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Sunday, 18 May 2025 04:25

Boko Haram kills 50 farmers in Borno

Boko Haram terrorists have killed at least 50 farmers in Malam Karanti village, Kukawa local government area of Borno State.

Daily Trust gathered that the incident happened after the rival Boko Haram fighters ambushed the farmers in the ISWAP controlled area, which is about 9 kilometre from Baga town, on Thursday.

Local sources who confirmed the attack said the farmers and some fishermen had enjoyed the protection of ISWAP commander in charge of the location in exchange for levy.

“They have papers of the commander in charge of Malam Karanti up to Dawashi. His name is Amir Akilu. They enjoyed his protection for months before the latest incident,” he said.

He said the terrorists took advantage of the commander’s absence to attack the farmers whom they accused of spying and siding with their enemies.

One of the survivors of said the terrorists surrounded them and threatened to shoot anybody who attempted to escape.

“In fact some of us had started harvesting beans when the assailants struck. They gathered us in one place and threatened to kill anyone who attempted to escape, but some of us chose to run rather than die miserably in their hands.

“They killed over 50 people; majority of them were slaughtered. They also abducted some. Today they were in Dawashi doing the same killing but there was no information on the number of people affected,” he said.

Neither security agencies nor the government has commented on the tragic incident.

This attack is coming barely five months after the terrorists massacred at least 40 farmers at Dumba community in the same Baga area.

Last month Borno's governor acknowledged that Boko Haram had renewed attacks and kidnappings in the state, reversing previous gains by security forces.

Daily Trust

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Sunday, 18 May 2025 04:24

Tola Adeniyi-led group commends Tinubu for Armed Forest Guards initiative

PRESS RELEASE

The Gravitas Group for Good Governance has given kudos to President Bola Tinubu for his radical and bold initiative to end banditry, kidnapping and all acts of domestic terrorism in the country.

The statement from a Government spokesman Sunday Dare announcing this development has received tremendous applause from across the country.

For several years, especially in the last one and half decades, Nigerian forests had provided hiding fortresses for all shades and categories of criminal elements who have been terrorising Nigerian citizens.

Paradoxically, most of these terrorists were imported into the country by the so-called leaders who swore to defend the populace.

In a Press statement jointly signed by the Convener of the Gravitas Group, Tola Adeniyi, and its General Secretary, Anthony Kila, the Group believes that Nigerians will now begin to trust and believe their leaders for living up to their basic responsibilities.

This initiative of armed Forest Guards is perhaps the most important policy the Tinubu administration has taken since its inception especially on matters very close to the peoples heart.

Nigerians in all regions of the country from the North, South, East and West of the have always believed that Insecurity is the greatest challenge confronting the country.

It is insecurity which drove our farmers out of their farms and investors and foreign companies out of the country.

Insecurity singularly strangled the country's food security and gave Nigeria its double digit inflation in foodstuffs prices.

Bandits and barefaced terrorists have sent many people early to their graves, many to Internally Displaced Camps while the tribes of widows and orphans have grown into frightening proportions.

Now that our forests are going to be actively policed and terrorists flushed out of their havens, Nigerians may begin to enjoy a new lease of life.

Gravitas Group hopes that Tinubu will treat Nigerians to more people-oriented public policies.

There will no longer be hiding places for the wicked and heartless.

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Sunday, 18 May 2025 04:12

Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 590

Hamas confirms new Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday

A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar's Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.

He said the two sides were discussing all issues without "pre-conditions".

Nono said Hamas was "keen to exert all the effort needed" to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was "no certain offer on the table".

The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek "operational control" in some areas of the war-torn enclave.

The return to negotiations also comes after U.S. President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza's growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.

Reuters

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Sunday, 18 May 2025 04:10

What to know after Day 1179 of Russia-Ukraine war

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Trump to speak to Russian, Ukrainian leaders on Monday after talks in Turkey

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would speak to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine on Monday following talks between the two sides at which a Ukrainian official said Moscow's negotiators voiced new demands before a ceasefire could be agreed.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies preparations were underway for a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump.

The talks in Turkey on Friday were the first time the sides had held face-to-face talks since March 2022, weeks after Russia's full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour.

A senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks said Russian negotiators demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire.

