WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine keeps pounding Russia's Kursk region with drones, Russian official says

Kyiv launched more than two dozen drones on the Russian region of Kursk in several waves of attacks that started Saturday night and damaged an oil depot, the acting governor of the region that borders Ukraine said late on Sunday.

At least 13 drones launched from Ukraine were destroyed by Russia's air defence systems late on Sunday, Andrei Smirnov, the governor, said on the Telegram messaging app. That follows 19 drones destroyed over the region during the day, he said.

Smirnov did not say how many drones in total Ukraine launched.

Firefighters were still trying to put out an oil depot fire in the region, sparked by Ukraine's drone attack Saturday night, he added.

He said the attacks caused minor damages to several residential buildings. Russian officials rarely disclose the full extent of damage inflicted by Ukrainian attacks.

Ukraine has been systematically targeting Russian transport, energy and military infrastructure to disrupt the Kremlin's economy and its ability to fund the war, which Russia launched with a full-scale invasion on its smaller neighbour in 2022.

Kyiv also says the drone attacks are in response to Russia's continued bombing of Ukraine.

The governor of the southwestern Russian region of Oryol said early on Monday that a power plant was damaged in the region in a Ukraine-launched drone attack.

At least four drones were also destroyed over the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, the governor of the region said on Telegram.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Strikes on foreign mercs, hunt for HIMARS, and electronic warfare systems: Past week in the Ukraine conflict

The past week in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has seen active hostilities along the front line, with the Russian military reporting new gains in several areas and as well as claimign to have inflicted mass casualties on foreign mercenaries fighting for Kiev. 

Last Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the military had seized the villages of Rozovka and Peschanoye Nizhneye, located in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and Ukraine’s Kharkov Region respectively. The development signaled the spread of combat to the vicinity of the Ukrainian town of Kupiansk and the Oskol River. The local front line spans roughly along the border between the LPR and Kharkov Region and has remained largely static over the past few weeks. 

On Tuesday, the Russian military reported the liberation of Ivano-Daryevka, a small village located in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic. The settlement is located roughly 8km to the southeast of the Ukrainian-controlled town of Severs, which has long-served as a major stronghold for Kiev’s troops and remains a major obstacle for the potential Russian advance westward.

The most active combat continued to the northwest of the city of the strategic DPR town of Avdeevka, which was liberated by the Russian military in February. Russian troops continued to advance near the town of Ocheretino, with the Ukrainian forces apparently unable to stabilize the situation in the area.

On Saturday, the Russian military reported the liberation of Lozovatovskoye, a tiny settlement located to the north of the village of Progress. The swift advance was marked with two company-sized Ukrainian forces reportedly ending up in tactical encirclement in the trenches between the two villages. 

According to former Ukrainian MP and ex-deputy commander of the notorious neo-Nazi Azov regiment, Igor Mosiychuk, all the commanding officers of the two companies were killed, while the battalion-level command did nothing to fix the situation, only demanding that the soldiers fight to their deaths.

Strikes on foreign ‘instructors’

The week has been marked by new strikes on foreign mercenaries fighting in Ukraine, with up to 90 estimated dead, according to the Russian military. 

The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday said it targeted a building in the Ukrainian town of Dergachi, Kharkov Region, used to house Western “instructors and mercenaries.” The location was hit by a ballistic missile, fired by an Iskander-M system. Footage of the strike shows the building sustained a direct hit and partially collapsed.

Another strike on foreign fighters was conducted by the country’s military on Thursday with a ballistic missile of the same type. The temporary accommodation point housing Ukrainian servicemen with the 151th mechanized brigade and foreign mercenaries was discovered in an industrial area in the city of Kharkov, the ministry said.

Aerial footage shared by the military suggests the missile penetrated the building, exploding inside and leaving a massive hole in its roof. Up to 100 fighters, including 40 foreigners, were killed in the strike, according to Moscow’s estimates.

Logistics strikes

Over the past few weeks, the Russian military repeatedly conducted strikes on the Ukrainian military’s rear, striking units in redeployment, as well as destroying railway hubs and bridges close to the front line to disrupt Kiev’s logistics.

Last Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported striking two military trains at a railway station near the town of Barvenkovo, located near the border between Ukraine’s Kharkov Region and Russia’s DPR. Each train consisted of at least 20 flatbed cars and carried multiple pieces of military hardware.

Infrared footage of the strike shows a ballistic missile fired by an Iskander-M system hitting one of the trains, with multiple fires observed on the ground after the hit. The missile was closely followed by another one hitting the second train.

According to Moscow’s estimates, up to 240 Ukrainian servicemen were killed or injured in the strike, with more than 60 pieces of military hardware destroyed. Ten Canadian-made Roshel Senator armored personnel carriers (APCs) and 14 US-made International MaxxPro mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs) were destroyed on the flatbeds.

Another video circulating online shows a missile strike on the bridge across the Oskol River located in the town of Kupiansk-Uzlovoy, Kharkov Region. The bridge had been hit by the Russian military at least twice this year, but apparently was repaired. The structure was likely hit by an air-to-surface Kh-38 missile, sustaining heavy damage, footage indicates.

Hunt for US-supplied HIMARS launchers

Over the past week, the Russian military reported the destruction of several US-supplied HIMARS launchers, which have long been priority targets for Moscow. Though the long-range multiple rocket launchers have been touted by Ukraine as the ultimate tool to strike high-value assets, the systems have been widely used by Kiev for the indiscriminate shelling of civilian infrastructure. 

On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of a HIMARS and its crew in the village of Novopetrovka in Ukraine’s Nikolayev Region. The system was tracked by a surveillance drone to a hangar used as a staging point, with the location promptly hit by a ballistic missile fired by an Iskander-M system. The strike obliterated the hangar, with secondary detonation and a bushfire observed at the site, footage shared by the military shows. 

The destruction of another HIMARS was reported by the Defense Ministry on Friday. The vehicle, as well as other pieces of military equipment, was discovered concealed in an industrial area located in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kramatorsk, DPR. The hangar used to station the equipment was struck by an Iskander-M missile, the military said.

Infrared footage shared by the military shows a major explosion and a massive column of fire and smoke emitting from the hangar. Apart from the HIMARS, five Soviet-era BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers, five tanks, and up to ten other armored vehicles were destroyed in the strike, according to Moscow’s estimates.

Disrupting Kiev’s electronic warfare capabilities

The Russian military has continued its efforts to strike Ukrainian electronic warfare and early warning systems, such as active jammers, radars, passive detectors, and other equipment. The continuous hunt for the systems enables the Russian forces to operate more effectively, hampering Kiev’s capabilities to intercept or evade incoming projectiles of various types. 

On Monday, a video purporting to show the destruction of a US-supplied Ukrainian AN/TPQ-50 artillery radar surfaced online. The system was reportedly found near the town of Kupiansk, Kharkov Region, and hit by a Russian Lancet-family loitering munition.

Another video that emerged online this week shows a Lancet striking a Ukrainian homegrown Plastun electronic warfare support station. The sensor was found deployed in a wooded area, with a Starlink satellite terminal seen nearby. The hardware was hit by the kamikaze drone and apparently destroyed, footage suggests.

A Ukrainian Nota electronic jammer station also fell victim to a Lancet kamikaze drone it was supposed to deter. Surveillance drone footage circulating online shows the system concealed in a wooded area with only its antennas protruding from the shrubbery. 

The Lancet apparently scored a direct hit on the system, with open flames seen at the location after the strike, footage shows. 

