It all began as a roadside rumour before blasting its way to the front pages of Nigerian newspapers, and the talking points of the electronic media. Now it has become a news item discussed with torment and trepidation by many Nigerians still struggling to cope with the political dysfunctionalities, socio-economic problems, and numerous anxieties of present Nigerian life.

The ‘subject of discourse’ is the coup d’etat in Niger, our neighbour to the north, and the present plan by ECOWAS, under your leadership, to force the restoration of democratic governance in that beleaguered country. What has got many Nigerians talking – and wondering – is the inclusion of military action in the cocktail of options under consideration by the ECOWAS leaders. And this is also the cause of my worry and grave apprehension. Military force to reverse the occurrence of rule by force in West Africa, with you, President Bola Tinubu, the current ECOWAS president,  as leader of the pack? I am both astonished and alarmed that a group of people, least of all, leaders of the West African region would contemplate the viability of military intervention as the solution to the present problem in Niger.

Dear President Tinubu, did you and your colleagues think long and deep before including this option? Did you contemplate the hazards of the action and the possible catastrophe of the consequence? Given the historical, geographical, cultural, and economic proximity between Nigeria and Niger (a Siamese closeness inherent even in the very nomenclature), how can you do this without devastating collateral damage to Nigeria, especially its northern flanks? In a region where national borders only exist on a misbegotten colonial  map, how will your ECOWAS bullet select its casualties without including Nigerians, the people you have sworn to serve and protect? Will the present human traffic and trade routes between the two countries still continue after the ‘war’? What about the possibility of a multiple-front war, considering the solidarity already announced by a ‘league’ of other countries in the region, such as Mali and Chad and Burkina Faso? To how many fronts will the ECOWAS forces train their guns?

For the avoidance of doubt, let no one take my position in this brief intervention as toleration or condonement of military coups and their barbarous assault on human freedom. As a Nigerian victim of about half a dozen coups d’etat in a single lifetime, I know first-hand how brutal soldier-despots are, and how drastically they deplete our very humanity. This is why I believe military juntas have no place in a civilised polity. This is why I also believe and affirm that genuine democracy is the sure antidote to military misrule – a democracy engendered and sustained by respect for human dignity, human and environmental rights, rule of law, liberty, unvarnished  integrity of the electoral  process, holistic equity, and the right to life that is full, free, and abundant. These virtues are the true and efficacious coup-killers. Not military-contra-military interventions and their thoughtless prosecutions and ceaseless carnage.

So, Mr President, go back to the drawing board – you and your ECOWAS colleagues. Think hard. Think well. Think up whatever measures could be devised to restore genuine, lasting democracy by getting the military dictators back to their barracks. Probe the cause, course, and symptoms of the present resurgence of military coups in West Africa. Find a cure for this pandemic. More important, find a cure for the plague of political and socio-economic injustices responsible for the inevitability of its recurrence. Remember the present brutish anarchy in Libya and the countless repercussions of the destabilisation of that once blooming country for the West African region.

Military action in Niger may only end up complicating the Nigerien fiasco. Remember: a little fire often spirals into an uncontrollable blaze. You may know the beginning of a war; but you can never foretell how it will end. A powerful man may start a war, but it takes a hero to devise a dignifying way of avoiding it.

Right now, the Nigerian people have more than enough to worry about, with so much hunger in the land and so many Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) from all manner of bandit attacks. We cannot afford to add war refuges to these crowds. You have promised to reduce the people’s burden. Avoid taking any action that will only add to it.

Domestic security is the inevitable foundation for foreign campaigns. Let your charity begin at home, though  we know it must never end there.

Your Concerned Compatriot,

Niyi Osundare.

One of Africa’s foremost poets and academics, Niyi Osundareis Emeritus Distinguished Professor of English, University of New Orleans. 

Yoruba have a way with the Sigidi, whose closest modern translation is the robot. So when the Sigidi – a moulded clay effigy – at the height of its self-destruct, asks that it be taken to the river to swim, Yoruba say a catastrophe is in the offing. They render this as, Sigidi nse’re ete, o ni ki won gbe’hun l’odo lo we. Just as the modern robot is credited with the power to take some human actions, the Sigidi too, in the belief of the Yoruba, could. It was one of the insignias of operation of the babalawo. It is puttied all over by clay that is easily dissoluble in water. So, for the Sigidi to ask to be taken to go swim is an invitation to destruction.

Those days when African military generals prepared to embark on war expeditions, they began to manifest queer, supra-human and impenetrable behavior. They recoiled from the world and its realities, wore frightening, fearsome visages and immersed themselves in huge pots of metaphysical liquid preparations Yoruba called agbo ogun. Natives then sang songs to scintillate their bloodthirsty bellicosity. One of such was a song meant to nourish the warmongering inclination in them, rendered as, O npa’le ogun mo, Edumare ma je o t’enu mi jade…

Today marks the expiry of President Bola Tinubu’s ultimatum to the coup plotters of Niger Republic. Against the run of play, when Tinubu, last Friday, wrote the Nigerian Senate seeking its support for military intervention against the junta in Niger Republic, his sabre-rattling bore similar features with those of 17th, 18th and 19th century warlords. Like the Ekitiparapo war which was fought from 1877 to 1893, most wars are triggered by, most times, mundane issues which are however a burst of deep-seated resentments and animosities. This war was regarded as one of the greatest of all wars among the Yoruba, in fact its bloodiest and the most unforgettable in history. It was a war renowned for its varied nomenclatures.

