God’s open reward comes to those who pray without ceasing. This means praying at all times. It is not about praying in churches or at prayer meetings. It is about praying as Jesus commends, in spirit and truth. (John 4:24).

Those who pray without ceasing think about the Lord at all times. We live in the consciousness of God. Paul refers to this as: “walking in the spirit.” (Galatians 5:16). We try as much as possible not to lose our consciousness of God, not even for a moment.

Some people thought I was crazy when I said having sex with your wife provides the avenue for exuberant praise. But David says: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. (Psalm 34:1).

If we are enjoying something, we should praise God in our hearts. This is because: “(It is) the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17). Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, gave thanks to God before every meal. (John 6:11). It is God who: “satisfies the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:16).

We become candidates for God’s open reward when all our terms of reference come from God. If we watch a film, we watch it with God. We converse with Him about what is happening on the screen, even if fictional:

“Oh my God, why do You let this kind of thing happen?” “Oh my God, look at what You did for that man.” “Oh Lord, when will you turn this kind of thing around?” “Oh God, You are such a wonderful person.”

Thinking God

David observes that God is always thinking about us: “How precious it is, Lord, to realise that you are thinking about me constantly!” (Psalm 139:17). He says to God by revelation: “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book.” (Psalm 56:8).

If God is always thinking about us, then we must always be thinking about God. Indeed, the psalmist describes the wicked man as one who does not think of God constantly: “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” (Psalm 10:4).

God is particular about this. He is described in the Bible as: “The desire of all nations.” (Haggai 2:7). A Book of Remembrance has been opened in heaven for those who think constantly about God:

“Then those who feared and loved the Lord spoke often of Him to each other. And He had a Book of Remembrance drawn up in which He recorded the names of those who feared Him and loved to think about Him.” (Malachi 3:16).

Accordingly, Paul says: “Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8).

God is the only Person in the universe to whom all these accolades apply.

Divine Particularism

I had just finished writing a book of 100,000 words when God suddenly said: “Femi, every time you write about Me, start with a capital letter.” The Bible does not even do that consistently. But now I have to do it. I had to go through every sentence changing every he that applies to God or Jesus to He, every him to Him, every me to Me, and every my to My.

I had to search with a tooth-comb every sentence in over 300 pages to make these alterations. I do not have to tell you that it was tedious.

But God says: “Those who honour Me I will honour.” (1 Samuel 2:30). One of the ways He honours us is with open rewards. God rewards us openly when we are focused on Him in our hearts. He desires “truth in the inner parts.” (Psalm 51:6). He is the truth. (John 14:6).

Open Secrets

We must not forget that everything we do secretly is open to God. God sees everything we do in the dark in the light of day. The writer of Hebrews says:

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable.” (Hebrews 4:13).

A pastor asked an usher: “Is there any door through which I can enter the hall and join the service without being seen? The usher replied: “There is no way to enter the hall without God seeing you.”

Christ’s Ambassadors

Jesus says: “Woe to you when all men speak well of you.” (Luke 6:26).

It was well known that Jesus was indifferent to public opinion. Trying to set Him up, His adversaries said: “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.” (Mark 12:14).

Paul equally disdains public opinion. He asks: “Do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10). “We have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

At first glance, he seems to contradict himself when he tells the Romans: “Let each of us please his neighbour for his good, leading to edification.” (Romans 15:2). He also tells Timothy: “(A bishop) must have a good testimony among those who are outside.” (1 Timothy 3:7).

But there is no contradiction here. Without seeking the praise of men, and not caring what others think of us, we must care what they think of Christ. We are ambassadors for Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:20). We represent Christ so we must be godly. Christ must be shown to be excellent by the way we live.

We do not try to gain the approval of Christ by unbelievers. They may not like Him. They may be blind and resistant to His truth. Nevertheless, as His disciples, we must represent Christ truthfully. We must be careful to epitomise the truth of Christ.

Thus, Peter says: “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honourable behaviour, and they will give honour to God when he judges the world.” (1 Peter 2:12).

Open Reward

Some years ago, I was driving a van in Lagos. When I reached a roundabout, I heard a siren behind me. It came from an ambulance, so, I moved to one side to let it overtake me. When I wanted to continue on my way, a policeman of sorts blocked me and accused me of obstructing the traffic.

