Improved exposure to Internet and other online materials led to a reduction of poverty rate in Nigeria and Tanzania by 7 per cent, the World Bank has said.

The World Bank stated this in a new brief titled, “Digital transformation drives development in Africa,” noting that the exposure also led to an increase of 8 per cent in labour force participation and wage employment.

According to the bank, “In 2023, a World Bank flagship report found that in Nigeria and Tanzania, extreme poverty declined by about seven per cent after three or more years of exposure to internet coverage, while labour force participation and wage employment increased by up to eight per cent.”

In the brief, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa, Andrew Dabalen, was quoted as saying, “The minimal usage of mobile internet is a lost opportunity for inclusive growth in Africa. Closing the uptake gap would increase the continent’s potential to create jobs for its growing population and boost economic recovery in a highly digitalised world.”

The brief further highlights that over the past five years (2016-2021), sub-Saharan Africa experienced an extraordinary 115 per cent increase in internet users, a change that has been instrumental in spurring economic growth, fostering innovation, and creating job opportunities.

It added that, “The region’s digital infrastructure coverage, access, and quality still lag other regions. At the end of 2021, while 84 per cent of people in SSA lived in areas where 3G service was available, and 63 per cent had access to 4G mobile coverage, only 22 per cent were using mobile internet services.

“The gap between coverage and usage is similarly large for broadband, with 61 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa living within the broadband range but not using it.”

Daily Trust

Israeli soldiers uncover Gaza tunnel that once held hostages, army says

At the end of a kilometer-long, booby-trapped tunnel in the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers discovered cramped cells where the military said Hamas kept about 20 hostages.

They found a holding area, five narrow rooms behind metal bars, toilets, mattresses, and even drawings by a child hostage who was freed during a November truce, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

No hostages were there when it was discovered.

The military released photos from the underground labyrinth and said it brought in journalists to document the tunnel before it was destroyed.

The tunnel entrance, Hagari said, was in the house of a Hamas member in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where Israel has been focusing its fight in recent weeks against the Palestinian Islamist group.

"The soldiers entered the tunnel where they encountered terrorists, engaging in a battle that ended with the elimination of the terrorists," Hagari said.

The tunnel was rigged with blast doors and explosives, he said.

"According to the testimonies we have, about 20 hostages were held in this tunnel at different times under harsh conditions without daylight, in dense air with little oxygen, and terrible humidity that makes breathing difficult," he said.

Some of the hostages kept there were freed during the week-long Qatari-mediated truce. Others are among the more than 130 captured during Hamas' Oct. 7 rampage through southern Israel that are still in Gaza.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Zelenskiy counts on more Western defence aid for Ukraine in next two months

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that he expected a number of new Western defence packages for Ukraine to be signed this and next month.

"We are preparing new agreements with partners - strong bilateral agreements," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

"January and February should bring corresponding results. There are already specific dates when new and strong documents can be expected."

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv's Western allies united in providing unprecedented military and other aid to help Zelenskiy defend his country.

But with the war now dragging on towards its third year, little change along the front line in the past 12 months and growing opposition to more aid in the United States, funds and equipment in recent months have been slow coming in.

Zelenskiy did not name the countries with which he hoped to finalise agreements. The Ukrainian president has spent weeks on an international diplomatic frenzy trying to secure more political and military support.

He has often repeated that Russia's increased winter air strikes and Moscow's slow but gruelling offensive in Ukraine's east have underlined the need for more reinforcement of Kyiv's air and ground defences.

Earlier this month, Britain, one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters, said it will increase its support for Ukraine in the next financial year to 2.5 billion pounds ($3.19 billion).

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he would head to Ukraine in February to finalise a bilateral security guarantee deal under which Paris would deliver more sophisticated weaponry, including long-range cruise missiles.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia could win ‘in a matter of weeks’ unless US provides more aid to Ukraine — TV

Russia could win the conflict in Ukraine "in a matter of weeks" if Washington fails to provide another aid package to Kiev, NBC Newsreported, citing sources.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warned US lawmakers that Ukraine would run out of certain air defense and artillery capabilities in the coming weeks and the Kiev forces "could only continue fighting the Russians for weeks, maybe months."

The officials’ message was that a Russian victory "will reverberate around the world," prompting other countries to rethink their relations with Washington.

In October 2023, the Washington administration asked the US Congress for additional funding for the 2024 fiscal year, particularly to provide aid to Israel and Ukraine and confront China and Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. The Biden administration is seeking to secure about $106 bln for these purposes. Meanwhile, a number of Republicans in the US House of Representatives and the Senate have spoken out against Ukraine funding.

Reuters/Tass

Big calamities seldom knock before opening the door. Calamities’ sneaky essence is articulated in one song by grand old Odolaye Aremu, Ilorin, Kwara State-born Dadakuada song minstrel. While philosophizing the concept of calamity, which Yoruba call “eemo”, Odolaye sang that surprise and swiftness are primary features of calamities, holding tight to them like leaches. So he sang, “Peki laa k'eemo,” (calamity is met suddenly). The singer points at horses used in races and in ancient wars meeting their own end unprepared during races. It is the same with soldiers who mount horses and ride them to death. Odolaye sang that, as sudden death pounces upon warhorses, so also do buffalos meet their end in the treacherous thickets of the savannah.