 

Reuters/RT

“….economic mismanagement, rabid corruption, irresponsible political behavior and squandermania, the near abandonment of the state by its very custodians weakened it and made it largely irrelevant to the daily lives of the people. The state was now seen and treated as enemy by the people, a force that was to be avoided, hated, attacked, and subverted as opportunity permitted. Such a state had no room for the development, rule of law, social justice, human rights, and constitutionalism. All these were sacrificed on the altar of political expediency, political rascality, the hunger for raw power, and the arrogance of a political elite with only a tenuous relationship to real production.” – Julius Ihonvbere (2002)

When he uttered these words in October 2002, Julius Ihonvbere was a distinguished Professor of political science about to make the transition from exile into public office. He spoke as a guest of the Institute for Governance and Development (IGD) at the Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma, Edo State, whose academic community were his audience. The topic of his lecture was the timeless subject of “Constitutionalism and Democratisation in Africa.” His focus was Nigeria.

Nearly 22 years later, Professor Ihonvbere has logged an impressive public service resume in both the executive and legislative arms of government as well as at both federal and state levels. Among other things, he has served as an intimate adviser in the presidency; Secretary to the State Government in Edo State and also as a federal legislator. As the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives today, Ihonvbere is the undisputed manager of legislative business in that chamber.

The progressive credentials of his opposite number in the Senate, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB), are just as intimidating. A lawyer with transboundary qualifications, Òpé, as he was known back in the day, was a firebrand president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) under whom the association logged an impressive record of resilient and effective opposition to the worst excesses of military rule.

This coincidence of enlightened and progressive credentials was – until this parliament – unknown in the annals of parliamentary floor management in Nigeria. It was entirely natural, therefore, that the public was willing to suspend credulity and heap a burden of high expectations on this 10th National Assembly (NASS). What they have reaped in return has been nothing short of a dis-spiriting anti-climax.

In its first year, this 10th National Assembly compiled a record that makes Ihonvbere’s 22 year old Ekpoma declamation sound rather damp. To be sure, they signaled their direction very early, handing the administration the largest cabinet in the history of elective presidentialism in Nigeria in return for a scandalous harvest of four-wheel drives for every member.

The National Assembly of Ihonvbere and Bamidele will go down in history as the one that casualized the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme by clearing for appointment, ministerial nominees who manifestly had not fulfilled that requirement. Their handling of appropriations will deserve special treatment on its own. But it is their treatment of constitutive national symbols and institutions that will probably define the legacy of this 10th National Assembly.

On the first anniversary of the regime of President Bola Tinubu in May 2024, the NASS altered the National Anthem and secured presidential assent for the change even before the record of Votes and Proceedings could have been compiled or transmitted, an essential requirement for presidential assent to bills passed by the National Assembly. This uniquely symbolic event occurred without as much as notice to Nigerians or an opportunity for public participation in the process.

The speed of parliamentary business under the joint floor leadership of Ihonvbere and Bamidele has been nothing short of disconcerting, to the extent that it routinely catches many of their own conscientious colleagues entirely unawares. This has led to accusations of legislation by ambush. They have indeed been described as “worse than a rubber stamp…. A copy-and-paste arm of the executive.”

The latest example of legislation by copy-and-paste was the swift decision in the past week by both chambers of the National Assembly to amend the Nigeria Police Act of 2020, in order to extend the tenure of the present Inspector-General of Police (IGP) for a transparently political hit-job in 2027. As with the National Anthem, this also blindsided the country.

The Nigeria Police (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is one of the shortest pieces of law-making in Nigeria’s parliamentary history. It comprises three sections which, together with the marginal notes, add up to a mere 100 words. The only substantive provision in the new law proposes to insert into the Nigeria Police Act 2020, a provision to the effect that “any person appointed to the office of Inspector-General of Police shall remain in office until the end of the term stipulated in the letter of appointment in line with section 7(6) of this Act.”

The Police Act provides for a tenure of up to four years for the Inspector-General of Police. However, all police officers are also liable to retire on attainment of the age of 60 years or 35 years in service whichever occurs earlier. Under this rule, Kayode Egbetokun, the current IGP, will retire on 4 September when he turns 60.

As the rumours of a tenure extension for him built up in the past few weeks, the police authorities were forced at the beginning of this month to deny allegations that IGP Egbetokun “made moves to influence the National Assembly to pass a bill seeking to raise the retirement age of officers.” Those denials have proved to be worthless.

There are two possible scenarios. One is that Egbetokun was appointed in 2023 with a clear tenure stipulation in his letter of appointment. If that is the case, however, then the new amendment is an irresponsible waste of parliamentary bandwidth. This throws up an alternative explanation: that this amendment is intended to extend Egbetokun’s tenure, keeping him in office until after the 2027 presidential elections. As a matter of law, that should be impossible under the terms of legislation that is clearly not retrospective in its text or ordinary effect.

On either of these readings, IGP Egbetokun has to go on his 60th birthday on 4 September. If a letter materializes on that date granting him longer tenure, it would almost assuredly be a lawless forgery. That is not to say that the regime may not attempt it.

The Constitution and the Police Act together empower the president to appoint the IGP. They place only three constraints on this. One, the person must be from the ranks of serving police officers. Two, only officers on or above the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police are eligible for consideration for the position of IGP. Third, the president is obliged to consult with the Police Council in the appointment but the decision is ultimately the president’s alone to make. On 4 September, Egbetokun will no longer be eligible to be appointed IGP because he would no longer be a Police Officer as a matter of law.

The perversely targeted amendment of the Police Act by the National Assembly of Ihonvbere and Bamidele is the latest curiosity from a Parliament whose only aspiration appears to be the transformation of the NASS into presidential plaything. The objective of this amendment is rather transparent. That is not surprising: in a previous life, Egbetokun served for a long time as Aide-de-Camp to Tinubu.

The enthusiasm of Ihonvbere and Bamidele in readily enabling this prostitutes the National Assembly. To reprise the thoughts of Ihonvbere from over two decades ago, this NASS under the joint enterprise of himself and Bamidele manifestly has “no room for development, rule of law, social justice, human rights, and constitutionalism.” Instead, it has become “a place where all these were sacrificed on the altar of political expediency, political rascality, the hunger for raw power, and the arrogance of a political elite with only a tenuous relationship to real production.” Who would have thunk it?!

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

Chris Gasbarro, an Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) member in Boston, is the president of Ember, a boutique creative gathering agency. We asked Chris to share his thoughts on the power of timeless connections in an overly scheduled world:

Over the course of your day, how many times do you say or hear, "I have a hard stop," "Let's take that discussion offline," or stare at your Outlook calendar of back-to-back meetings?

I'd like to advocate for the idea of meetings without a hard stop, where the ideas keep flowing for as long as is necessary -- with your customers, your leadership team, and your employees. Now, don't get me wrong: I love a tight agenda and a structured offsite meeting -- each has its place and value. But when was the last time you looked at your watch in surprise and said, "Whoa, it's 11 p.m.! Where did the time go?"

A Transformative Leadership Retreat

One morning a few months ago at 8 a.m., I walked into the kitchen of a rented estate where a Fortune 1000 global leadership team was holding its annual offsite. The company's president, who had taken over a struggling, well-known brand seven months before, had been missing financial goals and alienating the business's core customer, which in turn was eroding revenue and market share to the tune of -10 percent in the previous two quarters. 

After observing for six months and making tweaks, the president gathered his nine-person global leadership team in a secluded mountain retreat for four days to debate strategy and ideas, align, and refocus on their core customer. The intention of the gathering focused on showing up as a consistent global brand.

That morning, I asked him, "So what's been the highlight or breakthrough?" He responded, "Last night we stayed up until 3:30 a.m. -- we completely lost track of time!" He shared that they had enjoyed an invigorating, 10-hour day of discussions and had continued beyond dinner into the evening hours in the library. During that time, from behind the veil, their individual personas came out -- from table topic question cards to a team member taking over the piano and leading singalongs to the European general manager showing his talents for cocktail making. 