“Did you not see I was giving way to an ambulance?” I asked. But he was not interested. “You are under arrest,” he barked as he jumped into my van. He took me to their headquarters just off the roundabout. He then fined me N7,500 for obstructing the traffic, and N1,500 for not having a radio permit.

I asked him if he could see any radio in my car since I had none. He just smiled and said I could get my van out of there only if I paid N9,000.

For some strange reason, I did not argue further. I paid the fine and left. But when I got home, I became angry. I went down on my knees and complained to God:

“What kind of cheating is this? Your word says: “In righteousness, you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.” (Isaiah 54:14). “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” (Isaiah 54:17).

God told me to go back there the next day. “When you go, do not go in the van. Go in Karen’s Nissan Altima, and with her driver. Wear a suit and a tie.”

I did as God told me. When I arrived, a man stood on the sidewalk as I exited my car. I greeted him and he replied. Then he said:

“I know you from somewhere. Did you have a shop in Ikoyi at one time?”

“Yes, I did,” I replied.

“I used to be in Ikoyi, but I am now in Victoria Island,” he offered. “My name is Onikoyi, and I am in charge here. What can I do for you?”

I told him: “You are the person I need to see.” 

I told him my predicament: “I made way for an ambulance and one of your boys arrested me for obstructing the traffic. He brought me here and fined me N7,500. Then he fined me N1,500 for not having a radio licence. But my van did not even have a radio.”

The man invited me into his office and told me to sit down. Then he asked: “Can you identify the officer who did this if you see him?”

“Yes, I can,” I replied.

Then he called one of his workers: “Call all those working under me and tell them to line up in front of my office.”

Immediately after he said this, the offending officer walked into his office for some reason.

“This is the man,” I exclaimed.

When the man saw me, he knew instinctively why I was there.

“So you are the one?” asked Mr Onikoyi. “Your job is finished here. You are fired.”

There was no discussion about his offence. It was understood. My tormentor of yesterday was now rolling on the ground, begging for mercy.

Mr Onikoyi said: “This man is a fool. He has two wives.”

I do not know how the matter was subsequently resolved. Mr Onikoyi gave me his complimentary card. He said: “If anybody bothers you again in Victoria Island, just phone me.” Then he instructed that my money be refunded.

I thanked him profusely and left. But the glory belonged to God.

Jesus says: “Talk to your Father in the closet and He will reward you openly.”  The open reward came a week or two later.

We wanted to turn from a main street to a side one. The traffic warden directed us to go. The car in front of us did as directed. But when we followed, the officer stopped us and complained that we moved without authorisation.

He told us to park on the roadside. When we did, he entered the car, sat beside my driver, and said he would give us a traffic violation.

I was at the back and said nothing.

“You are saying nothing, oga, I will have to take you to Muri Okunola.”

I ignored him, so he told my driver to proceed to Muri Okunola.

When we arrived, he came out of the car, and I also came out.

Suddenly, we were surrounded by a large number of the officers.

“What are you doing here, Sir?” they asked in a chorus.

Then they begged me that I should not go to see Mr. Onikoyi.

They prevailed on me to leave without making a complaint and without incident.

Since then, nobody has harassed me on the road in Victoria Island, Lagos. God rewarded my secret prayer openly. CONCLUDED.

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

Everyone's life is different — yet most people still utter one of four common phrases on their deathbeds, according to Pulitzer Prize-winning author and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee.

Each of the phrases offers an important lessons for leading a fulfilling and successful life, Mukherjee said during a commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania last week. "Every person that I've met in this moment of transition wanted to make four offerings," he added.

The phrases are:

I want to tell you that I love you. 

I want to tell you that I forgive you. 

Would you tell me that you love me? 

Would you give me your forgiveness?

People who know they're dying often express some variation of one of those four themes — indicating that they waited until it was late to show their appreciation for others or right their interpersonal wrongs, said Mukherjee, author of the award-winning 2011 nonfiction book "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer."

Instead, they harbored grudges, lived with unresolved guilt or spent years being too afraid to be vulnerable, Mukherjee explained. The ensuing remorse, stress, poor mental health and even hormonal and immune imbalances can stunt your personal and professional growth, neurobehavioral scientist J. Kim Penberthy wrote in a 2022 University of Virginia blog post.

"Love and forgiveness, death and transition. Waiting [to express yourself] merely delays the inevitable," said Mukherjee, adding that young people should, "take this seriously. You're living in a world where love and forgiveness have become meaningless, outdated platitudes ... They're words people have learned to laugh at."

