If Nyesom Wike had read the character portrait of the Ijaw man as sketched by Percy Amoury Talbot, an early 20th century British historian and colonial administrator, he would most probably have thought twice before settling for Simnalaya Fubara as his third term placeholder. Wike was a two-term governor of Rivers State and today, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. In his highly authoritative 1926 book, Peoples of Southern Nigeria: a Sketch of their History, Ethnology, and Languages, with an Abstract of the 1921 Census, Talbot reserved an unflattering description for the no-nonsense Ijaw race. Hear him at page 333, “Up the various creeks and branches, the waters are infested by a wild piratical set who live almost entirely in their canoes, and who subsist by plundering traders while on their way to the markets, often adding murder to their other crimes.”

Talbot was, aside his colonial brief, a British anthropologist and botanical collector. Born in 1877, he lived in the creeks for years to undertake his study and died in 1945. While in Nigeria, he was the Acting Resident of Benin Division in the 1920s. Aside the frightening sketch of the Ijaw above, Talbot went on to say this of the race, “this strange people, (were) a survival from the dim past beyond the dawn of history, whose language and customs are distinct from those of their neighbours and without trace of any tradition of time before they were driven southwards into these regions of somber mangroves,” and in another context, said of them: “their (Ijaws) origin is wrapped in mystery. The people inhabit practically the whole Coast, some 250 miles in length, stretching between the Ibibio and Yoruba. The Niger Delta therefore, is… occupied by this strange people.”

Many other scholars who studied this very unique race couldn’t understand its abstruse origin and piratical ancestry. While a school of thought claimed that Ijaws had a Judo-Christian origin, another contended that their ancestors originated from Palestine. They base this argument on the assumed similarity between Ijaw’s initial name, Ijo and one of the ancient cities in Palestine known as Ijon. In concluding on this similarity, the scholars drew a nexus between the cultural practices of the Ijaw which are noticeably, male circumcision, ritual laws and abstinence from sex during menstruation and Palestinians’ war mongering and maniacal tendencies. They said that both races draw strength and resilience from their identical link with Zionism. This assumed connect is based on Palestine’s adherence to Mosaic laws, similar to those of the Ijaw people’s self-styled creek freedom fighters. In the 1940s, an amateur historiography also linked the Ijaws with the Benin, Ife and Egypt and then to the mythological Oduduwa of the Yoruba peoples.

Ijaws were almost unconquerable to the British colonial government, especially the Western Ijaw, so much that British officers hardly visited Ijaw clans. This was as a result of the gruesome killing of the District Commissioner of Forcados in 1911 in the Ijaw communities of Benni and Adagbabiri. Even as late as 1926, there was a confession by British officers in Warri complaining about the 'truculent Ijaws' who they owned up they had not succeeded in conquering. Ijaw were also considered to be people of 'bad-manners' by the colonial administrators because they refused to turn up at the coast to welcome visiting administrators.

In the nineteenth century, pirates gained utmost notoriety by roaming the seas as sailors, attacking other ships and stealing property from them. Thus, living true to Talbot’s character profiling, in an act similar to pirates’, Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, last Wednesday pressed the nuclear button. He did this by attacking the hallowed rendering of democratic ethos when he pulled down the state’s legislative chamber, the Assembly complex. Before this demolition, the complex, comprising about six buildings and a main chamber, constructed by the government of Peter Odili, was an insignia of democracy. The Fubara government’s alibi for the demolition, as provided by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, was that the complex had become unsafe for human habitation as a result of the explosion and fire that rocked it in October.

Since the pulling down of the complex, it is instructive that Wike hasn’t said a word. He must have been very proud of his political son who took after his father. Wike’s eight-year administration of Rivers was pockmarked by similar governmental intransigence. In April, 2023, after losing his bid for the presidency, Wike ordered African Independent Television (AIT) out of its Port-Harcourt premises and demolished the sprawling building. His grouse was that owner of AIT, Raymond Dokpesi, took sides with ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar. In May this year too, he also demolished the Bayelsa State Government’s (BASG) property which was located in Akasa Street, Old Government Residential Area in Port Harcourt.

Rivers State had been quaking since the disagreement between Wike and Fubara, his protégé, came into public glare. It became so messy to the point that four lawmakers, led by factional Speaker, Ehie Ogerenye Edison, who swore loyalty to Fubara, sacked 27 other members, led by factional Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, who had earlier defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). It has gone even messier, with a number of resignations from commissioners believed to have been nominated by Wike and the dual sittings by the two factions of state legislators.

The Fubara-ordered demolition of the House of Assembly was blood-curdling. Never had this democratic governance witnessed such massive propitiation of a collective monument to the god of personal political survival. This act reminds people of Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Also known by the sobriquet Qin Shihuangdi, he ordered the killing of Chinese scholars because he disagreed with their ideas. He was also renowned for ordering the burning of books he saw as critical to him. While he reigned, Qin ordered the construction of a great wall which perceived as prequel to the modern Great Wall of China, as well as an enormous mausoleum which had over 6,000 life-size terra-cotta soldier figures. He conscripted thousands of people who worked on the wall who eventually died in the process of building the Wall. He also ordered the killing of workers building the Chinese mausoleum for the preservation of the secrecy of the tomb. Whenever Qin captured foreign hostages, he ordered them castrated as a mark to delineate them as slaves. When the blood-curdling acts are considered, they seem like higher version of the destruction of legislative memory that the demolition of the Rivers House of Assembly appears to be. This is so when you bear in mind that all the documents, memories and codified acts of the Rivers legislature are today buried in ruins to keep Fubara in office and keep him at bay from the fangs and incisors of his Dracula nemesis, Wike.

In an earlier piece I did on the Wike-Fubara tango (Why was Wike admiring Adedibu’s bust? November 5, 2023), I sketched how Nigeria’s Fourth Republic had been replete with outgoing governors planting their puppets as successors and how this puppeteering had boomeranged colossally against them. It is only in Lagos and Borno State (between Kashim Shettima and Babagana Umara Zulum are predecessor and successor) where a veneer of amity between godfather and godson is being maintained. In virtually all the states where this godfatherism is practiced, immediately the hands of these assumed puppets, in the words of a Yoruba aphorism, firmly clutch the handle of the sword, they get emboldened enough to stand up to their puppeteers and ask upsetting questions.

The last 23 years of godfather politics in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic have also been sustained by a clone of Niccolo Machiavelli’s political theory, which is in effect a theory of autocratic governance. Machiavelli, an Italian historian and political philosopher, is notorious for his treatise on governance and statescraft through his 1532 book, The Prince. The book advocated cunningness and craftiness as weapon of political power and legitimized deceptive means as ladder to climb to attain and retain power. Machiavelli taught that, to attain and sustain political leadership, irrationality and immorality are two major weapons to be deployed. Anything other than this for the ‘Prince’, says Machiavelli, is catastrophe.

