On 13 December 1972, Zambia’s founding president, Kenneth Kaunda, signed into law the Constitution (Amendment) Acts, numbers 3,4 and 5, ending the country’s First Republic and ushering in a new constitution for the country, which promised a “One-Party Participatory Democracy” under “one and only one party…., namely, the United National Independence Party (UNIP).” All of this was to be realised under an official ideology of “Humanism.” The previous day, Zambia’s Court of Appeal had thrown out the case brought by veteran nationalist, Harry Nkumbula, in his appeal from the decision of the High Court dismissing his case against the establishment of a one-party state.

The developments leading to Zambia’s chastening detour into one-party authoritarianism under President Kaunda should offer an object lesson to President Bola Tinubu and all the people cheering him on in his transparent machinations to turn Nigeria into a single-party experiment, denuded of opposition parties.

Zambia’s march to one-party rule began following the general election in December 1968. At that election, the ruling UNIP of Kaunda had won an overwhelming majority. The African National Congress (ANC) of Harry Nkumbula came a distant second, with a handful of members of parliament confined to Nkumbula’s stronghold in the southern province.

The constitution adopted at Zambia’s independence in 1964 established a multi-party system of government. In 1940, Godwin Lewanika emerged as the president of the Northern Rhodesia Congress, the first organised political party in the country that would later come to be known as Zambia. 11 years later, the party became known as Northern Rhodesia African National Congress, under the leadership of Nkumbula, a teacher. Kaunda emerged two years later as the secretary-general of the party.

As their advocacy against white rule intensified, Nkumbula became more emollient, while Kaunda became radicalised. Following a split in the party, Kaunda emerged in 1958 as the factional leader of the Zambia African National Congress (ZANC). In March 1959, the party was banned and Kaunda herded into jail. UNIP was formed from the ashes of the banned ZANC, while Kaunda was in detention. Upon his release, Kaunda was installed leader of UNIP. In April 1961, Nkumbula was imprisoned for causing death by dangerous driving. By the time he emerged from jail in January 1962, Kaunda had eclipsed him politically.

Kaunda’s UNIP led the country to independence in 1964, with Nkumbula as leader of the opposition. Following the December 1968 elections, however, speaker of the National Assembly, Robinson Nabulyato, declined to recognise Nkumbula’s ANC as the leader of the opposition, claiming that the party could neither form a quorum nor execute the business of parliament or government. In doing this, Nabulyato channeled his party leader, Kaunda, who, mistaking himself for the country, had declared on the eve of Christmas in 1968: “I cannot see how I can continue to pay a police officer or civil servant who works for Nkumbula…. How dare they bite the hand that feeds them? They must learn that it pays to belong to UNIP.”

As Kaunda centralised power in and around himself, party management became more embittered into a contest between Zambia’s ethnic rivalries. In February 1972, with his most prominent political opponents detained, Kaunda appointed a Commission to work out the modalities for a new constitution on the basis of a single-party rule.

The job of the Commission was not to inquire whether the country desired to be run on the basis of one-party rule. Kaunda had already decided that it would. The only issue was how to bring that about. Comprising 21 members, Kaunda tapped Mainza Chona, his loyal vice-president, to chair the Commission. Nkumbula, leader of the ANC, declined his nomination as a member of the Commission. Reflecting the skeptical mood of the country, a basic education teacher advised the Commission at one of its public hearings that “the National Assembly should be turned into flats, since there was a housing shortage in Lusaka (the capital city) and no need for parliament in a one-party state.”

In October 1972, the Mainza Chona Commission reported to Kaunda. Shortly before receiving the report, Kaunda dismissed opponents of single party rule as “idiots and lost sheep”; told the public service that they existed “to serve the party in power”; and informed “the churches and the judiciary that their continued independence rested on being effective ‘mirror reflections’ of the nation”, which he subsumed in the ruling party.

Things moved swiftly thereafter. One month after receiving the report, in November 1972, Kaunda issued his white paper on the recommendations of the Mainza Chona Commission. On 8 December 1972, Zambia’s National Assembly did something that observers of Godswill Akpabio’s 10th National Assembly will by now have grown used to: the parliament suspended their rules and standing orders and, in one swift afternoon session, passed three separate bills to amend the constitution, rushing each through first, second and third readings without debate or discussion.

Four days later, the Court of Appeal perfunctorily dispensed with Nkumbula’s legal challenge. The following day, Kaunda signed the bills into law heralding the arrival of Zambia’s second Republic as a single-party state.