Coming to terms with the fact that you've wronged or hurt someone can be difficult. Try following these four steps, recommends Richard Cowden, a social-personality psychologist with the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard's Institute for Quantitative Social Science:

Take responsibility for your actions.

Allow yourself to experience negative feelings, like remorse and guilt.

Give a sincere apology and try to make amends.

Learn from the experience and move on.

"It's uncomfortable to admit you've done something wrong, and it's natural to protect one's self-esteem by dismissing what happened or making excuses for your behavior," Cowden told Harvard Medical School in 2022. "[But] it can free you from your past mistakes and help you live more fully in the here and now. You might be surprised how much better you feel if you can work through the process of forgiving yourself."

You can also show appreciation for people by speaking their love language: Take your partner's vehicle to the car wash without them asking, or surprise your mom with flowers. Go out to dinner with your friends or give someone a hug. Simply say, "I love you" or "I appreciate you."

Just make sure you actually mean words like "love" and "forgiveness" when you use them, said Mukherjee.

"I dare you to use these words," he said. "But not as empty clichés, imbue them with real meaning. Do it your way, whatever your way is."

CNBC

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have declared an indefinite strike in response to the federal government’s refusal to raise the new minimum wage above the N60,000 offered.

NLC spokesperson Ben Ukpa announced that the strike is set to begin on June 3. "The strike is due to the government’s refusal to increase the minimum wage and to reverse the electricity tariff hike," Ukpa said.

The labour unions had issued an ultimatum to the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the federal government to reverse the electricity tariff hike by May 31.

On April 3, NERC approved an increase in the electricity tariff for customers in the Band A classification—from N66 to N225 per kWh. This tariff hike sparked public outcry and demands for its reversal.

The unions also demanded that the federal government finalize the new national minimum wage process for workers by May 31. The federal government proposed minimum wages of N48,000, N54,000, and most recently, N60,000, all of which were rejected by the NLC and TUC. The unions insist on N494,000, citing the high cost of living.

In a statement released on Friday, the labour unions expressed their frustration with the government's neglect of its responsibilities despite repeated warnings.

"In light of this persistent inaction, we, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), hereby issue a notice of commencement of an indefinite nationwide strike to the Federal Government," the statement reads.

"We reiterate that since the national minimum wage negotiation exercise has not been concluded, the agreed wage has not been passed into law, the electricity tariff hike has not been reversed, and the categorization of consumers into Bands has not been stopped as demanded; Nigerian workers are compelled by these failures to embark on an indefinite nationwide industrial action beginning on Monday, the 3rd of June, 2024, to press home our demands."

"The NLC and TUC are united in this cause, and we call on all our affiliates, state Councils, Civil Society Organizations, market men and women, and the general populace to prepare for decisive action. We cannot and will not accept any further delays or excuses."

The Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, has disclosed that electricity distribution companies have disconnected over 100 manufacturing firms.

In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH at the annual general meeting of the MAN’s food, beverage and tobacco sector, on Thursday in Lagos, he revealed that 10 of the association’s members had been disconnected in Kano.

“We do not favour legal action against the Discos and NERC. We do not want to go there. One of our branches has done so, and that subsists. The Disco in Kano is still disconnecting our members despite the injunction. As an association, we do not want to engage in such (legal action) but it comes as a last resort.

“You can imagine that as of today, more than 100 of our members have been disconnected, which means that their workers have been asked to go home. It means that their production processes have been halted. It means that they are not able to fulfil their obligations to their suppliers, and they have started to lose money,” he explained.

According to the MAN DG, the crux of the matter is that manufacturers are asked to pay electricity bills that will take manufacturers out of business.

“A company told me that it was paying N7-8m before, now it is paying N32m. The calculation is that the profit you could have made, you are not able to make it. So, you need to decide to go ahead and produce and pay an electricity bill that is more than the profit you would have made or shut down.

So, we are gradually seeing a situation where more and more industries are shutting down, because if you disconnect an industry that does not have an alternative source of power, it practically goes out of business,” he declared.

Meanwhile, the immediate past Chairman of the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Sector of MAN and Managing Director of Intercontinental Distillers Limited, Patrick Anegbe, stated that the spate of insecurity in the country was hampering backward integration in the food industry.

“How do you backwards integrate when you are talking about insecurity? The insecurity in the country poses a very serious threat to backward integration,” he averred.

