Israel and Hezbollah in major missile exchange as escalation fears grow

Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel early on Sunday, as Israel's military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a larger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare.

Missiles were visible curling up through the dawn sky, dark vapour trails behind them, as an air raid siren sounded in Israel and a distant blast lit the horizon, while smoke rose over houses in Khiam in southern Lebanon.

On Sunday evening, sirens sounded in Rishon Letsiyon, central Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said, and added that one projectile had been identified crossing from the southern Gaza Strip and falling in an open area. The armed wing of Hamas said it had fired an "M90" rocket at Tel Aviv.

Any major spillover in the fighting, which began in parallel with the war in Gaza, risks morphing into a regional conflagration drawing in Hezbollah's backer Iran and Israel's main ally the United States.

With three deaths confirmed in Lebanon and one in Israel, both sides indicated they were happy to avoid further escalation for now, but warned that there could be more strikes to come.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the Iranian-backed group's barrage, a reprisal for the assassination of senior commander Fuad Shukr last month, had been completed "as planned".

However, the group would assess the impact of its strikes and "if the result is not enough, then we retain the right to respond another time", he said.

Israel's foreign minister said the country did not seek a full-scale war, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned: "This is not the end of the story."

Earlier, Netanyahu had said: "We are determined to do everything we can to defend our country ... whoever harms us - we harm him".

The two sides have exchanged messages that neither wants to escalate further, with the main gist being that the exchange was "done", two diplomats told Reuters.

Expectations of an escalation had risen since a missile strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last month killed 12 youths and the Israeli military assassinated Shukr in Beirut in response.

Hezbollah had delayed its retaliation to give time for ceasefire talks, and had calibrated its attack to avoid triggering a full-scale war, a Hezbollah official said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the presence of two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East, bolstering the U.S. military presence. Earlier, top U.S. General C.Q. Brown arrived in Israel for talks with military leaders.

Meanwhile in Gaza, the Israeli offensive continued, with air strikes killing at least five Palestinians in Gaza City early on Monday, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

There was no agreement in the Gaza ceasefire talks that took place in Cairo, with neither Hamas nor Israel agreeing to several compromises presented by mediators, although a senior U.S. official, described the talks as "constructive" and said the process would continue in the coming days.

DENSE BOMBARDMENT

Israel's air strikes started before Hezbollah began its barrage, Nasrallah said. Netanyahu said these "pre-emptive" strikes had foiled a much larger Hezbollah barrage but Nasrallah said they had had little impact.

Hezbollah's own rocket and drone strikes were focused on an intelligence base near Tel Aviv, Nasrallah said. Netanyahu said all the drones targeting what he called a strategic location in central Israel were intercepted.

A security source in Lebanon said at least 40 Israeli strikes had hit various towns in the country's south in one of the densest bombardments since hostilities began in October.

Hezbollah said the strikes killed two of its fighters in al-Tiri. The Hezbollah-allied Shi'ite Muslim group Amal said a strike on Khiam killed one of its fighters.

Israel's military said a naval soldier was killed and two wounded.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, met cabinet ministers at a session of the national emergency committee.

Flights to and from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv were suspended for around 90 minutes. Some flights to and from Beirut were also halted, stranding passengers.

WARNING SIRENS

In northern Israel, warning sirens sounded and explosions were heard in several areas as Israel's Iron Dome aerial defence system shot down rockets coming from southern Lebanon.

"Israel should, as it did this morning, deliver a pre-emptive strike. But if Hezbollah continues, Israel should strike very hard to remove the threat from Hezbollah once and for all," said Yuval Peleg, 73, from Haifa.

A resident of the southern Lebanese town of Zibqeen told Reuters he had awakened "to the sound of planes and the loud explosions of rockets - even before the dawn prayer. It felt like the apocalypse."

The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden was following events. "We will keep supporting Israel's right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability," National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "deeply concerned" by the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah and called on both parties to immediately return to a cessation of hostilities, his spokesperson said.

Egypt and Jordan also warned against escalation.

The United States was not involved in Israel's strikes on Sunday, but provided some intelligence about incoming Hezbollah attacks, a U.S. official said.

Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel immediately after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas gunmen on Israel. Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire constantly ever since, while avoiding a major escalation as war rages in Gaza to the south.

That precarious balance appeared to shift after the strike in the Golan Heights, for which Hezbollah denied responsibility, and the subsequent assassination of Shukr, one of Hezbollah's most senior military commanders.

Shukr's death in an air strike was quickly followed by the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which led to vows of reprisals against Israel by Iran.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian attacks on Ukraine kill 4, injure 37

Russia launched attacks on northern, eastern and southern Ukraine, killing at least four people and injuring 37, Ukrainian military and local authorities said on Sunday.

Overnight attacks targeted Ukraine's frontline regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, Ukraine's air force said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia has been pummelling Ukrainian border regions with strikes, and Kyiv said its surprise incursion earlier this month into Russia's Kursk regionaimed to hinder Moscow's ability to stage such attacks.

"Most of the missiles did not reach their targets," the air force said, adding that Russia launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile, an Iskander-K cruise missile and six guided air missiles. It did not specify how many were destroyed.

A missile attack on the northern region of Sumy killed one person, injuring at least 16 more, including three children, local authorities said on Telegram.

Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region in the east, posted that at least 13 people were injured in the Russian attacks, including a 4-year-old child.

Ihor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv city, said a gas pipeline was damaged in the city and at least two houses were destroyed and 10 damaged.

The air force said Russia launched nine attack drones, with Ukraine's air defence systems destroying eight of them over the Mykolaiv region.

Russian attacks continued throughout the day in the southern region of Kherson, killing one person and injuring six more, according to Roman Mrochko, head of Kherson city's military administration.

Regional prosecutors in Sumy said an aerial bomb attack on Sunday afternoon struck a residential neighbourhood in the Svesa village, killing two people and injuring two more.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian drone strikes apartment block deep inside Russia

Ukrainian kamikaze drones have hit high-rise residential buildings in Russia’s Saratov Region, Governor Roman Busargin said in the early hours of Monday.

According to Busargin, the air defenses responded to the attack, but falling “drone fragments” hit houses in the cities of Saratov and Engels.

A video posted on Telegram news channel Mash shows the moment when the drone hit the tall apartment block in Saratov, a city of 950,000 people in western Russian. 

Reuters/RT

Amid the greatest crisis of judicial authority since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 23 August 2024 swore in an Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). For the new Chief Justice, this challenge is also an opportunity to articulate an agenda for reform that can restore public trust in the judiciary. Such an agenda must address the following:

• ensuring merit-based judicial appointments;
• addressing the problem of abuse of interim injunctions, ex-parteorders, and conflicting judgments;
• enhancing judicial discipline and accountability;
• addressing the crisis of political cases, election petitions, and judicialization of politics; and
• reform of the Supreme Court.

1. Judicial Appointments

The National Judicial Council (NJC), which oversees judicial appointments and is led by the CJN, has been severely criticism for mishandling judicial appointments. In 2020, for instance, it authorised 15 vacancies for the Federal Capital Territory High Court but nominated 34 for appointment. The NJC has also been accused of retrenching its Procedural Rules for judicial appointments, thereby undermining merit-based appointments; compromising judicial integrity; and breeding a loss of confidence in the judiciary. Against this background, it is of the utmost importance that the new CJN commits explicitly to a policy of restoring integrity and merit to judicial appointments through the introduction of transparent processes of advertisement of vacancies; nomination of candidates, interviews, short-listing, and selection.