Last week, though not racing on horses nor does it have anything in similarity with buffalos, calamity swiftly walked into the capital of Oyo State and like Odolaye aptly dissected it, it was sudden. It came with its handmaidens – weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Residents of Bodija, Ibadan suddenly heard a late evening loud bang which reverberated round many parts of the ancient city. By the time the bang settled, lives had been lost, property destroyed and Ibadan suddenly became an epicentre of bad New Year news. Buildings were reduced to rubbles, vehicles destroyed and yet-to-be ascertained number of people killed by the explosion. Preliminary investigation found out that this calamity was the handiwork of some Malian miners who lived there. They had allegedly brought in high-level dynamite into a human neighbourhood. As at the time of writing this, official sources put the number of dead at five while excavation of bodies was still being done. One of the dead was said to be a United Kingdom returnee who met his untimely death while visiting. Mining activities have become harbingers of “eemo” in Nigeria’s lucrative mining fields, Zamfara State being an earlier example. In this state, foreigners perch on gold sites like bees on nectar with its attendant incubation of banditry.

Still on the sneaky bang of calamities, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, also witnessed an implosion in the number of kidnapped persons. From January 2021 to June 30, 2023, 40 kidnap cases were said to have been recorded in the FCT, with heart-wrenching 236 victims. The modus operandi of the kidnappers has today witnessed a mutation. Before now, waylaying commuters on the highway and ferrying them into the bush to demand ransom was the style. Today, under President Bola Tinubu, kidnappers have gone haywire. They are daring and disrespectful of Abuja as Nigeria’s seat of government. So, kidnappers boldly walk into people’s homes to cart away their victims without batting an eyelid. Nigeria is under the siege of bandits who have terrorized the country non-stop, castrating government’s expected proactive interventions and reducing successive governments to, in the words of Yakubu Dogara, mourners-in-chief. On the Abuja–Kaduna highway last week, about 30 people were said to have been abducted at Dogon-Fili near Katari, along the Kaduna-Abuja highway in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Eleven other persons were kidnapped in the Dutse-Alhaji area of the FCT, Abuja. Those who dispensed “eemo” to these fellow Nigerians and their families were gunmen dressed in the camouflage of military men, while the kidnappers dressed like herders.

The most pathetic and tear-jerking narration from the Dutse-Alhaji kidnap came from Oladosu Ariyo, lawyer and father of a slain 13-year-old. In an SOS that brimmed with frustration, pain and sorrow, Ariyo wrote to the Nigerian Bar Association to narrate the calamity that suddenly walked into his dwelling place. He narrated how the band of kidnappers invaded Sagwari Layout Estate in Dutse, kidnapped his lawyer wife and four children. They promptly demanded N60 million ransom. Being able to pay only a small percentage of the ransom, the kidnappers killed his first born and dumped the corpse on Kaduna Road. They have threatened to kill the three other minor children and his wife if the whole ransom was not paid. They were said to have so far killed three of the eleven residents of the Sagwari Estate Layout in the Dutsen-Alhaji area they abducted.

The most immediate issue that the kidnaps evoke, bringing to the fore, is the disconcerting reality that kidnappings have gone outside the grips of the Nigerian government. Often orchestrated by persons who don military uniforms and inflict havocs recklessly for hours on citizens, this calamity has persisted since the Muhammadu Buhari government. It was often followed by official denials especially during the Buhari era. That government was in a seeming legitimization of the infliction of violence and death on the people. States that border and surround the FCT like Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa and Plateau states had been hotbeds of kidnaps and wanton killings since the Buhari government. In saner climes and environments, this proximity is enough indication and foretell of imminent preying on the FCT by the bloodthirsty hounds called kidnappers and bandits. For a proactive and sensitive national security apparatus, mechanism to arrest the imminent descent on Abuja ought to be on the drawing board, even before they struck. Unfortunately, in Abuja, unlike many civilized cities of the world, there are no statistics of ingress and egress into and outside the national capital. In the same vein, the census of landlords who live in the various suburbs of the city remains an illusion.

The issue of absence of governance is apparently the cause of the spike in insecurity in Abuja and other parts of Nigeria. If you bore a hole through it, you will find corruption as well. There is also no doubting the fact that national security inertia juts out as core issue in the Ibadan blast. Why would such destructive dynamites pass through the cordon of security agencies to wreak such havocs? Apart from those issues, existential matters are also trapped in the spate of kidnappings in Abuja and the blast in Ibadan. The existential issues come in rhetorical questions. Why must it be Oladosu Ariyo and his family who must be abducted that night at Dutsen-Alhaji and not other families? Why was the UK returnee who met his untimely death in the Ibadan blast the one who must die? Why didn’t he delay his journey by some days, to arrive Ibadan after the blast? Why did that calamity zero in on those who died? Why was Bodija the scene where the dynamites must explode and not elsewhere? These are questions that have defied satisfactory answers to humanity, science and religion. They have been asked consistently since the beginning of creation.

The above questions have procreated a set of people called fatalists who believe that human beings are helpless about the future, as well as the fortune or calamities that come to them. In Yoruba epistemology, this fatality is expressed as “ayanmo” or predestination. Its similar variants are “Kadara,” which is strictly identical with destiny. Kadara is woven round the concept of ‘Ori’ or the bearer of one’s destiny. The third of the tripod is called “Akosile” which holds that every individual’s destiny, as well as all that will happen to them in their life journey, are already written down in heaven before human beings begin to journey down to earth. An affirmation of this is mirrored in the saying “Ori yeye ni Mogun, ipin aise lo po,” literally translated to mean, among the dry skulls at the Mogun shrine are many innocent heads.