Trump, writing on Truth Social, said he would speak with Putin to discuss stopping the war at 10 a.m. Eastern (1400 GMT) on Monday.

"THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE 'BLOODBATH' THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE," he wrote.

He said he would speak afterward with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and various members of NATO.

"Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end."

Trump had offered to travel to Turkey for the talks while in the Gulf last week if Putin would also attend, but Putin sent a team of negotiators instead.

The president has been pressuring Putin and Zelenskiy to agree to a ceasefire in the more than three-year-old war.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the terms that Russia had put forward at Friday's meeting. The talks lasted only one hour and 40 minutes and yielded an agreement to trade 1,000 prisoners of war on each side. The two countries have not specified when that would happen.

Zelenskiy called on Saturday for stronger sanctions on Moscow after a Russian drone killed nine bus passengers in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine. "This was a deliberate killing of civilians," he said.

"Pressure must be exerted on Russia to stop the killings. Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy."

Russia, which denies targeting civilians, said it struck a military target in Sumy. Its defence ministry said Russian troops had captured another settlement in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and said he welcomed the "positive role" of the United States in helping to secure a resumption of talks between Russia and Ukraine. A Russian foreign ministry statement quoted Lavrov as saying contacts would continue.

Rubio was quoted as telling the CBS news program "Face the Nation" that Lavrov said the Russians were "working on a series of ideas and requirements that they would have in order to move forward with a ceasefire and further negotiations."

"I think your question is, 'Are they tapping us along?'" he said in the interview to be broadcast on Sunday. "Well, that's what we're trying to find out."

Rubio, who told reporters earlier in Rome that the Vatican could be a venue to facilitate further Russia-Ukraine dialogue, told CBS it was a "very generous offer that may be taken up on."

PRESSING FOR IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE

Ukraine and Western governments, including the U.S., have demanded Russia agree to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire lasting at least 30 days.

But the Ukrainian source said Moscow's negotiators had demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, with a ceasefire to take place only after that.

The source said that and other demands went beyond the terms of a draft peace deal that the United States proposed last month after consultations with Moscow.

Peskov declined to comment on the Ukrainian account, saying talks should be conducted "absolutely behind closed doors".

He said the next steps would be to carry out the prisoner exchange and conduct further work between the two sides. Peskov said it was possible that Putin could meet Zelenskiy, but only if "certain agreements" were reached, which he did not specify.

Zelenskiy had challenged Putin earlier in the week to meet him in person, an offer the Russian leader ignored.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his country, after hosting the talks, was resolved to continue its mediation role.

UKRAINE RALLIES SUPPORT

After Friday's meeting, Ukraine began rallying support from its allies to take tougher action against Moscow.

"Once again Russia is not serious," British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Reuters during a visit to Pakistan. "At what point do we say to Putin enough is enough?"

French President Emmanuel Macron also said the talks in Istanbul had been fruitless.

"Today, what do we have? Nothing. And so I tell you, faced with President Putin's cynicism, I am sure that President Trump, mindful of the credibility of the United States, will react."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was working on a new package of sanctions against Moscow, which France said this week should aim to "suffocate" the Russian economy.

But after intensifying sanctions for more than three years already, it is unclear how much more they can achieve.

In their efforts to forge a united front and make Putin accept a ceasefire, Ukraine and its European leaders have been repeatedly thrown off balance by interventions from Trump.

Having told Zelenskiy to accept Russia's offer of direct talks in Turkey, Trump said on the eve of the meeting that there could be no movement on peace until he had met with Putin.

The Kremlin says Putin is ready to meet Trump, but such a summit must be carefully prepared. It said there had been no contact between Russia and the U.S. since Friday's talks.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Medvedev issues warning about peace talks

Ultimatums from the West will not help resolve the Ukraine conflict, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned, after the EU and the US threatened Moscow with additional sanctions.

As Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks in three years in Istanbul on Friday, US President Donald Trump said he could impose “crushing”restrictions on Russia if it failed to reach a peace deal.

EU member states also agreed on a 17th sanctions package, which is expected to be formally approved next week.

“All enemies of Russia that issue negotiating ultimatums should remember a simple thing: peace negotiations alone do not always lead to the end of hostilities,” Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, wrote on X on Saturday.

“Unsuccessful negotiations can lead to the onset of a more terrible stage of the war with new weapons and participants,” he added.