The new Constitution itself was not published until May 1973. The following month, on 27 June 1973, Nkumbula entered into the so-called Choma Declaration, dissolving his ANC and announcing that he and the remaining members of Parliament from his party had joined Kaunda’s UNIP. His capitulation was complete as was Kaunda’s transformation into the autocrat that he dearly desired to be. Delta’s State’s Sheriff Oborevwori in Nigeria will be relieved to know that he is not without storied predecessors in the pantheon of political harlotry.

Zambia was not the only country in which the judiciary acted as midwife to dismantling democratic pluralism and replacing it with a one-party autocracy. At its 1965-66 session, Sierra Leone’s parliament adopted a resolution asking the government to “give serious consideration to the introduction of a One Party System of government.” To implement this resolution, in April 1966, the government constituted a committee with the Orwellian mission to “collate and assess all views on the One Party System both in and out of Parliament and to make recommendations on the type of One Party System suitable for Sierra Leone.”

Three months later, the government issued its White Paper on the recommendations of the Committee. On 3 January 1967, the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone buried the legal challenge to the process of converting the country into single-party rule under a rash of legal technicalities. Unknown to them, Sierra Leone’s descent into eventual conflict in the next generation had begun.

It is impossible to behold the orchestrated emptying of opposition political parties currently on-going in Nigeria without recalling these examples from sister African countries, which presaged deeper descent into constitutional instability. The return of Tinubu to the country after his extended Lenten retreat to the land of the Marian Apparition (in Lourdes) has coincided with a rush of politicians seeking to outdo one another in emptying the country of viable political parties.

Ironically, Tinubu himself represents the example of a politician who resisted this tendency. After President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stole nearly all of the South-West from his Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 2003, Tinubu, then the only surviving opposition governor in the region, refused to give in. It took him two decades of back-breaking rebuilding to work his way to the top of the political grease-pole in the country. As he embarks on his own transparent journey to a “one-party participatory democracy”, Tinubu may wish to be reminded that of the major misfortunes in life, few are as ruinous as the tragedy of fulfilled desires.

** Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a professor of law, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and can be reached through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Prioritizing your joy can feel like an abstract assignment that, frankly, many of us don’t have time for. That’s why my favorite question to ask psychologists and mental health experts is, “How can we boost our happiness in just a few minutes, today?”

I’ve gotten some great responses. Giving someone a compliment can make you feel better, Yale University psychology professor Laurie Santos said. Anna Lembke, chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic and author of “Dopamine Nation,” told me to delete an app that I wish I used less for 30 days.    

One of the answers I found most useful came from Vienna Pharaon, a therapist and author of “The Origins of You.” To boost your mood quickly, Pharaon suggests executing a task you’ve been avoiding.

"Addressing something you've been ignoring lightens the load and allows you to accomplish something that's been weighing you down," she says.

It doesn’t have to be a traditional chore, or one that requires you to overextend yourself. “Going to bed earlier, drinking more water, having a hard conversation, getting in a challenging workout, putting your phone down at night” all can count, Pharaon says. 

If you have a larger project that you can’t do quickly, break it up into smaller tasks you can tackle in five to 10 minutes. Deep cleaning your kitchen, for example, might take a couple hours, but you can probably empty out your fridge pretty fast. 

For me, advice like this makes pursuing a more joyful life seem less ambiguous and more doable.

CNBC

Presidents, royalty and simple mourners bade farewell to Pope Francis on Saturday at a solemn funeral ceremony, where a cardinal appealed for the pontiff's legacy of caring for migrants, the downtrodden and the environment to be kept alive.

U.S. President Donald Trump sat with the rows of foreign dignitaries on one side of Francis' coffin in the vast St. Peter's Square.

On the other side sat cardinals who will pick Francis' successor at a conclave next month, deciding if the new pope should continue with the late pontiff's push for a more open Church or cede to conservatives who want to return to a more traditional papacy.

The Argentine pope, who reigned for 12 years, died at the age of 88 on Monday after suffering a stroke.

"Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today's challenges, Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time," said Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who presided over the funeral Mass.

In spiritual language, the 91-year-old Re gave a simple message: there was no going back. The first pontiff from Latin America had been "attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church," he said.

Francis repeatedly called for an end to conflict during his papacy. His funeral provided an opportunity for Trump, who is pushing for a deal to end Russia's war with Ukraine, to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy inside St. Peter's Basilica.