The Wike-Fubara episode however promises to brim with weeping, wailing, mourning, blood and gnashing of the teeth. Since the advent of the Fourth Republic, Rivers has oscillated dangerously on the governorship curve, reflecting an uptick from the sublime to the outright deadly. Beginning with Odili, a medical doctor who is generally perceived to wear the visage of a gentleman, successful occupants of the governorship stool after him have mirrored the anti-feminist, patently patriarchal Yoruba saying that, rather than the woman perceived to be a witch being weaned of her witchcraft, she has kept giving birth to female children, who are potential witches as well. While Rotimi Amaechi appeared a deadly and no-nonsense politician, he was an apprentice when placed by the side of Wike, a pesky, authoritarian totalitarian who brooks no dissenting voice. Like all governors of Nigeria from 1999 who installed their puppets to prevent roaches in their cupboards from peering out for the world to see, Wike’s place-holding rulership of Rivers State, using his former Accountant General, Fubara has hit a deadly rock and violence is being deployed for its sustenance.

As said earlier, if Wike came to Fubara’s choice as the one to carry his piss-can simply on account of his pliable, gentlemanly demeanor, he must by now be reaping the fruits of his narrow-minded judgment. What Fubara lacks in not wearing a bellicose visage, he makes up for it in his piratical meanness, a reincarnation of sort of Qin. In Fubara is the first time the Ijaw are occupying the Brick House, apart from Alfred Diete-Spiff, an Ijaw who was the was the first military governor of Rivers State after it was created from part of the old Eastern Region. Diete-Spiff held office from May 1967 to July 1975 in the military administration of General Yakubu Gowon.

Machiavelli’s Prince and the cruelty of the theory have since been occupying Rivers’ Bricks House. For the rulers of Machiavelli’s theory, the governor is a ruler and he must act contrary to truth, charity and humanity. The religious exposition of meekness should have no place in his dictionary. To stay continually in power, so counsels Machiavelli, the ruler should act like ‘man’ or ‘animal’. When you look at the demolition of the Rivers Assembly complex last week, you can judge by yourself who out of Machiavelli's man or beast had the audacity and temerity to do so. This is because, for the Prince to rule, it is even not enough to act like an ordinary animal. Marchiavelli recommends that he is to act like the beast, the fox and the lion, because he must imitate the ferocity of wild animals. There is nothing like rule of law but anti-people acts in Machiavelli’s leadership conjuration.

Nevertheless, as dangerous and unexampled as the Fubara meanness in destroying the House of Assembly complex appears to be, Fubara deserves to vanquish Wike as lesson to future gubernatorial godfathers that they can fool some people sometimes but cannot fool all the people all the time. The resignation galore from the Rivers State government by key commissioners in the cabinet has also revealed the palpable danger in and cruelty of gubernatorial godfathers. While Wike unabashedly told the world that he personally collected forms of expression of interests for all the state elected representatives, the resignations have confirmed the claim that he appointed the bulk of special advisers and commissioners in the Fubara government.

How Wike will wriggle out of this trap he entered into is a million dollar question. Already, his fight against Fubara has been weaponized as an ethnic war against the marginalized goose that lays the golden egg of Nigeria’s oil hub, the Ijaw. If the age-long creek prowess of the Ijaw, their unanimity in construing the Wike fight as war against the Ijaw people, will drill a huge hole in the barge of the fight. Arguably Nigeria's fourth largest ethnic group who live in the coastal fringes, the Ijaw still maintain their pre-colonial kingdoms of Opobo, Kalabiri, Nembe, Brass and Bonny which is now elongated to the creeks of Ondo State.

In the pre-colonial time, Ijaws, said to have existed over 700 years ago, were reputed to have had early contacts with Europe and were by that very fact more prosperous than their hinterland neigbours. They were however marginalized in the states where they live. The exception is Bayelsa that is largely an Ijaw state. The activism of Ijaw youths who began their revolt against the Nigerian state in the 1990s showed their capacity to fight war of any hue. This fight yielded fruits when President Umaru Yar’Adua granted them amnesty. The revolting youths had earlier formed pan-ethnic youth organizations like the Movement for the Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality (MOSIEN), the Movement for Reparations to Ogbia (MORETO) and the Ijaw Youth Council (IJW). They also had the Egbesu Boys of Africa and FNDIC. It will be recalled that the Egbesu Boys gained public notoriety when a military onslaught was launched against them during the Kaiama Declaration. It was there that the perception of invincibility of its members grew, with tales of the inability of bullets to penetrate the warring boys, all thanks to the Egbesu deity, Ijaw’s god of war. Ijaws have frightful but notable sons like Asari Dokubo, president of IYC who established the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, (NDPVF) and Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, known more by his sobriquet 

Tompolo, ex-MEND militant commander and  chief priest of Egbesu.

Unlike the choleric Wike who overtly advertises his anger, Fubara is calm, hiding his Ijaw ancestral prowess under the veneer of this calmness. He still projects his underdog stand in the fight while allowing Wike to bark out his bad temper and be seen by the whole world as an unpretentious totalitarian.  

How long this fight will endure is difficult to determine. In spite of Fubara’s mean demolition of the State Assembly Complex, the general mood is tilted against Wike. Many are glad that he has finally met his comeuppance and the arrogant quills of his turtle dove have been lowered. Where the presidency’s sympathy lies in this whole fight, especially the political implication of government making enmity of the Ijaw, is also unclear. What is however clear is that, like the Yoruba say of one who has met their equal, the pigmy Wike has elected to buy his corn meal kept in a raffia palm-made basket that is far higher than him, where his hands and eyes could not select for him.

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God ~ 1Corinthians 1:23-24.

Introduction

In life, we all have to deal with the unexpected once in a while. See, it is one thing to boast of faith when all things are going great and wonderful, but it’s an entirely different ballgame when all vital indices are looking desperate, and one can only walk in the triumph of trust (Psalm 55:23).

Remember Job! For as long as the ugly situations around him lasted, it was like he was stuck in a bad deal, and his condition was only getting worse by the day.

Until God intervened to give him an historic turnaround, he was only painfully aware of his own grim powerlessness! He didn’t even have the option of running away, or hiding somewhere, though he wanted to, badly (Job 14:13-14).

The stark and shocking reality of life is that being holy, doing the right thing, serving God or even having faith doesn’t always exempt you from such challenging and disgusting scenarios. Paul & Silas were even jailed for being active in their kingdom duty posts, preaching the Word, casting out devils and leading people to Christ.

