In the month since 23 May, when – during hours reserved by nature entirely for meetings of witches and wizards – he began sitting as Kingmaker for the Emirate of Kano, Abdullahi Liman, a senior judge of Nigeria’s Federal High Court, has handed down at least five rulings. Defying settled Supreme Court jurisprudence, he has asserted federal jurisdiction to decide for the people of Kano who their Emir should be; proceeded unperturbed even after being shown that the subject matter of his proposed decision-making had entered the docket of the Court of Appeal; and ordered the government of Kano State not to implement state law which he is incapable of invalidating.

The scandal about the course that Liman has chosen in his self-designated role as Kano’s federally-appointed Kingmaker is not in what he has done, however. It lies in what he has failed to do. The most significant thing in this case is the near certainty that there was no lawful case on the docket when the judge purported to remotely issue a night-time order on 23 May, requiring the parties to “maintain status quo ante the passage and assent of the bill into law.” A more serious judicial scandal would be difficult to invent. It is, therefore, important to clearly consider the facts that show that what has occurred in the court of Abdullahi Liman is judicial misconduct of the most spectacular kind.

Liman has been a lawyer for four decades and a judge for nearly a quarter of a century. Born on 11 February 1959, he became a lawyer in 1984 and was in private legal practice in his home State, Nasarawa, and in neighbouring Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, until his appointment as a  judge at 42 on 27 July 2000. He is presently the fourth senior-most judge of the Federal High Court. The week preceding his assumption of office as Kano’s sole Kingmaker, the National Judicial Council recommended Liman at the head of a list of 22 judges for elevation to the Court of Appeal. Whatever anyone may say of his work, judicial inexperience is not a charge that can be sustained against him.

The evidence of judicial malpractice in this case is compelling. Let’s begin from the beginning. On Thursday, 20 June, 2024, Liman delivered a 22-page ruling precluding the substantive dispute before any opportunity to consider it. The ruling, which purports to nullify “every step taken” by the Kano State government under the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law assented to by the Governor on 23 May, 2024, began as follows: “This Court on the 23rd of May, 2024, made an order via virtual proceedings, which was enrolled on the same date.” Notably, the judge failed to say when the case was filed. His anger and the entire basis of his orders, as Liman claimed in his ruling, was that the Government of Kano “defiantly went ahead to implement the law that is sought to be struck down.”

It is standard practice for judges in Nigeria to begin their judgments and rulings by clearly reciting details of when the case was filed that they are called upon to decide. As Kano’s Kingmaker, Liman cannot be bothered with such routines. For context, a claimant who wishes to file a case will usually take the relevant papers to the court registry. There, registry staff will assess the necessary fees, which the person filing the case must pay. Upon payment, a Remita electronic payment record is generated as proof of payment and of the amount paid, together with a time stamp of when the payment occurred.

The working hours of Court registries in Nigeria are well known. On 23 May, 2024, the Governor of Kano State assented to the law at 5:10 pm or 17:10 hours. At that time of day, the registry of the Federal High Court in Kano had long closed for the week. So, no case could have been filed thereafter on that day to challenge the law. The only other possibility was that the filing happened before the Governor indicated his assent. If so, that filing could not have provided any basis for Abdullahi Liman’s peregrinations later that night in a judicial coven.

The only basis on which he could have issued the orders that he did on 23 May, therefore, must be that the case was filed after the Governor’s assent. As a matter of law, that is impossible in the absence of a record of a prior decision by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court extending the opening hours of the registry. As a practical matter, the staff of the Federal High Court in Kano do not have any record of any such filing. Off record, some people close to the bench suggest unconvincingly that a Remita record for the filing exists at the Federal High Court Registry in Lagos. If so, no one has found it. Lagos and Kano are not in different time zones and the rules governing office hours for the Federal High Court in Lagos are presumably not different from those applicable in Kano.

Three weeks after his first order, on 13 June, Abdullahi Liman finally ruled to claim jurisdiction over Kano’s Emirate tussle. In doing so, he considered the Supreme Court’s 1988 decision concerning the deposition of the Emir of Muri but blightly dismissed it as “distinguishable with the facts of the instant case and, therefore, inapplicable.” He failed to say how or why.

One week later, when he ruled to nullify everything done by Kano State Government since his implausible order of 23 May, Liman clarified the basis of the case as concerning “traditional and cultural rights which are vested rights and which are penumbral to …fundamental rights.” He alone could possibly understand this verbiage because the fundamental rights guaranteed by Nigeria’s constitution do not include any “traditional and cultural” or “penumbral” rights, whatever those may mean.

There is no human right in Nigeria to be a Kingmaker or a King. At best, a claim for such could be made by way of judicial review, not as a fundamental rights claim. But to concede that would be to admit that Liman lacked jurisdiction over the matter. That was not his brief.

The scandal in this case goes beyond the fact that there is no filing record to foreground or precede the order of 23 May, 2024 around which Liman affects judicial hyperventilation; or his invention of enforcement for rights that don’t exist in Nigeria’s constitution. According to his own claim, the hearing that preceded his order of 23 May was remote or virtual. He also says he “enrolled” the order on the same day.

It is indeed the case that the Rules of Court in Nigeria were adapted in the aftermath of Covid-19 to allow for remote proceedings in certain cases. However, there has to be a valid case filed to begin with. It is also not clear from where Liman procured for himself the power to extend remote hearings to include remote enrolment of court orders.

Reminded that his order of 23 May was not in fact served on the Government of Kano State until 27 May, four days later, Abdullahi Liman cited a 2002 decision of the Court of Appeal saying that “anyone who is served with or becomes aware of a valid order of court should ensure that he obeys it in full.” The underlining here is his not mine.

Disregarding the word “valid”, however, he proceeded to claim on 20 June that the question was whether the Government of Kano State knew of the order before 27 May. For proof, he said his order was everywhere on the social media. This was rank duplicity from a man who, only the previous week, on 14 June, refused to credit evidence that the Court of Appeal had entered an appeal against his assertion of jurisdiction, preferring instead to hurtle with malice aforethought towards a predetermined outcome. Once he had procured that on 20 June, he adjourned the case indefinitely.

