Nigerian customs agents have seized more than 800 rifles and 100,000 rounds of ammunition hidden in a shipping container, a senior official said on Monday, highlighting the country's struggle against firearm trafficking linked to rising crime.

Customs Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi said the weapons found on June 21 had been concealed in a container alongside furniture and other goods that had been loaded in Turkey. The haul included various rifle models and ammunition.

"We have three suspects in our custody after securing a detention warrant from a competent court," Adeniyi told reporters, adding that investigations were ongoing.

The rifles and ammunition will be handed over to the office of Nigeria's security adviser for further investigation and prosecution, Adeniyi said.

In another customs bust on June 29, officials seized more than a million bottles of codeine cough syrup and millions of prescription painkiller tablets, he said. Opioid abuse is widespread in Nigeria and traffickers often smuggle codeine cough syrup.

Adeniyi said the containers loaded with the medicines were wrongly declared in an attempt to evade customs duties and import restrictions.

Reuters

Palestinian militants fire rockets into Israel, tanks advance in Gaza

The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad fired a barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday as fighting raged in Gaza and Israeli tanks advanced deeper in parts of the enclave, residents and officials said.

Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas - both of whom are backed by Iran - said its fighters fired rockets towards several Israeli communities near the fence with Gaza in response to "the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people".

The volley of about 20 rockets caused no casualties, the Israeli military said. But the attack showed militants still possess rocket capabilities almost nine months into an offensive that Israel says is aimed at neutralising threats against it.

Residents of several neighbourhoods in eastern Khan Younis, which is in southern Gaza, said they had received audio messages from Israeli phone numbers ordering them to leave their homes.

"For your safety, you must evacuate immediately to the humanitarian zone," army spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on social media platform X in a call to residents and displaced people living in those areas.

Some suggested this could mean Israeli forces will return to the area, which they left several weeks ago. The Israeli military said in a statement earlier on Monday the rockets were fired from the Khan Younis area.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was nearing its goal of taking out the military capabilities of Hamas, the Islamist group that governs Gaza and led the Oct. 7 assault on Israel that sparked the war. Less intense operations would continue, he said.

"We are advancing to the end of the phase of eliminating the terrorist army of Hamas, and there will be a continuation to strike its remnants," Netanyahu said.

Violence also flared on Monday in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian health ministry said a woman and a boy were killed in the city of Tulkarm during an operation by Israeli forces. A day earlier, an Israeli strike in the same area killed an Islamic Jihad member.

In some parts of Gaza, militants continue to stage attacks on Israeli forces in areas that the army had left months ago.

Israeli tanks deepened incursions into the Shejaia suburb of eastern Gaza City for a fifth day, and tanks advanced further in western and central Rafah, in southern Gaza near the border with Egypt, residents said.

The Israeli military said it had killed a number of militants in combat in Shejaia on Monday and found large amounts of weapons there.

Hamas said its fighters had lured an Israeli force into a booby-trapped house in the east of Rafah and blown it up, causing casualties.

The Israeli military announced the death of a soldier in southern Gaza without providing details. Israel's Army Radio said the soldier was killed in Rafah in a booby-trapped house - a possible reference to the incident reported by Islamic Jihad.

Also in Rafah, the Israeli military said that an airstrike killed a militant who fired an anti-tank missile at its troops.

Israel has signalled that its operation in Rafah, meant to stamp out Hamas, will soon be concluded. After the intense phase of the war is over, its forces will focus on smaller scale operations meant to stop Hamas reassembling, officials say.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters burst into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killed 1,200 people and took around 250 hostages, including civilians and soldiers, back into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

The offensive launched by Israel in retaliation has killed nearly 38,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, and has left the heavily built-up coastal enclave in ruins.

The Gaza health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants, but officials say most of the dead are civilians. Israel says 317 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza and that at least a third of the Palestinian dead are fighters.

CEASEFIRE EFFORTS STALLED

Arab mediators' efforts to secure a ceasefire, backed by the United States, have stalled. Hamas says any deal must end the war and bring a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel says it will accept only temporary pauses in the fighting until Hamas is eradicated.

Israeli authorities released 54 Palestinians it had detained during the war, Palestinian border officials said.

Among them was Mohammad Abu Selmeyah, the director of Al Shifa Hospital, arrested by the military when its forces first stormed the medical facility in November.