Meanwhile, oftentimes, whatever we see as an unexpected crisis is really never a surprise to God. Nothing surprises God, not even your present challenges. He knows it all from the beginning, and He has the Wonderful Solution, a divine “joker” so to say, suited for all challenges and situations of life, no matter the forms they may take.

Now, whenever challenges show up, anyhow and from anywhere, the wisest route out of the downward spiral situations of anguish is to know and to fully embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. And, it is crucial that we understand that!

All in all and in it all, Jesus Christ is our everything! He is the most important person in all our life-spaces, and He’s extremely pertinent to our lives and godliness, now, here and hereafter. Please hold that fact tight!

He is our Saviour, our Healer, our Deliverer, our Baptizer, our Provider, our Guide, our Guard, our Source of joy, our Fountain of inspiration, our Coming King: He’s our Everything (Isaiah 9:6). Indisputably, He’s Emmanuel, the only true and lasting peace in our world (Luke 2:14; John 17:13).

Consequent upon Christ’s finished work of redemption on Calvary’s Cross, one of the irreversible verdicts of scripture is that the believers’ perpetual triumph is now a forgone conclusion (2Corinthians 2:14). Nevertheless, the real secret here is in the valiant Spirit of God’s power and wisdom, which is summed up in Christ Jesus.

Yes, Jesus Christ is clearly set forth as the Wisdom and the Power of God (1Corinthians 1:24). In other words, both the logos and the logics of heaven are lumped together in Jesus Christ! Isn’t that absolutely thrilling?

Nevertheless, the most dizzying and clearly mind-boggling thing here is that this same Christ — the Power and the Wisdom of God — is actually domiciled in us, now!

Thus, whenever the unexpected happens, or you find yourself facing a crisis moment, you shouldn’t automatically go into panic mode or become emotionally wrecked, because you’re equipped with the ultimate solution.

If you are a believer in Christ, both the power and the wisdom of God dwell within you, now! The devil cannot gain the upper hand against you, and his weapons shall never prosper in your life again (Isaiah 54:17). Alleluia!

No matter the situation, like He did unto David, the One who is called “Wonderful” shall surely make you a wonder unto many, and you shall enjoy His tangible goodness within and all around you, in Jesus name (Psalm 71:7)! But, we must know this for real to fully enjoy it!

Maturing Ourselves In the Use of the Name of Jesus Christ!

I believe Job was making very clear allusions to the wonderfulness of Jesus Christ, even in the days of his trials, when he said: “I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvelous things without number” (Job 5:8-9).

Yes indeed, Jesus Christ is capable and ever ready to do for us and through us incredible things and wonders without number (Job 9:10).

However, the greatest joy here is that the believers everywhere are His authorized representatives and ambassadors of goodwill on the earth today. He dwells within us to restore man back to the image of God and to the platform of wonders in the world.(Colossians 1:27; 1John 4:4).

Meanwhile, as members of God’s great family, we must never lose sight of our most precious possession and choicest treasure: the Name of Jesus Christ. We must rather give it all it takes to firmly mature ourselves in using it to glorify God on earth!

With the name of Jesus Christ, God has equipped the believers for victory in every battle of life, granted us access to His treasure house of answers when we pray, and He goes before us to make our crooked places straight!

Friends and beloved brethren, instead of focusing on your problem, focus on the Almighty God in Christ Jesus. He is with you, and He wants to walk with you, leading and guiding you to a place of peace and victory.

Happily, as He is, so are we in this world (1John 4:17). Since Jesus never failed, you shall not fail again. He knew no sin, sin shall not dominate you again! He was never sick, believe God that sicknesses shall no longer exact upon your health again!

Jesus Christ lives in majesty, we should not live in poverty and lack. He dominated situations and circumstances, even nature; we should not be overruled by any situation or circumstances anymore.

This is your day: you shall rule and reign by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). No matter what happened before, trust in God evermore. He could still take whatever the enemy meant for evil and turn it around for your good.

Contrary winds may be howling, and demons may be growling, just keep in mind that God never runs out of supernatural supplies (Philippians 4:19). He always leads His own forward in victory! So keep moving in faith, knowing that He has a good plan for you! You won’t miss it, in Jesus name. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Bishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987

Even though God is always justified in whatever He does, nevertheless, we must forgive God for whatever action He takes against us. It is in our best interests to do this. Jesus says: “Blessed is that man who is not offended because of Me.” (Matthew 11:6).

A lot of the time, when we are angry with God, we do not acknowledge this to ourselves. But our actions express fulsomely our displeasure. We stop going to church. We stop reading the Bible. We stop walking in the spirit and thereby fulfil the lusts of the flesh.

We stop praying and spending time with God. We stop making melodies to God in our heart. Resentment against God can even sometimes send us into depression.

Besides, when we are angry with God, we want to hurt God. We consciously or subconsciously do the things we know He does not like. Thereby, we sin against God and against our own souls.

Judas Iscariot

When we are angry with God, we grumble and complain about Him. We maintain that there is no benefit to godliness. The upshot of this is that we might end up denying God, just like Judas did.

Judas bore a grudge against Jesus. Discipleship did not provide him with the dividends he anticipated. It did not make him wealthy, so he stole regularly from the common purse.

His discontent reached a peak when he saw a woman “waste” an expensive perfume (worth a year’s salary) by pouring it in one go on Jesus’ head. He asked indignantly: “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:5).

John noted that Judas had no interest in the poor. If the perfume had been traded for cash, it would only have given him the opportunity to steal part of the money.

Judas was so disgusted with this “waste” that he apparently concluded that Jesus was not a good bet for financial enrichment. Therefore, immediately after this incident, he decided on the quicker and surer option of betraying Jesus for money.

He went to the chief priests and said to them: “What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.” (Matthew 26:15).

God is Responsible

God accepts responsibility as the cause of our anger. He never denies responsibility for the afflictions we endure. The Bible declares that nothing happens without God’s say-so. He works all things according to the counsel of His will. (Ephesians 1:11).

That means God is guilty. He is responsible for our adversities, even including those we bring on ourselves.

Accordingly, God told me He was the One who sent robbers to waylay and shoot me. At the same time, He was also the One who saved me from the robbers He sent. He made sure they did not do more damage than He intended. So, the bullet they shot at me hit me in the leg and not in the chest.

But one thing remains certain despite the afflictions God brings, He loves us with perfect love. He goes to great lengths to assure us of this in life and in the scriptures. Paul says:

“Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).

We will never know exactly why God loves us this much. But Jesus coming down to earth to be beaten and to die for our sins is enough to remove any doubt that God loves us. Thus, the psalmist asks: “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:4).

