It is part metaphor, part myth and part history. Thomas Hobbes thought life there was nasty, brutish and short. John Locke disagreed, proclaiming that it was where people first learnt how to own things. Jean-Jacques Rousseau described it as the place where people were born free, before they became ensnared in chains. Robert Nozick thought that people were so desperate to escape it, there was an inevitable result: the creation of a state.

Ideas about the “state of nature”—how people lived before politics organised itself into governments—have held the attention of philosophers for centuries. Discovering whether it played out as imagined was nigh-on impossible. And yet thinking about what people would do without a government helped answer profound questions. What are the limits of political power? Is the modern state something that citizens would freely choose?

Now, after all this theorising, three economists think they have some empirical answers. According to Robert Allen of New York University, Abu Dhabi, Leander Heldring of Northwestern University and Mattia Bertazzini of the University of Nottingham, the key to understanding the emergence of modern politics is not a metaphor, but the constantly shifting courses of ancient rivers in Iraq. The first states, they argue in a paper published in the American Economic Review, were glued together not as shelters from violence, as Hobbes believed, but by economics.

The banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates, Iraq’s two longest rivers, are home to some of the world’s oldest settlements. Mesopotamia, which 5,000 years ago refined the first known system of writing, earned the area the reputation of “the cradle of civilisation”. The paths of these rivers shift, as floods and droughts cause their beds to flood. When a shift came, some ancient farmers were left without water for their crops.

Allen and his co-authors investigate whether the timing of changes to a river’s course had anything to do with when the number and size of settlements grew. They do so by looking at the effect of the first recorded shift in 2,850BC. This presented farmers with something close to the choice imagined by philosophers when theorising about the state of nature. Those left behind by the river could revert to nomadism. Or they could band together to build irrigation systems to ferry water from distant rivers.

A philosophical question is therefore transformed into something akin to a laboratory experiment, only one set thousands of years ago and extending hundreds of miles across. Moreover, the results of the experiment are clear. A 5km-by-5km square in the basin left behind by a river was 14% more likely to have a settlement, marked by a public building such as a temple or marketplace, 150 years after the shift than in the 50 years before it. Each square was 12% more likely to have a built canal, a form of artificial irrigation that made farming far from rivers possible. Five new cities were created, and only three abandoned. Esnunna, one city along a new tributary of the river, became much bigger.

This, Allen and his co-authors say, is evidence that that the fist states were formed by farmers co-operating for economic reasons. A canal network would have been too large a cost for any to bear alone. But by spreading the cost, the construction was worth it for each. Such decisions were momentous. They represent some of the earliest examples of governments providing infrastructure in return for taxes, and thus the genesis of the earliest states.

The authors then divide centuries of thinking on the origins of states into two camps. The first, which they say ranges from Daron Acemoglu, an influential economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to Karl Marx, supposes that states ultimately emerge from a process of social bargaining. The rich and high-status seize power for personal gain, and periodically dole out services, such as a road, school or police force, in order to keep populations on board. But if this had been the case in Mesopotamia then it would have been in the areas that a river shifted towards that settlements would have formed. After all, they developed richer and more fertile farmland, yielding a bigger tax take.

That Mesopotamian farmers seem to have chosen to band together as the river shifted away lends support to the second camp. Philosophers in this group, who include Locke and Rousseau, contend that governments emerged when people chose to co-ordinate themselves, swapping their freedom to do whatever they wanted for a state that mediates disputes and provides a degree of safety. Allen and his co-authors analyse only Mesopotamian Iraq, but they argue that their results ought to apply more generally to other fledgling states. Governments, in other words, are chosen rather than foisted upon their citizens.

Meandering path

This is quite the landgrab by economists, seizing terrain that is more commonly occupied by political theorists. The study is not flawless. Perhaps an unknown conquest explains the spread of settlements in the period under consideration. Maybe the authors are wrong and the pattern does not hold elsewhere. There were already six cities and many more settlements in the Mesopotamian Valley before its rivers really began to move, and some had existed for a thousand years. The authors insist that they are only interested in how new governments form, but there is a chance they have in fact captured older ones spreading.

The paper is nevertheless bold and valuable. Philosophers have sought for centuries to explain why states emerge. Too little time has been spent considering whether economic factors might have been at play. Although transforming the state of nature into a specific time and place means losing some of its complexity, doing so opens the door to the sort of experiment that could only have been imagined by earlier philosophers. If Hobbes or Locke could have studied something approximating the state of nature about which they were theorising, they surely would have tried.

The Economist

An 85-year Harvard study discovered that the most important thing that brings us happiness in life is positive relationships, and your friendships are a huge component.

Maintaining long-term friendships that are stable is one of the seven practices of people who live to be happy and healthy, the study found.

Yet, each of our friendships can look different, and it turns out that your friendships shouldn’t all look the same.

The renowned Greek philosopher Aristotle narrowed down three types of friendships that we all have. And Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor who teaches a course about how to manage happiness, believes we need all three friendships to truly feel happy in life.

