The arrest and detention of human rights advocate Dele Farotimi is not merely a legal matter; it is a chilling reflection of the growing trend of authoritarianism under the current Nigerian administration. Farotimi’s arrest—executed with the heavy-handed tactics of the Ekiti State Police—is the latest in a long line of actions that have turned the Nigerian state’s security apparatus into a weapon against its own citizens. The circumstances surrounding Farotimi’s detention, particularly the Gestapo-style manner in which he was apprehended, are not just troubling; they are indicative of a disturbing pattern of political intimidation, legal overreach, and the systematic silencing of dissenting voices.

It is impossible to ignore the political undertones of this arrest. Farotimi, a vocal critic of government corruption and the state of Nigeria’s judiciary, has long used his platform to challenge the powers that be. His criticism, particularly against figures like the influential lawyer Afe Babalola, has now led to this grotesque abuse of state power. What began as a legal dispute over alleged defamation has spiraled into an assault on the very fabric of Nigeria’s democracy. The charges against Farotimi—16 counts of defamation, despite Lagos State law having decriminalized defamation—reveal a deliberate disregard for due process and a contempt for the sanctity of the law. It is telling that the police did not detain Farotimi in Lagos, where the alleged crime took place, but instead transported him forcibly to Ekiti State, bypassing the legal framework that governs the jurisdictional limits of law enforcement. This suggests a complete disregard for constitutional safeguards and the rule of law.

Equally disturbing is the manner in which the arrest was carried out. Reports indicate that Farotimi was seized without warning, his movements coordinated by the police in a manner that mirrored the tactics of criminal abductions. Such behavior not only violates basic human rights but also reveals the growing militarization of law enforcement under the current presidency of Bola Tinubu. If this can happen to an activist with the visibility and resources to resist, one can only imagine the fate of the average Nigerian citizen without the means to challenge such state-sanctioned violence.

But it is not only the police that bear responsibility for this travesty. The judiciary, too, is complicit in enabling this abuse of power. The swift denial of bail, coupled with the apparent disregard for legal precedents—such as the decriminalization of defamation in Lagos—points to a judiciary that is either unable or unwilling to uphold its own rulings. The fact that Farotimi was detained under these dubious circumstances calls into question the integrity of the judicial process in Nigeria. What message does this send about the fairness and impartiality of the Nigerian legal system?

At the heart of this issue is a deepening erosion of public trust in Nigeria’s institutions. The actions of the Ekiti police and the judiciary represent a betrayal of the values enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution. They show a country where power is not exercised as a public trust, but as an instrument of political control. Under President Bola Tinubu, these abuses have reached new heights, as state power has been increasingly turned against critics and dissidents. The incident is emblematic of the broader trend of human rights violations that have plagued Nigeria under the current regime, as security forces routinely treat citizens as threats to the state rather than as rights-bearing individuals. This increasingly militarized approach to governance has created an atmosphere of fear and repression, where free speech is stifled and dissent is met with violent repression.

The involvement of Afe Babalola in this case only adds another layer of concern. Babalola, a man known for his legal acumen and political connections, is no stranger to the inner circles of the Nigerian state. It is hard to ignore the optics of the situation: a rich, powerful lawyer leveraging his influence to silence a critic through the coercive power of the state. Babalola’s silence on the manner in which the police have conducted themselves in this case is deafening. His failure to condemn the Gestapo-style tactics employed by the police risks tarnishing his long-held reputation as a notable lawyer. The chilling effect of this incident cannot be overstated; it underscores the dangers of allowing powerful individuals to use the state’s machinery for personal vendettas.

More than just a case of one man’s unlawful arrest, this incident is a warning sign of a nation on the brink of a deeper crisis. The Nigerian state is increasingly becoming a vehicle for the powerful to oppress the powerless, and the unchecked abuse of state authority is causing irreparable damage to the country’s democratic institutions. As this case unfolds, the actions of the Nigerian authorities are eroding the trust of ordinary citizens in their government and its institutions. If unchecked, this pattern of abuses could lead to widespread social disorder, as the disenfranchised masses—already disillusioned with a system that fails to serve their needs—begin to view the state as an enemy rather than a protector.