But God does not butter us up so we can know He loves us and, therefore, love Him back. He expects us to love Him, no matter what. He is glorified when we love Him despite our adversities. In any case, He is God, so He reserves the right to treat us in whatever way He chooses. And He insists we must not grumble or complain.

Jeremiah’s Lamentations

Nevertheless, a whole book in the Bible is devoted to complaining about God. In “Lamentations”, Jeremiah brings extensive charges against God. Among other things, he says:

“(God) has turned His hand against me again and again, all day long. He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress. He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead. He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains. And though I cry and shout, He has shut out my prayers.” (Lamentations 3:3-8).

Nevertheless, he maintains that:

“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him. So, it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:23-26).

If we have truly forgiven someone, we will not complain again to anybody about what he did. The same principle applies to God. Complaints about God must be made directly to God, Do not make the mistake of complaining about God to someone else. God does not take kindly to this.

David says: “I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord’s mercy. I pour out my complaints before Him and tell Him all my troubles.” (Psalms 152:1-2).

But those who complained about God to others were destroyed by the destroyer. (1 Corinthians 10:10).

Atonement With Man

One of the most beautifully enigmatic passages in the Bible describes Jesus’ anguish at the tomb of Lazarus.  In the shortest verse in the Bible, it simply says: “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35).

Why would Jesus weep at the grave of Lazarus when He planned to raise him from the dead?

The truth is that God is hurt when His people are hurt. Isaiah says of God concerning Israel: “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them.” (Isaiah 63:9). Indeed, Isaiah prophesied that that Jesus would bear our griefs and carry our sorrows.

Jesus came down from heaven to earth precisely to enter into our pains and anguish: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15).

Indeed, the greatest expression of God’s identification with man in the Bible is Jesus’ repetition of the cry of David on the cross of Calvary: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46/Psalms 22:1).

By this cry, God entered into the mainstream of the human experience. God Himself cried out on man’s behalf for salvation and redemption. Man, in Christ, cried out to God in desperation, in confusion, and in disappointment. 

“Why, if you are God; why, since you are God, are you allowing all this calamity to happen to us?”

On the cross, God entered so completely into the human experience and validated human suffering. 

Purpose for Affliction

Certainly, God has a purpose for every affliction He ordains. It is our responsibility to find out the purpose if possible, or to accept His purpose, even when we do not know the reason behind it. Even in his lamentations, Jeremiah acknowledges that:

“Though (God) causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.” (Lamentations 3:32-33).

Therefore, in our afflictions, we must not lean on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5). We must continue to trust God. This is what makes Job so exemplary. Even in the bitterness of his soul, he maintains his commitment to God, saying: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15).

Paul assures us that: “No temptation has overtaken (us) except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow (us) to be tempted beyond what (we) are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that (we) may be able to bear it.”(1 Corinthians 10:13).

God told the devil: “You can deal with Job, but you cannot take his life.” (Job 2:6). God dealt severely with Assyria because it had no pity on Israel and wanted to afflict the Israelites beyond what God had in mind.

Even though it is God Himself who orchestrates our afflictions, Zechariah reveals that those He uses to afflict us are in trouble. God will repay them: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.’” (Zechariah 2:8).

The last word here belongs to Habakkuk’s doxology:

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

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It's the trans rights row that has gripped Ireland for well over a year – putting an otherwise unremarkable history teacher at the heart of the country's culture wars for his refusal to use a trans pupil's pronouns. 

Enoch Burke – who taught History and German – refused to refer to a transitioning transgender student as 'they' rather than 'he' in May last year.

It sparked a chain of events that has led to him being jailed for repeatedly showing up at Wilson's Hospital School in County Westmeath after being sacked, and entering the staff room saying he was there to do his job. 

Now he remains in Dublin's Mountjoy Prison with no prospect of release because he refuses to comply with a court order to stay away from the school premises. 

Meanwhile, Burke's loyal family continue to protest at the school, maintaining he's being persecuted for his Christian beliefs – while supporters insist the whole 'country is behind him'. 

However, others less sympathetic to the cause view his stubborn refusal and his family's protests as attention seeking, with one newspaper columnist pointing out that the Burkes 'like to get their own way'.  

The row broke out more than a year ago, when during a meeting with the headteacher and his deputy, Burke said that his Evangelical Christian beliefs meant he 'opposed transgenderism'.

Following this, Burke publicly criticised the headteacher's 'demand' that staff use students' chosen pronouns, following a service at the Church of Ireland school to celebrate its 260th anniversary

Burke was accused of 'breaching the confidence' of the transitioning student, and as a result, the teacher was suspended with pay and later fired for gross misconduct in August last year.

However, Burke continued showing up at the school – prompting his former employer to obtain a court order to get him to stay away.

In September last year, Burke was jailed for 100 days for ignoring the court order.

During an appeal, the teacher argued that he was being imprisoned because of his Christian beliefs.

After being released, Burke was imprisoned for the second time in September this year for refusing to stay away from the school again – and has been told he will remain in prison indefinitely until he agrees to comply with the court order.

Here FEMAIL delves into the case that has gripped Ireland – as Burke's family campaigns for his release without having to 'endorse transgenderism'.

Beginning of trans row

Last Spring, headteacher Niamh McShane sent an email to her staff informing them of the student's new name and pronouns.

After receiving the email, Burke is said to have raised his issue with the change of pronouns during a staff meeting on May 10 last year. 

While giving evidence in a later trial, deputy headteacher John Galligan said that Burke 'erupted' during the meeting and 'changed colour completely'.

According to the former deputy head, Burke – whose 'forte' was said to have been extracurricular debating – spoke for a 'good five to eight minutes'.

After this, guidance counsellor Freda Malone told a court that she approached Burke to tell him she was sorry he was so upset and noted that he had tears in his eyes. 

In a follow-up meeting between the headteacher, her deputy and Burke, Mr Galligan claimed the jailed teacher repeated how he was 'opposed to transgenderism' as a result of his religion. 

Following this, Burke is said to have publicly interjected after a religious service celebrating the school's 260th anniversary to criticise Ms McShane's supposed 'demand' that staff refer to the student by their chosen pronouns.

Following the chapel service, Burke is alleged to have approached the headteacher at a meal where he asked her to withdraw her 'demand' again.

As a result of this, the headteacher believed Burke was guilty of gross misconduct – as other students may not have been aware the student was transitioning. 

Ms Freda Malone, who worked at the school as a guidance counsellor, claims Burke 'breached the confidence' of the student on two occasions during that occasion.

Speaking at a High Court hearing in March this year, Ms Malone said the headteacher was escorted home by other guests at the event and they later 'formed a ring' around her home out of concern for her safety.