In its rendering as Kiriji War, that appellation was got from the onomatopoeic vibrations of Kirijiji! Kirijiji!! Kirijiji!!! which accompanied the booms of cannons and modern artillery munitions of the said war. When it is rendered as the Ekitiparapo War, it is in reference to the alliance of Ekiti-speaking Yoruba who gathered their ljesa, Igbomina, Egba, ljebu, Ilorin and allied enemies of Ibadan to fight them. Ibadan had by then become so pompous and belligerently oppressive to other parts of Yoruba. As War to End all Wars, it was in reference to the war being the last major war in the 19th century in Yorubaland; and finally, when rendered as The Sixteen Years War, that war’s notoriety for having been prosecuted for 16 consecutive years non-stop is the reference.

While Tinubu’s lure for this war is, on the surface, to protect the ravishing beauty called democracy that may be raped to death in Nigeria’s neighbouring Niger Republic, the bait of the Ekiti Parapo War was Falola, the pretty and delectable wife of warlord, Prince Fabunmi Abe Adesoye of Igbo-Odo, a town later to be known as Oke-Mesi. Falola was a victim of the libidinous rascality of an Ajele (Resident) imposed on the town by Ibadan conquistadors. Tinubu, as Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and his allies are bent on rescuing democracy, the damsel that General Abdourahmane Tiani, leader of the putschists in Niger coveted. Niger’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, had been toppled due to what was referred to as an obscure personnel dispute within Niger’s presidential guard. On a market day in 1876, Oyepetun, the Ibadan Ajele stationed at Imesi-Igbodo, infamous for his avarice, wickedness and general impression that he was one of the most irreverent and badly behaved Residents (Ajele) sent by the Ibadan to Ekiti land, had seized Falola right there in the marketplace, in fact at the front of the Oba’s palace.

General Tiani had exhibited same audacious belligerency. Persuaded that this was an affront of the highest order and a final denouement to the continued desecration of Ekitiland by the Ibadan, Prince Fabunmi stormed the home of the Ajele and beheaded him, alongside all his band of invaders. Another account of what led to the war claimed that rather than Oyepetun sexually abusing Falola, Fabunmi's wife, Oyepetun’s men forcefully took food and palm wine from a woman who was friend to Fabunmi's wife, leading to a fight. In retaliation, Aare Latosa, without giving his proposed expedition a second thought, angrily sent one of his military commanders, Ajayi Ogboriefon, to Igbo-Odo with a single expedition – decapitate Fabunmi and bring his head to Ibadan in a white calabash.

Like Latosa who did not subject the likely scenario in Ekiti to rigorous examination and the probable negative effects of his pugnacious decree, Tinubu too, riled by the temerity of General Tiani, is seeking the Nigerien soldier’s head on a platter. Eventually however, not only did Latosa’s post-hate sabre-rattling become a huge calamity to befall Yorubaland, the Ekitiparapo war, which was one of the most belligerently prosecuted wars in Yorubaland, with variety of munitions, became a massive albatross to the people, hampering integrationist efforts among the people and becoming one of the ancient fault lines of divisiveness among the people. Its capital intensiveness hampered the people’s economy due to the then sophisticated armaments deployed for the prosecution of the war. For the first time, warriors witnessed the usage of costly breech-loading rifles and sophisticated weapons like Winchester, Martini Henri, Sniders, Mauser.

Apart from negatively impacting the socio-economic and political history of Yoruba nation of the 19th century, the war also inflicted huge human losses, leading to the death of hundreds of thousands of people. It also opened Yorubaland to the covert invasion of British colonial penetration. In the same vein, it inflicted significant and far-reaching consequences that led to the opening of the routes to the eventual loss of Ilorin to Alimi’s Fulani. Following from this is its encouragement of the eventual loss of other Yoruba kingdoms to aliens. Historians locate the unending atrocious relationship between the Ife and Modakeke to this peremptory order for the head of Fabunmi by Aare Latosa.

That fractious relationship was later responsible for the hundreds of deaths in the 2000s war between Ife and Modakeke. Modakeke, in the prosecution of the Ekitiparapo war, found themselves allies of Ibadan, deployed to fight the war while their Ife neighbours, fought alongside the Generals of Ekitiparapo. The war also led to Ibadan losing its erstwhile panjandrum role in Yorubaland as a result of this hasty decision by Latosa. Eventually, all Ibadan erstwhile dependencies were severed and granted autonomy by the colonial government who sneaked in on the pretext of seeking armistice. Eventually the Ibadan/Oyo forces that dared the Ekiti had to withdraw. Ogboriefon himself died in the thick of the war.

