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Adeboye advises Nigerians to be thankful amidst challenges, condemns indecent dressing

Published

1 day ago

January 6, 2025

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has encouraged Nigerians to cultivate an attitude of gratitude to God, regardless of the challenges they face.

Delivering his sermon at the church’s annual thanksgiving service tagged “All Round Praise” at the national headquarters in Ebute-Metta, Lagos, Pastor Adeboye highlighted the importance of appreciating God’s mercy in difficult times.

Citing the ongoing economic hardships and rising prices, Pastor Adeboye said, “If you don’t know what to thank God for, thank Him for His mercy.

“You are alive today not because of your ability, strength, or wisdom but because of His mercy. The Bible says, ‘A living dog is better than a dead lion.’ As long as you are breathing, there is hope for you.”

He further reflected on the value of life and the often-overlooked gift of breathing, drawing parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic, where many faced challenges with basic respiration.

“During the pandemic, those who couldn’t breathe needed oxygen masks to survive. As long as you can breathe, there’s hope, and those who have written you off will be surprised because your tomorrow will be alright,” he assured the congregation.

On the subject of gratitude, Pastor Adeboye shared a poignant message about mental health, clothing, and societal values. “Maybe you didn’t have new clothes for Christmas, but you are not naked, and that shows you are not crazy. Many have plenty of clothes, but they have lost their minds. Nebuchadnezzar was a king with abundant clothing, yet he roamed naked among animals when things went wrong with his mind.”

Pastor Adeboye also criticized the growing trend of indecent dressing, equating it to a form of practical nakedness. “Today, we see people exposing what clothes are supposed to cover. They celebrate this on television, but it’s not right,” he said, calling for a return to modesty and decency in appearance.

RCCG Declares 100 Days Fast.

Meanwhile, the RCCG has announced its annual 100-day fasting exercise, set to commence on January 11, 2025, and conclude on April 21, 2025. Themed “RCCG Fast 2025”, the Special Assistant to the General Overseer, Pastor Oladele Balogun, shared that the spiritual exercise will include 30 days of focused intercession for Nigeria.

Pastor Adeboye emphasized the critical role of prayer during fasting, stating, “Without prayer, fasting is just a hunger strike.” He expressed confidence that the fasting period would bring about a divine turnaround for Nigeria and urged participants to maintain a prayerful attitude throughout.

The event reinforced themes of gratitude, modesty, and spiritual dedication, offering hope for better days ahead for the nation and its people.

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Finally, NFF appoints Éric Chelle as Head Coach of Super Eagles

Published

26 minutes ago

January 7, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

After months of dilly dallying, the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has endorsed the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee for the appointment of Mr. Éric Sékou Chelle as Head Coach of Nigeria’s senior men national football team, Super Eagles.

At its meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, 2nd January 2025, the NFF Technical and Development Sub-Committee had recommended the appointment of former Coach of the senior men national team of Mali as the new Head Coach of the Super Eagles.

This recommendation was on Tuesday, 7th January endorsed by the NFF Executive Committee.

Chelle, who won five caps for the Aiglons of Mali and coached clubs such as GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne and MC Oran, has been Head Coach of the Aiglons since 2022.

At the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cote d’Ivoire, Chelle’s Mali came very close to a place in the semi-finals, losing to hosts and eventual winners Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 after extra time, after leading by a lone goal until the final minute of regulation time.

The 47-year-old featured for Martigues, Valenciennes, Lens, Istres and Chamois Niortais in France during his playing career.

His appointment is with immediate effect, and he has the responsibility of guiding the Super Eagles to earn a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals, with the next round of matches (Matchdays 5 & 6) taking place in March.

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Zambian Amb to South Africa fired for asking male staff to shave her pubic air p

Published

31 minutes ago

January 7, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The President of Zambia has fired the country’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Ms. Mazuba Monze, for misconduct, according to a report by the Zambian Observer.

The President took the decision after the High Commissioner reportedly asked a male staff member to shave her.

The diplomat, who was serving at the Zambian Mission in Pretoria had reportedly made an uncommon request, and an undiplomatic directive.

Apparently, the High Commissioner requested a Zambian staff member to shave her private parts.

The staff member refused, stating that it was not part of his duties to shave ambassadors, especially their private parts

The High Commissioner reportedly termed this act as disobedience and an act of insubordination and proceeded to fire the staff member.

The matter went quiet for a while until he appealed against the decision and brought the matter to the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

When the allegation about the strange request by Ms Monze was verified, President Hakainde Hichilema promptly fired the High Commissioner.

Meanwhile, other reports suggest that the allegation against Ms Monze was exaggerated.

The Maravi Post reports that a concerned Zambian living in South Africa has come forward, claiming that the allegations against Ms. Monze may have been exaggerated or fabricated by her detractors.