1. Conflicting Judgements and Abuse of Interim Injunctions

Rule 3 (3.5) of the Judicial Code of Conductprovides that “a Judicial Officer must avoid the abuse of the power of issuing interim injunctions, ex parte.” Although the standards governing interim injunctions are very well established in Nigeria, these are often either disregarded or abused without consequences. Equally, courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction routinely issue conflicting orders that seem almost calculated to damage the institution of the judiciary. It is suggested that:

• Priority should be accorded to monitoring and reporting interim or ex parte orders by trial judges. There should also be clear consequences attached to a breach of the Judicial Code of Conduct.
• Judicial appraisals should be both quantitative and qualitative. Accordingly, they should proactively address evidence of ethical deficits in the work or output of judges, focusing on adherence to ethical guidelines and the quality of judicial decisions.
• There should be clear Practice Directions on the management of jurisdictional overlaps. The structure and scope of such overlaps should be discussed at the All Nigerian Judges Conference and the Practice Directions should be uniform across all the court systems in the country.
• The NJC should establish a central database or easily searchable platform for judges to share information on ongoing cases.

1. Discipline and Accountability

Preserving the dignity and integrity of the judiciary hinges on upholding discipline and accountability which is in turn essential for preserving the institutional authority of the judicial branch. If the judiciary lacks credibility, its authority suffers irredeemably. Tragically, this eventuality may already be upon us. A recent survey by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) finds the judiciary as the recipient of the highest per capita rates of bribery, ahead of both the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Customs Service. The damage that this does to the institutional credibility and authority of the judiciary is incalculable. To reverse this, it is suggested that:

• Disciplinary processes within the judiciary should be both prompt and decisive and dispositions should be calibrated to be proportionate to the seriousness of the misconduct found.
• Reports on disciplinary investigations by the NJC should routinely be transmitted to law enforcement agencies for follow-up.
• The CJN should initiate public consultation leading within six months to an announcement of measures designed to address the escalating patterns of judicial corruption as documented by the UNODC-NBS Corruption in Nigeria Report 2024.

1. Election Petitions and Political Cases

Political cases and election petitions now increasingly threaten the foundations of fairness on which the judicial system should be anchored. Of 248 judgments issued by the Supreme Court in the last judicial year, 74 or about 30% were “political cases.” At a similar occasion only two years ago, his predecessor 

reported that the court’s portfolio of 269 appeals disposed of included 139 civil appeals, 102 criminal appeals, and 28 “political cases”. The volume of election petitions has become an adverse charge on the credibility of the judiciary and an intolerable burden on both judges and non-political court users alike. Underlying this burden is a judiciary that has installed itself as the sole dispenser of electoral mandates, with judges routinely substituting their views for the votes of the people contrary to the considered recommendations of two presidential panels on electoral reform led respectively by former Supreme Court Justice, Bolarinwa Babalakin in 1986 and by former Chief Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais in 2008. It is suggested that:

• The Chief Justice should initiate reform of the election dispute resolution system to ensure the implementation of the Babalakin Commission and Uwais Panel recommendations concerning the need for Courts to respect and not subvert the will of the people in elections.
• The category of “political” cases should be reviewed and court systems should be encouraged to establish Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms for political disputes.
• Consideration should be given to utilizing retired senior judges for the administration of election dispute resolution, so that serving judges may be preserved for regular court work.
• Election petitions should be disposed of before inauguration. The current practice whereby candidates are sworn in despite pending petitions against them facilitates judicial capture.

1. Reforming the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is overburdened and its Justices are paying for this with their lives. In the 30 months from the beginning of 2021 to the middle of 2023, three Justices of the Supreme Court tragically died in service. This period coincided with a revolt by Justices against the conditions of work and judicial well-being at the Supreme Court. These two developments underscore very clearly the urgent need for reform of the Supreme Court. As the apex court, the Supreme Court should settle the most rarefied questions of law and legal policy in Nigeria. Instead, it is burdened with inconsequential appeals and crippled by priority to political cases. The result is a court with an ungovernable docket which also endangers the constitutional promise of fair trial “within a reasonable time.” Structural and procedural enhancements needed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Supreme Court will include:

• The National Assembly should review and re-enact the Supreme Court Act and amend the Constitution to limit the kinds of cases or appeals that can be introduced to the Supreme Court.
• The full digitization of the Supreme Court is overdue. Judgments should be publicly available on the day they are delivered and it should be possible to do filings at the court remotely.
• The Court needs to implement a structured system of judicial clerkships which would help to relieve Justices of some of the tedium of research and writing.

Conclusion

Far from being exhaustive, this five-point agenda only highlights pressing priorities for the incoming CJN. There remain important issues, such as the question of whether the NJC has continuing relevance; what should be its composition (if it continues to exist), and whether or not it should continue to co-exist as it presently does with the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).

As the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights declared in 2009: “Courts need the trust of the people to maintain their authority and legitimacy. The credibility of the courts must not be weakened by the perception that they can be influenced by any external pressure.” Success in judicial reform will depend on engaging a broad constituency of stakeholders, especially citizens, civil society, and court users. By fostering a collaborative approach to judicial reform, the CJN can construct the foundations for reclaiming public trust.

The measures suggested here can reverse inefficiencies; retrench renegades from the system; and reposition the judiciary as an institution fit for the changing landscape of a complex political economy. By implementing these changes, the new CJN can rebuild public confidence; put the judiciary on track towards credibility; and guarantee a legacy that will be evergreen at the end of her tenure.

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Ernest Ojukwu (SAN) is former deputy director-general of the Nigerian Law School, Sam Erugo(SAN) is former dean of Law, Abia State University, and Mbasekei Martin Obono, a lawyer, is executive director of TAP Nitiative

Key Takeaways

• Mistake #1: Rushing the pitch
• Mistake #2: Skipping trust indicators and key differentiators
• Mistake #3: Talking too much and for too long
• Mistake #4: Forgetting who you're pitching to
• Mistake #5: Undermining your credibility with weak language
• Mistake #6: Using broad claims instead of precise data points
• Mistake #7: Telling instead of showing

With U.S. venture capital fundraising at a 6-year low, raising investor capital for your startup has become more challenging than ever. Potential investors are tightening their budgets and adopting a "wait and see" approach before putting their capital at risk. Yet, some of the best startups — like Airbnb, Uber and Square — were born during market downturns. So, if you're an entrepreneurseeking capital in this environment, you might wonder about your chances of success.

As a serial entrepreneur and now CEO of Builderall, I've heard over 3,000 pitches and helped founders raise millions. From my experience, seven common mistakes often derail attempts to raise investment capital. If you're looking to raise money for your startup in this uncertain economic environment, be sure to avoid the following:

Mistake #1: Rushing the pitch

Many founders rush through their pitch, but speed isn't always your friend in the venture capital world. Your goal is to establish key points and let them resonate, not finish your presentation as quickly as possible.

Think of it like telling a good joke at a party — you wouldn't rush to the punchline before everyone has had a chance to grasp the setup, right? The same principle applies when pitching. You want your investors to hang on to every word. But that's impossible if you rush or gloss over crucial information.

One effective technique is to use strategic pauses. In between slides or after making a key point, pause for about three seconds to let it sink in and observe your audience's reactions. Don't be afraid of silence. Patience in delivery can be a powerful strategy.

Mistake #2: Skipping trust indicators and key differentiators

Balancing detail with brevity is tricky, but it's essential. There are some critical signals you should share to help build trust and differentiate your business. While most founders want to focus on how great their product is, there are two questions that are arguably more important:

• Why is your team uniquely qualified to lead this business?
• How does your company stand out in the market?

As far as team qualifications, don't be shy about including specifics on years of experience, prestigious university degrees, previous exits, existing patents and/or impressive startup or corporate experiences.

I once coached a founder who was struggling to raise capital. After reviewing his pitch deck, I said, "The problem is that you have no real startup experience." He then proceeded to tell me that he and his co-founder sold their last company for $80 million, but he thought it wasn't relevant since it was in a different industry. Let me tell you, your previous accomplishments are 100% relevant to whether or not investors will trust you with their money.

Next, I can almost guarantee that whatever amazing idea you are pitching — we have probably already seen it. This begs the question, how are you going to execute differently when you get to market? This is where your current traction becomes crucial: existing user base, early subscribers, accepted patents and strategic partnerships all come into play. These elements demonstrate that you're not just another idea but a viable business that is already making waves.

