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The General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries Worldwide, Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, has recently dedicated a one-storey building chapel, built by the MFM Tent Makers Pastoral Ministry Lagos Region 15, Victoria Island, for use by the students at the King’s College, Lagos.

Olukoya, during the well-attended brief ceremony, emphasised that God does not need you to know any big or influential person to help you, or move you to the next level; ‘He uses the unexpected things of this world to help whoever He wants to help,’ the man of God said.

‘God does not need VIPs (Very Important Persons) to promote you; God does not need to go to something big to push you forward. God can use somebody that you do not even know; somebody that is small, to move you to your next level,’ he emphasised.

He charged the staff and students of the school, who filled the hall to pray: ‘O God, raise a voice for me where I have no voice,’ as he declared that God can use servants to move one forward.

The General Overseer cited his personal experience, whereby he went to submit his application form for the Commonwealth scholarship to study abroad, after two months of the closure of the form’s submission.

According to him, when he got to the office to submit his application for the scholarship, the official he met in the office made a jest of him for coming to submit the form two months after the official closing date to do so, and they drove him out of their office.

Dejected and downcast, the young Olukoya said that he went to stand at the entrance of the office, where he was bemoaning his fate, when a young man, carrying food plates, came out of the premises and enquired of him what he was doing at the entrance to the premises.

Olukoya said that he explained his mission to the man, who asked what class of certificate he had and to which he responded that he had a first class. On hearing this, the man told him to wait for him, with a promise to assist him in submitting the form once he returned from his errand.

This promise, the messenger fulfilled by taking Olukoya to his boss, who happened to be the one in charge of the Commonwealth scholarship beneficiary’s selection. That was how Olukoya was offered a scholarship to do his doctorate in the United Kingdom. God used a messenger to help him fulfil his destiny.

‘God raised a voice for me where I had no voice,’ the man of God stressed and charged the audience to pray a simple prayer point, ‘God, raise a voice for me where I have no voice.’ Olukoya charged the students to do whatever they do very well, so that somebody can make a recommendation of them, even behind them.

According to him, ‘There are three pillars of success. One, if you want to be great in any subject, the trick is that you must be a master of that subject. Once you master that subject, you will be great at that subject.

Number two is that anything you know how to do and you do well, wherever you are, people will look for you. People will cross the borders to look for you, and number three is that everybody created by God is a solution to a problem, and wherever you are, people will come to look for you.

The event, which was attended by senior pastors in the MFM Tent Makers Pastoral Ministries, led by Pastor Clement Imoru, also had in attendance the principal, vice principal and all senior teachers at the King’s College, who expressed excitement and appreciation at the kind gesture of the MFM Ministries.

It is noteworthy that the Ministry has provided similar gestures in the University of Lagos Staff School, the Methodist Boys High School, and the Queen’s College, while more are in the pipeline, as part of the corporate social responsibility of MFM.

For the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Nigeria’s economy has weathered global headwinds from trade tariffs, oil prices decline, prolonged financial markets uncertainty. It hinged the success of the economy turning the corner to economic reforms instituted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, explained how the turnaround came. He said there were strategic efforts taken by both monetary and fiscal authorities that provided strong buffers for the economy and triggered IMF growth revisions for the country.

Speaking during the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four (G-24) press briefing at the 2025 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, US, the CBN said that Nigeria’s economy has been fully restructured and resilient, with huge buffers against global risks.

Cardoso, who is the leader of the Nigeria delegation at the meetings, said the naira, has equally emerged as a competitive currency, with the economy witnessing positive trade balances and large businesses moving from imports to export of locally produced goods and commodities.

On the impact of the trade tariffs on the domestic economy, he said the tariffs are less of problems for the country.

‘And I think we were very fortunate, because a lot of the things that were needed to have been done, we did them much earlier, and as a result of that, we’re able to create resilience and buffers against potential shocks,’ he stated.

‘And for us again, oil is basically the only commodity that was so exposed to the tariffs, and the impact of that was relatively modest. We now have a more competitive currency with the results that, for once, we have a situation where we have a positive balance of trade surplus, and we expect it to be six per cent in GDP for some time,’ he said.