The Nigerian Bar Association, civil society groups, and human rights organizations have rightly condemned the arrest of Farotimi. But condemnation alone will not suffice. There must be a concerted effort to address the underlying problems that have allowed such abuses to flourish. The Nigerian police must be held accountable for their actions, and the judiciary must be reformed to ensure that it is no longer a tool of political repression. Most importantly, the Nigerian public must resist the normalization of such authoritarian practices. If this incident is allowed to pass without consequence, it will send a dangerous message to the government and law enforcement agencies that such actions are acceptable.

This is a moment of reckoning for Nigeria. The international community is watching, and Nigerians must demand nothing less than the immediate release of Dele Farotimi, an end to the misuse of state power, and a return to the rule of law. The path to justice is not always easy, but it is the only path that will preserve the dignity of the Nigerian people and the integrity of their country.

Dele Farotimi’s book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System,’ has become a bestseller on Amazon Books as the human rights advocate faces legal action over the publication.

The book is ranked 555 out of all books on the e-commerce website and is number one in elections.

The book also topped Amazon’s charts in general elections, political process, and political commentary and opinion.

Customer reviews rated the book 4.9 out of five stars.

Published on July 2, Farotimi examined how affluent Nigerians allegedly manipulated the country’s judicial system for their interests.

However, his description of the country’s legal landscape has become a subject matter in a law court.

On Wednesday, Farotimi was arraigned in a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti state, for allegedly “criminally defaming” Afe Babalola, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), named in the book.

The activist pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Samson Osun, the police prosecutor, asked the court to remand Farotimi pending further investigation.

Dayo Akeredolu, counsel to Farotimi, opposed the remand request and prayed the court to admit the activist on bail under liberal terms and self-recognition.

Akeredolu’s bail application was rejected.

Abayomi Adeosun, the magistrate, ruled that Farotimi be remanded in prison custody till December 10.

Hours after the legal proceedings, Roving Heights, a bookstore, announced that its website crashed.

The bookstore said the technical glitch was caused by “unusual traffic and a spike in demand for some titles”.

The Cable

Ahmad Gumi, a Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, has backed President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills, saying the proposed laws are a wake-up call to northern Nigerian leaders to develop their region.

Gumi said the tax reform bills would create more opportunities in the economy than the existing tax system, which promotes multiple taxation.

The cleric stated this on two different occasions on Tuesday and Wednesday in Kaduna. The videos of the conversation were posted on his Facebook page.

The bills are the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024 -SB.583; the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024- SB.584; and the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024- SB. 585; and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024 – SB.586.

Some experts said most critics of the bills had not read their provisions and were only amplifying falsehoods circulated by uninformed interest groups.

Gumi lamented that the debate on the bills is political. He said northern leaders should instead debate their region’s backwardness and why they allow industries and banks to go bankrupt.

However, he identified grey areas in the bills. He said the VAT sharing formula that ignited the debate should be given a second look.

“I heard people debating that Lagos will benefit more from the new sharing formula in the proposed tax reform bills; this should not be the issue to debate on; our leaders should not say so. You said the corporate headquarters were relocated to Lagos, where are your banks’ headquarters in Kaduna or Kano?

“You people were sleeping; you deliberately allowed the population to wallow in poverty. You are shouting over the tax reform bills; where are our industries? Who among you invested in the industries in Kakuri to sustain them? Only the breweries are still functional in the area. We are always applying politics on issues where there is no need for it.

“Nigeria needs the new tax system to move away from the obsolete system that promotes multiple taxation. You cannot throw away the tax reform bills, adopt them, and address their grey areas.

“If we want development, let’s build industries, cultivate more land, and have banks,” Gumi said to the northern leaders.

“Nigeria is blessed with wealth across all regions, so our leaders are treated with dignity globally. France is treating Nigeria with caution; the way they warmly received President Bola Tinubu means a lot.”

Gumi said the debate on the tax reform bills should be conducted by people who are knowledgeable in the field.

“The tax reform bills exempting low-income earners from paying taxes is a welcome development. This should apply to all low-cadre workers, including security agents; doing so will greatly help Nigerians.

“The attempt of the president to reform the collection system is commendable, continuing in the old system will not be good for the country because of the multiple taxation,” the cleric said.

PT

More than 3 million people have now transitioned from using physical immigration documents to eVisas, as part of the UK government’s effort to modernize its border and immigration system.

The shift, reported on December 4th, 2024, is aimed at creating a more secure and efficient process for managing immigration status.

The data, released by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and the Home Office, shows that over 3.1 million individuals have registered for eVisas.

