The promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies is the focus of goal number 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also broached “access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

Strong institutions are necessary to respond effectively to the needs and concerns of nationals and are better placed to hold those in authority accountable.

The former President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, while addressing the Ghanaian Parliament during a courtesy visit to Ghana in 2009, remarked as follows: “No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves, or police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 per cent off the top, or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy; that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end. Africa doesn’t need strong men; it needs strong institutions.”

And what did Obama mean by Africa needing strong institutions, rather than strong men? The wisdom of these words is that strong institutions will help deliver democratic dividends in a consistent and just manner.

Obama, having African roots, knows Africa and Africans. In Africa, a leader is like an emperor who straddles over where he is boss. A local government chairperson sees the area as his farm and a Nigerian president has Pharaonic powers courtesy of the constitution.

No one among their staff can tell them what is right. Those staffers fear being discarded and not seen as ‘loyal’ for daring to be candid. They are well aware of what they will lose if that happens. And the emperors, having drunk from the chalice of absolute power, which absolutely corrupts, do not want in their circle those who do not say see him as infallible.

And this is one reason there is rampant corruption everywhere. Anybody at the helm of any ministry, department, or agency is lord of the manor there and does everything according to their whims and caprices.

However, countries with weak institutions that buckle under the leadership of men rarely succeed because of the absence of state institutions that can establish and enforce rules. And because, in the absence of such, you have strong men at the helm, seldom do they subject themselves to the rule of law as the leadership tends to personify the institution. Ego runs the institutions.

There are ways to get it right as a nation. First, our leaders need to rethink their idea of leadership. A leader is to be there to serve and not to lord it over others; to give hope and uplift, not to render hopeless and cast down the people into penury. A leader must be someone ready to lead for the sake of God.

Then there must be justice. I will never tire of hammering it to all who care to listen that Usman Dan Fodiyo, who said “The death of a thousand good men is not as tragic as having an unfit man in a position of national leadership,” wrote in his book, Bayan Wujub al-Hijrah alal ibad, that “A kingdom (nation) can endure with unbelief, but it cannot endure with injustice.”

To get justice, we must strengthen our legal and judicial systems. We need to reform our laws; and improve the capacity and independence of our judges and lawyers. This will earn the system more respect and bring back the people’s trust which is being steadily eroded.

And where the courts have adjudicated, we must respect that judgement. This is important for institutions saddled with safeguarding our democracy.

This brings me to the face-off if it can be termed that, between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

“The Supreme Court, in a judgement on October 14, 2021, affirmed Edozie Njoku as the national chairman of the party, upholding the decision of an appellate court that recognised him as such.

However, INEC and its chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, have not accepted the judgement of the apex court as it keeps hobnobbing with the faction of the party not recognised by the courts of competent jurisdiction.

If a state institution like INEC, or any other for that matter, refuses to obey court orders, what will become of the nation?

We have had instances in which the government and its institutions showed disdain for court judgements. The resultant effect of such is that the citizens become less law-abiding and less respectful of law enforcers, as well as less fearful of punishment for breaking the law.

The danger is that such escalate in proportion that the justice system and punitive facilities get overwhelmed. The rule of law is trampled upon if those running institutions have their way, and this leads to a bleak future.

To show how strong institutions and the legal system are elsewhere, read this:

On July 3, 2019, a federal appeals court denied President Donald Trump’s border attempt to construct a wall between the United States and Mexico using funds unauthorised by Congress.

The ruling upheld two earlier district court orders that together permanently blocked the administration from building wall sections along the southern border in New Mexico, Arizona and California, using $2.5 billion in diverted military funds.

The lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC), challenged the president’s abuse of emergency powers to secure border wall funds Congress denied.

And that was how it stood, with the president and all institutions concerned with that matter obeying the two lower courts’ orders, until 31 July 2020, when in a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court allowed the construction to continue.

Can we have such a scenario in Nigeria?

Some people run lucrative six-figure side hustles from their backyards. Others, off their cellphones.
Launching one of your own can be pretty simple if you know where to start. That’s according to Kathy Kristof, whose blog has reviewed more than 500 different side gigs, and Cody Berman, who co-runs an online course called Gold City Ventures that teaches people how to start online businesses.
Both experts say you can start a side hustle and determine if it’ll be successful in three straightforward steps:
1. Figure out what you can monetize: Any side hustle starts with one question, says Kristof: How can you monetize “interests and skills [and] resources” you already have? Once you’ve decided which side hustle could make sense, figure out your probable time commitments.
2. Decide if you need a platform: Think about how much of your business you want to do alone, Kristof says. Building an audience from scratch is doable, and likely your most profitable option. It can also be challenging and time-intensive, which is why plenty of people choose to outsource some of that work. Dog-walking app Rover, for instance, is free to join and connects you to customers who are already looking for your services, but keeps a 20% cut of each dog walk. 
3. Give it a try: The most important part of starting a side hustle is getting going, says Berman. “I have so many friends who have been talking about starting a side hustle for two years, and they’re still in the planning phase,” he says. “You have to create that first product, even if it sucks. ... Go out and test it.”

Berman adds that, ultimately, "it comes down to the side hustler. I think you can be successful with more side hustles than you think ... I honestly think people [who succeed] don’t give up.”

CNBC

Amnesty International Nigeria (AIN), Kukah Center, Yiaga Africa, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP) are among 48 groups which think insecurity is spiralling out of control in Nigeria.

They lamented that the nation is grinding to a halt as a result of banditry, kidnapping and other forms of criminality.

In a report under the auspices of Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria under the auspices of the Civil Society Joint Action Group, Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities and Nigeria Mourns, unveiled last week (Monday, January 29) and titled ‘End Mass Atrocities, Secure Nigeria and Ensure Accountability for Victims’, the groups called “on the Nigerian government to take actionable steps to end the endemic insecurity, mitigate further attacks by kidnap syndicates and terrorist groups, and, account for persons missing in these attacks”.

They gave the breakdown of Nigerians killed or abducted by criminal elements in the eight months of the Tinubu administration (243 days as of January 26) as 2,423 and 1,872 respectively. The report shows that June 2023 was the deadliest month as 507 deaths were recorded, followed by December 2023 when 446 were killed.

In July 2023, 320 died, 275 in August, 232 in September, 224 in November, 215 in October and 171 in January 2024. Between May 29 and May 31, the first two days of the Tinubu administration, a total of 33 persons, according to the report, were killed. The full report:

“The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government” (Section 14(2) (b) CFRN 1999 (as amended).

Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria under the auspices of the Civil Society Joint Action Group, Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities, and, Nigeria Mourns, are deeply concerned by the deteriorating state of security across Nigeria and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and therefore call on the Nigerian government to take actionable steps to end the endemic insecurity, mitigate further attacks by kidnap syndicates and terrorist groups, and, account persons missing in these attacks.

Over the past decade and a half, insecurity in Nigeria has spiraled due to a variety of violent phenomena, including but not limited to terrorist activities in the entire northern region of the country, terror pillages otherwise known as ‘banditry’ in the North-West, farmer-herder violence in the Middle Belt including the Benue Valley, secessionist struggles in the South-East, piracy in the southern coast of the country, inter-communal attacks, political violence, cult-gang violence and kidnapping. These forms of insecurity have jeopardized the security and wellbeing of Nigerians, and have progressively deteriorated over the years.

Endemic insecurity has persisted over the last three administrations, including that of President Buhari, who, as a former military general, had gained public trust to run as president by promising to curb the then fledgling insecurity. Mass atrocities fatality tracking across the country by Nigeria Mourns reveals that in President Buhari’s second term alone (2019 to 2023), at least 24,816 Nigerians lost their lives, and at least 15,597 persons were abducted. This alarming trend has continued in spite of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assurance at the beginning of his presidency in May 2023 to tackle insecurity. It has now been 8 months since

President Tinubu took his oath of office and yet, things have failed to improve. Our tracking shows at least 2,423 people have been killed in mass atrocities-related incidents and at least 1,872 persons were abducted since the beginning of President Tinubu’s administration till January 26, 2024. We are particularly concerned about the upsurge in abductions, noting that at least 230 incidents, in most of which multiple victims were involved, occurred within the first 2 weeks of January 2024 alone.

Under siege

Several communities across the country, including the Federal Capital Territory, the seat of government itself, are under siege, with entire families and in some cases, communities taken hostage. Residents are being forced to flee due to repeated attacks by terrorists, kidnappers and other organized criminal groups. Kidnapping for ransom demands has become a disturbing norm, without appropriate response from the authorities.

For instance, this week, 30 villagers were abducted in an attack on Tashar Nagule village of Batsari local government area of Katsina State. This comes on the heels of the abduction of 23 people in Kawu community in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory on 11 January. Similarly, 50 people, including 36 women were abducted in an attack on Magizawa community in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara state. Over 400 people were killed in repeated attacks on communities in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State including the gruesome massacre of over 200 people in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi communities in Mangu Local Government on the eve of Christmas in 2023.

Ambushes

Road ambushes have made interstate travel more perilous. Reported incidents such as the abduction of 30 passengers near Katari along the Kaduna-Abuja highway and the kidnapping of 45 passengers in Orokam on the Benue-Enugu route underscore the gravity of the situation.

Even homes are no longer safe. Homes in rural communities in Northern Nigeria have for over a decade contended with terror pillages; and more recently, urban centers including the Federal Capital Territory have witnessed a surge in invasions in which citizens are being abducted for ransom even within the confines of their homes.

Crowdfunding

Failed, by law enforcement, families are resorting to publicly crowdfund to pay ransoms without interference from the government. The reticence of government to this trend is acquiescence to the payment of ransoms. We note that the same government was quick to freeze the bank accounts of donors and recipients of funding for #EndSARS, but fails to take concrete action to protect citizens against organized crime. We are equally dismayed by the willingness of some political leaders and politically exposed persons to publicly support ransom payments; and question their values and alliances. Their actions and utterances reflect lack of faith in the system of which they are guardians, and their nonchalant attitude towards the potential consequences, including directly funding future attacks. We consider that their stance emboldens perpetrators and further erodes the trust of citizens in their government’s capacity and sincerity.

Obtaining an education has become a risky venture for learners, teachers, and parents due to school abductions. Businesses are also suffering from the effects of this state of affairs.

Farming communities are losing their resilience against perennial pillages, and traders can no longer ply roads safely. Foreigners no longer feel safe to visit and invest, and far too many resources that could have been invested in businesses are being paid out as ransoms and fortifying private security.

Grinding to a halt

In case the government has failed to notice, the entire nation is slowly grinding to a halt due to insecurity.
We are concerned that the current administration has continued the legacy of failing to decisively deal with the atrocious onslaughts against citizens within the nation’s borders, and that Nigerians who are being further impoverished by the escalating insecurity, now perpetually live in fear of being attacked, abducted or killed.

The government has continued to fail in its primary duty of ensuring the security and welfare of all citizens as mandated in Section 14(2) (b) of the Constitution, and in its obligation to enforce and fulfill its citizens’ right to life, according to Section 33 of the Constitution.

State of emergency

We hereby call upon President Bola Tinubu as the lead agent of government to urgently:

• Fulfill its constitutional imperative of safeguarding the lives of all citizens
• Declare a state of emergency on kidnapping and other forms of terrorism
• Enhance the country’s security infrastructure by conducting an audit of the responsibility matrix within security agencies and departments of government, bolster their capabilities and deployment of technology to effectively address the evolving challenges of insecurity
• Promptly prosecute the 400 sponsors of terrorism arrested under the Buhari regime
• Uncover and prosecute those responsible for the misappropriation of the $460 million earmarked for the provision of CCTV cameras in the Federal Capital Territory
• Implement more decisive measures to promptly secure the release of all abducted victims
• Create a register of victims of abductions and other forms of mass atrocities
• Recognize and address the floundering economy, corruption and human rights violations as exacerbating factors of Nigeria’s insecurity
• Engage citizens on best practices for ending insecurity, including disincentivizing the payment of ransoms.
• Provide holistic psychosocial support for abduction survivors and their families;
• Promptly investigate and decisively prosecute all individuals implicated in fueling insecurity;
• Investigate the financial flow of organized criminal groups and identify the sponsors and beneficiaries.

Prayers

Our thoughts and prayers are with victims and the families who have to continually deal with the trauma of losing their loved ones to insecurity. We also stand in solidarity with those families who vigilantly await the return of their abducted loved ones.

We call on the government to fulfill its primary duty of protecting lives, as mandated by Section 14 (2) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to guarantee its continued legitimacy.

