Super User
A convenient memory: The Olukayode Ariwoola memoirs - Chidi Anselm Odinkalu
On 22 August 2024, Olukayode Ariwoola, the penultimate Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) retired from the bench and transitioned into a published author. At a well-attended event in Abuja, the former CJN beamed at the public presentation of his autobiography. Published under the title Judging with Justice*, the book was ghost written by Olanrewaju Akinsola (the author better known as Onigegewura).
Laid out in 13 chapters and 496 pages, the author tells his story in the first 250 pages. The remainder of the book is dedicated to testimonials on the author from colleagues in the judiciary, lawyers, friends, peers, and family members.
The story reveals the son of a doting and committed dad who appears to take family and his faith seriously. Judging with Justice is a deeply personal story of a judicial figure whose rise to the highest office in his country’s judicial grease pole was as improbable as his route was unusual. The author is quite open in his disclosures about his health, including open heart surgery in London in 2016.
Ariwoola became a lawyer at 27 and a judge at 38. In the eleven years that separated his enrollment at the bar from his elevation to the Bench, Ariwoola worked first as State Counsel in Oyo State from where he resigned into private legal practice. That stint of his professional career began in Ibadan, the state capital, under the tutelage of Ladosu Ladapo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who twice ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
After one year of practice under the Senior Advocate, Ariwoola chose to set up his own legal practice in Oyo, not far from his beloved natal community of Iseyin. At the time, there were only five lawyers in the city. Making ends meet was difficult and his clients were mostly reluctant litigants, many of whom had to improvise in order to find the currency for transacting business with a lawyer. He stuck with it and in 1992, the year after Oyo State was split in two to produce Osun State, got propelled to the office of a judge of the High Court of Oyo State by what from his narration surely was a stroke of providential happenstance. In the cohort of six new judges, Ariwoola was the youngest by all of nine years.
After 13 years as a judge of the High Court, Ariwooola got elevated to the Court of Appeal in November 2005. The major actors in his elevation to the appellate Bench included Aloma Mukhtar, who would later rise to become the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria; Bola Ige, a former Attorney-General of the Federation; and Bolarinwa Babalakin a former Justice of the Supreme Court. None of these three shared the same origins with Ariwoola. Aloma Mukhtar came from Kano; Bola Ige and Bolarinwa Babalakin both came from Osun State.
After six years on the Court of Appeal, Ariwoola ascended to the Supreme Court in November 2011, where he served for another 12 years before becoming the CJN. In all, his judicial career spanned nearly 32 years, including two years and two months served as CJN. All his judicial elevations (except his preferment to the office of CJN) occurred in the month of November.
Judicial autobiographies, especially in common law countries, are far from easy to confection. The balance between achieving a captivating narrative and preserving the mystique of the high judicial office is hard. The temptation to deodorize the tale can be tantalising. Judging with Justicewrestles valiantly with this dilemma and not always successfully.
The author offers about the Supreme Court that it is “more than a court of law. It is the tradition that the Supreme Court is regarded as a court of policy.” Having said this, the book offers no insight as to how the Supreme Court on which he sat for 13 years or the office of the CJN which he occupied for over two of those years, articulated or advanced this idea of the Supreme Court as a court of policy. If anything, the court did the opposite under him.
The best that can be said of the book and about its author is that they chose to be economical with any indication of a coherent judicial philosophy. Entirely in keeping with this, the author writes with what appears to be some pride that he never “had any cause to write a dissenting opinion be it at the Court of Appeal or at the Supreme Court.” He spent a combined 18 years in both courts.
The author, nevertheless, drops hints of inspiration. He counsels, for instance, that “a judge must not frequent social events where litigants and lawyers congregate.” Those who read this may wonder whether he remembered it when he showed up in Port Harcourt in November 2022 to serenade politicians (many of whom had cases before his court) in their quest for electoral victory in elections that were then impending.
Many who were witness to Ariwoola’s tenure as CJN will wonder when he came to what he claims in the book to be his long-held belief “that the judiciary is an independent and separate arm of government and should not be regarded as an appendage of the Executive or the Legislature”. The disposition of his entire term appears to have been the very opposite of these sentiments.
Judging with Justice is littered with a few more examples of warm and comforting shibboleths. Yet, it is what the book omits that is most telling.
The author thanks “God for the privilege to have been instrumental in the appointment of people into positions of responsibility”. As CJN, he sure had a lot of practice at this. He also claims that he always “ensure(d) that the persons to be nominated are credible, qualified, and people of proven integrity.” His record as CJN will show this claim to be worse than bogus.
At the end of his narration, the author tells with pride his achievements as CJN. Among these, he lists attainment at the beginning of 2024 for the first time in the 70-year history of the Supreme Court of full judicial establishment size of 22 (including the CJN). He also points to the appointment since 2023 of new judges to the various courts, including the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court and the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
In Judging with Justice, Ariwoola is punctilious in listing all the people whom he processed for appointment in that frantic sequence of judicial elevations that occurred during the year preceding his retirement as CJN. He takes fulsome paternal pride in the fact that his son – also named Kayode Taslim – “is a jurist like Judge Taslim Olawale Elias he was named after”, but omits to disclose that it was him, the father, who appointed the son to the role of judge (with no need for the helping hand of a Holy Ghost). He did not stop there, he also appointed his own daughter-in-law as judge, as well as the daughters of the President of the Court of Appeal; of the Chief Judge of High Court of the FCT; the daughter of his predecessor in the office of CJN; the wife of the Minister of the FCT; and many more high-up insiders too numerous to mention.
Judging with Justice missed an opportunity to show how a judiciary of sons, daughters, wives and even a few mistresses, meets the standard of “credible, qualified, and people of proven integrity.” He may have been closer to the mark if he had chosen to title the book “A Convenient Memory.”
** A professor of law and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
5 tips from self-made millionaires: How to build wealth from nothing
Melissa Houston
Building wealth from nothing might feel like you would be doing the impossible, but there are countless of self-made millionaires who have proven that it can be done. It takes hard work, resilient, smart strategies, and discipline, but the hard work pays off.
Let’s explore the proven methods that millionaires have used to build their wealth:
1. Start with the right mindset
Mindset is everything when it comes to building your wealth. You need to have the right mindset from the start as you will need to adapt your behavior, learn new ways, and grow despite any challenges you may face.
When you have a growth mindset you will see failures as learning opportunities. You will need to visualize success to help keep you motivated. You will need to say no to excessive spending to stay aligned with your wealth building goal. When your goal is clear and you have a strong “why” behind your goal, it helps you stay focused on the outcome.