Discussing the incidents in court, headteacher Ms McShane – who stepped down amid the controversy – said: 'The public statement of his refusal to accept transgenderism in the chapel… it was as [if] the school had demanded to accept transgenderism, which was not the case, so it was a misrepresentation of what happened. 

'What I asked is that we could support the student in their request, that is very different to ask the staff to accept transgenderism.'

Initial Suspension and Protest 

In August last year, Ms McShane submitted a stage-four report to the chair of the board John Rogers about Burke's outbursts – which prompted the representative to arrange a meeting with the teacher.

The purpose of the meeting was to decide if Burke should be suspended or face any kind of disciplinary action.

Burke's sister Ammi is said to have joined him for the meeting – which was adjourned for 15 minutes by Rodgers, who said it was 'going nowhere'.

When the representatives returned to the meeting room, the Burkes had left.

After this, the board made the unanimous decision to place Burke on paid leave while they dealt with the misconduct allegation. 

According to Galligan, there were growing concerns 'about what [Burke's] next protest might be and the form it would take' in the new school year.

Despite being put on leave, Burke is said to have attended a staff meeting at the start of the school year.

After repeatedly arriving on school grounds, Burke was allegedly asked to leave 'every hour' by the deputy head.

The ex-deputy head said: '[Burke] would be there for the day, standing in the room reading from a book. That’s where he remained.'

Galligan says Burke refused to leave the premises - insisting he was 'there to work and attend meetings'. 

In May 2023, the Irish High Court ruled that the school had acted lawfully in suspending Burke and said Enoch had been 'trespassing' on their grounds.

First prison sentence 

In an attempt to keep Burke away from the premises while they conducted the investigation, the school took out a temporary court order against the teacher – which still didn't deter him.

In August last year, Enoch was sued by the school for his failure to comply with the court order and later arrested for being in contempt of court.

At his initial hearing on September 6 that year, Burke told Judge Quinn: 'I am a teacher and I don't want to go to prison. I want to be in my classroom today, that's where I was this morning when I was arrested.'

'I love my school, with its motto Res Non Verba, actions not words, but I am here today because I said I would not call a boy a girl.'

When the case went to the High Court the following week, Burke, who was representing himself, maintained that he would not purge his contempt of court for violating the order, insisting that he was being persecuted for his faith. 

When asked by Judge Eileen Roberts if he would abide by the order, Burke said: ‘I cannot do that. I go back to jail as a law-abiding citizen of the state always. But God first.’ 

Addressing the court, Burke said: ‘The question is not will I purge my contempt but how this court order could have been granted?

‘The court is asking me to purge my contempt, but this court has robbed me of my constitutional right. It was wrong what the court did. How can I purge my contempt of that which is wrong?’

But Judge Roberts disagreed with his argument. The teacher was escorted out of the court to prison by three prison guards to loud applause from the public gallery with many hollering: ‘The country is with you Enoch.’

Dozens of people packed the public gallery shouting ‘disgrace’ and ‘shame’ following the judge’s decision.

The teacher served more than 100 days before being released on December 21 last year on an 'open-ended- basis.

Eventual Dismissal and €15,000 fine

On January 18, Burke and his family interrupted a school board meeting, which was being held at the Mullingar Park Hotel in Westmeath.

During the meeting, the board heard Ms McShane's report into Burke's misconduct. 

The family took issue to the fact that chairman John Rogers – who had held the initial meeting with Burke – was not present. In a High Court hearing, it was revealed that Rogers had not attended the meeting due to illness.

The Burkes could reportedly be heard chanting in the hallway: 'It's a sham. It's a cover-up.' 

Gardaí had to escort board members from a Mullingar hotel while they were being followed by members of Burke's family 

Two days later, it was announced that Burke had officially been dismissed from his position at the school for intimidating and harassing a colleague and breaching the confidence of the child who was in the process of transitioning.

At the time, a statement from the school read: 'He was informed in person at 3:30pm this afternoon in the presence of chairperson of the board of management Rogers and principal Frank Milling that he was dismissed.' 

One week later, the High Court ruled that Burke would be fined €700 a day if he continued ignoring the court order which requires him to stay away from the school. 

Burke appealed the board's decision to dismiss him – which resulted in the case going to the Irish High Court in March.

Justice Owens excluded the teacher on the first day after he continually interrupted proceedings and refused to comply with rules.

Scenes of pandemonium broke out at the Court of Appeal, as Burke, his parents and three of his siblings were physically dragged out of the courtroom by gardaí. 

Enoch's mother, Martina Burke, accused the judges of 'bowing to the altar of transgenderism' while waving a copy of the Constitution. 

His sister Ammi, a solicitor, also attempted to argue with the judges mid-ruling, saying her brother's constitutional rights were not being upheld.

Judge Birmingham asked her to sit down, and then requested that gardaí remove her from the courtroom.

During the hearing, Freda Malone said the school was concerned for the transgender student's safety and feared Burke would continue making public protests in front of other students.

Meanwhile, Galligan discussed Burke's initial outburst at the staff meeting and his repeated attempts to remove the teacher from the premises during his suspension.

Following the hearing, Justice Owens made an order restraining Burke from trespassing on the school premises – but noted that this did not prevent him from being outside the gates.

In July, Burke was ordered to pay €15,000 to Wilson's Hospital School to cover their legal fees and for damages.

Appearing before Justice Alexander Owens, Burke said that objecting to people being transgender was his right. 

Indefinite prison sentence 

In September, Burke was jailed for a second time after refusing to comply with the High Court order.

The school's new headteacher Frank Milling said that having to lock doors was creating a health and safety issue for faculty. 

On top of this, the headteacher said he was unable to carry out some of his everyday duties as he has to monitor Burke – who has been known to follow cars through the gates.

After gaining access by following a bus in January, Milling – who has expressed concern for how the situation is impacting current students – told Burke: 'Stop. Stop. Get off the property.'  

Despite being removed from the premises by two uniformed gardaí, Burke returned to the gates following his release later that same day. 

Speaking at the gates, Burke told local press that he had been 'wrongfully arrested' for trespassing and insisted he has 'broken no laws' and 'done nothing wrong', the Irish Independent reports.

Justice Mark Heslin said there was 'no dispute' that Burke has 'fragrantly breached' court orders to stay away from the school.

As a result, the judge ordered that Burke remain in prison 'indefinitely' until he agrees to follow the court order and not return to his old workplace.

After finding Burke to be in contempt of court, Heslin asked the teacher on three occasions if he understood the order against him. However, Burke remained silent. 

Burke was returned to Mountjoy Prison – where he spent his first prison sentence – and was told he could be released if he agreed to stay away from the school. The former teacher has been imprisoned at the facility since September 8 and has been participating in court hearings via video link.