Israel said Hamas had been using the hospital for military purposes. The military has released the hospital's CCTV footage from Oct. 7 showing gunmen and hostages on the premises and has taken journalists into a tunnel found at the complex.

Hamas has denied using hospitals for military purposes. Abu Selmeyah rejected the allegations on Monday and said detainees had been abused during their detention, including being deprived of food and medicine, and that some had died.

"I was subjected to severe torture, my little finger was broken, and I was beaten in the head until blood came out, more than once," Abu Selmeyah told a press conference at a hospital in southern Gaza.

Israel in May said it was investigating the deaths of Palestinians captured during the war as well as a military-run detention camp where released detainees and rights groups have alleged abuse of inmates.

The military did not immediately comment on Abu Selmeyah's remarks.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian security service claims it foiled ‘coup attempt’

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) claims to have detained a group of suspects who were allegedly planning to instigate unrest and carry out a coup in Kiev.

An unspecified number of “provocateurs”plotted to organize riots in the Ukrainian capital after Constitution Day on June 28, the agency, which is Kiev’s successor to the Soviet-era KGB, claimed in a Telegram statement on Monday.

According to the SBU, the coup attempt was scheduled for Sunday under the guise of a so-called ‘veche,’ a popular assembly, in central Kiev.

The organizers allegedly planned to announce the removal from power of the current military and political leadership of Ukraine, and then to try to seize the country’s parliament building and block the operations of the Verkhovna Rada, it added.

Ukrainian and foreign news outlets, which the SBU didn’t name, were set to distribute information about the unrest in Kiev, the statement read.

Through these actions, the suspects “hoped to undermine the social and political situation within our state, which would play in Russia’s favor,” the SBU claimed.

The group was allegedly led by “the co-founder of an NGO, which has been known for its anti-Ukrainian actions since 2015.” The unnamed person had accomplices from Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk (known as Dnepr in Ukraine) and other parts of Ukraine, according to the agency.

Weapons, ammunition, computers and communication devices were seized during searches at the properties linked to the suspects, it said.

Those detained have been charged with performing actions and calls aimed at the violent overthrow of the constitutional order or the seizure of power, the SBU stated. The offense carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison with the confiscation of property, it added.

Vladimir Zelensky’s term as president of Ukraine officially ended on May 20 after he opted to scrap the election, citing martial law imposed due to the conflict with Moscow.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian military says it captured two east Ukrainian villages, Ukraine contests account

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Monday that its forces had taken control of two villages in eastern Ukraine.

It was the second day in succession that Moscow has announced the capture of new localities. Ukrainian military statements have, at least in part, denied the Russian assertion.

The Russian ministry said in a statement that its forces were in control of the settlement of Stepova Novoselivka in Kharkiv region, and of Novopokrovske in Donetsk region.

The General Staff of the Ukraine's Armed Forces, in an evening report, said its troops had repelled 17 attacks in the Kupiansk sector near Kharkiv, including by Stepova Novoselivka. It said fighting was raging near Synkivka, further west.

Russia has announced a string of incremental gains since capturing the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk region in February.

Donetsk and Kharkiv regions remain focal points along the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line in Ukraine's east and south.

The Ukrainian military earlier said it had repelled Russian attacks near two towns in Donetsk region -- Novooleksandrivka and Spirne, a day after Russian forces claimed control of them. The evening report said fighting continued near both localities.

The evening report identified the Pokrovsk front as the theatre of the fiercest fighting. Forty-four Russian assaults had been repelled in the last 24 hours, with 14 clashes still going on.

The military said Russia maintained a military presence across the border from Ukraine's northern Chernihiv and Sumy regions, adding that Moscow's forces were increasing the density of minefields and conducting sabotage activities.

That area is under scrutiny for any sign that Russia plans to open a new front to pressure Ukraine's outnumbered defenders.

Russia launched an assault into the border areas of the northeastern region of Kharkiv in May, opening a new front in 28-month full-scale invasion.

The latest Ukrainian report said Kyiv's troops controlled the area and turned back 11 Russian assaults near three towns, including Vovchansk, 5 km (3 miles) from the border.