"We connected on a deeper level, beyond résumés or egos," said the president. "We experienced each other's rich qualities that define us as a diverse group of leaders, aspects rarely visible in boardrooms or Zoom meetings."

Analog Connections in a Digital World

It made me think: In a world of hyper-digital, hybrid work and millions of PowerPoint slides -- could the real difference between profit, engagement, and outcomes be the most analog of solutions, sans clock or Outlook reminders? Is it as simple as just gathering people in a room with no agenda?

At every concert I've gone to this year -- from emerging artist Noah Derksen (what an incredible voice!) to an arena act -- I noted they all have vinyl records for sale at their merch table. The Recording Industry Association of America tracked $1.2 billion in vinyl record sales in 2022, with a lovely upward growth curve year-over-year. It's not a profit play by the artists, with the cost of the process far outweighing a Spotify upload or MP3. By pressing vinyl records, these artists seek to connect with their core fanbase, to give an experience that is a zag from what streaming services are designed to offer.

For me and my company, our No. 1 customer is our team. After navigating the remote and hybrid work model, about 14 months ago we transitioned fully to remote work, with team members spread out across North America. We made the agreement to gather as a company three times a year. These gatherings allow us to co-work, address concerns or issues, and strengthen relationships. The most significant outcomes of the offsites have indexed higher to the relationship and deep connection side. 

The Unexpected Benefits of Losing Track of Time

If I were to overlay revenue growth and performance over our internal gatherings calendar, they would show the following results:

Those are great KPIs -- and what I truly love the most is hearing the lingering echoes of laughter at midnight (a rare treat), the stories shared over coffee the next morning, and (my favorite) the genuine affinity and hugs when team members depart. These moments, to me, directly link to employee retention, net promoter score, a robust culture -- and eventually, profitability.

Last week, in that same rented estate library where the aforementioned company met, I sat with my parents as my brother and his wife arrived at 9 p.m. after a five-hour drive from New York City. It was the night before the rest of the family would arrive for my father's 80th birthday celebration -- with seven grandchildren, my spouse, and another brother. We sat down with drinks before a glowing fire and just talked. Finally, my brother said, "Geez -- it's 11:30 p.m.!" My father said, "I haven't stayed up this late in years!"

A profound realization hit me: Losing track of time is a luxury we can't afford to live without. Truly allowing yourself to be in the moment and lose track of time brings about moments of authentic connection and unforgettable experiences. These timeless moments are invaluable for both a thriving company and a fulfilling personal life.

So here's my challenge to you: When was the last time you allowed yourself to truly lose track of time? Imagine what might happen if you put down your phone, ditch the rigid agenda, and embrace the beauty of unstructured, limitless conversations. The results just might be extraordinary -- for your company, your team, your customers, and your life.

 

Inc

Days before a nationwide protest over bad governance and a high cost of living, the federal government is offering its young people jobs in the state-oil company and billions of naira worth of grants among other incentives to discourage the action.

Nigerian activists have been looking to emulate youth-led protests elsewhere in Africa which have rocked the government in Kenya and prompted a tough security response in Uganda.

Nigeria's state oil firm, which seven years ago warned job seekers against falling prey to fraudulent messages about job placements in the company, published on Friday nationwide job vacancies in a post on X for the first time in nearly a decade.

An NNPC Ltd spokesperson said a flood of applications crashed the company's website.

Nigeria's ministry of youth development on Friday also relaunched a 110 billion naira ($70 million) youth investment fund that was started in 2020, aimed at providing grants to Nigeria's youth to generate jobs.

The youth ministry had said in May said it would revive the programme but little had been heard about it until Friday.

On Tuesday, Nigerian lawmakers passed a new minimum wage, more than doubling the amount the least paid worker will earn monthly.

Nigerians are organising online for nationwide protests next week in response to a cost of living crisis that has seen inflation rise to a 28-year-high of 34.2% which followed President Bola Tinubu's removal of fuel subsidies and a currency devaluation.

Religious clerics, traditional rulers and other prominent Nigerians have joined the government in discouraging young people from embarking on protests slated to begin from Aug. 1, fearing Kenya-style protests will wreak havoc on the economy.

The government has sought more time to end hardships and both the policeand army leadership have warned against the protests, saying they could get out of control.

Protesters have said they have a right to peaceful demonstrations, calling the government's warnings of violence a smokescreen for a potential crackdown.

($1 = 1,580.0000 naira)

 

Reuters

The Federal Government has tightened security across all the nations borders ahead of the planned nationwide protests scheduled for August 1.

Kemi Nandap, Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS) said this in a statement issued by the Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Kenneth Udo, on Saturday in Abuja.

Nandap directed all Zonal Heads, State Command Comptrollers and Divisional Immigration Officers (DIOS) of the Service across the country to be extra vigilant.

She said officers and men of the service should intensify surveillance in view of the planned protest by some groups.

She also said that the directive was to ensure that foreign elements do not come into the country to participate in the protests.

“In keeping with the responsibility of safeguarding the nation’s gateways placed on the shoulders of the Service, officers especially Heads of Border Commands, are tasked to rise to the occasion.

“This is by ensuring that no foreign element can take advantage of the protest to distabilise the country,” she said.

The NIS CG directed temporary suspension of all leave applications and charges officers to exercise utmost professionalism and patriotism in the discharge of their duties.

This, she said should enduring and after the protest, saying, “Nigeria is the only country we have as our own.”

Nandap assured all Nigerians of the Service’s preparedness to safeguard the nation’s borders towards enhancing national Security.

 

NAN

Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, has expressed support for the planned protest scheduled for August 1.

Justice Faloye, the publicity secretary of Afenifere, who spoke in an interview on Arise TV, said the group warned the federal government about the implications of its economic policies on Nigerians.

Faloye’s comments followed the planned nationwide protest slated for August 1.

The federal government and President Bola Tinubu have asked the youths to shelve the planned protest against the rising cost of living.

Faloye said the planned protest was triggered by the economic crisis in the country, which he noted was caused by the policies of the Tinubu-led government.

The group’s spokesperson said Tinubu’s policies are “superficial” and cannot address the hardship in the country.

He added that the planned protest is an ‘organic reaction” to the economic policies of the Tinubu-led government.

“Afenifere is not planning to be a part of the protest, but we support anybody who wants to express their fundamental human rights,” Faloye said.

“We, in Afenifere, have been warning about the economic policies and that if it continues like this, you can’t stop people.

“Right from the beginning, we have shown you that you have gone on the wrong path. Afenifere has been saying that we need economic and political restructuring.

“All we have are palliatives and superficial moves that can’t resolve anything. We understand that the protest is an organic reaction.”

He appealed to the federal government to allow the protesters to express themselves, adding that protest usually turns violent when the government tries to stop it.

 

The Cable

Israel says Hezbollah rocket kills 12 at football ground, vows response

A rocket attack on a football ground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heightskilled 12 people including children on Saturday, Israeli authorities said, blaming Hezbollah and vowing to inflict a heavy price on the Iran-backed Lebanese group.

Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the strike, the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since the start of the conflict in Gaza.

The attack sharply escalated tensions in the hostilities which have been fought in parallel to the Gaza war and has raised fears of a full-blown conflict between the heavily armed adversaries.

The rocket struck a football pitch in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, territory captured from Syria by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move not recognised by most countries.

"Hezbollah will pay a heavy price, the kind it has thus far not paid," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a phone call with the leader of the Druze community in Israel, according to a statement from his office.

In a written statement, Hezbollah said: "The Islamic Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with the incident, and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard".

Hezbollah had earlier announced several rocket attacks targeting Israeli military positions.