Applause rang out as Francis' coffin, inlaid with a large cross, was brought out of the basilica and into the sun-filled square by 14 white-gloved pallbearers at the start of the Mass.

The Vatican estimated more than 250,000 people attended the ceremony, cramming the square and the roads around.

The crowds clapped loudly again at the end of the service when the ushers picked up the casket and tilted it slightly so more people could see.

Aerial views of the Vatican showed a patchwork of colours - black from the dark garb of the world's leaders, red from the vestments of some 250 cardinals, the purple worn by some of the 400 bishops and the white worn by 4,000 attending priests.

After the funeral, as the great bells of St. Peter's pealed in mourning, the coffin was placed on an open-topped popemobile and driven through the heart of Rome to St. Mary Major Basilica.

Francis, who shunned much of the pomp and privilege of the papacy, had asked to be buried there rather than in St. Peter's -- the first time a pope had been laid to rest outside the Vatican in more than a century.

The burial itself was conducted in private.

The popemobile left the Vatican from the Perugino Gate, a side entrance just yards away from the Santa Marta guesthouse where Francis had chosen to live, instead of the ornate Renaissance apartments in the papal palace.

Crowds estimated by police as numbering some 150,000 lined the 5.5-km (3.4-mile) route to St. Mary Major. The scene resembled many popemobile rides Francis took in his 47 trips to all corners of the world.

Some in the crowd waved signs and others threw flowers towards the casket. They shouted "viva il papa" (long live the pope) and "ciao, Francesco" (goodbye, Francis) as the procession made its way around Rome's ancient monuments, including the Colosseum.

Reuters

The Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) has revealed that it has paid hundreds of millions of naira in ransom to secure the release of its kidnapped members, underscoring Nigeria’s worsening insecurity and its devastating economic impact on families and institutions.

At a press conference in Jos on Friday, ECWA’s General Secretary, Ayuba Asheshe, lamented the persistent targeting of church members, particularly in Kaduna and Plateau states, where armed gangs continue to terrorize communities with near-total impunity.

Hundreds of Millions Paid, Dozens Still in Captivity

Asheshe disclosed that the church is currently negotiating for the release of about 50 abducted members, adding to the already staggering financial burden.

“The church has already expended hundreds of millions of naira as ransom payment. Yet, over 50 individuals remain in captivity, placing an unbearable financial strain on the church and affected families, many of whom have lost their livelihoods,” he said.

The crisis has hit farming communities hardest, further crippling food production and local economies in regions already struggling with poverty.

Relentless Attacks in Kaduna, Plateau

In Kwassam District, Kauru LGA of Kaduna State, over 20 lives have been lost to relentless banditry and kidnappings, while in Binawa, Lere LGA, 16 people were abducted in a single night, with six killed and four injured.

Plateau State has also seen a horrifying surge in violence. In April alone, Fulani militia attacks in Hurti Village (Bokkos LGA) and Zike/Kimakpa (Bassa LGA) left 90 dead, including pastors, women, and children. Hundreds of homes were burned, farmlands destroyed, and food supplies looted—deepening hunger and displacement.

A Nation in Crisis

These incidents reflect Nigeria’s broader security collapse, where kidnappings, banditry, and communal violence have spiraled out of control. The economic fallout is severe: families are bankrupted by ransom demands, farmers are displaced, and entire communities live in fear.

ECWA’s revelations highlight not just a security emergency but a looming humanitarian and economic disaster, as Nigeria’s instability continues to drive poverty, hunger, and despair.

Hamas open to long Gaza truce but not to disarming, an official says

Hamas is open to a years-long truce with Israel in Gaza but is not willing to lay down its arms, an official said on Saturday, as leaders of the Palestinian Islamist militant group met mediators in Cairo for ceasefire talks.

Sources close to the talks told Reuters Hamas hoped to build support among mediators for its offer, adding the group might agree to a five to seven-year truce in return for ending the war, allowing for the rebuilding of Gaza, the freeing of Palestinians jailed by Israel and the release of all hostages.

"The idea of a truce or its duration is not rejected by us, and we are ready to discuss it within the framework of negotiations. We are open to any serious proposals to end the war," said Taher Al-Nono, the media adviser for the Hamas leadership, in the first clear signal that the group was open to a longer-term truce.

However, Nono ruled out a core Israeli demand that Hamas lay down its arms. Israel wants to see Gaza demilitarised.

"The weapon of resistance is not negotiable and will remain in our hands as long as the occupation exists," Nono said.