RT/Reuters

On the eve of 2015 Presidential election I warned Nigerians in a Facebook post that they were about to make a choice between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. I am not sure people understood the enormity of that statement or even the weightiness of its implications. In their wisdom Nigerians chose the Deep Blue Sea and since that day that sea has been carrying them tossing them from one calamity to the other, from one disaster to the next like reefs on the mighty waters. First it was recession, then insecurity, then banditry, kidnapping for ransom, terrorism, high-wire corruption of the scale that was never even witnessed under the military, then hunger and extreme poverty. In the meantime we are being warned that "a famine of biblical proportions" is ahead as farmers have deserted the farms as a result of bandits and terrorists that were protected, shielded and defended for 8 years by a government that should fight them and the Àgbákò Party that Nigerians installed in 2015.

Many have perished in the Sea in the last 9 years and it is not certain whether there is anyone under this geographic space who has not been affected one way or the other negatively in the last few years. I cannot blame Nigerians for what they did in 2015 when they gave sovereignty to a party whose sole aim is power - power without purpose or responsibility - and not what to do with it. I am not sure they voted APC in 2019 and I wouldn't call the 2023 episode an election. None with a conscience dare call that an election.

The last one year has been problematic, trying and disastrous for most families. Nigerians have limitless capacity and capabilities for endurance and long-suffering. But many haven't made it through. Mortalities have spiked everywhere. Even basic drugs are no longer affordable to a people who have not eaten well due to constantly rising food inflation.

In the midst of all these calamities and struggle for personal survival another information came to the public domain last week of the tremendous data breach involving NIMC data base of Nigerians so that for as low as a hundred naira anyone's data could be harvested by criminal elements and for sinister purposes. In my opinion this is the most dangerous and suicidal breach of all and the greatest havoc to Nigerians under the APC administration. Soon you will know why.

In essence Nigerians did not elect a party in 2015, they only met Àgbákò without realising it; but those who met àgbákò without fully preparing for the encounter don't live to tell the story. Ask D.O Fagunwa.

A Monster Called Àgbákò

In my opinion Daniel Fagunwa is the greatest writer of Yoruba ancestry of the last hundred years or possibly of all time. In his usage of the Yoruba language, his vivid characters, dramatic figures, evocative power and language, his unimpeachable and unassailable literary imagination, his multitudinous skills to invest his characters with awe and make them assume living consciousness,

his legendary capacity to create a world of meanings - Fagunwa is unequalled in Yoruba language. I weep for children of today who can neither read nor write in Yoruba language. There is a mystery, a majesty and majestic splendour with that language that English or any other language cannot fully capture.

Samuel Crowther made the Yoruba Language as a written form with his Yoruba Bible just as Martin Luther's Bible made the German Language. (That's a story for another day)

Joseph Ayo Babalola in the 1930's took that language and used it as an instrument for mobilization to create a mass movement and spark a religious awakening unequalled in Yoruba, and even Nigerian history.

And Samuel Ladoke Akintola in the 1950's took that language with its evocative power as an instrument for political mobilization across Yoruba land. No Yoruba politician living or dead has used the Yoruba Language with skill and dexterity and with dignity, splendour and intricacies as that worthy Oyo Yoruba man from Ogbomosho. None has equalled him in the past and certainly no politician in the present can even stand near him: some of Akintola's speeches are still used to instruct university students in Yoruba Language till today.

But it was Wole Soyinka who took that language with its potentials, creativity, density and complexity to the English stage and even on the English Language thereby enriching the white man's language to dazzle and mesmerize the world.

To all these giants who have gone before me, a resounding salute. I digress.

I have read all of Fagunwa's books even from Primary School. [Internet generation do you see what you are missing?]

One of Fagunwa's famous works - the greatest in my opinion - is the Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole (This book has been translated into English by Professor Wole Soyinka as "The Forest of a Thousand Demons")

In this book is where we encounter a strange being and demonic character and monster by name of Àgbákò, a 16-eyed monster whose movement is usually heralded by noise in the Forest. For a long time Akara Oogun, the central character and protagonist of the work, had been regaled with tales about this fiendish monster by other hunters but he had never met him. He had heard Yorubas prayed, "K'ama pade àgbákò"- meaning, "may we not meet or encounter the monster àgbákò.'