The West has urged Russia to accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and the US. Moscow, however, has argued that Kiev would exploit the pause in combat to rearm and regroup its forces.

President Vladimir Putin has insisted that a lasting settlement would require Ukraine to halt its mobilization drive, stop receiving weapons from abroad, and withdraw its troops from Russian territory.

The head of Russia’s negotiating team in Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky, said the two sides had agreed to conduct a prisoner swap involving 1,000 POWs from each side, and to continue contacts once both parties have prepared detailed ceasefire proposals.

Reuters/RT

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Sunday, 18 May 2025 04:06

Coming soon: Compulsory voting for APC - Solana Olumhense

Mandatory voting, the idea that a citizen must cast a ballot in an election, is not new. Of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s 181 members, about 20currently practice some form of it.

Compulsory voting ensures a higher voter turnout. Where they feel that they have something to lose, voters obey the law to avoid the consequences.

A law such as the one sought by Abbas Tajudeen and Daniel Asama Ago in “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act, 2022 to make it Mandatory for Nigerians of Maturity Age to Vote in All National and State Elections and for Related Matters” (HB.1930), will, in principle, empty more Nigerians into the streets on election day.
What this law aims at is that Nigerians would no longer vote as a matter of choice, which is the essence of democracy, but because of the consequences of not voting. It will basically criminalise even the act of staying in your own home in disdain for disgusting politicians. Little wonder it has been received with general revulsion.

The bill, which passed the second reading last week in the House of Representatives, appears to be important to the Nigerian political establishment.

I conclude that from seeing that it is led by the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, a man with no legislative honour: even his own page on the House website shows no legislative interests, no target achievements, no awards and honours, and no other bills sponsored.

There is no record of the Zaria Federal Constituency representative being outraged about the age-long killings in his Southern Kaduna neighbourhood or the insecurity that has now grounded Nigeria, threatening to make hunger our story.

Abbas does not have a National Assembly phone number by which Nigerians, particularly his constituents, can reach him.

His email, embarrassingly enough, is a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. While he is in office through the 1999 constitution, 20 years earlier in Lagos, even as a reporter taking his first steps, I walked into the office of Speaker David Ume-Ezeokeand interviewed him.

Today, no reporter can simply walk through the gates of the National Assembly.

Abbas’s personal immortality comes from his swearing-in as Speaker when he brought the tumult of his own life to the stage with his two wives jostlingfor a place with him in the limelight. This is the man who wants every Nigerian adult to vote in elections.

I have reported the national legislature for 46 years. That includes: “How to Buy A Senator” (2002), “Is the House of Reps for Sale, or Rent?” (2021), and The National Assembly is in Decay (2022).

Only recently, I argued that the legislature was no longer an arm of governance in Nigeria, having morphed into the executive.

That is what the current focus of the Abbas’ House on compulsory voting vindicates.

And this misguided focus reminds Nigerians why they are reluctant to vote in the first place: that when they send people to Abuja, they are mis-representatives.

Think about it: Among the most populous democracies, Indonesia in February 2024 held the world’s largest single-day election to produce a president. Indonesia is an archipelago: the world’s largest: over 18,000 islands and islets, of which 6,000 are inhabited, straddling three time zones of often treacherous terrain.

For the election, in that one day, the General Elections Commission had to manage over 204 million registered voters, including Diaspora voters, who speak about 150 languages. Voter turnout was still a remarkable 81.78 per cent

Later in November, the Simultaneous Regional Elections were held in one day to elect 37 governors and vice-governors, 415 regents and vice-regents, and 93 mayors and vice-mayors across the country’s 545 regions.

Similarly, in the 2024 India elections, the world’s most populous country featured over 960 million eligible voters and over 2,700 political parties, including six national and more than 70 state parties. Because of distances, terrains, cultures, religions and climates, the electoral commission faced tricky scheduling that it overcame in six weeks of implementation.

India’s voting is also electronic. Unlike ours, however, theirs involved over one million polling stations and 15 million election workers who travelled by air, rail, road, boats and camels to make sure that every eligible voter could vote. With the voting calendar concluded on June 1, the votes were tallied on June 4, and the results announced the following day. Voter turnout: 65.7 per cent.