The Israeli ambulance service said 13 more people were wounded by the rocket that hit the soccer pitch which was filled at the time with children and teenagers.

"They were playing soccer, they heard sirens they ran to shelter...it may take them like 15 seconds (to reach the shelter). But they couldn't reach the shelter because the rocket hit the site between the ground and the shelter," said Mourhaf Abu Saleh, a witness.

Footage posted on social media showed the moment the rocket hit. An air raid siren can be heard, followed by a big explosion and images of smoke rising. Reuters was able to independently verify the location with the buildings and road layout that matched the satellite imagery of the area.

Idan Avshalom, a medic with the Magen David Adom ambulance service, said first responders arrived to a scene of great destruction. "There were casualties on the grass and the scene was gruesome," he said.

Netanyahu, already due to head back from the United States to Israel overnight on Saturday, said he would bring his flight forward and convene his security cabinet upon arrival.

The United States, which has been leading diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalating the conflict across the Lebanese-Israeli border, condemned it as a horrific attack and said U.S. support for Israel's security was "iron-clad and unwavering against all Iranian backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah".

The United States "will continue to support efforts to end these terrible attacks along the Blue Line, which must be a top priority," the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in a statement. The Blue Line refers to the frontier between Lebanon and Israel.

Moscow, which has ties with most of the key players in the Middle East, including Israel, Iran, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, condemned the attacks in the Golan Heights.

"We condemn all terrorist actions undertaken by any entity," Russian TASS state news agency cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Sunday.

IRANIAN MISSILE

The Israeli military said the rocket launch was carried out from an area located north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon.

Speaking with reporters at Majdal Shams, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that forensics showed the rocket was an Iranian-made Falaq-1.

Hezbollah had earlier announced firing a Falaq-1 missile on Saturday, saying it had targeted an Israeli military headquarters.

In a televised statement, Hagari also said that for now there was no change in Home Front Command instructions, indicating the army was not expecting imminent escalation across Israel.

Netanyahu's far-right coalition ally, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, called for tough retaliation, including against Hezbollah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

"For the death of children, Nasrallah should pay with his head. All of Lebanon should pay," Smotrich posted on X.

The conflict has forced tens of thousands of people in both Lebanon and Israel to leave their homes. Israeli strikes have killed some 350 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and more than 100 civilians, including medics, children and journalists.

The Israeli military said after Saturday's attack the death toll among civilians killed in Hezbollah attacks had risen to 23 since October, along with at least 17 soldiers.

Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the UNIFIL peacekeeping force which operates in southern Lebanon, told Reuters its force commander was in contact with authorities in both Lebanon and Israel "to understand the details of the Majdal Shams incident and to maintain calm".

A senior diplomat focused on Lebanon said all efforts were now needed to avoid an all-out war.

ATTACKS FROM LEBANON

Hezbollah is the most powerful of a network of Iran-backed groups across the Middle East that have entered the fray in support of their Palestinian ally Hamas since October.

Iraqi groups and the Houthis of Yemen have both fired at Israel. Hamas has also carried out rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon, as has the Lebanese Sunni group, the Jama'a Islamiya.

More than 40,000 people live on the Israeli-occupied Golan, more than half of them Druze residents. The Druze are an Arab minority who practice an offshoot of Islam.

The attack on the soccer pitch followed an Israeli strike in Lebanon that killed four militants on Saturday. Two security sources in Lebanon said the four fighters killed in the Israeli strike on Kfarkila in southern Lebanon were members of different armed groups, with at least one of them belonging to Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said its aircraft had targeted a military structure belonging to Hezbollah, after identifying a militant cell entering the building.

At least 30 rockets were then fired from Lebanon across the border, the military said.

Hezbollah claimed at least four attacks, including with Katyusha rockets, in retaliation for the Kfarkila attacks.

 

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian shelling kills five in Ukrainian regions, one dead on Russian side of border

Russian shelling killed at least five civilians on Saturday in separate regions of Ukraine, officials said.

In the Kherson region, in Ukraine's south, officials said three people were killed, one in the administrative centre also called Kherson, one outside the city and one near the city of Beryslav, to the north.

Kherson region was occupied in the first days of Russia's February 2022 invasion, but Ukrainian troops recaptured large swathes of it later in the year. Russian troops continue to shell Ukrainian-held areas from new positions.

In the northeastern Sumy region, a border area frequently under Russian attack, a 14-year-old boy was killed and 12 other people wounded in a rocket attack on the small town of Hlukhiv, the Ukraine prosecutor's office said.

The attack on the town near the Russian border hit apartment blocks, houses, an educational institution, a shop and vehicles just after noon. Six of the wounded were children.

In Kharkiv region, another frequent Russian target further east, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said one person was killed when a private home near the city of Chuhuiv came under fire.

Over the border, in southern Russia's Belgorod region, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks had killed one person, injured two and damaged homes and other buildings.

Russia's Defence Ministry said air defence units had destroyed two drones over the region late on Saturday.

Reuters could not confirm accounts from either side independently.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces liberate DPR’s Lozovatskoye — top brass

Russia’s battlegroup Center has liberated the settlement of Lozovatskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Defense Ministry said.

"The central battlegroup liberated the settlement of Lozolvatskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic. In addition, it defeated six Ukrainian brigades near DPR’s Toretsk, Ivanovka, Ukrainsk, Novgorodskoye, Shcherbinovka and Novoselovka Pervaya," the statement said.

Battlegroup North defeats five Ukrainian brigades in Kharkov Region

Russia’s battlegroup North has defeated five Ukrainian brigades and repelled two counterattacks over the day, the Defense Ministry said.

"The northern battlegroup defeated the manpower and equipment of four Ukrainian and one territorial defense brigades near Liptsy, Tikhoye, Petrovka, Bayrak and Volchansk in the Kharkov Region," the ministry said, adding that the Ukrainian forces lost up to 165 servicemen, three armored combat vehicles, two pickup trucks, a US-made 155 mm howitzer M777 howitzer, two ammunition depots and four 122 mm D-30 howitzers.

Battlegroup South wipes out up to 540 Ukrainian servicemen over day

Russia’s battlegroup South has eliminated up to 540 Ukrainian servicemen and destroyed four armored vehicles and a number of field artillery guns, the Defense Ministry said.

"The southern battlegroup took more advantageous lines and positions, defeated the manpower and equipment of five Ukrainian brigades near Stupochka, Katerinovka, Maximilianovka and Seversk of the Donetsk People's Republic. The Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 540 servicemen, four armored combat vehicles, five vehicles," the statement said.

Russian forces destroy warehouse of Ukrainian aircraft defeat equipment

The Russian armed forces destroyed two Ukrainian electronic warfare stations and a warehouse of aircraft defeat equipment, the Defense Ministry said.

"The Russian forces destroyed two electronic warfare stations, a warehouse of aviation defeat equipment and an ammunition depot, as well as defeated the accumulations of the Ukrainian manpower and military equipment in 124 areas over the past 24 hours," the statement said.

 

Reuters/Tass

Nigerians have been invited to troop to the streets in their millions from Thursday, August 1, to protest the harsh economic situation following the dramatic rise in the cost of living in the last one year. The protest is slated to last for two weeks. The demands are not very clear yet but the theme is centred on the hunger in the land. In just one year, diesel price doubled, petrol price tripled, official exchange rates tripled and “Band A” electricity tariffs tripled. Prices of foodstuffs and medicines have doubled or tripled or even quadrupled. This is by a distance one of the worst cost of living crises in the history of Nigeria — and, trust me, we have had quite a history in the last four decades.