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

Warren Buffett on Friday made his biggest annual donation to date, giving $5.3 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares to five charities.

The legendary investor, who’s turning 94 in August, converted 8,674 of his Berkshire Class A shares to donate more than 13 million Class B shares, according to a statement Friday. A total of 9.93 million shares went to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with the rest going to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his late first wife, and the three charities led by his children Howard, Susan and Peter Buffett.

The “Oracle of Omaha” has pledged to give away the fortune he built at Berkshire, the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate he started running in 1965. Buffett has been making annual donations to the five charities since 2006.

After Friday’s donations, Buffett owns 207,963 Berkshire A shares and 2,586 B shares, worth about $130 billion.

New charitable trust

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Buffett clarified that after his death, the enormous fortune he amassed from building the one-of-a-kind conglomerate will be directed to a new charitable trust overseen by his three children.

“It should be used to help the people that haven’t been as lucky as we have been,” he told the Journal. “There’s eight billion people in the world, and me and my kids, we’ve been in the luckiest 100th of 1% or something. There’s lots of ways to help people.”

Buffett has previously said his three children are the executors of his will as well as the named trustees of the charitable trust that will receive 99%-plus of his wealth.

He told the Journal that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will no longer receive donations after his death. Buffett resigned as a trustee at the Gates Foundation in June 2021 in the midst of Bill and Melinda Gates’ divorce.

At Berkshire’s annual meeting in May, Buffett spoke candidly to shareholders about a future when he’s no longer at the helm, appearing solemn at times as he pondered his advanced age and reflected on his late friend and business partner Charlie Munger.

Greg Abel, vice chairman for noninsurance operations at Berkshire, has been named Buffett’s successor and has taken on most of the responsibility at the conglomerate.

Buffett previously said his will will be made public after his death.

“After my death, the disposition of my assets will be an open book – no ‘imaginative’ trusts or foreign entities to avoid public scrutiny but rather a simple will available for inspection at the Douglas County Courthouse,” Buffett said in November.

CNBC

At least 18 people were killed and 30 others injured after a series of attacks by suspected female suicide bombers in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state on Saturday, the head of the local state emergency management agency said.

Borno is at the centre of a 15-year Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions more. Although the Nigerian military has degraded the capabilities of the militants, they still carry out deadly attacks against civilians and security targets.

Barkindo Saidu, director general of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, said suspected suicide bombers separately attacked a wedding, funeral and hospital, killing and injuring several people in the town of Gwoza.

Saidu said 18 deaths had been confirmed, a toll that included children, adults and pregnant women. "The degree of injuries ranges from abdominal ruptures, scull fractures, and limb fractures," he said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Borno state police were not immediately available for comment.

Boko Haram and its splinter group, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), are the most active militant groups in Borno, a large swathe of rural hinterland the size of Ireland.

Reuters

Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, has sharply criticized the federal government for concurrently operating multiple budgets.

In a post on X on Saturday, Obi decried this practice as a blatant violation of fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability. Presently, the federal government is executing the 2023 budget, 2023 supplementary budget, and the 2024 budget. Additionally, President Bola Tinubu announced on May 29 that a 2024 supplementary appropriation bill would soon be presented to the national assembly.

Obi warned that this approach is a recipe for chaos, confusion, and catastrophe. "All available evidence has confirmed that the Nigerian government is implementing four national budgets concurrently," he stated. "This is in blatant disregard for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability. It is also a recipe for chaos, confusion, and catastrophe."

He added that such recklessness would lead to unnecessary expenditures in approved budgets, competing with essential projects for limited resources, thereby worsening the plight of the Nigerian populace.

Obi criticized Nigerian leaders for being disconnected from reality and lacking the competence to manage the nation’s finances effectively. He said, "It indicates that the leaders are out of touch with reality and lack the competence to manage our nation’s finances effectively. Unfortunately, this deliberate act of fiscal recklessness is being undertaken by elected representatives of the people, thereby betraying one of the cardinal pillars of democracy. Leaders are elected to responsibly manage public resources in an organized way."

He called for an immediate reversal of the situation in favour of a more responsible and transparent approach to budgeting. "We must prioritize the needs of the Nigerian people, not the selfish interests of a few. This is a call to action for all leaders to desist from actions that will further drive the country into economic chaos."

The Presidency has dismissed allegations of a planned 2024 supplementary budget, calling the claims “false” and “misinformation.”

In a statement released on Saturday by Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, the Presidency clarified that there is no intention to operate four budgets within a single fiscal year, as alleged. The statement emphasized that the National Assembly only approved the extension of the capital components of the 2023 budget and the 2023 supplementary budget to December 2024.

"Our country cannot achieve sustainable development if Federal, State, and Local governments focus solely on consumptive expenditures, which primarily represent recurrent expenditures," the statement read. "It is the capital expenditures that drive economic growth, strengthen private sector output, and create employment opportunities for citizens."

The Presidency criticized BudgIT, a civic organization, for raising what it described as a “false alarm” based on rumors. It also accused Peter Obi, a former presidential candidate, of leveraging these unfounded claims to spread further misinformation.

The statement urged BudgIT to adopt a more responsible and accurate approach to its reporting, stating, “BudgIT cannot afford to be flippant and unduly sensational.”

Earlier, BudgIT had issued a statement on Friday, warning against the extension of the implementation period for the 2023 approved budget and the 2023 supplementary budget from the original end date of December 31, 2023, to December 31, 2024. The 2023 approved budget of N21.83 trillion, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2023, was intended to run for 12 months, following global practice. Additionally, the 2023 supplementary budget of N2.17 trillion was passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu shortly before the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

Reacting to these developments, Peter Obi accused the federal government of running four national budgets simultaneously, describing it as a “betrayal of democracy.”

No progress in Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel, says Hamas official

A senior official of the militant Islamist group Hamas, Osama Hamdan, said on Saturday there has been no progress in ceasefire talks with Israel over the Gaza war.

The Palestinian group is still ready to "deal positively" with any ceasefire proposal that ends the war, Hamdan told a news conference in Beirut.