As a coalition of organized civil society groups across Nigeria and as individual organizations, we pledge to continue to amplify the voices of citizens and demand accountability of the government on your behalf. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Signed:

• African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD)
• African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)
• African Initiative for Peacebuilding, Advocacy and Advancement (AfriPeace)
• Almajiri Child Rights Initiative (ACRI)
• Alliances for Africa
• Amnesty International Nigeria (AIN)
• Borno Coalition for Democracy and Progress (BOCODEP)
• BudgIT
• Cedar Seed Foundation
• Centre for Community Excellence, Zamfara (CENCEX)
• Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)
• Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER)
• Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
• Clean Technology Hub
• Cleen Foundation
• Community Outreach for Development and Welfare Advocacy (CODWA)
• Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA)
• CSO Accountability and Transparency Initiative (CATi)
• Enough Is Enough (EiE)
• Global Rights
• International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria
• Keen and Care Initiative (KCI)
• MILID Foundation
• Neighbourhood Environment Watch Foundation
• Network of Women with Disabilities and Disabled People in Leadership Initiative
• Nextier SPD
• Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO)
• NULAI Nigeria
• OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative (OAI)
• Organization for Community Civic Engagement (OCCEN)
• Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN)
• Partnership for Justice
• Praxis Centre
• Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED)
• Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC)
• Sesor Empowerment Foundation
• Social Action, Nigeria
• Socio Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP)
• Srarina Initiative for Peace, Justice and Development
• Stephanie Peacebuilding and Development Foundation (SPADEV)
• TAF AFRICA
• Tap Initiative
• TechHer
• The Benue We Deserve Foundation (BenDeF)
• The Kukah Centre
• We The People
  47.Women Advocate Research & Documentation Centre (WARDC)
• Yiaga Africa
• In the following pages, security experts provide advisory on how Nigerians can avoid being kidnapped and way out of insecurity in Nigeria.

Vanguard

At least four police officers were killed in Nigeria's northeast Borno state after a gun battle with suspected Islamist insurgents, a police spokesperson said on Saturday.

Borno has been the heartland of an insurgency by Boko Haram and splinter outfit Islamist State West Africa Province (ISWAP) for more than a decade in the northeast, where they continue to carry out deadly attacks against civilian and security targets.

Borno state police spokesperson Nahum Daso Kenneth said the militants had on Friday night attacked Gajiram town in the Nganzai local government area, some 82 kilometres (51 miles) from Maiduguri, the state capital.

"Our men engaged them in a gun battle (and) they denied the terrorists access to the town, and repelled the attack. Unfortunately, four policemen have paid a supreme price," Kenneth said, adding that calm had returned to the town.

ISWAP fighters are known to operate in Nganzai, where they carry out sporadic attacks against security forces and residents.

Nigeria is grappling with widespread insecurity, including armed bandits who kidnap for ransom in the northwest, deadly farmer-herder clashes in the central belt and separatist and gang violence in the southeast.

Reuters

National Hajj Commission of Of Nigeria (NAHCON) has fixed N4.9m as fare for the 2024 Hajj exercise. 

The commission had earlier fixed N4.5m as the deposit for the year even as many intending pilgrims were unable to pay the deposits.

In a statement on Saturday, Fatima Sanda Usara, Assistant Director, Public Affairs, NAHCON disclosed that intending pilgrims from Southern states were required to pay N4,899,000 as Hajj fare; those from the Northern states will pay N4,699,000, for the Hajj and pilgrims from Yola and Maiduguri center will pay a fee of N4,679,000 for the 2024 Hajj.

The commission blamed the increase on the high foreign exchange rate, a major crisis confronting Nigeria’s economy.

Also the commission has given intending pilgrims till February 12th to enable it transfer the money to the service providers before the February 29th deadline.

Pilgrims paid slightly above N3m in the previous year’s Hajj.

The statement read in full:

“It would be recalled that the Chairman of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Jalal Ahmad Arabi had initially aimed to maintain the 2024 Hajj fare at N4.5 million that was charged as initial deposit.

“The prospects had remained high until the well-known Naira crash that occurred mid-week. Regrettably, the recent instability in the Dollar exchange rate compelled a necessary adjustment despite commendable efforts by NAHCON Chairman, Arabi to maintain cost of the year’s Hajj at the said rate.

“Arabi had actively negotiated substantial discounts with service providers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in late January, striving to alleviate costs for intending pilgrims.

“However, the volatile currency situation within the week necessitated the Commission to take a drastic decision to consolidate the gains achieved in lowering the cost of services for the Hajj, without which the price of 2024 Muslim pilgrimage might have shot to about N6,000,000 (six million Naira).

“Consequently, intending pilgrims from Nigeria’s Southern center are required to pay N4,899,000 as Hajj fare; those from the Northern center will pay N4,699,000, for the Hajj and pilgrims from Yola and Maiduguri center will pay a fee of N4,679,000 for the 2024 Hajj.

“While expressing his regret, Arabi stated that this is the will of Allah, because the Commission, facing a tight deadline of 25th February, has limited time to explore further options to remain within the range of N4.5million which he assiduously worked for. Consequently, NAHCON announces the feasible cost of Hajj to meet the impending remittance deadline.

“Intending pilgrims are therefore advised to balance their Hajj fare by Monday 12th of February accordingly to enable the Commission transfer the funds before the imminent deadline.

“NAHCON assures the public of its commitment to ensuring a smooth and successful Hajj pilgrimage for all participants despite the challenges posed by foreign exchange factors. The Commission appreciates the understanding and cooperation of the Nigerian Muslim community during these times.”

Daily Trust

Israel issues its most detailed warning yet to Hezbollah, while the war in Gaza marks 4 months

Israel’s military on Saturday issued its most detailed warning yet to Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon that it would be “ready to attack immediately” if provoked, as it recounted its actions along the northern border during four months of war in Gaza and made a rare acknowledgement of dozens of airstrikes inside Syria against the militant group.

“We do not choose war as our first priority, but we are certainly prepared,” military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, adding: “We will continue to act wherever Hezbollah is present, we will continue to act wherever it is required in the Middle East. What is true for Lebanon is true for Syria, and is true for other more distant places.”

The comments followed the defense minister’s warning that a cease-fire in Gaza against the militant group Hamas wouldn’t mean Israel wouldn’t attack Hezbollah as needed.

Efforts to close wide gaps between Israel and Hamas in pursuit of a cease-fire continued in the region where concerns about a wider war with Iran-allied groups remain. A top Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said they were studying the proposal put forward by the U.S., Egypt, Qatar and Israel but insist on Israel accepting conditions including a permanent cease-fire.

The war in Hamas-run Gaza has leveled vast swaths of the tiny besieged enclave, displaced 85% of its population and pushed a quarter of residents to starvation. The Health Ministry in Gaza said Saturday that 107 people were killed over the past 24 hours, bringing the wartime total to 27,238. More than 66,000 people have been wounded.

In Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah, at least 17 people including women and children were killed in two separate airstrikes overnight, according to the registration office at Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital where the bodies were taken.

The first strike hit a residential building east of Rafah, killing at least 13 people from a single family. Four women and three children were among the dead, hospital officials said.

“Two children are still under the rubble, and we don’t, still we don’t know anything about them,” relative Ahmad Hijazi said. The second strike hit a house in Rafah’s Jeneina area, killing at least two men and two women.