But one day Akara Oogun met him and there was no where to turn or hide. Àgbákò is indeed a demon. He was the type of person you pray not to meet; because to meet him is trouble and to run away from him is disaster. Incantations do not work against him, pleading does not appease him. Cutlass does not cut him, and if he uses his own sword he would cut your hand in pieces; and also rejoin the hand again.

He would wrestle with you till you are exhausted, and when you think you are done he would give you palm wine to drink to regain some strength so as to continue the fight.

What was Fagunwa trying to tell us with this character? It is simply that only a summon to kindred spirits for collaboration and the Mercy of God can separate you from Àgbákò once you are under its clutches because he would not release you. Until something gives...

Did Nigerians meet Àgbákò in 2015 or merely elected a party in power? Àgbákò moves through the Forest with great noise and cacophony of voices; even the trees and grasses give way for him not to enter trouble. We know a party that came with so much noise, empty noise and propaganda and promises- bring $1 to exchange for N1, give stipends for all unemployed people, end insecurity, enthrone true Federalism, increase power generation, fight corruption.... "Change", they cried. "Next Level" they thundered.

Today "change" has turned to illusion and Next Level has become a new low and the road to exponential decay; and "renewed hope" is now in many homes, renewed hopelessness. Their "giant strides" have been seen to be nothing but leaps of fantasy.

The Àgbákò of Fagunwa's creation takes his victims from one wrestling bout to another and from one stress to greater despair until Akara Oogun found himself imprisoned in an underground cellar without food for many days. I do not know where this Àgbákò party and its government will take Nigeria. But the omens are bad; the portent and the signs are not good.

There seems to be an agenda and everyday we are moving close to it. I know it and can see it but it is not yet time to speak.

The NIMC Data Breach

When my wife dragged me and the children to go register our personal information to secure National Identification Number with NIMC I had an unusual reluctance. When I heard all the details they wanted I hesitated. "What if these got into wrong hands?", I asked the official. Because I know in Nigeria government can be very irresponsible, ignorant and wayward; and the officials of government are often, many of them, unpatriotic, mediocres, corrupt and self-seeking. The fear I expressed that day has now come to pass. Somehow our hunch is speaking to us but our overeducated brain won't let us listen.

The danger envisaged by an inquisitive writer has now landed; the calamity has descended to torment us all. For as low as hundred naira now criminal elements can harvest anyone's information from the portal for sinister purposes.

Perhaps you can't see this or understand the implications. Let me help you to see, a writer's purpose is to help people to see.

It means all your data, consisting of personal details like age, home address, phone numbers, wife and children, signature, photos and other details can now be obtained by a third party that should not have them. Do you know what that means in a nation suffused with criminal elements, bandits, kidnappers, terrorists, jihadists and islamists? Endless possibilities. We gave information to an agency of what we supposed to be a government on request with the understanding that they will protect our interest but now those information can now be used against us.

Someone can now use your information to open a bank account offshore, forge a document or even passport, commit wire frauds, etc. Your number can now be cloned by yahoo boys for their purposes with your pictures and signature in tow and how will you exonerate yourself before a largely illiterate population and elite class that is ignorant?

Terrorists and kidnappers can now target you for elimination with the precision and accuracy of Israeli Mossad because they can access all your details and house addresses. The Àgbákò party and its government can take down any critic by first ruining his reputation through their criminal elements by using his details to commit crime and then ordering his arrest for prosecution. This is a government and party that has a solid record of holistic partnership with criminal elements and bandits even by the admission of their own  officials.

So you can see that we are all in trouble. I warned Nigerians: fear APC. Be afraid of APC.

The evil has landed; the danger is here. The fish has caught the fisherman, the wayfarer is lost in his familiar terrain and a problem solver has become a problem to be solved.

I am shocked that there has been no uproar from Nigerians over this. I am troubled that no one can see what I am seeing. Do you know the implications and consequences of these?  Someone can make an Identity Card with your details and my details and use that with your clone numbers to commit crime. Who will believe it is not you?

That is the Àgbákò that has come. When the scenarios I painted here begin to happen then you know what Ajalu is - an ancient forest in olden days between Igede-Ekiti and Aramoko-Ekiti where voices could be heard day and night and strange lights seen but without anyone in sight. May Ajalu not happen to you.

Has there been any response from government or its agencies since this news broke out? Of course, their usual shibboleths and rhetorics of nonsense: - "we are on top of the situation", "we will leave no stone unturned to get to the root of this"... That is where it will end. If ever a government is irresponsible and useless, tardy and hopelessly unfaithful and dishonest it is a Nigerian government.