2. Take calculated risks
Self-made millionaires are often risk takers, but their risks are calculated and well researched. They evaluate risks and plan for different scenarios. Taking risk is often necessary when building wealth, but never take on more risk than you can handle. Understand your risk tolerance and operate within those boundaries. Investing money often comes with risk so be prepared and understand the risks you are taking on.
3. Master money management
Having a lot of money is one thing, but wealth requires smart money management skills. You need to budget and track every dollar and prioritize saving and investing overspending to build wealth to $1 million and beyond. Avoid bad debt and focus on acquiring assets to preserve your wealth.
4. Focus on multiple income streams
It’s risky to rely on one source of income to build your wealth. Millionaires diversify and scale their businesses to grow wealth over time. Create multiple streams of income such as investing in stocks and bonds, investing in real estate, and selling online products. Any money you make can be reinvested to grow your wealth. Focus on building scalable systems rather than trading time for money.
5. Build a network and seek mentors
Successful people understand the value of relationships and mentorship. Surround yourself with people who encourage your growth. Learn from mentors who have already achieved the goals you set out to achieve. Oprah Winfrey often credits much of her success to the mentors who helped guide her career along the way. Building your wealth with the help of others will accelerate your goals.
Remember that becoming wealthy doesn’t happen overnight. It’s important to trust the process and stay focused, even when things don’t go as planned. Don’t forget to celebrate small wins along the way to help you stay motivated. And keep pushing through setbacks and challenges.
The bottom line is that the path to wealth can be a bumpy ride, but it’s possible if you are determined to learn and take action. From working on your mindset to mastering money management, these lessons will take you down the roadmap to success. You can take action today and begin your journey toward financial freedom now.
Forbes
Cattle from Northern states to southern Nigeria declined 50% in the last couple of months. Here’s why
Cattle traders are facing an existential threat, especially in the northeastern part of Nigeria, with stakeholders calling for urgent intervention to save the sector.
Investigation by Weekend Trust revealed that as a result of the spate of insecurity ravaging parts of the country and the ban on open grazing in some states, with no serious alternatives like ranches put on ground, cattle breeders are forced to migrate to countries like Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Sudan and Central Africa.
Our correspondents who went round and interacted with market officials, cattle traders and residents across the North-East region, report that stakeholders in the business are worried over the dwindling fortune of their businesses.
Cattle movement
Data generated after months of market survey in 63 different markets across the North-East indicate that 593 trailer-loads of cattle are transported to the southern part of Nigeria on a daily basis. The survey also revealed that each trailer, on average, carries 42 cows, which summed up to 25,499 being supplied to the South, especially Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom, Onitsha, Uyo and others.
But based on state-by-state reports, Yobe now contributes 223 trailers as against the 400 it used to supply from 12 major cattle markets, Adamawa 200 instead of 300 from 12 cattle markets in the state.
Borno now supplies 50 trailers daily instead of 100 from its four major markets, while Gombe contributes 50 trailers as against over 80 from seven markets. Also, Taraba now supplies 40 trailers daily instead of 70, while Bauchi can only boast of 10 trailers daily compared to 40 it supplied years back.
However, these figures do not include the number of cattle being consumed everyday within the region and other parts of northern Nigeria.
Apart from the famous Potiskum cattle market in Yobe, cows are loaded from other major markets in Garin Alkali; Nguru; Geidam; Babban Gida; Damaturu; Kukareta, Yadin Buni, Ngalda, Jajere, Borno Kiti, Girgir, among others.
Market officials who spoke with Weekend Trust said pressure on herders, coupled with the spate of insecurity in the region, affected the number of cattle in the markets.
Our fortune has declined
Adamu Garba, the Potiskum cattle market superintendent under the Fika Emirate Council, told Weekend Trust that there’s a sharp drop in cattle supply in the region. He said, “Before now, more than 400 trailers of cattle were leaving this market to the South on a weekly basis; but today, we can only boast of 200 trucks, which is 28 trailers per day.”
He said the decrease in supply was noticed from October 2023 to January 2024.
Bello Bulama, the head of Garin Alkali cattle market, also confirmed a decrease in the number of cows supplied to the market.
“The supply kept dropping over time – from 70 trucks to 50. Now, we are getting less than 40 trucks on market days (Sundays). We now transport less than 30 trucks of cattle to the southern part of the country weekly as against the previous supply – between 60 and 50,” he said.
Also speaking, Muhammad Dala Mala, the Zango of Nguru Emirate Council, who was a leader at Nguru cattle market, confirmed the decrease in the number of cattle being supplied to the market.
He said, “To be honest with you, only between 30 and 50 trailers go out with cattle every Tuesday, unlike before when we pushed out over 100. It is a situation that every cattle trader should worry about.”
Also, Shettima Alhaji Umaru, the secretary of the Geidam Cattle Market Association, said the unfavourable situation breeders found themselves in was affecting the flow of cattle into the market.
“Unfortunately, we sometimes have less than 12 trucks going out of the market. Before now, you would see over 50 trucks going out with cattle every week,” he said.
Gombe
In Gombe State, the national president of the Cattle Sellers Association of Nigeria (CSAN), Yahuza Yusuf, said that at least 50 trailers of cattle were transported to the southern part of the country every day, as against the over 80 in the past.
He said the cows were transported to the southern part of the country from seven major markets out of the 11 in the state: Gombe metropolis, Kashere, Lailaipido, Kurugu, Kumo, Kuri and Dukku.
200 trucks leave Adamawa
In Adamawa, against the 500 trailers of cattle that used to go out of the state years back, only 200 trucks now go to the southern part of the country every week.
The markets where the survey was conducted were Ganye, Mayo Belwa, Jada, Ngurore, Chigari, Gurin, Lafiya, Song, Gombi, Mubi and Toungo. Of these, Song, Mubi, Ganye, Ngurore, Gombi and Toungo are international cattle markets that receive and sell cattle within Nigeria and across the border to Cameroon.
Our correspondent gathered that each trailer carries 50 to 55 cows, depending on the destination, “which means that a total of 10,000 or 11,000 cattle leave Adamawa on a weekly basis,” our source said, adding that sellers pay N3,000 per cow as tax.
Borno supply crashes to 50 trailers
In Borno, Abubakar Adam Umar, the secretary of the Cattle Market Management Committee (CMMC), said the closure of some cattle markets for a long time as a result of Boko Haram insurgency affected the business.