‘So basically, what is happening is a complete restructuring of the economy, where we are encouraging people to go into domestic production, and, of course, discouraging imports,’ he added.

Cardoso explained that oil was the oil commodity that was exposed to the trade tariffs, but the impact was equally modest.

‘So, and of course, in terms of anchoring expectations, we found that those who followed the Nigerian economy were fairly comfortable. And for us, again, oil is basically the only commodity that was so exposed, and the impact of that was relatively modest,’ he said.

In his remarks, G-24 Chairman, Pablo Quirno noted that recent adverse shocks in global economy have left growth below pre-pandemic levels, with rising policy uncertainties creating substantial medium-term headwinds.

‘Emerging market and developing economies have faced deteriorating terms of trade, reduced export volumes, and declining foreign currency earnings. Many of these countries have implemented domestic policies to mitigate uncertainty, but constrained policy space underscores the urgent need for collective solutions supported by multilateral institutions,’ he said.

Nigeria’s revised growth for 2025, 2026

The IMF also gave a positive growth forecast of 3.9 per cent to Nigeria in 2025, and 4.1 per cent in 2026.

In its World Economic Outlook (WEO) report for October 2025 , the IMF Economic Counsellor Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said the Fund based its outlook for Nigeria on several improving macroeconomic indicators and supportive domestic factors.

He said factor responsible for the higher growth revision include improved oil production, rising investor confidence, a supportive fiscal stance, and given its limited exposure to higher US tariffs.According to him, the Fund also listed the stability in the exchange rate, rising foreign reserves and rebasing of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as significant factors expected to propel the Nigeria economy forward in 2026.

Aside Nigeria, many other economies see significant downward revisions because of the changing international trade and official aid landscape.

‘Whereas growth in Nigeria is revised upward on account of supportive domestic factors, including higher oil production, improved investor confidence, a supportive fiscal stance in 2026, and given its limited exposure to higher US tariffs, many other economies see significant downward revisions because of the changing international trade and official aid landscape,’ he said.

He said that the 10 to 12 per cent weakening of the dollar has helped financial conditions in many emerging market economies, especially countries that have dollar denominated debt. He added that local currency recovery and dip in inflation figures have also been supported by weakening dollar.

‘The depreciation of the dollar also helps a number of these countries on inflation front, because a lot of goods are invoiced in those dollars, and so the pricing dollar remains constant, but the dollar itself is weaker. This helps to reduce input prices, and lead to drop in inflation,’ he said.

IMF Deputy Director in the Research Department, Petya Koeva Brooks, said that many low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa benefited from preferential access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which expired in September.

She explained that in sub-Saharan Africa, growth is expected to remain subdued, unchanged in 2025 from 4.1 percent in 2024, before picking up to 4.4 percent in 2026.

‘This is an upward revision relative to the April 2025 WEO forecast by a cumulative 0.5 percentage point, but a downward revision of 0.1 percentage point compared with the October 2024 WEO,’ she said.

According to the WEO report, the global economy is adjusting to a landscape reshaped by new policy measures.

It projected global economy growth to slow from 3.3 per cent in 2024 to 3.2 percent in 2025 and 3.1 percent in 2026, with advanced economies growing around 1.5 percent and emerging market and developing economies just above 4 percent.

It said that some extremes of higher tariffs were tempered, due to subsequent deals and resets.

‘But the overall environment remains volatile, and temporary factors that supported activity in the first half of 2025-such as front-loading-are fading. As a result, global growth projections in the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) are revised upward relative to the April 2025 WEO but continue to mark a downward revision relative to the pre-policy-shift forecasts,’ the report said.

Likewise, inflation is projected to continue to decline globally, though with variation across countries: above target in the United States-with risks tilted to the upside-and subdued elsewhere.

‘Trade diplomacy should be paired with macroeconomic adjustment. Fiscal buffers should be rebuilt. Central bank independence should be preserved. Efforts on structural reforms should be redoubled.’

‘The tactics that keep activity seemingly resilient in the short term, such as trade diversion and rerouting, are costly. Suboptimal reallocation of productive resources, technological decoupling, and limitations on knowledge diffusion are bound to restrain growth over the longer term,’ it said.