I suspect that the inspiration for the planned protest came from Kenya, where citizens trooped to the streets to oppose proposed tax rises. Not surprisingly, the mass action became violent and 40 protesters lost their lives, with hundreds injured. Although President William Ruto — who had incredibly proposed to tax bread (who does that?) — beat a retreat and made concessions, protesters have refused to vacate the streets. They are now demanding that he should resign. At this point, he would think his political opponents are behind the protest. Even if they are not the ones instigating it, Ruto wilfully played into their hands. You can’t blame politicians for playing politics.

The jittery reaction from the Nigerian authorities to the impending protest is understandable. Our current leaders were specialists in protests in their previous lives. We shouldn’t expect them to eagerly drink from their own medicine. They know the political implications of mass action. More so, millions of Nigerians need no incentive to protest. If the one kilo of beans they bought at N651 in June 2023 is now N2,290, they don’t have to be PDP members or Obidients to protest. If the medicine they bought at N8,000 is now N35,000, they can hardly resist shouts of “aluta”. And if they have lost their jobs as a result of company shutdowns, “solidarity forever” will be music to their ears.

The reaction of the federal government has been more about a possible political hijack of the protests. Again, can you blame politicians for hijacking genuine agitation? I have lived long enough to witness such things in Nigeria. The founders of APC, the current ruling party, did a great job of instigating protests against PDP administrations in the past — and there is no way we would forget what happened in January 2012 when President Goodluck Jonathan tried to end fuel subsidy but was met with stiff resistance via “Occupy Ojota”, fully supported by opposition parties bent on unseating him. I do not blame either APC or PDP for playing politics. Politicians must necessarily politick.

I would also say President Bola Tinubu has done enough to incur the wrath of those who may want to join or sponsor protests against him. I don’t think we need to go to Harvard to study that. Many Nigerians, including those who didn’t vote for him, were ready to give him a benefit of the doubt when he was inaugurated in May 2023 but he mismanaged the honeymoon in no time — what with the famed 100-vehicle stunt in Lagos ahead of Eid al-Adha and the Dubai jamboree under the guise of COP23. The size of his cabinet at a time of austerity was such a slap on the face for Nigerians. He lost many people in the process. Nobody needs to send them an invitation letter to join the protest.

Politically, many Nigerians whose candidates lost the presidential election are yet to get over what hit them. They have a natural motivation to support the protest. Some have never accepted him as president in any case, so things like this will excite them. To complicate things, Tinubu’s pattern of appointments has clearly and unashamedly favoured his own part of the country, particularly Lagos state, as well as his loyalists. Those elsewhere who supported him one way or the other are thus motivated to work with his enemies to pull him down. It is rational political behaviour. In reality, nobody goes into politics for God’s sake. Self-interest is a major factor. It is the nature of politics.

Where do I stand? Peaceful protests are good for the health of democracy. Social action and citizen engagement are critical to the growth of democracy. Freedom of expression is core to democracy. That is why some of us prefer democracy to military rule any day. The beauty of democracy is not just “one person, one vote” but the voice it gives us after we have exercised our suffrage. Democracy will never grow if all we do is vote and retreat to our cocoons. Democracy is suffering body blows globally, no doubt, but the Nigerian situation is all the more worrisome because of the huge gap between the people and the leaders. “Them bellyful but we hungry” — as Bob Marley once said.

But while I propose that civic engagement must improve significantly, I have my worries. The protest can be hijacked. #EndSARS became #EndBuhari and #EndNigeria as some people sneaked in their own narrow agenda and unprecedented arson was unleashed on Lagos. Two, the duration of a protest can become a problem. I have observed, for decades, that the longer a protest lasts, the higher the possibility of hijack by hoodlums, anarchists, security agencies, and, lately, fifth columnists providing refreshments. Conversely, fatigue can set in when a public protest is going on for too long. We saw this with the sit-at-home action against the annulment of the June 12 election in 1993.

That said, I must now add that while protests and civic engagement are not out of order, they are not going to solve our economic problems. We are in deep trouble. There is no soothing way of putting it. We are literally living on borrowed time. As we say in Pidgin, “water don pass garri”. This problem did not start today, or yesterday, and will not be resolved today or tomorrow. No matter the fantasies we have built in our heads, Nigeria is in a mess. We used to paper over the cracks because we were earning fat petrodollars but we have so overstretched our luck that there is no wriggle room left. We are hopelessly dependent on imports while exporting all but one product: oil. We are in soup.

The current crisis started around 2014 when oil revenue started going down owing to two factors: falling production and falling prices. Call that double whammy. Onshore oil production, where Nigeria owns 55-60 percent of the joint ventures, was taking a hit from militancy, pipeline vandalism, host community restiveness, and theft. The oil companies started weighing their options. To worsen matters, we proposed a petroleum industry law in 2008 that remained comatose in the National Assembly for over a decade. Investors, unsure of what fiscal laws would govern their investments, held back their money. All these factors combined to reduce our production capacity. That is a fact.

It should be a thing of shame that a country that used to produce 2.4 million barrels of oil per day in the 1970s, when our population was about 70 million, is now producing 1.3 million when the population is over 200 million. Do the math. It just shows how unserious we have been all our lives. We managed to hit 2.2 million again less than 20 years ago, but we have been going down since then — and to think this is the source of our livelihood! With production dropping and oil exports retreating, our forex inflows logically went south, but we kept ballooning expenditure with unsustainable subsidies, even pledging future oil output as payment guarantee for urgent imports.

We needed to have made the necessary adjustments long ago, perhaps as far back as 2015, but we kept postponing the evil day. With no significant inflow, we started rationing the forex and printing naira recklessly to sustain our local expenditure, much of which was wasted or stolen. We kept petrol price ridiculously low “to protect the poor” who are now ultimately paying the price, literally. Ways and means that was about N50 billion a decade ago accumulated to over N20 trillion in a few years, further destroying the value of the naira, pumping up inflation and impoverishing the people. The economic crisis was inevitable and there is no easy way out. We are only reaping what we sowed.

Unfortunately, Tinubu did not help matters with the haphazard way he has implanted, or implemented, the reforms. The manner he announced subsidy removal showed clearly that he was going to be an unsympathetic undertaker. Basic things that should have been in place before such a major policy pronouncement — such as the CNG conversion initiative — were missing. While we were at it, we watched helplessly as the naira crashed under a poorly conceived exchange rate policy. For an import-dependent (or “export-deficient” — to be politically correct) country, it was going to be nothing short of Armageddon. “Band A” electricity tariffs were also tripled at one blow.

Public finance was all but dead when Tinubu took over. But he has been too brutal with his surgery-without-anaesthesia. When prices of food and medicines were on the rise last year, Tinubu could have granted tariff waivers to achieve temporary relief. It took him a year to approve. Too little, too late. He could have done far better with his message of sacrifice if he had lived it. Instead, we are talking about buying presidential jets. Sacrifice is obviously for the lesser mortals. In the final analysis, people have a right and reason to protest. It won’t solve the economic problem, obviously, but it could put our insensitive leaders on notice about not always taking Nigerians for granted.

People are hungry. As Marley also put it, “A hungry mob is an angry mob.” That is my fear about public protests. Things can get out of hand. The ideal thing would be for the organisers and the security agencies to work hand in hand to make sure the protest goes in an orderly and civilised way. But things are more likely to be violent. Whichever way things go, however, the government needs to wake up. Times are hard, very hard, and they are not doing enough or acting on time to relieve the pains. Contrary to a widespread opinion, Nigerians are not a difficult people to lead. They just want leaders who feel their pains and do things that show that they care. Is that too much to ask?

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

COMMISSIONS GALORE

Last year, President Bola Tinubu ordered “immediate implementation” of the Oronsanye Report “to cut the cost of governance”. The core recommendation was to reduce the number of government agencies — currently estimated at over 700 — through mergers and dissolutions. Well, we just created the North West Development Commission and the South East Development Commission to replicate the patronage and sleaze in the Niger Delta Development Commission and the North East Development Commission. Next stop? North Central Development Commission and South West Development Commission. Every state, every LGA will soon a get development commission. Nigeria!