More than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has taken refuge in Rafah and surrounding areas.

Israel’s defense minister warned earlier in the week that Israel might expand combat to Rafah after focusing on Khan Younis, southern Gaza’s largest city. While the statement alarmed aid officials and international diplomats, Israel would risk significantly disrupting relationships with the United States and neighboring Egypt if it sends troops into Rafah, a key entry point for aid.

In Khan Younis, where Israel’s military said operations would continue for several days, the Palestinian Red Crescent said at least 11 people were injured when Israel’s military fired smoke bombs at displaced people sheltering at its headquarters.

It followed a siege that Israel’s military has laid on the Red Crescent’s facilities for 12 days, the group said, adding that it had documented the killing of 43 people, including three staff members, inside the buildings by Israeli fire during that time.

Israel’s military didn’t address the charity’s allegations of firing on the buildings, the killings or the blocking of access, and asserted that the Al-Amal Hospital facilities had adequate fuel and electricity.

Israel says it is determined to crush Hamas and prevent it from returning to power in Gaza, an enclave it has ruled since 2007, in response to its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

Hamas still holds dozens of the roughly 250 hostages taken in the attack, after more than 100 were released during a one-week truce in November. Those releases were in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Thousands of people gathered again in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening for anti-government protests to express growing frustration at how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration have handled the war.

“If we need to stop the war now and call for a cease-fire in order to bring those people back home to their families, and start to rebuild them and take care of them, that’s the most important thing for us to do,” said one protester, Karen Levy.

In a sign of Hamas’ resilience despite Israel’s deadly air and ground campaign in the past four months, four residents and a senior official in the militant group said it has begun to resurface in areas where Israel withdrew the bulk of its forces a month ago, deploying police officers and making salary payments to some of its civil servants in Gaza City.

Four Gaza City residents told The Associated Press that in recent days, police officers deployed near police headquarters and other government offices, including near Shifa Hospital, the territory’s largest. The residents said they saw subsequent Israeli airstrikes near the makeshift offices.

The return of police marks an attempt to reinstate order in the devastated city, a Hamas official told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The official said the group’s leaders had given directions to reestablish order in parts of the north where Israeli forces had withdrawn, including by helping prevent the looting of shops and houses abandoned by residents who heeded Israeli evacuation orders and headed to southern Gaza.

Since seizing control of Gaza nearly 17 years ago, Hamas has operated a government bureaucracy with tens of thousands of civil servants, including teachers and police who operate separately from the group’s secretive military wing.

Israeli military leaders had said they had broken up the command structure of Hamas battalions in the north, but that individual fighters were continuing to carry out guerrilla-style attacks. Israel claims to have killed more than 9,000 Hamas fighters.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine hits Russia's Volgograd oil refinery in latest drone attack, source says

Two Ukrainian attack drones struck the largest oil refinery in southern Russia on Saturday, a source in Kyiv told Reuters, detailing the latest in a series of long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities.

Local authorities in Russia said earlier that a fire had been extinguished at the Volgograd refinery following a drone attack. Oil producer Lukoil, which owns the refinery, later said the plant was working as normal.

The Kyiv source said the operation by the SBU security service struck the primary processing facility, without which the refinery could lose significant production capacity.

Ukrainian officials seldom take responsibility publicly for deep strike attacks on Russian territory.

The Volgograd refinery is the latest in a series of facilities to be targeted by drones. Kyiv sees such infrastructure as important for the Kremlin's war effort.

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The source told Reuters such drone attacks would continue.

"By hitting oil refineries working for the Russian military-industrial complex, we not only cut off the logistics of fuel supplies for enemy equipment, but also reduce funds into the Russian budget," the source said.

The distance between the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv near the Russian border and the southern Russian city of Volgograd is more than 600km.

Russia has been conducting regular long-range missile strikes on targets in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, prompting Kyiv to scramble for ways to close the gap on Moscow's more advanced military technology.

Ukraine has sought to spur innovation in drone technology and to support the production of long-range drones to allow it to strike back.

** Russia says 15 killed in Ukraine attack on bakery in occupied east

Russia's emergencies ministry said its workers had retrieved the bodies of 20 people from the rubble following a Ukrainian attack on a building housing a bakery in the city of Lysychansk in the occupied eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk on Saturday.

The ministry shared video of emergency workers lifting two bloodied people onto stretchers and carrying them in the darkness out of the ruins of a building.

The ministry said previously that its workers rescued 10 people and handed them to doctors.

From the design and color of the building and a sign matching file imagery of the area, Reuters was able to confirm the location of a separate, daytime video the emergencies ministry shared. It matches a location on Google maps identified as Adriatic Restaurant on Moskovska Street, Lysychansk.

However Reuters was unable to independently verify the date of the footage filmed, nor of any other details of the report coming out of an area Russia said it annexed in 2022.

Ukrainian officials have not made any statement on the incident.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said "dozens of civilians" were in the building at the time of the attack and that Western weapons were used.

The Russian-controlled Luhansk Information Centre said Ukraine shelled the bakery using the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

Russia's state-run TASS news agency quoted a Russian-installed official in operational services as saying the average age of the victims was "35 years, plus or minus five years."

"There are no children among the dead at the moment, but the removal of rubble is still ongoing," it quoted the official as saying.

Earlier, Leonid Pasechnik, put in charge of Ukraine's Luhansk region by Moscow, said dozens of people may be under the rubble.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian forces lose up to 1,825 servicemen, six tanks in Krasny Liman area

Russia’s battlegroup Center has occupied more advantageous positions in the Krasny Liman area, repelling 19 Ukrainian attacks and wiping out up to 1,825 enemy servicemen over the week, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"In the Krasny Liman area, Russia’s battlegroup Center took more advantageous positions and repelled 19 enemy attacks. It hit the manpower and equipment of the 60th and 63rd mechanized brigades, the 12th special purpose brigade and the 13th Ukrainian National Guard brigade near Kirovsk, Yampolovka in the Donetsk People's Republic, Chervonaya Dibrova, Kuzmino in the Lugansk People's Republic, as well as the Serebryansky forestry," the ministry said, adding that the enemy lost up to 1,825 servicemen, six tanks, 13 armored combat vehicles, 36 vehicles and six field artillery guns.

Also, twenty-six Ukrainian troops have surrendered over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

In addition, the Russian Armed Forces launched 37 group strikes with precision weapons and drones on Ukraine’s decision-making centers and military-industrial complex, as well as arsenals and military airfield infrastructure over the past week, the Defense Ministry said.