In 1984 Professor Adegboye told me in Ilorin during a conversation that "Nigeria is a jungle." I didn't understand what this Offa - born Professor of Statistics was saying. Now I understand what he meant. Forty years after, it is still so and even worse. In a jungle you kill or get killed; you eat or get eaten. An agency of what we supposed to be a government requested for our personal information and details and now that information is now compromised. Of all the tragedies that has befallen Nigerians under the APC administration this is the worst in my opinion.

How did we get here? How did a great shining light become a long distant glimmer in the dark? That is what I want to cover as I bring this essay to a close. When a child falls he looks forward but when an elder trips he looks backwards to see what caused him to stumble.

I am an elder and have paid my due to Nigeria. I am a stakeholder in the  Nigerian Project. I am not accusing anyone neither do I exonerate anyone. But there are clues in the past from where possibly this error might have originated.

I said in my critical review of Femi Adesina's book that APC is a lie. It doesn't just tell lies, it is a lie itself. It is an amalgam of different and disparate interests and characters from different backgrounds - career politicians, profiteers, jobbers, bank embezzlers, labour activists, failed politicians, disgraced army officers, islamists, jihadists, aggrieved candidates of other parties, financially- insolvent journalists, pastors and a sprinkling of few scholars all wedded together with one singular aim: the hatred of Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP and an unquenchable, idolatrous love for power - power by all means. They were not forged together by love of nation or for the common good, or for people or by any ideology or welfarist programme for National salvation but just to capture power. Thus from 2015 we saw as even agents of the same government began to disagree and even fight each other publicly and how for the first 4 years we saw a government at war with itself. Thus the  possibility of self-sabotage was present abinitio.

Secondly, we saw how a man with questionable antecedents was chosen to head the very sensitive agency overseeing NIMC where the entire data base of a nation was housed. Isa Pantami's antecedents gave no one rest of mind. Here was a man who once organized prayers and showed sympathies for the Talibans (the same people his boss, Buhari gave $1 million), a man who instigated and presided over the trial and murder through fatwas of another Nigerian for alleged blasphemy, a man who was accused by other Muslims of running a terrorist network in his state. This was the very person that Muhammadu Buhari - the idol of Femi Adesina's heart - found among millions of Nigeria to head that sensitive agency under which NIMC is. I am not saying that Pantami is responsible for the data leak and I am not saying he is not. I am just laying the facts bare to refresh our memories.

Here is another clue. There was a terrorist incident in Kaduna and students from a Baptist College were kidnapped. During the negotiations with the parents through the untouchable Abubakar Gumi a very disturbing fact came to light: the terrorists knew how much the parents had and the balances in their bank accounts.

Have you forgotten? I didn't forget and won't forget.

Where and how did the terrorists get hold of this sensitive information since banks do not disclose personal details to third parties? Who gave them the information?

Buhari did incalculable harm to this nation, grievous harm.

So as you can see this problem didn't start today. Someone is endangering us. Some people are after domination and enthronement of their religious hegemony and control over everyone. They are laying the foundation for the Beast but they will be the first to be consumed by the evil they are sowing.

There are enough moles, enough double agents, fifth columnists, enemy agents and subversives in APC who are aggrieved with this government and with Southerners in control of government that enemy actions are now plausible possibilities.

In the meantime we are now in God's Hands. The evil has been done and cannot be undone. We are left now with prayers and God's Grace.

I commit you, dear reader, to the safe keeping of the Righteous Judge and for His constant watchfulness so that agbákò will not become ajalu.

We’ve all heard it before: money doesn’t buy happiness — and investing legend Warren Buffett took that sentiment one step further.

“When you get to my age, you will not measure how well you’ve done with how much money you’ve got, I can guarantee you that,” he once said in a speech to students at Georgia Tech. “The money isn’t going to be that big a deal.”

Buffett is the 10th richest person in the world — behind Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates, among others — with an estimated net worth of $135 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The Berkshire Hathaway CEO became a millionaire while still in his early-30s and a billionaire by his 50s. He’s now almost 94 years old and offers a unique perspective on wealth and success — one that includes living a simple, frugal life.

