I do not want to believe that in a country of close to 250 million people, I am the only one who thinks there is a gathering of ominous dark clouds over our dear country beginning from the North. I cannot afford that foolish and lazy thought even if I wanted to dream so, because it is that type of thinking that brought us to this sorry pass. Yes. Not long ago, we had a leader who believed he knew more than everybody and was better than everybody. And surprisingly, many northerners believed he was the only upright person in this populous country, better than even their fathers.

The shout all over the nation about hunger is something that can confuse any government or leader, because it is a fact that hungry people will become angry, and an angry nation is a step away from anarchy.

But one may be forgiven to conclude that the citizens, especially in the North, are being remotely pushed to behave that way. A respectable journalist from Bauchi sent me a report he wanted us to publish. The report was that “labourers in Bauchi were digging up anthills to collect stashed grains there.”

I asked him for pictures and he sent me about four pictures of a well-dressed, healthy-looking man wearing a fez cap and jackboots, shovelling an anthill. According to the report, despite the ongoing construction of roads and houses in Bauchi and surrounding states, this labourer had to go steal food from ants!

When you critically look at Nigeria, or the North, and its situation, what is happening is not excusable. Take instances where warehouses or trailer loads of food were attacked and stripped of everything: Is it hunger where you see a purportedly hungry man hurrying away with two or three bags of rice on his shoulders and returning for more? Or able-bodied youths, both male and female, fighting their way through the madness to grab as much of the loot as they can, taking them somewhere for safekeeping and returning for more?

If the looting of foodstuff from government warehouses and trailers in the name of hunger continues unabated, unchecked, we should brace up for the next phase. The next phase would be breaking into houses of “big people” to loot foodstuffs. And because the looting is not motivated by hunger, we will see some looters carrying televisions, furniture, cookers, refrigerators, gas cylinders, etc. Do not forget that during one of such “hunger” protests and looting, even a signboard was uprooted and stolen. Some people just love to steal - hungry or not - and opportunities are now being offered to them.

Aminu Dantata told a story of how his father’s wealth, then transported on the backs of donkeys, got missing when the donkeys ran off while his aides accompanying the wealth were asleep. A public announcement was made, and six weeks later they were found without a single coin lost. And the lack then was greater than what it is now.

And when you look at the looters, hardly do you see signs of responsibility in them; they most likely will take the loot to the markets to sell. They are the types you see springing up from nowhere selling fuel by the roadsides whenever there is a scarcity.

The problem with instigating such people either to cause discomfort to the government or even to derail it is that they are Frankenstein Monsters that would end up as no good to anyone.

But these monsters may not attack the houses of the “big men” first because of many factors, among which are the elitist and urban nature of their environments, and thus enhanced security. But most importantly, because the middle class, which has largely thinned out, is a buffer between them and the monsters.

For decades now, some people have been denying Nigeria a middle class. It is as if they are saying from zero to 100, nothing in-between. Is that possible? Even at the speed of light, one has to go through those steps. In between the have-nots and the bourgeoisie, there are those hanging there either through hauling themselves by their bootstraps or because of some connections. They are not quite down there and yet not up there.

If you can afford a house, rent a flat for your family, pay your children’s school fees, and take care of your basic needs and those of your dependents, then you are not at the bottom of the rung, though you are not with them at the top. You are, therefore, somewhere in the middle. In that category, you could be lower-middle-class, middle-middle-class or upper-middle-class. They have to pass you before they can reach the “big man.” The rampagers will easily and quickly get the middle-class man because the distance between them is very small.

Therefore, people like us will be the first casualties. While we are just a little above them by the grace of God, they see us as their enemies, not knowing our daily struggles for survival. To them, we are part of the enemy because we do not live in a “face-me-I-face-you” type of compound; we own cars, but they do not know we are auto mechanics’ best friends, and our children perhaps go to private schools where we practically bleed from every vein to pay their extortionate fees.

But after us, surely, they will come for the “big men”. And they will get a lot of them because not all can escape abroad with their families. And even if they flee with their immediate families, they must leave behind more family members than those taken.

We must not continue to let the ominous dark clouds gather. Something urgent has to be done.

I have lost hope in the Nigeria Labour Congress to come to the rescue. I do not know what has happened, but since their top man was beaten blue and black sometime back in Owerri, their thinking has been somehow. I do not know if he had seen the right doctor, but imagine them asking for a basic salary of ₦794,000 a month!

The issue is the money for that is simply not there, but even if it is, paying such an amount to less than two per cent of the population is untenable because inflation would spiral out of control, afflicting the entire population. In Nigeria, unlike other countries, when there is a ten per cent salary increase, the prices of goods and services rise by at least twenty per cent, rubbishing the increase.

Moreover, in a country where the private sector that employs the bulk of the people is gasping for breath, where do they get the extra cash to pay such an amount as salary? The private sector will simply go under, and the people roaming the streets without jobs to even “manage” their lives will exponentially increase. Have we ever thought of the security implications even as we are currently being overwhelmed by security challenges?

Anyone genuinely interested in the welfare of workers, and indeed Nigerians, should do well to proffer solutions that would boost our economy and strengthen our currency and not suggestions that would bastardise our economy and drive the naira’s value further down. And that is what salary increase portends now.