Mistake #3: Talking too much and for too long

I know — this sounds like a contradiction based on the first point, but hear me out. Blathering on is another fatal mistake. You should plan for a nine-minute pitch, but you don't want to "rush through" your nine minutes. Instead, be relentless about what to include – and what to cut – so the pacing feels natural and you're still covering the key data points that make your business compelling.

I often ask new founders to introduce their startup in just two sentences: What do you do, and why should I care? After that, you have under 10 minutes to explain the market problem, the market size, your business model, your solution, your traction, your team, and your ask. That means you need to be very specific about what details will tell your story most effectively.

I've seen many founders get nervous and overcompensate by filling the conversation with unnecessary details and fillers. This often has the opposite effect of what they intend. If you talk too much or too quickly, investors might think you're not being straightforward, or they may get bored and lose interest.

Mistake #4: Forgetting who you're pitching to

Remember, you're pitching to investors, not potential clients. Investors are not interested in how great your product is; they want to know about your market, margins, and differentiation.

I once sat through a pitch for a young women's jewelry startup where the founder spent the entire time trying to sell me on the jewelry. As an investor, I wasn't the target audience and the pitch fell flat. Rather than sell me on the business, she was selling me on the product. When talking to investors, they want to hear about the business opportunity, not the product.

Mistake #5: Undermining your credibility with weak language

This might seem like needless semantics, but words like "hope" subtly signal uncertainty, and investors are not fond of taking chances on "hope." They want clear-cut projections backed by data and logic.

Instead of saying "we hope," use phrases like "we will" or "we project." This shift instantly ramps up your pitch's credibility. Be definitive; your words should exude confidence, not wishful thinking.

Here are a few more examples:

• Instead of saying, "We think our product will be successful," assert your confidence by stating, "Our product is positioned to be successful." This subtle shift conveys certainty and strengthens your pitch.
• Replace "We believe our revenue will grow" with "Our projections show our revenue will grow." This not only sounds more authoritative but also indicates that your assumptions are based on concrete data.
• Don't say, "We aim to capture 10% of the market;" instead, say, "We are on track to capture 10% of the market." This adjustment demonstrates that you are actively working toward a clear, achievable target.
• Change statements like "We expect to launch by Q2" to "We will launch by Q2." This minor change projects certainty and reliability, which are crucial to building investor trust.

These subtle language changes replace hesitation and probability with assertiveness. It emphasizes that your pitch is built on credibility and supported by a solid, well-thought-out plan.

Mistake #6: Using broad claims instead of precise data points

When pitching to investors, generalized claims can raise red flags, making investors wonder if you're trying to obscure the truth or lack the necessary detail.

For example, instead of saying, "We have a huge subscriber list," focus on concrete details like, "We have over 20,000 subscribers." Specifics not only clarify your claims but also significantly boost your credibility and trustworthiness.

Here are a few more examples:

• Don't say, "Our team has a lot of experience." Say, "Our team has eight years of experience in this industry."
• Replace "Our product is very sticky, and our customers rarely leave" with "Our product has an 89% customer retention rate."
• Instead of "We anticipate rapid growth," say, "Our projections show 30% month-over-month growth in the fourth quarter."
• Swap "We dominate the market" with "We currently hold 45% of the market share in our region."

These changes in phrasing turn vague assertions into solid, data-backed statements, which help to build investor confidence and convey that your pitch is grounded in reality.

Mistake #7: Telling instead of showing

Our final lesson: show, don't tell. Depicting something visually instead of through words will have a greater impact and be more likely to be remembered. Instead of telling investors, "We have a great interface," show the interface screens and let them make the determination themselves about whether it's great or not. Instead of saying, "We've grown exponentially over the years," show a line or bar chart illustrating your impressive growth.

One more example: telling investors how much your customers love you is far less impactful than showing screenshots of social media posts where your customers are raving about you in their own words. Keep this mantra in mind: less talk, more visuals.

Bottom line

Mastering the art of pitching involves more than just avoiding pitfalls — it's about crafting a narrative that resonates with investors and builds trust. However, by avoiding these seven mistakes, you significantly increase your chances of securing the capital needed to take your startup to the next level.

In today's challenging economic climate, precise communication, showing rather than telling, and delivering data-backed arguments will set you apart. Investors want to back entrepreneurs who can navigate adversity and drive their ventures to success. Keep refining your pitch, build strong relationships, and show investors why your startup is the one to bet on.

Entrepreneur

Established as referral health facilities, with adequate and qualified health professionals, most teaching hospitals in Nigeria have fallen short of the expectations of those that are in need of healthcare services.

The teaching hospitals are burdened by unreliable and high costs of electricity supply to power diagnostic equipment. Medical equipment in most of the facilities are either obsolete, malfunctioning or lack maintenance where they exist. The hospitals are poorly funded, resulting in health workers leaving the country in search of alternative means of living. Their patients groan in pain; and in most cases, the doctors and nurses watch helplessly.

In this special report, our correspondents across the country x-ray the state of the tertiary institutions and present facts that point to urgent need to save the hospitals.

University College Hospital, Ibadan

For decades, the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan has been a beacon of hope and a symbol of medical excellence in Nigeria. The premier medical facility in West Africa has played a pivotal role in providing advanced healthcare services. That is no longer the situation.

The hospital is currently facing so many challenges including inadequate medical equipment, staff, and unreliable electricity supply. The hospital is also burdened by unfulfilled government promises, leaving patients to battle for their lives with uncertainties. Some of the medical equipment that require urgent attention include pediatric devices, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and CT scanner. Critical wards, such as the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), suffer from inadequate space, beds, and ventilators, limiting the treatment capacity.

The hospital had occasionally fallen back on philanthropic gestures of some Nigerians, as well as local and international organizations that have been complementing the government’s efforts over the years.

The UCH operates under immense strain due to staff shortages. There is a dearth of doctors, nurses, and support staff. Doctors often work long hours, leading to fatigue and increased chances of medical errors. Nurses find it challenging to provide personalized care when attending to a high number of patients simultaneously. The hospital administration constantly grapples with an imbalance between the growing number of patients and the limited number of healthcare professionals. The state of electricity supply is an enduring challenge for UCH. Frequent power outages can disrupt critical procedures and surgeries, posing a severe risk to patients. For 17 days in March and April 2024, IBEDC disconnected the hospital for owing the utility company a cumulative debt of N495 million.

The hospital runs on a monthly electricity bill ranging from N45 million to N71 million, yet, it has about 75 generators in different locations within the premises, according to its Chief Medical Director, Abiodun Otegbayo.

Despite the challenging situation, many patients praise the dedication and expertise of the medical staff at the hospital. On the flip side, they express frustration and anxiety over waiting for a long time to get medical attention, inadequate facilities, and difficulty in accessing water within the facility.

University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

A recent investigation into the state of medical equipment at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) has revealed alarming shortcomings, putting patient care at risk.

The hospital’s sole MRI machine, which was installed in 2018 frequently goes out of order due to maintenance issues and a lack of qualified technicians. This has resulted in delayed diagnoses and treatments for patients in need.

Furthermore, the hospital’s mammography machines are in a deplorable state. One of the two machines in the hospital is outdated; the other malfunctions, and lacks digital imaging capabilities. This hampers the hospital’s ability to detect breast cancer early, and poses a potential danger to lives. At the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), only four of the six monitors are functional, and those that are not functional are outdated, lacking modern features like real-time data analysis. This compromises the quality of care for critically ill patients.

The hospital’s 2D-Doppler Echocardiography machine, installed in 2020, is relatively new but often unavailable due to scheduling conflicts and staff shortages. Hospital authorities have acknowledged the challenges, citing funding constraints and maintenance issues. Medical professionals and patients’ families are calling for urgent action to address these shortcomings.