Hamas' founding charter calls for Israel's destruction, but it has signalled in the past that it might agree to a long-term truce in return for ending Israeli occupation.

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel downplayed chances this week for the new proposal to lead to a breakthrough unless Israel's core demands were met.

"The war could end tomorrow if Hamas released the remaining 59 hostages and laid down its weapons," Haskel said in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza on March 18 after a January ceasefire collapsed, saying it would keep up pressure on Hamas until it frees the remaining hostages still held in the enclave. Up to 24 of them are believed to still be alive.

Israel has blocked all aid into Gaza and hundreds of thousands have been displaced as its forces have seized territories it has designated as a buffer zone. More than 2,000 Palestinians, many of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli strikes since, according to health authorities.

The war was triggered by Hamas' October 7 2023 attack which killed 1,200 people, and saw 251 hostages taken to Gaza. Since then, more than 51,400 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to local health officials.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Kursk Region fully liberated from Ukrainians – Putin

The Russian military has completely liberated the border Kursk Region from Ukrainian forces, President Vladimir Putin has said after being briefed on the battlefield situation by General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov.

In a video address shared by the Kremlin on Saturday, Putin thanked Russian service members “who took part in defeating the neo-Nazi groups” that invaded the region last summer.

“The Kiev regime’s adventure has completely failed, and the huge losses suffered by the enemy, including among the most combat-ready, trained and equipped, including by Western models of equipment… will certainly be reflected along the entire line of combat contact,” he said.

According to Putin, the Russian success sets the stage for further advances in other areas of the front, bringing final victory in the conflict closer.

The Russian president praised several units that took active part in first stalling the Ukrainian incursion and then pushing the enemy forces back. He particularly lauded volunteers from the 11th Airborne Assault Brigade, 30th Rifle Regiment and the Akhmat Special Forces unit who infiltrated deep into Kiev-controlled territory via an underground pipeline near the town of Sudzha.

The daring operation led to a complete crumbling of Ukrainian defenses. According to Gerasimov, total Ukrainian losses during the Kursk incursion amounted to more than 76,000 servicemen killed and wounded, as well as more than 7,700 units of military equipment lost, including 412 tanks, and 340 infantry fighting vehicles, and 314 armored personnel carriers.
The chief of the General Staff went on to confirm that Russia’s military effort in Kursk Region was supported by North Korean troops, whose assistance was provided under the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed last year. Ukraine launched its incursion into Kursk Region last August, initially gaining some ground and capturing numerous settlements before their advance was checked by Russian forces.
Putin has characterized the incursion as an attempt by Kiev to divert attention from Moscow’s offensive in Donbass, adding that this ploy has failed. Ukrainian officials described the operation as a way to gain leverage in potential peace talks with Russia.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia says last Ukrainian troops expelled from Kursk region, Kyiv denies assertion

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed on Saturday what he said was the complete failure of an offensive by Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region after Moscow said they had been expelled from the last village they had been holding.

Russia also confirmed for the first time that North Korean soldiers have been fighting alongside Russian troops in Kursk, with the chief of the military General Staff praising their "heroism" in helping to drive out the Ukrainians.

However, Kyiv denied that its forces had been expelled from Kursk and said they were also still operating in Belgorod, another Russian region bordering Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces seized a swathe of territory in Kursk region last August in a surprise incursion that embarrassed Putin. Russian forces, later reinforced by North Korean troops, have been trying ever since to drive them out.

Putin, speaking amid intensified diplomatic efforts by the Trump administration to end the Ukraine conflict, said the expulsion of Ukrainian forces from Russian soil opened the way for further Russian successes inside Ukraine.

"The Kyiv regime's adventure has completely failed," Putin said in video footage released by the Kremlin that showed him receiving a report from the head of Russia's general staff, Valery Gerasimov.

"The full defeat of the enemy in the Kursk border region creates conditions for further successful actions by our forces on other important parts of the front," Putin added.

Gerasimov told Putin that the last occupied settlement in the Kursk region, the village of Gornal, had been "liberated from Ukrainian units" on Saturday.

"Thus the defeat of the armed formations of the Ukrainian armed forces that had invaded the Kursk region has been completed," Gerasimov said.

The Ukrainian military, in a statement later posted on social media platform Telegram, said its forces were continuing their operations in some districts of Kursk region.

Ukraine also denied Gerasimov's assertion that all Ukrainian "sabotage groups" had been "liquidated" in Belgorod region, where Kyiv's forces launched an incursion last month.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield assertions of either side.