The “Ori yeye…” narration, best explained by an anecdote said to have taken place a long time ago, apparently in pre-colonial Yoruba, has a few other slants different from the one below. The king of a town called Otolu had his trumpet called Kakaki stolen by persons or person he couldn’t fathom. The trumpet was a monarchical insignia used during ancestral festivals and was blown to announce the imminence of the festival. Upon the disappearance of the trumpet, Oba Otolu summoned his seventeen servants for explanation on the missing ancestral trumpet. Each swore his innocence but, miffed, literally spitting fire from his mouth like Sango, the king ordered the servants to be beheaded by the Ogun shrine. A few months after their decapitation, an Oba Otolu king friend in the neighbouring town apprehended two of his aides who were in possession of the trumpet and sent them to the Otolu king. Upon interrogation, they confessed that the heir to the Otolu throne, the king’s son, had handed it over to them. The king then ordered the beheading of the prince and the two culprits. As they were about to be decapitated at the Ogun shrine, pensive, the Otolu king muttered, pained about the shedding of innocent people’s blood thus, “See the number of heads of innocent persons we wrongly beheaded at the Mogun shrine!” The king was said to have committed suicide upon arriving the palace.

So, were those seventeen palace servants fated to be beheaded by the Orolu king? Was it their “ayanmo” (destiny) to die such gory, painful deaths? The Yoruba concept of the human person believes every human being has an ayanmo which can be positively or negatively manipulated by the nature of the head (Ori) which the person brought into this world. Thus, if an ayanmo is lopsided, resulting in failure of efforts, the Ori can help restructure the person’s destiny. This is why they say destiny has no remedy but Ori is the judge, “ayanmo o gb’ogun, ori l’elejo.”

Destiny, as articulated by Segun Gbadegesin in his “Eniyan: The Yoruba Concept of a Person” in The African Philosopher Reader, edited by P.H Coetzee and A. P Roux., Routledge (New York, 1998) P.144, is “pre-ordained portion of life wound and sealed up on Ori.” According to him, “Human beings have an allotment of… destiny which determines the general course of life.” Bolaji Idowu, however sees the Ori as a complete human personality who came before Olodumare (God) shortly before departing for this world. The human knelt down before Him for allotment of his own destiny and was open to what is called “trimorphous conception of destiny.” This is in three and they are, Akunleyan (destiny got when kneeling down to choose); Akunlegba (destiny got when kneeling down to receive) and Ayanmo(irrevocably stamped on the person).

Some of these beliefs, made into proverbs, aphorisms, mores and lore are predicated on predestination. For instance, an ancient wise-saying say that a tree will not fall in the forest and kill one who sits at home; and the rafter will not fall and kill the wayfarer (igi o ni da, k’o pa’ra ile; aja o ni jin k’o pa ero ona). Almost in line with this epistemology are the teachings of the two dominant religions, Christianity and Islam. They also believe that human beings are destined for some of the fates that befall them. However, as architects of their fates, human beings can tinker with their destinies through the worship of God. The third leg of this belief system is a doctrine called fatalism. Held by fatalists, they believe, without recourse to theology, that human beings are powerless to tinker with their future. They also hold that anything that happens to human beings is not within their human remit to change.

Many people have tried to examine why African leaders seem to cavalierly allow calamities befall their people rather than taking proactive measures to ensure that they do not occur. I tend to think that this thinking by governments is an outcome of a very injurious but longstanding romance with theological submissions about calamities, as well as traditional Africa’s explanation of predestination. Data have proven that the more religiously or traditionally inclined government runners are, the sloppy it becomes for them to do the needful in safeguarding the lives of their people. The Buhari government, for instance, was too steeped in this belief in God-ordained nature of human calamities that it firmed out the most important of its governmental responsibilities to God. Most times, it called on God to help it attack its attackers which is downright senseless.

Many events that happen in this modern age perforate some of the traditional African theses we have held for centuries. The Ibadan dynamite blast of last Tuesday is one. Contrary to a saying cited above, trees are now falling in the forest and killing people who sit in their homes; and rafters are falling, killing wayfarers in the process. The Ibadan blast attests to these. If the Tinubu government will not follow the footsteps of Buhari’s and thus be less fatalistic in its security architecture master-plan, it should not be rocket science to exterminate kidnappers and be victorious over the menace of kidnapping. It is penny-wise pound-foolish removing subsidy on petrol, with its attendant hardships on the people, then extending national pain by yawning while insecurity takes over national capital. The truth is, if the FCT could be this unsafe, with information of its porosity to evildoers available all over the world, no investor will come to Nigeria.

Tinubu must urgently reduce the frequency of calamities in Nigeria by tackling insecurity frontally. By doing this, he will be redrawing the map of the sneakiness of calamities in Nigeria. Above all, he will render Odolaye Aremu’s thesis on calamity (eemo) and its suddenness (peki) irrelevant.

Bountiful Harvests: The Certain Destiny of the Righteous

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God ~ Psalm 92:12-13.

Introduction:

Every exploit in life is a product of personal knowledge. Man was created and ordained to bear fruits (Genesis 1:28; John 15:16). Indeed, it’s essentially abnormal not to produce (Psalm 92:12-13).

In simple terms, destiny speaks to God's ordained purpose for your life. It is your appointed present and ordained future, predetermined by God in His divine will from the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 1:11).

God fashioned our destinies before we were born. He sculpted us into being, and He always wishes to bring our future into existence (Psalms 139:16). Flourishing unto bountiful harvests is the sacred destiny of the righteous.

To flourish means to grow well, do well, blossom luxuriantly and tend to bumper harvests. It also implies being in a period of highest productivity, excellence or influence.

Now, reflecting on this holy simile deployed in Psalm 92, the palm tree is constantly green, flourishing, fruitful and growing even when pressed down. The cedar also spreads itself wide, and grows very tall and strong.

We note, therefore, that the growth, longevity, utility, fragrance, relevance, beauty and fruitfulness of both trees set forth the life, character and destiny of the righteous. Indeed, it’s in our starry destinies to flourish like the palm tree (Psalm 92:12)!

