US pushes alternatives to Rafah invasion in Hamas war talks with Israel

Top American and Israeli officials held virtual talks Monday as the U.S. pushed alternatives to the ground assault against Hamasunder consideration by Israelis in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a move the U.S. opposes on humanitarian grounds and that has frayed relations between the two allies.

President Joe Biden and his administration have publicly and privately urged Israel for months to refrain from a large-scale incursion into Rafah without a credible plan to relocate and safeguard noncombatants. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israeli forces, which are trying to eradicate Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, must be able to enter the city to root out the group’s remaining battalions.

The more than two-and-a-half-hour meeting by secure video conference was described by both sides as constructive and productive, as Washington encourages the Israelis to avoid an all-out assault on the city, where an estimated four battalions of Hamas fighters are dispersed among more than 1.3 million civilians. The White House has instead pushed Israel to take more targeted actions to kill or capture Hamas leaders while limiting civilian impacts.

The potential operation in the city has exposed one of the deepest rifts between Israel and its closest ally, funder and arms supplier. The U.S. has already openly said Israel must do more to allow food and other goods through its blockade of Gaza to avert famine.

“They agreed that they share the objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah,” the U.S. and Israeli teams known as the Strategic Consultative Group said in a joint statement released by the White House. “The U.S. side expressed its concerns with various courses of action in Rafah. The Israeli side agreed to take these concerns into account and to have follow up discussions between experts overseen by the SCG. The follow-up discussions would include in person SCG meeting as early as next week.”

The virtual meeting came a week after planned in-person talks were nixed by Netanyahu when the U.S. didn’t veto a U.N. resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken chaired the meeting for the U.S. side. The Israeli side was led by Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Minister for Strategic Affairs and Netanyahu confidant Ron Dermer.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is weighing selling Israel up to 50 new F-15 fighter jets, according to two congressional aides. The sale was informally notified to the relevant foreign affairs committees in the House and Senate on Jan. 30, according to the aides, who were granted anonymity to discuss details of a potential sale that have not yet been made public.

The initial notification indicates the administration is likely moving forward with the sale, although it is unclear if it has gotten the final nod of approval from Congress’ national security leadership.

Separately Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to encourage reforms in the group that oversees part of the West Bank and which the U.S. is hopeful can play a role in governing post-war Gaza.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russia has fired five Zircon missiles at Kyiv this year

Russia has used five of its new hypersonic Zircon missiles to attack Kyiv since the start of the year, the city's military administration said on Monday.

The attacks are among more than 180 Russian missile and drone attacks launched against the Ukrainian capital in the first three months of the year, the administration said in a post on Telegram.

The sea-based Zircon missiles have a range of 1,000 km (625 miles) and travel at nine times the speed of sound, Russia says. Military analysts have said the missiles' hypersonic speed could mean greatly reduced reaction time for air defences and a capability to attack large, deep and hardened targets.

President Vladimir Putin confirmed in his annual state-of-the-nation address on Feb. 29 that Russia had used Zircon missiles in battle, without saying what sites had been targeted. He has described the Zircon as part of a new generation of unrivalled arms systems.

The Kyiv administration said the city had also been struck since the start of 2024 by six other types of missiles, including the Kh-101, an air-launched cruise missile of which 113 had so far been fired.

Russia also fired 11 Kinzhal missiles, another hypersonic weapon which travels at several times the speed of sound, at the Ukrainian capital this year, it said.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Russia regularly announces missile strikes on Ukraine against what it says are military and energy targets, though some missiles have also hit civilian buildings.

Over the past two weeks, Russia has escalated its long-range bombardment of power and gas infrastructure across Ukraine, causing significant damage and blackouts in several large cities.