Arab mediators' efforts, backed by the United States, have so far failed to conclude a ceasefire, with both sides blaming each other for the impasse. Hamas says any deal must end the war and bring full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel says it will accept only temporary pauses in fighting until Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, is eradicated.

Hamdan also blamed the United States for applying pressure on Hamas to accept Israel's conditions.

"Once again, Hamas is ready to deal positively with any proposal that secures a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from Gaza Strip and a serious swap deal," said Hamdan, referring to a potential swap of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

When Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7 they killed around 1,200 people and seized more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The Israeli offensive in retaliation 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 Gaza health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants but officials say most of the dead are civilians. Israel has lost more than 300 soldiers in Gaza and says at least a third of the Palestinian dead are fighters.

Palestinian health officials said Israeli military strikes across the enclave had so far killed at least 35 people and wounded others on Saturday.

The Israeli military on Saturday announced the death of two soldiers killed in combat in northern Gaza, as Israeli forces pressed on with an offensive in the Shejaia neighborhood in Gaza City.

Residents said tanks advanced deeper into several districts including the area around the local market and there was heavy fire from the air and the ground.

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

The Israeli military said dozens of Palestinian gunmen were killed over the past two days in close quarters combat and airstrikes in Shejaia, after forces encircled what it described as a civilian area converted by Hamas into a militant compound.

"In the area, the troops located observation posts, weapons, enemy drones and a long-range rocket launcher near the schools," the military said in a statement.

Hamas has denied assertions that it operates in civilian areas such as schools and hospitals.

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

Israeli leaders have said in the past week that the intense phase of the war is approaching its end, and that the next stage of the offensive will mainly be smaller-scale operations meant to stop Hamas from reassembling.

Meanwhile Israeli forces operating in several districts in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, killed several Palestinians and forced families living in the far western edge of the city along the coastal areas to head northwards, according to Palestinian medical officials and residents.

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

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian missile attack on Ukrainian town kills seven, officials say

Russian forces on Saturday fired missiles at the town of Vilniansk, outside the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing seven people, including two children, and injuring 31 others, officials said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy repeated his appeal to allies to provide Ukraine with more long-range weapons and enhanced air defences to stop what he said were daily attacks on his country.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said two missiles were fired on the town, damaging infrastructure, a shop and residential buildings.

Emergency services put the death toll at seven, including two children, with 31 others injured, eight of them children. Firefighters had put out blazes in several buildings and completed rescue operations.

"Today the enemy carried out yet another dreadful terrorist act against the civilian population," Zaporizhzhia Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app.

The attack occurred in "the middle of the day, a non-working day, in the town centre, where people were out relaxing, where there were no military targets," Fedorov said.

Zelenskiy posted photos from the site showing a large crater, downed trees and a pair of tarpaulins spread out on the ground of what looked like a park.

"Our cities and communities suffer daily from such Russian strikes. But there are ways to overcome this," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.

"Destroying terrorists where they are. Destroying Russian missile launchers, striking with real long-range capability and increasing the number of modern air defence systems in Ukraine" were ways to defend against such attacks, Zelenskiy said.

Russia's Defence Ministry did not reply to a request for comment on the incident.

The Russian ministry, writing on Telegram, said its missiles had struck a nearby area in Zaporizhzhia region where it said Ukrainian trains unloaded arms and military equipment, killing soldiers and destroying armoured vehicles and missiles.

The post, accompanied by a photo of a strike, identified the site as the village of Ukrainka, less than 10 km (six miles) from Vilniansk.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield accounts from either side.

The governor of Donetsk region, further to the east, said one person died in two incidents of shelling in the city of Kurakhove. Officials said two people in Kherson region, partly occupied by Russian forces in the south, were also killed.

Rescue teams also were still working at an apartment building that was badly damaged in a missile strike on Friday in the central city of Dnipro. That attack killed one person and injured 13, with a number of others still missing.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine loses up to 270 troops in area of responsibility of Russia’s Battlegroup North

Ukraine lost up to 270 troops in the area of responsibility of Russia’s Battlegroup North in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"Units of Battlegroup North hit the troops and equipment of the 42nd and 57th mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian armed forces and the 105th Territorial Defense Brigade near Neskuchnoye, Volchansk and Liptsy in the Kharkov Region. The enemy lost up to 270 troops," the statement reads.

The Ukrainian army also lost a tank, four motor vehicles, a US-made M109 Paladin 155 mm howitzer, a 2A65 Msta-B 152 mm howitzer and three D-30 122 mm howitzers.

Battlegroup Dnepr eliminates up to 100 Ukrainian troops in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr eliminated up to 100 Ukrainian troops and destroyed a field ammunition depot in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"Units of Battlegroup Dnepr hit the troops and equipment of the 65th Mechanized Brigade and the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces, as well as the 35th Marine Brigade, and the 15th National Guard Brigade, near Pyatkhatki, Rabotino and Malaya Tokmachka in the Zaporozhye Region and Novotyaginka in the Kherson Region. The Ukrainian armed forces lost up to 100 troops, six motor vehicles, a US-made M777 155 mm howitzer, a D-20 152 mm howitzer and a Gvozdika 122 mm self-propelled howitzer. A Ukrainian field ammunition depot was also destroyed," the statement reads.

Ukraine loses up to 360 troops in area of responsibility of Russia’s Battlegroup Center

The Ukrainian army lost up to 360 troops in the area of responsibility of Russia’s Battlegroup Center in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the battlegroup liberated the settlement of Shumy in the Donetsk People’s Republic and improved its tactical positions, inflicting a defeat on the forces of the 41st Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces and the 109th Territorial Defense Brigade in several settlements in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

"Six counterattacks by assault teams of the 47th Mechanized Brigade, the 142nd Infantry Brigade and the 68th Ranger Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces were repelled in the past day. The enemy lost up to 360 troops, two armored combat vehicles, a motor vehicle, a D-20 152 mm howitzer, two D-30 122 mm howitzers, a US-made M119 105 mm howitzer and an MT-12 Rapira 100 mm anti-tank gun," the statement said.