These are the three types of friendships, according to Aristotle, that appeared in Brooks’ article titled “The Best Friends Can Do Nothing for You” which he shared in the Harvard happiness course:

1. Utility friendships: “Think about the relationships you have with people with whom you work, or with whom you do business. These relationships tend to be transactional in nature,” wrote Brooks.
2. Friendships based on pleasure: “This type of relationship is based on mutual admiration because each person draws pleasure from the other. If a person finds their friend funny, interesting, and a source of enjoyment, it is likely a friendship of pleasure,” Brooks wrote in his article.
3. “Perfect” friendships: “By Aristotle’s standards, perfect friendships are those between people who have a mutual love for something that not only brings them together, but elevates their behavior to virtue. A relationship is perfect not when it is based on utility or pleasure, but when it is focused on improving the circumstance of the other person,” Brooks notes.

Utility friendships aren’t always the most satisfying, and pleasure friendships may not deepen beyond shared interests — but both are important.

These two kinds of friendships are useful for advancing in life, “but they don’t usually bring lasting joy and comfort,” Brooks wrote. While we need utility and pleasure friendships, “we can’t afford to risk these connections through confrontation, difficult conversations, or intimacy,” says Brooks.

For this reason, “perfect” friendships are extremely necessary to have in life, in addition to the other two types of friendships, for true satisfaction.

“You might not be able to put it into words, but you probably know how these ‘perfect’ friendships feel,” Brooks wrote.

“They often feature a shared love for something outside either of you, whether that thing be transcendental (like religion) or just fun (like baseball), but they don’t depend on work, or money, or ambition.”

CNBC

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said that Nigerians applying to change their date of birth on the National Identification Number (NIN) database will now be required to provide an electronic civil registration and vital statistics system (e-CRVS) certificate from the National Population Commission (NPC).  

The Commission stated this in new guidelines for date of birth change it released on Sunday via its X handle. In addition to the certificate, NIMC said copies of other valid documents such as identification and application letter for modification will now be addressed to the DG/CEO, NIMC.  

Before now, only an affidavit and the payment of N15,000 are required for the modification of age and other modifications on the NIN system. 

According to the Commission, with the new guidelines, date of birth modification can only be done once in a lifetime and only at NIMC enrolment centres.  It warned that its licensed agents are not allowed to do date of birth modification and other forms of modification. 

Applicants express concerns 

Meanwhile, some Nigerians seeking to modify their date of birth on the NIN database have expressed concern that the new guideline would further extend the delay in getting the modification done at NIMC.

There have also been allegations of extortions and intentional delays at the NIMC centres.  

• However, the new Director-General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said she was working to end all forms of unethical practices within the Commission. She also recently announced that the Commission has cleared over 2.5 million backlog of modifications to NIN.  

The e-CRVS 

President Bola Tinubu last month launched the e-CRVS of the NPC, a platform that digitalizes all civil documentation such as birth and stillbirth registration, birth attestation, adoption, marriage notification, divorce notification, migration, and death. 

• According to the Chairman of the NPC, Nasir Kwarra the e-CRVS was part of Nigeria’s way of complying with the resolutions of the African Ministers Conference held in 2022 and scaling up the automated process in Nigeria. 
• He added that the system provides a digital certificate in all cases, an accessible verification platform to registered organizations, and has a central management system (dashboard) that depicts and analyses collated civil registrations into vital statistics for proper decision-making.” 
• The chairman said that the process marked a complete departure from traditional paper-based recording of vital events to a state-of-the-art digital solution that conforms to international best practices. 
• He added that the eCRVS system would revolutionize how vital events were recorded, tracked, and analyzed in the country. 

Nairametrics

Following attacks by assailants on some communities in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi Local Government Areas of Plateau State between eve of Christmas and Monday morning, the death toll from the incident has risen to 113.

Transition Committee Chairman of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Monday Kassah, confirmed that 113 persons were killed in the attacks on the villages.

Spokesperson for Operation Safe Haven, Oya James, confirmed the incident, saying the attack took place on Saturday night while residents of the community were asleep. “Following the attack, security personnel were deployed to prevent any breakdown of law and order in the area. There was uprising after the incident but the situation has been brought under control,” James had said.

While giving update on the attack on Monday, he confirmed to journalists that 113 bodies were recovered from the attacks.

He added, “The attacks were well coordinated; not fewer than 20 different communities were attacked by the bandits.

“As I am talking to you, we have recovered 113 dead bodies from those communities. We have recovered more than 300 injured; some were taken to hospitals in Jos and some to a hospital in Barkin Ladi while others have been taken to hospitals in Bokkos.

“Security personnel have been doing their best; the difficult terrain reaching those communities made security agents not to reach there on time to prevent those attacks.”

The violence has spread to communities in Barikin LGA where houses were burnt.

Kasa said the casualty figure was increasing and that corpses were still being recovered by security agents, vigilantes and hunters combing the forest for missing persons. The council boss noted that several houses were burnt by the assailants, who also went away with farm produce belonging to the residents.

Meanwhile, Governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the attack, describing the attack as barbaric, brutal and uncalled for.

A statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, on Sunday said the governor directed security agencies to promptly apprehend the perpetrators responsible for the heinous act and ensure they face the full wrath of the law.

Bare said the governor expressed deep concern over the incident, urging communities to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities to security forces for immediate action.

The statement added, “On the importance of collective collaboration among rural communities, the governor assured that proactive measures would be taken by the government to curb the ongoing attacks on innocent citizens. He sympathised with affected families and urged them to find solace in God as the government diligently works to end the prolonged violence.”

Daily Trust

Egypt floats plan to end Israel-Hamas war. The proposal gets a cool reception

Israel and Hamas on Monday gave cool public receptions to an Egyptian proposal to end their bitter war. But the longstanding enemies stopped short of rejecting the plan altogether, raising the possibility of a new round of diplomacy to halt a devastating Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian plan calls for a phased hostage release and the formation of a Palestinian government of experts to administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, according to a senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat familiar with the proposal.

The Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal, said the details were worked out with the Gulf nation of Qatar and presented to Israel, Hamas, the United States and European governments. Egypt and Qatar both mediate between Israel and Hamas, while the U.S. is Israel’s closest ally and a key power in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not comment directly on the proposal. But speaking to members of his Likud Party, he said he was determined to press ahead with Israel’s offensive, launched in response to an Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 240 others hostage.

“We are expanding the fight in the coming days and this will be a long battle and it isn’t close to finished,” he said.

Hamas has continued to fire rockets into Israel throughout the fighting. Late Monday, it launched a barrage of rockets, triggering air raid sirens in the southern city of Ashkelon. AP video showed what appeared to be several interceptions by Israel’s rocket defense system. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The Egyptian proposal falls short of Israel’s declared goal of crushing Hamas. It also appears to be at odds with Israel’s insistence on maintaining military control over Gaza for an extended period after the war.

But Netanyahu faces heavy domestic pressure to reach a deal to bring home the more than 100 Israeli hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza.

As he vowed to continue the war during a speech in parliament, relatives of the hostages interrupted him and called for their immediate return. “Now! Now!” they shouted.

The rising death toll of Israeli soldiers from the ground operation also threatens to undermine public support for the war. The Israeli military announced the deaths of two more soldiers Monday, bringing the total killed in the war to 156.

Netanyahu’s War Cabinet was expected to meet late Monday. It was unclear if they would discuss the Egyptian proposal.

Hamas did not officially react to the proposal. But it is unclear if Hamas would agree to relinquish power after controlling Gaza for the past 16 years.

Izzat Rishq, a senior Hamas official who is believed to be based in Qatar, issued a statement repeating the group’s position that it will not negotiate without a “complete end to the aggression.” He said Hamas would not agree to a “temporary or partial truce for a short period of time.”

Word of the proposal came as Israeli airstrikes heavily pounded central and southern Gaza.

In the Maghazi refugee camp Monday, rescue workers were still pulling bodies from the wreckage of a strike the previous night. Records at the nearby Al-Aqsa Hospital seen by The Associated Press showed at least 106 people killed, making it one of the deadliest strikes of Israel’s air campaign.

The United Nations’ World Health Organization visited the hospital on Monday, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“The hospital is taking in far more patients than its bed capacity and staff can handle. Many will not survive the wait,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The war has devastated large parts of Gaza, killed more than 20,600 Palestinians and displaced almost all of the territory’s 2.3 million people.

U.N. officials have warned that a quarter of the population is starving under Israel’s siege of the territory, which allows in only a trickle of supplies.

In the southern Gaza Strip, Hamas admitted to shooting dead a 13-year-old boy who was among a group of people who tried to seize aid from a truck. The shooting prompted a violent protest and rare public criticism of Hamas.

EGYPTIAN PROPOSAL

The Egyptian proposal is an ambitious bid not only to end the war but also to lay out a plan for the day after.

It calls for an initial cease-fire of up to two weeks during which Palestinian militants would free 40 to 50 hostages, among them women, the sick and the elderly, in return for the release of 120-150 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, the Egyptian official said.

At the same time, negotiations would continue on extending the cease-fire and the release of more hostages and bodies held by Palestinian militants, he said. Israeli officials estimate that 20 of the hostages have died or been killed in captivity.

Egypt and Qatar would also work with all Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the rival, internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, to agree on the establishment of a government of experts, he said.

The government would rule Gaza and the West Bank for a transitional period as Palestinian factions work toward presidential and parliamentary elections, he added.

In the meantime, Israel and Hamas would negotiate a comprehensive “all-for-all” deal, he said. This would include the release of all remaining hostages in return for all Palestinian prisoners in Israel, as well as the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Gaza and the Palestinian militants’ halting of rocket attacks into Israel.

More than 8,000 Palestinians are held by Israel on security-related charges or convictions, according to Palestinian figures. Some have been convicted in deadly attacks on Israelis. While their release would be controversial, Israel has a history of agreeing to lopsided releases.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry spoke by phone Monday with Iran’s chief diplomat, Hossein Amirabdollahian, on the war in Gaza, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said. The statement said Shoukry discussed efforts to achieve a comprehensive cease-fire. It didn’t offer further details. Iran is a major supporter of Hamas.