He added that multiple taxes had also eaten deep into the profit margins of manufacturers, noting that production costs had continued to skyrocket.

“Multiple taxation is really affecting our business. Taxes here and there. The cost of production has gone up very high to the extent that margins are so low. We are just barely surviving.

“The government should look for a way of reducing these multiple taxations and eliminating some of them,” he asserted.

He revealed that the food, beverage and tobacco sector’s production value rose by 68.2 per cent or N614.0bn in the first half of 2023 compared to N900.45bn recorded in the second half of 2022.

“The sector’s local raw material sourcing for the period under review saw a decline from 70 per cent in H2 2022 to 66.8 per cent in H2 2023, though this is an improvement from 62 per cent in H1 2022 (MAN H2 Economic Review),” he explained.

The newly elected Chairman of the sector of MAN, and Managing Director of La Casera Company, Chinedum Okereke, noted that the importance of the food sector cannot be undermined, as it guarantees the country’s food security and plays a vital role in job creation.

“We will collaborate and engage more with the government. Most time, the government may have good intentions but the lack of engagement with stakeholders is a problem. So, we will not sit back and wait for them to engage with us, but we will proactively go to them for engagement,” he stated.

The Deputy Director of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Olugbenga Aina, who was one of the speakers at the AGM, advised manufacturers not to see regulation as a burden.

He noted that the best form of regulation is self-regulation, adding that manufacturers must be innovative.

“Fostering competitiveness in the food, beverage and tobacco industry with regards to ensuring that local content production meets international best practices for increased export demand and national revenues, is key to the Renewed HOPE Agenda and revitalising the Nigerian economy.

“The significance of the food, beverage, and tobacco sector in Nigeria cannot be overstated. Food, beverage and tobacco is the greatest contributor at N3,814.50bn or 52 per cent of the Nigerian manufacturing sector total in 2013, according to National Bureau of Statistics,” he stated.

According to Aina, aligning with global standards opens up new export opportunities and enables manufacturers to tap into new markets and contribute to Nigeria’s economic diversification.

Also, the Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Rite Foods Limited, Ekuma Eze, who was one of the speakers at the event, stressed the need for food industries to invest in research and development to create innovative technologies and solutions that differentiate.

He added that they must build strong partnerships to combine strength and resources to create value-adding products.

Punch

Some members of the House of Representatives are seeking to limit the central bank's control over economic policy by proposing to set up a committee to coordinate monetary and fiscal policies, headed by the finance minister, according to a bill in the Senate.

The proposal by a member of the ruling party, APC, comes as inflation in Africa's most populous nation hit a 28-year high of 33.69% in April amidst sluggish economic growth and currency woes.

Under the proposed law, the central bank would be in charge of monetary policies as before, but a new committee headed by the finance minister would be responsible for coordinating monetary and fiscal policies.

Some economists said that adding a committee to coordinate monetary and fiscal policies could severely weaken the central bank. The proposal is so far backed by 32 members of the ruling party and the bill would need to be approved by the Senate and then President Bola Tinubu's signature to become law. The government has not given its view on the bill yet.

"You will have the federal government tampering with the autonomy of the central bank. You cannot have external parties making decisions about monetary policy, which is the exclusive preserve of the bank," Abuja-based economic analyst Kelvin Emmanuel said.

The International Monetary Fund has previously warned Nigeria about interfering with the independence of the central bank, arguing that it could hamper the country's ability to tackle inflation and restore stability.

The central bank governor would also serve a single six-year term instead of a maximum of two five-year terms currently.

Godwin Emefiele, who was governor until June last year, was the first to get a second term as central bank head, where he implemented currency restrictions which harmed the economy and Nigeria's ability to import goods, thereby stoking inflation.

Senators have also proposed to decrease the amount of temporary advances the central bank can grant the government as budget support. It was increased under Muhammadu Buhari who was Nigeria's president from 2015 until May last year.

Reuters

The Federal Government has announced the temporary suspension of the contentious $300 helicopter landing fee imposed on operators. The levy, managed by consultant Messers NAEBI Dynamic Concept Limited, sparked protests from helicopter operators.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, initially defended the fee, which was instituted by his predecessor, Hadi Sirika. However, in response to mounting pressure, Keyamo announced the suspension on Friday in a statement signed by Ministry spokesperson Odutayo Oluseyi.