Compare that, then, to Nigeria’s 2023 election, which saw Bola Tinubu take the presidency in a mismanaged election in which voter turnout was an abysmal 25.7 per cent. According to Chatham House, “President-elect Bola Tinubu received the least number of votes, and lowest winning percentage, of any victor in the Fourth Republic (1999 to date), taking just 36.6 per cent of the total votes cast.”

In other words, Tinubu sits in the presidency on the weakness of a rather humiliating 8.8 million votes, about one-half of what his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, received in 2015.

If their APC truly cared, this is the question to which the federal legislature would be responding: that government and key institutions such as the electoral commission have no credibility.

The challenge is: how do we establish public trust and make voting attractive? Sadly, APC thinks that, instead, it can beat voting into the electorate.

In 2015, the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the dispossessed dragged themselves to the polls nationwide for the APC, seeking to defeat the ruling PDP.

Over the decade which followed, APC has responded by being the filthiest a party can be. Citizens who could leave did.

In the next two weeks, the party will step up preparations for the 2027 elections when it celebrates Tinubu’s two years in office.

In these 10 years, Nigeria has become increasingly insecure, and is listed among the Most Dangerous Countries in 2025. Throughout the land, people are afraid to go to their markets or the next village. Children are afraid to go to school. Farmers cannot farm, let alone harvest.
But for the deluded APC, this is harvest season on the journey to a one-party state, where every Nigerian will be mandated to vote for its candidates. That is the objective, and they are preparing for it by encouraging every defective politician elsewhere to defect to them.

The Patron-Saint of political defection, Adams Oshiomhole, who announced this Sinner-to-Saint philosophy in 2017, here is the proof, was last week blaming Buhari for Tinubu’s troubles, a blame Tinubu has never found the courage to admit, having been the National Leader.

APC seems to believe that if they inflict this dagger blow, voters who cannot feed their families will drag themselves through blood and hunger and forests and poverty and kidnappers and militia to vote for it.

The bill proposes a six-month imprisonment or a fine of up to N100,000 for defaulters. But they forget two things: to recruit millions of new soldiers and build thousands of prisons. The first will be to ransack all of Nigeria, including Sambisa Forest, on election day, and the other to house those arrested.

In 2023, there were 67.4 million voters in 2023, with 29.4 million votes cast. At the same rate of attrition, there will be over 60 million refusing to vote in 2027.

Come arrest us!

Punch

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Sunday, 18 May 2025 04:03

Anointed for good deeds - Taiwo Akinola

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor …. and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised ~ Luke 4:18.

Introduction:

Touching lives with the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ sometimes looks very easy, but it is not always so. You definitely need Someone bigger than you — the Holy Spirit Himself — to excel in the spiritual arts of doing good and touching other lives for God on earth!

Quite unfortunately, many people remain oblivious of this fact until reality teaches them. See, reality can be very innovative; it always finds a way to humble people, particularly the top-notch armchair critics.

We can have fulfillment in doing good and making our world better only with the power of the Holy Spirit working through us. However, the degree to which we operate in this power is completely left to us.

We can choose to be walking spiritual dynamos, full of power, performing miracles and operating in the manifestations of Holy Ghost wherever we go, or choose to be spiritual weaklings, failing to utilize the enormous gifts we have received (Ephesians 3:7, 20).

God the Father is the Anointer, Jesus Christ is the Miracle Worker and the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, Who binds us to God and His acts of goodwill on earth (Acts 10:38).

The anointing of the Holy Spirit is the supernatural potion that signalizes God’s presence on human flesh to accomplish what man cannot do for himself. It is the outpouring of God’s marvelous grace and glory.

We must note that God's grace is not only in His willingness to forgive us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but also in His resources for shaping and using our lives as believers. Hence, the anointed man is the man relevant to God’s agenda in any generation.

Oil, as an emblem of the Holy Spirit, was often poured upon prophets, priests and kings in the Old Testament to denote the outpouring of gifts, wisdom and grace from God upon them to qualify them for their respective offices.

Today, when a believer is remarkably anointed by the Holy Spirit, God’s presence becomes manifest, and real spiritual power is experienced in strange victories round about (Acts 1:8). Those who receive this anointing are made alive unto God, and are expressly referred to by Apostle Peter as living stones (1 Peter 4-5).