News

Foreign Policy: The Path To Peace In A Dangerous Neighbourhood

Published

1 hour ago

January 7, 2025

Gloria Ikibah

Nigeria’s foreign policy to promote peace and prosperity is a constitutional obligation as much as it is a considered and sensible manifesto pledge, writes Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar (OON) Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I was born in a civil war and was not able to vote for my leader until I was in my 30s. Nigeria is now a country guided by the rule of law and a constitution that clearly defines our system of government. This includes our foreign policy objectives, and rightly so, because in an interconnected world, we define our sovereignty in the context of certain, key principles: our right to self-determination; our right to defend our autonomy and secure our borders; and responsibility to respect our obligations under international law.

As foreign minister, I think these provisions are not just reasonable but vital – both for our own democracy, domestic peace and prosperity but also for a more just and stable international order. But the point is this: it is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, not the manifesto of a political party or predilections of a particular politician, that lays out these provisions. In a democracy, we have the privilege of healthy debate about our values, policies and performance. But if we are to live up to the responsibilities that come with democracy, that debate should be informed, fair and reasonable.

I respect the Constitution and its vision for Nigeria’s place in the international community, as do many of us. It has been an honour and a privilege to protect and promote those constitutional principles. They are the best guarantees for legitimacy, and the authority all governments need if they are to deliver. It is complex and time consuming. To our cost, we have learnt that there are no short cuts. Some Nigerians find fault in our Constitution, while others seek to amend it. There is always room for serious debate in a healthy democracy. But the fact remains it is the very document that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and every public official has sworn to uphold since 1999.

Nigeria’s Constitution declares that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria, from whom government, through this Constitution, derives all its powers and authority. The same Chapter of the Constitution goes on to state Nigeria’s five foreign policy objectives: promotion and protection of the national interest, African integration and support for African unity, promotion of international cooperation for peace and mutual respect, respect of international law and treaty obligations and promotion of a just world economic order. Those who suggest Nigeria does not have a foreign policy or those who agitate for a shift away from an Afro-centric foreign policy are wrong; either they are ill-informed, or deliberately disingenuous.

The irony of it all is that Nigerians are able to speak in support of our military-ruled neighbours, governed without constitutions, precisely because Chapter Four of our own constitution guarantees them these rights and freedoms. This is not the same for the citizens ruled by the very regimes for which they seek to cheerlead of those countries governed without constitutions. Nigerians who are older than 30 know this to be true because we have been there, done that. Somehow in the passage of time, some forget that the military regime here that despatched troops to restore democracy in Sierra Leone and Liberia in the 1990s had first – and by force – taken that same democracy and rule of law away from us – just as military regimes continue to do the world over.

The Constitution also makes clear why any responsible Nigerian government should be concerned when neighbours are governed without a constitution or codified rules. It goes without saying that the sovereignty of our neighbours is their business. They can grant powers to whatever governing structures they deem fit and should expect their autonomy to remain safeguarded. But when our Interdependence Sovereignty overlaps, we equally have a right to exercise control over our borders in those cases where neighbours face insurgencies that significantly comprise territorial integrity and state authority.

International Legal Sovereignty also becomes an issue when we consider that respect for international law and treaty obligations is one of our irreducible foreign policy objectives. This is not the Tinubu administration’s foreign policy; it is a constitutional provision that every Nigerian President and government official swears to uphold. Nigeria is a member of ECOWAS, which is founded on treaties and protocols to which our foreign policy objectives commit us. All 15 member countries are signatory to the treaties and protocols, which is why it was no surprise that President Tinubu, as one who swore to uphold the Constitution, abided by it when ECOWAS leaders collectively objected to Unconstitutional Changes of Government.

In reality, the contemporary nation-state system is highly competitive and Nigeria exists in a self-help world. Our Constitution and international laws are meant to serve as guard rails in navigating the system. And by virtue of our size, we have the additional responsibility of being the regional power. Regardless of how some may try to diminish our standing, it is the way other countries perceive us. Our Constitution further reifies this leadership role right from the preamble- dedicating ourselves to promoting inter-African solidarity, to the foreign policy objectives- promotion of African integration and support for African unity and elimination of discrimination in all its manifestations.

The Tinubu administration comes at a time when an interlocking suite of occurrences have made our neighbourhood less secure; implosion of Libya, failure of the EU Sahel Strategy, terrorism and criminal gangs, effects of climate change and population explosion. Nigeria did not create these challenges and was equally contending with its own domestic issue as these challenges escalated. Nigeria was not part of Operation Barkhane or the G5 in the Sahel, which were intended as efforts to fight terrorism and irregular migration but instead strengthened some irridentist Azawad/Tuareg groups that controlled border areas. This created a cauldron of disharmony between them and their national militaries, trained for a lifetime to keep their countries intact.

