Last week, Nigeria was faced with what Yoruba call Egbinrin ote. When afflictions come in multiple, they become a plague. A plague is almost synonymous with Yoruba’s “Egbinrin ote.” Literally, Egbinrin Ote is leaves of conspiracy. When you pluck a single leaf out of the branch of a tree of conspiracy, another leaf sprouts immediately to replace it. Any attempt at striking one down, multiple leaves grow from it.

On Tuesday, the country literally went into a feverish frenzy. Nigeria’s Central Bank had shot up the whole nation’s adrenaline by a considerable measure. In a circular, the bank directed all banks to begin the implementation of an amended 2015 Cybersecurity Act which levied 0.05% on all electronic transactions payable to the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA). Same week, the back-and-forth between the abducted editor of FirstNews, Segun Olatunji and Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the president, got to its denouement. That same week, temper boiled at high Fahrenheit over the detention and release after ten days of Nigerian investigative journalist, Daniel Ojukwu, who spent 10 days in police cell. As the week wound to a close, President Bola Tinubu, who we were praying hadn’t sunk into the Bermuda Triangle, as his whereabouts were unknown for about seven days, suddenly emerged from nowhere. No questions were asked; no apology was given. And everybody lived happily ever thereafter. In the same week, the swollen wound on the Rivers State leg suddenly burst open. The reeking smell that oozed out of it caused the world to hold a handkerchief to its nose.

Nigeria was that Egbinrin ote. Last week, as citizens contended with one bad shoot, another tree node opened, and before we knew it, multiple sprouts of afflictions shot out. As we contended with what was almost becoming a pestilential plague of Nigerian presidents suddenly disappearing from the radar, another plague sprouted. And on, and on. It was almost a plague per day. One after the other, afflictions rose a second, third, fourth and multiple times. 

Since President Muhammadu Buhari, the opera of Nigerian presidents suddenly disappearing without trace seemed to have become a staple on the national menu. In March, 2021, Buhari had disappeared from the radar “for routine medical checkup.” In March 2017, the then 74-year-old president suddenly reappeared on the radar, after unceremoniously disappearing for seven weeks. He had jetted to the UK to treat an ailment which, till he left office, remained undisclosed. The rumour that followed this non-disclosure was intriguing. Some cynics wickedly alleged that the character that was flown back to Nigeria after weeks of treatment in a UK hospital was a Buhari doppelganger from Sudan. They maintained that the original had passed on. Buhari too didn’t help matters. Anytime his minders failed to put on the latch and he spoke ex-tempore, the president inflicted a public relations migraine on them. He veered off course into irrelevances like a wandering evil spirit.

As a result of his disappearing acts, in an earlier piece I did entitled, The President Is A Sick Man: Buharis’ secret surgeries inside Oneida yacht,(April 4, 2021) I traced the history of presidents who went AWOL, dwelling particularly on Africa. Permit me to reproduce it here. The President Is A Sick Man is the title of a book written by Philadelphia-born award-winning American journalist, Matthew Algeo. It is a chronology of the medical travails of President Grover Cleveland, lawyer, statesman and one of the most famous public speakers of his time. Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States of America, from 1885 to 1889 and 1893 to 1897. The book chronicles how the health of a president and the health of the nation are inexorably linked.

Cleveland was America’s first and only two non-consecutive-terms president in history. He was also the first democrat to become the American president in 28 years. Famously renowned for always speaking the truth, he was regarded as a very virtuous man, so much that his most memorable quotation, ramped up into a cliché, was “Tell the Truth.” America was later to find out that, wrapped up inside that Cleveland shawl of “telling the truth” was the most untruthful cover-up in American history, far more scandalous than Watergate. What revealed Cleveland’s real persona was his battle with mouth cancer and an extraordinary, even if political cover-up of this infirmity that lasted almost a century, garnished with a successful attempt to keep it from the American people.

On May 5, 1893, two weeks shy of his 56th birthday, the second day of his swearing in for a second term, Cleveland noticed a rough spot on the roof of his mouth which, by the prodding of his wife, Frances, prompted the invitation of the president’s friend, New York surgeon and Cleveland family physician, Dr. Joseph Decatur Bryant, to look it up. Bryant diagnosed oral tumour, malignant in nature, “an ulcerated surface with an oval outline about the size of a quarter of a dollar.” He called it a “bad looking tenant” that should be evicted post-haste.