The UK government’s initiative to move from physical immigration documents to digital status proofs is a step toward a more secure and efficient immigration system.

This digital document is designed to simplify border processes, making immigration status easier to verify and more secure. With biometric residence permits (BRPs) and biometric residence cards (BRCs) set to expire on December 31st, 2024, the shift is part of the larger push for digital transformation.

Temporary flexibility for travel documents 

To help the transition, airlines and other carriers will accept expired BRPs and BRCs as evidence of permission to travel to the UK until March 31st, 2025. This decision will be reviewed as necessary. However, passengers will still need to pass standard immigration checks.

Those whose immigration status has expired will not be allowed entry. This measure is aimed at reducing disruption during the ongoing changeover to eVisas.

Government focus on smooth transition 

Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra MP, expressed support for the digital shift, saying,

“It is encouraging to see that over 3.1 million people have now taken action to access their eVisa and are making use of the convenience and security that this brings.”  

• She also mentioned that the government is responding to feedback from visa holders and stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition. “We are continually streamlining and adapting to ensure this is a smooth transition,” Malhotra added.
• She assured that the government is committed to making the switch to eVisas as easy as possible. The Home Office has made changes to address concerns raised by users, including improving the process for those with legacy paper documents and expanding support services.

Legacy paper documents refer to older, physical immigration documents that were issued before the transition to digital records. These can include traditional residence permits, visas, or other immigration papers that were printed and stamped in passports or issued separately.

Also, the automatic verification of travel permissions by carriers like airlines aims to simplify the process for travelers.

Encouraging more people to switch before 2024 deadline 

UKVI is urging individuals who have not yet switched to an eVisa to do so before the end of the year. The switch, as stated, offers several benefits, including improved security and convenience.

Home office also disclosed that this shift is also important for parents or guardians of children who still use BRPs, as they must switch their child’s documents to an eVisa before the deadline.

For individuals with indefinite leave to remain, who still rely on an ink stamp or vignette in their passport, the government recommends applying for a No Time Limit (NTL) application to access an eVisa. This process remains free and simple to complete, providing more secure and accessible proof of immigration status.

Nairametrics

Israeli strikes on a Gaza tent camp kill at least 21 people, hospital says

Israeli airstrikes tore through a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza on Wednesday, sparking fires and killing at least 21 people, according to the head of a nearby hospital, in the latest assault on a sprawling tent city that Israel designated a humanitarian safe zone but has repeatedly targeted.

The Israeli military said it struck senior Hamas militants “involved in terrorist activities” in the area, without providing additional details, and said it took precautions to minimize harm to civilians.

The strike on the Muwasi tent camp was one of several deadly assaults across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. An Israeli attack in central Gaza killed at least 10 more people, including four children, according to Palestinian medics.

Israel’s devastating war in Gaza, launched after Hamas’ October 2023 attack, shows no signs of ending after nearly 14 months. Hamas is still holding dozens of Israeli hostages, and most of Gaza’s population has been displaced and is reliant on international food aid to survive. Israel is also pressing a major offensive in the isolated north, where experts say Palestinians might be experiencing famine.

The Biden administration has pledged to make a new push for a Gaza ceasefire now that there’s a truce in Lebanon between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah, ending more than a year of cross-border fighting. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump demanded this week the release of hostages held by Hamas before he is sworn into office in January.

Wednesday’s strike in Muwasi — a desolate area with few public services that holds hundreds of thousands of displaced people — wounded at least 28 people, according to Atif al-Hout, the director of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.

An Associated Press journalist at the hospital counted at least 15 bodies, but said reaching a precise number was difficult because many of the dead were dismembered, some without heads or badly burned. In the morgue, an infant’s blackened hand and face peeked out from beneath a heavy blanket used to transport bodies to the hospital.

“It was like doomsday,” said a wounded woman, Iman Jumaa, who held back tears as she described how the strike killed her father, her brothers and her brothers’ children.

Videos and photos of the strike shared widely on social media showed flames and a column of black smoke rising into the night sky, as well as twisted metal tent frames and shredded fabric. Palestinian men searched through the still-burning wreckage, shouting, “Over here guys!” Further away, civilians stood at a distance, observing the destruction.

The military said the strikes had set off secondary blasts, indicating explosives present in the area had detonated. It was not possible to independently confirm the Israeli claims, and the strikes could also have ignited fuel, cooking gas canisters or other materials in the camp.