Russia's Defence Ministry said the armed forces were now helping authorities in the Kursk region to restore "peaceful life" and to remove mines planted there.

NORTH KOREANS

Gerasimov praised the North Korean officers and soldiers' contribution in Kursk, saying they had shown "high professionalism, fortitude, courage and heroism", fulfilling combat tasks "shoulder to shoulder" with Russian servicemen.

North Korea sent an estimated total of 14,000 troops, including 3,000 reinforcements to replace its losses, Ukrainian officials said. Lacking armoured vehicles and drone warfare experience, they took heavy casualties but adapted quickly.

Russia had previously neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops in Kursk.

Russia's military cooperation with North Korea has grown rapidly since Moscow became internationally isolated after invading Ukraine in February 2022.

Kyiv says North Korea has supplied Russia with vast amounts of artillery shells as well as rocket systems, thousands of troops and ballistic missiles, which Moscow began using for strikes against Ukraine at the end of 2023.

Russia and North Korea have denied weapons transfers, which would violate U.N. embargoes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had hoped his forces' seizure of Russian territory would give him a bargaining chip in any future talks to end the war in his country.

Zelenskiy held what the White House described as a "very productive" meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday in Rome, where both leaders were attending the funeral of Pope Francis.

Trump is pressuring Zelenskiy to agree to give up some Ukrainian territory to help end the three-year war that has caused large-scale casualties and devastation in cities, towns and villages across Ukraine.

RT/Reuters

The Hausa people (or Hausawa) are the original and indigenous people of Hausaland, traversing the North-West, and parts of North-East and North-Central (or Middle-Belt) of Nigeria. They are the largest ethnic group in West and Central Africa.

The Middle-Belt people (or Middle-Belters) are the indigenous non-Hausa, non-Yoruba and non-Igbo peoples of North-Central Nigeria. They are a conglomeration of different ethnic minorities, forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria.

Unlike the Hausa, who are ethnically homogenous and largely Muslims, Middle-Belters are ethnically, culturally and religiously heterogeneous. Yet, Middle-Belters share a lot in common with Hausa people.

Both are very humble, modest, kind, respectful, receptive, hospitable, and accommodating, to the extent that if you are not one of them, but live among them, your children are likely to lose their identity, values, language and culture, and adopt those of Hausawa or Middle-Belters.

They are largely agrarian. Farming and agrarian-related businesses are integral to their lives, traditions and cultures. They are highly industrious and committed to whatever they believe, and whatever they do. For them, there are no half measures.

The Middle-Belters and Hausawa are a deeply religious and profoundly spiritual people. They take religion and spiritualism seriously. They fit into the people described in Chapter 2:219 of Quran; those who said, “We hear and we obey.” People who hear the words/verses of ALMIGHTY GOD, whether in the Quran or Bible, and accept the faith, and submit to GOD.

While the Middle-Belters are largely Christians, the Hausawa are predominantly Muslims. Both, however, have believers of the African Traditional Religions (ATRs).

Both peoples have been penetrated, deceived, misled, cheated, and made to do ungodly things, including engaging in violence, by all sorts of people who eat with, divide, dominate, oppress, exploit and dehumanise them, particularly through religion!

The Hausawa and Middle-Belters are politically subordinated people in Nigeria. The political subordination of the Middle-Belters arose from their small numerical strength; their ethnic, religious, and cultural diversities – which make political unity difficult; and the fact they do not occupy dominant positions in the country, the polity and the economy.

In contrast, the Hausawa are a dormant majority. They have a huge population, are ethnically, religiously and culturally homogeneous, and have electoral power. But all these go to serve, benefit, protect, defend and reinforce the interests of Fulani oligarchs.

Fulani oligarchs comprise Fulani aristocrats, politicians, clerics, serving and retired technocrats, bureaucrats, the upper echelon of serving and retired military and security officers, business tycoons, academics, journalists, and even lumpens, amongst others, who believe and fight for Fulani hegemony and dominance in Nigeria.

The Fulanis are, thus, a dominant minority. This is a dominance that arose from their conquest and colonisation of Hausaland and neigbouring states in 1805. This was consolidated by the reinforcement of Fulani colonialism by the British imperialist forces; the deliberate exclusion of Hausawa from acquiring Western education; the high restriction of their recruitment into the civil, military, and para-military services; and virtual exclusion in the affairs of the state and society.