We Are Anointed to Terminate Satanic Oppressions

Unknown to many people, all Christians are authorized to defeat the enemy, to enjoy total victory in Christ and to touch the world for good (1 John 2:20). Notwithstanding, the Word of God clearly states that those who are born-again of the Spirit have the authority to overrule Satan (John 3:5-8; Luke 10:19).

Of a truth, many spirit beings, good and bad, inhabit the unseen realm. The good ones are agents of goodwill, but the bad ones are structured to do maximum damage to the Kingdom of God and to God’s people in general (Ephesians 6:12-13).

However, we need not fear because Christ already disarmed the evil spirits when He triumphed over them on the Cross (Colossians 2:15). Moreover, we believers are mightily weaponized in the spirit realm, and our weapons have divine capabilities to demolish every fortress of the enemy (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Yes indeed, God freely delegated His authority and divine privileges to us as His favorite children (John 1:12). But, sometimes, we treat them with carelessness and levity, just like we often do with other free things in life, forgetting that, in the real sense of it, there is nothing actually free, only what is paid for by someone else.

God paid the supreme price for our empowerment. He did! Jesus Christ had to die for the Holy Spirit to find fitting spaces in the believers today (John 16:7).

God is the Original Owner of every good thing — greatness, power, glory, victory, majesty, riches, honour, strength, might, and all that is in the heaven and in the earth, etc — but, He has chosen to give portions of these to His children (1 Chronicles 29:11-12; 1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 John 5:4).

Furthermore, with respect to the believers in Christ Jesus, the Bible also says: “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). The important question is: “who is this Person in us”?

Christ Jesus is He! He took up residence in our hearts by the Holy Ghost when we received His gift of eternal life (Colossians 1:27). He also gave us both authority and power in the Holy Spirit to frustrate the plans of the devil, to defeat persistent difficulties in life and to guide us through all our Christian journeys.

What Happens When We Are Truly Anointed

Basically, we are anointed to touch lives in our generation, and to make our world a better place to live in. To accomplish these, the Holy Ghost installed in us incredible capacities for genuine love (Romans 5:5). It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that makes God’s covenant speak out very effectively in the believer’s life (Psalm 89:28).

Ideally, the greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. Yes, the value of life is computed not by its duration but by its donation. It is not how long we live that matters, but how full and how well. Notwithstanding, it takes the anointing to generate true and lasting impacts.

Without impacts, you cannot be significant, and nobody will be interested in you. But, when you get connected to the Holy Spirit, and you utterly depend on His power, supernatural things begin to happen, and you are bound to make great impacts in the lives of other people.

To do or to see good things on earth requires the workings of the Holy Ghost. Yes, healing is peculiar bread for God’s children; even then, it takes the Holy Spirit to bake it.

Cultivating the Holy Ghost Power Within

Many Christians today are not utilizing the opportunities and the power that are so freely given us; consequently they lead lives beneath the believers’ privileges. Albeit, by divine mercy, they still retain the distinct honor and the awesome responsibility of cultivating this power that is latent within.

This we can do by our sensitive and implicit reliance on the Holy Spirit, trusting God all the way through in our Christian journeys, and releasing confidence in His unfailing power by faith and by our right confessions.

When we trust the Holy Spirit, He makes our inner man stronger so that we can stand equipped to carry on with His purpose on earth. This magnificent "treasure"of strength in our "earthen vessels" is the power of the Holy Spirit from on high (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Moreover, with the Holy Spirit presence in our lives, wisdom is automatically made available to us regarding every situation we face in life (Ephesians 1:17-19). The Holy Spirit is our Present Help, making ways for our profit in all aspects of life (Romans 8: 24-28; 1 Corinthians 1:7).

Friends and brethren, the glorious assignment of influencing people for good will always require the assistance of the Holy Spirit (Psalm 89:25). We must go, therefore, for whatever it takes to get the power of His anointing (Hebrews 1:9; Psalms 89:20). In this essential power encounter, may you never miss out, in Jesus name. Amen. Happy Sunday!

____________________

Archbishop Taiwo Akinola,

Rhema Christian Church,

Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola

SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987

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Sunday, 18 May 2025 04:01

Article of Faith: The mind of Christ (4) - Femi Aribisala

The worrisome mind is anathema to the mind of Chist. The mind that is fretful and full of anxiety is a mind that does not glorify God. The worrisome mind is the mind that does not trust God. It is the mind that does not believe that God is God. It is the mind that does not have faith in God. It is the mind that is not fed on the word of God. It is the mind that is not built on the rock of God’s word.