The statement indicated that further action would be determined after a review committee submits its report. "Following a meeting with the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) executive regarding the helicopter landing levies at aerodromes, helipads, airstrips, etc., Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has temporarily suspended the enforcement granted to Messers NAEBI Dynamic Concept Ltd by the Federal Government," the statement read.

The suspension, effective from May 30, 2024, responds to calls for a review by industry stakeholders. Keyamo has formed a committee comprising members from the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, its relevant agencies, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), International Oil Companies (IOCs), and Messers NAEBI Dynamic Concept Ltd. This committee is tasked with addressing the concerns raised and is expected to submit its report by the end of June 2024.

Messers NAEBI Dynamic Concept Ltd was previously granted the exclusive right to collect these levies, which many stakeholders questioned. The committee's recommendations are anticipated to provide a way forward.

Cocoa’s shortage this season will be bigger than previously expected as consumption holds up despite higher prices, according to the International Cocoa Organization.

Demand will exceed production by 439,000 tons, driven by higher cocoa grinding in consuming countries, the ICCO said in its second estimate for the current October-September year. That compares with a Februaryprojection for a deficit of 374,000 tons.

“Current available data reveal that cocoa grinding activities have so far been unrelenting in importing countries despite the record cocoa price rallies,” the ICCO said.

“As the 2023-24 season progresses, it is certain the season will end in a higher deficit than previously expected.”

Futures surged to a record of more than $11,000 a ton in New York in April as poor harvests in West Africa curbed supplies, stressing buyers and making chocolate more expensive. Still, prices have eased back below $10,000, and some analysts have said the rally has peaked.

The ICCO raised its estimate for global grindings to 4.86 million tons, from its initial outlook of 4.78 million tons. It raised its production projection by 12,000 tons to 4.46 million tons.

Bloomberg

Israel confirms its forces are in central Rafah in expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city

The Israeli military confirmed Friday that its forces are operating in central parts of Rafah in its expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city.

Israel launched its ground assault into the city on May 6, triggering an exodus of around 1 million Palestinians out of the city and throwing U.N. humanitarian operations based in the area into turmoil. Still, it has yet to amount to a “major operation” in the eyes of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, according to the State Department.

Biden said Friday that Hamas is “no longer capable” of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel and urged the Israelis and Hamas to come to a deal to release remaining hostages for an extended cease-fire. He said Israeli officials have offered a three-phase deal to Hamas, adding, “Israel has made their proposal. Hamas says it wants a cease-fire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it.”

Cease-fire talks ground to a halt at the beginning of the month after a major push by the U.S. and other mediators to secure a deal, in hopes of averting a full Israeli invasion of Rafah.

Friday’s statement by the Israeli military suggested its forces have been operating in most parts of the city. For its first weeks, the Israeli assault focused on Rafah’s eastern districts and in areas close to the border with Egypt. Israeli troops seized the Rafah crossing into Egypt on the first day of the offensive and have since claimed control over the Philadelphi Corridor, a road running the length of the Gaza-Egypt border on the Gazan side.

Earlier this week, Israeli troops also moved into Rafah’s western district of Tel al-Sultan, where heavy clashes with Hamas fighters have been reported by witnesses.

In its statement Friday, the military said its troops in central Rafah had uncovered Hamas rocket launchers and tunnels and dismantled a weapons storage facility of the group. It did not specify where in central Rafah the operations were taking place, but previous statements and witness reports have pointed to raids in the Shaboura refugee camp and other sites near the city center.

The White House declined to comment Friday on the Israeli operations in central Rafah.

Israel has said an offensive in Rafah is vital to uprooting Hamas fighters in its military’s campaign to destroy the group after its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. The military has said it found dozens of tunnels in eastern Rafah, including at least 20 along the Philadelphi Corridor.

Up to around 300,000 people are believed to remain in the Rafah area, with an unknown number still in the city itself. Most have flocked to rural areas on the Mediterranean coastline west of the city, said Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, a humanitarian group that operates in the area. That area has seen deadly Israeli strikes the past week.

Palestinians who fled the city have scattered around southern and central Gaza, most of them living in squalid tent camps.

More than 36,170 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s campaign of bombardment and offensives over the past eight months, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas to ensure it cannot repeat its Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting around 250 others. Around 100 hostages are believed to remain in captivity in Gaza along with the bodies of some 30 others.