Based on data generated from the seven affected markets in Gubio, Magumeri, Damasak, Mungono, Gajiram, Banki and the popular Gamboru livestock market, Umar said: “We usually get eight to 12 trailers loaded with cows from Gamboru market to Lagos, Port Harcourt, Umuahia, Calabar and other southern parts of the country. But sadly, in a week, less than 50 trailers now leave Borno instead of the over 200 that used to go out daily.”
He lamented how cattle traders lost their animals during crises, saying: “You will find traders that usually supply four trailers now struggling to buy three cows. Many cattle traders lost their capitals to crises in the South as well. Our members are always the target of attack whenever crisis erupts. Even cattle breeders in the bush are not spared. The government needs to look into that.”
He added that a lot of cattle dealers affected by such attacks were idle, even as the situation is compounded by the prolonged Boko Haram crisis.
He noted that cattle business in many markets that serve as feeders to the renowned Gamboru market were dying slowly due to shortage of the animals in the bushes.
He said: “There is very little supply from the Gamboru Ngala route, Dikwa and other feeder cattle markets.
“When the business was booming, these were very reliable markets that produced a large percentage of cattle in the region.
“The Gamboru market, which supplied between 200 and 250 trailers of cattle to the South daily, is now struggling to send 50 per week. Considering the situation, at most, when the market fully recovers, our projection will not exceed 100 trailers.”
Also speaking, Adamu Damina, a cattle dealer and respected elder at the Gamboru cattle market, Maiduguri, said the rate at which cattle were migrating was alarming.
Damina, who has been in the business for over 35 years, blamed unfavourable actions taken against cattle breeders for the situation.
“For over 35 years, I have been buying cows from markets in Dikwa, Banki, Gamboru Ngala, Monguno, Gubio, Damboa, Damasak and Dikwa, but the situation now is precarious.
“Then, cows were always available, such that one could buy as many as one desired. We used to transport hundreds of trailers from Dikwa to Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri, Umuahia, Awka and other parts in the South-East, South-South and South-West.
“At that time, on average, we used to transport between 270 and 300 trailers of cattle every day, but now, we hardly transport 30 trailers to the entire South per week,” he said.
Bauchi
In Bauchi, cows are also brought to small and bigger markets that operate on daily and weekly bases.
Some of the markets our correspondent checked are Soro, Azare, Alkaleri and Bauchi.
The Sarkin Turke Bauchi, Musa Firo, told Weekend Trust that cattle business was still thriving despite a sharp decline in the number of cows that come into the markets.
He said, “Some years back, over 40 trailers used to leave the state daily, but we are currently struggling with 20 from all parts of the state.”
Taraba transports only 300
The Sarkin Turke/chairman of Chede cattle market, Alasan, told our correspondent in an interview that over 300 trailers left the 10 major markets to the southern part of the country weekly. He added that each of the 10 markets transported about 30 trailers weekly.
He attributed the decline to insecurity and certain policies of the government.
Supply to Lagos drops
Audu Lalega, a cattle dealer in Lagos State, confirmed that there’s a decline in the number of cows being supplied to the southern part of the country.
He said Lagos now received about 250 trailers of cattle from the North-East, which is half of what they were getting before.
He said: “Apart from the over 250 trailers from the North-East, Lagos now receives cows from other parts of the country and across the border to argument the shortfall.
“Cows are being supplied to Lagos from Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Ghana. It is also sad that most of these cows are from Nigerian herders who were forced to migrate to these countries.”
6 states in South-East, South-South get 60 trucks daily
The chairmen and leaders of cattle dealers associations in Akwa Ibom and Port Harcourt, Alhaji Muhammad Mijinyawa and Malam Muhammad Uba also complained of the decline in cattle supply.
Mijinyawa said that based on records, from January to December 2023, they received 750 trucks of cattle, but added, “Now, the supply has gone down to 10 trucks per day or even less.”
Uba also said that on the average, 20 trucks of cattle were supplied to Port Harcourt, 15 to Akwa Ibom and 10 each to Warri, Enugu and Abia on a daily basis.
They attributed the problem to unfavourable business conditions in the region on both cattle dealers and breeders.
Why we migrated to Cameroon, East Africa – Herders
Some of the herders who migrated to other countries told Weekend Trust that they were treated as second-class citizens without rights.
In Machina, Yobe State, a border town with Niger Republic, one of the migrating herdsmen, Abubakar Yolar Margami said, “I am tending the herd straight to Ngabuji cattle reserve in Niger, where I have freedom.
“It has gotten to the stage where one cannot get meadow for more than 20 cows to graze in Nigeria. All the cattle routes have been taken over by farmers and the government is not doing anything.”
In Cameroon, Muhammad Mahmuda, who migrated with over 1,000 cattle, also said unfavourable government policies forced him to leave the country.
Mahmuda said millions of cattle and other livestock had crossed over to the neighbouring countries.
He said, “In my family alone, not less than 20 households have migrated to Marwa and other places in Cameroon, while some travelled up to Central Africa.
“I was the one that cleared our family’s herds into Cameroon this season, and I was baffled by the number of cattle I saw crossing the border through the Wurobuke/Bebeni cattle route, paying a huge amount as tax to the Cameroonian authorities.”
Mahmuda noted that Nigeria was losing millions in revenue and other economic gains from the migrating cows, hides and skin, job opportunities and nutrients for both humans and crops.
“I and other migrating families had to pay over N15 million equivalent of the CFA as tax before we were allowed to cross into Cameroon.
“We spent three days at the border watching more than three million cattle crossing into Cameroon. I watched how those Nigerian resources migrated to its neighbour’s territory and the border was closed,” he said.
He explained that apart from the entry permit tax and documentation, they also had to pay an annual rate for cattle tax per herd when they arrived at the meadow to graze, a CFA amount equivalent to N20,000.
“I paid tax for the four herds my family took into the country. I made this year’s payment six months ago to avoid a penalty,” he added.
Mahmuda said it was heart-breaking to see Nigerian businessmen who are into hides and skin trade relying on Cameroon, Sudan and Central Africa for the products.
He said: “These are hides and skin they are supposed to buy from us in Nigeria. Before things degenerated, 70 per cent of these hides were sourced within Nigeria, but now, they spend a lot of money on transport and entry tax to about four countries to bring them to Nigeria.
“It is also sad that 70 to 80 per cent of the cows you consume in the North or transport to the southern part of Nigeria comes from the migrants, the Nigerian breeders living in neighbouring countries, particularly here (Cameroon) and Chad. And this is caused by bad governance and insecurity in Nigeria.”