Paul says:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) (NKJ).

Don’t be anxious about anything. Have you told God about it? Then you can relax. Look at the case of Hannah. She was all hot and bothered, but after she prayed about her barrenness in the temple, she went her way and was no longer sad. (1 Samuel 1:12-18)

Jesus says:

“I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? …Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (Matthew 6:25/27).

The Doubtful Mind

Jesus says:

“Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.” (Luke 12:29).

The doubtful mind is anathema to the mind of Christ.

“Love never gives up, never loses faith. (1 Corinthians 13:7).

The doubtful mind gives up. It does not believe the testimonies of God. It says: “God, if only you would do it just one more time.” It does not believe God’s promises.

In the doubtful mind, the worries of this world choke the word of God and render it powerless.

Jesus says:

“The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22).

The worries of this life choke the word. They strangulate the word. They make the word of God unproductive in our lives.

Peace and rest are evidence of God’s presence in us. When we are exhausted or anxious, it is difficult to hear God clearly. Therefore. be still and know that God is God.

“Jesus says to Martha:

“You are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:41-42).

You are worried about too many things, whereas all you need to do is concentrate on the word of God.

Casting all your care upon (Jesus), for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7).

Jesus Himself says:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).

The Peaceful Mind

The mind of Christ is a mind at peace. “For (Jesus) Himself is our peace.” (Ephesians 2:13). The peaceful mind belongs to he whose heart is set on the Lord. The psalmist says:

“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” (Psalm 57:7).

The heart that is fixed cannot be swayed by events. It cannot be swayed by situations and circumstances. It is not easily destabilised by storms and raging waves of the sea. “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.” (Psalm 112:7).

Isaiah concurs:

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26:3-4).

Mothers have to be very careful. A lot of mothers lose their faith if something bad happens to their children.

The Spiritual Mind

The mind of Christ is the spiritual mind. Paul says:

“To be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6).

To be spiritually minded is to be open to those feelings that the Holy Spirit produces and be subject to His leadings. The spiritually-minded can easily be in the spirit and remain there without being distracted.

Some say, “I can’t pray for any length of time.” This is because we are not spiritually minded. Our senses are not exercised to dwell on spiritual matters. Even when we pray, all our prayers are about the flesh. But if we are spiritually minded, we esteem spiritual things. We appreciate the beauty of holiness. We hunger and thirst for righteousness.

The Carnal Mind

The carnal mind is anathema to Christ.

To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (Romans 8:6-7).

The carnal mind is the mind that follows the propensities and inclinations of the flesh. It is the mind that thinks sex, sex, sex. It is the mind filled with vain imaginations. It is the mind that dwells on the vainglories of this world. It is the mind that can only be appealed to by what is advantageous to itself. It is the greedy mind: the lustful mind. It is the mind that is set upon the things that are in this world. It is the mind that is set upon riches. It is the mind that seeks pleasure and is devoted to pleasing the flesh:

She who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. (1 Timothy 5:6).

The Fleshly Mind

The fleshly mind is the antithesis of the spiritual mind. It is not the mind of Christ.

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5).

18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. (Colossians 2:18).

The fleshly mind is vain. Paul says:

“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind.” (Ephesians 4:17).

The mind, being the head, is supposed to govern the flesh. But in the fleshly mind, the flesh governs the mind.

Many women have fleshly minds. It is all about makeup, hairstyles, jewellery, perfumes, and snazzy outfits.

Peter counsels:

“Do not let your adornment be merely outward — arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel — rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.” (1 Peter 3:3-6)

Who is the “oga pata pata?” Is it your mind or your body? Can you resist adherence to the sensuous principle? If the answer is “No!,” then you have a fleshly mind.

The Sound Mind

The sound mind is the mind of Christ.

Do you doubt the grace of God? Do you doubt the mercy of God? Do you feel it applies to others but not to you? Are you fearful? Then you do not have a sound mind.

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7).

A sound mind is well-balanced and under the divine influences. In this regard, a sinner does not have a sound mind. It is said of the Prodigal Son:

“When he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’” (Luke 15:17-19).

He looks back and says: “I must have been out of my mind.” “I must have been out of my mind.”