It has also sought to hit political, military and manufacturing targets in Kyiv throughout the two years of its full-scale war against Ukraine.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian troops destroy another American Abrams tank in Avdeyevka area over past day

Russian troops destroyed another US-made Abrams tank of the Ukrainian army in the Avdeyevka area, taking better positions and repulsing two enemy counterattacks over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

"The enemy lost as many as 295 personnel, a US-made Abrams tank, 5 armored combat vehicles and 5 motor vehicles. In counter-battery fire, the following targets were destroyed: a Grad multiple rocket launcher, an Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, a Gvozdika motorized artillery system, 2 D-30 howitzers and a US-manufactured M119 artillery gun," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center units took more advantageous positions and inflicted casualties on the Ukrainian army’s 47th mechanized, 59th motorized infantry, 68th jaeger and 25th air assault brigades near the settlements of Pervomaiskoye, Berdychi, Tonenkoye and Vodyanoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces repulsed two counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 24th mechanized brigade near the settlements of Leninskoye and Shumy in the Donetsk People’s Republic, it said.

Russian forces destroy 30 Ukrainian troops in Kupyansk area over past day

Russian forces struck Ukrainian army units in the Kupyansk area, destroying roughly 30 enemy troops and 7 pieces of military hardware over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the Kupyansk direction, Western Battlegroup units operating in interaction with operational-tactical aircraft inflicted damage on amassed manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 60th mechanized brigade and 4th tank brigade near the settlements of Yampolovka and Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The enemy’s losses amounted to 30 personnel, 2 infantry fighting vehicles, 4 motor vehicles and a Polish-manufactured Krab-self-propelled artillery gun," the ministry said.

Reuters/Tass

“Some judges have achieved a considerable degree of expertise….in displaying an immunity from contemporary knowledge and concerns.” – David Pannick, KC, Judges, p. 32 (1987)

Emmanuel Araka was 60 years old when Allison Madueke, then over 20 years his junior, a navy captain and military governor of Anambra State, terminated his judicial career in March 1985. At the time, Araka had been the chief judge of Anambra State for six years and a judge for double that. At the time also, the retirement age of judges in Nigeria was 65.

Araka’s crime was that he took the job of the judge too seriously and believed that he should be manifestly independent of political and executive influence.

Araka was born in 1925 to a father from Onitsha, who worked as head-teacher in a primary school in Agbor in present day Delta State, where he was born. His secondary education took him through Hope Waddel Institute in Calabar, now in Cross River State, where one of his teachers was Eni Njoku (the famous “Teacher Nwanjoku”), who was to become the first vice-chancellor of University of Lagos.

Following successful studies at the Trinity College, Dublin, Araka was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1951. Over the next two decades, he built a formidable career in private practice and in politics. 12 years after becoming a lawyer, in 1963, he became Queens Counsel, the equivalent of today’s Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Two years before that, in 1961, Chike Obi, who represented Onitsha Federal Constituency in the then House of Representatives, had to quit parliament after being convicted of the political crime of sedition. In his place, Onitsha people elected Araka to represent them in the Federal House.

The onset of military rule in 1966 interfered with Araka’s career in politics but did not entirely derail his availability for public service. At the end of the civil war, he returned to legal practice but not for long.

In 1972, the Administrator of the East Central State, Ukpabi Asika, appointed Araka a judge of the High Court. When in 1976 the East Central State was split into Imo and Anambra states, Araka naturally became a judge in his home state, Anambra. Two years later, in 1978, Anthony Aniagolu, the first chief judge of Anambra State was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court and Araka succeeded him in office, becoming the second Chief Judge of the state.

Around the time of Araka’s appointment as a judge in East Central State, something happened in Lagos State, which made an impression on many judges and judicial wannabes. The then military governor of Lagos State, Mobolaji Johnson, had extended an invitation to the Chief Justice of the state (as they were then known), John Idowu Conrad (JIC) Taylor, to attend a state dinner. It was reported that Chief Justice Taylor, “after reading it, endorsed a brief note to the governor at the back of the invitation card, informing him that he would be unable to attend, because the Lagos State government had several cases pending before him and it would therefore, in the circumstances, be most inappropriate for him to honour the invitation.”

In doing so, JIC Taylor didn’t just underscore the institutional value of judicial independence, he also underlined its reliance in large measure on the moral fibre of the individual judge.