"Between January 27 and February 3, the Russian Armed Forces carried out 37 group strikes with precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles against the decision-making centers, facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine’s armed forces, as well as military airfield infrastructure, arsenals and fuel bases. In addition, deployment sites of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ units, nationalist formations and foreign mercenaries were hit. All designated targets were hit," the Defense Ministry said.

Kupyansk area

The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ losses exceeded 750 troops in the Kupyansk area over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"The enemy suffered losses in more than 750 service members, a tank, nine armored combat vehicles, 21 vehicles, as well as eight field artillery guns," the ministry said.

The Russian Armed Forces have pressed ahead with getting their positions better along the frontline in certain sections of the Kupyansk area over the past week, as they have liberated Tabayevka and repelled 41 Ukrainian attacks, the Defense Ministry said.

"In the Kupyansk area, units of Battlegroup West liberated Tabayevka in the Kharkov Region and carried on improving their positions along the frontline in certain sections. Over the past week, Russian troops repelled 41 attacks by assault groups of the 30th, 32nd, 44th, and 60th mechanized brigades, the 57th motorized infantry brigade, the 25th airborne and 95th airborne assault brigades as well as the 103rd territorial defense brigade near Sinkovka and Tabayevka in the Kharkov region, Novoselovskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

Donetsk area

Russia’s battlegroup South repelled 22 Ukrainian attacks in the Donetsk area over the week and improved its positions along the front line, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"In the Donetsk area, Russia’s battlegroup South improved its position on the front line and repelled 22 enemy attacks," the statement said.

The Ukrainian armed forces have suffered losses in more than 2,245 troops, five tanks and 19 armored combat vehicles in the Donetsk area over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"During this period, the Ukrainian armed forces’ losses amounted to over 2,245 service members, five tanks, 19 armored fighting vehicles, 63 vehicles, 28 field artillery pieces and two combat vehicles of the Grad MLRS," the ministry said.

In addition, it was reported that air strikes, artillery fire and the fire with heavy flamethrower systems had inflicted losses on the Ukrainian armed forces and National Guard near Verkhnekamenskoye, Artyomovskoye, Krasnoye, Kleshcheyevka, Kurdyumovka, Andreyevka, Belogorovka, Pereyezdnoye and Georgiyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

South Donetsk area

The Russian Armed Forces’ battlegroup Vostok (East) had repelled nine attacks of the Ukrainian army in the South Donetsk area over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"In South Donetsk area, units of the Vostok Group of Forces repelled nine Ukrainian army’s attacks by cohesive actions," the ministry said.

The weekly losses of the Ukrainian armed forces in the South Donetsk area amounted to up to 735 military personnel and two tanks, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"The Ukrainian armed forces’ losses amounted up to 735 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, six armored fighting vehicles, 17 vehicles, 12 field artillery pieces, and two Grad MLRS combat vehicles," the statement said.

It was also reported that units of Ukraine’s 58th and 72nd mechanized brigades, the 79th air assault brigade, as well as the 127th and 128th territorial defense brigades suffered losses near Novomikhailovka, Konstantinovka, Ugledar, Staromayorskoye, Makarovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, and near Priuytnoye in the Zaporozhye Region.

Zaporozhye area

The Ukrainian armed forces have suffered losses of over 385 military personnel in the Zaporozhye area over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"In the Zaporozhye area, Russian troops repelled an attack by an assault detachment of Ukraine’s 108th territorial defense brigade near Lugovskoye and inflicted losses on Ukrainian armed forces’ manpower and hardware near Rabotino, Nesteryanka, Pyatikhatky, Kamenskoye, Malaya Tokmachka and Orekhov in the Zaporozhye Region," the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the enemy suffered losses in more than 385 troops, one tank, nine armored fighting vehicles, 19 vehicles, 15 field artillery pieces and one Grad MLRS combat vehicle.

Kherson area

Ukraine’s armed forces have suffered losses of up to 290 military personnel and four tanks in the Kherson area over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"In the Kherson area, as a result of Russian forces’ pre-emptive strikes supported by aircraft and artillery, losses were inflicted on manpower and hardware of the 35th, 36th and 38th marine brigades, the 121st, 123rd and 124th territorial defense brigades near Nikolayevka, Tyaginka, Ivanovka, Tokarevka, Antonovka and Yantarnoye in the Kherson Region," the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the enemy suffered losses in up to 290 Ukrainian troops, either killed and wounded, four tanks, two armored fighting vehicles, 26 vehicles, 11 motorboats, and 12 field artillery pieces.

Air Force and air defenses

Russian aircraft and air defenses have brought down 20 air-launched guided missiles, 53 MLRS rockets and 423 drones of the Ukrainian armed forces over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"The Air Force and air defense units intercepted 20 air-launched guided missiles, including four HARM anti-radiation missiles, one JDAM air-to-surface guided bomb, 53 projectiles fired from the HIMARS, Uragan, and Olkha MLRS, as well as 423 unmanned aerial vehicles," the statement said.

Tally of destroyed equipment

It was reported that since the launch of the special military operation, 568 airplanes, 265 helicopters, 11,678 unmanned aerial vehicles, 462 air defense missile systems, 14,893 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,215 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 7,952 field artillery pieces and mortars, as well as 18,179 units of special military equipment have been destroyed.

Reuters/Tass

The porcupine is a large rodent that is clothed with a thick coat of sharp quills, spines. The spines protect it from rampaging predators. When it feels threatened, the porcupine shoots the arrows of its spines at its assailants. These deadly quills pierce the intending attacker, allowing the animal to escape harm. So, in their confidence about the mystical powers at the beck and call of their kings, Yoruba say that when hunters talk about pursuing, capturing and gripping an animal to death with bare hands, that animal can never be a porcupine. Most likely premising their conviction on history and ancient practices, the people liken their traditional rulers to the porcupine and believe that the monarchy approximates its gallantry.

In the same way, wherever they expect gallantry and bravery but find cowardice and effeminacy, Yoruba respond with a feeling of disgust. One of their responses is captured in a saying that goes thus, “A Save Our Soul shout of ‘help! Help!’ is a belittling cry that should never be heard from the mouth of an elderly; a hunter must never be found lamenting his pursuit by an animal.” In Yorubaland, age and hunting expeditions go hand in hand with bravery. So, they say, when you attain adulthood but are bereft of the paraphernalia of your age, you are as vulnerable, open to attacks and insults as a toddler. This, they express as “b’a o ni nkan agba, bi ewe laa ri.”  