Last Friday, Tinubu sought the backing of the Nigerian parliament to fight war in Niger. It is alleged that some of the actions on which Tinubu sought senate approval had already been effectuated. For instance, the highly authoritative Wall Street Journal said that even before going to the parliament, he had ordered for Niger to be hit by total darkness. This was done by disconnecting the main transmission lines that provides 75% of Niger’s electricity from Nigeria, thus plunging the Nigerien presidential palace, towns and villages into blackouts. Even the deposed President Bazoum’s cell phone, said the journal, though still remained charged as at the time of the report, stood the risk of running out, leading to him being incommunicado. It is however gladsome that the senate refused this request to invade Niger by the Nigerian president.

The Ekitiparapo War was one of the wars that signified the ambivalent nature of wars. It perhaps was what led to the famous statement that it is only the beginning of a war that is known; no one knows its end. Like the American war against Afghanistan primed to last a few months but which eventually elasticized from 2001 to 2021, ending with the Taliban offensive overthrowing the Islamic Republic and establishing an Islamic Emirate, the Ekitiparapo war also frustrated all strategic permutations, just as the Afghan war did. That war became the longest in US’ military history, even lasting longer than the 20-year-old Vietnam War.

But why, like Aare Latosa, would Tinubu precipitate a war that he has no scientific binoculars to foresee where and when it was heading for? When Ibrahim Babangida, on August 24, 1990, began similar deployment of 3,000 West African troops into the Liberian capital, Monrovia, as part of the ECOWAS Peace Monitoring Group, (ECOMOG) he too never had an idea of the number of persons he would propitiate to the god of leadership ego that suddenly seized him, nor the billions of dollars of Nigeria’s patrimony that would be sunk into the expedition. Envisaging that ECOMOG operation in Liberia would last for just six months, it later lasted for seven years, even expanding its frontiers into neighbouring Sierra Leone.

Till today, the justification given for ECOWAS’ intervention in the Liberian war has been variously faulted and became largely controversial. Some claim that Babangida merely got Nigeria and other African countries to help fight a war to keep his friend, Samuel Doe of Liberia, in office. While the ECOWAS community hung on to Article 16, of the 1981 Defence Protocol, which said that “the Head of State of the member under attack may request action or assistance from the Community,” it was said that Doe never requested the intervention of ECOWAS but merely demanded Babangida’s help. There was also no consensus to intervene, especially from Francophone African states. Indeed, countries like Cote d`Ivoire and Guinea, which were sympathetic towards and even actively supporting the NPFL, were miffed at the ECOMOG intervention. Cote D’Ivoire had always been Nigeria’s regional rival. Thus, while Doe was Babangida, Nigeria President’s bosom friend, Nigeria was to pay heavily through Charles Taylor’s killing of about 1,000 of her nationals in Monrovia in 1990, a list that included journalists Kris Imodibe and Tayo Awotunsin. So, while Nigeria was sympathetic to Doe, Taylor received support from Cote d’Ivoire and Burkino Faso as well as from France and Libya.

As the Babangida friendship war in Liberia dragged on, the operation became progressively dangerous, costly and protracted. By the time ECOMOG pulled out of Liberia in October 1999, Western powers didn’t seem to be aware and stood away from this former American colony. At a reception held in Abuja on the arrival of the last Nigerian ECOMOG soldiers in 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo said that Nigeria had lost at least 500 of its soldiers, several hundreds were wounded and a staggering sum of US $8 billion was wasted to the peacekeeping operation in Liberia. Obasanjo had concluded, “We will never know the number of Nigerian civilians who lost their lives in the crisis in Liberia.”

From his friends and foes, questions are being asked on why Tinubu suddenly acquired this sudden bellicosity and the reason he is prepared to commit Nigeria to another needless prosecution of war. Could the decision be an outcome of a sudden pounce on him, like the self-revelatory spirit that triggered the removal of subsidy on the day of his inauguration? Explaining his off-the-cuff, unscheduled and unprepared-for severance of the subsidy, the president had said, “I got to the podium, I was possessed with courage, and I said, ‘subsidy is gone’”. Was it the same possessing spirit that is responsible for this ominous throwing of Nigeria into another round of war? 

Already, it is said that the military government in Niger had signed or is in the bid to sign an agreement with Russia’s Wagner PMC for the supply of Specialized defense services to repel Tinubu’s threat of military intervention. Wagner is said to have units in Libya, Mali, and Central African Republic and these military units will proceed to Niger, a republic with a population of 27,294,785, immediately with its 12,000-13,000 Wagner fighters. As diplomatic relationship stands now, Niger has reportedly severed ties with Nigeria and Togo. Rumours have it that Algeria and Egypt, reputed to possess the strongest military strength in Africa, as well as Guinea, Burkina Faso, Libya, Chad, and Mali, are ready to stand with Niger, making this war a perfect replica of the Ekitiparapo War and bonding of allies. 