President Cleveland was thoroughly afraid. His fear, articulated by Bryant, was that, if the cancer had gone into metastasis, the lower part of his left eye socket would be removed during surgery and thus permanently impairing his vision. Thus, on July 1, 1893, Cleveland got lost inside the Oneida, his friend, Commodore Elias Benedict’s yacht. For five good days, he was declared missing. William Williams Keen, America’s most famous and celebrated surgeon of the time and a team of other surgeons, performed the surgery to remove the cancerous tumor that had grown dangerously and embarrassingly on the president’s upper jaw and palate. The most shocking aspect of it was that, one very enterprising newspaper reporter, E. J. Edwards, later got the information and reported the secret surgery. Cleveland’s own Bayo Onanugas descended on the journalist with the highest acerbity ever. They even labeled him “a disgrace to journalism.” It was not until decades later that one of Cleveland’s surgeons exposed the startling disappearance.

I told this long story so as to bring to the fore the Nigerian and African experience of the Cleveland disease. It is not to focus on the disappearance acts of presidents per se but the stunt of keeping their ailments out of the people’s knowledge. While some may argue that the Cleveland covert surgery legitimizes many similar equations in Africa, the fact that this happened in America, in the “dark age” of the 19th century, delegitimizes such argument.

Drawing shawls on the health status of African leaders today while they suddenly disappear to undertake their own surgeries inside Cleveland’s type Oneida yacht has a history behind it. It is the mentality of continuation of the great empires and monarchies of Africa where kings were perceived to be infallible, super-human and incapable of falling prey to the afflictions of plebeians and common people. African leaders, seeing themselves in same mould of kings and emperors, believe that they must not be heard having failing health, nor their health status made public. In what other way can it be said to them that, no matter one’s status in life, no one is immune to death and health failings? This trend that I call the Kabiyesi mentality, has bred a pandemic of leaders of Africa who, almost like Cleveland, “abdicate their thrones” covertly to seek remedies abroad, without the knowledge of their people.

In October, 2016, President Peter Mutharika of Malawi also disappeared from the radar. He was 76 years old. Like Tinubu, he had gone to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting mid-September and didn’t come back until October 16. This provoked speculations in Malawi that he had died, with his cagey aides failing to divulge his whereabouts. There were later disclosures through the grapevine that he had vamoosed to some parts of Europe to attend to his health. Same was the story of Gabonese President, Ali Bongo, son of Omar Bongo. At a time in November, 2018, Ali was said to have been “seriously ill,” with speculations rife that he had died after suffering from stroke. He was just 59 years then. Findings however later revealed that he had not died but that was holed up in a Saudi Arabia hospice.

Oil-rich Angola’s Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, who ruled the country from 1979, also eloped to Spain. He had sought medical remedy to an undisclosed ailment in May, 2017. It was after about three weeks of his noticeable absence from the public that his foreign minister, after pressure from the opposition, confirmed his unceremonious absence. In the same vein, until his death at age 95, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe was always dashing in and out of Singapore hospitals. Benin Republic’s Patrice Talon was like our own military leader, Ibrahim Babangida, who disclosed to the whole world that he was afflicted by a disease called radiculopathy. After the 59-year old president, who took over from Thomas Yayi-Boni, disappeared from the radar for about three weeks, his minders, on June 19, 2017, released information that he had undergone two successful surgical operations in Paris. They said doctors had found a lesion in his prostate. This further necessitated another surgery in his digestive system.

As straightforward as President Umaru Yar’Adua was, his major blight was non-disclosure of his health status. It is obvious that President Tinubu is not medically alright. It will be foolhardy of us as a people to expect a man who, by his own claim, is 72 years old, to have the agility and health of a youth. But Nigerians deserve to know what ails their president. We will pray for him. Like the man next door, he is human, capable of taking ill and dying. It will be inhuman to scoff at his health.

Apart from Tinubu’s appearance and disappearing acts, the second Egbinrin ote that afflicted Nigeria last week wasthe CBN levy. Yes, the hues and cries over this levy are petering out, but we need to know what lies in the orifice of the minds of current Nigerian leaders. Some have labeled the Tinubu administration an Agbalowomeri government. Literally, an Agbalowomeri is one who squeezes the blood of the needy for their own existence. This sobriquet was made famous by J. F. Odunjo’s 1958 iconic book, Agbalomeri Baale Jontolo. In it, a wealthy villagehead named Agbalowomeri greedily forced his subjects to patronize him, in spite of their poverty. He gladly enjoyed the pain the people went through. He met his waterloo thereafter. A clearer insight of the persona of an Agbalowomeri was provided by D. Olu Olagoke in his famous The Incorruptible Judge play. Ajala, a young job-seeker, was forced to offer bribe for employment as Clerk in the Government Development Department. A demand of “kola” of £5 was made from an indigent Ajala by a top civil servant, Mr. Agbalowomeri who, unbeknown to, was collecting marked money in what was a sting operation by the police. The police then swooped on him.