This was the state of affairs when Araka arrived the Bench. 14 years later, Allison Madueke, a member of the First Regular Course at the Nigerian Defence Academy, arrived as military governor in 1984, with no hint of having received the memo. On settling in, the military governor summoned the Chief Judge to a meeting in the government house in Enugu. Araka demurred. Madueke later complained in his memoirs that he “had not reckoned that I was dealing with a law administrator that had a mind of his own.”

That was Araka’s crime. The invitation was renewed unsuccessfully twice, whereupon Captain Madueke “applied for his retirement.” Madueke narrates that he later met the then second-in-command to General Muhammadu Buhari, General Tunde Idiagbon, while the latter was on an official visit to Owerri and secured Idiagbon’s authorisation to terminate Araka’s judicial career for being independent. In March 1985, Madueke fired Araka.

Madueke, who has just turned 80, whoops that this was “something of an earthquake in Anambra State.” It was more than that in the judiciary, where it established a norm that independence was costly. Judges re-calibrated.

Today, cavorting with the executive has become a judicial pastime. In his controversial memoirs, The Accidental Public Servant, former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasir El-Rufai recalls that one of his first moves in that role was to visit the then Chief Judge of the Territory to secure the support of the judiciary. He exulted that thereafter, “the FCT judiciary supported us strongly throughout my tenure.”

In November 2023, the current Chief Judge of the FCT, Husseini Baba Yusuf, went one step further, corralling the FCT judiciary to visit the current Minister of the Territory, Nyesom Wike, to pledge judicial allegiance to his rule. There, the Chief Judge promenaded somewhat naked before the Minister, pleading that “[a]s a judiciary, we are part of the government and we should be able to do things that will make government work.”

Three months later, the list of new nominees to the bench of the FCT High Court included an in-law of the Minister, Lesley Nkesi Wike, who only became a senior magistrate in Rivers State in 2023, appointed by the Minister when he was Governor of Rivers State.

One year earlier, in November 2022, Olukayode Ariwoola, the chief justice of Nigeria, had kicked up a firestorm when he traveled to Port Harcourt and at a reception hosted by the same Nyesom Wike, who was then the governor of River State, stepped into the political minefield to offer judicial support to Wike and four other governors, who were at odds with their political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Chief Justice, a devout Muslim, was not under the influence of anything that he should not have consumed but, despite the febrile political season, many were willing to give him benefit of the doubt.

This past week, Chief Justice Ariwoola bettered himself. Under the guise of the traditions of the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan, he led the Nigerian judiciary supposedly to break the fast with the president. The team accompanying the Chief Justice included two of his immediate predecessors, each of whom left office under a cloud. Walter Onnoghen, one of the two, is a Christian.

No one had ostensibly warned the Chief Justice about the perils of turning into a prayer warrior for politicians. At the visit, the Chief Justice took the microphone and under the guise of prayers offered to the president intoned: “May the Lord continue to bless you and your administration. Let your ship land and berth beautifully. We shall continue to pray for your administration because there are many good things in the pipeline for Nigerians.”

It is possible that Olukayode Ariwoola has always had a secret career as a clairvoyant which would equip him to know what will happen in future? What is clear is that after these lines, few people can approach the court that he presides over with any expectation of even-handedness in any case in which the administration is party.

Lawyers and judges speak glibly about judicial independence, often treating it as something material, guaranteed by constitutional provisions and by large swathes of money. It is, of course, important that judges are provided for so that they have no excuses to fall prey to bribery or material importuning. Official emoluments are usually not enough competition, however, for the kinds of blandishments that can be deployed in pursuit of the favours of a senior judge.

For that reason, the job requires a lot of skill, patience, and balance. But more than any other thing, it requires persons willing to defend independence. Of all the many virtues that he surely must possess, being an Araka is not a charge that can be levied against the current occupant of the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria.

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

Young individuals often struggle to recognise opportunities that may lead them to success and also make the world a better place.