In Washington, the White House declined to comment about the Egyptian proposal.

U.S. officials remain in close contact with Egypt and Qatar about getting more hostages released and several proposals have been floated, according to a person familiar with the talks. While the Egyptian proposal is viewed as a positive sign, the U.S. is skeptical it will result in a breakthrough, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss behind the scenes diplomacy.

INSIDE GAZA

Israel’s offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. More than two-thirds of the 20,674 Palestinians killed have been women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants among the dead.

The offensive has led to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with shortages of food, medicines and other basic supplies.

With aid shipments limited, crowds have tried to seize some of the goods coming in on trucks. Hamas gunmen have been seen on top of some of the vehicles. The group says it is protecting the shipments, while Israel accuses it of stealing aid.

In the southern Gaza Strip, Hamas acknowledged that a policeman with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry shot dead a 13-year-old boy, saying the shots were fired when a group of people tried to seize aid from a truck near the city of Rafah on Sunday, an official with Hamas government media office said Monday.

The shooting prompted a violent protest and rare public criticism of Hamas, which has shown little tolerance for dissent during its rule.

Enraged relatives of the slain boy, Ahmed Brikeh, attempted to attack a police station, burning tires and demanding the policeman be held accountable.

A relative, Mosaad Brikeh, blamed Hamas for the killing in video comments circulated on social media, accusing the policeman of shooting the boy “directly in his head.”

He said the family has previously cooperated with Hamas to secure the border area with Egypt. He called for the policeman to be held accountable, warning the family would prevent “any vehicles” from passing through the area.

The devastation of the war over the past weeks has brought sporadic eruptions of anger against Hamas, something that has previously been unthinkable during the group’s 16-year rule over Gaza.

Israel faces international criticism for the civilian death toll. It blames Hamas, citing the militants’ use of crowded residential areas and tunnels. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas militants, without presenting evidence.

Late on Monday, the Israeli army said it had discovered the stolen car of the family of an Israeli hostage, Samer Al-Talalka, in a hospital compound in northern Gaza. Al-Talalka was among three hostages mistakenly shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Gaza earlier this month.

The army said grenade fragments and bloodstains of another hostage were found in the vehicle. “The finding of the vehicle directly links the hospital to the brutal events of Oct. 7,” it said.

CHRISTMAS AMID WAR

Dozens of members of Gaza’s tiny Christian community held a Christmas Eve service in the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, which they have also used as a shelter. Last week, Catholic officials said that two Christian women were killed by Israeli sniper fire at the compound.

“This is not a feast,” said Kamal Ayad, whose wife and daughter were killed in the shooting. “This is a feast of pain for the Palestinian people.”

He said his only wish was for “peace and hope for a cease-fire.”

The service was held late Sunday, but details only emerged on Monday due to frequent internet outages.

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian military liberates key Donbass stronghold – Moscow

Russian troops have fully liberated Maryinka, a key town in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced on Monday.

Maryinka – which has been legally part of Russia since last year's referendums –was a major Ukrainian military for many years. It is located immediately to the west of the city of Donetsk.

The minister broke the news during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Today, assault units with the troop grouping South fully liberated the town of Maryinka to the southwest of Donetsk,” Shoigu stated.

The liberation of the town opens up new opportunities for Russian troops and further damages Ukraine’s military capabilities, the minister said. The town, which has been the scene of fighting for nearly a decade since the early stages of the conflict in then-Ukrainian Donbass, had been turned into a major stronghold by Kiev’s forces, Shoigu noted. An extensive network of underground tunnels and reinforced concrete bunkers was installed on almost every street, he added.

The Russian president congratulated all the troops involved “at different stages” in the struggle for Maryinka, stating that its liberation is an important milestone that will have a positive impact – pushing Ukrainian forces away from Donetsk, as well as providing Russian troops with wider operational freedom, Putin said.

The fighting over the DPR town intensified in recent months, with Russian forces gradually seizing control of key locations. The fighting left the town heavily damaged with no structure left intact, videos from Maryinka shared online show. 

Apart from serving as a stronghold for the Ukrainian military, Maryinka has also been one of the key staging points for attacks on Donetsk itself. The city has been subjected to indiscriminate missile and artillery shelling by Ukrainian forces on an almost daily basis during the conflict.

** Russia’s weapons industry outproducing West – deputy PM

Russia is outpacing Western countries in arms production despite the latter’s push to provide military support to Ukraine, Russian Deputy PM and Trade Minister Denis Manturov has said.

In a wide-ranging interview with RIA Novosti on Monday, Manturov offered a glimpse into the state of Russia’s defense industry, which has switched into a high gear to support the military as the Ukraine conflict is about to enter its third year.

According to the minister, Russia’s military factories have increased output and delivery rates by 10-12 times for certain categories of materiel and hardware. “Trust me, the numbers are huge,” he assured, although he declined to go into specifics, citing “certain nuances.” 

“I don’t want to boast but I can say that we have started picking up the pace in production and we accomplished that earlier than Western countries. How long this race will last – this is another question,” Manturov said, adding that Moscow has clear plans for future development.