Yes, Buhari left a shell, and Tinubu inherited a parlous economy that was heading to kiss the canvass. The fact however remains that this government has been grossly anti-poor people in its policies of close to one year. It seems to take delight in mass pauperization. But for government’s unfeeling desire to inflict pain on the people, the provisions of Section 42(2)(a) of the Cybercrime (Provision, Prevention etc.) (Amended) Act 2024 are unambiguous and clear enough. They were that, “business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act” and not ordinary Nigerians, were meant to pay the CBN levy and not ordinary Nigerians.

Now comes the next plague. Those who voted Tinubu in the light of his testimonial of having fought the military for its repression of free speech are getting aghast at his government’s sagging human rights records. The examples of FirstNews’ Olatunji and FIJ’s Ojukwu cast a dark patch on whatever democratic credentials Tinubu parades. Let us be clear on this: No person in their right senses should encourage yellow journalism where untruth and sensationalism are deified above facts.

Our laws, however, provide for due process of apportioning legal comeuppances on yellow journalism. They, in the same vein, frown at Sani Abacha’s Colonel Frank Omenka’s antediluvian horror prosecutorial method. Omeka thrived in locking victims up in dark cellars and allegedly throwing some inside the lagoon for fishes to devour. Olatunji’s Gestapo-like arrest and his subjection to inhuman detention, as well as Ojukwu’s slam into detention without trial for ten days are crude memories of Abacha. If Gbajabiamila knew the civilized route of seeking retraction and apologies for an offensive story as he later demanded and got from the publishers of FirstNews, why was that route an anathema to him, ab-initio?

Same goes for Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, a former senior special assistant to the president. She could have gone the legal route of suing FIJ and Ojukwu for their investigative story which alleged that she transferred N147 million of government funds marked for school construction into a restaurant’s bank account. Why then get Ojukwu locked up like a common criminal for ten days? The way the Tinubu government is going, it is turning the Cybercrime (Provision, Prevention etc.) (Amended) Act 2024 into another Decree 4. That decree was the military’s weapon of inflicting weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth on free press. All men and women of goodwill should disclaim this government’s furtive opening of the exit door for Abacha to enter the democratic hall in Nigeria.

The last Egbinrin ote came in the form of a story that also came to a frightening point last week. It is the unending tango between FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara. In an earlier piece I did with the title, As Fubara Presses The Nuclear Button, (December 17, 2023) I laid the blame of the protracted crisis squarely where it belonged – Wike and Tinubu. Tinubu, because, in his meeting with the governor and Rivers stakeholders in Aso Rock last December, if he had acted like a statesman and not an APC leader, Rivers will not be a smoking cauldron that it is today. You will recollect what a member of the Rivers Elders’ Forum and former Rivers State Commissioner for Works, David Briggs, had revealed what actually transpired. 

On why Tinubu, who knew the grave infraction against the constitution that the 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike had committed by defecting to the APC, Briggs claimed Tinubu said, “I’m the leader of the APC in Nigeria. And you are telling me when babies are born into my family, I should ask them to go.” Tinubu thereafter dictatorially got the parties, including Fubara, to sign a pre-written agreement, apparently under duress. In the words of Briggs, “He (Tinubu) emphasized the fact that he is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and anybody who tends to say no to what he is saying, it has consequences.” Has Tinubu ever called Wike to his office to tell him the simple truth? I doubt. Who can peer light into the dilating eyes of the lion, the animal which inflicts tribal marks on any animal in the jungle (Ògìdán olólà ijù)? The truth is, Wike’s totalitarian approach to power and his violent disposition are the bane of today’s Rivers politics. The day Wike accepts that no one can hold on to power ad-infinitum is the day the good people of Rivers would be rid of the Wike-inflicted conundrum.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him ~ Psalms 28:7.

Introduction:

Nothing can compare with God, nor can replace Him and the help He brings to His people in their hours of need. Knowing Him and enjoying His intervening Arms are worth infinitely more than all the riches in this world. Man can fix no price upon God’s assistance; it’s a gracious gift of the Holy Ghost.

Oftentimes, our efforts to help ourselves in our troubles woefully fail us, and our best wits and wisdom prove to be unreliable. Job certainly knew this pretty well when he wrote that very beautiful ode in Job 28:7-23. He insisted that no “ravenous bird” can beat the help of God, not even the “lion’s whelps” or the fiercest beasts can assail it.
God's promises of incredible supernatural assistance are rooted in His faithfulness and sovereignty (Psalm 36:5). Jesus Christ taught us that when we prioritize God's kingdom and righteousness, He will meet our needs to ensure our noble accomplishments on earth (Matthew 6:33).