However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk — the world's third richest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — has revealed five key steps for the young generation to achieve success in their lives.

In a resurfaced episode of the "Lex Fridman Podcast", Musk shared advice for high schoolers and college students aiming to make a positive impact on the world.

Here are the five tips the billionaire thinks would help young people become successful.

Be useful

Musk's first tip for young people is to "try to be useful."

The tech billionaire told Fridman: "Do things that are useful to your fellow human beings, to the world. It's hard to be useful — very hard."

According to the owner of SpaceX, if someone is living a useful life, it's a "life worth having lived".

Give back to society

Musk believes that one should contribute more to the society than they consume from it.

"Try to have a positive net contribution to society," he told Fridman. "That's something to aim for."

Musk has "a lot of respect for someone who puts in an honest day's work."

Don't try to be a leader

One of the most important things, he told Fridman, was that young people should not to try to be leaders for the sake of it.

"A lot of the time, the people you want as leaders are the people who don't want to be leaders," he told Fridman.

Read and ingest information

Musk also said that he used to read the encyclopedia as a kid, and while he didn't advise young people to do the same, he emphasised the importance of reading and getting information.

"I would encourage people to read a lot of books," he said. "Try to ingest as much information as you can, and try to also develop a good general knowledge so you at least have a rough lay of the land of the knowledge landscape."

Talk to people

His final piece of advice was for young people to talk to others.

"Talk to people from different walks of life and different industries and professions and skills," he said, adding "learn as much as possible."

Geo News

About 107 companies including Dangote and Mikano International are currently enjoying tax exemption from the Federal Government despite its insistence on discontinuing the programme and drastic steps to improve its revenue base.

It also increased the number of beneficiaries enjoying Pioneer Status under the Industrial Development Income Tax Act by 24 from 83 in the first quarter of 2023 to 107 firms by the fourth quarter of 2023.

This was disclosed in the latest Pioneer Status Incentive reports released by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and obtained by our correspondent on Sunday.

An analysis of the PSI report showed that while the requests of 79 firms were newly received, 211 firms are pending; 56 companies had their applications approved in principle, while 19 firms were granted incentive extensions for another three years to 2026.

“Approvals-in-principle are subject to the payment of application fees and only take effect after the payment of such fees,” the report stated.

The pioneer status is an incentive offered by the Federal Government, which exempts companies from paying income tax for a certain period. This tax exemption can be full or partial.

Offered under the Industrial Development Income Tax Act with tax reliefs for a three-year period, the incentive is generally regarded as an industrial measure aimed at stimulating investments in the economy.

The products or companies eligible for this pioneer status are those that do not already exist in the country.

Although the report didn’t contain the amount granted to the companies, Data from the Federal Inland Revenue Service annual reports indicated that about 71 companies enjoyed N390.26bn pioneer status incentives between 2021 and 2022.

The reports also revealed that investments made by the 107 companies during the year amounted to N2.49tn. They operate in sectors that include manufacturing, solid material, pharmaceuticals, information and communication, trade, construction, waste management, electricity and gas supply, tourism, and infrastructure, among others.

The companies that have benefitted include Dangote Fertilizers, Mikano International Limited, Sinotrucks West Africa Limited, West African Cubes Limited, Jigawa Rice Limited, JMG Nigeria Limited, Rain Oil Limited, Okpella Cement Plc, Greenville Liquified Natural Gas Company Limited.

More included GZ Transport and Logistics Nigeria Limited, African Foundries Limited, Royal Pacific Group Limited, Kunoch Hotels Limited, Princess Medi Clinics Nigeria Limited, Medlog Logistics Limited, and Masters Liquefied Gas Company Limited.

Others included Aarti Rolling Mills Limited, Von Automobile Nigeria Limited, Ikorodu Steel Mills Limited, Confluence Metals Fabrication Company Limited, Cormart Nigeria Limited, Tiamin Rice Limited, Outsource Global Technologies Limited, Crown Flour Mills Limited, Elvis Hotels Nigeria Limited, Olam Hatcheries Limited, among others.