In November, Burke's father Sean and brother Isaac were physically removed from the Court of Appeal for interrupting Justice John Edwards.

Last week, Burke's mother Martina and sister Ammi were removed from the Court of Appeal after they began shouting at barristers and the judge upon entry.

The pair demanded that Eoin Lawlor BL – who is acting as the counsel for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission – leave the courtroom.

On top of this, they accused the court of 'making a fool' of Enoch and said it was 'corrupt' that the teacher had to contribute via video-link while Lawlor was present.

Last night, Burke's family protested outside the Wilson's Hospital School, which was hosting their annual carol concert.

His mother held a sign reading: 'Enoch Burke stood for school ethos and is in Mountjoy for Christmas.'

His brother's sign read: 'Enoch Burke jailed for his Christian belief.' 

'Christmas in Mountjoy for Christian teacher,' his father's sign read. 

Daily Mail

The genes that boost fertility mean you're more likely to die younger, according to a new study.

One of the puzzles of evolution is why we peter out into old age once we can no longer reproduce.

Now, scientists believe that aging may actually be a consequence of how we evolved to reproduce, and it's all a result of natural selection over millions of years.

A study analyzing the genes of 276,406 UK Biobank participants found that people carrying gene variances promoting reproduction are less likely to survive to old age.

"We confirm a hypothesis called the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis, which says that mutations promoting reproduction are more likely to reduce life span," said Jianzhi Zhang, of the University of Michigan in the US and senior author of the study in the journal Science.

According to the research, people carrying genetic variances promoting reproduction were more likely to die by the age of 76. The study also shows that genetic variances promoting reproduction increased over generations from 1940 to 1969, meaning humans are still evolving and strengthening the trait.

"This shows the evolutionary pattern of high reproduction and low survival [and vice versa] is still visible in modern humans. Our gene variants are the product of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. What's surprising is that despite our far better health than ever before, this pattern is still visible," said Steven Austad, an expert in aging research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, in the US, who wasn't involved in the study.

Why aren't humans more fertile in old age?

Scientists have been puzzling over the evolutionary origins of aging for some time. It's unclear why, from an evolutionary perspective, our reproductive performance declines with age. Surely being more fertile in old age would be evolutionary advantageous, giving us more time to pass on our genes?

Not so, according to the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis. The hypothesis states that the benefits of fertility in early life are responsible for the dreadful cost of aging. This new study now provides robust evidence from a huge sample of humans to back it up.

"This idea is that some traits [and genetic variants that cause them] are important when we are young, helping us grow strong and be fertile. But, when we get older, those same traits can start causing problems and make us fragile and unhealthy. It's like some mutations having two sides: a good side when we're young, and a not-so-good side when we're old," said Arcadi Navarro Cuartiellas, a geneticist at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain who was not involved in the study.

One example is the effects of menopause and fertility loss in women. Eggs, sometimes called ova, deplete during a woman's lifetime. This makes a person more fertile in young adulthood, but results in loss of fertility later in life through menopause.

Biologists think the benefits of regular cycles for reproduction may outweigh the cost of infertility in older age. The downside is that menopause speeds up aging.

"Another example is, say, a gene variant enhances fertility so that a woman is more likely to have twins. Evolutionarily that might be advantageous, because she will potentially leave more copies of that variant than women who have single babies. But having twins leads to more wear and tear on her body so she ages more quickly. That would be an antagonistically pleiotropic process," said Austad.

The converse is true as well. A gene variant that reduces fertility early in life will likely cause a person to have fewer or no children, so that the person ages more slowly, Austad added.

But how does the environment affect aging?

The antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis does have its criticisms, however. For one, it doesn't account for the huge effects of the environment and socioeconomic changes on aging, and nor does this study.

After all, humans are living longer than ever before in history, and it's mostly due to better health care rather than genetic evolution.

"These trends of phenotypic changes are primarily driven by environmental shifts including changes of lifestyles and technologies," said Zhang. "This contrast indicates that, compared with environmental factors, genetic factors play a minor role in the human phenotypic changes studied here."

Austad said a surprising outcome of the study was that reproductive genes had such a strong and observable effect on aging.

"Environmental factors are so important that I'm really surprised patterns [observed in this study] were still visible despite their importance. I think that is the advantage of having hundreds of thousands of individuals in a study," he said.

Research could have implications for aging

The antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis had "mountains of evidence before this paper but not for humans," according to Austad. But the research in humans, and with such a huge sample size, means the study could be important for understanding aging-related diseases.

"Ultimately, some of these variants could now be examined to see if they link to certain later life health problems, so that those problems can be monitored closely and possibly prevented," Austad told DW.

Scientists think the hypothesis could help explain why many serious genetic disorders are prevalent in our long evolutionary history.

Sickle cell anemia is a good example of antagonistic pleiotropy – whereby an inherited blood disorder which causes anemia actually evolved as a protective mechanism against malaria.

Zhang told DW that antagonistic pleiotropy may also be at play in Huntington's disease.

"Mutations causing Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder, also increase fecundity [the possible number of offspring produced]," Zhang said.

Mutations in the gene which causes Huntington's disease have also been hypothesized to lower rates of cancer.

Zhang said the paper could also have implications for the rising science of anti-aging.

"In theory, one could tinker with those antagonistically pleiotropic mutations to prolong life, but the downside would be reducing or delaying reproduction," said Zhang.

DW

Nigeria's annual inflation rose in November for the 11th straight month to the highest level in 18 years, adding pressure on the central bank to tackle the rise amid a worsening cost-of-living crisis in Africa's largest economy.

Consumer inflation rose to 28.20% in November from 27.33% in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday.

The last time Nigerians experienced this level of inflation was in August 2005, official data shows.

On Dec. 13, the World Bank warned Nigeria to control inflation, and tasked the central bank to tighten monetary policy, build market confidence around free foreign exchange pricing and phase out so-called "ways and means" advances to the government.

Price rises for food and non-alcoholic beverages were the biggest driver of annual inflation in November, the statistics bureau said.

Food inflation, which accounts for the bulk of Nigeria's inflation basket, rose to 32.84% in November from 31.52% a month earlier.

New Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso has vowed to phase out the bank's fiscal intervention programs in a bid to tame inflation.

Cardoso said the central bank plans to tighten policy over the next two quarters to manage inflation, after restarting its Open Market Operations (OMO) to help rein in money supply.

Despite President Bola Tinubu’s reforms, the country has struggled with foreign exchange shortages, low oil revenue and theft of crude oil, its main export and forex earner.