That means he was out of his mind when he engaged in riotous living. Indeed, the whole philosophy of what some call entertainment is to make sure we are out of our minds.

We go to parties and have a few drinks so that we can be out of our minds and do and say things that we would not have said if we were in our right minds. We take drugs so that we can be out of our minds. We watch certain films (like horror films) so we can be out of our minds.

Within the context of the text, the sound mind is the mind that is not afraid or fearful. It is a mind that is sober and not easily excited. It is a mind not easily given to anger. It is a mind that is not captive to lustful passions.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; www.femiaribisala.com

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Sunday, 18 May 2025 04:00

Joe Rogan questions Big Bang theory, says he's 'sticking with Jesus' over Resurrection

Podcaster Joe Rogan recently expressed skepticism regarding the Big Bang theory and said he finds the idea of the Resurrection more realistic than the claim that the universe created itself.

During a conversation with comedy podcast host Cody Tucker that aired last Wednesday, Rogan also said he's “sticking with Jesus” when it comes to miraculous claims.

“It’s funny, because people will be incredulous about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but yet, they’re convinced that the entire universe was smaller than a head of a pin and that for no reason that anyone has adequately explained to me, instantaneously became everything? OK,” said Rogan, a self-described agnostic who was raised Catholic.

Discussing the potential size of the universe, which he noted could be finite, Rogan raised the possibility that human beings project their own biological limitations onto creation in their attempt to understand it.

“Wouldn’t it be crazy if there wasn’t something at one point in time?” he asked. “That seems even crazier than there has always been something. … There couldn’t be nothing, and then all of a sudden, everything.”

When Tucker suggested the universe required an outside force to set it in motion, Rogan cited the late ethnobotanist Terence McKenna, who noted that even the Big Bang theory and the materialist worldview require an act of faith.

“Modern science is based on the principle: ‘Give us one free miracle and we’ll explain the rest.’ The one free miracle is the appearance of all the mass and energy in the universe and all the laws that govern it in a single instant from nothing,” McKenna reportedly said, according to biologist Rupert Sheldrak’s 2009 book Morphic Resonance: The Nature of Formative Causation.

“That’s McKenna’s great line … the difference between science and religion is that science only asks you to believe in one miracle — the Big Bang,” Rogan said.

“I’m sticking with Jesus on that one," he added. “Jesus makes more sense. People have come back to life.”

Rogan has increasingly spoken with the guests on his influential podcast about religion in general and Jesus Christ in particular.

During an interview with Kid Rock last year, Rogan said, “I think the concept of Jesus is absolutely amazing, and if Jesus came here and wanted to visit me, I would be psyched.”

Speaking with NFL star Aaron Rodgers in 2024, Rogan expressed the broken nature of the world and the need for Christ's return.

“It’s a f----d up world we live in,” he said. “We need Jesus. For real, like if you came back now, like Jesus, if you're thinking about coming back, right now, now's a good time. Now's a good time. We're kind of f----d."

During another interview with actor and director Mel Gibson in January, the two discussed the theory of evolution. While Rogan implied he believes in evidence of pre-human hominids, Gibson said, “I don’t really go for it.”

Rogan also interviewed apologist Wesley Huff earlier this year, during which they spoke at length about the historic evidence of Jesus.

Jerusalem Post

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Saturday, 17 May 2025 04:41

Shell paid Nigeria $5.34bn royalties, taxes, others in 2024, regulatory report discloses

Energy major Shell Plc paid $5.34 billion to the Nigerian government in 2024, the largest amount it remitted to any country, even as it continues to divest from its onshore oil operations in Africa’s largest crude producer.

According to data released in Shell’s annual “Payments to Governments” report, a regulatory disclosure required under UK law, Nigeria topped the company’s global list of government recipients last year, ahead of countries such as Oman, Brazil and Norway.

The figure represents a sharp increase from the $3.8 billion Shell paid to Nigeria in 2023.

Breakdown of Shell’s 2024 payments to Nigeria

Shell’s total remittance of $5.34 billion to Nigeria in 2024 was disbursed across multiple federal institutions and agencies involved in petroleum revenue administration and regional development.

The largest share of over 71% went to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), amounting to $3.8 billion.