The order of this world was established, and is being maintained till now, by theWisdom of God. Thus, the dispensations of providential intervention are regulated by the highest wisdom, and supernatural assistance is unfathomable and unpurchasable by man.

Notwithstanding, we are, at least, required to demonstrate confidence in God to enjoy His supernatural interventions. Trusting God and investing our lives in His kingdom involve surrendering our plans and desires to His will. 

As we actively entrust our lives to God, we receive access to His abundant grace, and thereafter, He begins to work on our behalf. He assists us to enjoy fulfillment on earth in accordance with His perfect plan and orchestrates circumstances suitable for our growth and advancement.

In the natural world, confidence and trust go a long way to promoting fellowship and mutual assistance. Understandably so, the help of God also shows up marvelously for those who put their trust in Him.

David generously attested to this fact, and he also called our attention to the significance of trust in covenant benefits (Psalm 28:7; 37:40). He faced many battles in life, yet he made the choice to look up in faith to God for help, and marvelous help regularly showed up for him at the various bitter points of his life’s volatile experiences(Psalm 121:1).

Cultivating And Demonstrating Confidence In God

One of the major ways your confidence in God can be groomed and equally demonstrated is through your speech: “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so … (Psalms 107:2). Sound is a critical sign of life; your sound produces your signs (Psalms 18:43-45).

Besides, to build and demonstrate our confidence in God, we must also be regular in His sanctuary (Psalms 122:1). The sanctuary is God’s appointed place of encounter with His covenant children (Psalm 20:2).

Everyone who looks up to God for help must therefore keep regular statutory appointments with Him in His holy sanctuary (Hebrews 4:16; 10:25). The sanctuary is the place where God sends help and supernatural strength in divine packets to those who trust in Him (Psalms 20:1-3; 84:7).

Furthermore, active confidence in God’s help is generated and demonstrated when we give sacrificially unto God’s kingdom causes (Psalms 20:3). Doubtlessly, giving with such a stance is incredibly help-provoking! Nothing of value comes without a cost, for values are functions of costs.

Without mincing words, something mysterious usually happens at offering time: the undercurrent of supernatural power and interventions flow at offering times, releasing unmistakable dimensions of supernatural assistance.

In one of the notorious battles of the Philistines against Israel, Samuel needed a crucial victory, but that waited until he gave an unusual offering unto the Lord. Thereafter, he received marvelous help (1Samuel 7:7-10).

That day, the LORD thundered against the Philistines to confuse them, and to thwart and frustrate their plans. They were smitten, routed and utterly defeated before Israel. Alleluia!

In another instance, Israel became dispirited in her battle against the Edomites for lack of water, but the story changed at offering time (2 Kings 3:17-20).

Flowing from all these above, it appears that God reckons with our anxious requestsfor His intervention only to the degree of our desperate sacrifices on His holy altar(Matthew 5:7; Luke 6:38). Anyone from any background can access staggering grace and help for greatness if only he can cultivate a godly attitude of cheerful, sacrificial offering.

Meanwhile, with this hidden powerassigned to offerings, the puzzling question is: “are men now expected to buy divine help”?  Most emphatically, no! God’s help is absolutely unpurchasable! Rather, the personal surrender and sacrifice of the will involved in the acts of offering attract to it all its value and potency.

That’s also the reason any robust teaching on the subject of biblical offering always includes not only giving of money, but also deploying our time, talents, treasure, strength, influence and social positions for use to the glory of God and in the highest good of humanity.

When you habitually give these generously, cheerfully and sacrificially, it is accountedthat you have laid “your all” upon God’s holy altar, and you thus qualify to attract anything from Him who owns heaven and earth. No wonder then that tides easily change their rage and events their course when we offer with the right attitude and in the right places.

Friends and brethren, when this body of truth above is lined up to count for you, help from above in tandem with the divine help within you will be excited to act in your favour. You will be a wonder to many, and your light will shine to brighten your world! You won’t miss it, in Jesus name. 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

Solomon counsels believers in Christ: “Do not lean on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5). This is because the ways of God are counter-intuitive. To first understand many things about the kingdom of God, we first often misunderstand them.

For example, we are accustomed to viewing our lives from the past to the present to the future. However, the Bible suggests that time flows from the future into the present and then into the past. Therefore, the believer should be future-oriented, forgetting the past. (Philippians 3:13).

Joel’s Prophecy

“It shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29).

This is a prophecy about something that will happen in the future. However, the Word of God says everything in the future is already in the past:

“That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new’? It has already been in ancient times before us.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10).