Shortly after the strike, Al-Awda Hospital said two people had been killed and 38 wounded in an attack on a residential block in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The military had no immediate comment on the strike, but said earlier strikes in central Gaza had hit “terrorist targets.”

Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths, saying the militants often operate in residential areas and are known to position tunnels, rocket launchers and other infrastructure near homes, schools and mosques.

Previous Israeli strikes on tent camps in Gaza have drawn widespread international outrage, such as when a wounded student’s last moments were caught on video as he burned to death in a tent outside a hospital.

In northern Gaza, dozens of Palestinian families said Israel’s expanding offensive had forcibly displaced them from schools-turned-shelters. Associated Press footage showed people on the road Wednesday leaving Beit Lahia, many crowded onto donkey carts with their belongings in their arms. Others walked on foot.

“This morning a quadcopter (drone) detonated four bombs at the school. There were people injured, human remains — we left with nothing,” said Sadeia al-Rahel.

The 57-year-old said her family has been eating grass, leaves, and animal feed for two months due to the lack of food aid in the north.

The amount of aid entering Gaza plunged in October, and hunger is widespread across the territory, even in central Gaza where aid groups have more access. Humanitarian organizations say Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order make it difficult to deliver assistance. Israel has said it is working to increase the flow of aid.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,500 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 250 people were abducted. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

On Wednesday, Israel said its forces recovered the body of a hostage who was captured alive during the Oct. 7 attack. Israel believes Itay Svirsky was killed by his captors.

The families of hostages held in Gaza have grown increasingly concerned that their loved ones are at risk so long as the war continues. Israel’s military released on Wednesday the findings of a probe into the circumstances behind the deaths of six hostages whose bodies were recovered in August, determining they were probably shot by their captors after a nearby Israeli strike in February.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's teenage boys fear a dark dilemma: Fight or run

A month before turning 18, Kyiv native Roman Biletskyi left his family and boarded a train westwards to escape Ukraine and any prospect of fighting in its grinding war.

"I delayed the decision until the very end," he told Reuters from his college dorm in Slovakia where he travelled to in February. "It was a one-way ticket."

Not all Ukrainian teenagers made the same call. Andriy Kotyk, by contrast, joined the army early in the war in 2022 after he turned 18.

"I thought everything through and decided I should sign up," Kotyk, clad in body armour and cradling an automatic rifle, said from his posting in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region where he was awaiting vehicle repairs after surviving a drone attack.

"I said ... I will go to defend my homeland," he added. "It's better to serve than to run."

Ukraine has forbidden most adult males from leaving the country in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of February 2022. Reuters interviews with half a dozen young Ukrainians, as well as relatives, army recruitment officers and officials, point to a bleak dilemma facing thousands of boys and their families as adulthood looms: Should they stay or go?

Although most stay, some like Biletskyi have chosen to head abroad to avoid any prospect of injury or death in the trenches. As the war marches towards its third anniversary, Russia has the ascendancy and Ukraine is desperate to bolster its depleted and ageing ranks.

More than 190,000 Ukrainian boys aged between 14 and 17 have registered for temporary protected status in European Union countries since the conflict began, according to EU data, among millions of people who have fled the country.

While Ukraine's military call-up age is 25, having been lowered from 27 in the spring, there is growing pressure from allies to recruit more young people, a move Kyiv has rejected.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Reuters on Wednesday that Ukraine had tough decisions to make. "For example, getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary. Right now, 18-25 year olds are not in the fight," he said in an interview.

The Ukrainian military and defence ministry didn't comment on recruitment details for this article.

'I GOT RID OF CHILDISH THOUGHTS'

Neither Biletskyi nor Kotyk said they regretted their choices.

"I thought I would regret it if I didn't go," said the former, who had been filled with dread as his 18th birthday approached. He recalled his family's agonising preparations to get him packed and on the road.

"The clock was ticking," added Biletskyi, who's now studying business management at a university in Slovakia's capital Bratislava. "We acted without any emotion. We all understood I had to go."

Kotyk had graduated from music school before the war made him feel duty-bound to enlist with the army along with four of his friends. His introduction to adulthood was to participate in Ukraine's liberation of the southern city of Kherson in late 2022.

"The first two military assignments were really, really scary," said the infantryman, who's now 21. "Then I got used to it."