Commenting on Western countries’ arms production plans, the minister declined to speculate whether they “will have enough juice” to keep up. “For the time being, we are outpacing them,” he added.

According to Manturov, Russia’s defense industry facilities have been operating smoothly, fulfilling at least 98% of all state orders. “This is a record, the highest level of fulfillment of state defense orders in the entire modern history of Russia,” he said, adding that total output has more than doubled compared to last year.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said earlier this month that Russia has managed to triple the production of armored units and double the production of aircraft, including drones, compared to last year. Last month, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu also revealed that Moscow’s forces are receiving five times more artillery shells and missiles in 2023 than in 2022.

Meanwhile, in late March, Russian President Vladimir Putin estimated that the country’s defense industry was producing three times more ammunition than Western backers could send to Ukraine.

He also said that the US was producing 14,000-15,000 artillery shells a month, with plans to increase this number to 42,000 by 2024. However, according to Putin, this was not enough to satisfy Ukraine’s needs as it is burning up to 5,000 shells each day.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine carries out air assault on Crimea's port of Feodosia

Ukraine carried out an air attack on Feodosia in Crimea, Ukraine's air force commander said on Tuesday, after the Russian-installed governor of the Crimea said that the assault sparked a fire in the town's port area.

Commander of Ukraine's air force, Mykola Oleshchuk, said on the Telegram messaging app, without providing evidence, that the attack destroyed a major Russian Navy vessel, the landing Novocherkask ship.

"And the fleet in Russia is getting smaller and smaller! Thanks to the Air Force pilots and everyone involved for the filigree work!" said Oleshchuk.

The report could not be independently verified and there was no immediate comment from Russia.

Both Russia and Ukraine have often exaggerated the losses they claim to have inflicted upon each other in the 22-month long war, while underestimated their own casualty and equipment losses.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed governor of Crimea, said only that the Ukrainian attack resulted in a fire in the town's port area that was promptly contained.

"All relevant emergency services are on site," Aksyonov said on the Telegram. "Residents of several houses will be evacuated."

Footage posted on several Russian news outlets on Telegram showed powerful explosions and fires over a port area.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in a broadly condemned move in 2014.

** Ukraine draft law proposes lowering mobilisation age to 25 from 27

Text of a draft law posted on the website of Ukraine's parliament late on Monday proposed lowering the age of those who can be mobilized for combat duty to 25 from 27.

The proposed change comes as Ukraine's 22-month-old battle against Russia drags on. On Sunday, Ukraine and Russia exchanged claims over downed military aircraft, and on Monday Ukraine denied Russia's claim that its forces had seized the regional centre Maryinka in eastern Ukraine.

The draft text detailed which Ukrainian citizens would be subject to enrolment for military registration of conscripts and said it would apply to those "who have reached the age of 25."

An explanatory note signed by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov summarized key provisions of the draft law, saying they included the "change of conscription age from 27 to 25 years."

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told his end-of-year news conference on Dec. 19 that the military had proposed mobilising 450,000-500,000 more Ukrainians, but that it was a "highly sensitive" issue that the military and government would discuss before deciding whether to send the proposal to parliament.

Zelenskiy, who has yet to back the proposal publicly, said on Dec. 19 that he wanted to hear more arguments for mobilising additional people. "This is a very serious number," he said.

Ukraine's troop numbers are not known, but in the past it has been said the country has around 1 million people under arms. U.S. officials estimate that hundreds of thousands have been killed and wounded since Russia invaded Ukraine. Neither country publishes its casualty figures.

David Arakhamia, the head of Zelenskiy's party in parliament, said the government was working on the bill at the request of the military and that it was due to be introduced on Monday.

"The military needs a solution to its problems," he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app earlier on Monday. "Society wants to hear answers to all sensitive questions."

RT/Reuters

“Because judges are part of government, acting on our behalf, we are entitled to require them to abandon their priesthood and to present their activities for assessment by laymen.” David Pannick, KC, Judges, p. 17 (1987)

The Guardian’s obituary of Bernard Levin, the celebrated Times columnist who died in 2004, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, described him as “a passionate and eclectic journalist with a legendary capacity for work, whose career made him a host of friends – and enemies.” Among these enemies, few were as determined as the legal profession.

David Pannick, KC, recalls that Levin’s settled view was that “the legal profession had an infinite capacity for deluding itself.” He had good reasons for this. When Rayner Goddard retired as Lord Chief Justice in 1958, Bernard Levin’s evisceration of his judicial record inspired “a clandestine meeting at which the higher judiciary considered whether the uppity columnist might be done for criminal libel.” The idea was eventually dropped.

At Lord Goddard’s death in May 1971, leading members of the legal profession lined up to exalt his memory. In one of his less durable predictions, Lord Denning infamously foresaw that Goddard would “go down in our annals as one of the greatest Chief Justices.” Bernard Levin differed, describing Lord Goddard’s tenure in the office of Lord Chief Justice as a “calamity” and his conduct on the bench as “unjudicial.”