Jesus is the Word of God. (Revelation 19:13). He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.(Hebrews 13:8).

Did people dream in the past? Yes indeed! But young men dreamt in the Old Testament. Joseph was 17 when he had his dreams. But Nebuchadnezzar was 42 when he had his. There does not seem to be any consistent pattern there.

Did people see visions in the past? Yes indeed! God said in the Old Testament: “I have also spoken by the prophets, and have multiplied visions.” (Hosea 12:10).

“God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, ‘Jacob, Jacob!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ So He said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.’” (Genesis 46:2-4).

But Israel was an old man of 130 years when he received these visions and went to Egypt. Ezekiel was in his 50s when he received his visions of God. In his case, Daniel was 85.

What about the prophecy of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Has it been fulfilled?

Jesus says the Holy Spirit was not yet given in the days of His flesh:

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-40).

But Peter declared this prophecy fulfilled when the disciples received the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost. Miraculously, they were speaking in foreign tongues and bystanders thought they were drunk:

“Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, ‘Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.’” (Acts 2:14-17).

Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled at the Pentecost and it was not. It was partially fulfilled but not fully fulfilled. The prophecy says God will pour His Spirit on all flesh but not everybody received the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost.

“For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” (1 Corinthians 13:9-10).

There were only about 120 people in the Upper Room at Pentecost. So, the Spirit was not poured upon ALL flesh. It was only poured on some flesh. At Pentecost, some received the Spirit before the appointed time. At the appointed time, all flesh will receive the Holy Spirit.

If, as Solomon says, every new thing has already happened in ancient times, we should ask: “Was the Holy Spirit poured upon people in the past before the Pentecost?”

Revelation Knowledge

God validated my regeneration when I received Christ by teaching me this song about David: “When the Spirit of the Lord is upon my soul I will dance like David danced.” I just woke on a Sunday morning singing this new song and when I got to church that morning, I found everybody singing the same song.

But was David born again?

According to what the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, revealed by teaching me this song, David was born again. The song shows the Holy Spirit was in me like He was in David. That means, like me, David was born again.

David could not have written the Messianic Psalms in the Bible if he was not born again. Jesus confirms that the Holy Spirit spoke through David:

“Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” (Mark 12:35-36).

David could not have heard God the Father speaking to God the Son if he was not born again. When David repented of his adultery with Bathsheba, he pleaded with God: “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:12).

This shows he had the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Himself confirms that some people received the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. He says to Nicodemus:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? (John 3:5-10), NKJV.

Jesus expected Nicodemus to know that some people were born again in the Old Testament. He was surprised that he did not know.

John the Baptist knew about the Holy Spirit:

John bore witness, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon (Jesus). I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’” (John 1:32-33).

John knew about the Holy Spirit because he had the Holy Spirit. God told Zacharias about his son, John the Baptist:

“He will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” (Luke 1:15). CONTINUED.

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A global mental health crisis is on the horizon — dementia.

It is a condition that can be caused by a number of diseases that gradually destroy nerve cells and damage the brain, resulting in a decline in cognitive functions, according to the World Health Organization.

With the advancement of medicine, science and technology, people are living longer lives and the world's aging population is growing at an unprecedented rate, raising the risk of a larger cohort of people living with dementia.

"As the global population of older adults continues to rise, the number of people living with dementia is also expected to grow, reaching approximately 139 million dementia cases by the year 2050," according to a recent report. As of 2023, there were more than 55 million people with dementia globally, according to the WHO.

By 2050, the population of people aged 65 and older will double to 2.1 billion, according to the World Health Organization.

Dementia risks

"Dementia is currently the seventh leading cause of death and one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people globally," according to the WHO, with nearly 10 million new cases of dementia every year.

Although there is no cure for the condition, according to research published in 2023 by the WHO, psychologists and researchers are working to prevent its onset.

While age is still the strongest known risk factor for dementia, researchers have found a set of 12 "potentially modifiable risk factors," according to The Lancet Commission's 2020 report:

Less education

Hypertension

Hearing impairment

Smoking

Obesity

Depression

Physical inactivity

Diabetes

Low social contact

Excessive alcohol consumption

Traumatic brain injury

Air pollution

"Together the 12 modifiable risk factors account for around 40% of worldwide dementias, which consequently could theoretically be prevented or delayed," according to The Lancet.

While socioeconomic status and education levels can impact the onset of dementia, particularly in early life, several other risks can be avoided, according to the study.

"What we currently know is — what's good for your heart is good for your brain, and that's because there are a lot of vascular risk factors for dementia," Timothy Singham, Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore, told CNBC Make It.