Here’s a closer look at the Oracle of Omaha’s method of tracking success.

How to measure your success

Buffett believes that, beyond a certain level of wealth, people’s lifestyles and experiences aren’t actually all that different.

“Think about it, seven hours a day you are in bed,” he told the Georgia Tech students. “You’ve got the exact same mattress I’ve got. So, we are on a parity. I can’t outdo you in terms of my sleeping enjoyment… We eat at the same places… We dress more or less the same.”

Life’s basic necessities and interests, according to Buffett, aren’t much different for those with modest means and those with immense wealth.

Considering he was speaking to a congregation of college students, he said their energy and education already made it likely they’ll make good moneydown the road, so that shouldn’t be the primary yardstick for gauging success in their lives.

Instead, Buffett prefers a more sentimental measure: “You’ll measure [wealth] by how many [people] really love you in the end. You can’t buy love.”

Research appears to back this up. A studypublished in the Healthcare (Basel) Journal showed that increased social interactions and frequent gatherings with family improved the overall life satisfaction of older adults.

On the flip side, social support and frequent interactions with other people were not the only factors determining life satisfaction. Another studypublished in the Journal of Advanced Nursing found that poverty had negative mental health impacts on elderly people as they struggled to meet their basic needs.

Simply put, Buffett is correct in that money isn’t everything; however, it’s still a vital ingredient for a long, fulfilling life. With that in mind, investing and building wealth is actually an important goal.

Moneywise

Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio surpassed 50% for the first time, according to the latest public debt figures published by the Debt Management Office (DMO). The country’s public debt now totals N121 trillion, comprising N65.6 trillion in domestic debt and $42.1 billion in foreign debt (equivalent to N56 trillion).

As of December 2023, Nigeria's total gross domestic product (GDP) was N229.9 trillion in nominal terms, with a real growth rate of 2.74%. This pushed the debt-to-GDP ratio above 50%.

Recent GDP and Debt Figures

In the first quarter of 2024, Nigeria’s nominal GDP was N58.5 trillion, up from N51.2 trillion in the same period in 2023. The nominal GDP figures for the second and third quarters of 2023 were N52.1 trillion and N60.6 trillion, respectively. The fourth quarter GDP rose to N65.9 trillion, bringing the trailing four-quarters GDP total to N237.5 trillion. Based on the 2023 GDP figure of N229.9 trillion, Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 52.9%. Using the trailing four-quarter GDP figure of N237.5 trillion, the ratio stands at 51.2%.

Implications of the Rising Debt-to-GDP Ratio

Nigeria has often touted its 'low' debt-to-GDP ratio as a sign of economic resilience, implying room for more borrowing. For comparison, as of 2023, Ghana had a debt-to-GDP ratio of about 84.9%, South Africa 72.2%, Kenya 70.1%, and Egypt 95.8%. Despite these higher ratios, Nigeria has struggled with high debt service-to-revenue ratios. With the debt-to-GDP ratio now exceeding 50%, Nigeria faces limited borrowing capacity amidst ongoing economic challenges.

Nigeria’s Escalating Debt Profile

Over the past eight years, Nigeria's debt profile has risen significantly due to fiscal challenges, including low crude oil revenues and increasing budgetary expenditure. Under the Buhari administration, public debt grew from N12.6 trillion in 2015 to N97.3 trillion in 2023. Between December 2023 and March 2024, public debt increased by N24.3 trillion. The DMO attributed this rise to fresh borrowing and naira devaluation. In the first quarter of 2024, fresh borrowing amounted to N7.71 trillion, including N2.81 trillion as part of new domestic borrowing and N4.90 trillion for the securitization of the N7.3 trillion Ways and Means Advances approved by the National Assembly.

Global ratings agency Moody’s noted that interest spending on debt might consume up to 36% of the federal government’s revenue in 2024.

Nairametrics

The continuous depreciation of the Nigerian Naira has reached a critical point, with the currency now bearing the unfortunate distinction of being the worst-performing in the world during the first half of 2024. This alarming situation demands immediate and decisive action from both monetary and fiscal authorities to prevent further economic deterioration and restore confidence in Nigeria's financial system.