Analysts said naira depreciation, higher fuel and food prices, logistics costs and money supply growth, were some of the major drivers of Nigeria's inflation.

Inflation in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has risen to double-digits since 2016, eroding incomes and savings, despite the central bank hiking interest rates to their highest level in nearly two decades at its last meeting.

The central bank, at its last monetary policy meeting in July, opted for a smaller-than-expected 25 basis point hike, saying it preferred a moderate increase to anchor inflation expectations while continuing to support investment.

Reuters

Federation account allocation committee (FAAC) says it shared N1,088.783 trillion with the three tiers of government in November 2023.

FAAC disclosed this in a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Abuja on Friday.

The amount disbursed in November represents an increase of N181.82 billion compared to October’s allocation of N906.955 billion.

According to the communique, a total revenue of N1.620 trillion was earned in November 2023. 

Out of the gross revenue, the deduction for the cost of collection was N60.960 billion; while total transfers, interventions and refunds were N470.592 billion.  

Meanwhile, from the N1.088 trillion distributable revenue, N376.306 billion was for statutory revenue, value-added tax (VAT) revenue was N335.656 billion, electronic money transfer levy (EMTL) revenue was N11.952 billion and exchange difference revenue was N364.869 billion.  

In the communique, the breakdown of the N1.088 allocation showed that the federal government received N402.867 billion, the states received N351.697 billion, local governments received N258.810 billion, while oil-producing states received N75.410 billion as 13 percent derivation.

FAAC said from the N376.306 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government received N174.908 billion, states received N88.716 billion and local government councils received N68.396 billion. 

The committee added that N44.286 billion was shared with the benefiting states as 13 percent derivation revenue.

FAAC also said from the distributable VAT of N335.656 billion, FG got N50.348 billion, states received N167.828 billion, while local governments received N117.480 billion.

N11.952 billion from the EMTL, according to FAAC, was distributed to the federal government (N1.793 billion), states (N5.976 billion), and local governments (N4.183 billion).

In addition, the committee said gross statutory revenue received for the month was N882.561 billion, with various taxes such as company income tax, excise duty, petroleum profit tax, and VAT significantly increased.

FAAC said the balance in the excess crude account remained at $473.754 million.

The Cable

Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) says there is a high level of corruption across various sectors in the three arms of government and private sector.

The Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, Tunde Babawale, a professor, said this at the validation meeting of the Nigeria Corruption Index (NCI) Survey in Abuja

Babawale said that the findings put corruption level within the legislative, judicial, and executive arms of government and private sector at 42 per cent between 2022 and 2023.

”All the sectors have been found culpable and found to be highly corrupt, the legislature, the judiciary and the executive, all of them have been found to be corrupt

”Although at the level of the state, the score differs from one state to the other, but the bottom line is that there is an overall score that we found is that over 42 per cent in our own scale is highly corrupt for the entire country.”

According to him, it is observed that corruption has become so pervasive that Nigerians need to embark on a change of attitude, change of mindset and change of behaviour.

“Meaning that people must begin to develop a high intolerance level for corruption as we are now, there is a high level of tolerance for corruption in the country.

“And, they don’t see it as a very scandalous and shocking development as it used to be in the past. We should begin to train the youth and even the old on how to develop this anti-corruption antigen,” he said.

He explained that the validation meeting was for a national survey that was carried out in 2022 which was called the Nigerian Corruption Index (NCI).

According to him, the NCI is to survey the extent of grand corruption in Nigeria, to look at the various sectors that are mostly affected by corruption as well as overall Nigerian thought in corruption.

He said the NCI focused on corruption in high places, especially the three arms of government as well as the private sector.

He noted that there had been other surveys on corruption by the National Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime which were largely based on perception devoted to identifying the problem relating to petty corruption.

He said: “The difference in what we are doing is that we are surveying the impact of the effect of grand corruption and we are also looking at it from the perspective of different sectors of society, the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, as well as the sub-national government.

“So, the thinking that it is better for us to talk about grand corruption because of the greatest impact on living conditions of Nigerians when policemen collect bribes on the roadside – that has effects, but not as much as somebody stealing N109 billion.

”So, we want to weigh the impact of such on society, how it differs from one sector to the other, and the ultimate objective is also to ensure that we are able to advise the government on policies that should be put in place in order to develop anti-corruption initiatives and interventions.”

Roles of private sector

He expressed concerns on the findings of the NCI which discovered that people had trivialised corruption, and that the private sector fuelled corrupt practices in the public sector.

“One of the things we found out is that people have built the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility fraudulently. They have used it to disguise corruption and to also disguise the perpetration of corruption between the private and public sector.

“What I mean by that, private companies sometimes bring out the concept of corporate social responsibility as real corporate social responsibility, when what it is, is actually perpetuating corruption by giving officials bribes and even equipment.

“Some get cars bought for them and all of it we found out in the course of our survey. So, the government has to take a look at that. And purge it of all those impunity.”

Government action

He said there was the need for the government to look to legislative oversights sometimes used as a tool and channel for corruption.

“There is need for the government to purge the legislate oversight of a tendency by some people to also use it to take money from both the private and public sector.

“Some in the survey claimed that they sponsored trips for legislative oversights, which should not be, because the government made provision for that. That has to be addressed.

“And lastly, the overall thing that was observed is that corruption has become so pervasive that we need to embark on a change of attitude, change of mindset and change of behavior,” he said.

The NCI project

Elijah Okebukola, a profrssor and Lead researcher on the project Nigeria Corruption Index (NCI), noted that what the index did was that it measured corruption at different levels.

He said that their findings revealed that there was a high level of corruption at virtually every sphere of the sectors across Nigeria’s three arms of government.

“We have found that there is a high level of corruption at virtually every sphere of sectors in the country, in every level of government in all the spheres what index does is that it measures corruption at different levels,” he said.

Secretary of the commission, Clifford Oparaodu, represented by the Director of Legal, Henry Emorie, said that NCI was a tool aimed at helping the commission to better understand the fight against grand corruption in the country.

Oparaodu noted that everybody was experiencing the pervasive impact of corruption, which described corruption as a cankerworm that had insidiously woven its way into the fabric of the society, causing immeasurable damage to the nation.

While noting that the meeting would help to shed light on the area of concern as highlighted in the NCI data, he called for collective efforts to fight corruption in government and in the private sector.

NAN

The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a judgment by a lower court that dropped terrorism charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu, ruling that trial on the charges should continue.

Kanu, a British citizen who leads the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), disappeared from Nigeria after skipping bail in 2017. He was arrested in Kenya in 2021 and charged with terrorism.

Friday's ruling by Lawal Garba reinstating Kanu's seven-count terrorism trial at a lower federal court has effectively extended his detention, which began two years ago after his arrest.