HOME COMING

If they explained Edo state politics to you and you understood, then it was not well explained. I actually adapted that from a saying about Nigeria. Philip Shaibu, the impeached deputy governor, has left the PDP for the APC where he was until 2020 when he and Governor Godwin Obaseki fell out with Adams Oshiomhole. Their opponent in 2016, Ize Iyamu, left PDP for APC to run for governorship in 2020. They traded places. On his return to APC last week, Shaibu knelt before Oshiomhole, whom he had publicly savaged in 2020. Once upon a time, I used to take sides with politicians. I learnt my lesson 20 years ago. All I do now is enjoy the show. Netflix.

WAGE RAGE

After prolonged negotiations, the minimum wage has been more than doubled — from N30,000 to N70,000 per month. Another review is expected in 2027. This is not a bad deal, even if not great either. Employers still have to generate the revenue to pay. Many will end up not paying at all or sacking workers in order to manage the wage bill. Some will do both. I find two popular takes on the minimum wage amusing. One, people make it look like N70,000 is the average wage of a Nigerian worker. It is not. It is for the lowest paid. Two, people convert the figure to dollars in order to ridicule it — as if workers collect their salaries and head to the BDC. It surely doesn’t work like that. Cynical.

NO COMMENT

Alhaji Umar Namadi, governor of Jigawa state, has told Nigerians that the planned nationwide protest against economic hardship is not the solution to our problem. True, but I wish he had stopped there. He went on to say “people should turn to God, repent, seek for forgiveness and divine intervention on the challenges”. Truly, economic hardship is not limited to Nigeria – it is a global phenomenon, although it seems Nigeria has been on a freefall. However, interpreting the hardship as “a trial from God” and something that needs repentance and forgiveness, as Namadi did, is quite bemusing. In that case, the repentance should start with those mismanaging the country. Logical.

 

The Cable

 

Without moving his body, African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Akinwumi Adesina, watlzed his tall frame in a dance last week. He danced to the rhythm of Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo of Gentleman Mike Ejeagha’s trending song track, Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche. A rhythmic refrain track from an album titled Akuko N'Egwu Vol. 1., Ka Esi… has a lot of similarities with A o m’erin j’oba, both taken from Igbo and Yoruba cosmologies respectively. Both are from rich traditional African folklores. While both also had Elephant and Trickster Tortoise animal totems as their major characters, these folklores teach the moral of how never to throw benefactors under a moving train. Released in 1983 by Ejeagha of Imezi Owa, Ezeagu in Enugu State, Ka Esi… recalibrated an ancient Igbo folklore of trickster Tortoise who sacrificed the huge and mountainous Elephant for his selfish desire to have the king’s daughter as wife. Elephant thought he was assisting a friend.

Folklorist/writer, Joseph Odunjo, like Ejeagha, brought A o m’erin j’oba into vivid perspective in his Alawiye Yoruba literature series. Using the animal world as a motif, Odunjo told the story of gross human deception and how human beings are easily susceptible to and capable of mischief. Represented as a character with power, majesty and acclaim, the mammoth-sized Elephant beast was the untouchable king of the jungle whose humongous size was a huge bother to other animals in the jungle. Several efforts were made to oust his prowess, to no avail. So, a plot was hatched using his majesty as his destruction. Tortoise, a clever and serpentine animal, was procured to do the hatchet job. Tortoise resolved that, given Elephant’s size and height, violence would not bring him to his hilt but a strategy of deception, praise-singing and bootlicking. Tortoise then traveled to the wooded savannah jungle to see his friend, the Almighty Elephant. His message was that, all animals had purposed to make him King of all Animals. Elephant was to come to the palace adorned in the full regalia of a King. Prior to the day, Tortoise had dug a very deep hole by the palace that could occupy Elephant’s mammoth size, decorated with a beautiful wool carpet worthy of a king’s royal feet. He completed it with an ornamented chair just at the edge of the royal carpet. Encircling the carpet, all the animals in the town clapped and hailed the new King dressed in flowery royal robe as he walked majestically towards the royal carpet. They cheered the Elephant on, shouting A o m’erin j’oba, eweku ewele. Fascinated by the splendor and cheer, Elephant walked majestically, acknowledging the cheers, until he fell into the ditch and unto his death.

Ostensibly marrying the morale in both Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche and A o m’erin j’oba, Adesina deployed them to paint a picture of a Nigerian establishment in whose veins flowed the blood of cruelty, shamelessness and greed. Either intended or stray, Adesina threw a bomb into their fold, a bomb whose shrapnel hit the innermost recess of Nigeria’s sleaze and slush petroleum sector. In a tweet on X last week, while upbraiding the apparent systemic gang-up to frustrate Aliko Dangote’s refinery by the Nigerian government, Adesina said, “Investing is tough. Pettiness is easy. It sadly sends a signal that the price for sacrificing for Nigeria is to get sacrificed.” In the short tweet, Adesina denounced government’s attempt to profile Dangote as a selfish monopolist Tortoise, as reflected in Ejeagha and Odunjo’s reworking of the Igbo and Yoruba folklores. He ultimately situated the gang-ups as attempt to sacrifice the monstrous Elephant refinery of Aliko Dangote to governmental pettiness.

Adesina’s cryptic quip of “sacrificing for Nigeria (and getting) sacrificed” also finds a corollary in another ancient anecdote, the killing of the proverbial hunchback, Abuke Osin. The hunchback was the favourite servant of Obatala. Among the Yoruba, Obatalá is known as the munificent and benevolent father of all Orisa – gods – and indeed, of all humanity. Obatalá is also reputed to be the owner of all ‘heads’ and minds of all human creations of Eledumare – God. While Eledumare created the entire universe, Obatala created humanity in their entirety. Everything that is pure without blemish emanates from Obatala because he is the source of purity and wisdom. Obatala was peaceful and compassionate  

According to the anecdote as told by the renowned living archive of Yoruba traditional institution, Yemi Elebuibon, in his The Adventures of Obatala: Ifa and Santeria God of creativity, (2016) Obatala sent the hunchback on errands and impressed by his service to him, Obatala chanted some incantations which deposited precious beads, gold and other ornaments inside the carapace-like chest of the hunchback. He however chanted that anyone who made him happy and rubbed his chest would partake of the wealth deposited therein. Ojugbe, the hunchback’s neighbor, benefitted from these gifts due to his good neighbourliness. When Abuke complained of pain in the chest, Ojugbe rubbed it for him and became stupendously wealthy therefrom. Not knowing the caveat attached to Ojugbe’s wealth, Tortoise envied him. But, unable to compete with Ojugbe-kind care, one day, Tortoise lured the Abuke Osin into his house and forcefully rubbed his chest. It refused to emit money. He then resolved to kill this servant of Obatala and incurred the wrath of the god. 

I do not want to go into details of the Nigerian establishment’s battle with this 650,000 bpsd state-of-the-art refinery which erupted upper week. They are in the public domain. Since 1973 when it was created, the NNPC has been a cesspit of corruption and vehicle for hemorrhaging Nigeria’s petro-dollars. It is a haven for white-collar criminals. According to Stephen Ellis in his This Present Darkness, (2016) by the late 1970s, an illegal trade in Nigerian oil flourished like a new bride. Corrupt politicians and military big epaulettes connived with NNPC officials to funnel Nigerian oil abroad. They did this with the connivance of Greek and Lebanese traders. All manner of internal and external sharks feasted on the Nigerian crude. In the process of this feast, scant consideration was paid to the goose that laid the golden egg, the refineries of Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri. Today, they have become moribund, resulting in Nigeria exporting its own crude and importing petroleum products from them. The refineries are grounded due to fossilized technology, humongous corruption and a wicked ploy by petrol cabals to keep the goose perpetually castrated. 