He acknowledged the war had changed him profoundly - "I got rid of childish thoughts" - though still harbours hopes of returning to his passion of singing, someday, and marrying. He said he understood why many young men decided to leave the country, and didn't want to judge them, though the exodus stung because those who stayed to fight were stretched.

"All the guys are really tired, all need to be replaced."

Some senior officials, including then-foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, have openly criticized men of conscription age living abroad while their compatriots are fighting and dying for their country.

This anger reflects an often-bitter debate in Ukrainian society over the rights and wrongs of fleeing the country during a war, raising the prospect of rancour and division when the war eventually ends and citizens begin to return from overseas.

FUTURES AT STAKE?

The average age of Ukrainian soldiers is in their 40s, according to the Canadian Ambassador to the country, Natalka Cmoc. Kyiv doesn't disclose such data.

The military needs more young fighters who can bring greater motivation and endurance to the campaign, said Volodymyr Davydiuk, a recruiter for the renowned Third Assault Brigade in Kyiv.

"Fighting for a 40-year-old and a 20-year-old are very different things," he added.

Kotyk's Khartia brigade is looking to boost recruitment among younger men who are reaching crossroads in their lives like leaving high school or graduating from university.

Danylo Velychko, who works in Khartia's recruitment, said young people made up just fraction of the brigade, with the average age of those applying running at above 32 years.

The need for more people is not restricted to the military in Ukraine, home to about 41 million people before the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people. The economy has been hit hard by the conflict, with severe labour shortages as citizens head to the frontlines, birth rates plummet and people flee abroad.

A total of 87,655 children were born in Ukraine in the first six months of 2024, down around a third from 132,595 born in the first half of 2021, according to state data.

Meanwhile, almost 7 million Ukrainians of all ages have left the country since the invasion, according to the United Nations. Almost 4.2 million were under the temporary protection of the EU at the end of September.

Kyiv is trying to stop more people leaving and encourage those overseas to return. On Tuesday, its parliament approved the appointment of a deputy premier to head a new ministry for national unity, which will work on policies to bring citizens back, government said.

It's not an easy sell, with Russia on the front foot, Ukraine's power system being shredded by missiles and uncertainty surrounding the future level of Western support after Donald Trump's U.S. election victory.

Svitlana Biletska, the mother of 18-year-old Biletskyi who is studying in Bratislava, held back tears as she recalled the moment she waved farewell to her son as his train pulled away from the platform at Kyiv station in February. She is nonetheless determined he shouldn't return anytime soon.

"It was very hard to make this decision, but I am absolutely confident that it was the correct one because this is about him having a future. I can't see how that would be possible at home now."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine preparing for end to conflict – media

Kiev’s public opposition to Western calls that it draft 18-year-olds for military service is part of a strategy for winning an election if the conflict with Moscow ends next spring, the Ukrainian outlet Strana has claimed.

Washington and its allies have publicly demanded the expansion of the draft to mobilize the 18-to-25 demographic, most recently on Wednesday, when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the argument in Brussels.

According to sources in the Ukrainian presidency, however, Kiev has opposed this as part of “a strategy to prepare for the scenario of a quick end to the war and the election afterward,” Strana reported on Thursday.

One possibility considered by Vladimir Zelensky is a negotiated end to the hostilities shortly after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on January 20, the outlet said. The other option is that the talks will fail and the fighting will go on “for a long time.”

Public statements about lowering the mobilization age “are being made in case the war ends soon and there are elections, so that they can talk about how they saved the gene pool of the nation,” Strana’s source in Kiev said.

In case the talks fail and the fighting continues, the mobilization will have to be expanded sooner or later, “and Bankovaya will go for it, finding hundreds of reasons to explain the change in position,” the outlet’s source added, referring to the address of the Ukrainian president’s office.

Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, Blinken argued that Kiev had “hard decisions” to make about further mobilization. Even if Ukraine got all the money and the ammunition it wanted from the West, Blinken said at a NATO press conference, “there have to be people on the front lines,” he said.

“Getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary,” the US diplomat told Reuters. “Right now, 18- to 25-year-olds are not in the fight.”

The Russian Defense Ministry has estimated Ukraine’s losses at more than 500,000 since February 2022, though Zelensky has publicly admitted to less than a tenth of that. Kiev has sought to mobilize another 160,000 fighters in the coming months, to replenish depleted frontline units, as Russian forces gain ground.