“It’s unacceptable that patients are suffering due to equipment failures and shortages. We need modern equipment and trained staff to provide quality care,” a physician at the UPTH told Saturday Sun. The hospital, which is supposed to be a leading healthcare provider in the Niger Delta region, is struggling with outdated equipment, inadequate staffing, and insufficient funding.

The doctor-patient ratio is quite high, and the hospital lacks sufficient nursing staff, specialists, and resident doctors. The shortages lead to increased workload for existing staff, potentially compromising patient care. There are instances where patients are referred to other hospitals due to lack of specialists.

University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital

The University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) is currently seen as a referral hospital burdened by Boko Haram insurgency.

Designed initially as a 600-bed capacity hospital, the institution remained a major medical centre for hundreds of people in the North-East and neighbouring countries like Niger and Chad until the outbreak of insurgency in 2009. The violence led to the destruction of many primary healthcare centres and facilities across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, the three states affected by insurgency.

The Accident and Emergency (A &E) unit of the hospital receives more patients as victims of frequent bomb explosions and Boko Haram attacks are brought in for urgent medical attention.

Records in the hospital also show that the pediatric unit, surgery, kidney center and General Outpatient unit usually get a high number of patients.

Sources in the hospital, however, said the movement of some of the senior medical staff, especially doctors, to newly established federal hospitals and medical centres in some states in the North-East has depleted UMTH’s staff strength. This, according to some patients, makes the medical staff in the hospital overwhelmed with the number of people that seek medicare at UMTH daily.

Chief Medical Director, Ahmed Ahidjo, confirmed the increasing movement of medical staff has created a gap in manpower for delivery of services.

“While other tertiary hospitals are crying of  brain drain externally, our challenge at UMTH is internal drain as many quality medical staff; doctors, lab technologists and pharmacists have moved to other hospitals in the North-East and Abuja,” he said.

Ahidjo said the major challenge UMTH faces is power supply. He said the hospital spends about N100 million monthly on diesel to power its generators in addition to payment of electricity bills to power distribution companies. He called for support from well-meaning individuals and private organisations to the hospital.

Despite these challenges, the CMD said the hospital has recorded some progress in terms of delivery of medical services to the people, provision of medical equipment and facilities. For instance, the establishment and building of a cancer and trauma center, which was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

He said the trauma centre has been providing rehabilitation service to people affected by the violence while the Orthopedic/Repairs and Rehabilitation Centre established in the hospital by the International Committee of the Red Crossover (ICRC) provides rehabilitation service to patients physically affected either by accidents or insurgency. Currently, the hospital bed capacity has been doubled to 1,205 from the 600 beds it had at inception

University of Benin Teaching Hospital

At the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), electricity supply is also a major challenge. Medical equipment are in bad condition. And for these reasons, patients are often asked to go outside the teaching hospital to carry out their medical laboratory tests.

Even with available medical equipment, the hospital is burdened by inadequate manpower, occasioned by doctors, nurses and other categories of health workers leaving in droves for greener pastures. As at the time of this report, the dental unit of the hospital had its electricity supply cut off for over one week by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC). It therefore had to rely on a power generating set. 

It was gathered that payment of staff allowances and training is also an issue at the teaching hospital.

For inexplicable reasons, the hospital’s management is blamed for concentration of efforts on academic training above offering clinical services, which some stakeholders believe should be left for the University of Benin, the parent institution.

In another twist, a staff of the UBTH told our report that the cost of getting medical attention at a teaching hospital in the northern part of the country is far cheaper than what obtains in the south. “With N5,000 you can get a case note in the north whereas with N10,000 you can’t in the South,” she said. However, doctors at the hospitals get commendation from some patients for their level of efficiency.

Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria

Investigation reveals that the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria in Kaduna State lacks modern and adequate medical equipment, enough qualified medical personnel to function optimally.

The hospital, which caters for patients from Kaduna and neighbouring states, is overstretched, especially in critical units such as the Accident and Emergency (A&E) section.

Now, a shadow of itself, ABUTH, which was widely reputed for excellence is currently in a deplorable state and may soon become moribund as most of the medical equipment are obsolete and non-functional. It was also gathered that a large number of patients at the hospital are unattended to, as a result of inadequate number of doctors and hospital equipment.

“ABUTH was established with three primary objectives: to provide specialized medical care to patients, to train medical personnel, and to conduct research for the advancement of medical knowledge. “The hospital is now in dire need of cardiovascular percussionists, anesthetists, and heart surgeons,” a staff told our correspondent.

Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH)

Although the hospital is bedeviled with manpower and electricity supply challenges, Ayodeji Oluwole, Chairman Medical Advisory Committee at the hospital reported that the government has invested a lot in medical equipment and infrastructure in the hospital.

About seven years ago, the hospital got electricity supply from an Independent Power Plant (IPP) that is gas powered. This provided 24/7 uninterrupted power supply, but in the last one year, according to the management, the bills became ridiculously high.

“We started by paying N25 million every month (2017, 2018). In January this year, the hospital paid about N80 million. We paid two bills, one for the gas and one for the set power. From N80 million to N120 million; and then to N250 million. So in March when they brought the bill of N250 million, the CMO said that there is nothing we can do about it. We can’t afford it. Then we had to go back to Eko Discos. In the last few weeks they cut us off when we couldn’t pay the bill of over N180 million,” Oluwole lamented.

He applauded the government for fulfilling all promises made to the hospital over the years.

“Every promise they have given us they have fulfilled. The promises they have given us this year are two – Cath Lab and Nuclear Medicine. We felt they will complete them. It takes time to build them. Hopefully by this time next year they will be ready.

“That will help Nigerians who go to India and Egypt. It will be available locally and it will be cheaper for them. Even the government is building a geriatric medicine for old people.”

But some of the patients who spoke to our correspondent expressed mixed feelings. While some expressed satisfaction with the quality of healthcare they got from the hospital, others expressed the view that the services they got fell short of their expectations. 

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka

The Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka, Anambra State, has been in darkness for over four months, following the disconnection by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).

Patients and health workers groan everyday even as Resident Doctors at the hospital are considering embarking on strike over non-payment of allowances and poor medical infrastructure in the facility.

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD)-COOUTH said they would withdraw their services without further notice if the harsh and poor working conditions persist.

Onyebuchi Ichoku, president of the association, said the condition of doctors and other medical and health workers in the hospital is terrible, adding that there have been no payment of hazard allowance, Medical Residency Training Fund and implementation of 25 percent increase in basic salary since July 2023.

Ichoku also called for the restoration of electricity and provision of diagnostic equipment in the hospital for more effective service delivery.

He said the poor working conditions had resulted in the continued emigration of his colleagues to other countries and neighboring institutions, adding that it was putting so much pressure on the existing workforce in the hospital.

A patient at the hospital, Ngozi Moneme, lamented poor medical attention and blamed it on negligence on the part of the government.

“As we speak, there is no single oxygen machine here. What you see here is a mere empty cylinder. I have watched people struggle and die here even with the so-called oxygen device fastened on them because it’s not working. At times, doctors use rechargeable torch light to do ward rounds because there is no light.

She said in some cases when the generator is put on, it doesn’t stay beyond two hours, apparently because of the cost of diesel.

But Joe Akabuike, Chief Medical Director of the hospital, said the challenges facing both staff and patients in the hospital would be addressed by the state government.

Federal Medical Centre, Owerri                            

The Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Teaching Hospital, Owerri is presently yearning for health workers according to a doctor who works at the tertiary health facility. Like in other places, a large number of their health workers have traveled abroad in search of greener pastures.

Medical equipment at the facility are grossly inadequate. The hospital is in need of MRI machines, CT scanner, and several others to complement the efforts of the few doctors. The greatest of the challenges facing the hospital is power supply. The hospital spends a huge amount of money on diesel despite installing a new 33 KVA source of power supply recently.

Some patients who spoke to our correspondent on the state of the hospital expressed frustration.

“I don’t like coming to this hospital but for the few old doctors here. Their services are unpredictable. Sometimes it is good and at other times, you will regret coming to this place,” said one of the patients. Patients at the hospital also lament the bureaucratic process involved in attending to patients.