Methinks Labour would join the federal and state governments in making our youths self-dependent and employable by teaching them trade skills. As a trade union with many affiliates, when last did Labour speak about the moribund textile industries, for instance? Resuscitating them would provide hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. And cotton production would be revamped where another huge number of nationals would be gainfully employed.

The government must reduce the cost of governance and the unimaginable take-home pay of political leaders and redirect the excess towards production. We must become a productive nation that eats, drives and wears what it produces. This is the only way to think if we want the dark clouds to clear.

But, is it a problem of the North only? No, if left unchecked, the looming dark clouds will cover the entire nation, as we shall eventually see in the next edition.

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

Being the type of boss that people want to work for means you are less likely to have employees who quit, or who stay but aren’t engaged or productive.

We write a lot about bad bosses. After all, a bad boss can ruin everything you might like about your job. But what about the good bosses? The people who support your career development, make you feel valued, are open to feedback, and who hold themselves accountable? Good bosses are out there; and chances are, if you’re reading this you might be a manager who (like me) hopes that the people you work with view you in such a positive light.But there’s a reason why stories of bad bosses are so plentiful: Being a manager is hard. It’s easy to fall back on bad habits, or pass the buck, or transfer pressure from above to your direct reports.Still, I don’t have to tell you the importance of striving to be a better boss. It’s not about just doing what’s right—though that’s really important! Being the type of boss that people want to work for means you are less likely to have employees who quit—or who stay but aren’t engaged or productive. So, what can you do to be a better boss? Here’s a good place to start:

1. Trust your employees

The number-one complaint that employees have about their bosses is micromanaging and that stems from a lack of trust. Good bosses, on the other hand, trust that their employees are smart, capable adults. They focus on results instead of wasting time worrying that things are done exactly how they would do them.

2. Check your ego and do the work

You’ve likely heard the adage about not asking someone to do work you wouldn’t or haven’t done yourself. Good bosses aren’t dictators who give orders; they understand what’s a reasonable workload and don’t view themselves as above any job. In fact, pitching in to help when needed is a good refresher for managers who find themselves removed from the day-to-day duties, and it shows that you really are part of a team.

3. Celebrate progress and give constructive feedback

These are different sides of the same coin and equally important. You may have the best boss in the world, but if your work is never acknowledged, you’ll eventually feel like there’s no point in working hard. And if you make mistakes or have gaps in your skills or knowledge, a “nice” boss who never helps you improve isn’t doing you any favors in your career development.

4. View employees as people first

Work is not your family; good bosses know this and respect that their employees have families, personal obligations, and interests that will sometimes need to take priority. Good bosses get to know who their employees are as people and give them the grace and flexibility when needed.

5. Communicate and be honest

You can’t expect employees to feel motivated if they don’t understand what they are working for. The job of a good boss—especially a middle manager—is to clearly communicate what they know with their employees. Ambiguity leads to speculation, worry, and confusion, especially during challenging times. Good bosses tell as much as they can and admit when there are things they don’t know.

Fast Company

Senator representing Bauchi central senatorial district, Abdul Ningi, has said there was another budget different from what was passed on the floor of the National Assembly.

Ningi disclosed that some experts have been reviewing the budget and a report will be presented to President Bola Tinubu, to ascertain if he was in the know or not.

Speaking as a guest during an interview with BBC on Saturday, the Senator disclosed that the Northern elite is not happy with this government as the North has been neglected.

He said, “This is true (about the review of the government) for the past three months, we have engaged consultants to review the budget for us.

“We have some experts that are working on it line by line. We have seen the huge damage that was done not only to the north but the entire country in that budget. We are supposed to sit with the Senate President to inform him about what we have observed.

“We want to show him what we have seen in the budget that is not acceptable, we will not accept them and we don’t want the country to continue spending money on those things. Apart from what the National Assembly did on the floor, there was another budget that was done underground which we didn’t know.

“The new things we have discovered in the budget were not known to us. We haven’t seen them in the budget that was debated and considered on the floor of the National Assembly.”

Shedding more light on the discoveries on the budget, Ningi said there was a difference of N3 trillion between the budget passed.

The senator said, “For example, it was said that there was a budget of N28 trillion but what was passed was N25 trillion. So there is N3 trillion on top.

“Where are they, where is it going? So, we need to know this. There are a lot of things. We are coming up with a report and we will show the president himself and ask him if he is aware or not.”

Speaking further, he decried the neglect of some giants projects in the North.

“This is what we intended to do. We are to meet the president. We will talk to him about the Mambila power project, Ajaokuta and the River Niger dredging. We will talk to him about the Niger Republic. Recently, they said they will construct a dam, this is not good for us,” he added.

Daily Trust

Cadre Harmonisé (CH) 

report says about 31.5 million Nigerians may experience food and nutrition crisis between June and August 2024.

Cadre Hatmonisé is a food and nutrition insecurity study conducted by the ministry of agriculture and food security in collaboration with other partners including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The report also indicated that about 24.7 million people, including 14,000 IDPs in 26 states and the federal capital territory (FCT), are to experience food crisis between March and May 2024.