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicts defeat on seven Ukrainian brigades

Units of Russia’s Battlegroup West moved to more advantageous positions in the past day, inflicting a defeat on seven Ukrainian brigades, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"Units of Battlegroup West moved to more advantageous positions in the past day, inflicting a defeat on the forces of the 1st, 14th, 63rd and 116th mechanized and the 4th Tank Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces, the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade and the 1st National Guard Brigade near Petropavlovka, Sinkovka and Berestovoye in the Kharkov Region, Chervonaya Dibrova and Stelmakhovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the statement reads.

In addition, two counterattacks by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade were repelled. "Over the past day, the Ukrainian armed forces lost over 500 troops, three motor vehicles, a US-made M198 155 mm howitzer, a 2S1 Gvozdika 122 mm self-propelled howitzer and a D-30 122 mm howitzer," the Russian Defense Ministry said, adding that two Ukrainian ammunition depots and a US-made AN/TPQ-50 radar system had also been destroyed.

Reuters/Tass

Nigeria of the 1950s and early 1960s had very many interesting personalities. Western Region had its fair share of such. One of them was a man named Suara Sobo Akande (Sobo is pronounced as Sorbor). He was a prominent transporter who held the transportation industry of the time by its jugular. An Ibadan man of the Opo Yeosa clan who lived in an area now known as Ring Road, Suara Sobo was wealthy and had a fleet of lorries in his pool. As a trade logo, Suara Sobo’s lorries always had monkeys chained to their entrance which excited and attracted passengers to them. However, his lorries soon acquired a notorious typecast. Any passenger who boarded them was literally embarking on a journey that had no certain time or terminal point of disembarkation. They could be arrested for having no particulars by the police. The inappropriate conducts of the drivers and conductors which led to road accidents were equally legendary. The otherwise pleasurable ride, with a monkey on board to marvel at its close resemblance of man, could turn awry for the passenger. It thus became a peculiar refrain in the Western Region to say a man had entered Suara Sobo’s lorry, equivalent to today’s One Chance lingo among youths.

Odolaye Aremu, then Ibadan-based Ilorin-born 

Dadakuada musician, in his Ayé Omo Ayé (Oh, this Wicked World!) Vol 2 album, did a dirge for the untimely passage of Suara Sobo, years after. At a loud celebration in his house in the 1970s, said Odolaye, Suara Sobo had hosted the crème de la crème of Ibadan where roast mutton and turkey flesh were feasted upon. People were shocked when, six days later, Suara Sobo’s sudden death was announced. Odolaye seemed to attribute his death to the wild celebration in his house and machination of a jealous world. In his own dirge for Suara in Volume 18 entitled Ikú l’òpin Ènìyàn (Death is the end of man) Sakara music genre lord, Yusuf Olatunji, sang that, with the death of his friend, Suara Sobo, when he remembered the audacity of death in killing the rich and the poor, he got discomforted. I will connect this presently.

Grammy Award nominee, David Adeleke, famously known as Davido, provided Nigerians a veritable escape from themselves last Tuesday. The social media literally imploded with beautiful photographs of him and Chioma. It was a day to see wealth, plenty and joy in a Nigeria where poverty, lack and anger line our sky. Harsh-tagged Chivido2024, the songster and his wife literally painted the sky red with fascinating ribbons of many colours. No one would know that the wedding was held in same Nigeria ravaged by the water-borne disease of cholera. The nuptial, decorated with such lavish show of wealth, was reminiscent of the July 29, 1981 wedding between then Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

For a moment in the same week, Nigeria provided both counterpoise and semblance to Kenya, its East African Safari destination brother. Whilst Kenyan youths were up in arms against their government for making life miserable for them, Nigerian government runners and youths were enveloped in a Davido wedding that erased class differentials and wiped away hunger optics. You would be pardoned if you thought our bellies were full. A-list guests like Olusegun Obasanjo, the hedonistic king of Ife, governors and the crème-de-la-crème of the Nigerian society were gathered at the wedding’s Victoria Island Harbour Point venue. But the class unity didn’t take too long to evaporate. Immediately its curtains were drawn, the crème-de-la-crème guests left into their wealth, Davido and his wife jetted abroad and the ordinary Nigerians celebrating the nuptials were left sharing Chivido2024 photographs on the social media. They have since been contending with their bellyful wahala of cholera, tomato, pepper scarcity and pestilential bad governance.

The wedding evoked some symbolisms in Ghanaian Efua T. Sutherland’s 1975 famous play, Marriage of Anansewa. It also put a final imprint on the transition of music and musicians from their perception by traditional Africa as beggars (alágbe). Today, musicians like Davido and Wizkid are mega-millionaires in dollars and mascots. So many Davidos, with greater grits and talent, never saw the light of the day. They were pushed into obscurity by societal stigmatization. They were typecast as talented scroungers and never-do-wells. For my book, Ayinla Omowura: Life and times of an Apala legend (2020), I interviewed the son of Fatai Baiyewumi, the man who murdered Omowura in a bar-room fight in Abeokuta in 1980. He told me that when Omowura began singing in Abeokuta in the 1960s, his father, one of the famous (Sànmònrí) of Abeokuta of the time, used to have Ayinla’s ragtag musical ensemble serenade him and his friends while they drank beer in the evenings. He claimed that Ayinla was so poor that the clothes he adorned on the front sleeve of his first musical album were a dash from his father. Late Uncle Charles Ariyibi of Ibadan also told me how, in the 1960s, Ilorin bard, Odolaye Aremu, serenaded his father, in company with his friends, in their Lagos compound. Excited, Ariyibi said, his father dashed the Dadakuada crooner clothes. In many of Odolaye’s songs, he sang of how wealthy fans dashed him clothes.

Ethnomusicology, the study of music of different cultures, revealed that this beggarly perception of musicians was prevalent in several African cultures. Nigeria’s was massive. Musicians in pre and immediate post-colony’s talents were enjoyed but not respected as persons. They were mostly recruited from the world of the rejects of society. Borrowing from aviation lingo, they were the flotsam, jetsam and lagan of society. The musicians themselves acted this script very handsomely. They were weed smokers and community nuisances, Omo-ita. Yoruba also derogatively labeled them as drummers who sang and got compensated with rivulets of water removed from the top of cornmeal, (alù’lù gb’omi èko). A today musician who represents what they were then is Habeeb Okikiola, a.k.a. Portable. He was just like Omowura, a bus boy who engaged in street brawls and other malfeasances. One of Omowura’s band boys was nick-named Orífó’gò because, singing into the night and the band itching to honour another musical engagement, the folk would break bottles on own head, causing chaos so that the band could escape in the melee.