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

NATO moving closer to war with Russia – Orban

The European Union and NATO member states are getting “closer to war”with Russia every week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday in an interview with local station Kossuth Radio.

He pointed to recent media reports stating that Paris intends to send French soldiers to train Ukrainian troops, as well as reports that the US has given Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russia using certain weapons.

“It is absurd that instead of protecting us, NATO is dragging us into a world war. It’s like a firefighter going to put out a fire with a flamethrower,” Orban said, stressing that members of the military bloc are inching closer to full-blown war all the time.

He cited “discussion, preparation and destruction” as three key stages preceding such a conflict, saying that members of the bloc are “now completing the discussion and are at the preparation stage.”

He cited “discussion, preparation and destruction” as three key stages preceding such a conflict, saying that members of the bloc are “now completing the discussion and are at the preparation stage.”

Meanwhile, a US official told several media outlets on Thursday that Washington had given Ukraine the green light to strike targets deep within Russian territory using a certain number of weapons in order to protect Kharkov Region. Ukraine’s military is not officially allowed to attack targets far behind the front line with weapons supplied by Western supporters. However, high-ranking officials have been sending mixed messages about a change in policy in recent weeks.

Moscow has warned that any Western moves to allow Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory could trigger further escalation.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this week that “several”members of the US-led military bloc, including the UK, have “never imposed any” restrictions on Kiev.

Orban recently announced plans to reassess Hungary’s role within the NATO bloc, citing reluctance to take part in a conflict against Russia. Budapest has opposed NATO funding and arming of Ukraine from the beginning of the military conflict in February 2022. 

The Hungarian government has opted not to supply Kiev with any weapons, and has not allowed its territory to be used for their delivery either, despite mounting pressure from Brussels and Washington. The prime minister has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

** First French troops en route to Ukraine — MP

The first group of French military instructors are coming to Ukraine, high-profile Ukrainian politician Aleksey Goncharenko said on Friday.

His statement comes just days after Ukraine’s top commander Aleksandr Syrsky announced that had authorized the presence of the French personnel in the country.

“My sources informed me that the first group of French instructors is already on its way to Ukraine,” Goncharenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and a delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday evening.

NATO boots on the ground is a contentious issue inside the US-led alliance, whose members maintain that they are not parties to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow, meanwhile, has said that it views Ukraine’s Western backers as direct participants, stressing that Western-supplied weapons are being used to strike targets on Russian soil.

In February, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he could not rule out the possibility of NATO member states sending troops to Ukraine in the future, although French officials soon clarified that he meant non-combat personnel. Macron later argued that NATO should adopt a policy of “strategic ambiguity” towards Russia. The French leader has been working behind the scenes to forge a coalition of countries willing to dispatch trainers to Kiev, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

Syrsky, who was made Ukraine’s top general in February, said on Monday that he had signed the papers allowing instructors from France to visit Kiev’s training facilities and “familiarize themselves with their infrastructure and personnel,” and had notified French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.

Moscow has warned that any additional military aid to Kiev amounts to serious escalation. Western military personnel are already active in Ukraine and “have been there for a long time,” President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday. “They are [foreign] specialists under the guise of mercenaries,” he told the press. He said that the deployment of Western forces to Ukraine would be “another step towards a serious conflict in Europe and a global conflict.”

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Thousands of Ukrainian prisoners apply to join army in return for parole

Ukraine recruiting prisoners to help replenish army ranks

Minister says up to 20,000 prisoners could be mobilised

Inmates taking part will have remaining sentences cleared

Certain categories of prisoner are barred from joining up

Scheme echoes similar recruitment of prisoners in Russia

In its quest to fill the dwindling ranks of its infantry, Ukraine has turned to recruiting prisoners to join the fight against Russia, and more than four thousand have applied so far.

Under a deal offered to inmates by the government, prisoners will have their remaining sentences cleared - regardless of length - if they agree to serve in the army without leave until the end of the war.

At that point they would be granted parole.

"My mother was in hysterics ... I've been here for five years – a year left and I'm going off to war," one of those who signed up, Mykola Rybalka, told Reuters in the yard of his prison in Kyiv region.

Rybalka, who said he was in for theft, is one of 129 prisoners in a colony of 700 who have applied to join the military, according to the justice ministry.

"You know, five years behind these walls leave their mark. You've seen a lot and understood a lot. You're not scared of anything anymore," he said.