“About 1.1 million people in Adamawa were expected to be in crisis or worse between June and August 2024, and about 2.1 million people in Borno were expected to be in crisis or worse between June and August,” the report said.

“Also, 1.5 million people in Yobe are expected to be in crisis or worse between June and August this year.

“During the current period, food consumption was under stress in most of the states and Crisis in some LGAs in Adamawa, Borno, Katsina, and Yobe, Zamfara States.

“Deteriorated food consumption situation was also observed among populations in the inaccessible areas and the IDPs in Adamawa, Borno, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.

“During the projected period (June to August 2024) more households are expected to face crisis level of food consumption in the states.”

According to the report, the imminent crisis is largely triggered by the surge in prices of food items which was linked to the removal of petroleum subsidy.

Some of the contributing factors to the food crisis highlighted in the report include insecurity, fuel scarcity, the naira devaluation currency crisis, and rising inflation and consumer price index (CPI) rates.

“The consequences of insecurity have led to the loss of livelihoods in Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Yobe states,” the report added.

“Poor macroeconomic conditions are restricting access to agricultural inputs in the country; the high cost of transport, inflation rate, and the volatile dollar-naira exchange rate have negatively affected households’ income.

“In the projected period (June to August 2024), poor microeconomic conditions and conflicts are expected to drive limited access to livelihood opportunities.

“The nutrition situation in the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe and northwest states of Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara revealed the prevalence of malnutrition for under-5 children to be in crisis in the current situation.”

The Cable

The federal government has suspended the expatriate employment levy (EEL) — a week after President Bola Tinubu launched it.

EEL, launched on February 28, was introduced by the federal government to close wage gaps between expatriates and the Nigerian labour force.

The expatriate employment levy, which provides guidelines on the employment of Nigerians in foreign-owned companies, requires firms to pay levies for hiring expatriates.

Since the introduction of the policy, stakeholders have raised concerns, saying it is harmful to the country’s drive for foreign direct investments (FDIs).

According to ThisDay, on Saturday, the decision to suspend the implementation of the EEL was made after a meeting on March 8, attended by stakeholders, Doris Uzoka-Anite, minister of industry, trade and investment, as well as Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the interior minister.

However, the interior ministry was silent on the outcome in a statement issued after the meeting.

The ministry said the concerns on expatriate employment levy were addressed at the meeting.

“The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, met with a delegation led by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Doris Uzoka-Anite, to address concerns and seek clarification on the recently launched Expatriate Employment Levy (EEL) guidelines,” the ministry said.

“The aim of the meeting which held on Friday 8th March, 2024 in a Abuja was to foster constructive dialogue and explore ways to enhance the implementation of the policy while ensuring the welfare of Nigerians and promoting investment.

“During the discussion, Tunji-Ojo noted the importance of striking a balance between attracting foreign investment and prioritising human capital development to benefit Nigerians.

“In her remarks, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Uzoka-Anite, called for more collaboration between the government and private sector to ensure sustainable growth and create a conducive business environment.”

The interior ministry said the EEL guidelines aim to foster economic growth, nationalisation efforts, knowledge transfer, and employment opportunities for Nigerians while closing wage gaps between expatriates and local workers.

The Cable

Biden: Netanyahu 'hurting Israel' by not preventing more civilian deaths in Gaza

President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The U.S. leader expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack, but said of Netanyahu that “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.” Biden has for months warned that Israel risks losing international support over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza, and the latest remarks in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart pointed to the increasingly strained relationship between the two leaders.

Biden said of the death toll in Gaza, “it’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake.”

Biden said a potential Israeli invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering, is “a red line” for him, but said he would not cut off weapons like the Iron Dome missile interceptors which protect the Israeli civilian populace from rocket attacks in the region.

“It is a red line,” he said, when asked about Rafah, “but I’m never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them.”

Biden said he was willing to make his case directly to the Israeli Knesset, its parliament, including by making another trip to the country. He traveled to Israel weeks after the Oct. 7. attack. He declined to elaborate on how or whether such a trip might materialize.

The U.S. leader had hoped to secure a temporary ceasefire before Ramadan begins next week, though that appears increasingly unlikely as Hamas has balked at a deal pushed by the U.S. and its allies that would have seen fighting pause for about six weeks, the release of additional hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israel remains committed to continuing its invasion and annihilating Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on Oct. 7. The militant group freed dozens of hostages during a November truce, but it refuses to release more without guarantees of a complete end of hostilities.

Meanwhile, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run health ministry, with the majority being women and children, and hundreds of thousands going hungry.

Biden noted CIA Director Bill Burns is in the region currently trying to resurrect the deal.

Biden’s comments came after he was captured on a hot mic following Thursday night’s State of the Union address telling Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. that he and the Israeli leader will need to have a “come to Jesus meeting.”

In the exchange, Bennet congratulated Biden on his speech and urged the president to keep pressing Netanyahu on growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were also part of the brief conversation.

Biden then responds using Netanyahu’s nickname, saying, “I told him, Bibi, and don’t repeat this, but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting.”

An aide to the president standing nearby then speaks quietly into the president’s ear, appearing to alert Biden that microphones remained on as he worked the room.

“I’m on a hot mic here,” Biden says after being alerted. “Good. That’s good.”