So, why is Tinubu angling for a war? There is this claim that Tinubu, in the bid to seek the west to legitimize his rule, especially with the judgment of the Presidential Election Court (PEPC) that may “bring anarchy” to Nigeria, is ready to be the lickspittle of the west, anyhow. Indications are rife that the US and the European Union needed an African front to carry their can and Tinubu is a ready tool for this. A military action from ECOWAS may stop Niger’s gravitation towards Russia. Uranium-rich Niger, in 2022, was responsible for 25.38% of EU’s supply, after Kazakstan, which owns world’s largest ounce of uranium. With the Russian uranium export suffering due to sanctions, France and the EU, with huge dependence on nuclear energy, need the sustenance of Niger Republic’s uranium to keep afloat.

The danger for America, which has spent about $500 million to arm and equip Niger’s military, said the Wall Street Journal, is that it may unwittingly be allowing Russia to pick up some of its most treasured drone bases, which are used to fly missions across the Sahara between Libya and Nigeria. Niger had been the centerpiece of America and Europe’s fight against the contagious spread in Africa’s Sahel of Islamic State and al Qaeda, through a spool spin. This spin is “across 3,000-mile semi-arid territory on the southern shore of the Sahara that also includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad.” If Tinubu fights their war, sacrificing thousands of Nigerian soldiers in the process, EU and America would in turn rub his back by sustaining his life-long ambition to be Nigeria’s president. Don’t forget that the Tinubu government exhibited palpable fright when the EU cavalierly removed the legitimacy rug off his feet through the damning report it brought out on the election that ensured his presidency.

Unfortunately for Tinubu and his ECOWAS, the coup plotters of Niger have tremendous home support. Tinubu doesn’t have same at home on this war-baiting plan of his. Already, a group of northern senators in a release issued on Friday and signed by Suleiman Kawu Sumaila dissociated itself from Tinubu’s bellicose pursuit. While condemning the Niger coup, the group said it took exception to use of military force because “the consequences will be casualties among the innocent citizens who go about their daily business… (in) the seven northern states who share border with Niger Republic, namely Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno.” The group thus covertly urged its colleagues in parliament, “to observe due diligence in invoking section 5 sub section (4) (a) and (b) of 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended,” ostensibly by not giving go-ahead to Tinubu to prosecute the war.

As the senators said, geographically, seven Northern states share borders of 1,608 kilometers with Niger Republic. Shehu Sanni also recently reminded Tinubu that about 3,000 escapees from Boko Haram onslaughts are taking refuge in Nigerien refugee camps. If they could issue their own release too, the Nigerian Army, expected to prosecute the Tinubu war, would openly rebel against it. This is because a huge number of Nigerian military personnel, from headship to the recruits, are believed to share consanguinity with Niger, with their family members and relations based in Niger Republic. Indeed, many of our senators and House of Reps members are suspected to be citizens of Niger Republic. Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari never hid his consanguinity with Niger. Due to the porous borders and filial bonding between the two countries, a Nigerien boy who walks into, say Kano, schools therein and enters the civil service or the military, duds his actual citizenship and easily meshes into Nigeria.

For French-speaking Africa, the fight against France is a war of liberation. A respondent told the Wall Street Journal that “What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonizers.” Like Nigeria, Niger and other French-speaking African countries had been tied to the apron strings of their colonial masters. Unlike Nigeria, they have made up their minds to exit the servitude. Back here in Nigeria, the ground Tinubu is standing to declare this war is suffering a seismic shake.

The Tinubu declaration of war against Niger could be indicative of two, or even three, things about his presidency. One is that it could be yet another symptom of a peremptory, off-the-cuff, kick-and-follow governance that gives less consideration to the rigour of critical interrogation of issues. The Niger war declaration bears same hollow texture with the fuel subsidy removal. Second, the war may be Tinubu’s Sigidi signaling catastrophe for his government and for our dear country. Unless Tinubu beats a retreat and sticks to shuttle diplomacy with the Niger Republic junta, the war, which he has lost ab initio, even without firing a single bullet, will negatively define his administration. It is a calamity in the making. On a second thought, knowing the stuff that these Lagos politicians are made of, could the flaunt of bravado over Niger Republic, the request to the senate, the rejection and the protests in Niger Republic be a stage-managed choreography, part of the machinations of the Lagos boy to show the west that he tried his best, but his people rebelled against it? Curiouser and curiouser! 

For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end ~ Jeremiah 29:10-11.

Introduction

Of a truth, God is always present with us. Albeit, there are spectacular times of supernatural visitation when God formally stops over and spends time with His people purposely to grant them heightened manifestations of His love and power.

Divine visitation describes that sweet experience of supernatural appearance, which effectively culminates in our individual manifestations and accomplishments. It’s the unfailing answer to every form of trouble, frustration and cruel famine (Ruth 1:1-6). Certainly, God does not step into any situation unannounced!