Meanwhile, there are different seasons in human experiences. There are seasons when we enjoy the mountaintop experiences, and everything seems to be going very well. There are also times when we feel stuck in the valley, and God’s blessings seem hard to find.

Nevertheless, whatever you are experiencing presently, the good news is: your season of bountiful harvests has indeed come. It’s the time for God to return us to His glory days, the days of His Power in the Holy Ghost (Amos 9:13; Leviticus 26:3-5).

God has declared His glory among us, and it’s time for His wonders to be seen in our lives (Psalms 96:3). It’s time for us to start harvesting signs and wonders as it was in the days of old, no matter what the enemy throws at us (Acts 5:14-16).

Wisely Working Out Your Colourful Destiny!

Most certainly, your destiny is very colourful, but you have to work it out with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). No matter who assists you, recognizing and maximizing your own destiny under God are still your personal responsibilities.

In respect of supernatural harvests, your righteousness — that is, your right-standing with God — is the primary force that enhances your fruitfulness (Psalm 1:1-3).

Walking in God’s statutes provokes our due season, and enhances our yields. Keeping and doing the Lord’s commandments make us commanders in the fields of bountiful harvests (Leviticus 26:3-5).

The fortune and the fruitfulness of a physical tree are easily enhanced when it stands straight, in the light and on good ground with ample breathing space. This is equally true for spiritual matters.

When we stand right with God, we enjoy the radiance of His Sun of Righteousness and the light, the strength and the energy of His Spirit will enhance our fruit-bearing capabilities. Thereafter, we shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (Malachi 4:2).

Meanwhile, we also need to engage the sickles of faith to work positively on our brilliant destiny of bountiful harvests (Joel 3:13-14).

It takes a robust faith in God and a determined pursuit in the right direction to access the good things that are destined for the believer; otherwise, he might end up the loser he’s becoming, or remain the failure he has always been.

A man brought his son, who was demon possessed and unable to speak, to Jesus to be healed. Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23). The man replied, “I believe; help thou mine unbelief”.

Thereafter, Jesus “rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him”(v25). Of course, the boy became whole, and found his expressions again!

Real breakthroughs in life are products of bold and obedient faith in God. Never sit back in timidity, doubt and passivity! Don’t let your life drift with the wind anymore. Take action, release your faith, speak out and boldly confront the drought in your life (Matthew 17:20).

As you demonstrate your faith in God, also smile at your future because your future is smiling at you through the unfailing promises of God. Be confident that He’s constantly thinking about you to favour you and to excite your bountiful harvests (Jeremiah 29:11).

God still keeps His own side of the covenant deal (Genesis 8:22). Be planted in His house, and be eager to sow precious sacrificial seeds in order to produce your bountiful harvests. Be determined also to diversify your supernatural investments.

There are different kinds of supernatural investments: spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, material and financial. There’s nothing given to God that’s wasted, and there’s nothing invested in His kingdom that doesn’t attract dividends.

Albeit, never invest grudgingly or of necessity, but cheerfully (2Corinthians 9:7). In God’s kingdom, it takes cheerfulness to invest acceptably, and to access our bountiful harvests (Psalm 67:5-7).

More importantly, the power for real supernatural harvests is exclusively preserved for those who are saved — the saints of God (Psalms 35:27). And, you too can be saved today by repenting of your sins, believing the gospel and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour (Mark 1:15).

Choose righteousness. Show up. Invest your goodly seeds without ceasing. Put in the sickles of faith and work. The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide and determine to be.

No matter your history, your destiny is still what you choose today. Our choices have dramatic consequences and, in particular, lasting impacts on our destinies (James 1:17)! It’s our choices, and not blind chance, that determine our destinies.

However, keep in mind that we all occasionally dance to the tune of mystery! This is because, in reality, life is not only about the choices we make, but also a product of the undercurrents of divine orchestrations.

Sometimes our dreams that become loudly celebrated are the ones we didn’t labour much to catch (Ecclesiastes 9:11). Yes,  occasionally, the strong gusting “east wind” that makes a way for our miraculous escape from the furies of our enemies comes when it’s least expected (Exodus 14:21).

Choose God: don’t give up and don’t be discouraged! Your bounteous harvests are still here!! You’re more that a conqueror, and you have a long history of victory, riches and noble harvests imputed to your account in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Friends and brethren, this is the period of your highest import so far in your journey of destiny (Zechariah 10:1-2). Make that little extra sacrifice. Give that little improved seed of faith, and please, continue to believe the Lord (Hosea 6:3).

Dig again, you’ll find water. Go again, seven times, you’ll see the cloud with a mean span that will eventually produce your deluge of blessings. You will flourish and blossom luxuriantly. Even your harvest of souls shall be bounteous, and your sources of income shall never run dry. You won’t miss it, in Jesus Name. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Bishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987

Jesus came into the world as a heavenly commando sent by God to destroy the works of Satan single-handedly. The devil holds men in bondage through the singular sin of the love of life; the foundation of all sin. We steal, cheat, fight, kill and commit adultery to save our lives. God required Jesus to call us to repentance and tell us about His glorious kingdom. He then demonstrated that our fear of death is baseless by laying down His life and then rising from the dead.

Hebrews says of Jesus: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Exposed Secret Agent

But how can Jesus survive in Satan’s kingdom on earth when His arrival as a baby was broadcast by angels?  How can He survive when wise men from the East were foolish enough to make enquiries about Him in the king’s palace? 

Herod’s response on hearing of the birth of a rival “king of the Jews” was to kill all the infants in Bethlehem. However, God was always one step ahead of Jesus’ adversaries. An angel forewarned Joseph to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt for refuge. Thereafter, the devil is bound and rendered powerless for the duration of Jesus’ ministry. (Matthew 12:29).