Haruna Ishola, big father of the Apala music genre, on the 30th anniversary of his music in the 1970s, sang that, at the beginning of his musical career, most of his colleagues, dissuaded by musicians’ profiling as lazy and indolent and who didn’t know it could bring wealth, ran away from the microphone. “Nígbà tí a bèrè l’áyé ojósí, àwon tí ‘ò mò pé isé olà ni nínú wa, ńse ni wón ye’ra ; ìgbà yen ni wón ńp’onílù l’óle…” he sang. Odolaye, in his Ayé Omo Ayé album also pleaded that musicians should not be looked down upon, “e món f’ojú tí ò dáa wò wá mó o!” In later years, Omowura and colleagues tried to stave off their scavenger perception by advertising their turnaround wealth and fame. In one of his live musical engagements, Omowura wore his material accomplishment on his lapel and sang, “You are the same society that calls us musicians beggars wedded to poverty. Our musical craft has however brought us wealth” – “Èyin l’e ńso’pé alágbe kìí l’ówó l’ówó… isé òle l’òle ńje, k’á lù’lù, k’á ko’rin, l’Haádjì Àyìnlá fi l’ówó l’ówó.”

This is why Adedeji Adeleke, Davido’s father, should be the hero of the mascot his son has turned out to be today. A Nigerian businessman and billionaire, Adeleke gave a fillip to his son’s musical talent, regardless of the ancient unflattering typecast of musicians. Other big society barons have also followed suit. Legal czar, Femi Falana’s son, Folarin, known by stage name Falz, and Florence, a.k.a. DJ Cuppy, daughter of boardroom billionaire Otedola, rank in this regard. In a world that belittled musical talents, one can imagine the initial shame and social pushback these musical talents’ parents must have faced in allowing them walk the route hitherto trodden by never-do-wells. Today, but for Davido, the mention of Adeleke’s name would have attracted “Adeleke who?” Davido seems to have successfully swallowed whatever name and wealth he owned.

A romantic comedy written in 1975 by Sutherland, a Ghanaian lady playwright who was born in 1924, The Marriage Of Anansewa says a lot, even if nothing, about last week’s Davido marriage. The book is a rehash of conventional Akan tribe of Ghana’s story-telling. With it, Sutherland successfully wove youthful romance, humour into greed and cunning to tell the story of a poor and ambitious widower called Ananse who used his beautiful daughter Anansewa as pawn. A student of Secretarial Studies, Ananse secures rich suitors –Chief-Who-ls-Chief, Chief of Sapaase, Chief of Akate (Togbe Klu IV) and Chief of the Mines – for his daughter, without any of them knowing the other. He then enters “Photograph engagement” between Anansewa and her suitors. Sutherland then showcases how marriage is deployed as tool for financial exploitation and money-making in African societies.

In Ananse persuading Anansewa to pretend to have died, leading to each chief’s response to her death, Sutherland demonstrates how love conquers mischief, cunning and privations. The suitors’ messengers then come with funeral gifts and condolence messages that spoke to the depth and colour of their love for Anansewa. While the Chief of the Mines regretted that her death forecloses her bringing up his children, Chief of Sapa regretted that she could have taken the place of his ‘bitchy, ugly’ wife and Togbe Klu’s happiness would have been for her to deploy her secretarial skills in his business. However, Chief-Who-Is-Chief, who Ananse eventually gives Anansewa to in marriage, bearing heavy gifts for Anansewa through his messengers, regretted that though she was already his wife, he would foot all the finances of her funeral.

Sutherland’s 49-year old play has a collage of themes that meshes with the Davido wedding. First theme was that of love. In spite of Davido’s highly-talked-about leashless libido, his choice of Chioma among many Baby Mamas, seems to have reigned supreme like the pick of Chief-Who-is-Who among Anansewa’s suitors. Davido, you will recall, has the notorious renown of picking his confetti of Baby Mamas by the sidewalks like a squirrel picks groundnuts in a plantation. Similarly in Sutherland’s play, before being helped to settle for Chief-Who-is-Who, Anansewa, like Davido, also had multiple liaisons, though she hadn’t met them. The huge material showers the various suitors rained on Anansewa is akin to the benumbing millions of dollars Davido showered on the Lagos marriage.

The Davido wedding and Sutherland’s Marriage of Anansewa, apart from depicting life as drama, also had the theme of African traditional marriage as tool for financial exploitation and money-making. This has led to, especially Igbo marriages, being a huge burden for every aspiring young man. Only God knows how much material demands Chioma’s Imo State family must have wrung off the well-heeled Adeleke family. While Anansewa’s wedding to Chief-Who-Is-Who probably held in Ananse’s village, the Davido Igba Nkwu wedding rites violated the traditional wedding code in Igbo society. Such weddings hold in the village of the bride but Chioma’s held in a ‘No Man’s Land’ of Lagos. The irritant Joe Igbokwe was to later claim it was for fear of ESN and IPOB which afflict Imo State like a pestilence. The unrivalled display of wealth by the Adelekes, at a time when hunger and anger have become stubborn guests that refuse to leave the Nigerian table, draws attention to the postcolonial vice of how we crown wealth as Emperor. It further reveals how materialism is a viper’s poison stinging the marriage institution in Africa.  

Sutherland’s craft is an allegory, a symbolism that speaks to the mis-policy of non-alignment adopted by Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah. It also mocks Nkrumah’s money-centric relations with other countries after independence. While Ananse represents Ghana, the deceptive suitor with the cunning of the notorious trickster Spider in various Ashante folklores, (Spider is represented on the cover of the book) the suitor chiefs symbolize the international community which is a sucker for what it wanted. Notwithstanding that the Davido wedding was a private person’s way of expressing personal joy, accomplishment and social strides, the Harbour Point lavish wedding, like Sutherland’s play, may as well represent the present cunning and Janus faces of leaders of Nigeria and Kenya.