In Ekiti State last week, ferocious hunters laying siege to their own kind of games pounced on their hapless porcupine victims, regardless of its perceived sharp quills and spines. They consequently roasted the animal for supper. As a clear marker of resurgence of kidnapping in the southwest of Nigeria, on Monday last week, a group of daredevil gunmen ambushed and killed two traditional rulers – the Onimojo of Imojo, Olatunde Olusola and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti, Babatunde Ogunsakin. The third king, the Alara of Ara Ekiti, Adebayo Fatoba, narrowly escaped with his life. He had been ambushed alongside the deceased monarchs. When the rodent – pardon me, the Alara – found an opening from the ferocious attacks of the kidnappers, he ran like a common grass-cutter fleeing a bloodthirsty trap. Providence had helped him escape.

Try to draw a mental imagery of that scene. You will have a sketched picture of Kabiyesi doing a Tobi Amusan in a 100 meter dash. His agbada flung hither thither, those unroyal apparels dancing a spirited Kiss Daniel Buga track on his body, Kabiyesi was probably reciting verses of the Psalm, The Lord is my Shepherd, as he sped towards the embrace of the forest, his ears fluffing like a hare’s ears. Just imagine how the insignia of his monarchy, the beaded crown, must have spun off his head in sissy surrender as Kabiyesi sprinted towards an escape route. 

The dramatic scene was followed, a few days after, by the killing of a retired senior military officer, the Olukoro of Ikoro, in Kwara State, Aremu-Cole. He was shot dead last Thursday night by assailants. They had invaded his palace and whisked away his wife and two others.

Scholarly articles have tried to articulate why Yoruba revere their monarchs and probably why those monarchs have today lost those regards and respect. Reverences for royalties are centuries old. Not only were monarchs likened to deputies of the gods, mystical and spiritual prowess were attributed to them. It was believed that no matter how genteel and meek you may be, pre-ascent into the stool of your forefathers, the moment you enter the monarchical coven called Ipebi for spiritual invigoration, you transcended the ordinariness of a mortal. Even if the Kabiyesi is as “jogolob” – brief in stature – as the soup of the Tapa, apologies to Ilorin musician, Odolaye Aremu, he is immediately invested with the prowess of a giant. God bless his soul, those days when I entered the ancient Oyo palace to confer with Iku Baba Yeye, Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi, a sudden fearfulness clambered up me, irrespective of our father-son relationship. If Adeyemi then chose to meet you in that section of the palace that brimmed with age and power, you tended to hear ghosts and principalities whispering some unknown conversations in a spiritual tete-a-tete with a God-knows-who. When Kabiyesi eventually appeared in his “jogolo” stature, you did not see Lamidi. His face almost like the clone of a lion’s, you saw the dominance of the stature of his imperial powers.

The powers of kings were so venerated that their subjects feared them. That is why it was counseled that, you may maintain closeness with an Oba Alaye – the king who owns this world – but if that affinity spans seven meters length, in another breath, be far away from him by six meters breadth – Sun m’Oba niwon egbeje, jinna s’Oba niwon egbefa. This is because whoever is close to the king gets his anger.

So much hoopla that spans centuries has been made about the rituals of Yoruba kingship. Obas were seen as representatives of their people’s religion. Those religions have pantheon of deities and ancient cults. The Obas were representatives of Sango, Obatala, Orunmila and other gods. They must propitiate at the Sanponna (god of small pox) shrines and were de-facto priests of Oro cult. Myths were woven round Yoruba kingship so as to concretize and underscore their true answering to the cognomen of second in command to the gods. One of these myths is that kings do not eat in the public and, second, they do not see corpses. In Oyo for instance, you must remove your shoes before entering the palace. These myths all help to carve out the king as, though sharing perishable human body with mortal man, but is miles apart from the errant association with the flesh. Today, kings drink beer in public glare and eat like gluttons.

The ease with which Obas “open calabash” – commit what is called honorific suicide – in traditional Yoruba society also added verve to their perception as men of honour. In old Oyo kingdom, according to Samuel Johnson, Obas were forced to open calabash whenever they were perceived as having sunk into ignominy. The Oyomesi (chiefs) could reject a ruling Alaafin if he was seen to be tyrannical, wicked, or is embroiled in political intrigues or power struggles that unsettled the kingdom. The Basorun (head of the chiefs) communicated the rejection to him by presenting the Alaafin with an empty calabash. In some other cases, the calabash is stuffed with parrot eggs, followed by the pronouncements, "the gods reject you, the earth rejects you, the people reject you.”

In Olufunke Adeboye’s "Iku Ya J’esin": Politically Motivated Suicide, Social Honor, and Chieftaincy Politics in Early Colonial Ibadan, (Canadian Journal of African Studies, 2007, Vol. 41, No. 2 (2007), pp. 189-225) we are told that politically motivated suicide was a common occurrence too in early colonial Ibadan. Furthermore, we get to know that the practice of political suicide, unlike the general perception, was not a twentieth-century development. It had its antecedents in 20th-century Ibadan politics. This was a politics marked by military “intrigues, machinations, and intense competition for public office and social advancement.” According to the author, between the space of a decade, three principal chiefs committed suicide in Ibadanland. They were Baale Dada Opadere (1907), Baale Irefin (1915), and Balogun Ola (1917). These suicides were committed because the Baales tottered on the brink of ignominy. Even in their deaths, such monarchs were still revered.

All these venerations and reverence have today died natural deaths. At what point did Yoruba kings lose their savour? Some scholars said this began as a result of continuous inter-tribal wars, as well as the spread of Islam in the nineteenth century. These myths were finally forcefully destroyed by the advent of colonial administration and Christianity in the late 19th and early twentieth centuries. Stripped of all their myths and powers, Obas who were rarely seen, appearing to their people only on a few ceremonial occasions, began to assert themselves and could no longer hide themselves within their palaces. Human rituals that they did without any blowback now attracted murder charges in colonial courts. One of such cases was that of Samuel Adeniran Asusumasa, Atewogboye 11, the 43rd Alaaye of Efon Alaaye in present day Ekiti State. He was sentenced to death in 1949 for the killing, on January 10 of same year, of a 15-month old girl named Adediwura. British judge, Justice NS Pollad, consequently sentenced him and his accomplices to death by hanging.

Perhaps the greatest lifter of the veil of veneration and myths surrounding the stool of Yoruba kings was modernity itself. All attempts to civilize a traditional institution like the Yoruba kingship peeled off its coats of pride, respect and myths. Alakowe (educated) Obas who attempted to throw away all the traditional appurtenances of their ancient monarchies were responsible for this. In their modern appearances, conducts and co-mingling with their subjects, Obas of post-colonial Nigeria showed that they were not any different from anyone else. Today, revered Kabiyesis even go to private parties in private homes and dance to disco music.

The greatest blow to traditional rulership came from the method of their selection today. For fees, we are told that those who crown them bypass sacred rituals necessary before for their ascension to the stool. Christianity and Islam also play pivotal roles in destroying that ancient practice. One of such practices used to be that intending Obas ate the hearts of their deceased predecessors.