For his gumption, Levin suffered condemnation from the legal profession and “after the 1971 piece appeared Levin’s application to join the Garrick (Club) was blackballed, supposedly a sort of revenge.” The legal profession provided a sizeable chunk of the membership of the club.

In the quarter century after Goddard’s death, the public came around to Levin’s viewpoint. Lord Goddard’s clerk, Arthur Harris, would disclose that he always had “to take a spare pair of the standard striped trousers to court on sentencing days” because “when condemning a youth to be flogged or hanged, Goddard always ejaculated.”

The judiciary also had reason to revise its views. In 1998, the Court of Appeal set aside his 1952 conviction of Derek Bentley (who was subsequently hanged in 1953) because the language of his jury instructions were “not that of a judge but of an advocate.”

In Nigeria, the legal profession claims to be descended from England. Its inheritance from its colonial progenitors appear, however, to be a peculiarly tropicalised malignancy that condemns it to a preoccupation with navel gazing. In a season in which even the most senior judges of the highest courts of the land loudly lament the desecration of the values of an independent judiciary, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) seems bent on proving that the only courts of any worth are those created for Kangaroos.

Pauline Tallen’s is a defining case study. To be sure, Ms Tallen is no ordinary citizen as such. She is a senior politician and a reasonably successful one. In 20 years between 1999 and 2019, she was a two-time minister in Nigeria’s federal cabinet. In 2007, she was elected deputy governor of Plateau State, becoming the first woman to occupy that office in any of the 19 states of Northern Nigeria.

Sometime around 15 October, 2022, Tallen was a prized guest at the reunion of the Federal Government Girls College, Bida. The event took place in Abuja. At the time, she was also the minister for Women Affairs and Social Development in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari.

On the margins of that encounter, Tallen encountered the media, to whom she described a judgment of the Federal High Court as a “Kangaroo judgment”, opining that it “should be rejected by all well-meaning Nigerians.”

At the time, Yakubu Maikyau, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was less than two months into his tenure as president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), a non-governmental cartel that exists to protect the narrow vocational interests of lawyers in the country, under the rather overblown motto of “promoting the rule of law.” For Maikyau, Tallen made an inviting burnt offering to his vocational shrine.

On 14 December, 2022, two months after she made the statement, Maikyau’s NBA sued Tallen before the Federal High Court in Abuja, claiming that her statement was “unconstitutional, careless, reckless, disparaging, a call to disobey the judgment of court, and therefore contemptuous of the Federal High Court of Nigeria.”

This took rhetorical hyperventilation to a whole new level. Tallen did not claim to be exercising any ministerial powers when she spoke on 15 October 2022. She voiced her opinion, which did not bind anyone, including indeed herself. Even if what she said was careless or reckless in the opinion of the NBA leadership, there was absolutely nothing unconstitutional about it.

But, an NBA leadership inebriated with an overwhelming sense of its own significance, would not be deterred by good sense. They asked the court to find Tallen had breached her oath of office to defend the constitution and, by virtue of that, to declare her unfit to hold public office. The NBA also asked the court to require her to purge “herself of the ignoble conduct” by publishing a retraction of her statement in a full page of the Guardian and PUNCH newspapers or, failing that, to be banned from holding public office.

This case went before Peter Kekemeke, a judge of the Federal High Court, who, on 18 December, granted the NBA all that they asked for, including a “perpetual injunction restraining” Tallen “from holding any public office in Nigeria by reason of her conduct complained of.”

Writing in 1980 for the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Raimi Edun v. Odan Community, Justice Anthony Aniagolu emphasised that “the moment a court ceases to do justice in accordance with the law and procedure laid down for it, it ceases to be a regular court to become a kangaroo court.” With this case between the NBA vs Pauline Tallen, it is amazing how a judgment could be so deliberately calibrated to damage the good name of Kangaroos.

To begin with, on its terms, the NBA charged Tallen with contempt of the Federal High Court. This is a crime. Of course, a court has the powers to protect its own authority against acts that disparage it. If the act is done within its precincts, the court can do so summarily. That was not the case here. If the disparagement occurs outside the precincts of the court, then the power to protect the authority of the court does not lie in an NGO like the NBA. All that such an NGO can do is report to the Attorney-General of the territory, who has the power to prosecute the erring person.

In this case, the NBA took it upon itself to topple the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and arrogate the powers of that office to itself. As a matter of law, the NBA lacked the standing to invoke the jurisdiction of the court or seek the remedies it did. Rather than direct the NBA to what it should do, the judge enabled their malignant misbehaviour.

But he did not stop there. He turned civil proceedings into a criminal one, and then sentenced Tallen to criminal forfeiture of the most basic of her civic rights on the basis of civil standard of proof and, all of this at the instance of a self-regarding cartel.

It is impossible to speak too lowly of this judgment, of the applicants who initiated it or of the judge who entertained it. The only surprise is that a case which was supposed to have been instituted to show how a Nigerian court is not of the kingdom of Kangaroos, actually has ended up demonstrating precisely the opposite.

As psychologists and professors of psychology, we’ve always been interested in how liars mislead others.