Nor was Nigeria part of the Partnership Framework with Third countries that conditioned aid and trade deals for Sahelian migration transit states in exchange for reducing the flow of migrants, with penalties for those who do not comply. In the case of Niger, a moment of truth was the passing of Law 2015-36 in May 2015 when its government, in consultation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and technical and financial support from the European Union and its member states, criminalized ancillary activities of the migration economy, such as providing transportation and accommodation to foreign nationals anywhere north of Agadez, in direct contravention of ECOWAS Protocol on the free movement of people. They were persuaded to use a blunt hammer to crack a delicate nut. There is a highly politicised migration crisis in parts of Europe, that together we can and should resolve. But it was reckless to seek to solve one problem by creating another.

There is a reason why we have free movement in West Africa; seasonal migration- referred to in Hausa as ‘Ci Rani’. Seasonal migration in the semi-arid Sahel can be a matter of life and death, which is why we have always had turbaned Tuaregs going as far as Lagos and Port Harcourt to work as Maigadis (security) during the dry months, only to return back north during the rainy season. The weaponisation of sub-Saharan migration in Europe as a political tool led to the securitisation of the Sahel region, further exacerbating the security situation by forcing many of those affected to turn to criminal activities and terrorism. European migration figures show majority of migrants are from Syria, Afghanistan and Central Asia, not sub-Saharan Africa.

Yes, we need to work with our Sahelian neighbours to fight terrorism, by maintaining a right of pursuit into each others territories. But it would be myopic to think of this in absolutist terms, because we can accede to all conditionalities laid by them, it would still not be enough to tackle the challenges without a lasting solution to the bifurcated Libyan State as a source of weapons, training and fighters, as well as the shadowy involvement of a range of other state and non-state actors.

To achieve a lasting peace in Libya and the Sahel, Nigeria needs to deal with all the countries in the neighbourhood as well as all the major powers. For this reason, it does not make sense to simply deduce that Nigeria has to distance itself from France because that is the prevailing trend in its former colonies. The fulcrum of the Tinubu administration’s foreign policy is Strategic Autonomy, providing us with the clarity to engage with any and all nations based on our national interests and not those of others. As a nation, Nigeria is adult enough and sophisticated enough to deal with countries without being unduly influenced, because that has been part of our historical and civic tradition. You cannot cure an illness by picking which symptoms to consider and which to ignore.

Nigeria and ECOWAS will continue diplomatic efforts towards Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. At a minimum, we have shared interest in peaceful co-existence. President Tinubu has sent a number of high-level delegations that included a former Head of State, traditional rulers and religious scholars. President Tinubu pushed for the unconditional removal of ECOWAS sanctions imposed on Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. What he has consistently asked of the countries in question is for them to come up with a timetable for the restoration of constitutional rule and, in the case of Niger, the release of ousted President Bazoum.

Their response was to declare their intention to leave ECOWAS. With the one-year notice period coming to an end in January 2025, President Tinubu further pushed for ECOWAS to extend the grace period for another six months whilst intensifying diplomatic efforts. The response to this initiative last month was evidence-free allegations that Nigeria was harbouring foreign soldiers and as sponsoring state terrorism. Whenever President Tinubu and other democratic leaders offer stoic statesmanship and an opportunity to work together towards our common interests, it is met by confected controversy designed to divert and distract from a failure to meet the basic responsibilities of public administration. I know why coup leaders might seek to do that: it’s harder to understand the motives of apologists closer to home.

On my part, since assuming the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs on 21st August 2023, I have engaged diplomatically without pause, proposing personal visits and inviting senior government officials and representatives. Response has been akin to a diplomatic cold shoulder. We constituted a ministerial advisory committee that visited Niger and Mali and facilitated the visit of the Nigerian CDS to meet with his counterpart in Niamey. I regret that a proposed return visit was suspended by Niger after a date had been set. But let there be no doubt: we will continue to pursue diplomatic efforts assiduously, with a Ministry of Foreign Affairs that has existed for 67 years.

Nigeria’s principle of strategic autonomy is one that abhors the presence of foreign forces and private military companies in our region, whether from east or west. Nigeria presently has troops on peace keeping operations in Guinea Bissau and Gambia, with Sierra Leone on the way, where it is also supporting the setting up of a logistics base in Lungi. Nigeria is also leading the actualisation of the ECOWAS standby force, all in an effort to fight terrorism and instability within our region under the rule of law. We work closely with our partners on sharing of intelligence in order to guarantee the same rights and freedoms are enjoyed by all the people of the region.

As several of my colleagues in the region remind me, we are the hegemon, whether we admit it or not. And global politics works almost like physics, with polarity, ordering principles, distribution of power, balancing, etc. Nigeria has never had expansionist tendencies, never been threatening towards our neighbours and always chosen the path of peace and conciliation. This in part may have to do with the makeup of our polity and social fabric. Being such a huge country, we are used to the virtues of principled compromise. It is not by accident that we are the only country on the continent with six former leaders living in peace and harmony within our borders. Diversity, not division, is our strength. This is as true for Nigeria as it is for the smallest of countries – and collectively for all of our region.