Whenever God shows up, He terminates satanic activities in the lives of His people, especially in situations that have been long standing and have defied all human solutions. When He formally steps in, He provokes for us heaven-on-earth experiences.

When He paid Solomon a formal visit, Solomon became blessed with an unusual wisdom, a long-life of peace, and staggering wealth of an unprecedented magnitude (1 Kings 3:5-13).

Concisely, divine visitation always puts broad smiles on the faces of the visited. God’s visitation doesn’t leave any man on the spot where He meets him. As He visits you this season, may He leave behind in His wake testimonies of loud accomplishments in your life, in Jesus name.

God could visit you no matter the situation (Matthew 8:6). He could visit you no matter who failed in that case before now (Mark 9:17-27). He could even visit you no matter how late it appears. If you doubt this, please ask from Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha (John 11:1-44).

Indeed, when God steps into any situation, no matter how difficult it is, His glory turns it around, and His mighty wonders become inevitable. Even bitter tears are wiped away by the Dayspring from on high (Luke 7:11-16).

For the avoidance of ambiguity, I must emphasize that all “divine visitations” are supernatural events, but not all “supernatural visitations” are divine in origin. Therefore, for our lasting joy, peace and spiritual sanity, we must strictly, solely and wholly follow the Lord and the course of His visitation.

Two Kinds of Divine Visitation!

The path to fulfillment of destiny on earth is littered with desperate traitors and wicked predators. Albeit, our Father-God still wishes that we finish strong in the race of life, and accomplish our goals very graciously. Hence, He always chooses to visit us for good, in Christ Jesus.

Whenever God visits His people for good, He releases fresh glory upon them and brings them fitting miracles in order to preserve their dignity, restore their dominion and redeem their honour (Job 10:12; Luke 1:68).

He stepped into Egypt with signs and wonders and mighty acts, and He brought Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 3:16-17). He visited Abraham, and his wife, Sarah, gave birth to Isaac (Genesis 21:1-3)! When He visited Hannah, she conceived, and gave birth to three sons and two daughters (1 Samuel 2:21).

However, in the days of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, Moses spoke thus: “If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me” (Numbers 16:29). Very clearly, Moses was referring to two different kinds of visitation: the visitation for preservation, and the visitation for vengeance.

Understanding The Vengeance of God!

Whenever God visits His people for good, He simultaneously visits and handicaps their stubborn enemies with His vengeance (Hebrews 10:30). This is to ensure that His covenant children stay out of the reach of evil (Job 5:19).

The truth is, God doesn’t spare His enemies that reject His mercy. He doesn’t hesitate to pour out His vial of vengeance and wrath upon them, but, He readily avenges His covenant children to save them from troubles (Jeremiah 8:12; 10:15).

God’s vengeance is always swift as lightning and deadly sure, to vindicate His covenant people (Isaiah 26:13-14; 29:5-7). For instance, the rebellious three — Korah, Dathan, and Abiram — were  summarily buried alive with their entire households.

Now, the Lord’s “vengeance” must be understood in light of His full character, including His essence of justice. God would violate His own character if He overlooked wickedness, and didn’t bring it to justice: “They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish” (Jeremiah 10:15).

Yes, human beings always frown at the idea of God’s vengeance; even then, none that breaks the “hedge” can escape it, except by God’s grace and mercy (Deuteronomy 32:39-43). He’s the God of mercy, but mercy requires that there be justice. That’s the reason why Jesus Christ died to pay the price for our sins, to satisfy the demands of justice (John 3:16; Colossians 2:14; Romans 3:20-26).

Meanwhile, vengeance belongs to God alone (Deuteronomy 32:35). Thus, the Bible prohibits the believers, under any guise or circumstance, from taking personal revenge upon their enemies (Leviticus 19:18; Romans 12:19). Rather, the power to execute vengeance has been divinely delegated to human governments on earth.

In conclusion, please keep in mind that divine visitation is connected to a sense of divine timing, and it draws heavily on divine promises. But, it’s provoked through supplication. Hence, God said, “Put me in remembrance: let us plead together …. that thou mayest be justified” (Isaiah 43:26).

It is your declaration of God’s promises in prayers that justifies you for His visitation. And, whenever God shows up, Satan automatically bows out. Why? Light and darkness don’t cohabit. God always shows up in the glories of His Shekinah Light — His natural habitat — and darkness in all its shades naturally disappear at His appearance!

Friends and brethren, I see God showing up in your address this season. He will visit you with land-mark miracles. He will bless and settle you, and you will have many reasons to testify. You won’t miss this, in Jesus Name. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Bishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987

According to God’s kingdom dynamics, Moses can never enter the Promised Land. God says: “The older shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23). The law came first and is therefore the older. Grace came second and is therefore the younger. Therefore, grace must supersede the law.

Moses, the lawgiver, must give way to Joshua whose name is the shortened form of Jesus’ Hebrew name, Yehoshua, which means God saves. God’s providence must somehow trip up Moses, because the first, the law, cannot take anyone to God. Only the last, grace, can do so.

The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. No one can come to the Father through Moses.