It also noted that the government declined the applications submitted by five investing firms including Checkers Africa Limited, Sygen Pharmaceutical Limited during the review period.

Tax incentives have been a contentious issue due to the high amount of revenue lost to waivers granted every year. The Federal Government recently disclosed plans to review and reduce tax waivers given to companies operating in Nigeria.

It said companies operating in Nigeria received tax incentives worth N6tn annually.

But officials of the commission had maintained that the incentives were meant to boost foreign investments into the country.

Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, recently said the committee would carry out a comprehensive tax waiver review in line with the plan the previous administration had set.

At a press briefing last year, the Head of Incentives Administration, Lovina Kayode, indicated that not all companies were granted tax breaks due to stringent procedures followed by the commission on waivers award.

She said, “The pioneer status incentive is a stimulus that allows a company to get three years of not paying corporate income tax, just to get more investments.

 “This process is stringent because our parent ministry and the federal inland revenue service are involved to make sure the right investors get this incentive.

“So far this year, we granted 34 applications have been approved and one of the things we intend to do is to ensure we are not just giving incentives to underserving companies. However, there is already a notion that Nigeria gives out too many waivers, incentives, and concessions.

“However, tax expenditure which means what government has lost by granting pioneers status incentive is just a small amount compared to what the country gains by granting these incentives to qualified companies.”

She further revealed plans by the commission to publish impact reports on the effectiveness of the pioneer status report on job creation and other economic activities to promote investments.

“On impact, that is one thing NIPC is planning on, next year, it is one of our biggest tasks to do an impact assessment. These incentives we gave out, how have they impacted the country in terms of job creation?

“How many jobs are the companies creating and what kind of import substitution has come about because we have granted these incentives and how much would the government gain after the three years of them not paying these taxes,” she added.

Speaking in an earlier interview, economic experts stressed the role of tax waivers in driving economic growth but questioned the transparency and objective rate of the Federal Government in granting tax waivers.

Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, also noted that there was nothing wrong with waivers if they were in line with tax policies.

He noted that tax incentives were necessary to encourage investment and the establishment of some pioneer businesses.

He said, “The whole idea of incentives is to grow the economy. When you are growing the economy, you are not only looking at revenue, you are looking at employment and multiplier effects. In the medium to long term, you will get this revenue by the time you are able to grow these investments. It is inappropriate to see it as revenue loss unless the incentive policy itself is discriminatory.”

He stressed that the process should be transparent and seen as an effort by the government to grow the economy.

Punch

Investors demand for treasury bills has reached a record high as the total subscriptions have risen to N2.62 trillion, with particular interest observed in the longer-dated bills, accounting for N2.48 trillion.

According to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s website, instruments worth N161.33 billion, comprising N17.61 billion of the 91-day, N1.56 billion of the 182-day, and N142.16 billion of the 364-day bills were offered by the apex bank during the primary auction at the Nigerian Treasury bills secondary market.

The bullish sentiments persisted in the Nigerian Treasury bills secondary market, as the average yield across all instruments contracted by 6 basis points (bps) to 17.9 per cent with analysts at Cordros Research attributing the performance to higher demand as investors looked to cover for lost bids at the NTB PMA on Wednesday (27 March, 2024).

Across the market segments, the average yield dipped by 4bps and 6bps to 17.7 per cent and 18.5 per cent in the NTB and OMO secondary markets, respectively.

Ultimately, the CBN over-allotted bills worth N1.19 trillion, including N29.83 billion of the 91-day, N25.56 billion of the 182-day, and N1.13 trillion of the 364-day bills, at respective stop rates of 16.24 per cent, 17.00 per cent, and 21.12 per cent, all unchanged from previous levels.

Reacting to this development, money market operators noted that the successful auction and the heightened interest in the NTBs signify a keen investor appetite for higher interest rates, providing a solid anchor for the fiscal stability of Nigeria.

They noted that the CBN’s decision to tighten monetary policy by increasing interest rates and auctioning larger volumes of treasury bills is a strategic move to address several macroeconomic concerns.