Jesus was not secretive about His mission on earth. He preached about the establishment of His alternative kingdom everywhere He went. He also validated His message with supernatural signs. He cast out demons, demonstrating the overthrow of the kingdom of Satan. He raised the dead, signaling the triumph of life over death. He healed the sick, announcing the end of human suffering. He multiplied loaves of bread, pointing to the satisfaction of all physical need. He stilled the storm, heralding the emergence of peace on earth. And He forgave sins, proclaiming the dawning of righteousness.

Recognising Jesus’ superior authority and powers, the devil quickly sought an unholy alliance with Him. He appealed to the pride of life in Jesus by offering Him all the kingdoms of the world, if He would join His rebellion against God. He said to him: “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” (Luke 4:6-7).

But when Jesus refused the offer, he resorted to his time-honoured strategy of employing the fear of death against men. He threatened Jesus’ life; knowing Jesus could easily save it. But if Jesus saved His life, He would be entrapped by the word of God which says: “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it.” (Luke 17:33).

The devil even attempted to use one of Jesus’ disciples against Him. When Jesus revealed that God’s plan was for Him to be killed and then rise from the dead, Peter objected, saying this should not happen to Jesus. But Jesus rebuked him sharply. He said to him: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23).

A house divided

In Satan’s camp were the Jewish pastors who were incensed that the more Jesus preached, the more He exposed their ungodliness. If He were to continue unabated, they feared they would soon lose their meal ticket – the goodwill of the people.

They were also concerned that Jesus’ popularity would grow into a revolutionary fervour against Roman occupation, prompting Caesar to crush it with characteristic ruthlessness. Since this would jeopardise their privileged position under Roman rule, they decided to save their lives by accusing Jesus to the Roman authorities of plotting to overthrow Caesar, which was a crime punishable by death.

However, Jesus knew Satan had no interest in killing Him; he only wanted Him to save His life. Satan knew he could not kill Jesus. Any attempt to kill Him would prompt the rescue of angels. Satan said to Jesus: “It is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash your foot against a stone.’” (Matthew 4:6).

But Jesus was determined to allow Himself to be killed so that Satan’s captivity of men through the love of life and the fear of death would finally be broken. When Satan realised this was Jesus’ resolve, he decided to call the whole thing off at the last minute. Pilate, another one of his agents, looked desperately for a way to free Jesus, declaring Him innocent. He said to Jesus’ accusers: “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.” (John 19:4). He then sought to release Him through a clemency order in honour of the Passover.

However, the pastors, Satan’s other agents, would not consent to Jesus’ release, insisting He must be crucified. In effect, Jesus’ non-resistance divided Satan against himself. Jesus says: “Every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matthew 12:25). To save his life as Governor by avoiding a riot, Pilate had to succumb to the demands of the pastors.

Provoking righteousness

But Satan had one last gambit. He engineered the rulers of the Jews, as well as passers-by, to mock Jesus, hoping to provoke Him to jump down from the cross and save His life. They taunted Him, saying: “If you are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” (Luke 23:37). “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” (Luke 23:35). Even God had to restrain Himself from saving Jesus when Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).

However, the love of God for man ensured Jesus was forsaken on the cross. Jesus paid the full Satanic ransom of laying down His life as a man. Thereby, He pioneered the fulfilment of the word of God that says: “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25). This ushered in a new era of the resurrection of the dead unto eternal life with God. (John 6:38-40).

Thus, Jesus’ defeat was paradoxically His greatest triumph. Once He willingly laid down His life for God, the devil’s stranglehold on the lives of men was broken for the very first time. With Jesus’ resurrection, all the righteous dead began to rise from the dead: “And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:52-53).

By overcoming the love of life and the fear of death, Jesus opened “the gates of righteousness,” so that men may thereafter follow His shining example. Thanks to Jesus, we are no longer held captive by sin and Satan: “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 124:7-8).

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; www.femiaribisala.com  

We asked older men of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us what things younger men do that confuse them. Here's what leaves them bewildered the most:

1. "I don't get that seemingly every teenage guy has the exact same haircut now, and it bugs the crap out of me. Big and poufy up top, with permanent hat hair because the tips swoop up at the bottom. They all look like they're wearing helmets and haven't showered in weeks. I just want to pull them aside and ask if girls actually like that, because you don't see a single man over 25 with that haircut."

—dustable

2. "Why do so many of them wear wool beanie caps in 90-degree weather?"

—zeakins
3. "I'm surprised by the popularization of younger men eating women's asses. It is awfully confusing and extremely unappealing to me, though I know plenty of people have their kinks. Nothing wrong with it. But them being so publicly open about it is the part that is mind-boggling to me."

—Anonymous

4. "I don’t get 'thirst traps.' What is the appeal of taking a picture of yourself in nothing but your underwear, grabbing your 'bulge,' and posting it for the whole internet to see?"

—Anonymous
5. "I totally do not understand why younger guys are wearing dressy pants that are WAY too short and not wearing socks."

—Anonymous
6. "I'm baffled by how tentative younger men seem to be about defining relationships. If you like someone, tell them. Tell them that you are focused on getting to know them and let them get to know you. Don't muddy the waters with always hanging out in groups or quasi-dates."

—Anonymous
7. "In the men's locker room, many young men wrap a towel around their waist to change into their underwear. I don't get it."

—Anonymous
8. "Growing up, I was taught to be self-sufficient and do most things for myself. I fix my cars, do most of the electrical stuff in the house, can cook, and can tie a bow tie. Style is style — I get that, and I'm cool with people expressing themselves however they like. But I'm a little confused by the lumbersexual fad. All these burly-looking dudes who look like the offspring of Jason Momoa and Burt Reynolds, but they can't seem to change a tire, fix a leaky toilet, or iron a suit for a job interview."