Since the late 1980s, the Hausawa and Middle-Belters have fiercely fought “religious wars” between themselves. They have foolishly murdered themselves and others for the sake of their “religion”! In fact, the easiest weapon needed to deceive and mislead Middle-Belters and Hausawa is religion.

Notwithstanding, their religious hostilities, economic necessities and the realities on ground, including poverty, hunger, suffering and diseases, keep uniting them more than religions divide them. The Hausawa and Middle-Belters are progressively realising that religion does not feed, shelter, cloth or pay school fees. Therefore, that enough is enough; and peace must reign between them!

But since 2015, the Hausawa and Middle-Belters have been increasingly threatened by Fulani terrorists. Terrorism is defined here as a deliberately calculated, highly insidious, and extremely ferocious violence directed against innocent people. It is violence conceived, designed, and executed to spread fear, harass and intimidate innocent people into total submission, and to secure material, financial, economic, political, physical and psychological benefits, as well as sexual satisfaction through rape.

Examples of the activities of Fulani terrorists include, but are not limited to, kidnapping for huge ransoms; the destruction of farms with their herds; the injury, maiming, and massacring of indigenous peoples of Nigeria; the sacking of towns and villages; and occupation of same by Fulani people. It also includes the desecration and invasion of mosques and churches by Fulani terrorists; indiscriminate shooting and killing of people, including religious clerics; and the raping of women, children, and even men.

Fulani terrorism began in Zamfara State, systematically spread to the entire North-West geopolitical zone, gradually moved to the Middle-Belt area, and is now spreading southward, like bush fire in harmattan. It is much more ferocious, deadlier, and destructive than Boko Haram (BH) terrorism, which is mainly restricted to Borno and Yobe states, and northern parts of Adamawa State.

The Hausawa have noted the statement of a Fulani terrorist leader that they are not active in the south of Nigeria because the Fulanis in position of power have not authorised them to terrorise that part of the country.

Middle-Belters have drawn attention to the fact that they have virtually stopped farming due to the activities of Fulani terrorists; that their lands are increasingly being taken over and occupied by Fulanis; and that they are helpless because when they defend themselves, the police compel them to pay heavy compensation to the families of the Fulanis.

Middle-Belters give the example of one Sunday Jackson in Adamawa State, who in the process of defending himself, in his farm, from a Fulani herder’s attack, killed the herder, but was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of Nigeria!

Both the Middle-Belters and Hausawa are beginning to posit that, whether in the past or present, they have all suffered from Fulani exploitation, oppression, and dehumanisation. That, as a matter of fact, the Fulani oligarchs have succeeded in dividing and ruling them. That Fulanis are responsible for their underdevelopment as a people.

The Hausawa are progressively disassociating themselves from the Fulanis. They are forcefully condemning and logically insisting that they are not “Hausa-Fulani”, describing the term as illogical, un-Islamic, and deceptive. They are forcefully proclaiming that “Hausa daban, Fulani daban” – meaning the Hausawa are different from Fulanis, whether physiologically, historically, ethnically, linguistically or culturally.

The Middle-Belters, in turn, are asserting that they are not “Northerners” but “Middle-Belters”, with distinct ethnicities, languages, cultures, histories, and interests.

Both peoples recognise and insist that they are closer to one another because they are indigenous to Nigeria; and have been, and are still, historically exploited, oppressed, and dehumanised by the Fulani oligarchs.

Now, Hausa and Middle-Belters are forming mass-based movements at all levels of society to confront what they term as Fulani domination, oppression, and dehumanisation. The most popular, powerful and assertive Hausawa movement is the “Hausawa Tsantsa Development Association (HTDA)”, led by a fiery woman, Hajiya Kaltum Alumbe Jitami. The future beckons.

** Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God ~ 1Corinthians 1:23-24.

Introduction

In life, we all have to deal with the unexpected once in a while. See, it is one thing to boast of faith when all things are going great and wonderful, but it’s an entirely different ballgame when all vital indices are looking desperate, and one can only walk in the triumph of trust (Psalm 55:23).

Remember Job! For as long as the ugly situations around him lasted, it was like he was stuck in a bad deal, and his condition was only getting worse by the day.

Until God intervened to give him an historic turnaround, he was only painfully aware of his own grim powerlessness! He didn’t even have the option of running away, or hiding somewhere, though he wanted to, badly (Job 14:13-14).

The stark and shocking reality of life is that being holy, doing the right thing, serving God or even having faith doesn’t always exempt you from such challenging and disgusting scenarios. Paul & Silas were even jailed for being active in their kingdom duty posts, preaching the Word, casting out devils and leading people to Christ.