“Higher interest rates are typically employed to control inflation; they make borrowing more expensive, thereby tempering spending and investment, which, in theory, should reduce the upward pressure on prices.

Additionally, these higher rates tend to attract foreign investors seeking better yields, leading to an inflow of foreign currency, which can help stabilise and potentially strengthen the Naira. Following our expectation of a possible lower liquidity in the system next week, we envisage moderation in demand for instruments in the T-bills secondary market and, thus, increased yields”, they said.

Meanwhile, the naira further appreciated by 9.3 per cent to N1,309.39/$1 at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), with total turnover (as of 27 March 2024) declining by 47.8 per cent week-to-date (WTD) to $984.84 million, as trades were consummated within the N1,200.00 – N1,486.00/$ band. Notably, the CBN sold another round of $10,000.00 to each of the eligible BDCs at N1,251.00/$1, with an allowable spread capped at 1.5 per cent.

However, Nigeria’s FX reserves weakened further, as the gross reserves level fell by $311.91 million to $33.95 billion.

In the Forwards market, the naira rates recorded for the 1-month (+9.5 per cent to N1,334.58/$1), 3-month (+9.1 per cent to N1,375.00/$1), 6-month (+8.7 per cent to N1,438.11/$1) and 1-year (+10.7 per cent to N1,541.08/$1) contracts increased.

Speaking to our correspondent, Head, Research, FSL Securities, Victor Chiazor, said that the CBN’s continuous efforts in the FX market to stabilise the naira, reflected in the sustained sale of US dollars to eligible BDCs and maintenance of high yields on naira-denominated assets to support FPI inflows.

According to him, “Whilst CBN’s intervention in the FX market is poised to remain frail in the near term given its low FX reserves, we expect the naira to remain stable in the short term, supported by tighter monetary policy conditions and improved FX liquidity”.

Sun

The Police Command in Cross River, on Sunday, confirmed the abduction of three students of the University of Calabar (Unical).

Spokesperson of the command, Irene Ugbo, who gave the confirmation, said the students were abducted Thursday night at one of the university hostels inside the campus.

Ugbo, who didn’t give details of the abduction, however, said the police were working in collaboration with other agencies to rescue the students.

A source who pleaded anonymity gave the names of the students as Ojang Precious Ebejin, a 200-level student of the Department of Medicine and Surgery; Ugwu Chukwuemeka, a 300-level student of the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology and Damilola Dickson, a final-year student of the same Department.

NAN

Iran-backed Palestinian leader vows victory over Israel in the war in Gaza

The leader of the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad vowed victory over Israel in the war in Gaza as he met Iran’s foreign minister for talks in Tehran Saturday.

“I promise you that we will be the victors in the war,” Ziad al-Nakhalah told reporters, according to the official IRNA news agency. He called his meeting with Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian “important” and thanked Iran for its support for the Palestinians.

Iran hasn’t directly intervened in the Israel-Hamas war, despite long describing Israel as its archenemy. However, experts say Iran provides both financial and political support to Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza and that launched the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which more than 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage.

“Active diplomacy by Islamic Republic of Iran has had a great role in defining the stance of Palestinian resistance,” al-Nakhalah was quoted as saying.

The two sides discussed the latest development in the war, and Israel’s “war crimes and genocide,” IRNA reported.

Also in Tehran was the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who met with al-Nakhalah, as well as holding separate talks with the Iranian leadership over the past few days.

Iranian media reported that al-Nakhalah and Haniyeh, during their bilateral meeting Friday in Tehran said the success of any indirect negotiation with Israel depends on the end of Israel’s war on Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory, the return of displaced people and the continued delivery of humanitarian aid. They also stressed the need for “intensifying resistance in all fields” and thanked Yemen’s Houthis for their support, as well as Iraqi and Lebanese anti-Israeli militant groups.