In an interview in 2018, Araba Awo of Osogbo and prominent Ifa High Priest, Ifayemi Elebuibon, underscored the danger in neglecting traditional ritual processes in kings’ coronations: “(It) is the most important aspect of coronation”, he said. “Any Oba who did not allow such rites to be performed for him is not different from an ordinary citizen. Such person is not an Oba in the real sense of it. The rituals of coronation are what make them superior to the ordinary people in the town. They must go into seclusion, learn so many things, communicate with their ancestors and they will be taught so many things. Even the crown is sacred; it is not an ordinary cap. These rituals are very important and they differ from town to town… But it is important for anyone who wants to ascend the throne to go through them. He should communicate with his ancestors; the owners of the land. His safety is attached to these rites; his life is protected by Olodumare (Supreme creator), who ordained it. These rituals are what make an Oba to become a real Oba; otherwise, he is no more than an ordinary citizen. After the rituals, the Oba himself will know that he is no longer an ordinary human being but someone that has been transformed.”

Syncretism is the reason for the collapse of Yoruba Obaship today. The infiltration of traditional institution by those who worship foreign gods has fouled up Yoruba monarchy. Obas want to worship Allah more than the Arabs, worship Jesus more than the west and consign the worship of their forefathers into the dustbin. The other day, one Oba, at The Redeemed Christian Church of God service, introduced himself as “Oba, Assistant Pastor” whatever. Don’t they say that the “ogberi” (non-initiates) should never dive into the river or else the flow will drown them? If you cannot stand the ancestral worship of traditional kingship, why don’t you stick to the pulpit and allow those who can, do it? The greed in coveting the majesty, clout and powers of traditional stools has ensured the infiltration of foreign god adherents. They lobby to become kings but today, they have almost totally discredited and destroyed the aura and verve of that stool.

The truth is that Yoruba have an ancient monarchical system of centuries old whose practices needed to be sustained for the good of the land. In the early 1970s when cholera hit Egbaland, leading to intermittent deaths, aside medical helps administered to stem the tide, Oba Oyebade Lipede, the Alake, caused rituals, the kind administered by his forefathers, to be made in all the four corners of Egbaland and the scourge abated immediately. When Obas die, there are rites administered on them. In the Araba’s voice, “The rites are very important. Yoruba have a way of burying their Obas and even ordinary people. These rituals they perform are not usually for the dead Obas, they are for the safety of the family and the next … so that there won’t be deaths in quick succession. They are done so that the successors of the late monarch won’t be dying prematurely, one after the one.”

Yoruba were thus scandalized when, in 2018, one of the oldest Yoruba Obas, Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, asked that monarchs in Ijebuland should be buried according to their religious beliefs. The state legislature also abetted this boldfaced traditional deceit by passing it into law. The legislative assent given to this huge sacrilege was a stab in the back of a tradition and institution that brought Obas unto the stool. If you wanted to be buried as a Christian or Moslem, don’t veer into traditional stool. It is one of the causal factors of the worthlessness of traditional stools today. I remember taking up Oba Adeyemi on this before his departure and he was furious with the Awujale. “The Oyomesi know what to do with my body when I die,” he replied me.

Alien predators and destroyers are today stalking Yorubaland like a pestilence. They pluck ripe and unripe fruits of the land; they murder kings and abduct the people, killing us for their sports. The kings are helpless, and wailing. The kings have no idea of what to do because most of them are usurpers who ascended the throne due to warped political influences. They have no knowledge nor ideas of who their people are, their past and history. What did their forefathers do when devilish immigrants – atohunrinwa – inflicted similar pains on them decades ago? These ones have no single clue because they are disconnected from their roots and their forefathers.

Those kings killed like ordinary rodents in Ekiti and Kwara states are like many other Yoruba kings who climbed to the stools of elders but have no wherewithal of elders. A king is no king if he has no mystical powers, both to protect himself and his people from assailants. Such kings are not porcupines which has inbuilt weaponry to attack its assailants but ordinary hapless rodents. They lack gallantry and bravery that Obaship requires. They may be old in age and occupying the stools of elders, they are bereft of the paraphernalia of the position they occupy. It is why they are vulnerable and open to attacks, with their assailants harvesting them like game for supper.

Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous ~ Psalms 112:4.

Introduction

It is especially crucial that the believers understand the subject of supernatural light, and become skillful in diffusing it, very copiously, in this dark world.

See, the deepest cry of destiny in the heart of humanity has always been for the glory of God. And, inadvertently, the truest sum of all our passionate prayers over the ages is for its full manifestation. Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, “I beseech thee, shew me thy glory” (Exodus 33:18).

Nevertheless, the enemy incessantly attempts to rubbish this glory in the lives of men; even the “upright ones” are not exempted from his assault. They’re occasionally found in uncomfortable conditions: in the darkness of affliction, disillusioned and without spiritual joy.

However, whenever they engage the power of light, the activities of the “enemies” are summarily neutralized, and suddenly they receive deliverance to enjoy God’s immense goodness again.

For the avoidance of doubt, these “enemies” include whosoever instigates or rejoices over the afflictions of God’s people, whether devils or evil men. But, our enemies can never have lasting joy because the stumbling of the godly and triumph of the ungodly are always momentary (Micah 7:8).

Albeit, it’s quite compelling that we become exact in the holy art of radiating the glory of God, trading daily in His light. Whenever we radiate the glorious light of God, our enemies pine away in shame (Psalm 112:10).

The Power of Divine Light

Demonic activities are like invisible obstacles that stand in the way of progress. They must be invaded, circumvented, ripped through or burnt away before the fulfillment of destiny can manifest. Albeit, the shadows of stagnation can only be terminated by the light of God’s grace and glory.

The light of God is so strong, intense and penetrating in any realm to the extent that it can cut through any barrier, just like it did when the finger of God engraved the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone.

The glorious light of God eliminates darkness. It illuminates and reveals. It also terminates obscurity. Hence, with divine illumination, calamities are suddenly succeeded by supernatural prosperity.

Again, this light gives direction, emits energy, radiates glory, and provokes luxuriant growth and development. Thus, it always excites the atmosphere, making it conducive for joyful celebrations.

The divine light is capable of destroying even the gates of hell, and no barrier can stand against him who walks in it. Nevertheless, we must cooperate with God, managing our priorities well enough to disallow satanic barriers on our walkways.

It is not sufficient just to have light; we must consistently walk in its luminance. Our entire life’s conduct should demonstrate that we’re the children of light, and our character should be a constant exemplification of its power and truth.