On why they chose Cameroon, he said good policies, structure and infrastructure put in place by their government were the major attractions.
“Cameroon was able to separate farmlands from grazing reserves; they are well gazetted. Also, the forest has been divided into territories, with each being controlled by a traditional ruler; so this gives us the leverage to decide on wherever we want our animals to graze,” he said.
He noted that the Cameroonian authorities have a comprehensive database that tracks the movement of every herder within their boundary, making it difficult to commit crime.
“The tax we are paying helps them to monitor our movement and provides us the needed protection by the government,” he added.
He lamented that two major reasons were responsible for their migration—insecurity and rustling.
“As peaceful herders, we felt we no longer had a place in Nigeria because we were losing our wealth to criminals like cattle rustlers and kidnappers.
“Secondly, all our cattle routes and reserves were encroached upon and completely taken over by farmers.
“We were denied access to water points. How can cattle survive without food and water? They used thugs and security operatives to extort and harass us, while the federal government kept making empty promises for decades and failed to recover our gazetted routes and reserves.
“As peaceful herders we decided to move to countries with good systems that can accommodate us, and Cameroon is one of them, then Chad, Sudan and Central Africa. We live peacefully here and the business is thriving,” he noted.
On what the Nigerian government should do to convince them to return, he simply said, “Justice to both herders and farmers.”
Another herder who migrated to Cameroon from the South-East, Abdullahi Ardo, said they were chased out of the forests in Enugu, where they lived for centuries.
How cattle resource policy sharply divides Nigerians
Attempts to establish policies that would address herders-farmers’ crisis and develop livestock production as a critical sector of the Nigerian economy have faced serious setbacks over the years.
One of them was the Rural Grazing Areas (RUGA) programme, which was introduced by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Leaders across the country reduced the conversation to political manoeuvre. The National Livestock Transformation Programme was meant to enable “willing states” to contribute large areas of land to the federal government for construction of animal husbandry settlements. The programme, which was approved by the National Economic Council (NEC) Committee on Farmers/ Herders crisis and the federal government, was chaired by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Also, the secretary of the committee was a former governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, who said clearly that it was a voluntary policy for only the interested state.
However, politicians across the divide ignored the word “voluntarily” and rattled the policy with criticisms, accusing the then president of siding with his kinsmen.
For instance, the Benue State Government rejected the moves to establish RUGA settlement for herders in any part of the state.
The then Governor Samuel Ortom, backed by the State Assembly, said the approach to the initiative was a gross violation of the state’s anti-open grazing law.
He further attacked the “voluntary programme” as not only a gross violation of the ranching law, but also as an insult to the sensibilities of the entire people of the state.
Borno launches RUGA
Meanwhile, the Minister of Livestock development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, Co-chair of Presidential Committee on Implementing Livestock Reforms, Attahiru Jega among other dignitaries are in Maiduguri today for the launch of the Ngarannam livestock improvement and Ranch settlement to boost agricultural and economic potential of Borno state.
Weekend Trust recalls that governor Zulum recently established the ministry of livestock and fishery development.
Southern states reject intiative
Most states in the southern part of the country also rejected the implementation of the RUGA policy.
At that time, governors of the 17 southern states also announced the ban of open grazing in the region.
In Bayelsa, the former governor, Douye Diri, signed into law a bill prohibiting open grazing of livestock, making it a criminal offence.
The then Commissioner for Information in Abia State, John Okiyi Kalu said, “There is no RUGA settlement anywhere in the state.
“We do not have any RUGA settlement in Abia State and we do not intend to have it. What we have are cattle markets, such as the ones at Lokpanta and Waterside in Aba.’’
He added that the state did not even have enough land for agriculture and other uses, not to talk of ceding any part of the state for cattle colony or RUGA settlement.
At the height of the debate, the Commissioner for Information and Value Orientation in Ekiti State, Akin Omole said, “We don’t want to go into the politics of RUGA, which in public definition and meaning is ceding ancestral land to those who are not indigenes of Ekiti. We will not be a part of it. What we are promoting is livestock farming, having banned open grazing of cattle in Ekiti.’’
Challenges of implementation in northern states
The federal government had in July 2019 announced the suspension of the RUGA settlement programme, saying it was not consistent with the approved National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).
Umahi, the then governor of Ebonyi State, disclosed this at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday.
“The NEC committee on farmers/ herders crisis under the chairmanship of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo met today to deliberate on the approved programme of the National Economic Council (NEC) and the federal government, tagged, ‘The National Livestock Transformation Programme.
“We are aware that today, Mr President has suspended the implementation of the RUGA programme, initiated and being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources because it is not consistent with the NEC and federal government-approved National Livestock Transformation Plan, which has programmes for the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons, resulting from the crisis and development of ranches in any willing state of the federation,” he had said.
Investigation by our correspondents revealed that the programme is also suffering in some northern states since the time the federal government suspended it.
‘Livestock ministry will resolve the problem’
Months ago, President Bola Tinubu created the Ministry of Livestock Development following recommendations of the National Livestock Reforms Committee, which he did.
In an interview with Weekend Trust, the secretary to the Presidential Implementation Panel of the new Livestock Development Ministry, Mohammed Kuta Yahaya, said the establishment of the ministry would avail Nigeria the opportunity to uncover and utilise her full potential in the livestock sector.
Kuta recalled that the committee report they submitted to Tinubu on September 14, 2024, convinced him that Nigeria had gotten a solution at hand, which was what Nigerians have been waiting for.
“He (president) promised that as the committee recommended that Nigeria should have a Ministry of Livestock Resources as other West African countries like Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, it shall be implemented.
“Those countries have huge potentials for livestock. They are maximising their potentials in the West African region and Africa. You can see that countries like Kenya, Botswana, South Africa and Senegal are doing extremely well. In Nigeria, despite its huge potential, massive land and highest concentration of animals in the entire Africa, production is very low.
“So, with the huge potential, we needed to think about the productivity and other quality products to compare to the rest of the countries in Africa in terms of yield,” he said.
Expert speaks
Reacting, a livestock expert and former Commissioner for Livestock and Fisheries Development in Sokoto State, Professor Abdulkadir Usman Junaidu, said the sector is facing many challenges that needed urgent government’s attention, saying the country’s livestock resources faced existential threats.
He said, “Certainly, there is a decline in the population of our animals. This may be due to several factors, including climate change, cattle rustling, banditry and kidnapping, leading to displacement of both the animals and their owners, harsh economic conditions in the country, farmers/herders conflicts, leading to limited grazing areas and killing of the animals and movement to other parts of the world. Others include lack of commitment and political will on the part of the government to address the challenges of livestock resources in the country at all levels.