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Pope says Ukraine should have 'courage of the white flag' of negotiations

Pope Francis has said in an interview that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the "white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion two years ago and that has killed tens of thousands.

Francis made his comments in an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, well before Friday's latest offer by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war.

Erdogan made the fresh offer after a meeting in Istanbul with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy has said while he wants peace he will not give up any territory.

The Ukrainian leader's own peace plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from all of Ukraine and the restoration of its state borders. The Kremlin has ruled out engaging in peace talks on terms set by Kyiv.

A spokesman for Zelenskiy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the pope's remarks.

In the interview Francis was asked for his position on a debate between those who say Ukraine should give up as it has not been able to repel Russian forces, and those who say doing so would legitimise actions by the strongest party. The interviewer used the term "white flag" in the question.

"It is one interpretation, that is true," Francis said, according to an advance transcript of the interview and a partial video made available to Reuters on Saturday. It is due to be broadcast on March 20 as part of a new cultural programme.

"But I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates," Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers.

"The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate," Francis said.

It was believed to be the first time Francis has used terms such as "white flag" or "defeated" in discussing the Ukraine war, although he has spoken in the past about the need for negotiations.

In a statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope had picked up on the term "white flag" spoken by the interviewer and used it "to indicate a stop to hostilities (and) a truce achieved with the courage of negotiations".

Last year the 87-year-old pope sent a peace envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to Kyiv, Moscow and Washington to sound out leaders in those countries.

"One may feel shame," Francis said about negotiating, "but how many dead will it (the war) end up with? (One should) negotiate in time, find a country that can be a mediator," Francis said, mentioning Turkey among the countries that had offered.

"Do not be ashamed of negotiating, before things get worse," said Francis, who has made hundreds of appeals for what he calls "martyred Ukraine". Asked if he was willing to mediate, Francis said "I am here".

In another part of the interview, speaking of the war between Israel and Hamas, Francis said: "Negotiating is never a surrender".

Last month Zelenskiy said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killedsince the Russian invasion in February 2022 and that tens of thousands of civilians had been killed in the occupied areas of the country.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

UK pressures Germany on long-range missile for Ukraine

Western nations should enhance their military support to Ukraine and “invest” more in NATO, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron told Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview published on Friday. London is ready to work with Berlin on “solving the issues” preventing Germany from providing Kiev with its long-range Taurus missiles, he added.

The potential supply of the German-made cruise missiles, which have a range of about 500 kilometers (300 miles), to Ukraine has drawn additional attention recently amid fallout from a leaked recording of top German military officials discussing the use of those weapons to destroy Russia’s Crimean Bridge. In the audio recording and a transcript of the conversation published by RT, senior German military officers, including the nation’s Air Force commander, in particular spoke about maintaining plausible deniability in case of such an attack.

The leak prompted former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to accuse Germany of preparing for a conflict with Russia, which Berlin has denied.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been skeptical of the idea of sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine. He argued that the use of such weapons would require tighter control from Berlin and the presence of German specialists on the ground. Scholz also maintained that he would not allow the nation’s troops to become directly involved in the Ukraine conflict.

“We are determined to work closely with our German partners on this issue as well as on all the other ones to help Ukraine,” Cameron told Sueddeutsche Zeitung when asked whether London could aid Berlin in “solving the problems preventing a Taurus delivery” to Kiev.

When further pressed on potential solution scenarios, including a supply of more British Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine in exchange for Taurus deliveries to the UK, Cameron said that “we are ready to look at all options to achieve the maximum effect for Ukraine.” He refused to provide any further details on the issue.

The foreign secretary said that London would not encourage Berlin to send its missiles to Kiev, adding that “every country has to make a sovereign decision here.” He still maintained that the UK was “happy with the arrangements” it made with Kiev, adding that the British weapons did play a role in improving Ukraine’s fighting capabilities.

Cameron also insisted that the West should still seek to achieve its goals through force rather than seek peace in Ukraine. “The best thing we can do now is to invest in NATO,” he told the German newspaper. Russia’s success in the ongoing conflict would lead to “great uncertainty” in Europe and the rest of the world as well as a crisis of trust within the US-led bloc, he argued.

“If we want to achieve a just peace, we will only achieve this through strength,” Cameron stated, adding that seeking peace is incompatible with aiding Kiev. “If we say [that] we want to support Ukraine but also a peace process, neither of the two things will succeed,” he added.

Moscow has repeatedly said that it was ready for peace talks but has seen no willingness for them either in Kiev, in Washington or among its allies. The West still seeks to inflict a battlefield defeat on Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week. Russia’s former defense minister, Sergey Ivanov, in a speech earlier this week also counted the UK among the nations that are “most hostile” to Russia.

Reuters/RT

We are about to witness a mud-fight between two gods of integrity. In a Nigeria where the mantra is, if you see something, say something, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, elected to say something. And he did say something last Wednesday. “We talked about inflation, where has it come from? It’s come from eight years of just printing money. And the issue is that that money was not matched by productivity…For eight years, the weak were left to their own devices. It is the privileged few that took everything” he said while appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance.