—Anonymous
9. "A lot of younger men wear underwear under their swim trunks... Why?"

—Anonymous
10. "I don't get them wearing suit jackets that are so tight they can't be buttoned. Also, I don't get wearing sneakers with a suit jacket."

—Anonymous
11. "I am quite perplexed by younger men’s unwillingness to 'make a move' when they feel some chemistry with a person. I understand dating is hard and there is a risk of rejection, but I have seen my younger brother basically get through high school without ever once kissing a girl or having a date because of this anxiety about being rejected. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. As long as you can take no for an answer and not have an overreaction to it, there isn’t nearly as much risk as some would have you believe."

—Anonymous
12. "They almost always post even their trivial ideas on any social media platform to ingratiate themselves."

—Anonymous
13. "I don't understand them wearing impractical clothing, like baggy pants and a black hoodie in Phoenix in July. 'I’m sweating like a pig, but at least I look cool :).'"

—Anonymous
14. And lastly, "I don't get guys thinking that a smartphone will sustain a relationship with their guy friends. For god's sake, start meeting up with your friends in person more often. Talk with other humans in person and make real connections. Phones do not truly keep you connected on a level that is required for deep, meaningful relationships."

—Anonymous

Buzzfeed

Between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed in one city in Sudan's West Darfur region last year in ethnic violence by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied Arab militia, according to a United Nations report seen by Reuters on Friday.

In the report to the U.N. Security Council, independent U.N. sanctions monitors attributed the toll in El Geneina to intelligence sources and contrasted it with the U.N. estimate that about 12,000 people have been killed across Sudan since war erupted on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and the RSF.

The monitors also described as "credible" accusations that the United Arab Emirates had provided military support to the RSF "several times per week" via Amdjarass in northern Chad. A top Sudanese general accused the UAE in November of backing the RSF war effort.

In a letter to the monitors, the UAE said 122 flights had delivered humanitarian aid to Amdjarass to help Sudanese fleeing the war. The United Nations says about 500,000 people have fled Sudan into eastern Chad, several hundred kilometers south of Amdjarass.

Between April and June last year El Geneina experienced "intense violence," the monitors wrote, accusing the RSF and allies of targeting the ethnic African Masalit tribe in attacks that "may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity."

The RSF has previously denied the accusations and said any of its soldiers found to be involved would face justice. The RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.

"The attacks were planned, coordinated, and executed by RSF and their allied Arab militias," the sanctions monitors wrote in their annual report to the 15-member Security Council.

'SHOT TO THE HEAD'

Reuters last year chronicled the ethnically targeted violence committed in West Darfur. In hundreds of interviews with Reuters, survivors described horrific scenes of bloodletting in El Geneina and on the 30-kilometer (18 mile) route from the city to the border with Chad as people fled.

The monitors' report included similar accounts. They said that between 14-17 June, some 12,000 people fled El Geneina on foot for Adre in Chad. The Masalit were the majority in El Geneina until the attacks forced their mass exodus.

"When reaching RSF checkpoints women and men were separated, harassed, searched, robbed, and physically assaulted. RSF and allied militias indiscriminately shot hundreds of people in the legs to prevent them from fleeing," the monitors said.

"Young men were particularly targeted and interrogated about their ethnicity. If identified as Masalit, many were summarily executed with a shot to the head. Women were physically and sexually assaulted. Indiscriminate shootings also injured and killed women and children," according to the report.

Everyone who spoke to the monitors mentioned "many dead bodies along the road, including those of women, children and young men." The monitors also reported "widespread" conflict-related sexual violence committed by RSF and allied militia.

NEW FIREPOWER

The monitors said the RSF takeover of most of Darfur relied on three lines of support - Arab allied communities, dynamic and complex financial networks, and new military supply lines running through Chad, Libya, and South Sudan.

The U.N. missions for Chad, Libya and South Sudan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Complex financial networks established by RSF before and during the war enabled it to acquire weapons, pay salaries, fund media campaigns, lobby, and buy the support of other political and armed groups," wrote the monitors, adding that the RSF used proceeds from its pre-war gold business to create a network of as many as 50 companies in several industries.

Since the war started "most of the gold which was previously exported to UAE, was now smuggled to Egypt," the monitors said.

The new firepower acquired by the RSF "had a massive impact on the balance of forces, both in Darfur and other regions of Sudan," the report found.

The RSF has recently made military gains, taking control of Wad Madani, one of Sudan's major cities, and consolidating its grip on the western region of Darfur.

In December the United States formally determined that warring parties in Sudan committed war crimes and that the RSF and allied militias had also committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

The war has left nearly half of Sudan's 49 million people needing aid, while more than 7.5 million people have fled their homes - making Sudan the biggest displacement crisis globally - and hunger is rising.

The sanctions monitors told the U.N. Security Council that "an excess of mediation tracks, the entrenched positions of the warring parties, and competing regional interests meant that these peace efforts had yet to stop the war, bring political settlement or address the humanitarian crisis."

Reuters

How much politicians in Nigeria care about national insecurity has long been correlated with how close it gets to their mansions in Abuja, the capital. On its outskirts on January 2nd a father and his six daughters were kidnapped, prompting a rare outcry on high. A crowdfunding effort to pay the ransom was even backed by a former minister. But the kidnappers instead killed one of the girls and demanded more cash. The wife of President Bola Tinubu publicly lamented a “devastating loss”. Yet such horrors are still appallingly frequent—and largely ignored by politicians. In one incident last week in the south-east 45 people were kidnapped and are still missing, yet few leaders spoke out.