Reuters/RT

I was watching the evening news on Monday night when two presenters used a word at different times that jolted me. I’ve heard and seen that word used often, especially by millennials and Gen Z, but I didn’t entirely pay heed because they were mostly in informal settings.

Anyways – I meant to write, anyway – I was jolted to hear that word, anyways, twice from two TV presenters on different programmes on the same station just minutes apart! My Use of English teachers would have beaten the straying “s” out of me if I had used that word even in error.

But that was at another time, before young adults invented more new words and other tokens of social expression, including memes and abbreviations, than at any other time in recent lexical history, thanks to technology and the prevalence of social media.

Words avant-garde

I’m trying to adjust, but I’m not quite there yet. And in this transition to a brave new world of avant-garde lexicography dominated by young adults, it’s improbable that I would have considered, anyways, a jarringly colloquial word, as proper form.

However, Oxford United Press (OUP), the bastion of rectitude, is leading the world in de-sensitising squeamishness in the use of the English language. In other words, sooner than later, I might well find myself loving and even using, anyways, in proper communication.

In a language and literary study in 2023 for the Word of the Year, OUP crowned “rizz” as the winner. The Press said it created a shortlist of eight words “all chosen to reflect the mood, ethos, and preoccupations” of the previous year and “rizz” emerged as the favourite after over 30,000 language lovers worldwide pared down the word soup to four finalists: rizz, Swiftie, prompt, and situationship.

Rizz up, darling!

In case you’re interested in a brief history of the etymology of how rizz might soon become mainstream, OUP explained that just as the fridge was from refrigerator and flu was from influenza, rizz (a noun), which can also be used as a verb, as in “to rizz up,” meaning to attract, seduce, or chat up), has its roots the word “charisma.”

I’m unsure which word might win OUP’s crown in 2024, but I have an in-vogue word slate that would be difficult to ignore. Perhaps lovers of language, especially millennials and Gen Z, the generational curators of these species of unusual words, might help crown a winner from my list for 2024 and share that list on any of my social media handles @azu ishiekwene or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Or text Word of the Year to +234 805 210 0356.

The first candidate for me is “steeze.” I was confused the first time I heard it and couldn’t immediately determine its meaning. An English language coach and content creator on Quora, Jasveer Kaur, described “steeze” as “A slang term which is a mix of ‘style’ and ‘ease’, that means ‘looking effortlessly cool, i.e., charisma or grace.” It’s a cousin of rizz, or “composure”, another synonym for steeze from the Gen Z corpus.

The lit vs the ill-lit

And how about “lit?” When I first heard that someone was “lit”, I thought they were alight, literally burning! It turned out that I was hugely mistaken. “Lit”, I later found out, means something different. It’s a slang derived from African American Vernacular English, which gained popularity in the 2000s. It’s been around for quite a while, but somehow, the “ill-lit” like me never quite thought it would soon be making its way to the mainstream.

But thanks to hip-hop and pop culture, it has become a favourite expression among millennials and Gen Z. If you say, “The concert last night was lit,” for example, or “Her performance in the game was lit,” there’s nothing more to add. It’s the highest expression of excitement and enthusiasm. In the same way, my father’s highest compliment was “noble”, as in “You’ve done noble!”

Rizz, lit, and dope, I’m told, are in the same class, with ritz (derived from the ostentation of Ritz, the famous hotel and hospitality brand) being at the higher end of the word spectrum.

Who’s the simp?

How about “simp”? It’s not exactly a new word. It has evolved, losing five original letters in the process, but gaining new meaning and currency with TikTokers. Back in the day, that word used to be “simpleton”, a man or woman generally thought or believed to be naïve, foolish. Hip-hop culture in the mouth of younger adults gave it a makeover.

They twisted it against men today, and now a simp is often used to describe a man who is overly anxious to please women. This seems to be the opposite of“demure,” a word formerly used to describe modesty in young ladies but now repurposed to convey cuteness in both sexes.

Instead of the ‘50-50 Love’, Teddy Pendergrass crooned about in his famous album, a “simp” is a man who doesn’t mind five percent or less back for his affection and empathy in exchange for 100 percent. He is if you get my drift, a woman wrapper.