So, a lack of physical exercise, eating unhealthy foods, not getting enough sleep, drinking alcohol excessively as well as smoking puts a strain on your brain and risks developing future impairments, just like these pose a risk to one's heart, said Singham.

While a healthy body can mitigate dementia risks, a healthy mind is no less important.

"We do know [that] people who have cumulative mental health symptoms during their lifetime, actually [have] an increased risk of dementia," said Singham.

"If we see symptomatic improvement [to one's mental health] throughout the life course, then that can decrease your chances of having dementia eventually."

How to cut risks

Here are five key "protective factors" or things people can do to help prevent the onset of dementia:

Regular physical activity

Eating healthy

Building a healthy support network

Having good sleep hygiene

Find ways to regulate stress and emotions

It can be easy to get wrapped up in the quick pace of daily life, so it's important to take breaks.

"Your mental health suffers really quickly if you're not — physically active, you don't get to breathe, you don't get to see nature much, you're cooped up in the office or at home all day," Singham said.

Additionally, it is crucial to build a healthy support network, not just online, but also in-person.

"I think a lot of young people are [leaning on their] online social networks — but we need to not give up the face-to-face [meetups] with friends," Ng Ai Ling, Deputy Director and Principal Counsellor at Viriya Community Services told CNBC Make It.

"The other thing I would encourage young people to do is have a very disciplined, good sleep hygiene because our brains really really need to rest," Ng said. She suggests getting at least seven hours of sleep every night.

Lastly, finding ways to regulate emotions and stress is crucial. Finding professional help when required or leaning on your support network are ways to protect your mental health, in addition to the daily upkeep of maintaining a healthy diet, exercise and sleep.

Loved ones' struggle

As dementia cases continue to rise, mental health professionals expect its impact to extend beyond just those who are directly affected.

"The caregiver themselves are struggling to understand the illness — you lose someone to the illness, and the person who you used to be able to relate to and communicate [with] is no longer the same," Ng said.

Caregivers and loved ones may risk developing mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and insomnia, Ng explained.

"Suddenly — someone you're familiar with, and that person is forgetting you, and [they are] unable to perform as [they did] before the illness ... There is this emotional distress that you go through," she said.

Given the challenging situation, it is also important for people around a dementia patient to take care of their own mental and physical health as well, experts said.

CNBC

In a stunning reversal of fortune, Nigeria's naira has plummeted to claim the unenviable title of the world's worst-performing currency in the past month, according to a recent Bloomberg report. This development heaps pressure on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to consider further interest rate hikes.

With the naira depreciating to 1,466.31 against the dollar, hitting its weakest level since March 20, the report underscores the critical need for action. The scarcity of the US dollar locally exacerbates the situation, with Thursday's supply dwindling to a mere $84 million, half of the previous day's allocation.

Earlier accolades lauding the naira's performance by CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso, have now been overshadowed by these recent challenges. Despite Cardoso attributing the naira's previous success to market reforms and positive sentiments from international investors, the current downturn raises concerns about sustained stability.

Razia Khan, Chief Economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered, anticipates a further strain on the market as $1.3 billion in naira futures mature by month-end, potentially fueling increased demand for dollars. This looming scenario underscores the volatile nature of the Naira.

The CBN faces mounting pressure to take decisive action following its upcoming policy meeting on May 21, with possibility for additional rate hikes echoing previous increases in February and March totaling 600 basis points. These hikes had initially bolstered the naira's value, offering respite to investors seeking higher returns.

The naira's vulnerability extends beyond official markets, with informal exchanges also witnessing a decline to 1,468 naira against the dollar on Friday.

Abubakar Muhammed, CEO of Forward Marketing Bureau de Change Ltd., attributes this trend to heightened demand from individuals and small businesses, indicating broader economic uncertainties.

Notably, Nigeria isn't alone in grappling with currency woes. Zambia's kwacha hit a record low, while Ghana's cedi weakened to its lowest level since 2022, both countries navigating complex debt restructuring processes. Ayodele Salami, Chief Investment Officer for UK-based Emerging Markets Investment Management Ltd., highlights the impact of debt negotiations on investor confidence across Africa.

Amidst these challenges, the naira and other African currencies face mounting pressure from domestic demand for dollars, particularly for raw material imports, including oil. These multifaceted factors underscore the urgent need for strategic interventions to stabilize Nigeria's currency and restore confidence in its economic outlook.

Ali Ndume, the Senate Chief Whip, has voiced criticism against the contentious cybersecurity levy, arguing that it's unjust for the government to impose taxes on citizens without enhancing their income opportunities.