In October 2023, the Nigerian senate attempted to probe Nigeria’s expenditure on rehabilitation of the four refineries which were yet unproductive. A senator representing Kogi West, Sunday Karimi, presented a motion which revealed that, “Between 2010 to date, Nigeria is estimated to have spent N11.35 trillion (N11,349, 583,186,313.40) excluding other cost in other currencies which include $592,976,050.00 dollar, 4,877,068.47 Euros and 3,455,656.93 Pounds, on renovation of refineries, yet they are unproductive.” Karimi further said that, “Despite the moribund state of the four refineries, the operating costs of these refineries between 2010 and 2020 were estimated at N4.8 Trillion. The refineries are estimated to make a cumulative loss of N1.64 Trillion, within four years.” Indeed, in the last 25 years, NNPC has spent something in the neighourhood of $25b on TAM on these obsolete dinosaurs called refineries. The world was shocked recently when told that an NNPC subsidiary, PHRC, expended N23b on salaries and maintenance of a refinery that was too crude to refine even a  gallon of crude. For these oil vampires who grow rotund tummies out of our ancient comatose refineries, Dangote refinery must be stopped from functioning.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, in a revelation, said he was advised by knowledgeable experts that aside their obsolete equipment and infrastructure, the refineries were mere scraps which needed to be sold. He thus sold two of the refineries’ plants in Port Harcourt and Kaduna to Blue Star, a consortium of Aliko Dangote, a man who Bloomberg assessed as worth more than $15 billion, for a whopping $670m. Apparently instigated by a sleaze-steeped oil cabal, labour unions and other oil rats pressurized President Umaru Yar’Adua to reverse the purchase. Dangote Cement, his financial empire’s jewel, is also one of Nigeria’s traded companies, becoming one of Nigeria Stock Exchange’s companies to reach a market capitalization of N10 trillion. Since the reversal, Nigeria has spent multiple of the amount it would have collected from selling the refineries and is yet expending huge costs on sham Turn Around Maintenance and the bottomless pit of corruption in the NNPC. The corporation is alleged to be one of the most non-self accounting conglomerates in the world with an allegation of $32 billion hemorrhage in the Goodluck Jonathan administration’s corruption-ridden oil-for-product swap agreements.

The Dangote $20 billion refinery, biggest in Africa and second in the world, built on a 2,635 hectares land in Ibeju-Lekki, was a protest against the Yar’Adua government’s unconscionable reversal of the sale of the two Nigerian refineries by Obasanjo. With its 650,000 barrels of crude oil refining capacity per day, it surpasses the refining capacity of 435,000 of Nigeria’s total moribund refineries. It is said to be capable of supplying almost all of Nigeria’s daily consumption need. The downside is that it will eliminate Nigeria’s bottomless pit sleaze called subsidy and kill the roaches who have over the decades fed fat on this brand of Nigeria’s cesspit. Dangote’s almost 50,000 staff is said to be made up of over 90% Nigerians and a meager expatriates number of 11,000. Dangote Cement is also said to have paid N200bn tax since 2003, pays N27bn VAT monthly and corporate tax of N40.39b. FG also collects 52% tax on every N1 Dangote’s companies earn in profit. This is the context of Adesina’s X tweet of “pettiness is easy.”

Opposition to the Dangote refinery was initially amorphous. Platformed on allegation of Dangote’s famed monopolistic tendency, it soon branched into allegation that the quality of the refinery was suspect. At long last, the masquerade abandoned its costume –  “ago” – to reveal Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) chief executive, Farouk Ahmed. Same last week, Ahmed openly alleged that the diesel produced by the Dangote Refinery, compared to the one imported, was inferior. Ahmed also alleged that the Dangote fuel had huge Sulphur content, which he situated at between 650 to 1,200ppm ppm. He was most likely shell-shocked when asked where his or NNPC’s test laboratory for sulphur level resides. It was only then that Nigerians learnt that Lagos labs – Sewort, SGS and GMO perform this task for Almighty Nigerian oil colossus.

A number of surreptitious, faceless persons and groups have been used to push a Mafia-like battle against the birthing of the Dangote refinery. If derobed of their identities, it will be clear that these persons are angered by the obvious reality that the success of that humongous refinery means an end to their decades-old bazaar on Nigerian oil industry. A couple of weeks ago, the media reported Aliko himself as confirming that the blood-baiting oil sharks had run a ring round him. He, in fact, acknowledged his awareness that they could even be within his organization.

The other leg of the accusation came in a last year Financial Times report. It alleged that Tinubu is putting the squeeze on Dangote for not supporting him during his presidential bid. When EFCC raided his Lagos company last year, ostensibly on allegation of investigation into the foreign exchange allocations under CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, the thinking was that Tinubu was exerting the powers of his presidency on Aliko. It was alleged that while his business rival, Abdul Samad Rabiu and Tony Elumelu showered bounties on Tinubu during his presidential campaign, Dangote queued behind Atiku Abubakar. Anyone who knows how the Nigerian state runs will know that only Aso Rock authorizes such high-level infiltration.

Those who are opportune to visit the Dangote refinery have labeled it one of the most awesome wonders of our world. A television anchor called it the Dangote Planet. The most depressing reality about Dangote is that, in practical terms, he is not the richest Nigerian. At a conservative estimate, he could be one of the twenty richest. The bulk of the 19 others are mostly politicians who, in our sane moment as Nigerians, we ask, in American voice, we have seen the bucks, where is the shop? They take our stolen wealth to Malta, Dubai and other countries where their billions of dollar investments are beyond prying eyes. Dangote certainly isn’t richer than Olowo Eko who, in a moment of grandstanding immodesty told a monarch during a visit to Osun State, “Kabiyesi, ee l’owo mi!” – Kabiyesi, you don’t have my kind of money! But, does anyone know Baba Olowo’s shop? We are his shop! 

Let’s even accept that all the charges against Dangote are true – monopolist, feeding off closeness to successive governments, and all that – investing $20b in this economy, excluding his behemoth fertilizer and cement plants – is courage, valour, patriotism. Dangote and his refinery are Nigeria’s national assets. So also are the Mike Adenugas of our world. We must protect them from the Shylocks, Saurons, Lord Voldemorts, the Ikoko aje’ran je’gungun – foxes that devour human flesh and bones – and the Komodo dragons of this world who want to swallow our economic saviours.

 

Hardship protest: Tinubu, “bi iwo ba se rere…”

All of a sudden, President Bola Tinubu is running from pillar to post. The febrile fear with which his presidency tries to stave off the proposed August 1 Hardship protest is baffling. It seems to remind one of the biblical verse in Genesis 4:7 which says, “if thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?” This English interpretation does not convey the message’s total interpretative capturing as its Yoruba version rendition. That particular scriptural verse is interpreted in Yoruba as “Bi iwo ba se rere, ara ki yio ha ya o?” It was God speaking to Cain, Adam and Eve’s first born, who was enraged because he reaped what he sowed. Cain leapt into a fury because God rejected his paltry offering and accepted his brother, Abel’s which was God-respecting. Rather than see this rejection as his own doing and take a redemptive detour, Cain took a callous step further. He murdered his younger brother.

Recounting Nigerians’ groaning lot in the last 14 months here will be an overkill. The man they hyped as coming of a pedigree of dancers whose eclectic dancing feet attracted donations of slaves now dances and is barely gifted a wrap of corn meal. Rather, his feeble dance-steps attract curses and boos. A pre-dancing cheering audience now jeers as its stomach hisses and rumbles. To say Nigeria tastes as bitter as Jogbo leaf will be an understatement. Our country is Jogbo leaf itself. Wherever you turn, it is bitterness. And this is under the grip of a man who was said to be King Midas whose touch turned everything  to gold.