“If you look back at the previous budgets and compare the allocation to the livestock subsector as against crop and other sectors, you will certainly know that we are not serious,” Prof Junaidu said.
He said the creation of the Ministry of Livestock Resources Development “is a step in the right direction as this will ensure that the livestock subsector is set to claim its deserved position in the scheme of socioeconomic development of the country, but that can only be achieved if we have a holistic strategic plan, including putting the right pegs in the right holes to surmount the challenges facing the sector.”
He listed some of the measures the government should take to improve livestock productivity to include “providing more feed through creation of more grazing reserves and rehabilitation of the existing ones with all the required and necessary facilities, veterinary care, good animal husbandry, improved security, as well as genetic improvement of local breeds. Adequate funding with proper monitoring and evaluation is very critical to the success of any of these programmes.”
Daily Trust
Army chief Oluyede announces major leadership restructuring. Here’s who’s where
The Nigerian Army has undergone a significant leadership reorganization under Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Olufemi Oluyede, who has appointed new commanders across multiple divisions and departments to strengthen operational and administrative capabilities.
Key appointments include Major General OT Olatoye as GOC 82 Division and Commander of Joint Task Force South East Operation Udoka, and Major General EF Oyinlola as GOC 3 Division and Commander of Operation Safe Haven. Major General GM Mutkut takes over as Force Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force in Njamena.
The restructuring confirms several acting appointments, including Major General AGL Haruna as GOC 7 Division and Major General IA Ajose as GOC 8 Division, leading operations in the Northeast and Northwest respectively.
At Army Headquarters, new Principal Staff Officers include Major General LA Fejokwu as Chief of Administration, Major General GU Chibuisi as Chief of Civil Military Affairs, and Major General AS Ndalolo as Chief of Training.
Notable Corps Commander appointments include Major General OC Ajunwa (Armour Corps), Major General HT Wesley (Ordnance Corps), and Major General TT Numbere (Engineers). Several training institutions also received new leadership, with Major General UM Alkali heading the Army War College Nigeria and Major General FS Etim commanding the Army School of Infantry.
Army spokesperson Major General Onyema Nwachukwu stated that the Chief of Army Staff has instructed all newly appointed officers to bring renewed vigor to their roles, with particular focus on maintaining the momentum against terrorism and insurgency. The directive emphasized both operational effectiveness and troop welfare as key priorities.
Lakurawa terrorists kill telecom officials in Kebbi
Suspected terrorists belonging to the Lakurawa group have killed four individuals, including three staff of a leading telecommunication company, in an attack on a construction site in Gumki village, Arewa Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
The victims were reportedly installing a surveillance mast for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) when the assailants struck. Conflicting reports have emerged about the victims’ identities. While police identified three of the deceased as employees of Airtel Nigeria, locals and staff of Sir Yahaya Specialist Hospital claim they were NIS personnel.
Kebbi State Police Public Relations Officer, Nafiu Abubakar, confirmed the incident, stating that four people were killed, including one local resident.
Police and NIS Response
Following the attack, the Kebbi State Commissioner of Police, Bello M. Sani, and the Kebbi State Comptroller of the NIS, Muhammad Bashir Lawali, mobilized security teams to evacuate the victims’ bodies to Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital in Birnin Kebbi.
In response to the escalating insecurity, the police deployed additional tactical units to the area, with instructions to decisively confront the suspected bandits.
The Commissioner of Police also met with local residents, urging them to cooperate with law enforcement by providing timely information to aid security operations.
Recurring Security Challenges
The attack comes just a week after Lakurawa terrorists killed two police officers in Kebbi State. The rising frequency of attacks highlights the persistent insecurity in the region.
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 464
Four Israeli troops killed in northern Gaza, army says
Four Israeli troops were killed during combat in northern Gaza, the Israeli army said on Saturday.
** Trump's Middle East envoy meets Netanyahu on Saturday amid ceasefire push
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday amid a push to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, Netanyahu's office said.
After the meeting, Netanyahu dispatched a high-level delegation which included the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency to Qatar in order to "advance" talks to return hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, a statement from Netanyahu's office said.
Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli official said some progress had been made in the indirect talks between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, to reach a deal in Gaza.
The mediators are making renewed efforts to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the enclave and free the remaining Israeli hostages held there before Trump takes office on Jan. 20. A deal would also involve the release of some Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Families of Israeli hostages welcomed Netanyahu's decision to dispatch the officials, with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters describing it as a "historic opportunity."
Witkoff arrived in Doha on Friday and met the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
Egyptian and Qatari mediators received reassurances from Witkoff that the U.S. would continue to work towards a fair deal to end the war soon, Egyptian security sources said, though he did not give any details.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, with most of its population displaced.
On Saturday, the Palestinian civil emergency service said eight people were killed, including two women and two children, in an Israeli airstrike on a former school sheltering displaced families in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military said the strike had targeted Hamas militants who were operating at the school and that it had taken measures to reduce the risk of harm to civilians.
Later on Saturday, the Gaza Civil Emergency Service said five people were killed and several others were wounded in two Israeli strikes. One of the two strikes killed three people in a house near the Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas militant "in that area" at that approximate time.
Reuters
What to know after Day 1053 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Putin honors soldier from viral Ukraine knife fight
President Vladimir Putian has awarded the title ‘Hero of Russia’ to a soldier who defeated a Ukrainian service member in a brutal knife fight that went viral online.
Andrey Grigoryev was decorated for “bravery and heroism” in combat, according to the presidential decree published on Saturday.
A corporal with the 39th Motorized Rifle Brigade, Grigoryev overpowered a Ukrainian soldier during a battle near the village of Trudovoye in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic.
Although the incident took place in the fall of 2024, the dramatic bodycam footage of the hand-to-hand combat was only recently posted to social media.
Although the opponent was physically stronger and had managed to wound Grigoryev, the Russian soldier kept on fighting.
“It was clear to me that I was not going to surrender, that I would take at least one person to the grave [before dying myself]. This motivation helped me a lot to concentrate,”Grigoryev told RT earlier this month.
Grigoryev was born in Russia’s Siberian Sakha Republic and worked as a driver and a mechanic before enlisting in the army in April 2024. He is married with five children.
Sakha Governor Aysen Nikolayev met with Grigoryev on Saturday and gave him a new knife as a gift. “After that fight, Andrey had spent several days behind enemy lines. They neutralized several enemy soldiers, armored vehicles, and blew up an ammunition depot,”Nikolayev said.