So while researching for our book, “Big Liars: What Psychological Science Tells Us About Lying and How You Can Avoid Being Duped,” we gave more than 200 participants who identified as habitual liars the following prompt: “When people lie, they often use strategies to conceal their deception and make themselves appear truthful to others. Describe the strategies that you use when you are lying to others.”

Here are the most common ways liars said they lie:

1. They make eye contact

The group said that they try to maintain or increase the amount of eye contact they make with the person to whom they are lying.

One person wrote, “I look them dead in the eyes.” Others described similar tactics to hold eye contact or said they avoided looking away when lying.

2. They control their facial expressions

Participants reported that they attempted to manipulate their facial expressions to present a believable countenance.

They wrote about trying not to let the look of fear or surprise appear on their face. “I just tried to keep a straight face,” one said.

3. They act calm and confident

People wrote that they tried to maintain a normal demeanor. One study participant stated that they “act as if nothing was wrong or different.”

4. They don’t fidget

People claimed that they intentionally controlled or reduced fidgeting with their hands or feet and otherwise attempted to maintain normal body movements, such as crossing their arms, to minimize urges to fidget.

5. They act emotional

When some people lied, they tried to appear more emotional than they actually felt, such as by feigning upset or crying. They seemed to think that emotionality would convince others of their truthfulness.

6. They manage their tone and pitch

People reported efforts to alter and manage the tone of their voice or their vocal pitch, for example, by trying to have a confident sounding tone of voice, using a serious tone, and trying not to let the pitch of their voice rise.

7. They control the details

People suggested that they worked to manage the amount or the nature of the details and evidence that they shared, withholding key information or sometimes adding details in an attempt to sound convincing.

Simple ways to spot a liar

We’re humans, not walking polygraph machines. But we can use techniques to identify when people are being dishonest with us more readily.

One strategy is to get the potential liar to talk. The more a person talks, the more information they
provide. Each bit of information they offer is something that can potentially be checked out or verified against the evidence.

Another way is to have them repeat themselves. If a person at work claims to have contributed to a major project, for example, wait a week and have them retell their version of events. Liars often change the details between two tellings.

If you notice the inconsistencies, you can reveal the dishonesty.

Christian L. Hart, PhD, is a professor of psychology at Texas Woman’s University. He holds a master’s degree and PhD in experimental psychology and has been a professor for almost 20 years. He is the author of “Big Liars: What Psychological Science Tells Us About Lying and How You Can Avoid Being Duped.” Follow him on Twitter @chrishartpsych.

Drew A. Curtis, PhD, is a licensed psychologist, director of the PsyD and MS counseling psychology programs at Angelo State University, and co-author of “Big Liars.” He also serves as executive officer for the Southwestern Psychological Association and president for Psychological Association of Greater West Texas.

CNBC

Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has denied accusations of corruption and theft in a recent report by the special investigation panel on CBN and other entities, led by Jim Obazee, a private investigator.

The report, which was recently submitted to President Bola Tinubu, comes after nearly six months of a probe on the activities of the CBN under Emefiele.

The document details serious acts of corruption and theft in the CBN, allegedly perpetrated by senior officials of the bank, including Emefiele who regained freedom on Saturday after spending a month in the Kuje correctional facility for procurement fraud.

The report alleged, among other things, that Emefiele approved the naira redesign policy without presidential approval and withdrew $6.23 million from the CBN vault.

Speaking on the allegations in a statement on Sunday, Emefiele refuted the claims, describing the panel’s findings as “false, misleading, and calculated to disparage” his character.

He said the presidential approval for the naira redesign existed and was provided to Obazee during his investigation.

The ex-CBN governor challenged Obazee to publish the alleged forged presidential directive and his statements denying knowledge of it.

“I have gone through the publications, and I say boldly that the contents of the said publications are false, misleading, and calculated to disparage my person, injure my character, and serve the selfish interest of the private investigator,” Emefiele said.

“I have been advised by my lawyers not to say anything in respect of the matters which have been submitted to the court for adjudication. However, I need to address some of the issues raised in the publication which are barefaced lies told by the investigator in order to achieve his satanic agenda.

“First, it was reported that, contrary to the provision of the CBN Act 2007, there was no presidential approval for the Naira redesign.

“I wish to state unequivocally that there was indeed a presidential approval, and the said approval was handed over to the same Obazee during the process of his investigation in the presence of senior CBN officials and his investigative team.

“Moreover, the former President Muhammadu Buhari has stated on a number of occasions that he authorised and approved the Naira redesign.

“I am therefore at a loss as to why Obazee would mislead Nigerians that there was no presidential approval.

“The report also claimed that 6.23 million dollars was withdrawn from the CBN vault based on a false presidential directive bearing the signature of the former president, and that of the former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.

“About two weeks ago, Obazee in the company of a certain Deputy Commissioner of Police from Force CID came to Kuje to ask me questions in respect of the said document in the presence of my lawyers.

“I stated verbally and in writing that I have no knowledge of such a directive from the former president and the former SGF. In fact, I told them that that was the first time I would be seeing the documents. On this, I challenge Obazee to publish the said documents and also the statements that I made to them.”