Edun’s appearance in the senate was a total shellacking of the administration of Mai Gaskiya, Muhammadu Buhari. Falling short of naming that government one in same frame with Ali Baba And the Forty Thieves, Edun accused Buhari of every conceivable economic malfeasance, finally heaping the blame of Nigeria’s current economic regression at his doorsteps. He went ahead to promise that the Tinubu government would audit the N22.7 trillion ways and means advance which the Buhari regime incurred.

Bashir Ahmad, former media aide to Buhari, was however of the opinion that blame-shoveling was bad politics. Comparatively, he said, the PDP was better at dressing its stench in pleasant deodorant. Posting on X, Ahmad wrote: “I often wonder why, as a government, we concentrate more on amplifying the faults of the previous administration rather than acknowledging its numerous achievements. The PDP seems to have a more skilful approach to politics than we do in the APC…it’s rare to find instances where President Yar’adua’s (PDP) government criticized President Obasanjo’s (PDP) or where President Jonathan’s (PDP) government faulted President Yar’adua’s (PDP).”

What they cooked that burnt down the house of Nigeria is gradually exposing itself. Get your popcorn and be ready for the rumble in the jungle. When someone tries to hide behind their finger, my people compare them to the exact scenario that both Bola Tinubu and Buhari find themselves today. Their story is perfectly told in the Epa and Aja tale. The tick, which the Yoruba call Epa, is a parasitic member of the Arachnida family of insects. Arachnids are a class of joint-legged arthropods which include, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, etc. As parasites, they feed on mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. They feed on the blood of their hosts by attaching to them firmly with their proboscis. In consuming their blood, ticks satisfy their nutritional requirements. When a tick parasitizes its hosts, it acts as vector through which serious diseases that affect humans and animals are transmitted into the host. Eventually, while the tick is satisfying its survival quest, the host will suffer either diseases or anemia and eventually die. So, when Epa assumes that it is killing the host; take for instance, Aja, the dog, unbeknown to it, it is killing itself. The day the dog dies, the tick dies too. Yoruba express this as Epa npa’ra e, o l’ohun npa’ja.

Though he may right now be sunk in the pastime of feeding his cows in Daura, the truth is, Buhari’s self-imposed title of Mai Gaskiya may be on its way out of the retired General’s lapel. There is an ongoing attempt to deconstruct him as either the most naïvely inept Nigerian president to have lived or the imbecilic landlord who opened his house to burglars and watched while they looted his treasure. Buhari’s own political party, the APC-led government, is spearheading this deconstruction. So, should his successor, living through the mantra of “see something, say something” which has seized the information highway today, keep sealed lips and not disclose alleged massive theft of Nigerian patrimony that it is privy to? Should Tinubu see the wound on the sole of his foot as one that has familial imprimatur and thus walk loose with it? Should he say something about the massive theft that went on during the Buhari government which he has information about or say nothing? Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edu, chose the latter.

Either as blame-shoveling or “saying something when something is seen”, Buhari looks like he is in a very bad shape, image-wise. He has unfortunately landed in the hand of a successor government that is ready to scapegoat anything in sight to justify its inertia. Already, it is clear to everyone that if there is one thing in surplusage from this government today, it is blame-shoveling and immense capacity to reverse itself. In the last nine months, we have seen the government blame everybody, everything but itself for its inability to do the magic it advertised so ebulliently during the campaigns. Covid-19, Godwin Emefiele, PDP, Buhari and all what ought-nots have suffered this victimhood of government’s antics. Edun and this government have also blamed Emefiele’s alleged reckless spending of the overdraft that the Buhari government collected from the CBN as largely accounting for the food and security crises that Nigeria is battling. Right now, Nigeria is seeking Interpol's help to arrest three suspects alleged to have stolen $6.2m from the CBN, using Buhari’s forged signature. They are believed to have done this in cahoots with Emefiele who is on trial on 20-count charges. My haunch is that, if Emefiele has his days in court, the courtroom will explode like Hiroshima did and the matter may drift off like a fog, similar to the Sambo Dasuki security fund scandal. In the same vein, this government has reversed itself so effortlessly on policies it advertised with glee, like Jay Jay Okocha did on the field of play. The last reverse was the annual levy it imposed on expatriates which it revoked pre-beginning last week.

For an administration like the Tinubu government that is tottering in pitch darkness and fumbling for a way out, the eternal wisdom in the tale of the tick and dog seems self-explanatory and self-evident. The “Epa npa’ra e…” presents in a number of nuggets. First is that, it can come in the form of the question that has been asked repeatedly: How can the Tinubu government, and virtually all its runners, divorce themselves from the 8-year colossal wastage and failure of the Buhari government? The president, like a nursing mother, hunchbacked Buhari into power and gave him the wings with which he flew. Until a railway line halved them into their two separate ways, Tinubu defended every of the Buhari policies with the vigour of a matador. From insecurity, Fulani herders’ rapacious bloodletting, (where are the cows?) to dwindling economy and every allied matter of state policy, Tinubu was there for Buhari. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the president, has almost had the mucus dripping out of one of his nostrils flip inside the second as he struggles to claim that Tinubu never requested Buhari to enter the forest of the brave – the Igbo igbale. So, for the Tinubu government, through Edun last week, to surgically try to separate itself from the Buhari government will be akin to an Epa which is trying to kill the Aja. Edun, with froth metaphorically foaming out of his mouth, attempted to do that last week.