The deadliest zone is the north-east, where jihadists linked to Islamic State attack the army and villages. The north-west, too, is riddled with gangs that routinely kidnap for ransom. A decades-long conflict between mostly Muslim herders and largely Christian farmers rumbles on in the country’s centre, where on Christmas Eve gunmen mowed down at least 160 people. Separatist violence still smoulders in the south-east.

At his inauguration last May Tinubu declared security his “top priority”. Yet more than 3,600 people were kidnapped in 2023, the most ever, according to ACLED, a global monitor of conflict. The snatching rose sharply after Tinubu took office. And almost 9,000 Nigerians were killed in conflict last year (see chart).

The government stresses that, in its most recent budget, spending on defence and the police took the biggest share, about 12% in all. Defence got a fifth more than it did last year. Yet inflation is running at 29%, so in real terms the defence budget has actually fallen.

The government tends to splurge on fancy weapons systems that fail to tackle the roots of the problem, which is poverty, poor education and anger at army atrocities. The latest budget includes funds for six T-129 Turkish attack helicopters on top of the 12 costly Bell choppers bought last year from America for $1bn, not to mention 12 Super Tucano attack aircraft. Buying strike drones has become so popular that the army actually runs its own fleet alongside that of the air force.

But drones are not much good at guarding schools from kidnappings, and heavy weaponry risks disaster. A drone recently killed at least 85 civilians at a festival in Kaduna state—not the first such cock-up. The army promised to “fine-tune” its operations, but more radical change is needed. The police, well equipped but able to use better human intelligence, should lead on domestic security, not the army, which has been deployed in all 36 of Nigeria’s states.

Another huge problem is graft in security spending. “Defence is a really prime part of the budget where you can take large quantities of money out without people being any the wiser,” says Matthew Page of Chatham House, a think-tank in London. Much of the budget, he says, is still about rewarding those who paid to get Tinubu elected. Sometimes the army fails to receive its budget allocation.

This is worsened by a system known as “security votes”, whereby parts of defence spending are deemed too sensitive to require public oversight. The practice, which accounts for perhaps $700m a year, increased sharply under the last president and may well jump more under Tinubu. The defence budget has nearly tripled since 2019. But thanks to inflation, wasteful purchases and corruption, Nigerians do not seem safer.

Christopher Musa, chief of the defence staff, appears to understand the roots of the insecurity. “Military effort alone is incapable of restoring enduring peace,” he says, adding that the army helped build hundreds of schools under his command in the north-east.

Yet many politicians seem keener to spend on themselves, rather than create the conditions for peace or fill the country’s fiscal hole. Even if Tinubu resists the temptation to reinstate the petrol subsidy that he largely removed last year, debt servicing alone in 2024 may gobble up 61% of revenue.

In November the national assembly approved new SUVs for all 460 lawmakers, at a reported cost of $150,000-plus per car. In two months the government has budgeted $31m to improve accommodation for the president and vice-president—in a country of around 220m people where more than 80m are reckoned to live on less than $2 .15 a day and many fear being kidnapped.

The Economist

•Regret that no President has been decisive with military and consequences of their failure since 1999
•Want definitive order to security chiefs
•Say current strategies weak, already known to terrorists, bandits

Following the spate of killings and kidnappings across the country, Saturday Vanguard got some retired generals of the Nigerian military to bare their minds on the unending menace and what should be done to tackle the scourge. The retired Generals and their equivalent in the Navy and Airforce agreed to speak only on conditions of anonymity. we obliged them.

One retired Airforce Generals said: “One of the reasons insecurity is not going away is because since 1999 when democracy was re-birthed, no President, no commander in chief has given a direct, definitive order for terrorists or bandits to be decisively dealt with. What we usually get is open-ended directives. No timeline to get things done and no consequences for not getting things done.

“What President Bola Tinubu should do as C in C is to give a definitive order to the Minister of Defence, the CDS, the Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police, that this insecurity should end in three or four or six months. If after the time frame given, the criminals are not cleared out, the Minister, CDS and Service Chiefs should be asked to go. I bet you, you will see a change”.

A retired army general said alternatively, Tinubu and the Chief of Defence Staff/Army Chief can direct a “Scotch Egg Approach” operation where the adversaries, criminal elements will be boxed into a dead end and taken out. In the military, from the rank of the highest general to the least personnel, everybody is a soldier. Take Birnin Gwari forest for example, in one division area of responsibility, which is infested with terrorists, bandits/kidnappers. It stretches from Kaduna to Niger and parts of Plateau state. The government can order everybody in 1 division, Kaduna to close the office, give them arms and enough ammunition, led by the GOC to move from the Kaduna axis, the GOC of 3 division, Jos will also move with everybody from the Jos axis, any terrorists or whatever they call themselves within sight should be taken out since they would have been circled from all angles. This is because it is unacceptable that these terrorists and bandits are not only killing innocent Nigerians in droves, our officers and soldiers are being killed with little or no consequences. Since the terrorists have said they are mad, our men should be enabled to clear their doubts. If the President takes such steps, I give you six months, insecurity will go away.”

Speaking on kinetic efforts, an Airforce general said: “A mistake was made a long time ago and we keep making the same mistake with the military. Originally, the role of the military is to defend the territorial integrity of the country. The police are meant to handle law and order. It is not true that the police and other para-military agencies can’t handle internal security, law and order. What we need is a comprehensive reorientation of the police. The word ‘Force’ should be removed, it should be called Nigerian Police Service like their counterpart all over the world because they are there to serve the people. There should be joint combat training for the lower cadre of the police, the military, NSCDC, Immigration, Customs and others for them to know themselves and to be able to work together. A Joint Counter Terrorism Training Centre for all Para-Military personnel can be established in the country for this purpose. This is because the officers of the military, police and para-military have always had joint training sessions at their levels beginning from the armed forces command and staff college and other senior institutions, so the officers can easily work together but it is not the same for lower ranked personnel. Moreover, right now, the military is very weak because of too much involvement in internal crises and taking over police duties. Consequently, discipline is going down every day.