William Ruto clambered to the top of global disdain last week. He had earlier been at the zenith of attention when he became guest of American president, Joe Biden in May. In a letter penned to him on May 21, famous literary giant, Ngugi wa Thiongo, labeled Ruto’s diplomatic shuttle to America as cringing for crumbs and lickspittling. Ngugi also asked Ruto if he knew that, while he was enjoying White House’s hospitality, “Haitians were in the streets demonstrating, calling you a slave.” Literally calling Ruto a betrayer, Ngugi asked him if he knew that he had

“chosen to sell your country cheap.”

Like Ruto, Bola Tinubu also came to the presidential palace on the cusp of appealing to the common people. At campaign hustings, Ruto described himself as a “hustler”. He promised to relieve his people of their economic pain. The true test came last week. The tax hike bill waiting for his signature was bound to make life more painful for the offspring of Mau Mau warriors. So they embarked on a protest which, from Nairobi, spread like bushfire in harmattan. The protesters then stormed the parliament and set it on fire. Auma, Barack Obama’s step-sister and her daughter were tear-gassed in the process. In response, a visibly angry Ruto dispatched soldiers who then littered the streets with bodies of about 20 dead Kenyans. He also initially called the protesters “treasonous” criminals, but, seeing the slant into anarchy and a probable takeover of power from him by the youths, Ruto reversed himself.

Ruto and Tinubu, who are stupendously and fabulously wealthy, subscribe to the obtuse belief that, to bail their countries out of economic doldrums, taxation holds the ace. Kenyans mock Ruto in butt of jokes as “Zakayo,” a word taken out of the biblical tax collector, Zacchaeus’ name. They also believe that his aggressive tax evangelism is mini-dictatorship. Some even drew parallel between him and Arap Moi, the country’s dictatorial one-party state ruler. While Ruto was campaigning for the Kenyan presidency, just like Tinubu, who promised to make “corn, agbado, casafa” (pun intended) available to the people, Ruto also promised policies that would drop money in Kenyans’ pockets. Not long after being in office, the man who called himself an “anti-establishment” president and a “hustler” removed crucial fuel and maize flour subsidies. He was a Tinubu in the mirror.

As both Ruto and Tinubu, at every drop of a hat, preach belt-tightening, they and their families live in majestic splendor. On his recent visit to Biden, Ruto commuted to and fro in a chartered luxury private jet, abandoning the “old,” presidential jet. It is as though he and Tinubu compare notes in mindless spendthrift-ing. In Nigeria, the chartered jet Tinubu flew to South Africa recently was said to belong to his business friend, Chagoury, the Sani Abacha crony, who he recently awarded a N15 trillion highway contract to. In Kenya, Ruto also claimed the jet he flew to the US was paid for by his unnamed friends. A few days ago, we were told that, damming the pang and poverty in the land and most likely shouting, “let Sango, the god of thunder, strike the Bata drum and the jarring metals surrounding it!,” the Lagos Boy began bidding to buy two presidential jets so that he does not get killed in the air, a la Bayo Onanuga. One of the jets is a $600 million (almost a trillion Naira) Airbus A330 aircraft seized from an unnamed Arab prince and businessman. I told you awhile ago that Lagos Boys are heartlessly bold and daring. With Ruto and Tinubu, Kenyans and Nigerians may have entered the proverbial Suara Sobo lorry.

Anyway, we must congratulate Davido and Chioma for the joy they exuded on their wedding day. I am however surprised that the older Adeleke family didn’t apprise the talented musician of the eternal essence in a famous Yoruba counsel that teaches circumspection. Yoruba tell merrymakers desirous of flinging cymbals in celebration of achievements to be circumspect like a farmer whose yam plantation yields bountiful. Such a farmer envelopes the heaps from prying eyes with his hands. No matter the glitz of modernity, the Earth, indeed the World, has an eye, apologies to Niyi Osundare. And those eyes are mostly wicked. Like every great achiever, Davido is no doubt surrounded by a grumpy world beefing his supersonic strides.

Odolaye, in same Aye Omo Aye album, conceptualized the destructive inclination of the world even better. Apparently borne out of the inexplicable tiff that suddenly brewed between him and poet, Oladapo Olatubosun, his record label owner, Odolaye lamented a destructive world he gave the cognomen “Ayé omo ayé, èèyàn abiìdí yàńyàń.”

Of a truth, having gone through marital valleys and spousal challenges, it was Davido’s time to fling the cymbals. However, was an African’s, with its peculiar contours. It wasn’t that of Diana and Charles’ which had over 750 million people around the world watch how Diana, a former nursery school teacher, wore a dress that was said to have 10,000 pearls on it and a 25-foot train. Nor was it that of John and Jackie Kennedy which took place in 1953 in Newport, Rhode Island with over 800 guests of politicians and diplomats. Nor even that of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West held in 2014 in Florence, Italy, star-studded with guests like Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Steve McQueen, and Serena Williams in attendance. Most of those weddings ended badly anyway. Davido should have listened to Odolaye’s advice: “This world is wicked. Don’t underrate the wickedness of this world!” (Ayé yìí sòro o, ayé yìí sòro, k’é máse f’ènìyàn se’ré!).

Olajumoke at 80

Tomorrow, one of Providence’s priceless gifts to Ondo State and Nigeria, Bode Olajumoke, will be 80 years old. Born on Saturday, July 1, 1944, Olajumoke was Senator representing Ondo North from 2007 to 2011 and hails from Ose Local Government of the state. In 1999, he aspired to be Nigeria’s president. If Nigerians, especially the people of the Southwest, forget everything about Olajumoke, they will certainly remember the grey-bearded man who birthed the idea of a Yoruba unity under the umbrella of the Imeri Unity Group. Recognizing how fractious the Yoruba had been since the demise of Obafemi Awolowo, Olajumoke began a yeoman fence-mending effort which reconciled feuding groups and individuals in Yorubaland. He also redrew the map of his Imeri hometown, a town hitherto mis-contiguously placed under Mid-West and Bendel State, which he fought to bring back to its Ondo kith and kin on September 19, 1991.