The Fund said the global economy has shown resilience to the trade policy shocks, including because these shocks materialised on a smaller scale than expected at their onset, but the drag from shifting policies is becoming visible in more recent data. There have been several common drivers of growth patterns across countries but also some important idiosyncratic factors.

How it started

Speaking at the Lagos Business School leadership programme in Lagos, Cardoso, explained that when he assumed office as governor in 2023, Nigeria’s economy faced formidable headwinds.

‘Inflation was spiraling, external reserves were strained, investor confidence was shaken, and nearly every macroeconomic indicator was under pressure. It was a moment that demanded not just technical skill, but leadership rooted in courage, credibility, and accountability. We had to act decisively,’ he said.

To rein in inflation, the apex bank tightened policy aggressively, raising rates by more than 800 basis points and strengthening liquidity management.

‘We restored orthodoxy by halting central bank financing of government beyond statutory limits and re-anchoring monetary policy on its core mandate,’ he said.

‘On foreign exchange, we introduced a willing-buyer, willing-seller framework, unified exchange rate windows, and cleared the backlog of verifiable FX commitments, restoring market confidence. We strengthened reserves, now standing above US$42 billion, and created new channels for diaspora remittances and investments, including the Non-Resident BVN platform, which allows Nigerians abroad to open accounts seamlessly from anywhere in the world,’ he stated.

For Nigeria, Real GDP expanded by 4.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, signaling the re-emergence of growth momentum.

‘Capital flows are rebounding, sovereign credit ratings have improved, as seen in the Credit Default Swap curve, and the naira is beginning to stabilise. Together, these shifts suggest more than a cyclical adjustment: they mark the outlines of a developmental inflection point, where investor confidence is gradually restored and Nigeria positions itself, two years on, at the threshold of structural renewal and long- term transformation,’ Cardoso said.

‘But this is only the beginning. The real task is to ensure that these hard-won gains translate into durable prosperity, especially for the next generation. And this is where leadership becomes critical,’ he added.

Over the past two years, the CBN has undertaken critical reforms to unify Nigeria’s exchange rate, eliminating distortions and restoring transparency.

This unification has enabled us to clear the outstanding foreign exchange obligations, giving businesses-ranging from manufacturers to airlines-the confidence to plan and invest in the future. To further enhance the functionality of the foreign exchange market, we are introducing an electronic FX matching system, which has proven effective in other markets.

In the foreign exchange market, the apex bank faced a backlog of over $7 billion in unfulfilled commitments and a fragmented FX regime characterized by multiple forex rates, which had encouraged arbitrage opportunities. This regime stifled much needed foreign investment, and led to the depletion of our external reserves which fell to $33.22bn in December 2023.

It must also be understood that the cost of the FX subsidy regime is estimated to far exceed that of fuel subsidies. In 2022 alone, the potential revenue lost due to a less flexible FX regime was approximately N6.2 trillion, compared to N4.5 trillion from fuel subsidies. These funds could have significantly contributed to critical investments in education, healthcare, and infrastructure development.

While the Central Bank will continue to lay the foundation for price stability and foster a conducive policy environment, the role of our banks in this journey is crucial.

An FX market defined solely by when and how the Central Bank buys or sells dollars is inadequate for the needs of a dynamic economy like Nigeria’s. Now is the time for banks to step up to their intermediation and market-making responsibilities, providing customers with the right solutions to run their businesses and manage risks effectively.

Nigerbev Limited, the producer of BEST spirits in Nigeria, has unveiled a new packaging for its flagship BEST portfolio. The unveiling introduced redesigned packaging for all seven variants in the BEST family, BEST Cream, BEST Whisky, BEST London Dry Gin, BEST Vodka, BEST Inferno, BEST Whisky VIP, and BEST Chocolate Vodka, featuring new labels, caps, and cartons.

While the iconic bottle shapes remain unchanged, the refreshed labels, caps, and cartons present a bold, modern, and premium visual identity meant to reignite consumer pride and enhance shelf appeal.