“Even when there is an emergency, you will be required to go from one department to another,” said another patient, who claimed that this situation had resulted in the death of some patients. 

University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu

The University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) does not have a single MRI machine, investigation revealed. However, a number of the CT and MRI machines in some public health institutions in Enugu including UNTH, are owned by individuals who partner with public hospitals. This arrangement results in higher costs for patients. For instance, while a brain CT scan might cost around N65,000 at a public facility, the same service could be cheaper at a private hospital.

Electricity supply at the hospital is unstable and many of these machines cannot be supported by solar energy. The teaching hospital relies on dedicated generators that often break down without warning. The cost of running these generators, combined with the risk of their failure, makes it extremely difficult to ensure uninterrupted health services. It was further discovered that UPS systems, which are meant to provide backup power, are often of poor quality and do not perform as expected. This creates a situation where, despite having the equipment, the hospital is constantly battling to keep them operational.

A former chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association in Enugu State, Celestine Ugwuoke, who is also a Consultant Radiologist at the UNTH said: “Our problem extends far beyond just acquiring equipment. It’s also about the maintenance and operational costs. Take MRI machines, for example. Enugu, which is the capital of the South East, has only one functional MRI machine.

On manpower challenges facing the hospital, Ugwuoke explained that there are vacancies in the hospital, but due to government-imposed restrictions, “we are unable to employ the necessary staff. Even those that are willing to work are often left without opportunities.” This leaves the current staff overworked and stretched beyond limit.

Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso

The situation at Ladoke Akitola University Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso is similar to that of UCH in terms of staffing, equipment, remuneration, as well as electricity supply and funding. The only difference between the two institutions is that Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital is not as big as UCH.

The Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Oyo State, Happy Adedapo, explained that health workers at the hospital have not been enjoying some benefits like their counterparts in UCH. He mentioned hazard allowance, consolidated salary scheme, medical training funds, as well as some incentives, and allowances.

Rivers State University Teaching Hospital

The Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) Port Harcourt, metamorphosed from Braithwaite Memorial Hospital, which existed for several decades to a teaching hospital.

Some medical equipment there are outdated and in need of replacement or upgrade.

Also, there is a shortage of some essential medical equipment, such as ventilators, dialysis machines, and ultrasound machines. There is also inadequate sterilization equipment, which can compromise a patient’s safety. Being a hospital that is in the centre of the state capital and easily accessible, it gets an influx of  patients daily.

Margaret Ngele, a woman who recently gave birth at the hospital said she was overwhelmed with joy, over the attention the nurses and other hospital staff gave her and her baby.

Ngele said: “My doctor and nurses explained everything and kept me updated on the progress. They made sure I was comfortable and empowered to make decisions.”

Much money is spent on power generation, making it difficult for the hospital to depend on Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC).

According to the management, the epileptic electricity supply is not what the hospital can depend on. “The state government is spending much on generating power for the hospital. Without light, it is difficult to operate,” a technical staff said.

Osun State University Teaching Hospital

Medical equipment at the Osun State University Teaching Hospital are in moribund state. Findings show that there is an exodus of doctors and nurses from the teaching hospital, apart from those who have retired while some equipment like CT Scan and MRI machines are not available at the hospital.

It was gathered that no recruitment has taken place in the teaching hospital in the last twelve years except replacement in some departments while some departments that required doctors still do not have.

Some patients who spoke to our correspondent lamented that some equipment that are expected to be available in the hospital are not there. When our correspondent visited the hospital, a patient lamented that the hospital could not conduct genotype and blood group test, saying: “They directed us to go and do it outside.”

Another patient also lamented that the hospital did not have reagents to do blood tests and patients were referred to other facilities outside the hospital for the tests.

President of Association of Resident Doctors, Ojo Oluwadamilola, declined to comment on the state of equipment in the hospital. But the state’s Commissioner for Health, Jola Akinola, told our correspondent that the process to recruit doctors and nurses is still ongoing and will be ready in due course.

He said, “Osun State University Teaching Hospital has one of the highest number of medical practitioners in all the teaching hospitals with over 200 and we have a standing order that whenever anybody leaves, whether a nurse or medical doctor, they should be replaced immediately. They don’t need any approval or wait for anybody,” Akintola added.

Sun

The Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, has tendered his resignation to President Bola Tinubu after about seven years in the position.

The action took many by surprise in a country where it is rare for public officials to resign from office.
The NIA DG was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking to journalists after tendering his resignation letter, last night, Abubakar said that the President had accepted the resignation, describing his action as a routine thing.

He said, “It’s a routine thing, from time to time, to brief Mr. President on situations and issues. Today is no exception. After the briefing actually, I tendered my resignation and Mr. President graciously approved and accepted the resignation.

“I thanked him for allowing me to serve Nigeria under his transformational leadership for an extended period of 15 months, which is very rare, by the way, to have the opportunity to serve two presidents at a stretch.

“So I thanked him very well, and I promised to remain professionally dedicated to our country and to noble causes.

Asked why he tendered his resignation which is very rare for people to do in the country, he said, “There are quite several reasons one would do that, some personal family issues, but nothing very serious, actually, and the friendship will continue. I discussed with Mr. President, he understood very well, and I promised to remain seized with issues and the security situations of the country.”

Asked about the reaction of the President when he tendered his resignation, Abubakar said:

“I think it’s not for me to say this, actually, probably I’ll be breaching a protocol. But maybe, the NSA and or Mr. President himself will say it.

“But what I can tell you is that I’m very, very grateful for the opportunity that the President gave me, to serve the country and his leadership, the encouragement I got, the confidence he had in me and in my service, the opportunity to listen to me, to read briefing notes and pieces of advice and so on.

“I think this for me, is everything and I have had the opportunity to mentor officers and staff for all the period that I have been DG.

“This is the seventh year, by the way, and the opportunity to mentor younger officers to come up, and now we have a lot of many officers who can do this job and do it excellently well.”

Vanguard

Gaza ceasefire talks resume in Cairo, with no sign of progress

Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiators discussed new compromise proposals in Cairo on Saturday, seeking to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas, but there was no indication of progress after hours of talks.

"The talks in Cairo didn’t make any progress. Israel is insisting to keep eight positions along the Philadelphi corridor," one Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject.

The Cairo talks came as the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorated, with malnutrition soaring and polio discovered in the Palestinian enclave.

Israeli military strikes in Gaza killed 50 people on Saturday, Palestinian health authorities said, with victims trapped under rubble or lying on roads where fighting continued.

A Hamas delegation had arrived in Cairo on Saturday to be nearer at hand to review any proposals that emerged in the main talks between Israel and mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States, two Egyptian security sources said.

A U.S. official said negotiators from the United States met with Egypt, then with Egypt and Qatar on Saturday, and believed that representatives from Egypt and Qatar were meeting with Hamas.

The Hamas delegation returned to Doha, Qatar, after the briefing on the round of talks ended, the Palestinian official said.

Months of on-off talks have failed to produce a breakthrough to end Israel's devastating military campaign in Gaza or free the remaining hostages seized by Hamas in the militant group's Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.

The Egyptian sources said the new proposals include compromises on outstanding points such as how to secure key areas and the return of people to north Gaza.

However there was no sign of any breakthrough on key sticking points, including Israel's insistence that it must retain control of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, on the border between Gaza and Egypt.

Hamas has accused Israel of going back on things it had previously agreed to in the talks, which Israel denies. The group says the United States is not mediating in good faith.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has locked horns with Israeli ceasefire negotiators over whether Israeli troops must remain all along the border between Gaza and Egypt, a person with knowledge of the talks said.

DISEASE SPREADING

Continuing the war will worsen the plight of Gaza's 2.3 million people, nearly all of them homeless in tents or shelters among the ruins, with malnutrition rampant and disease spreading, and risk the lives of the remaining Israeli hostages.

The Oct. 7 attack killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's Gaza campaign has killed more than 40,000 people, Palestinian health authorities say.