If you are already “vibing”, millennial-speak for “losing oneself in great music or conversation”, or feeling “shook”, the colloquial noun or verb for “surprise”, then welcome to the evolving vocab world of young adults fostered by the Internet. From activism to fashion, sports and dating, the language topography is changing, leaving older adults in a trail of incomprehensible slang.

Simply steeze

In the slang line-up for 2024, anyways, steeze, lit, rizz, vibing, shook, and simp are in the race. But the stage would be incomplete without “ghost” (to suddenly stop communicating with someone, as in ‘he ghosted me after our last meeting’), “no cap”, (the damn truth, no embellishment), as in ‘petrol prices will never return to N470/litre, no cap, or “snack”, (someone attractive, as in ‘she’s looking like a snack in that outfit’).

While these words have a global resonance, one would undoubtedly be at the top of your final list if you were a Nigerian young adult—at home or in the Diaspora: “E choke!” The harsher, more menacing version is “Hunger dey!” However, this latter expression has a broader application and is quite popular among older adults.

When young Nigerian adults say, “E choke,” they express the country's severe economic hardship. This hardship has left many of them unable to have that sharwama or pizza, fix the braids they’d love to, or even chat for a long without resorting to data mincing.

This ethos was expressed in the streets of many Nigerian states in August, when protesters, mostly angry youths, staged demonstrations captioned #EndBadGovernance, the lightning rod for economic hardship. But the word is used in more than one sense. It also conveys overwhelming pleasure, as in “Give me more, even if it kills me!”

E choke!

My five finalists for the words that most captured younger adults' moods, feelings, imagination, and ethos in 2024 are e choke, steeze, no cap, vibing, and composure. I struggled to get the language tool on my laptop to accept these words. I had to overwrite them many times to retain them, as I wondered how examination bodies, like the West African Examination Council (WAEC), would cope with this lexical insurgency.

Is it an indication of the distance these words still have to travel in the transition from fad to mainstream? Or is society just too slow to catch up? No matter, as they say in millennia-speak, las, las, culture, language, and tool developers would be alright.

** Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It.

Key Takeaways

It's freeing to let go. Bruce Lee captured it perfectly: "It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential." It's an idea that's turned businesses on their head and made life easier — one that's changed the definition of productivity and success in a world full of information and distractions.

In a time of endless options, every task and every decision can take our attention. But success isn't about doing more; it's about doing less and focusing only on what genuinely matters.

Now, let's discuss the daily decrease. This is about getting rid of every unessential task and distraction that takes us away from our core focus. When we let go of the excess, we have time, mental clarity and energy to build and grow. It's here where a thoughtful approach to delegation, process and minimalism really pays off.

The cost of the unessential

The problem is not that entrepreneurs don't have drive or ambition; it's that they spend their time doing unimportant, endless tasks. Non-urgent emails can be answered, you can get bogged down in micromanagement or do some minor administrative duties that steal precious hours that could be spent on strategic growth or creative work.

In essence, every unessential task robs you twice: It costs you, first, of the time it directly consumes, and second, of the compounded value you could have created with that time. It's a low-return, high-cost task and a distraction that needs to be eliminated.

Minimalism in business — focusing on the core

Minimalism isn't just about owning less stuff; it's about removing unnecessary actions, distractions and decisions. Picture yourself running your business with the mentality of only holding what actually brings value. All of a sudden, you're not weighed down by a thousand things to do. You're focused, present and making impactful decisions instead.

Minimalism in business means:

Hacking away at the unessential

But how do you know which tasks to keep and which to let go? The idea is to find the activities that are directly in line with your core vision and purpose. Below is a roadmap to get you started.

1. Identify your core tasks

Your core tasks are the things only you can do that directly contribute to the growth and vision of your business. This could be big-picture planning, relationship nurturing or innovating products and services.

Action: Write down every task you do in a week and highlight the ones that actually affect your business growth. These are your core tasks. Everything else? Elimination or delegation of candidates.

2. Embrace the art of delegation

Giving up control isn't delegation; it's an expansion of your reach. When you have a team that knows your vision, you can trust them to do routine or secondary tasks so you can focus on higher-value work. Done right, delegation allows you to focus on what's important.

Action: Begin with one or two tasks you do on a regular basis that don't demand your special contribution. Teach your team how to manage these with autonomy so you can focus on big-picture work.

3. Run systems without you

A scalable business is a process-driven business. Tasks run smoothly with a minimal amount of intervention, thanks to systems. Automate where you can and minimize human involvement where you don't need it, such as for repetitive tasks like reporting, email responses and scheduling.