The credentials above are almost insignificant when placed side by side Olajumoke’s philanthropy, unassuming nature and staunch religiosity. All these and far much more are contained in an autobiography he entitled, A Life of Grace: Courage, Vicissitudes and Legacies in the Journey of Bode Olajumoke which will be unveiled in a birthday ceremony tomorrow at Yoruba Tennis Club, Onikan, Lagos.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need ~ Hebrews 4:16.

Introduction

It has been shown over the ages that God’s mercy is a major all-time need of man. Why? Man doesn’t always get what he deserves, but what mercy delivers to him: “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:16).

Naturally, the journey of life is too cumbersome and very difficult to predict. Sometimes, certain unwholesome events come calling, when they are least expected. Most certainly, it is not the strongest of the species that always survives in life, not the most intelligent, but those who are the most receptive to the mercies of God, “for by strength shall no man prevail” (1 Samuel 2:9).

Understanding the Subject of Mercy

In our day-to-day usage of the word, ‘mercy’ is that tenderness of heart which inclines a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he/she deserves. It is the disposition of the mind that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses. Mercy is that platform, which allows favor to flow towards a person or a thing.

In Biblical parlance, God’s mercy is a distinctive attribute of the Supreme God that does not allow Him to overlook the helpless in his miserable estate (Numbers 14:18). Mercy is God’s prerogative that makes Him to embrace the rejected. Certainly, Leah was in this catchment (Genesis 29:31).

Mercy is the outflow of God's compassion and forbearance that shuts the doors against harm, but conveys blessings to His people who have obtained mercy. God’s mercy is intrinsically connected to His covenant with man. Hence, the golden cover of the Ark of the Covenant was justly referred to as the ‘Mercy Seat’ (Ex.25:17-22; 26:34).

Mercy is a major requirement in the school of divine assistance and durable wonders (Titus 3:5). It is a ‘Certain Entity’ in the realm of the spirit that follows those who receive it on their journeys of life (Ps.23:6).

When Mercy Speaks!

From generation to generation, mankind continues to enjoy God's mercy one way or the other, only in varying degrees. For instance, the wonders of the Israeli nation is deeply etched in God’s mercy (Rom.9:13-18). It was God’s mercy that supernaturally turned their battles around, to make room for their inexplicable victories, as found in the battle of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:21).

Even today, it is His mercy we have received that saved us, keeps us, provides for us, heals us, forgives us and even gives us a hope of heaven.

When God deals with any man according to His mercy, don’t just write him off yet, because anything can still happen. Such destinies can still gain momentum and be propelled to great ascendence. For instance, by mercy, Esther, the common slave girl became the Queen in Shushan palace. How about that!

Among the several hundreds of other beautiful virgins across the 127 provinces of King Ahasuerus, God's mercy singled out Esther for coronation, and the King loved her "above all the women” (Esther 2:17).

When mercy speaks, the most disadvantaged becomes repositioned into a most advantageous estate. Mercy is all that’s needed to transit any man from prison to the palace.  If you’re in doubt, please ask Joseph, the erstwhile Egyptian Prime Minister (Genesis 39:21). May mercy locate you and speak for you today in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

In situations where God’s mercy is on the front burner, incurable diseases can vanish miraculously in the twinkling of an eye. The father of the lunatic boy in Matthew 17:14-18 must have tried every possible means to procure healing for his son, all to no avail. Thereafter, he came to Jesus Christ, pleading for mercy, and the child was cured immediately.

The mercy of God is the most inerrant solution to pathetic situations in life. Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus was blind for a long time. But, he knew by revelation that it was only mercy from the Lord that could rescue him from this infirmity. Hence, when he learned that Jesus was passing by, he cried out for God’s mercy, and heaven stood at attention to assist him, restoring his sight instantly (Mark 10:46-52).

God’s Mercy Never Fails!

God’s mercy is never-failing because it is as eternal as it is everlasting, and it is as dependable as it is reliable. The mercy of the Lord is ever sure and durable (Isaiah 55:3).

Moreover, God’s promises of “mercy” to men are always firmly propped up by His “truth” (Psalms 25:10). And, you see, Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Generally speaking, wise men value a promise by the character of him that makes it. Definitely, under the dispensation of the New Testament, any man can enjoy the fullness of God's goodness through Jesus Christ today (2 Corinthians 1:20). God is not only gracious in promising, but He is also very faithful in performing whatever He has promised. All His promises and all His providences are sustained and fully guaranteed by Truth. Alleluia!

Conclusion

Were it not for God’s Mercy that we receive moment by moment, we would have been consumed by woes and wickedness (Lamentations 3:22-23). Hence, supplication for mercy should remain a top agenda on our prayer altars.

When mercy is still speaking, nothing is impossible. When God’s mercy speaks up for you, it can still be well with you, even inside a well! In all His dealings, God’s people see the Lord’s mercy displayed, and His words fulfilled, whatever situations they find themselves. May His sure mercies continue to speak distinctively for us all, 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

I went to buy blank videotapes in a van that had “Christian VideoNet” emblazoned on both sides. Immediately I came out of the van, an Indian man engaged me in a friendly conversation. Soon he was talking to me about “Our Lord.”  

My immediate reaction was: “Which Lord is this man talking about? What makes him think that my Lord is his Lord?”

My thinking was that whatever Lord this friendly Indian man was talking about; it cannot be my Lord Jesus Christ.

My new Indian friend kept on chatting, and he was curiously smiling at me. And then it hit me. When I think Indian, I think Hindu. But this Indian man was not a Hindu. That was what he had been trying to communicate to me. This Indian man was a Christian.

Forgive me for having such a one-track mind. On an earlier occasion, I had met another Indian man. He was clearly not a Christian, but I soon got the impression that he was in the marketplace for a new religion. He did not wait for me to witness to him. Having seen the insignia on the van, he wanted me to tell him about Christianity. But then he had some vital questions he wanted cleared up right at the beginning.  

“Your religion,” he asked, “does it allow you to drink alcohol?”

“Yes,” I replied expansively, “we even drink wine in church.”

“Wonderful, wonderful,” said my Indian friend, brightening up. Then he asked: “How many gods do you have?”