Another retired Airforce general called on Tinubu to consider applying the Operation Sweep Strategy employed by Mohammed Marwa when he served as military governor of Lagos state whereby every nook and cranny of the state was reached and criminals smoked out by the joint security operatives. He said, “The problem of insecurity is caused by political vendetta and economic empowerment. You are somebody because you want to get to a position and after achieving your goal, you turn your back on them. Now, with those weapons, they go back and everybody becomes their enemy including their opponents. They become emboldened and go to mineral areas to capture lands for tapping solid minerals and kill citizens for refusing to be pushed out of their lands.

“We need political will, as well as the will of the people. Nigerians should start seeing the kidnapping or bandits’ attacks on their neighbours as something that can happen to them and therefore join hands in fighting, resisting the menace.

“As a young officer, I worked with ‘Operation Sweep’ in Lagos which was successful because the then military governor, Marwa, identified what was needed to contain and curtail the insecurity. He provided the required logistics, equipment and communication to get the job done. Response time to criminal attacks was real-time, and when criminals were caught, there was no escape from prosecution and going to jail. The intelligence aspect was taken care of because people were asked to volunteer information about criminals on lines that could not be traced or linked to anyone for vendetta. Under Marwa’s ‘operation sweep’, there was nothing like one godfather or a sponsor somewhere coming to intervene or facilitate the release of any criminal. With ‘Operation Sweep’, a robber knew that if he went out to steal, he would most likely not escape to enjoy his proceeds of crime, that he would be caught. Another thing we did was that we advised people living in housing estates on certain measures. Everybody staying in an estate must have an alarm system which should be placed outside and once it was triggered, the whole estate would come out and act. At the same time our patrol teams in the location would be alerted and would move immediately. This will stop the trend today where kidnappers and robbers will go to people’s houses, spend hours, do whatever they like and still get away. The day Nigerian citizens will say enough of these kidnappings, it will end. We know what the problems are and we know what to do but the politicians will not allow the right things to be done”.

Yet another retired general in his contribution called for the total overhaul of the security architecture of the country, noting that non-state actors, particularly terrorists, bandits and kidnappers have studied and understood the modus operandi of security operatives, and they can pre-empt our strategies and even use our strategies against us. According to him, “the criminal elements have studied and discovered our weaknesses which they are exploiting and using our tactics such as ambushes, IED, night strikes traps and many others against our troops. It shows we have to go back to the drawing board. Importantly also, before policies are initiated and put in place for implementation, the federal government should also think of the consequences of such policies on the society.”

A retired Navy Rear Admiral and an Intelligence Chief said, “The situation we find ourselves can easily be tackled by bringing insecurity to a manageable level. One, you need the right persons at the right place. At our level of patriotism and experience, we should allow professionals do the work while the politicians should restrict themselves to providing the leadership for the country to develop. Also, we need more boots on the ground. For now I can tell you without mincing words that the personnel are overwhelmed. We need to recruit more (both military and Police). I don’t think they are lacking funds but I believe there are duplication of both duties and equipment. I think we have more than enough equipment to monitor and follow these criminals. All we need is collaboration with dedicated personnel. The operations can be divided into six zones representing the geopolitical areas because each zone has similar security challenges. The governors of those states can have a pool where their contributions will go into for common utilization to minimize fraud. Let them allow villages and towns to have local vigilantes (equipped with Dane Guns and Double Barrels Guns) to defend their localities to prevent a repeat of the Plateau scenario”.

Asked to proffer the way out of the security debacle, a retired Air Vice Marshal said, “Everything in life has a foundation. You cannot use the same foundation you used to build a house in a dry land to build another house in a marshy, swampy terrain. The foundation of our democracy ab initio was faulty. They got it wrong from the start. We took the American Constitution hook, line and sinker without minding our diverse social, and cultural environment and differences. The constitution never considered our traditional rulers. The issue of States/Local Government Joint account which was unheard of in any democracy anywhere in the world is the order of the day in Nigerian democracy.

“The local governments in the past who were closer to the people in the villages and grassroots are no longer functional. These days traditional rulers, and emirs are put under the authority of the local government chairman, to the extent that before an emir travels, he must seek permission from the local government chairman, who most times are in the cities. Again, the basic ingredients of democracy which are free, fair and credible elections are no longer there. If the foundation is weak, what follows are the consequences and their implications which are an increase in violent conflicts, erosion of human dignity, high inequality in society, corruption as well as manipulation and control of the public. What we are practising is what I call Kakistocracy or Kleptocracy. To worsen matters we have now graduated to Judiciocracy. This has brought us to a system of quantity, no longer quality or merit, job for the boys, where you see 50, 100, 200 Special Assistants, etc. They are not providing service for humanity but jobs for the boys. This has led to corruption and electoral fraud among others”.

Speaking on solutions, a retired general said, “One way out is to apply a soft approach by embarking on deliberate provision of sporting facilities to engage the energy, intelligence and smartness of our youths. An example of soft approach success is Morocco where despite the fire of the Arab Spring in Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia and other countries in that area, Morocco experienced peace and progress because the youths had facilities to engage their energies which is why they are doing so well in sports today. Our youths are idle and have nowhere to direct their energy, that is why they engage in drugs, criminal acts and illicit sexual escapades. There should be youth inclusiveness. Technical and vocational schools should be built. If we really want to move forward as a country, we must apply meritocracy. We must go back to the drawing board. But if we don’t want meritocracy we can then look at militocracy.

Vanguard