Action: Automate things like invoicing, scheduling and even customer service queries. For this, tools like CRMs, scheduling software and chatbots are great.

4. Limit your daily decisions

Decision fatigue is real. The more decisions you make in a day, the less energy you have for important ones. Get rid of the decisions you don't need to make to simplify your day. Whether it's picking out your daily outfit or scheduling meetings, simplify your choices so you can spend more time on important decisions.

Action: Set up routines for low-impact areas of your life, like having a standard dress code, automating meal choices and a fixed daily schedule to be able to focus on work.

5. Batch similar tasks together

The mental toll of switching between different tasks is that you become less effective and more drained. Constantly switching between tasks is a drag, but batching similar tasks — like handling emails all at once or setting aside specific times for meetings — helps to mitigate this.

Action: Group tasks together and dedicate specific times during the day to handle those tasks. Set "no-meeting" days or "email hours" to protect your focus and increase productivity.

6. Audit and prune your to-do list regularly

To-do lists tend to pile up. Each week, take a hard look at your task list and prune out items that don't serve your core goals anymore. If you have a task that has been sitting there for weeks and doesn't help you in achieving your larger objectives, then let it go.

Action: Get into the habit of reviewing your task list every Friday. For every item you have, ask yourself if it still fits your goals. Delete it or delegate it if not.

7. Protect your creative space

Creativity and strategy need space to grow. When every moment is filled with tasks, that's impossible. Make time for reflection, big-picture thinking and rest. These moments of stillness and focus are where the most groundbreaking ideas come from.

Action: Carve out creative time each week where you can't be interrupted by meetings or routine tasks. This time is to be used to strategize, innovate or just recharge.

Reaping the rewards of time

What you end up with is a day full of purpose and clarity as you hack away at the unessential. This isn't about checking off a long list of tasks; it's about making sure the tasks you do are the tasks that move you closer to your vision. You reclaim time by delegating, automating and cutting out the non-essentials.

Focusing on fewer, high-impact activities isn't just freeing up your time; it's creating momentum. What if you could use that extra time to deepen relationships, explore new ideas or make strategic moves for your business? This focused attention on the things that matter is what makes a business good and then great.

Your time is your wealth. Money is always replaceable, but time is not. Don't let it be eaten up by the unessential. Instead, invest your time in things that are in line with your purpose, delegate the rest, and watch your impact and your satisfaction multiply.

Let go of the unnecessary. Hack away at the clutter.

Entrepreneur

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced that foreign digital companies, including Google, Microsoft, TikTok, and others, paid a total of N2.55 trillion in taxes during the first half of 2024.

This figure was revealed in a statement issued on Tuesday by NITDA’s Director of Corporate Communications & Media Relations, Hadiza Umar. The data was sourced from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

NITDA praised companies such as Google, Microsoft, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok for their adherence to the Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms and Internet Intermediaries. The Code, developed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and NITDA, sets guidelines aimed at promoting online safety and managing harmful content.

NITDA also emphasized that the regulatory framework has had a positive impact on government revenue, with digital companies contributing significantly through tax payments. The data showed that interactive computer service platforms and social media companies operating in Nigeria contributed over N2.55 trillion (around $1.5 billion) in taxes during the first half of 2024.

"This impressive revenue growth highlights how effective regulatory policies can foster compliance while driving economic growth in the digital sector," NITDA said.

Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark, continuing its impressive rally spurred by Donald Trump's election win. The latest surge follows a key announcement from the President-elect, who signaled a more favorable regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies with his choice of Paul Atkins as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Trump revealed on Wednesday that he plans to nominate Atkins, a former SEC commissioner during George W. Bush's presidency, known for his stance against excessive market regulation. This move has been seen as a positive signal for the crypto industry, fueling investor optimism.

Since Trump’s victory on November 5, Bitcoin has soared to new heights, climbing from $69,374 on Election Day to a peak of $101,512 on Wednesday. This marks a dramatic rebound from the cryptocurrency’s plunge below $17,000 two years ago, following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.

While Bitcoin’s rise has been meteoric, it remains uncertain how long the digital currency will stay above the $100,000 threshold. As with all assets in the volatile crypto market, its future trajectory is unpredictable. While some investors remain optimistic about further gains, others continue to caution about the inherent risks.