The law of sin death came first through Moses. But this has been superseded by the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which came second. The law bring death, but the spirit brings life.

The flesh came first in natural man. But the spirit came second in the born-again man. Since God says: “the older shall serve the younger,” then the flesh must ultimately succumb to the spirit in the man who is born-again. He will finally totally relinquish the sinful part of his nature on his deathbed: “For he who has died has been freed from sin.” (Romans 6:7). 

Accordingly, Paul points out that: “The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

God’s firstborn

God says: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.” (Exodus 4:22). Therefore, Israel must become last. The Gentiles who were last must become first.

God’s firstborn must reject the gospel. Therefore, God sent Isaiah to Israel with a strange directive: “Go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely but learn nothing.’ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.” (Isaiah 6:9-10).

Thus, when Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth, He was rejected. “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” (John 1:11). “He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief.” (Mark 6:5-6).

Jesus said to His disciples when He sent them to preach the gospel: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6). 

Because the Jews are God’s firstborn, the gospel must be preached to them first. They would then reject it and became last. Thereafter, the gospel would be preached to the Gentiles, who would receive it. So doing, the Gentiles, who were last, would replace the Jews and become first. 

First became last

For this reason. Jesus points out that: “Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” (Luke 4:25-27). 

Therefore, he observed that: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” (Matthew 21:42-43). 

Last became first

Jesus was unimpressed with the faith of Jews. He said to them: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” (John 4:48).However, the Samaritans believed in Jesus without him having to perform any miracles whatsoever. (John 4:39-42). When He healed ten men of leprosy, the only one who came back to give thanks was a Samaritan. 

When Jesus found “great faith,” it was not among Jews but among the Gentiles. He said to a Canaanite woman who adamantly sought healing for her daughter despite Jesus’ feigned reluctance: “O woman, great is your faith!” (Matthew 15:28). He also commended the faith of a Roman centurion who recognised that He did not have to go physically to the sick to heal them but could decree healing from anywhere. 

The centurion said to Jesus: “Only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” (Matthew 8:8). Jesus replied: “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Matthew 8:10).

Following this pattern, Jesus only revealed himself as Messiah to two people in the scriptures, and they were both “outsiders.”  The one was a woman by Jacob’s well.  She was a Samaritan and, therefore. was last.  But by giving her a privileged revelation of Himself, Jesus made her first. (John 4:25-26). 

The other was a man he healed of blindness. Although that man was a Jew, Jesus only revealed Himself to him after he had been excommunicated from the synagogue. (John 9:35-38). This made him last, thereby positioning him for promotion in Christ. 

He became first through his commitment to Christ his healer, even in the face of religious persecution.

Grace in action

With Jesus, the worst sinners received the warmest welcome, while the most scrupulous law-abiders received the greatest castigation. (Matthew 23:13-36).

Jesus dined and consorted with sinners. He appointed a thief, Judas, as His treasurer. He invited another thief on the cross to be with Him in paradise. He called Matthew, a despised tax collector, to be one of His disciples. He befriended prostitutes and women of easy virtue, insisting they would enter the kingdom of God before the religious leaders. (Matthew 21:31).

This shows that in the kingdom of God, the way up is down. The only way the first in the world can be first in the kingdom is if the first in the world becomes last in the world. Then from last, it can become first in the kingdom. 

Going by these same kingdom dynamics, Christians who are now first will become last. Unbelievers, who are now last, will become first. God says prophetically: “It shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ there it shall be said to them, ‘you are sons of the living God.” (Hosea 1:10).

This is Jesus’ warning to entitled firsts: “Many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11-12).

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While some measures of physical fitness such as athletic ability and one's strength or stamina may be difficult to ascertain right away, others are more obvious. One's resting heart rate, for instance, is easy to check and says a lot about a person's wellbeing. "Your heart rate is one of the first signs that gives your doctor insight into your overall health," says Doris Chan, DO, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn. "It guides us in the right direction when, and if, further testing is necessary." 

Despite the importance of resting heart rates, some people don't understand what they mean or why they fluctuate. Knowing yours can be a helpful way to identify potential health problems and gauge how healthy your heart really is. 

What is a resting heart rate? 

One's resting heart rate, or pulse, is simply the number of times the heart beats per minute while in a rested state. It's a measurement that should be taken in the absence of a stressful or exciting event and at least an hour after exercise. The American Heart Association says its best to check one's resting heart rate first thing in the morning and while still in bed to get the most accurate reading. 

Elevated heart rates can be an indication of "stress, anxiety, dehydration, health conditions or physical excursion," says Barbara Olendzki, RD, MPH, LDN, associate professor of population & quantitative health sciences at UMass Chan Medical School, though she says "its normal to have a heart rate increase from exercise." 

Other conditions can affect one's blood volume and heart rate. For example, any loss of blood "will result in a loss of blood pressure and will cause the heart rate to increase for a time to compensate," explains Viet Le, PA-C, associate professor of preventive cardiology and physician associate at Intermountain Health. Caffeine consumption, illness, medications, and electrolyte abnormalities may also temporarily impact one's resting heart rate. 