Earlier in the week, the U.N Security Council adopted a resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate cease-fire, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

Nearly six months of war has destroyed critical infrastructure in Gaza, including hospitals, schools and homes as well as roads, sewage systems and the electrical grid. Airstrikes and Israel’s ground offensive have left more than 32,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health authorities. The fighting has displaced over 80% of Gaza’s population and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine, the U.N. and international aid agencies say.

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Putin signs decree on spring draft to armed forces

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on spring draft for military service in Russia.

The document was published on the official legal information portal. According to new rules, in effect since January 1, the conscription will involve those aged 18-30, with the exception of those who turned 27 before the end of 2023 and those who are 28 or 29 or are in reserve.

"[I hereby decree to] carry out the conscription of Russian citizens aged between 18 and 30, not in reserve and eligible for conscription, between April 1 and July 15, 2024, in the quantity of 150,000 people," the decree said.

The document also dismisses soldiers, sailors, sergeants and petty officers, whose conscription time span has expired.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia seeks extradition of Ukraine security service head; Ukraine rejects demand

Russia is demanding that Ukraine hand over all people connected with terrorist acts committed in Russia, including the head of the country's SBU Security Service, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

The SBU immediately dismissed the Russian demand as "pointless" and said the Russian ministry had "forgotten" that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was the subject of an international arrest warrant.

A Russian Foreign Ministry statement listed violent incidents that have occurred in Russia since the Kremlin's forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, including bombings that killed the daughter of a prominent nationalist and a war blogger, and an incident in which a writer was seriously hurt.

The ministry said investigation of these incidents showed that "the traces of these crimes lead to Ukraine."

"Russia has turned over to Ukrainian authorities its demands ... for the immediate arrest and extradition of all those connected to the terrorist acts in question," the statement said.

Among those listed in the statement to be handed over are SBU head Vasyl Maliuk, who has acknowledged his service was behind attacks on the bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland since the Kremlin's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia seized control of Crimea in 2014; the bridge was built after the region was annexed.

"The Russian side demands that the Kyiv regime immediately cease all support for terrorist activity, extradite guilty parties and compensate the victims for damages," the ministry statement said.

"Ukraine's violation of its obligations under anti-terrorist conventions will result in it being held to account in international legal terms."

'POINTLESS, CYNICAL"

Ukraine's SBU said the Russian demands "sound particularly cynical coming from the terrorist state itself. ... Therefore, any words from the Russian Foreign Ministry are pointless."

The SBU referred to the arrest warrant against Putin issued by the International Criminal Court in connection with the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia and said "the tribunal in The Hague is waiting for him."

The Russian statement referred to the mass shooting this month at a concert hall outside Moscow in which 144 people died, but only in an oblique sense.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, and U.S. officials said they had intelligence showing it was carried out by the network's Afghan branch, Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K.

Russian investigators said last week they had found proof that the concert hall gunmen were linked to "Ukrainian nationalists." Kyiv denies any connection with the attack.

Russian news agencies on Sunday quoted Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, the country's most important criminal investigation body, as saying that work was proceeding to determine who was behind the attack.

Tass/Reuters

Two weeks ago, in my article entitled “Tinubu, beware the gathering dark clouds (2)”, I touched on our unity and rhetorically ended by asking if going our various ways would be better for all.

I said, “To stitch the “merely a geographical entity” that we currently have, therefore, is a task that must involve all of us. We do not have any other country to call ours. And we cannot afford to see the country put together by God through the British rendered asunder.

“Another reason I always look at some Nigerians from the south and north who shout ‘let Nigeria be divided:’ “Do they know what they are saying? Do they think that is feasible anymore? Would it be beneficial to all concerned? We will look at this next.”

Yes, we have to look at it because from the uppermost tip of the north to the southernmost part of the Nigerian map, you find those agitating for “everyone” to find their way out of Nigeria. Well, to these people, there is good news and bad news.

I will start with the latter.

On January 31, 2021, I wrote here, under the title “Mandela and the parable of the Fulani”, that “But I have always maintained that even if Nigeria would balkanise, now is the wrong time, for all our sakes. The best time would have been 1966 and, perhaps by now, we would all have been independent nationalities, each with its peculiar problems and prospects. But now, none of the six geopolitical zones can survive outside Nigeria. Bandits, insurgents, militants and all would overwhelm us.”