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine captures two North Korean soldiers in Kursk, Zelenskiy says
Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday, the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers alive since their entry into the war last autumn.
North Korean regular troops entered the war on Russia's side in October, according to Kyiv and its western allies, who initially estimated their numbers at 10,000 or more.
In a post on X, Zelenskiy said that the soldiers had been brought to Kyiv and were communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the country's domestic intelligence agency.
"As with all prisoners of war, these two North Korean soldiers are receiving the necessary medical assistance," Zelenskiy said. He said that journalists would be given access to speak to them.
Kyiv says that North Korean troops are fighting in the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an incursion in August. Kyiv says it still controls several hundred square kilometres of territory there.
Pyongyang has also been supplying Russia with vast quantities of artillery shells, according to Kyiv and its western allies.
Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops in Kursk, and there was no immediate reaction from Moscow or Pyongyang to the latest report.
Ukraine had previously said it captured North Korean soldiers in combat, but that they had been badly wounded and died shortly afterwards.
SPECIAL FORCES OPERATION
Zelenskiy said in a later video address that the troops had been captured by Ukraine's special forces working alongside paratroopers.
The special forces posted a video filmed from a drone claiming to show part of the operation. It showed five men in ghillie suits in a forested area, although other details were hard to make out.
A video posted by the SBU appeared to show the two captured men. One had his jaw bandaged due to an apparent wound, while the other was drinking through a straw.
A doctor interviewed for the SBU’s video, who was not named and had his face blurred, said one of the soldiers had a facial wound and would be treated by a dentist, while the other soldier had an open wound and a lower leg fracture.
The SBU said the North Koreans had been transferred to Kyiv for questioning, and that because they could not speak Ukrainian, Russian or English, their questioning was being done in Korean with the help of South Korea's NIS intelligence agency.
The SBU said one of the soldiers had been captured with a Russian military document with the name of another person registered in Russia, while the other did not have any documents.
The agency said the soldiers had been born in 2005 and 1999, and had been serving in the North Korean armed forces since 2021 and 2016 respectively.
The SBU said the two prisoners were being held in conditions that were in accordance with international law, and that a criminal investigation was being conducted to see if the men broke Ukraine's law against planning or conducting a war.
RT/Reuters
Releasing the glory through worship - Taiwo Akinola
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever ~ Psalms 136:1.
Preamble:
God wants everything He created to worship and give Him pleasure at all times (Revelation 4:11). Quality worship is a very critical element in releasing the Lord’s glory. No one truly worships God without experiencing His tangible power, attributes and goodness.
Whenever you want God to inhabit your space and your circumstances, give Him quality praise and worship (Psalms 9:11).True worship is a magnetic spiritual force that can draw God into your situation: “O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel”(Psalm 22:3).
We are shown in 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 that, in the atmosphere of worship, the cloud of God’s glory filled the house of the Lord, to the extent that “the priests could not stand to minister” in His presence. This was a firm confirmation that God took up residence in the temple.
The cloud symbolized the divine presence, and its occupation of the temple signified that God took possession of it. It also testified to God’s gracious acceptance of the temple, as He did for the tabernacle of Moses, assuring His people He would be the same God in it (Exodus 40:34).
See, it’s God’s primordial passion to have a Royal Residence on earth, wherein He would dwell and reveal His glory (2Samuel 7:5-17). He constantly expressed this and vigorously pursued it until, happily, King Solomon built for Him a temple.
Earlier, God was present in the thick darkness of the cloud on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:21). He also manifested His glory in the tabernacle and over the tent of meeting (Exodus 40:34–35). He then eventually dwelt in the Most Holy Place of the temple.
Meanwhile, God’s ultimate goal is to dwellin His children as His permanent temple of glory (Hebrews 9:11; Colossians 1:27). To this end, the passion of David should inflame us, and we should be resolved to build a befitting temple for God in our hearts (2Samuel 7:2b).
The high note here in 2 Chronicle 5:11-14 is that Jehovah God showed up in the temple when His people gave Him quality worship and performed to His pleasure (Psalms 29:1-2).
What’s True and Acceptable Worship?
Worship is an expression of profound gratitude, which in itself is a product of deep thinking. It is giving the “deserving worth” to Jehovah God, the One Who truly deserves all our worship and stewardship (Psalms 150:1-6).
God is the only One who is truly holy, righteous, all-powerful, excellent, absolutely just, benevolent and abundantly rich in mercies! He's the supreme, sovereign, immutable, illimitable, omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God, the Creator of heaven and earth, whose power is unassailable and whose judgment is incontestable (Psalm 24:1).
He is mysterious, and awesome in His majesty. His wisdom is unfathomable. He cannot be explained; He can only be experienced. Unto Him alone shall everyone pay worship obeisance and ascribe greatness. Alleluia!
True worship is primarily about God and how we relate with Him, not about our circumstances and privileges or the lack of it (Numbers 20:1-8). It’s an expression of our obedience and gratitude to God because of His love and mercies for us.
Worshiping God without purity of heart is totally displeasing to Him (Amos 5:21-24).The Levites whose worship released the glory were all “arrayed in white linen”, and they also ministered unto the Lord “as one, to make one sound” (2Chronicle 5:12-13).
Their “white linen” was symbolic of “holiness” or “purity of heart”, and their “one-ness” expressed the “agape-love” and the “unity of purpose” among them.
We can only offer to God acceptable sacrifices when we worship Him with the right hearts, and not until then can we truly experience His glory.
God’s glory is a covenant affair (1Kings 8:9-11). It can only be attracted, and especially experienced, by believers who walk in covenant with Him. If we would have God dwell in our hearts, we must leave room for Him (John 2:13-17). Everything else must give way (1Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20).
True worship is usually felt inwardly and then expressed through our actions in everything we do, not only when we’re in church, but indeed, anywhere and everywhere (Ephesians 5:17-20; Colossians 3:15-16)!
True Worship and the Release of Glory
Undoubtedly, God’s glory is manifested in an atmosphere of true worship. I affirm that heaven is never silent on true worshippers! Glorious divine interventions without number happen in the atmosphere of worship.
The following supernatural dimensions of the Lord’s glory are accruable to all true worshippers: miraculous intervention and salvation (Psalm 50:23); supernatural direction (Acts 13: 2-3); and victories in spiritual conflicts (2Chronicles 20:20-23).