‘NO INVOLVEMENT IN OPENING ACCOUNTS’

Reacting to claims of illegally depositing billions of naira in 593 offshore bank accounts, the regulator’s ex-governor said he has “no knowledge” of such accounts.

“The final issue that I would like to respond to is the issue of the 593 accounts which were purportedly opened in different parts of the world. I state categorically that I was not involved in the opening of these accounts and I do not have knowledge of their openings,” he said.

“The fixed deposits in those foreign accounts are definitely outside my knowledge. However, let me state clearly that the relevant departments of the CBN have the authority to carry out such activities in line with their lawful mandate within the CBN.”

Emefiele, therefore, called for a “thorough and transparent investigation of all alleged frauds”.

He also announced his intention to commence legal action to clear his name “from the defamatory statements contained in the report and by extension the publications”.

The Cable

Chairman of Titan Trust Bank, Tunde Lemo, has insisted that the acquisition of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc followed due process and met all regulatory requirements, including that of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Lemo, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, spoke in an interview with Sunday PUNCH following the release of the report of the special investigation into the activities of the CBN and other related entities.

The final report, submitted to President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, accused the immediate past governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, of using ill-gotten wealth to acquire Union Bank and Keystone Bank through proxies.

However, Lemo insisted that the establishment of Titan Trust Bank and subsequent acquisition of Union Bank were transparent and duly verified by the relevant regulatory bodies.

“The core shareholders and the banks will respond appropriately. Due process was followed in the establishment of Titan Trust Bank and every process that led to the acquisition of Union Bank was verified by the CBN, SEC and other regulators. The core shareholders will respond to the specific allegations against them,” he said.

Lemo warned that the publication of unverified information on banks could have adverse effects on the banking industry.

“I sincerely recommend caution in the publication of unverified information about these financial institutions as they are both deposit-taking institutions. The good news is that the banks are healthy and stable,” he added.

The special investigator, Jim Obazee, said, “When we carried out the investigation, we discovered that some persons were used as proxies by Godwin Emefiele to set up Titan Trust Bank and acquire Union Bank therefrom, all from ill-gotten wealth.

“We were able to secure some documents and investigation reports that will lead to the forfeiture of the two banks to the Federal Government. We have completed our investigation on this acquisition and have also held meetings with the relevant parties except for Cornelis Vink, who is currently hospitalised in Switzerland.”

In a separate statement by its Corporate Communications Department, Titan Trust Bank said on December 18, 2021, it signed a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement with Atlas Mara Limited, Union Global Partners Limited, Emeka Emuwa, Standard Chartered Bank, Montane Partners West Africa Limited, TLG Africa Growth Impact Fund, and Sanlam Life Assurance Limited.

The bulk shareholders, according to the statement, together owned 93.41 percent of Union Bank’s issued ordinary share capital.

It said, “The SPA was the product of a long and tortuous due diligence process that involved leading financial and technical advisers. Titan Trust Bank engaged reputable firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited for the financial due diligence; Drey Law Practice for the legal due diligence and Norton Rose Fulbright, UK, as legal advisers; and Citibank London as financial/transaction advisers. The bulk shareholders engaged a prominent UK law firm, White & Case, as their legal advisers on the transaction.

“The acquisition was conducted in the most professional, open, and transparent bidding process. The acquisition was funded by a combination of debt ($300m) and an additional equity injection of about $190m, which was contributed by TTB’s two major shareholders – Magna International DMCC and Luxis International DMCC. The Certificates of Capital Importation for both the debt and the equity financing evidencing the receipt of these funds into Nigeria by legal means have been made available where requested. The $300m acquisition facility is sourced from Afreximbank and is priced on SOFR with a margin of 6.25 percent (all together, almost 12 percent pa) and a moratorium period of 30 months. TTB has paid interest on the loan for three interest periods (18 months so far).

“TTB sought and obtained all necessary regulatory approvals from its primary regulator – the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Nigerian Exchange Limited, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, among others.

“Following TTB’s acquisition of 93.41 per cent controlling interest in Union Bank on June 1, 2022, a change in control was effected with the dissolution of the former Board and the reconstitution of a new Board with new leadership. TTB proceeded to conduct a Mandatory Takeover Offer, which was legally triggered by the acquisition of 93.41 percent of Union Bank by TTB, bringing the percentage float of Union Bank shares to less than 20 percent. The purpose of the MTO was to give the minority shareholders the opportunity to offer their shares on the same terms as was offered to the bulk shareholders. The MTO was conducted after all due regulatory approvals were obtained.”

 “On allegations relating to the ownership of Titan Trust Bank, the Board and management provided the special investigators with the share ownership structure in TTB, including the holdings of Magna International DMCC and Luxis International DMCC owned by Rahul Savara and Cornelius Vink. These individuals are prominent global entrepreneurs and have thriving businesses in Nigeria and several countries around the world. The shareholding structure is also verifiable at the Corporate Affairs Commission.”

The bank urged its customers, shareholders, and stakeholders to remain calm as it would do everything legal to ensure that the current misunderstanding was clarified.

Punch