Unfortunately for the government, head or tail, it loses. This is even if it listens to the self-centered counsel of Ahmad and elects to make the calamity wrought by the Buhari government a family affair. Its situation would be comparable to that of a man all alone inside a bunker who decides to allow a stench-like fart escape from his buttock. He, all alone, will bear the stench. How reconcilable would it be for Tinubu to say that the Buhari he deodorized as recently as December last year, as emanating “from the rarest phylum of virtuous servant-leaders,” whose emergence could be likened to that of “leaders…(that) happens only by divine orchestration,” a man of “absolute and undiluted integrity” had now been discovered to have sat on a government that is surrounded by a mass of maggots?

We were still battling the waywardness found in the Buhari government’s Ways and Means when, as usual, Nigeria relapsed into its perennial orgy of massive kidnap of school pupils. The latest happened last Thursday at the Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School, Kuriga, Kaduna State. About 280 pupils and teachers were said to have been abducted by bandits. This has triggered national outrage. The bandits were reported to have invaded the Kuriga area of the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State by shooting at their victims in a Gestapo manner. As usual of Nigerian Aso Rock Villa, government is flexing its effeminate muscles and throwing threats into the sky. Sub-nationals and individuals too have tethered their usual empathy offering at the grove of this rapacious god of banditry.

The incessant incidences of kidnapping in Nigeria have grown into a hydra. They have become a source of national threat. Nigeria, according to researchers, boasts of a phenomenally large public and private schools which are nearly 97,000, the largest in Africa. Its primary education sector, according to Aly Verjee and Chris Kwaja, is roughly equivalent in size to the 98,000 public elementary and secondary schools in the United States. Today, these schools are under severe threat from terrorists.

The above-named scholars collated the history of Nigeria’s bloodletting. According to them, in their research work entitled An Epidemic of Kidnapping: Interpreting School Abductions and Insecurity in Nigeria (African Studies Quarterly Volume 20, Issue 3, October 2021) beginning from 2014, “the small, non-descript town of Chibok in Borno State in northeast Nigeria” earned the notoriety worldwide with the abduction of 276 girls. Since then, Nigerian northern schools have known no peace. Though the abduction sparked global outrage, Nigerian governments have moved on nevertheless. The Chibok abduction which was the cusp upon which the APC government wove its political campaign to seize power from Jonathan in the 2015 election was hung on, contributed immensely to the defeat of Jonathan. He was accused of mishandling the kidnapping. However, some top persons in this government were alleged to have organized it to embarrass Jonathan. Buhari thereafter campaigned on a pedestal of promise to restore security to Nigerians.

The scholars’ collation of the spate of kidnappings is frightening. According to them, before Chibok, other kidnaps were carried out though they attracted less media campaign. This was because the AC, CPC alignment and realignment was afoot and the masters of media orchestration in the AC had not aligned with the Buhari CPC. In 2013, 41 students and one teacher were shot/burned alive at the Mamudo Government Secondary School in Yobe State. Same year, another 44 students and teachers were murdered in a separate incident at the College of Agriculture, Gujba, about 120km east of Mamudo, reported Verjee and Kwaja. Similarly, in February 2014, another educational institution in Yobe State, which happened to be the fourth, was attacked. After the attack, 59 students were killed at the Buni Yadi Federal Government College, 30km south of Gujba. This was followed by the Chibok abductions in April 2014. With Buhari, the man who flaunted his epaulettes as a military general in civilian attire now in office, 110 girls got abducted from the Government Girls Science Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State in February 2018.

December of that year, said Verjee and Kwaja, saw another mass abduction in Buhari’s home state of Katsina. More than 300 boys were forcefully taken out of the Kankara Government Science Secondary School. Equally, on December 19 of that same year, 18 students of an Islamic school in Dandume, close to Kankara, were detained by a kidnapping group, while in February, 2021, 42 people, which included 27 students, were kidnapped from the Government Science College in Kagara, Niger State. On February 26, figures bandied, of between 279 and 317 students, were kidnapped from the Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State.  In March 2021, there were two further mass abductions and three attempted abductions, all in Kaduna State. On March 11, 39 students were abducted from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization in Mando.  A tip-off to the Nigerian Army averted the kidnap on March 13 of pupils of the Turkish International Secondary School, Rigachikun. On April 20 of same year, 20 students and three staff of Greenfield University in Chikun, Kaduna State were abducted. Five of them got killed by their captors. Plateau State was to get its own share on April 29 when four students were abducted from the King’s School, in Gana Ropp, Barkin Ladi. Then, on May 30, 136 children and several teachers were taken from the Salihu Tanko Islamic School in Tegina, Niger State. In June, 103 students were abducted from the Federal Government Girls College in Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State and on July 5, 121 children were abducted from the Bethel Baptist High School in Maramara, Kaduna State. So many more that space would not allow us reel into happened as figures provided by Verjee and Kwaja.