Meanwhile, oftentimes, whatever we see as an unexpected crisis is really never a surprise to God. Nothing surprises God, not even your present challenges. He knows it all from the beginning, and He has the Wonderful Solution, a divine “joker” so to say, suited for all challenges and situations of life, no matter the forms they may take.

Now, whenever challenges show up, anyhow and from anywhere, the wisest route out of the downward spiral situations of anguish is to know and to fully embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. And, it is crucial that we understand that!

All in all and in it all, Jesus Christ is our everything! He is the most important person in all our life-spaces, and He’s extremely pertinent to our lives and godliness, now, here and hereafter. Please hold that fact tight!

He is our Saviour, our Healer, our Deliverer, our Baptizer, our Provider, our Guide, our Guard, our Source of joy, our Fountain of inspiration, our Coming King: He’s our Everything (Isaiah 9:6). Indisputably, He’s Emmanuel, the only true and lasting peace in our world (Luke 2:14; John 17:13).

Consequent upon Christ’s finished work of redemption on Calvary’s Cross, one of the irreversible verdicts of scripture is that the believers’ perpetual triumph is now a forgone conclusion (2Corinthians 2:14). Nevertheless, the real secret here is in the valiant Spirit of God’s power and wisdom, which is summed up in Christ Jesus.

Yes, Jesus Christ is clearly set forth as the Wisdom and the Power of God (1Corinthians 1:24). In other words, both the logos and the logics of heaven are lumped together in Jesus Christ! Isn’t that absolutely thrilling?

Nevertheless, the most dizzying and clearly mind-boggling thing here is that this same Christ — the Power and the Wisdom of God — is actually domiciled in us, now!

Thus, whenever the unexpected happens, or you find yourself facing a crisis moment, you shouldn’t automatically go into panic mode or become emotionally wrecked, because you’re equipped with the ultimate solution.

If you are a believer in Christ, both the power and the wisdom of God dwell within you, now! The devil cannot gain the upper hand against you, and his weapons shall never prosper in your life again (Isaiah 54:17). Alleluia!

No matter the situation, like He did unto David, the One who is called “Wonderful” shall surely make you a wonder unto many, and you shall enjoy His tangible goodness within and all around you, in Jesus name (Psalm 71:7)! But, we must know this for real to fully enjoy it!

Maturing Ourselves In the Use of the Name of Jesus Christ!

I believe Job was making very clear allusions to the wonderfulness of Jesus Christ, even in the days of his trials, when he said: “I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvelous things without number” (Job 5:8-9).

Yes indeed, Jesus Christ is capable and ever ready to do for us and through us incredible things and wonders without number (Job 9:10).

However, the greatest joy here is that the believers everywhere are His authorized representatives and ambassadors of goodwill on the earth today. He dwells within us to restore man back to the image of God and to the platform of wonders in the world.(Colossians 1:27; 1John 4:4).

Meanwhile, as members of God’s great family, we must never lose sight of our most precious possession and choicest treasure: the Name of Jesus Christ. We must rather give it all it takes to firmly mature ourselves in using it to glorify God on earth!

With the name of Jesus Christ, God has equipped the believers for victory in every battle of life, granted us access to His treasure house of answers when we pray, and He goes before us to make our crooked places straight!

Friends and beloved brethren, instead of focusing on your problem, focus on the Almighty God in Christ Jesus. He is with you, and He wants to walk with you, leading and guiding you to a place of peace and victory.

Happily, as He is, so are we in this world (1John 4:17). Since Jesus never failed, you shall not fail again. He knew no sin, sin shall not dominate you again! He was never sick, believe God that sicknesses shall no longer exact upon your health again!

Jesus Christ lives in majesty, we should not live in poverty and lack. He dominated situations and circumstances, even nature; we should not be overruled by any situation or circumstances anymore.

This is your day: you shall rule and reign by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). No matter what happened before, trust in God evermore. He could still take whatever the enemy meant for evil and turn it around for your good.

Contrary winds may be howling, and demons may be growling, just keep in mind that God never runs out of supernatural supplies (Philippians 4:19). He always leads His own forward in victory! So keep moving in faith, knowing that He has a good plan for you! You won’t miss it, 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

Paul is the chief exponent in the scriptures of the imperative to have the mind of Christ. He taught what he lived, so we have him as our chief example.

Paul teaches that:

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This new creation is new and will become new. He comes fully loaded but starts like a child, with everything needed to become a man already in place. In effect, if anyone is in Christ, he has the potential to become like Christ. But he must grow in Christ. He has put on Christ and must put on Christ.