I was a bit slow on the uptake and did not quite understand what he was getting at. “What do you mean how many gods do I have?” I asked incredulously.

“Yes, yes,” the man replied, without any hint of mischief. “How many gods do you have?”

“I have only one God,” I said marvelling at him.

And then I understood why. He was shopping for another god. This man was quite simply a “god collector.”

“Only one?” he asked in disbelief. “You have only one God?”

“Well, yes,” I replied, now defensive. “I have only one God.”

The man shook his head in a way that said eloquently: “Forget it.” What is the point of a religion where you only have one God? That is simply too risky. What if He happens to be busy at any given time?

Dear Reader, how many gods do you have? Do you even know all of them? Many of us do not even realise that we serve other gods. Our predicament is similar to that of the biblical nation of Israel:

They feared the LORD yet served their own gods – according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. (2 Kings 17:33).

He is the God who took us out of the land of Egypt. He parted the Red Sea and we walked through on dry ground. 600 Egyptian chariots and horses chased us when God delivered us from Egypt and Pharaoh. And yet all of them ended up at the bottom of the Red Sea.

So why would we, after such a glorious experience, trust in the same horses and chariots which brought the Egyptians to grief?

The message should be clear: God saves by faith alone. He who has Jesus has all the protection he needs. He does not need chariots and horses. God says:

“I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.” (Hosea 1:7).

Nevertheless, the Bible records that Solomon had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen. (1 Kings 10:26).

My nephew had an urgent question to ask me. “Uncle Femi,” he said, “does God not like His children to save money?”

He had been having some difficulty with the Holy Spirit. Every time he built up a tidy nest egg, the Lord would come up with a project that would wipe it all out. He was becoming frustrated. He just did not seem to have any money put away for the rainy day.

“God does not like His children to rely on money,” I said to him. “He wants His children to depend solely on Him. It would appear that, in your case, when you build up a savings you start to rely on the money, instead of relying on God.”

You can put burglar-proofing on your door but do not rely on it. It can be cut like paper. You can buy life insurance policies but do not put your hope in them. The insurance company itself can collapse. You can not have a godfather. Neither can you have a “sugar daddy.” And you can never go to Egypt for help. (Isaiah 31:1).

So, tell me please: how can we fight Goliath if we have no weapons? Do not even bother trying to put on the armour of Saul. The weapons of our warfare are not man-made, but they have divine power to pull down strongholds. (2 Corinthians10:4).

How would we kill Goliath? “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6). How would we pay our school fees? How would we meet our life partners? How would we get promoted in our jobs? Neither by might nor by power but by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus revealed to us that God is spirit. This means He is invisible and immaterial. He is not flesh and blood. Since God is a spirit, worship must be spiritual. Once we make an image, it is no longer spiritual worship. Therefore, God insists that we make no likeness of Him.

The LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words but saw no form; you only heard a voice. (Deuteronomy 4:12).

Once we have to relate to something physical, be it a rosary or a beautiful carving of Jesus, it is no longer spiritual worship; it is physical worship. Note that the children of Israel worshipped the brass serpent that Moses made, calling it Nehushtan. (2 Kings 18:4).

Christianity is not the service about an altar of stone or wood but about the human heart and life. It is not the service of Sunday best clothes, but of the garment of praise (Isaiah 61:3) and the robes of righteousness. (Isaiah 61:10). It is not the service of drums, saxophones, and organs, but of making melody in our hearts to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:19).

Spiritual worship means keeping oneself unspotted from the world by living holy godly lives. (James 1:27).

But frankly, faith is a big problem for a lot of Christians. It is so unreal. We want a God we can see: a God we can touch. And so, we make a calf and say it is the God that brought us out of Egypt. But we just made the calf, so how can it be God? Or, we want a king like all the others. But is God not our king? No! We want a king who is flesh and blood.

And so, we not only weary men but we also weary God as well. We provoke the Holy One of Israel to anger. God says: “Samuel, tell them what a king will do to them. Tell them a king will sell them and their children into slavery.”

But we are not impressed. It does not matter. We still want a king. Everybody else has one, and we would like to be like everybody else.

The man who looks unto the hills is the man who does not know God. The man who looks unto the hills is the man who does not know where his help is going to come from. He has many gods and so many helpers. But the man who has God knows his salvation is coming from the only true God.

Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; truly, in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. (Jeremiah 3:23).

Even the psalmist who was initially looking to the hills soon realised the error of his ways:

My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalms 121:2).

Our help does not come from the lord who is the Governor of the Central Bank. It does not come from the lord who is the Managing Director of First Bank. It comes from “the Lord of all lords” and “the King of kings:” The Lord who made heaven and earth.

Sometimes we pray just to fulfil all righteousness. And after we have prayed, we come back to our senses and have panic attacks.

Joy’s son was going back to the United States from Nigeria. He had an American passport and a Nigerian passport simultaneously. He came in with his Nigerian passport, which meant he did not have a Nigerian visa. But if he tried to leave with his Nigerian passport, they would require him to show a visa for his destination, the United States. That would mean he would have to show his American passport.

But dual nationality had been suspended in Nigeria. If he showed his American passport, they would ask him how he got into the country without a Nigerian visa.

It was a “Catch 22” situation. Joy took the matter to God and asked for His help. Then she went to the airport with her son. But on getting there she had a panic attack. She started looking for other gods to help her. Perhaps there was someone she knew who could help her? Perhaps if she spoke politely to the immigration official he would overlook the matter? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

But what does the word of God say?

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7).

But Joy was anxious about everything, and she had no peace. Finally, the Holy Spirit spoke: “Did you not ask me for help? So why are you still anxious?”

Suddenly, she stood there in the middle of the airport terminal apologising to the Holy Spirit. She had scarcely finished praying her apologies when someone called her name.

“Professor Ogwu, is that you?” She looked up to see this distinguished military officer standing in front of her with a big grin on his face.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“My son is travelling to the United States.”

“Where is he?” the man asked taking charge.

He took charge so completely that he ushered him past immigration and literally onto the plane. Problem solved.

When Joy told her husband what had happened, he was unimpressed. “It was just a coincidence,” he insisted. Coincidence my foot! God is not a coincidental God.

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