U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said in a Friday update that the amount of food aid entering Gaza in July was one of the lowest since October, when Israel imposed a full siege.

OCHA said that in July the number of children with acute malnutrition in northern Gaza was four times higher than in May, while in the more accessible south, where fighting is less severe, the number more than doubled.

The World Health Organisation said on Friday that a 10-month-old baby had been paralysed with polio, the first such case in the territory in 25 years, raising fears of a wider outbreak given the lack of proper sanitation for people living in ruins.

More warfare also risks major new escalations, with Iran still weighing retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its territory last month.

Meanwhile, U.S. Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, began an unannounced visit to the Middle East on Saturday to discuss ways to avoid any new escalation in tensions that could spiral into a broader conflict, as the region braces for a threatened Iranian attack against Israel.

Fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah since Oct. 7 has ramped up recently, including with Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon and into the Bekaa, and with more Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Zelenskiy touts new 'drone missile', calls Putin 'sick old man'

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy touted a newly developed Ukrainian "drone missile" on Saturday that he said would take the war back to Russia and scornfully derided Russia's Vladimir Putin as a "sick old man from Red Square".

As Ukraine marked 33 years of post-Soviet independence, Zelenskiy said the new weapon, Palianytsia, was faster and more powerful than the domestically made drones that Kyiv has so far used to fight back against Russia, striking its oil refineries and military airfields.

"Our enemy will ... know what the Ukrainian way for retaliation is. Worthy, symmetrical, long-ranged," he said.

Zelenskiy said the new class of Ukrainian weapon had been used for a successful strike on a target in Russia, but did not say where.

He used derisive language to describe Russia's 71-year-old president and the nuclear rhetoric coming out of Moscow.

"A sick old man from Red Square who constantly threatens everyone with the red button will not dictate any of his red lines to us," he said in a video on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia, which has attacked Ukraine with many thousands of missiles and drones since it invaded in February 2022, has decried Ukraine's drone attacks as terrorism. Moscow's troops are advancing in Ukraine's east and occupy 18% of the country.

Zelenskiy has been pressing Kyiv's allies to allow him to use Western weapons deeper in Russian territory such as to strike airbases used by Russian warplanes that pound Ukraine with missiles and glide bombs.

"I want to stress once more that our new weapon decisions, including Palianytsia, is our realistic way to act while some of our partners are unfortunately delaying decisions," Zelenskiy told a news conference.

Ukrainians say the word "Palianytsia", a type of Ukrainian bread, is too difficult to pronounce for Russians and it has been used - sometimes humorously - during the war as a way to tell Ukrainians and Russians apart.

"It will be very difficult for Russia, difficult to even pronounce what exactly has hit it," Zelenskiy said of the drone missile.

TOP COMMANDER PROMOTED

In a decree, Zelenskiy promoted his top commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, to the rank of general, a tacit gesture of praise after Ukraine's lightning cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk region launched on Aug. 6.

Slammed by Russia as an escalation and major provocation, Ukraine's incursion has captured more than 90 settlements in the Kursk region according to Kyiv, the biggest invasion of Russia since World War Two.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Poland's and Lithuania's leaders, Zelenskiy told reporters the operation had in part been a preventive move to stop Russian plans to capture the northern city of Sumy.

Apart from capturing prisoners of war and creating a "buffer zone", Zelenskiy said the operation had other objectives that he could not disclose publicly.

Polish president Andrzej Duda confirmed that Polish PT-91 Twardy tanks given to Kyiv by Warsaw were taking part in the fighting in Kursk region.

"We are touched to see how the PT-91 Twardy tanks, given by Poland (to Ukraine) more than one year ago, are defending today Ukraine on the battlefields, fighting in the Kursk region," he said.

Russia has strongly condemned the use of western weapons for the incursion, which Putin has said will receive a "worthy response".

Independence Day has surged in importance for Ukrainians during the invasion, which has spurred widespread patriotic sentiment.

This year the public holiday took place after the U.S. and German embassies issued warnings of a heightened risk of Russian missile and drone attacks across the country.

There had been no major strikes as of 2200 local time, but the air raid siren sounded at least twice in Kyiv over the afternoon and evening.

To mark the date, Zelenskiy ratified the Rome Statute, paving the way for Ukraine to join the International Criminal Court, one of many steps needed to join the European Union, accession to which Kyiv sees as a priority.

He also signed legislation banning the activities of religious groups linked to Russia, creating a legal instrument for the government to ban a branch of the Orthodox Church seen as linked to Russia.

Ukraine and Russia also said they had each secured the release of 115 prisoners of war in an exchange. The Russian Defence Ministry said its freed servicemen had been captured during Ukraine's attack in the Kursk region.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine has lost two thirds of US-supplied tanks – media

Ukraine has lost two thirds of its US-supplied Abrams M1 main battle tanks in the space of only half a year, Military Watch Magazine has reported.

The outlet said in an article on Thursday that, according to its estimates, “close to 20” out of 31 tanks provided to Kiev by Washington have already been destroyed by Russian forces.

The latest Abrams was blown up in Russia’s Kursk Region, Military Watch Magazine said, based on videos uploaded by Russian Telegram channels. It appears to be the first American tank lost by Ukraine during its ongoing incursion into internationally recognized Russian territory, it added.

The M1 in question had “a significantly improved” explosive reactive armor, as Ukraine took steps to increase the protection of the US-made tanks, “particularly after they took heavy losses in their first engagements with Russian forces in February-April 2024,” the report read. However, the Abrams still could not withstand a projectile from a handheld anti-tank missile system, likely a Kornet, with which it had reportedly been hit, it stressed.

Military Watch reminded subscribers that Ukrainian troops operating the M1s had previously complained to Western media about “technical issues, including vulnerability of electronic components to condensation, as well as their vulnerability to Russian fire.” 

The outlet described the Abrams, the German Leopard 2, the British Challenger 2 and the Soviet era T-80 tanks as “the scarcest tank classes in Ukrainian service.”

But it also pointed out that, while Kiev expects a replacement for its destroyed Leopards from the EU nations, “there have been few indications that the US could make further deliveries of Abrams tanks.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that, since the start of its incursion into Kursk Region on August 6, Ukraine has already lost more than 5,550 troops and hundreds of units of military equipment, including 71 tanks.

Reuters/RT

Have you ever read Heidi Holland’s Dinner With Mugabe? It was published in 2012 by a Zimbabwean journalist and columnist who worked with Illustrated Life Rhodesia magazine. The book is a very penetrating portraiture of Robert Mugabe. It is a psychobiography of a freedom fighter, liberal lawyer and revolutionary who later became, first Prime Minister and later, President of Zimbabwe. The book’s title was a product of a 1975 sudden call from a Holland friend. He wanted her to arrange dinner and meeting with a friend she had no idea who he was, in her home in Salisbury, now Harare, then capital of white Rhodesia. “It wasn’t until we stood under the veranda light and looked up as we greeted each other that I recognised him. It was Robert Mugabe,” she wrote in the Preface to the book. “He swaggered awkwardly as he does still. His shoulders were stooped a bit and he looked lean and agile, as if ready to sprint.”

Mugabe had a train to catch that night and intermittently looked at his wrist-watch. He had just come out of an eleven years prison and was about to escape through the border into Mozambique to begin war against white rule. Holland, who later became a leading authority on the enigmatic mind of Mugabe, drove Bob that night to the railway station.

For over 30 years, Holland observed Bob morph from a guerrilla-leader-in-waiting into a sadistic and grotesque dictator. Page by page, the psychobiography uncovers how tyranny took hold of Mugabe and the roots of his ruthlessness. It gradually unfolds the horrific consequences of his presidency of Zimbabwe. She interviewed many people to be able to construct the total picture the world has of Mugabe. This included an obscure younger brother of his, a Catholic priest who took his confession and then, a lengthy interview she later had with Mugabe as president. In all this, Holland reveals that Mugabe had a more complicated persona than his fearsome image the world had. She concluded that the tragedy he later became, especially his anglophobia and despotism, came out of his tortured relationship with Britain; that his hurt anger was that of a spurned friend. Mugabe was notorious for venting his fury on white farmers and Zimbabweans at large. He called the farmers “Britain’s children” and his cold-hearted governance was perhaps reflective of the poverty of his upbringing in a Shona family in Kutama, Southern Rhodesia. 