The factors contributing to this crisis are multifaceted and deeply rooted in systemic issues plaguing the Nigerian economy. The decline in crude oil production, primarily due to rampant oil theft in the Niger Delta region, has severely impacted Nigeria's primary source of foreign exchange. This situation is further exacerbated by the country's continued reliance on imported refined petroleum products, creating a vicious cycle of foreign currency outflow.

Low export diversification remains a persistent challenge, leaving the economy vulnerable to oil price fluctuations and global market dynamics. The lack of a robust export base beyond petroleum products has long been recognized as a structural weakness, yet meaningful progress in this area has been elusive.

Perhaps most concerning is the role of corruption in exacerbating the currency crisis. The practice of government officials converting ill-gotten gains into foreign currencies not only drains the economy of much-needed resources but also puts additional pressure on the Naira. This illicit capital flight undermines efforts to stabilize the currency and erodes public trust in financial institutions.

The severity of the situation is evident in the numbers: a 40% decline against the dollar since the start of 2024, with the Naira reaching 1,510 per dollar. This represents a staggering 70% loss in value since June 2023, despite policy changes aimed at attracting foreign investment and reviving the economy.

To address this crisis, monetary authorities must take bold and innovative steps. The Central Bank of Nigeria, under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, has already implemented measures such as increasing interest rates and clearing foreign exchange backlogs. However, these efforts must be intensified and complemented by additional strategies to boost dollar liquidity and attract portfolio inflows.

Fiscal authorities, for their part, must prioritize economic diversification and anti-corruption efforts. Investments in non-oil sectors, particularly agriculture and manufacturing, should be accelerated to reduce the economy's vulnerability to oil price shocks. Simultaneously, a more robust and transparent system for tracking government spending and foreign exchange transactions is essential to curb corruption and illegal capital flight.

Furthermore, the government must work to improve the overall business environment to attract both domestic and foreign investment. This includes addressing infrastructure deficits, streamlining bureaucratic processes, and ensuring policy consistency.

The road to currency stability and economic recovery will be challenging, but it is not insurmountable. It requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders - government, private sector, and citizens alike. The time for half-measures and temporary fixes has passed. Nigeria needs a comprehensive, long-term strategy to address the root causes of its currency woes and put the economy on a path to sustainable growth.

As we move into the second half of 2024, the actions taken in the coming months will be crucial in determining whether the Naira can stabilize and potentially appreciate, or if it will continue its downward spiral. The stakes are high, and the world is watching. It's time for Nigeria to rise to the challenge and demonstrate its resilience and potential for economic transformation.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

On Sunday around 8 PM, over 20 travelers were reportedly abducted by gunmen on the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode Expressway. One victim was shot in the knee during the incident. The ambush occurred between the Sagamu Area Command of the Nigeria Police and Ilisan township.

Wemmy Osude, Chairman of the Ilisan Development Council, confirmed the event to reporters. He mentioned that one of the victims, a resident of Ilisan Remo, is receiving medical treatment at Babcock University Teaching Hospital.

Osude said, “Information reaching me right now confirmed a kidnapping incident between the Area Command and Ilisan City Gate (formerly Delabo). A resident of Ilisan (name unconfirmed) was reportedly shot in the knee and is receiving medical attention at Babcock Teaching Hospital. Other victims were taken into the bush. While waiting for additional information, please contact your loved ones who may be plying that road at about this time to be cautious.”

Osude added that he had spoken to the resident receiving treatment, who was in stable condition. He also mentioned discussing the incident with the Sagamu Area Commander, expressing hope that security agents would pursue the criminals and rescue the abducted individuals.

Israeli tanks advance into areas in north and south Gaza

Israeli forces advanced further on Sunday into the Shejaia neighbourhood of northern Gaza and also pushed deeper into western and central Rafah in the south, killing at least six Palestinians and destroying several homes, residents said.

Israeli tanks, which moved back into Shejaia four days ago, fired shells towards several houses, leaving families trapped inside and unable to leave, the residents said.

Speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his stance that there is no substitute for victory in the war against the Islamist militant group Hamas.

"We are committed to fighting until we achieve all of our objectives: Eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages, ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel and returning our residents securely to their homes in the south and the north," he said.

While the offensive focused on Gaza, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, one man was killed and five were wounded in an Israeli strike near the city of Tulkarm, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The dead man was a member of militant group Islamic Jihad, the group said. The Israeli military issued no comment.