Despite being a member of the National Assembly involved in amending the Cybersecurity Act, Ndume expressed regret for not noticing the provision that burdened Nigerians with additional taxes, despite his overall support for the Act.

Speaking on Channels Television's Politics Today on Friday, Ndume stressed the need for income augmentation alongside taxation, stating, "You cannot be loading taxes on people when you are not increasing their income. Their source of income, you are not widening it, you are not increasing it. I am not part of those that support levying people anyhow."

While acknowledging the necessity of amending the Cybersecurity Act to address cybercrime issues, Ndume clarified that he supported the amendment's overarching goal but disagreed with the specific details imposing financial burdens on Nigerians.

He urged stakeholders, including civil society organizations and labor unions, to actively participate in public hearings to scrutinize legislative proposals thoroughly.

Ndume's stance underscores the importance of holistic consideration and collaboration among various stakeholders to ensure equitable and effective policymaking, especially concerning taxation and cybersecurity regulations.

Tragedy struck two farming communities in Zamfara State as bandits mercilessly took the lives of at least 30 farmers in separate attacks. While details are yet to be fully disclosed, the police spokesperson in Zamfara, Yazid Abu Abubakar, confirmed the grim events in two local government areas of the state.

According to sources, the assaults occurred on Thursday, ravaging Maradun and Tsafe local government areas. In Maradun, the renowned Islamic cleric Makwashi Maradun Mai Jan Baki and another individual were among the victims, with two of the cleric’s children still missing following the attack.

The brutality extended to Gidangoga village, where three more individuals fell victim to the bandits. However, the villagers retaliated fiercely, eliminating 24 assailants and recovering eight motorbikes.

Residents lamented the escalating frequency of attacks in Maradun, forcing many to abandon their homes in fear of reprisals.

Meanwhile, reports from Tsafe LGA revealed that Bilbis village bore the brunt of the banditry, resulting in the tragic deaths of 20 civilians.

In a troubling incident, gunmen stormed a university in Kogi state, abducting at least nine students from their classrooms, as announced by the state government on Friday. This occurrence underscores the pervasive insecurity gripping Africa's most populous nation.

Armed gangs continue to sow chaos in northern Nigeria, targeting villagers, students, and motorists for ransom, while security forces struggle to curb the menace.

According to Kingsley Femi Fanwo, the information commissioner of Kogi state, the students were taken captive during an assault on the Confluence University of Science and Technology late Thursday night.

Efforts are underway to locate and rescue the abducted students, with a joint operation involving security personnel and local hunters who possess intimate knowledge of the terrain. The gravity of the situation is compounded by the historical context of school kidnappings in Nigeria.

Initially perpetrated by the jihadist group Boko Haram, exemplified by the infamous abduction of over 200 students from a girls' school in Chibok, Borno state, a decade ago, this tactic has since been adopted by criminal gangs driven solely by financial gain.

The Pentagon has issued a formal directive this week for all 1,000 U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Niger, dealing a setback to the Biden administration's efforts in countering terrorism and Russian influence in West Africa.

Following Niger's military junta's decision to revoke its military cooperation agreement with the United States, discussions began in April regarding an "orderly and responsible withdrawal." Despite ongoing negotiations between U.S. officials and the junta, hopes for an agreement waned this week when the Defense Department instructed the troops to depart Niger over the coming months.

While the timeline remains subject to change, troops will relocate to other regional bases to maintain operational capabilities. Notably, embassy security personnel are excluded from the withdrawal.

The withdrawal marks a significant shift in U.S. counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel region, where Niger, particularly the U.S.-established drone base at Agadez, played a pivotal role until last summer's military coup. Additionally, the partnership with Niger served as a deterrent against Russian expansionism in the area.

However, concerns have risen with reports of Russian forces, including former members of the Wagner group, establishing a presence in Niger since the coup. While U.S. officials downplay immediate threats posed by the Russian troops, there are apprehensions about potential provocations that could escalate tensions with American soldiers.

In ongoing discussions with the junta, a U.S. delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State Molly Phee is engaging in discussions to navigate the withdrawal process. However, the State Department remains cautious not to speculate on the outcome of these discussions.

Heavy fighting in Gaza's Rafah keeps aid crossings closed and sends 110,000 civilians fleeing

Heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah has left crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and forced more than 110,000 people to flee north, U.N. officials said Friday.

With nothing entering through the crossings, food and other supplies were running critically low, aid agencies said.

The World Food Program will run out of food for distribution in southern Gaza by Saturday, said Georgios Petropoulos, an official with the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Rafah. Aid groups have said fuel will also be depleted soon, forcing hospitals to shut down critical operations and bringing to a halt trucks delivering aid across south and central Gaza.