Heidi’s psychobiography unwittingly shows that emergence of leaders is through two routes. First are the ones whose portraits are known, pre-power, ab-initio and without psychoanalysis. Such leaders the Yoruba call the e-ti- m’oko-l’óko-ikún-kí-e-tó-gbin-èpà-si type. Ikun, the land squirrel, is a rodent smaller than the widely known species called ọ̀kẹ́rẹ́. It lives on the ground as against trees that ọ̀kẹ́rẹ́ is known by. This rodent is renowned for its obsession with devouring nuts in a groundnut plantation. If a farmer knew that the plantation he was about to cultivate was in a squirrel-infested field, and, yet sowed his seeds in it, when he whimpers at its devastation by squirrels, Yoruba blame him for his stupidity. He should have known that a fatal failure awaited him; what the Yoruba, again, call “ofo l’ehin oja.”

The second kind of leadership is Mugabe’s, as profiled by Heidi. At the outset, they wear the garb of innocence. Suddenly, these leaders transmute into wearing the visage of Dracula. They then pounce on the people with their ferocious teeth.

When life is as sour as 2024 Nigeria, the Yoruba compare existence to the taste from licking the sour seed of Iyeye. Iyeye is however Janus. As sour as its seeds are, its generational benefits are legends of folklores. Botanically named spondias mombin, in English, Iyeye is the hog plum. In Igbo, it is Ijikara while Hausa call it Tsardar masar. Its seeds are sour-sweet but the medicinal barks and leaves are used for inducing labour in women. In those days in Iwo, old Oyo State, I picked two songs that still ring in my head till today. As pupils of Ajangbala D.C. Primary School, we sang, while marching from the “Assembly” to our classes, “Odíderé eye Ìwó, Àlùkò eye Òsà, Lékelèké eye Òsun, ìwà re wù mí, màá bá e lo...” (Parrot, the bird totem of Iwo people; Woodcock, bird of the Sea and Cattle egret, bird of the Osun River goddess, your characters fascinate me and I will go with you, wherever you go…).

The other was mostly sung by our mothers in eulogy to the Iyeye. They sang, “Ewé ìyeyè, igba ni o, owó tí mo ní, kò ‘ì tó o, omo tí mo ní, kò ì tó o, ewé ìyeyè igba ni” (as the leaves sprouting out of the Iyeye are two hundred-fold, (may) my wealth and the children I will birth be similar in number; the ones I have are not enough). While the Iyeye song espouses and extols the multiplicity of children that a good tree begets, the two songs, taken together, speak to character and pedigree. The first extols the desirability and aesthetics of character of birds. Odidere, for instance, also called Ayékòótó, (the world scoffs at the truth) is a friend of man and the Iwo. It is domesticated and is said to understand and speak the language of man. It mirrors the purity of mind that its trustworthiness connotes. Such trust is reflected in the deep Yoruba saying that, Odidere should remember the tenets of the agreement it entered into with its master (Odíderé, t’ó bá j'oungbé, má j'oùngbé o!). The birds’ sterling character binds, like a twine, a whole people in friendship with the Parrot, Woodcock and Cattle egret birds.

Unlike Iwo, Sea and Osun River’s friendship with the above birds, our land has always been unlucky to be in besotting friendship with the Abyssinian hornbill bird. Yoruba call this bird Àkàlàmàgbò or Àkàlà. Àkàlà is a bird in whose veins, metaphorically, blood does not flow. It is audaciously bold in doing the unthinkable. It enjoys eating sumptuous sacrifices, food of the gods. These sacrifices are products of the innermost recess of pains suffered by those who offer them. Àkàlà also feasts on carrion, corpses of human and carcasses of non-human beings.

How did Nigerians get here? It is as a result of the fatal consequences they always suffer due to their uncritical profiling and friendship with their leader-tormentors. They once wanted a man who didn’t have shoes while growing up. They ended up with a man who scarcely knew his left hand from his right. Again, they desired a Spartan. They got one whose brain was as vacant as a Venetian graveyard. Lastly, they mis-read, mis-profiled and mistook Akala for the Odidere, the latter a bird whose sense of character imposes remembrance of agreement. Have they forgotten that the Vulture comes from a family of sacrifice and cadaver eaters (ìran Igún níí je’bo, ìran Àkàlà a j'òkú)? Why did they think they could make the corpse walk, apologies to James Hadley Chase, by reshaping the fatal consequences of their own hypocritical estimation? They deified a Capon whose heart is as cold as mutton as a potential Messiah. Now, they are wailing. Right by their bedside is their choice, the one they knew so much about, yet so little of the fatal damage that his pedigree they knew so well could do on their lives.

On Thursday, as fuel was being funneled inside my car, I 'prayed' for everyone who brought this tragedy on Nigerians. To me, my blood was the petrol from the expensive nozzle majestically flowing into the car. It was N1,000 a liter! It is a very distressing time to be a Nigerian. I instantly remembered that, on October 10, 1998, almost 26 years ago, in Yaba, Lagos, with Nigeria locked in a similar chokehold of petrol scarcity, I asked today's bird of carrion, who, pretending to be Odíderé, had just flown back to Iwo, what his impression of Nigeria was. In his usual cockney, he thundered: “Retrogression, rolling backwards, on reverse gear; that is my impression. Sad! That people are still queuing at the petrol stations, spend more productive hours at the petrol stations than in economic sector. It is a very sad story… You see poverty, glaringly on the faces of the people, in a nation that has so much resources to thrive on. It hurts.” I wrote this and more in my offering of December 10, 2023.    

If poverty and suffering (glaring on the faces of the people) can be measured, I wonder which would be plentier – the ones now or the gnashing of teeth under the military in 1998? But, in unmistakable warnings, we foretold this tragedy. I did in a viral piece published on January 16, 2022. We were Heidi Holland and we literally had dinner with the harbingers of the present pains. Unlike Holland, whose portraiture of Mugabe was post-mortem, ours was ante-mortem. We were demonized as prophets of doom. Nigerians said they had discovered, right on their thumbnail, a great builder who could turn ruins to Ruby. His bio, they said, spoke volumes. Didn’t we know he built Òkun (the Sea) and Òsà (the Lagoon) from nothing and made both a glittering expanse of aquatic modern wonder?

In their excitement, they even foretold life in abundance and plenty under the incoming builder. So they excitedly sang “L’áyé Olúgbọ́n…”, a historical song sung in the old Oyo Empire during the reign of Aláàfin Abíọ́dún. The song was to buttress their anger at what they called our  prophecy of doom. Indeed, during the reign of King Abiodun of Ọ̀yọ́-Ilé in the Empire, his government typified the height of an empathetic and benevolent administration. It prioritized the people’s welfare. There was plenty. There was peace, economic growth, prosperity and development. People praised and sang the goodness and huge financial stability that Oyo witnessed under him. So, women were renowned for singing this hate-laced, scurrilous attack song against the opposition to Abiodun: “During the reign of King Olugbon, we had such plenty that we bought and sewed seven exotic scarves; during the reign of King Aresa, we bought and sewed six scarves; during the reign of Abiodun, we bought and sewed velvet, silks and other pricey clothing materials…” (L’áyé Olúgbọ́n, mo dá’borùn méje, e ó maa ko yìi l’órin, l’áyé Arèsà, mo dá’borùn méfà, e ó maa kò yí l’órin, l’áyé Abíódún, mo ra kókò, mo rà’rán baba aso, e ó maa kò yí l’órin…” They ended their mockery-laced song by calling us lazy drones who only foretold hunger and pain. They asked us to carry our baggage and seek comfort in another land: “Àf’òle l’ó le pé ilè yìí ò dùn; eni bá pé ilè yìí ò dùn, k’ó yára k’érù s’ókò, k’ò gb’oko lo.”