It will appear that, under Tinubu, Nigeria has entered its season of kidnap epidemic again. In the paper under discourse, Verjee and Kwaja made some recommendations that I found to be very profound. The first is that successive Nigerian governments have conflated the social challenge of kidnap for security challenges and as such, have solely treated school abductions as security problems which needed to be solved solely by military response. Government does this by fortifying the schools. In doing this, Nigeria is merely treating symptom rather than a national disease. Why it is impossible to get a let out of this is that, first, due to the large scale of Nigeria’s education system, deployment of soldiers and police in the protection of schools can never work.

Rather, according to Verjee and Kwaja, government must first address the trust deficit that exists between state security actors and the people. A very meager percentage of Nigerians perceive state security actors as credible. They have always had a checkered history of corruption and violence. There is a profound belief out there that Nigeria’s top security chiefs do not want insecurity to end due to the money they make from it. This perception fuels further fear of militarization and repression, leading to predatory behavior of state security actors.

Whatever it will take, Nigeria must get to solve the pandemic of school kidnappings. The audaciousness of its perpetrators and the seeming combine of many forces in carrying out the kidnappings make it very complex to get rid of. We must as well realize that this epidemic is just a tiny fraction of Nigeria’s political economy of violence. We have always had an ineffective and underperforming state, as well as sparse economic opportunities which have been fueling the school kidnappings. Already, the Kaduna government has rented private negotiators to secure the release of the kids. At the end of the day, multiple of millions of Naira would be paid to these no-gooders and like the boulder of Sisyphus, in no long a time, the terrorists will strike again. And Nigeria will begin another round of sorrow, tears and blood.

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live ~ Deuteronomy 30:19.

Introduction:

Excellence in life is all about trade secrets. The more you trade with them, the more excellent you become. All who hope, therefore, to enjoy secure access to a lifeline of breakthrough and fulfillment on earth must enthusiastically search out noble Biblical secrets, and especially engage them in their day-to-day living (Deuteronomy 29:29).

God’s kingdom principles constitute the major keys in the music of our lives, even when they appear minor or old and well-worn. A very crucial one among these is the principle of man’s personal choices.

Life is full of choices, and these choices make the man. Your destiny is still very colorful, but you steer it by the choices  you make. Choices are daily options, and options are daily phenomena. To be or not to be is by choice.

The power of choice is one of the divine distinctiveness, which God bequeathed on man at creation (1 Chronicles 21:11). God Himself makes choices, and He gave man the same honor so to do (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; 31:11).

Today, man occupies a peculiar position that sets him apart from all other entities on our planet earth. He enjoys a certain amount of freedom, controls his way of living, speaks his own language, perceives and learns great amount of knowledge, manages his emotions, and deals properly with problems he faces as he chooses.

In fact, within the infinite expanse of the universe, man's conscious conducts can change the course of events. Even then, all these are subject to our choices and the mindsets we allow (Philippians 2:5). Hence, man is often referred to as a free moral agent.

This fact above can simply make you or break you, depending on the choices you make. Right choices make right men, but wrong ones can mar even great destinies. Until you choose right, you cannot act right; unless you act right, you readily lose your rights, and therein lie both the bliss and the dilemma of choices!

A long time ago, I read the story of two brothers who were twins. One grew up to become an extremely successful businessman, but the other was a chronic alcoholic. When the alcoholic was asked why he became a drunk, he replied, ‘My father was a drunk.’ And, when his twin brother was asked why he became successful, surprisingly he also said, ‘My father was a drunk.’ Same background, same upbringing, but different choices.

The brothers chose different thoughts regarding their identical experiences, and those thoughts shaped their divergent outcomes. In the same way, whatever thoughts you choose to allow in your mind can, with time, be fully and precisely reflected through your actions.

Images control feelings, feelings cause actions, and actions create results. Hence, it is commonly said that “you are what you think!”

Opportunities, Choices and Consequences

Choices come when opportunities present themselves. But, your choices, either good or evil, have consequences and they determine your future (Joshua 1:8).

Adam was carefully, fearfully and painstakingly created by God. He was blessed with a dominating influence upon the earth, but he chose to obey his wife rather than God, and he immediately fell out of the grace of God and was driven out of the Garden of Eden. Heavy consequences! But thank God for His program of redemption through Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:13-16).

Even then, the redemption program in Christ is also rested on man’s choices. Hence, God’s Word never fails to remind us that it is our responsibilities to deliberately make judicial separation between the good and bad, and to stick to the right choices (Matthew 13:47-48).

The Incredible Power of Your Choices

Choice is the strongest principle of growth, and the biggest business of life. Life is actually made of our choices. Regardless of circumstances, each man lives in a world of his own making. Decisions, choices and perseverance are the noblest qualities of man.

In every success story, you find someone who made a courageous decision. We make decisions, and then our decisions turn around to make us. Choices define human destiny, and nothing ranks a man so quickly as his skill in selecting things that are really worthwhile (Job 34:4; Isaiah 56:4).

If you would achieve your goals and be a successful, dynamic person, then your very first step must be to make up your mind to firmly choose the right courses in life, or else ceaseless drifts of events may present you with unpalatable results.

You are the one who is responsible for the decisions you make. And, you are free to make wrong decisions if you are ready for the consequences. Whichever road you choose, be sure you know that you may be in it for a very long while.

Happily, making right decisions is simple after all. Get the facts. Deeply reflect on your ways, styles and attitudes that are due for review (Psalms 90:12). Crosscheck your past notes to detect those abandoned visions and vows. Rearrange the cabinets of your mind, and get rid of the trash.