Ukraine, whose population of about 38 million compares with Russia's 144 million, has struggled to recruit enough soldiers, particularly to fight in frontline positions where they bear the brunt of enemy attacks and suffer heavy losses.

Its troops are outnumbered and exhausted, and a new law has recently been signed aimed at mobilising several hundred thousand more soldiers - although it will likely take months for significant numbers of new troops to be ready.

"There is competition between military commanders to hire (prisoners) since there is a lack of manpower, so they really want to have access to these people," Justice Minister Denys Maliuska told reporters visiting the prison on Thursday.

Recruiters from Ukraine's 3rd and 5th Assault Brigades who were present at the press event both rated the motivation of the prisoners as generally high.

The 5th Brigade's representative, who introduced himself as Vladyslav, told Reuters his brigade had recruited around 90 people from the prison, and were recruiting in others.

He said those who joined his brigade would be put into separate, prisoner-only units, and that commanders would keep a close eye on them.

There was, however, little scope for them to desert considering the amount of fire Russia could aim at a disorderly withdrawal, Vladyslav added.

The 3rd Brigade's representative, Oleh Petrenko, said his brigade would not treat convicts differently to other men.

"We don't see any difference between normal mobilised (men) and prisoners."

THOUSANDS APPLY

Early on in the full-scale war, private Russian mercenary group Wagner recruited tens of thousands of Russian prisoners to fight in Ukraine, offering them a full pardon if they survived six months at the front.

Russia's Defence Ministry has since continued recruiting convicts from prisons for its own Storm-Z formations.

In Ukraine, prisoners convicted of certain offences are barred from serving. These offences include the murder of two or more people, manslaughter through drink-driving, sexual crimes, treason and corruption.

The justice ministry said 4,564 prisoners had applied to join the army so far. They need to pass medical checks and have their application approved by a court – more than 1,700 already have the green light.

The minister has previously said he expects between 10,000 and 20,000 inmates to sign up in total.

Maliuska said he hoped most applicants would be serving in about two months. Reuters was invited into a local courthouse, and saw how a judge approved the application of a man serving a sentence for armed robbery.

He appeared via video link from prison, and the process took about 10 minutes.

The judge, Dmytro Tkachenko, said the prison made sure it only sent applicants who met the law's criteria, and that he and two other judges had been hearing between 10 and 20 such cases a day over the past week.

Of about 100, two had been rejected, both due to the applicants changing their mind.

Under the new law, 782 prisoners have already been freed from prison and handed over to the armed forces.

"They (will be) in the media spotlight, and if there is a single deserter or a single crime, that would be the type of thing in the media that would be bad PR for us," Maliuska said.

Twenty-three-year-old Vitaliy Yatsenko, who is halfway through a seven-year sentence for selling drugs, said he had hoped to sign up at the beginning of Russia's invasion but had not been allowed at that point.

He has now submitted his application to join the army.

"First of all, I want to help my country. And I want society to understand that people have the ability to rehabilitate."

** Ukraine and Russia announce major prisoner swap

Ukraine and Russia announced their first exchange of prisoners of war in nearly four months on Friday, with 150 people freed after negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said 75 Ukrainian prisoners had been returned from Russia. They included four civilians while the rest were members of the military.

Russia's Defence Ministry said Ukraine handed over 75 people in a deal brokered by the UAE, RIA news agency reported.

"After a long pause, another prisoner swap took place: 75 defenders and civilians were released from the enemy's captivity," Ukraine's Coordinating Committee on Dealing with Prisoners of War said.

Pictures released with a statement from the committee showed servicemen draped in blue and yellow national flags.

Ukrainian officials said they brought back 19 defenders of Snake Island, a tiny rocky outcrop in the Black Sea that became a symbol of Ukrainian defiance in the first days of the war when Ukrainian guards refused to surrender to Russian forces.

The committee also said that as a part of the swap, the bodies of 212 Ukrainian defenders were handed over by Russia.

RT/Reuters

To distract Nigerians from the first-year poor performance in governance, the President and his cronies in the National Assembly decided to divert attention from ongoing criticisms by passing and signing the Bill on reverting to the old National Anthem. Yes, another gimmick as Nigerians complain bitterly about deepening poverty, growing hunger, rising insecurity and the general nonchalance of the governing class. The old anthem would allegedly promote peace, unity, and prosperity more effectively than the one in use. Lawmakers claimed that the current anthem, introduced during military rule, does not fully reflect Nigeria’s democratic values and commitment to nationhood.