A breakdown of the payments is as follows:

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC): $3,804,949,166
Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS): $648,734,398
Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC): $781,963,813
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC): $97,260,899
National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI): $3,931,917

The payments form part of the $28.1 billion Shell disbursed globally in 2024 to governments for extractive activities, a 5% year-on-year decline in total payouts that mirrored a broader drop in profitability.

According to the company’s 2024 report, $3.8 billion of the $5.34 billion remitted to Nigeria came from production entitlements — the government’s share of crude oil output under joint venture and production sharing contracts.
An additional $648.7 million was paid in taxes, while royalties accounted for $770.2 million. Fees and other statutory charges totalled approximately $102 million.
Project-level data show that the East Asset, one of Shell’s key production hubs, attracted the largest share of entitlements, with $1.3 billion in payments. Oil Mining Lease (OML) 133 accounted for $136.6 million, predominantly in taxes.
Meanwhile, a cluster of licences — OML 212, OML 118, OML 135, and Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 219 — together attracted $1.4 billion in payments across production entitlements, taxes, royalties, and fees, underlining the fiscal weight of Shell’s upstream footprint in Nigeria.

Comparative global payments

Beyond Nigeria, Shell also paid a total of $28 billion to Government where it operates

Oman received the next largest share after Nigeria, with about $4.3 billion,n while Brazil, Qatar and Norway received $4.5 billion, $3.33 billion and $3.38 billion, respectively
African Countries on the list received smaller amounts of with Egypt, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania and Tunisia getting $43 million, $1.3 million, $140,000 and $29.3 million only.
In contrast, Shell received a $32 million refund from the UK government, tied to decommissioning costs at the Brent field and other North Sea assets.

That figure was down from the $43 million refund received in 2023.

Revenue implications for Nigeria

Shell has operated in Nigeria for more than eight decades but is now exiting its onshore oil business following years of operational setbacks, community disputes, oil spills, and rising environmental liabilities in the Niger Delta.

The company has described its divestment strategy as a move to “simplify the portfolio” and support its long-term ambition to become a net-zero emissions energy company by 2050.

However, it has committed to retaining its deepwater oil and gas operations in Nigeria, which it considers more aligned with lower-carbon energy goals.

What you should know

In March 2025, the House of Representatives summoned 48 oil companies operating in Nigeria to appear before its Committee on Public Accounts, in a series of investigative hearings probing a combined debt of N9.4 trillion.

Companies summoned include major industry players such as Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Chevron Nigeria Ltd, Total E&P Nigeria, Seplat Energy, Oando Oil Ltd, and Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, among others.
The committee’s probe follows findings in the Auditor-General’s Annual Report on the Consolidated Financial Statement for the year ending December 31, 2021.
Also in March this year, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) announced a review of divestments involving 26 oil blocks worth $6.03 billion by five International Oil Companies (IOCs), citing the need for transparency and due process in these transactions.

The transactions include significant deals such as Shell’s $2.4 billion sale to Renaissance, ExxonMobil’s $1.28 billion transfer to Seplat, and TotalEnergies’ $860 million sale to Chappal.

NEITI explained that these divestments were reshaping Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, making it crucial to ensure they are conducted transparently and in line with regulatory standards.

Nairametrics

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Saturday, 17 May 2025 04:38

Nigeria's major producer halts oil feeds into key pipeline for crude exports after burst

Nigerian oil firm Renaissance Energy has halted production on one line feeding into the Trans Niger oil pipeline, a major oil artery transporting crude from onshore oilfields to the Bonny export terminal, following an operational incident, it said on Friday.

An environmental rights group said on Thursday that the pipeline burst on May 6 and spilled oil into the local B-Dere community in Ogoniland, the second such incident affecting the pipeline in two months.

The halted pipeline goes through B-Dere community to join the Trans Niger Pipeline.

Nigerian oil consortium Renaissance Group, which now owns Shell's former onshore subsidiary that operates the pipeline, "immediately isolated the pipeline and halted production into the line", Michael Adande, spokesperson for Renaissance said.

"With co-operation from the B-Dere community, our experts accessed the site, clamped the pipeline and recovered spilled oil, with clean-up preparations now underway," Adande said.

Renaissance said a team of investigators had confirmed that the incident was an operational one.

The Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), with a capacity of around 450,000 barrels per day, is one of two conduits that export Bonny Light crude from Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer.

Reuters

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