Go to the Lord to receive a right focus. Seek God until you obtain His guidance. He is the Way-Maker! Be calm in His Presence, having a clear vision for His glory all the way through.

Moreover, you must choose your friends responsibly. Certainty, there is a nexus between the quality of life we live, and the type of friends we choose (Proverbs 9:6; 12:26). Don't fool yourself, bad friends will destroy you. And, don't let anyone deceive you about it: associating with bad people will ruin your godly decency, and wicked friends will lead you to evil ends (1Corinthians 15:33). The old idiom says, "birds of a feather flock together."

Set higher goals for a new level of divine relevance. Form judgement, act on it and worry no more. Then, going forward, create room for new things bothering on supernatural expansion.

Now is the best time for you to make needful adjustments, especially in your belief system. The good old song says, “Oh happy day, that fixed my choice, On Thee, my Saviour, and my God!” The most beautiful things in life happen to you when your choices tally with the choices of God. Choose wisely. Choose to win. Choose Jesus Christ above all else in the world. He loves you most of all.

No devil can hinder or oppress you if you are on the right track with God. Joshua said, ‘as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’ (Joshua 24:15). Nullify every contradiction, and make Jesus Christ your everlasting choice today. Those who stand for Him fall for nothing else. You will never fail again, your glory will burst forth and many generations shall glorify God through you. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Bishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987

My first name means “God loves me.” When God called me to ministry in 1994, He called my name three times. Then He said to me: “I have loved you from the foundation of the world.”

The Bible says:

“The Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.” (Hebrews 12:6).

God so loved me, He sent armed robbers to waylay me and shoot me. He told me so Himself and validated this with scripture:

“Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, nor were they obedient to His law.” (Isaiah 42:24).

Goodness of God

Why does a loving God do this to those He loves? He does this because He is determined to show us His glory and to reveal His glory in us.

When the armed robbers attacked me, God appeared to me for the very first time, just as He did to the three Hebrew children in the fiery burning furnace. He then gave me a lifetime message which said bad things may happen to me, but they would always amount to nothing. He would work all things together for my good. (Romans 8:28-30).

Jesus gave the same assurance to His disciples on His way to Calvary. He said:

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).

Accordingly, I experienced the peace that surpasses all understanding during my armed robbery attack. (Philippians 4:7). I was surrounded by armed robbers, there was a bullet in my leg, and I was anxious about nothing. Given the situation, the peace I had did not make any sense.

In the middle of the attack, I heard the voice of God for the very first time. Later, He said to me: “Femi, blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.” (Matthew 13:16).

And then, the miracle of miracles, He healed the broken bone in my bullet-ridden leg.

“Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and glorified Himself in Israel.” (Isaiah 44:23).

Blindness Redeemed

I discovered to my surprise that I was born blind. Indeed, all men are born blind. As a result, we can only see the temporal and transient glory of men but cannot see the eternal and everlasting glory of God.

In the Scriptures, when Jesus opened the eyes of a man who was blind from birth, the unbelieving Pharisees queried him, asking:

“What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” He said to them, ‘He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.’” (John 9:15).

I can imagine skeptical latter-day Pharisees asking me the same question today: “Femi, how did Jesus open your eyes?” This is my answer: “He sent armed robbers to waylay me and shoot me on Airport Road. When He did this, scales fell out of my eyes and my ears popped open.”

The same phenomenon happened to Job. God afflicted him with the loss of his children, his wealth, and his health. But at the end of his ordeal, Job had this testimony. He said to God:

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.” (Job 42:5).

God made Job go through his ordeal for the same reason He sent armed robbers to me. He did this because of His amazing love. He does this to show us how much He loves us by redeeming our losses.

Accordingly, my leg was miraculously healed. As for Job, the Lord restored his losses and gave him twice as much as he had before. (Job 42:10). 

That is the principle behind God’s redemption. The redeemed get double for our trouble. (Zechariah 9:12).

The big bonus, of course, is the knowledge of God that our redemption brings. Therefore, Paul says:

“What things were gain to me; these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8).

Kingdom Dynamics 

When God loves us, when He adores us, He makes something bad happen to us.

John makes sure we know that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters. Nevertheless, he delayed going to see him when He heard he was sick:

“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.” (John 11:5-6).

In so doing, He made sure Lazarus was not only sick but that he died. He did this because He wanted them to see the glory of God.

He reassured His disciples about Lazarus’ affliction:  

“This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4).

When He finally got to Bethany four days after Lazarus’ death, He told Martha, Lazarus’ sister:

“If you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).

The glory they saw was Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. That glory blew their minds. They were never the same again, and they came to much greater knowledge of Jesus, which is the gateway to eternal life.

Jesus says to God the Father:

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3-4).

Look at what Mary did because of this new knowledge:

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” (John 12:1-3).

Mary, who had been upset that Jesus came late to Bethany when Lazarus was sick, was now so grateful to Jesus for coming late and allowing Lazarus to die because she saw the glory of his resurrection.

So, Christians need to understand this. Good things have been overrated and bad things have been underrated. If we want to see the good of God, we must endure the bad.

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

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