Others include: supernatural curse cancellation (Genesis 8:20-21); miraculous supply and breakthroughs (John 6:11); swift and sweatless deliverance (1Samuel 16:23); and incredible healing (Matthew 15: 25-28).
From the early days of our ministry till now, it has been our privilege to regularly witness God’s acts of incredible intervention in the lives of believers, purely in the atmosphere of worship.
Years ago, there was this Christian lady, a nurse, who received an incredible touch of God’s intervening power. She had a complicated issue with fibroids, and after a lot of self-care to no avail, she decided to book an appointment for surgery with a well known university teaching hospital in Lagos.
About a week before the medical procedure was to be performed, she was in the Church worship service on a Sunday morning. The worship that day was truly saturating, soaking and so memorable that I could still remember the song which charged the atmosphere: “I am serving a Living God …”. Every worshipper was caught up in the ecstasy, giving glory to God.
Suddenly, I sensed within me that God was moving gloriously amongst His people. I took the microphone and announced that the Lord’s hand was upon someone for good. Almost immediately after I did, the lady rushed to the toilet to ease herself.
According to her testimony later, as the worship, singing and dancing were ongoing, she felt something like a screw gently touching the center of her head, driving and whirling down from her head. When it reached her abdominal area, it turned vigorously and she became pressed to urinate. She did and, afterwards, lo and behold, the fibroids had disappeared. Alleluia!
Our God is immutable (Hebrews 13:8). Once we create the atmosphere suitable for His manifestation, we shall see His glory! Albeit, worship is an essential element in this regard.
Meanwhile, it takes faith to worship God acceptably. We must command ourselves to grow up in it because it takes faith to see certain dimensions of God’s glory (John 11:40). And, fainting is inevitable without it (Psalms 27:13).
Brethren, let’s choose to walk in covenant with God, tuning up our spirits and beginning to give God quality worship. We’ll soon become enraptured in the glorious warmth of His powerful presence. You won’t miss this, in Jesus name. Amen. Happy Sunday!
____________________
Archbishop 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
Article of Faith: The blessings of grace (2) - Femi Aribisala
Jesus taught us to pray: “Thy will be done.” Thy will be done prayers are prayers for the grace of God. Therefore, we need to tell God again and again: “Thy will be done in my life.” “Your will is the best for me.” “As long as it is Your will, I am satisfied.”
The throne established to address our needs is the throne of grace. It is not the throne of deliverance but of grace. Thank God for the blood of Jesus through which we come: “Boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).
Paul’s Thorn
There was a thorn in Paul’s flesh. That thorn was not of God but of Satan. Nevertheless, that which was of Satan served the good purposes of God. That thorn was inconvenient for Paul. But it was for his benefit.
“We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
What the devil thought for evil, God overruled for good. This is the 50:20 rule enunciated by Joseph concerning his evil brothers:
“As for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”(Genesis 50:20).
Thus, our troubles often turn out to be prefaces for blessings. Troubles are sometimes sent to teach us to pray. Anything that makes us call upon the name of the Lord is a blessing in disguise.
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Our troubles are making ways for us. Our troubles are mountains that must be made low. Who are you, O great mountain, before the people of God you must become a plain in Jesus’ Name.
Paul, in his ignorance, assuming that what is bad is bad for him, prayed that the Lord would remove the thorn in his flesh. But it was in the interest of Paul for the thorn to be there, for the Lord knew that the abundance of revelations He had given to Paul would go to his head.
In short, Paul prayed fervently against his own interest because he did not know what he should pray for as he ought to. Instead of praying that the thorn in his flesh be removed, Paul should have prayed for the grace to bear the inconvenience of the thorn.
How often do we ask for things according to the flesh instead of according to the spirit? How often do we ask the Lord to remove what is for our benefit instead of asking for the grace to go through His refining process?
Tell God: “Let me gather up the fragments of my life, that nothing be lost.” (John 6:12). “Let me not reject what You have in store for me.” “Prepare me for the great things You have planned for me.” “Let every valley be exalted. Every mountain and hill be made low. Let the crooked places be made straight. Let me see the glory of God.”
“Let me see the kindness of God. Let me see His lovingkindness, His compassion, and His mercy.
The reproaches of our enemies often help to hide pride from us. When we get a particular blessing, we need another blessing to preserve it. That is why the blessing of the Lord makes one rich and He adds no sorrow with it. (Proverbs 10:22).
God’s response to Paul’s prayer shows that though God always accepts the prayer of faith, He does not always answer according to what we want. God answers prayer in the spirit of the prayer and not in the letter.
What God sometimes gives in wrath He often denies in love.
Sufficient Grace
Jesus told Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you.” What is this grace that is sufficient in our adversity and tribulations?
Grace is the love, mercy and goodwill of God towards us. The knowledge of this is often sufficient to enable us to bear and endure any and everything because we know that God is aware of what we are going through and that He will not allow us to be tempted above what we are able to bear.
Therefore, let us thank God for this assurance:
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Let us thank God that the grace of God is for all seasons
Let us thank Him for His enabling grace. This means we are often called to occupy positions for which we are not qualified. Peter was a fisherman. That was his area of specialisation. But Jesus did not call him to be a fisher of fishes. He called him to be a fisher of men.
Looking at the tasks of an apostle, Paul asks:
“To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Corinthians 2:16).
Christ is our sufficiency. Our sufficiency is of God.
“Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11).
You were a nobody but God has made you somebody. You are not able but God will enable you. There are only 200 of you but God will use the few to defeat a great army. “Nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.” (1 Samuel 14:6).
“Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” (Exodus 4:10).
Thank God that even though you are not qualified, nevertheless you are called.
Look at Paul. A proud man; opinionated; and a murderer. Nevertheless, called to be an apostle by the will of God. He was a bad preacher, unlike Apollos. Nevertheless, he was called.
He says: “Last of all (Jesus) was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:8-9).
Nevertheless, God qualified him.
Promise of Grace
The grace of God can be something of a promissory note. God says, in effect, “I will deliver you from this problem but not today. In the meantime, I am assuring you that this problem will not be allowed to overwhelm you.”
Thank God for this assurance. God says:
Fear not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.” (Isaiah 41:10).
Thank God that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. The weaker the instrument God uses, the more prominently His power is seen and acknowledged. Thus, it is out of the mouth of babes and suckling that God has ordained strength. This is that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of man.
“To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.” (Ephesians 3:10).
“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” (Isaiah 43:1-2).
Why must I pass through the waters? Why must I walk through the fire? You will understand later.
“And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” (John 13:2-7).