We didn’t relent in telling them how wrong they were. We told the people that no one can build, nor renew any skyscraper of hope on a cracked pedigree. The “Oba Abiodun” they were bringing to sit on the Rock was actually Alaafin Aole. You can check who the original was. He would steal, plunder and despoil farmlands plus their future. He was a lover of the good things of life and would go on a saturnalia with your patrimony, we warned. The modern builder they trumpeted to high heavens, we warned, was a nondescript Amukun. The Amukun is the knock-kneed whose ways are foretold by his own structural calamity. We warned, they scoffed at us and called us names. But, now is our time to scorn them! We would have done this gladly, drinking drums of palmwine as we laugh at a people’s foolishness. However, as Bob Marley sang, when the rain comes, it doesn’t fall only on the nice man’s house. So does hunger and devastation. We are drenched in this downpour of pain, hunger and rulership calamity. We are the Babalawo who divined famine who is also buying famine for N1000 per morsel - just like those who scoffed his divination. Our fates are conjoined. 

Today, the land tastes like a sour Iyeye fruit (Ìlú kan gógó). As our elders say when there is famine and maladministration, our birds chirp in awkward manner; our rats squeak in ways they had never done hitherto. Our situation is almost synonymous with the biblical Samaria where parents entered into consensus to eat their children. Hope is the scarcest on the horizon. The people suffer needlessly. They queue in serpentine, snake-like kilometers-length to buy fuel that oozes out of their own soil. Nothing seems to work. Yet, the people in power live recklessly the proverbial 

fàmíl’étèntu’tó life. They fly glittering jirigin sama, a $100m-worth ACJ330-200, VP-CAC (MSN 1053), while their people wallow in abject squalor and poverty. Those who daily eat eggs forget easily that the cock that lays the eggs suffer anal pains. Like Mugabe’s, ours is Zimbabwe where, unto the Leviathan, the legislature and judiciary bow. In our face, they flaunt the latest Cadillac Escalade and tell us to go jump inside the lagoon. A country where the groaning of the people does not grate the ears of their leaders is gasping for breath. Being a Nigerian at this time is like wearing a thorn-filled crown and carrying the heavy biblical Jesus’ cross.

To worsen matters, subterfuge and a coterie of lies are official responses to our anger. When you are seen as one who heaves a tall ladder (àbà) to the furrows in order to climb a heap (ebè) you are an Alágàbàngebè – a serial liar – so say the Yoruba. A person or government which lives a life of decet; one who daily tells scores of lies, is labeled Ajíp’ogúnn’ró. We must be bothered about the moral imperatives and implications of government's deliberate falsehoods. We seem to live now in a post-truth, post-fact era Nigeria. Truth and fact are casualties of a government whose widely known alias is Ajíp’ogúnn’ró. For those who know what reputational harm can do to a government trapped timeless times spinning falsehoods, this is really scary.

Jamaican reggae music sensation, Peter Tosh, was at the emotional crossroads we are today as Nigerians. A very religious Rastafarian, Tosh preached redemption through his songs for decades, yet none came. He was often brutalized by the police. So, in frustration, he asked a rhetorical question in the track, Jah Se No,“Must Rastas bear this cross alone and all the heathens go free?” No. There is redemption. History tells us so. To ram home the fact that no evil goes unpunished, the Yoruba say nemesis is next door for every enemy of the people, Ìtàdógún kù sí dèdè, ojó elésìín k’òla.

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime ~ Daniel 6:10.

Introduction

Every excellent position naturally attracts big opposition. Some negative forces will conspire against you if truly there is anything enviable in your destiny. Nevertheless, with God on your side, your head will still be above water, no matter the adversaries. But you must stand your ground in faith and become who you were made to be, or else enjoying total triumph in Christ and moving to the next level of glory may remain a mirage.

God created you to be a wonder and a superb praise upon the earth.  However, under the cover of darkness, evil alliances are constantly arrayed against your distinctions, and they enact negative decrees, which must be abrogated before destiny can be fulfilled. These evil conspiracies must not be allowed to truncate your destiny.  And for this reason, it is incumbent upon you to be conversant with the spiritual art of dispersing evil alliances against your joy of destiny. That’s a fundamental wining wisdom!

Wicked Hearts and Wicked Decrees

In the psychology of human interactions, it’s found that wicked hearts feel uptight and insecure about the success of others. This was what gave birth to the experiences of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, and of Isaac in the hands of Philistines (Daniel 3:1-30; Genesis 26:12-16). And yes, the notorious dream killers in the life of Joseph were even his blood brothers.

Very painfully though, these enemies always appear tireless in their wickedness. With their raging envy, they continuously devise how to further their wicked works. As found in the story of Daniel, they may even bring political powers into their nefarious plots, and back their conspiracies with draconian laws and decrees (Dan.6:1-10).

Laws are supposed to be instrument of order and peaceful existence. But this is not the case with evil laws, which are drafted to oppress poor and the innocent (Psalms 94:20-21). Evil laws are dark products of evil conspiracies, and they are deceptive, onerous and opposed to liberty and peace. Above all, evil laws constitute a wedge between man and God’s covenant provisions. I pray that God shall arise in fury against every throne of iniquity that stands against our lives, our communities and nations in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Vital Spiritual Dimensions 

Now, there are vital spiritual dimensions to all of these. Evil conspiracies as described above share a striking similarity with many contemporary occult practices that hide to afflict and plunder destinies. 

These may find no offense in you other than their discovery that God has begun to help you, or that your star is beginning to shine, or even simply that you are enjoying peace. In their diabolical operations, these Satanic agents oftentimes conspire to project evil on their victims. Of a truth, this world lies in wickedness, but our God shall continue to turn their counsels backward in your favour, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

This battle is spiritual in nature, and containment is its high goal (John 10:10; 2 Cor.10:3-4). In Ephesians 6:10-12, we are commanded to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, putting on the whole armour of God. This clearly indicates that the conflict of life is not a ‘banger’ fight. It is a battle between saints and rebel spirits who are opposed to God and His plans for humanity. We must, therefore, be actively engaged in this battle to see breakthrough in our lives, as failure in spiritual conflict will leave anyone on the sad wings of destiny on earth.

The Divine Pronouncement In Your Favour

It gives such a big relief to know that God already pronounced woe on anyone that decrees an unrighteous decree (Is.10:1). This divine judgment - ‘woe’ - defines the sure destiny of wicked, which is still very valid and effectual till today. 

In the redemption pacts, from Colossians 2:13-15, we are shown that all negative decrees against our lives and destinies – past, present and future – are already abrogated by the death of Christ on the cross. That is the ‘legal’ side of the issue, but it is our duty as candidates for total triumph to work out the ‘vital’ details of this through persistent prayers and militant faith, taking our stand for God and His kingdom.

At the end of Daniel’s story (just as with Joseph and Isaac before him), we found that the evil decrees failed, and he laughed at last! However, please keep in mind that before the triumph and the attendant lifting of Daniel, he never let down in his devotion (Dan.6:10) — and we must do the same if we will enjoy similar victory.

Moreover, in his readiness to stand for God, he despised fear, even the fear of death (Dan.6:16). Furthermore, Daniel recognized the existence of the laws of God, and he judged every ordinance of the land in the context of these higher laws (Matt.24:35; Col.2:14). Again, we must emulate these for our stories to end like those of Daniel, Joseph and Isaac.

Conclusion

Triumph is the sweet end of every conflict. However, your understanding must increase before you can access the joy of triumphant living. No man ever got to his defined place in destiny through ignorance. You just must know your onions, and live by the examples set forth in the scriptures. If you are to reach your destination as you travel on the slippery paths of life, you must walk the way Jesus walked. Friends and brethren, you shall not fail in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Bishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987