Hours after Netanyahu's comments about Gaza, the armed wing of Hamas released a video purporting to show weapons-making, in a show of defiance.

The video, which was not immediately verified by Reuters, showed fighters preparing anti-tank rocket warheads. In the background a large TV screen showed recent news events to indicate the video was recent.

"Our preparation is continuing," said writing at the end of the short film.

The Israeli military said forces operating in Shejaia had killed several Palestinian gunmen over the past day and found military infrastructure inside a United Nations school as well as dozens of weapons and "valuable intelligence documents".

On Saturday the military announced the death of two Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza.

In another raid in Shejaia, the forces located a "terrorist war room" at a clinic, said the military, which again accused Hamas of "embedding itself in civilian structures for terror purposes".

Hamas denies using civilian sites such as schools and hospitals for military purposes.

The armed wing of Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad reported fierce fighting in both Shejaia and Rafah, saying their fighters had fired anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs against Israeli forces operating there.

More than eight months into Israel's air and ground war in Gaza, militants continue to stage attacks on Israeli forces, operating in areas that the Israeli army said it had gained control over months ago.

STALLED CEASEFIRE EFFORTS

Arab mediators' efforts, backed by the United States, have stalled. Hamas says any deal must end the war and bring a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel says it will accept only temporary pauses in the fighting until Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007, is eradicated.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has so far killed nearly 38,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, and has left the heavily built-up coastal enclave in ruins.

The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants but officials say most of the dead are civilians. More than 300 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza and Israel says at least a third of the Palestinian dead are fighters.

Israeli tanks pushed deeper into several districts in the east, west and centre of Rafah, near the border with Egypt, on Sunday, and medics said six people had been killed in an Israeli strike on a house in Shaboura, in the heart of the city.

The six bodies from the Zurub family were transferred to Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis, where dozens of relatives paid their respects.

Residents said the Israeli army had torched the Al-Awda mosque in the centre of Rafah, one of the city's best-known.

Israel has said its military operations in Rafah are aimed at eradicating the last armed battalions of Hamas.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia attacks Ukraine's two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv

Russian forces attacked Ukraine's two largest cities on Sunday, with missile fragments falling on a suburban Kyiv apartment building and a guided bomb killing one person in Kharkiv.

More than 28 months into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces maintain regular attacks on Ukrainian cities as well as on energy infrastructure.

Attacks on Kyiv are less frequent than other cities, although the capital endured a series of assaults in March. Kharkiv has come under regular attack, but military analysts say the frequency has dipped since the United States authorised Ukrainian use of its weapons on certain Russian targets.

In Kyiv's Obolon suburb, the local military administration said falling fragments from a Russian missile started a fire and damaged balconies on a 14-storey apartment building on Sunday.

Emergency services, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said five female residents were treated for stress, and Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 10 residents had been evacuated.

Emergency services posted a picture online showing at least four blackened balconies.

The head of the military administration of Kyiv region said missile fragments had also fallen outside the capital, causing injuries and damage, though no details were provided.

Russian forces were prevented from advancing on Kyiv in the early weeks of the February 2022 invasion and were redeployed along the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line in the east.

In Kharkiv, which never fell into Russian hands in the early stages of the war, a guided bomb started a fire and killed a delivery service driver outside a depot on Sunday.

Regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said nine people were injured, including an 8-month-old infant. Pictures posted online showed the depot and trucks outside it badly damaged.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a post on Telegram, said Russia had used more than 800 guided bombs on Ukrainian targets in the past week. He issued a fresh plea in his nightly video address for better weapons systems.

"The sooner the world helps us deal with the Russian combat aircraft launching these bombs, the sooner we can strike - justifiably strike – Russian military infrastructure...and the closer we will be to peace," he said.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Air defenses destroy 36 Ukrainian drones over central Russia last night

Russia’s air defenses destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones over the Central Federal District regions, and of those, 15 were brought down over the borderline Kursk Region, the Defense Ministry said.

"Last night, the Kiev regime’s attempt to use fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for a terrorist attack against facilities on territory of the Russian Federation was foiled. The on-duty air defense systems destroyed 15 UAVs over the Kursk Region, nine UAVs over the Lipetsk Region, four UAVs each over the Voronezh and Bryansk Regions as well as two UAVs each over the Oryol and Belgorod Regions," the ministry said.

Reuters/Tass