Jesus: Our Shinning Light in this Dark World

Jesus Christ is the Original Light (John 1:1-5; John 8:12). He came that we might no longer walk in darkness (John 12:46). When we walk with Him, darkness cannot stall us. He is the vital Mediator between God and man (1Timothy 2:5).

Moses was in the atmosphere of God’s presence on Mount Sinai, and he requested to see God’s face (Exodus 33:18-20). But, God responded, "Thou canst not see my face … and live”. This is because the raw light of God is most insufferable, and so consuming to behold (Deuteronomy 9:3; Hebrews 12:29).

Happily, He tempered this light in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). Therefore, it is only through Jesus that humanity can ever access and truly enjoy God’s light, glory and power today.

Diffusing the Gospel Light for a Better World

Darkness is not just the opposite of light; in reality, it is the absence of light, creating a dense evil atmosphere, breeding diseases, arresting development and occasioning death.

Happily, it is God’s primordial passion to completely illuminate the world with the light of His glory, just as the waters cover the sea (Numbers 14:21; Habakkuk 2:14). Amazingly, God equally chose us as His designated instruments for this heavenly task.

As we walk in the light of Christ, we become His light to illuminate the minds of men, just as He uses the sun to light up the planet earth (1Peter 2:9).

We must shine for others to see, and go forth to eliminate the dark spaces of satanic operations on earth (Matthew 5:14-16; 2 Peter 1:19).

I honestly believe it was in this context that the Lord gave us the following injunctions: “I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47). See also Ephesians 5:8.

Men and brethren, it is time to diffuse the light of the gospel round about us. Darkness does not have the audacity to prevent your light from shining, unless you allow it!

Evil is like a dark shadow. It has no real substance of its own; it’s simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to stamp on it, or even by raining hot curses upon it. If the shadow must disappear, you must shine light on it.

Meanwhile, the revelation of God’s Word is the most formidable secret of light in the realm of the spirit. When we speak God’s Word, the atmosphere changes, and the enemies are defeated. With one Word from God, darkness flees and those in bondages are set free.

Always remember: man is empowered to enjoy the light of God’s glory and all the goodness it brings only by the Spirit of God, when he has turned to the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:7-18). Once there is the holy glow of the Spirit in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.

Friends, walking with Jesus Christ is walking in victory. Welcome Him into your soul, and let’s together beam His light round the globe.

Never again must you allow any silly snag to hinder you from this honorable vocation. Never again must you permit any barrier of the senses to shut you out of this gracious discourse of destiny.

“Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light”  (Isaiah 60:20). You won’t miss it, 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

Everything about God and His kingdom is counterintuitive. God warns us about this in the scriptures. But we are so tied to this world that we often overlook it.

He says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Therefore, Solomon counsels that we should not lean on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5). Instead of striving with the scriptures and ignoring those we find inconvenient, Peter says we must realise that: “No prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1L20-21).

Accordingly, Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, says it is a foolish man who does not believe and internalise what the prophets of God have written in the scriptures. (Luke 24:25).

Suffering for the gospel

One of those things we have difficulty believing is suffering. Why does a good God, a loving Father, not just allow, but insist that His children must suffer? Why is suffering written into the fabric of the gospel? Why is the suffering of Jesus on our behalf not enough? Why must we also go into the crucible?

Jesus Himself provides the answer. He says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). This means our lives must be patterned after His. The way Jesus takes is the path of life. Whatever He prescribes is the truth of God.

So, if Jesus suffered, we must also suffer. If He carried His cross, we too must carry ours. In every way, we must follow His example.

Jesus does not leave this to conjure. He tells us expressly: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24).

So, Peter says: “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.” (1 Peter 2:21).

Persecuting the righteous

Since the world hated Christ and persecuted Him, even so, the world will hate us if we belong to Jesus. (John 15:18-19). The devil, the prince of this world (John 12:31), will ensure that: “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12).

“The Holy Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.” (Romans 8:16-17).

No matter what our deceiving pastors insist on telling us by preaching the false gospel of prosperity, the counsel of God is contrarian: “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22). Therefore, the psalmist insists: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” (Psalm 34:119).

But what about the wicked?

Job says: “The wicked prosper, growing old and powerful? They live to see their children grow up and settle down, and they enjoy their grandchildren. Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them. Their bulls never fail to breed. Their cows bear calves and never miscarry. They let their children frisk about like lambs. Their little ones skip and dance. They sing with tambourine and harp. They celebrate to the sound of the flute. They spend their days in prosperity, then go down to the grave in peace.” (Job 21:7-13).

Overcoming the world

There are so many reasons why believers must suffer for the gospel and the glory of God. However, I will only address one here.

When Jesus met two of His disciples on the way to Emmaus, grieving His crucifixion, He asked them: “Wasn’t it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering His time of glory?” (Luke 24:26).

The truth is that God requires suffering to promote the gospel. Suffering validates the superiority of the kingdom of God over the satanic kingdoms of this world. Indeed, we preach the gospel powerfully by suffering for Christ with disregard for our pains and troubles.

This, again, is counterintuitive. The carnal mind presumes that the best way to promote the gospel is by the prosperity of the righteous in the world. The prosperity of believers, then, would commend the gospel to unbelievers, and also encourage believers.

But the carnal mind is enmity against God. (Romans 8:7). The carnal mind simply seeks what is pleasurable, as opposed to what is godly.

Devices of the devil

The devil uses the riches of this world to deceive us into sin. He uses them to entice us away from God. Thus, the devil took Jesus up a high mountain and offered Him all the kingdoms of the world if He would worship him and not God. (Matthew 4:8).

Since Jesus refused, he persecuted Jesus. He had Him tried, crucified, and buried. But Jesus overcame him because God raised Jesus from the dead, never to die again.

Believers must also overcome sin and death, just as Jesus did. Since we are still in the world of the devil, we will suffer persecution but must disregard this knowing it will amount to nothing in the end because of Jesus.

Thus, Jesus gives us forewarning: “In the world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).

He then promises those who follow His shining example: “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21).

Validating the gospel

Accordingly, the suffering of believers promotes the gospel by validating it. It shows that: “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans 8:38-39).

So, John heard a loud voice in heaven proclaiming the triumph of Jesus and the saints of God over the devil and his world:

“Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” (Revelation 12:10-11).

Our triumph over suffering in the world makes us: “More than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37). When we suffer unjustly and bear it, the agents of Satan defeat us. But then God, in His manifold wisdom, brings amazing victory out of our seeming defeats repeatedly.

Since we do not give in or give up because of our confidence in the love and faithfulness of God, God is glorified in our endurance, and He works all things together for our good. (Romans 8:28).

“God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display His wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 3:10). CONTINUED.

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