The said anthem, which speaks of a native land populated by differing tribes and tongues, is the answer to the current Nigerian crisis, they want us to believe. As my good friend, Modibbo Kawu, argued, this anthem is an: “Unacceptable, racist characterisation of colonised people that emerged from 19th-century colonial anthropology. What would be the relevance of having fought for independence if our lawmakers would be hankering for an empty and meaningless return to a past anthem that’s steeped in a very colonial anthropological source? Don’t they know? Can’t they see? Are they not thinking?”

The sole purpose is to distract people from the non-performance of the Tinubu administration. What is even more upsetting is that Nigeria is a very young nation in which 75 per cent of the population was not born when the old anthem was in use. How can we be so crass and inconsiderate as to impose colonial phraseology on them without even introducing them to the words and finding out whether it is as pleasing to them, as it is to those of us who were born during the colonial era? We await their response.

President Bola Tinubu avoided an assessment of his achievements after one year in office because he has none. The fact of the matter is that he does not even have a programme of action or work plan for his government. That is why we were subjected to long boring presentations by his ministers, claiming great achievements because they organised a series of meetings about grandiose ideas that will regenerate the economy and lead to trillions of naira worth of productions, without any information on what, how and when such projects would be implemented. The claims appear to have been directed at pleasing Hadiza Bala Usman, Tinubu’s stern monitor on performance, who would issue a report card that will determine which minister will face the sack or stay on the job. 

For me, the marker of the first year of the Tinubu presidency is the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, who admitted to a 20 December 2023 memo which shows that she requested the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer public funds – N585.2 million – into the private account of an official in her ministry. The transfer contravened various sections of Nigeria’s Financial Regulations 2009, which are meant to prevent fraud and other forms of corruption. It turned out that in her first few months in office, she had simply transferred billions of naira from the Ministry’s accounts into her own private accounts and those of her cronies. That’s not the story.

The story was that when all hell broke loose over the extent of her crimes, she was simply suspended from office and nothing more was said about the case thereafter. In other words, the decision taken was not to make an example of her excessive corruption but to allow the matter to quietly fade from the news, in the hope that Nigerians would forget about it all. As we say it in Nigerian English, the body language of the administration is that the corrupt would not suffer. They will thrive.

This message is even clearer from the infamous construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which began amid a myriad of fiscal and due process irregularities. The 700-kilometre stretch of road infrastructure, which will take eight years to complete, will gulp a staggering N15 trillion. This figure is actually mythical because the project started without the contract being written, not to talk of being signed. It was given to the President’s buddy without a bidding process and the mystery about the whole affair is still unfolding and we shall learn more.

Meanwhile, the pilot phase of the construction started at the Eko Atlantic City and it will terminate at Lekki Deep Seaport, for which N1.06 trillion has already been released. It is a highway of 10 lanes, which will cost N4 billion per kilometre, and would be the first of its kind in Africa, said the Minister of Works, David Umahi.

His zealousness in its implementation brooks no dissent, and sometimes it gets spiteful. The first set of victims, such as the Landmark hotel, whose properties were demolished to pave the way for the construction, have been weeping and gnashing their teeth.

The project did not go through a competitive bidding process, which is imperative for such a huge venture, in line with the 2007 Public Procurement Act, as enunciated in Section 16 (1) (1) and (d), to create transparency, accountability and value for money.

The minister admitted that the award sidestepped the public tender competitive bidding process. This raises the question: Is the government bidding farewell to the transparency and accountability of public tenders and the competitive bidding process? In addition, why was the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) phase of the project not done before work began? We now know for sure that it was a “project disaster” because after construction started, the government then learnt that it was impossible to go ahead as planned because it would destroy the communication cables in the sea by the shore line. It’s a very disturbing message about the future of programme implementation under the Tinubu administration. 

The other element about this government is the recurrent use of lies as a governance management policy. So many things have been said that turned out false and too many achievements claims, in terms of massive amounts of foreign investments coming in from different countries, only for the said countries to subsequently deny these. Let me be clear, governance is serious business and cannot be conducted on the basis of gimmicks and lies. Reality is persistent and will continue to show itself, so the earlier this government sits up and does its work the better for it.

** Jibrin Ibrahim, a professor of political science, is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.