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Why some animals appear to mourn their dead
Grief has long thought to be a human trait, but other animals – from killer whales to crows – also appear to suffer loss when a companion dies.
Last week, a female killer whale was spotted off the coast of Washington State pushing the body of her dead newborn calf. The orca, known as Tahlequah, was observed doing the same thing in 2018 after another of her calves died in infancy. On that occasion, Tahlequah pushed the body of her offspring for 17 days, continually retrieving it and preventing it from sinking – an incredible feat given the fact that killer whales can travel an average of 120km (75 miles) a day.
Whales are not the only species known to carry the bodies of their deceased young. In 2021, Edinburgh Zoo reported that one of their chimpanzees, Lianne, had given birth to a stillborn baby and was refusing to let go, carrying the infant around with her within the zoo enclosure. Other highly intelligent mammals, such as dolphins and monkeys, have also been observed behaving this way.
"It's hard to see this behaviour without thinking of it through the lens of grief, partly because, as humans, if we lose someone we want to cling on to that person in some sense," says Becky Millar, a researcher specialising in the philosophy of cognitive sciences at Cardiff University.
"It seems to be a very literal manifestation of that kind of urge to retain bonds with the dead loved one."
According to Millar, what's notable about these cases is that these animals don't treat the deceased infant in the same way that they would treat a merely immobile, but live infant. This suggests that it's not just a matter of them not understanding that their infant is dead.
"There is some sort of tension where the animal isn't quite able to let go," says Millar. "It's like they're trying to grapple with this new world that they're faced with and trying to come to understand that loss."
There are signs that both humans and animals undergo this readjustment period. For example, Millar points to the fact that animals often search for their companions after their death, while humans also engage in what are called search behaviours following a bereavement, where they scan the environment for any sign of the deceased person.
In 1999, an elderly female elephant at an Indian zoo reportedly died of grief after a young elephant she had befriended died during childbirth
Sometimes this behaviour can continue long after the death. Famous examples include that of Greyfriars Bobby, a terrier who spent 14 years guarding his owner's grave in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Hachiko, an akita dog that continued to wait for its owner at a train station in Japan long after his death.
There are also anecdotal stories of animals displaying acute distress after the loss of a close companion. There are reports that upon seeing their babies eaten by killer whales, for example, sea lion mothers wail pitifully in apparent anguish.
There are other examples too. In her book How Animals Grieve, anthropologist Barbara King also describes accounts of cats, dogs and rabbits crying and searching for their companions, and horses gathering around the grave of a member of their herd.
In 1999, an elderly female elephant at an Indian zoo reportedly died of griefafter a young elephant she had befriended died during childbirth. The elderly elephant, Damini, was seen to shed tears over her friend's body, before she lost all interest in food and eventually starved to death.
In 1972 Jane Goodall, an English primatologist who has studied chimpanzees in the wild for over 60 years, observed one young chimpanzee known as Flint showing signs of what in humans would be called clinical depression when his mother died. He stopped engaging in social interactions with his group, refused to eat, and eventually died a month later.
Even birds grieve, it appears. Austrian zoologist and ethologist Konrad Lorenz once described the response of greylag geese to losing their mateas "roughly identical with those accompanying human grief". The geese hung their heads dejectedly, lost interest in food, and became indifferent to the world around them.
There isn't just anecdotal evidence. Empirical studies also support the theory that some animals, at least, feel emotions akin to grief. Laboratory studies, for instance, show that infant primates faced with the sudden loss of their mother go through phases of grief characterised by wailing and crying, followed by a gradual detachment from the world. They no longer play with others, ignore new and exciting objects, and eventually curl up into a ball.
In another study, it was found that female baboons who had lost a close relative had increased levels of stress hormones, a response that is also seen in humans following a bereavement.
Whether these behaviours truly count as grief depends largely on how you define the concept of grief
Some animals even appear to display ritualistic behaviours after a death, similarly to how humans would hold a funeral. Elephants are known to visit the remains of family members and strangers alike, touching and stroking their bones, and standing for long periods beside the skeleton in a manner akin to a vigil. Chimpanzees are also known to clean the mouths and bodiesof the deceased animal. There's even anecdotal evidence that crows, magpies and ravens gather around the dead of their own, sometimes placing leaves or twigs close to the carcass.
"I was riding my bike with a friend some years ago, and there was a circle of four or five magpies surrounding a dead magpie," says Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
"They were surrounding the corpse with their heads down, sort of lightly pecking at it. Then one flew off and brought some twigs and leaves. Another did the same, and then it was almost like a chorus where they stopped, slightly lowered their head, and flew off."
However, whether these behaviours truly count as grief depends largely on how you define the concept – a philosophical question that is hotly debated. In a recent article on the subject, Millar says that unlike sadness, which is usually fleeting, grief tends to be protracted, lasting for months or years. Another important element of grief is that it also seems to encompass many different emotions. "You might feel sadness, but perhaps also other emotions too like anger or even hope," says Millar.
Grief also seems to involve a complex process of coming to recognise your loss and its implications.
"Even if you explicitly know that someone has died, there might be another sense in which the loss hasn't yet been integrated into your world and into your habitual patterns of behaviour and thought," says Millar.
Some philosophers argue that true grief requires further cognitive capabilities that animals lack
"So you might want to lay out a plate for them on the table, or you might still anticipate the sound of their car coming into the drive at 6pm, or that they'll be sitting on their favourite sofa and so on. In some sense you expect them to be there, even though you know that that person has died."
Some philosophers argue that, while some animals undoubtedly feel distress after losing a companion, true grief requires further cognitive capabilities that animals lack. These include the ability to understand the permanence of death, and a recognition that the individual will not be present for future events and milestones in your life.
However, Millar points out that this definition doesn't just exclude animals, it also excludes children and some adults.
"I don't think all human grievers grapple with the nature of mortality, or project themselves to a really distant future as part of their grief. Young children who suffer a bereavement are probably not able to fully comprehend their loss at that stage, but it would seem wrong to say that their grief is lesser."
In her article, Millar defines grief as more about learning in a more practical sense how to live in a radically changed world. She believes that this practical process of adaptation is something that could be open to animals as well, given that it doesn't require highly cognitive, intellectual forms of understanding. Ultimately, Millar believes that many animals are capable of feeling grief.
"I think that other animals can share their lives with one another in quite a rich way and their whole patterns of behaviour can come to hinge upon that other animal," says Millar. So when their companion dies, they too are forced to undergo this kind of protracted process of comprehension and relearning of their world."
BBC