The northeast will just be an easy pick for Boko Haram, and the North West an easy meal for the bandits while the North Central will be a good ‘brunch’ for the kidnappers and killer-herdsmen militia. And you know what? All three sets of criminals are somehow interconnected. The security forces will, in the event of a national breakdown, all be concerned with protecting themselves and their families, for there will be no country to live in or a nation to die for.

In the same article, I pointed out that in the South, “even the Igbo nation cannot stand on its own if left to the whims, arrogance and demagoguery of its self-anointed secessionist leaders who will make Yoweri Museveni look like a saint”.

“But many intelligent Igbo know this. The problem is there is a herd movement towards something that the gullible, used as cannon fodder, do not even know what it is. To them, it is “freedom”. Sure? Freedom from what? From where? From who? If it happens, which is doubtful, then they will recall Nigeria with nostalgia and rue over a Nigerian slang “one chance”. They would realise its real meaning, albeit late in the day. This is assuming various warlords have not emerged to deny everyone peace. And freedom.”

The Asari Dokubos and Tompolos will control the South-South of Adaka Boro and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Then throw strongmen like Nyesom Wike into the mix and the cauldron is complete.

This would necessitate international action that would see Chad and Niger Republics encouraged to come in and take over the North because the world cannot stand a fake Afghanistan or a country of bandits. In the South, Cameroon too will have to be encouraged to come in and help. The survivors among our children and their children and their children’s children would now be left struggling to reunite because they would forever remain second or third-class citizens in their new countries.

Well, perhaps the western region would escape this scenario because, after the first hiccup, it would pick up, as it is currently the only zone that can survive as a mini-nation. Under the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the zone consolidated itself as a democracy and economic powerhouse. Please compare Lagos and the North’s economic hub, Kano, in just one area - transportation. Can you see the modern intra-train services in Lagos and how Keke NAPEP (commercial tricycles) has become the symbol of the state? Can you see the industries in the southwest employing tens of thousands while in Kaduna billions were collected as a loan to build roads that cannot bring revenue in any way while moribund industries were overlooked?

But that is still with a big “perhaps” because the South West too has its fair share of rabble-rousers and enfant terrible. It has the Sunday Igbohos and Gani Adams before he was tamed. Maybe they are good at taming their problem children.

The North could have survived and escaped being landlocked had the late President ‘Yar’Adua’s vision of the Baro Port been sustained by the last president of northern extraction. Or even if there was a genuine commitment to get oil in the North. Sadly, both were used to deceive the ever-gullible northern voter at every election cycle.

What made the North this pathetic is that it lacked a genuine leader and, therefore, vision and focus. Do you know that most of the Fulani terrorising Nigeria now could have long been engineers, medical doctors, professors, big dairy and meat factory owners, etc? The regime of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida started what it christened nomadic education. Under it, there were many things involved that could change the way the Fulani live. But because most of our leaders were, and are, short-sighted and prioritise lining their pockets, they never took that programme seriously. Now, with all the money they have sliced for themselves, those who should have been empowered with skills and knowledge yesterday will not allow them to enjoy it today. And what of the nomadic education programme started by the much-maligned President Jonathan in which billions were expended but allowed to work?

The good news is that the scenario painted will never happen. Despite intra-fights, threats and blackmails, Nigeria has come to stay. While it is said that “there is nothing the good and visionary can do when demagogues opiate the minds and souls of the gullible herd,” or so it seems, we should also keep in mind Edmund Burke’s letter to Thomas Mercer, a 19th-century judge. A summary of the letter is: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Ultimately, for this country to stick together for the long haul, the governance pillars must be probity, justice, fairness, equality, equity and inclusiveness. Leaders who work at variance with these values are the greatest enemies of Nigeria’s unity.

** Hassan Gimba is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Neptune Prime.