Nigerians’ unusual resilience makes the world agape with incredulity. They are a people who could weather the storm, no matter the turbulence. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti couldn’t understand such orthodoxy of suffering which he called cowardice. “My people sef dem fear too much… My Pa dey for house…I nor wan die…” he dramatizes our pacifist spirit. Rotimi Amaechi said something worse recently about Nigerians. In a viral video which appeared to be a lecture on Nigerians’ famed pacifism, he said even if you kill a Nigerian’s father and mother, they would move on and say it was God’s wish for them. What many do not know is that Nigerians detest their leaders taking them for granted. Wily General Ibrahim Babangida knew only of the first sheaf about Nigerians’ resilient spirit. He didn’t however know about the other sheaf – the people’s tendency for rebellion. The truth is that, when Nigerians flip the other side of the cudgel, they are difficult to tame. By the time Nigerians made up their minds about IBB, they dropped his heap by the dumpsite of history.

Revisionists say that the key to Nigerians’ docile tendencies can be found in their history. What they call a history devoid of bloodshed. They juxtapose Nigeria with Kenya. In the latter, the Mau Mau rebellion in the British Kenya Colony between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, and the British authorities lasted for good eight years. So they submit that whilst rebellion against oppressors was a Kenyan DNA, pampering oppressors was Nigerians’. Which is not true. Our forefathers fought, shed blood for the freedom we have now. Collective fights against white aggressors may be rare but we had the Ovonramwen Nogbaisis. Ovonramwen was the Ọba of Benin Kingdom who fought British usurpation. He attacked British Deputy Commissioner and Consul for the Niger Coast Protectorate, James Robert Phillips, killing him and virtually all on his entourage. A punitive expedition against the Benin kingdom resulted in its razing in 1897 and looting of its bronzes.

Nigerians do not expect their leaders to be magicians, apologies to Madam RAT. They even know that the taciturn Mallam from Daura inflicted his Janus persona on the economy so fatally that the wound would take long to heal. But Nigerians detest governmental deceit, incompetence and hypocrisy advertised as leadership. In the last 14 months, this has been the broth served Nigerians a la carte. To worsen matters, our leadership has carried on with an I-don’t-care attitude which Yoruba describe as a let-the-angry-torrents-of-rainfall-pierce-into-shreds-the-helpless-cocoyam-leafs-if-it-can “òjò pa ewé kókò, b’ó le ya, k’ó ya”.

So when this same leadership runs from Ankara to Kutuwenji in its bid to stop Nigerians from letting the whole world know of their plight, the apt response to it is the same that God gave to stubborn Cain, “Bì ìwo bá se rere, ara kì yíò ha yá o?” In the last couple of weeks, government has been funneling scarce resources into bribing Cash-tivists who call themselves activists not to come out and demonstrate on August 1. Students’ union leaders have received theirs. Journalists have. The Three Gbosas people have. Traditional rulers across Nigeria, too have visited an Aso Rock which changes people into unfeeling mummies.

So many reasons have been proffered for why Nigerians must not protest their deplorable plights. One is that criminals could hijack the people’s constitutional right to protest. So, why spend people’s money to pay policemen if they cannot be funneled out in their thousands to protect protesters on their constitutionally mandated responsibility to an absent government? Second reason from government on why Nigerians should dress their punches in velvet glove: That the government is finding a way round the hunger in the land. One is reminded of someone who is spending twenty years to practice madness. They even say that since the protest has no identifiable leadership, it could be uncontrollable like scattered pellets of a dane-gun bullet. The police also come out to Afghanistanize the protest by claiming that Intel tells them foreign mercenaries were part of the ploy. Since they know anything security is opaque, it is quite easy for them to befuddle the people with such scary lie. This is same police which no calamity has ever befallen Nigeria that they forewarned Nigerians about. But, shouldn’t Nigerians let the world know about their plights?

Let me mimic judges at the temple of justice: Considering all evidence before me, Nigerians must protest on August 1. Nigerians need to retrieve their country from the hands of leaders who don’t care about their plights. Not violently. Violence under-develops a people. Do you think, if he ever survives his ongoing ordeal, William Ruto, in his own words, “the village boy (who) has become the president of Kenya," will ever take Kenyans for granted? Let the man whose ambition it has always been to live in Aso Rock be made to commit to making Nigerians live meaningful life.

 

Gbolagunte: Good night, great jurist

On Friday, I listened to one of the most impactful sermons ever at the New Reservation Baptist Church, Iyaganku, Ibadan, Oyo State. It was devoid of the depressing low of “style-style fundraising” and motivational prosperity sermons that Pentecostalism has sunk into in Nigeria. Church Pastor, Kayode Oyedemi, taught about how death was man’s companion which should be loved and not hated. He brought the reality of death in our lives so vividly that I doubt if any one who attended that service would unnecessarily reify life, going forward. It was at the burial of My Lord Justice Adegboye Ayinla Gbolagunte, son of Oyo State Second Republic House of Assembly Speaker under Governor Bola Ige, Jagunmolu of Eruwa, University of Ibadan pioneer student and lawyer, Mokolade Davidson Gbolagunte. Gbolagunte was aged 64.

My path and that of Gbolagunte crossed in 2019 during my court externship. The Nigerian Law School had attached me and other colleagues to his chambers at the Oyo State High Court. There, I saw him in his true self. After each sitting, Gbolagunte would call us into his inner chambers and the teacher in him took over. He would lecture us on the judicial background of his pronouncements.

Our friendship began from there. It was later I realized that he saw my quest to combine journalism with law in himself. He had gained admission to study History at the University of Lagos in 1978 but later ported to Mass Communication. At the funeral, I met one of his friends, the highly respected journalist, Kayode Samuel. Gbolagunte later studied law at the University of Ibadan from 1983 to 1986.

Before law, Gbolagunte was a lecturer of journalism in different institutions. He particularly taught News Writing, Editing, Press Law, Marketing and Insurance Law at The Polytechnic, Ibadan and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos. He was also a prolific writer. From his holiday job at the then NTV Ibadan in 1980 where he began reportorial job, he spent time with the Imo State newspaper, Nigerian Statesman during his NYSC. While on the editorial board of the Times newspaper, Gbolagunte covered the famed visit of Nelson Mandela to Nigeria in 1991.

When he later learnt of my passion for Apala maestro, Ayinla Omowura, he told me he passionately retained his middle name, “Ayinla” because of the profound manner Ayinla’s music arrests him. He called to request for a copy of my biographical portraiture of the musician upon its publication. I honoured the request by couriering an autographed copy to him through the first President of the Oyo State Customary Court of Appeal, My Lord Justice Adegboyega Akinteye (rtd) which he acknowledged.

While still interning in his chambers, Gbolagunte proposed that we both collaborated in a biography to mark his 60th. I guess the ailment which took him killed that dream as well.

If commendable testimonials could wake Gbolagunte, last week, the jurist would leave the morgue and go embrace his wife, Wuraola. If corroborations of his unusual integrity, humility, service to God and humanity were the passport to heaven, he will be by the feet of his Creator now. A valiant and courageous judge, Gbolagunte fought judicial powers and principalities who he considered to be thieves in judges’ robes. When he received medical judgment that his death was afoot, Gbolagunte took time to arrange his home and proceedings of funeral. He paid for his casket, the vault where he would be buried and in the words of one of his sons at last week wake service, “he arranged every part of this burial service, who to meet, talk to” and how he should be buried.

Good night, great brother, Great Akokite, Great UIte.