally, the journey of life is too cumbersome and very difficult to predict. Sometimes, certain unwholesome events come calling, when they are least expected. Most certainly, it is not the strongest of the species that always survives in life, not the most intelligent, but those who are the most receptive to the mercies of God, “for by strength shall no man prevail” (1 Samuel 2:9).

Understanding the Subject of Mercy

In our day-to-day usage of the word, ‘mercy’ is that tenderness of heart which inclines a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he/she deserves. It is the disposition of the mind that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses. Mercy is that platform, which allows favor to flow towards a person or a thing.

In Biblical parlance, God’s mercy is a distinctive attribute of the Supreme God that does not allow Him to overlook the helpless in his miserable estate (Numbers 14:18). Mercy is God’s prerogative that makes Him to embrace the rejected. Certainly, Leah was in this catchment (Genesis 29:31).

Mercy is the outflow of God's compassion and forbearance that shuts the doors against harm, but conveys blessings to His people who have obtained mercy. God’s mercy is intrinsically connected to His covenant with man. Hence, the golden cover of the Ark of the Covenant was justly referred to as the ‘Mercy Seat’ (Ex.25:17-22; 26:34).

Mercy is a major requirement in the school of divine assistance and durable wonders (Titus 3:5). It is a ‘Certain Entity’ in the realm of the spirit that follows those who receive it on their journeys of life (Ps.23:6).

When Mercy Speaks!

From generation to generation, mankind continues to enjoy God's mercy one way or the other, only in varying degrees. For instance, the wonders of the Israeli nation is deeply etched in God’s mercy (Rom.9:13-18). It was God’s mercy that supernaturally turned their battles around, to make room for their inexplicable victories, as found in the battle of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:21).

Even today, it is His mercy we have received that saved us, keeps us, provides for us, heals us, forgives us and even gives us a hope of heaven.

When God deals with any man according to His mercy, don’t just write him off yet, because anything can still happen. Such destinies can still gain momentum and be propelled to great ascendence. For instance, by mercy, Esther, the common slave girl became the Queen in Shushan palace. How about that!

Among the several hundreds of other beautiful virgins across the 127 provinces of King Ahasuerus, God's mercy singled out Esther for coronation, and the King loved her "above all the women” (Esther 2:17).

When mercy speaks, the most disadvantaged becomes repositioned into a most advantageous estate. Mercy is all that’s needed to transit any man from prison to the palace.  If you’re in doubt, please ask Joseph, the erstwhile Egyptian Prime Minister (Genesis 39:21). May mercy locate you and speak for you today in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

In situations where God’s mercy is on the front burner, incurable diseases can vanish miraculously in the twinkling of an eye. The father of the lunatic boy in Matthew 17:14-18 must have tried every possible means to procure healing for his son, all to no avail. Thereafter, he came to Jesus Christ, pleading for mercy, and the child was cured immediately.

The mercy of God is the most inerrant solution to pathetic situations in life. Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus was blind for a long time. But, he knew by revelation that it was only mercy from the Lord that could rescue him from this infirmity. Hence, when he learned that Jesus was passing by, he cried out for God’s mercy, and heaven stood at attention to assist him, restoring his sight instantly (Mark 10:46-52).

God’s Mercy Never Fails!

God’s mercy is never-failing because it is as eternal as it is everlasting, and it is as dependable as it is reliable. The mercy of the Lord is ever sure and durable (Isaiah 55:3).

Moreover, God’s promises of “mercy” to men are always firmly propped up by His “truth” (Psalms 25:10). And, you see, Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Generally speaking, wise men value a promise by the character of him that makes it. Definitely, under the dispensation of the New Testament, any man can enjoy the fullness of God's goodness through Jesus Christ today (2 Corinthians 1:20). God is not only gracious in promising, but He is also very faithful in performing whatever He has promised. All His promises and all His providences are sustained and fully guaranteed by Truth. Alleluia!

Conclusion

Were it not for God’s Mercy that we receive moment by moment, we would have been consumed by woes and wickedness (Lamentations 3:22-23). Hence, supplication for mercy should remain a top agenda on our prayer altars.

When mercy is still speaking, nothing is impossible. When God’s mercy speaks up for you, it can still be well with you, even inside a well! In all His dealings, God’s people see the Lord’s mercy displayed, and His words fulfilled, whatever situations they find themselves. May His sure mercies continue to speak distinctively for us all, in Jesus Name. Amen. Happy Sunday!

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Archbishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

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