The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks that an Israel assault on Rafah, on the border with Egypt near the main aid entry points, would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties. More than 1.4 million Palestinians — half of Gaza’s population— have been sheltering in Rafah, most after fleeing Israel’s offensives elsewhere.

Heavy fighting was also underway Friday in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults.

Israel’s move into Rafah has been short of the full-scale invasion that it has planned. The United States is deeply opposed to a major offensive and is stepping up pressure by threatening to withhold arms to Israel.

But the heavy fighting has shook the city and spread fear that a bigger assault is coming. Artillery shelling and gunfire rattled throughout the night into Friday, an Associated Press reporter in the city said.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, said more than 110,000 people have fled Rafah. Families who have already moved multiple times during the war packed up to go again. One woman held a cat in her arms as she sat in the back of a truck piled with her family’s belongings about to head out.

The full invasion hasn’t started “and things have already gotten below zero,” said Raed al-Fayomi, a displaced person in Rafah. “There’s no food or water.”

Those fleeing erected new tents camps in the city of Khan Younis — which was half destroyed in an earlier Israeli offensive — and the town of Deir al-Balah, straining infrastructure.

The international charity Project Hope said its medical clinic in Deir al-Balah had seen a surge in people from Rafah seeking care for blast injuries, infections and pregnancies. “People are evacuating to nothing. There are no homes or proper shelters for people to go to,” said the group’s Gaza team leader based in Rafah, Moses Kondowe.

Petropoulos said humanitarian workers had no supplies to help them set up in new locations. “We simply have no tents, we have no blankets, no bedding, none of the items that you would expect a population on the move to be able to get from the humanitarian system,” he said.

Israeli troops captured the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, forcing it to shut down. Rafah was the main point of entry for fuel.

Israel says the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing — Gaza’s main cargo terminal — is open on its side, and that aid convoys have been entering. It said trucks carrying 200,000 liters of fuel were allowed to enter the crossing Friday.

But the U.N. said it is too dangerous for workers to reach the crossing on the Gaza side to retrieve the aid because of Israel’s incursion and the ensuing fighting with Hamas.

Israeli troops are also battling Palestinian militants in eastern Rafah, not far from the crossings. The military said it had located several tunnels and eliminated militants in close combat and with airstrikes.

Hamas’ military wing said it struck a house where Israeli troops had taken up position, an armored personnel carrier and soldiers operating on foot. There was no comment from the Israeli military,

It is not possible to independently confirm battlefield accounts from either side.

Hamas also said it launched mortar rounds at troops near the Kerem Shalom crossing. The military said it intercepted two launches. The crossing was initially closed after a Hamas rocket attack on nearby forces last weekend killed four Israeli soldiers.

Hamas rockets also reached the southern Israeli city of Beersheeva on Wednesday, injuring a woman with shrapnel, Israel’s military and rescue services said Friday. Five rockets were fired toward the city, with one intercepted and most falling in open areas, the military said. Through much of the war, Gaza militants fired thousands of rockets from Gaza on Israeli cities and towns, most of them intercepted, but such attacks have grown rarer in past months.

Israel says Rafah is the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza and key to its goal of dismantling the group’s military and governing capabilities and returning scores of hostages Hamas captured in its deadly Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.

But Hamas has repeatedly regrouped, even in the hardest-hit parts of Gaza.

Heavy battles erupted this week in the Zeitoun area on the outskirts of Gaza City, in the northern part of the territory. Northern Gaza was the first target of the ground offensive, and Israel said late last year that it had mostly dismantled Hamas there.

The north remains largely isolated by Israeli troops, and the U.N. says the estimated 300,000 people there are experiencing “full-blown famine.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to proceed with the Rafah offensive with or without U.S. arms, saying “we will fight with our fingernails” if needed, in a defiant statement late Thursday. The U.S. has stepped up weapons deliveries to Israel throughout the war, and the Israeli military says it has what it needs for Rafah operations.

The war began with Hamas’ surprise attack into southern Israel last year, in which the militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage. They are still holding some 100 captives and the remains of more than 30, after most of the rest were released during a cease-fire last year.

Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. Much of Gaza has been destroyed and some 80% of Gaza’s population has been driven from their homes.

Israel’s incursion into Rafah complicated what had been months of efforts by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt to broker a cease-fire and the release of hostages. Hamas this week said it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but Israel says the plan does not meet its “core” demands. Follow-up talks appeared to end inconclusively on Thursday.

Hamas has demanded guarantees for an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of any deal — steps that Israel has ruled out.

AP