“For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27).

He must work out what God has worked in him. (Philippians 2:13). So, Paul tells us to put on what God has given to us.

“Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”(Ephesians 4:24).

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts.” (Romans 13:14).

The Future Is Now

Jesus says:

“The hour is coming, and now is.” (John 4:23).

One new thing that is coming, and now is, refers to our mind. Paul affirms that:

“We have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

But this mind must be developed.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5-6).

Allow the mind of Christ to be in you. Do not impede it. God is at work in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.

Therefore, we have to jettison the old and put on the new.

“Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Ephesians 4:23).  

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2).

Single-mindedness 

Paul was single-minded. He says:

“I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

James says:

“A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:8).

Paul was pre-eminently Christ-centred. This single-mindedness was the source of his stability in affliction and adversity. Paul’s concerns were never about himself. His concerns and preoccupations were always about Christ and the gospel.

Can you forget about yourself for some time? After all, you are supposed to be dead. A dead man is no longer concerned about himself.

Paul says:

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).

Paul’s body was not his own. His future was not his own. His reputation was not his own. He tried to put himself last in every situation.

He regarded everything that happened to him as circumstances sent by God to exalt Christ and promote the gospel. If he is jailed, it is to Christ’s advantage.  

“I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.” (Philippians 1:12-13). 

Nothing can happen to Paul that he would not see from Christ’s vantage point. Whatever happened to him, he regarded it as being to Christ’s advantage. This meant he would not grumble or complain about anything.

“According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.” (Philippians 1:20).

Fellowship of Suffering

Paul considered it to be a privilege to suffer for Christ.

“For to you has been given the privilege not only of trusting him but also of suffering for him.” (Philippians 1:29).

In Philippians 3:10, he calls it the fellowship of Christ’s suffering. Similarly, in the book of Acts, the apostles were excited when they were beaten for Christ’s sake.

“When they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” (Acts 5:40-41).

Jesus prescribes this fellowship in adversity:

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12).

Paul understood that the purpose of God was in every situation and circumstance of the life of a believer. Therefore, he prescribes that in everything, give thanks.

Self-abnegation

Paul made it a habit not to think of himself, but to think of others. He also made a point of praying for others. He sought to encourage others. His heaven on earth was helping others.

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy.” (Philippians 1:3-4).

“Just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:7-8).

If there were chains on Paul’s wrists, he re-conceptualised them as his “bonds in Christ.” If his adversaries were causing trouble in his absence while he was under house arrest, he rejoiced that they were preaching Christ.

If his friends were worried about his incarceration and were praying for him, he became excited that this would exalt Christ. If there was a possibility that he might be killed, then he believed that Christ would be magnified in his death.

In his single-mindedness, Paul put Christ and the furtherance of the gospel ahead of everything else.

In effect, nothing that man can do can take away Paul’s joy in Christ. Imprison him, and Paul simply tells you he is a prisoner of Christ. Chain him to a guard, and Paul is convinced that the whole design was to give him a captive audience who is to be won over to the gospel.

Confidence in Christ

As a single-minded Christian, Paul refused to allow circumstances to overcome him. On the contrary, he turned every circumstance into an opportunity to magnify Christ and to win souls.

Above all, Paul was confident about the supremacy of God. He was confident that the Philippians would continue in their Christian walk, not because of any diligence on the part of the church, but because of the power of God.

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6).

He was confident that his trials had given believers in Rome new confidence in the gospel.  

“Most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” (Philippians 1:14).

He was confident that he would soon come through the trials and be restored to his friends.  

“And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith.” (Philippians 1:25).

This is the blessing of being single-minded. The single-minded believer has joyful confidence in the Lord, knowing that Jesus controls all situations and circumstances.

One Mind 

Christian single-mindedness leads to submissiveness. Submissiveness to God yields sacrifice and service. The mind of Christ is submissive, meek, and lowly. Humility is not thinking of ourselves at all. But exaltation always follows humiliation. 

Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6).

With Christ at the centre and as the glue, Christians are supposed to be like-minded, having the same love, of one spirit, and of the same purpose.

“Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” (Philippians 2:1-2).

Nothing is to be done out of selfish ambition and each believer is enjoined to consider others better than himself and to be concerned about the interests of others.

Jesus is the prime example of this selfless humility.

“Let each of us please his neighbour for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.’” (Romans 15:2-3).

“Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6).

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