"Even though illegalities were committed with the deployment of brutal force to invade his home after he was granted bail and the extraordinary rendition (from Kenya) into the country, there is no legislation yet that has ousted the jurisdiction of the court to try him," Garba said.

Kanu had denied the charges of terrorism and knowingly broadcasting falsehoods, which are linked to social media posts he issued between 2018 and last year.

Kanu's IPOB campaigns for the secession of a part of southeastern Nigeria where the majority belong to the Igbo ethnic group. Nigerian authorities have labeled IPOB a terrorist organisation.

An attempt by the southeastern region to secede as the Republic of Biafra in 1967 - the year that Kanu was born - triggered a three-year civil war that killed more than 1 million people.

Reuters

Israeli military says it mistakenly killed 3 Israeli hostages in battle-torn part of Gaza

Israeli troops mistakenly shot three hostages to death Friday in a battle-torn neighborhood of Gaza City, and an Israeli strike killed a Palestinian journalist in the south of the besieged territory, underscoring the ferocity of Israel’s ongoing onslaught.

The deaths were announced as a U.S. envoy tried to persuade the Israelis to scale back their campaign sooner rather than later.

The hostages were killed in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops have been engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas militants in recent days. The soldiers mistakenly identified the three Israelis as a threat and opened fire on them, said the army’s chief spokesman, Daniel Hagari.

He said it was believed that the three had either fled their captors or been abandoned.

“Perhaps in the last few days, or over the past day, we still don’t know all the details, they reached this area,” Hagari said. He said the army expressed “deep sorrow” and was investigating.

Hamas and other militants abducted more than 240 people in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, and the hostages’ plight has dominated public discourse in Israel ever since. Their families have led a powerful public campaign calling on the government to do more to bring them home.

Demonstrations in solidarity with the hostages and their families take place nearly every day. Late Friday, hundreds of protesters blocked Tel Aviv’s main highway in a spontaneous demonstration calling for the the hostages’ return.

Israeli political and military leaders often say freeing all the hostages is their top aim in the war alongside destroying Hamas.

Still, in seven weeks since ground troops pushed into northern Gaza, they have not rescued any hostages, though they freed one early in the conflict and have found the bodies of several others. Hamas released over 100 in swaps for Palestinian prisoners last month, and more than 130 are believed to still be in captivity.

The three hostages were identified as young men who had been abducted from Israeli communities near the Gaza border — Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Al-Talalka 25, and Alon Shamriz, 26.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called their deaths an “unbearable tragedy” and vowed to continue “with a supreme effort to return all the hostages home safely.”

In southern Gaza, the Al Jazeera television network said an Israeli strike Friday in the city of Khan Younis killed cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa and wounded its chief correspondent in Gaza, Wael Dahdouh. The two were reporting at a school that had been hit by an earlier airstrike when a drone launched a second strike, the network said.

Khan Younis has been the main target of Israel’s ground offensive in the south.

Speaking from a hospital bed, Dahdouh told the network that he managed to walk to an ambulance. But Abu Daqqa lay bleeding in the school and died hours later. An ambulance tried to reach the school to evacuate him but had to turn back because roads were blocked by the rubble of destroyed houses, it said.

Dahdouh, a veteran of covering Israel-Gaza wars whose wife and children were killed by an Israeli strike earlier in the war, was wounded by shrapnel in his right arm.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Abu Daqqa is the 64th journalist to be killed since the conflict erupted: 57 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese journalists.

Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour told a General Assembly meeting on the war that Israel “targets those who could document (their) crimes and inform the world, the journalists.”

“We mourn one of those journalists, Samer Abu Daqqa, wounded in an Israeli drone strike and left to bleed to death for six hours while ambulances were prevented from reaching him,” Mansour said.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment about Abu Daqqa’s death.

Israel’s offensive has flattened much of northern Gaza and driven 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes. Displaced people have squeezed into shelters mainly in the south in a spiraling humanitarian crisis.

The offensive has killed more than 18,700 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Thousands more are missing and feared dead beneath the rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Its latest count did not specify how many were women and minors, but they have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead in previous tallies.

While battered by the Israeli onslaught, Hamas has continued its attacks. On Friday it fired rockets from Gaza toward central Israel, setting off sirens in Jerusalem for the first time in weeks but causing no injuries. The group’s resilience called into question whether Israel can defeat it without wiping out the entire territory.

Israelis remain strongly supportive of the war and see it as necessary to prevent a repeat of the Hamas attack, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. A total of 116 soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive, which began Oct. 27.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has expressed unease over Israel’s failure to reduce civilian casualties and its plans for the future of Gaza, but the White House continues to offer wholehearted support with weapons shipments and diplomatic backing.

Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling continued Friday, including in Khan Younis and in Rafah, which is one of the shrinking areas of tiny, densely populated Gaza to which Palestinian civilians have been told by Israel to evacuate. Details on many of the strikes could not be confirmed because communications services have been down across Gaza since late Thursday because of fighting.

In meetings with Israeli leaders on Thursday and Friday, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed a timetable for winding down the intense combat phase of the war.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Sullivan that it would take months to destroy Hamas, but he did not say whether his estimate referred to the current phase of heavy airstrikes and ground battles.

“There is no contradiction between saying the fight is going to take months and also saying that different phases will take place at different times over those months, including the transition from the high-intensity operations to more targeted operations,” Sullivan said Friday.

Sullivan also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss Gaza’s postwar future. A senior U.S. official said one idea being floated is to bring back Palestinian security forces driven from their jobs in Gaza by Hamas in its 2007 takeover.

Any role for Palestinian security forces in Gaza is bound to elicit strong opposition from Israel, which seeks to maintain an open-ended security presence there. Netanyahu has said he will not allow a postwar foothold for the Abbas-led Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The U.S. has said it eventually wants to see the West Bank and Gaza under a “ revitalized Palestinian Authority “ as a precursor to a Palestinian state — an idea soundly rejected by Netanyahu, who leads a right-wing government that is opposed to Palestinian statehood.

Palestinian officials have said they will consider a postwar role in Gaza only in the context of concrete U.S.-backed steps toward statehood.

In the meeting, Abbas called for an immediate cease-fire and ramped-up aid to Gaza, and emphasized that Gaza is an integral part of the Palestinian state, according to a statement from his office. It made no mention of conversations about postwar scenarios.

The 88-year-old Abbas is deeply unpopular, with a poll published Wednesday indicating close to 90% of Palestinians want him to resign. Meanwhile, Palestinian support for Hamas has tripled in the West Bank, with a small uptick in Gaza, according to the poll. Still, a majority of Palestinians do not back Hamas, according to the survey.

AP