What is a healthy resting heart rate?

A commonly accepted range for a healthy resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute, "though some argue that the resting heart rate lower limit be shifted down to 50 beats per minute," says Chan. That's because generally, the lower one's pulse is − to a point anyway, the more efficient their heart is thought to be working. Indeed, athletes frequently aim to get their heart rates down with some high endurance athletesstriving to reach a resting heart rate in the 40s.

Still, it's important to note that there are numerous exceptions to the 60-100 beats-per-minute rule and a "normal" pulse varies from person to person. As noted before, numerous external factors can temporarily affect one's resting heart rate, but some outside influences may affect one's heart rate for much longer. For example, an overactive thyroid, anemia, rare adrenal tumors, unhealthy organs, pregnancy, abnormal heart rhythms and one's age can affect resting heart rate for extended periods of time. "We expect a slightly higher heart rate in children," Le explains. Babies 12 to 24 months, for instance, "have a resting heart rate in the low 100s to mid 110s," he says, and teens commonly "have resting heart rates in the 60-90 range." 

How to check your heart rate

Checking one's heart rate is simple. Per the Mayo Clinic, simply place your index and third fingers on your neck, to the side of your windpipe, then count the number of beats from the first time you feel your pulse, continuing for 15 seconds. Multiply that number by four to calculate your beats per minute. To check your pulse at your wrist, place two fingers between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery, which is located on the thumb side of your wrist, then count the number of beats the same way.

What is an unsafe resting heart rate?

A resting heart rate below 60 is called bradycardia or slow heart rate, and one over 100 is called tachycardia, or fast heart rate. Staying too low or too high for extended periods of time without a known cause is worth looking into. "One should seek out professional attention if high heart rates are prolonged and persistent as it may cause symptoms of palpitations,skipped beats, shortness of breath, fainting or lightheadedness, excessive fatigue, or chest tightness or pressure," advises Le. 

A consultation can also help identify or rule out pre-existing conditions or other external factors that may be affecting one's pulse and lead to helpful recommendations for improving heart health. "It's important for you to learn your own body and how it responds," says Olendzki, "so ask your doctor what a healthy heart rate means for you." 

USA Today

President Bola Tinubu has written to the Senate seeking its support for military intervention against the military junta in the Niger Republic.

He also sought the backing of the legislature on the cutting off of electricity to the country.

Tinubu, Nigeria’s president and Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, had on Sunday met with some fellow ECOWAS leaders to discuss appropriate ways to restore democracy in Niger.

Leaders of the West African regional bloc met to discuss sanctions to be placed against the military personnel who toppled Bazoum on July 26, 2023.

The President’s letter read, “Political situation in Niger: Following the unfortunate political situation in Niger Republic culminating in the overthrow of its President, ECOWAS under my leadership condemned the coup in its entirety and resolved to seek the return of the democratically elected government. In a bid to restore peace, ECOWAS convened a meeting and came out with a communique.”

The president further sought support for, “Military buildup and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance of the military junta in Niger should they remain recalcitrant.

“Closure and monitoring of all land borders with the Niger Republic and reactivating of the border drilling exercise.

“Cutting off Electricity supply to Niger Republic, mobilising international support for the implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS communique.”

“Preventing the operation of commercial and special flights into and from Niger Republic; Blockade of goods in transit to Niger especially from Lagos and eastern seaports,” he added.

Tinubu also told the Senate that the country was embarking on sensitisation of Nigerians and Nigeriens on the imperative of these actions, particularly via social media.

Punch

Northern Senators Forum (NSF) has asked President Bola Tinubu to exhaust all diplomatic means in resolving the crisis in Niger Republic. 

Suleiman Kawu, spokesperson of the forum, who spoke in Abuja on Friday, warned that deploying Nigerian troops to Niger Republic will hurt seven northern states —Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno —sharing borders with the country.

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had given Niger a week from Sunday to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum or face harder sanctions.

The northern senators urged the president to be focused on political and diplomatic means to restore democratic government in Niger Republic

“The forum under the leadership of Abdul Ningi (PDP-Bauchi), has noted with concern and condemned in entirety the unfortunate development in Niger Republic, where the military forcefully upstaged a democratically elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum,” NAN quoted Kawu as saying.

“The northern senators also take cognisance of the efforts of the ECOWAS leaders under the chairmanship of our dear President Bola Tinubu, in resolving the situation in Niger Republic.

“The emphasis, however, is that we should be focused on political and diplomatic means to restore democratic government in Niger Republic.

“We also take exception to the use of the military force until other avenues as mentioned above are exhausted as the consequences will be casualties among the innocent citizens who go about their daily business.

“Besides, about seven northern states who share a border with the Niger Republic namely Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno will be negatively affected.

“We are also aware of the situation of Mali, Burkina Faso and Libya, which may affect the seven northern states if military force is used.

“As democrats and representatives of the people, we hereby urge our colleagues to observe due diligence in invoking section 5 sub-section (4) (a) and (b) of the constitution.”

The Cable

Northern leadership under the aegis of Arewa Consultative Forum, has warned President Bola Tinubu to avoid going into war with Niger military junta.

The group gave the admonition while calling for a dialogue to resolve the issue in a statement issued by its General Secretary, Murtala Aliyu, on Friday.

According to ACF, military deployment and intervention to phase out the coup plotters in the Niger Republic will not guarantee peace and stability in the ECOWAS sub-region.

The statement reads in part, “ACF, however, views with concern the unfolding events in Nigeria’s immediate neighbour, the Republic of Niger, and the potential impact on the region.

“The measures being contemplated should have taken into consideration the historical antecedents and mutual interests of the two countries and weighed the consequences of the use of military force.

“While the ACF recognises the ECOWAS position to bring pressure to bear on the perpetrators, nevertheless the military option shouldn’t be a prerequisite for Nigeria’s and the Community’s continuing efforts to enthrone democracy in the region in the 21st century.”

ACF noted that though military intervention might yield a temporary solution, the result will come with repercussions for Nigeria as a leader and the regional body.

“To this end, ACF notes that while it supports the position to restore democratic rule in Niger, it calls on the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government under the able Chairmanship of President Bola Tinubu, that it should toe the path of dialogue and diplomacy and certainly not force, in resolving the current impasse in Niger in the interest of peaceful coexistence with our brotherly neighbour and stability of the ECOWAS region,” it added.

Punch

Trucks filled with goods going into Nigeria are currently stranded at the Jibia side of the Nigeria-Niger Republic border.

This is coming after the federal government shut down all land borders with Niger Republic following the toppling of the Mohamed Bazoum-led government by soldiers.

A PREMIUM TIMES reporter who was at the border on Friday counted more than 30 trucks lined on both sides of the highway from the Niger Republic axis.

There were also trucks lined up on the road from the Nigerian side, hoping to be allowed into Niger Republic.

The acting comptroller general of customs, Bashir Adeniyi, said the vehicles would not be allowed into or out of the country for now.

“We’ve trucks coming from Nigeria that can’t go to the other side (Niger Republic). A good number of them are inside Katsina…if you can turn your cameras, you’ll see what we’ve also there (stranded trucks)…”

There were several drivers and assistants sitting under a tree a few steps away from where the trucks were parked.

“We’re in a dicey situation. I came here before the official closure of the border but before I could get clearance, they (border officials) said they received signal from Abuja to close all borders,” Hannafi Lawal, a stranded driver at the border, told our correspondent.

He said he had spent all his ‘feeding money’ as Friday was his fourth day at the border.

Another stranded driver, Ghali Bala, said he would appreciate if the two countries put an end to the issue.

“We are not part of their politics; we’re drivers struggling for what to eat. We have all our papers because this is our route. We’re not bringing illegal goods into the country. Why do we have to suffer because of some people?” Bala, who is from Zangon Daura in Katsina State, said.

He said he is in contact with his family through phone but would appreciate if he is allowed into Nigeria with his truck.

Musa Hashim, another stranded driver, echoed similar sentiments.

Sanctions

Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS) is sanctioning Niger Republic after the coup.

Rising from an emergency session in Abuja, ECOWAS ordered military leaders in Niger Republic to reinstall Bazoum or face military action.

The relationship between Niger and the ECOWAS is deteriorating by the day as the deadline for military action against the military junta ends in a few days.

PT

S&P Global Ratings on Friday revised its outlook on Nigeria to stable from negative, citing the government's recent reforms which the credit ratings agency believes could benefit the country's growth and fiscal outcomes if delivered.

The agency also affirmed its rating for Africa's largest economy at 'B-/B'.

Nigeria's new president, Bola Tinubu, has embarked on some fiscal reforms, which he hopes will kick-start growth and attract foreign investors into a country that has suffered chronic dollar shortages, making it difficult for companies to thrive.

"Nigeria's newly elected government has moved quickly to implement a series of fiscal and monetary reforms, which we believe will gradually benefit public finances and the balance of payments," the ratings agency said in a statement on Friday.

On Monday, Tinubu said Nigeria has saved over 1 trillion naira ($1.32 billion) in just over two months by scrapping a popular but costly subsidy on petrol and unifying the country's multiple exchange rates.

Tinubu's reforms have been welcomed by investors, but unions say the reforms have led to soaring costs when inflation has been in double-digits in Nigeria since 2016, eroding savings and incomes.

The World Bank has said it expects Nigeria could save up to 3.9 trillion naira this year alone from reforms but warned of growing short-term inflationary pressures.

S&P's sovereign analyst Frank Gill said last month that the ratings agency was closely watching Nigeria ahead of its review on Aug. 4 and added that recent reforms were positive signs.

In February, S&P had maintained Nigeria's credit rating at "B-/B" but changed its outlook to "negative". Rival Fitch affirmed the West-African country at 'B-' in May.

Reuters