Speaking at the event, Dr Obinna Ike, Managing Director, Nigerbev, said ‘The unveiling of the new BEST packaging affirms our commitment to staying ahead of evolving consumer expectations while reinforcing our position as a trusted name in the Nigerian spirits market. This unveiling is about our consumers, as well as the start of a redefined approach to engaging our market as a company. We are laying the foundation for stronger connection and broader reach across the market and region.’

Speaking on the brand’s plans for broader African market penetration, David Salmon, Group Managing Director, Westside Distillers and Vintners (the parent company of Nigerbev), said ‘BEST has been a strong and trusted brand in West Africa for many years, with its origin being South Africa. What we are presently doing in Nigeria is setting the tone for how we intend to show up in new markets. As we expand our footprint beyond Nigeria, our long-term ambition is to scale the BEST brand across West and Central Africa with precision.’

The event gathered distributors, wholesalers, influencers, and brand team for an immersive brand experience that spotlighted the story behind the refresh, the design journey, and the brand’s evolution. Beyond the reveal itself, the evening featured curated product showcases and tastings, allowing attendees to experience firsthand how the new identity aligns with the brand’s promise of delivering premium experiences.

A key highlight of the evening was a panel session aimed at unpacking the thought process behind the brand refresh and the creative direction that shaped the new visual identity. The panel featured Dr Obinna Ike, Managing Director, Nigerbev Limited; David Salmon, Group MD Westside Distillers and Vintners (the parent company of Nigerbev); Marlies Immelman, Group Marketing and Brand Co – ordinator; and Anselem Ikeotuonye, Commercial Director, Nigerbev Limited.

The unveiling comes at a strategic time for the company, ahead of the festive season and during a period of increasing demand for consumer-centric innovation.

Speaking on the timing of the refresh, Akeem Audu, Marketing Manager at Nigerbev Limited, emphasized the brand’s commitment to listening to its audience: ‘For over fifteen years, the BEST portfolio carried a look that many Nigerians came to know and trust. But as times change, so do consumer expectations, and we believe brands must evolve with them. With a contemporary visual identity, we are ensuring that the BEST brand stays culturally relevant and continues to connect with consumers without losing sight of those who have been with us from the beginning. This refresh is a renewed sense of presence and a commitment to staying ahead in an ever-evolving market.’

This event signals a strategic repositioning for BEST as ‘The Icon for Best Moments,’ as Nigerbev charts a path toward greater visibility, cultural relevance, and regional expansion. The company confirmed that while this refresh is a major milestone, it is just the beginning of what consumers and trade partners can expect in the months ahead.

Abia Governor Alex Otti has stated that he doesn’t hold any grudge against Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu over his (Kalu’s) recent statement about his (Otti’s) administration in the State.

Otti, who stated this while reacting to a question during the media chat with journalists at the Banquet Hall, Government, Umuahia, the state capital, however cautioned Kalu and other politicians to refrain from making statements that would heat up the state’s political space.

On Kalu’s allegation of not using the money that the State Government receives as monthly allocations from the Federal Government judiciously, Otti said ‘You will find out that this is the second time that he (Benjamin Kalu) has come out publicly to berate the administration and myself. I think that I want to forgive him.

‘Do I feel threatened, absolutely No. but then, you know that people are different. I guessed that what happened is that, he was a bit terrified because he was there in Aba and saw what happened. He saw the organic show of love that Aba people showed and it also happened in Umuahia.

‘I think that he has a few challenges; one of them is hubris and closely related to that challenge is Information Deficiency Syndrome where you are supposed to be in a place that you are supposed to have information, but you don’t have the real information.

‘The first time that he did a video, early this year, I was asked here and I said that, I have no response. The only response that I gave was that I don’t have the anointing to speak about what will happen in 2027 by 2025 and I still maintain that I don’t have that anointing.

‘I have a mandate and that mandate, runs till 2027. If someone can stand up and say that, this is what can happen in 2027, who am I to question him?

‘But there a few things that I know; I know that power belongs to God. And I know that He gives it to who he wants. Those I can assure you that I know.

‘And like I told them the other day in the church service, I also know about what is written in the Book of Lamentations; that we should not speak when the Lord has not spoken. I am saying this because we are all Christians.

‘It will be sad for someone to come out and say that the State Government receives up to N38bn. Whatever that person said should be taken very seriously. Those who know better know that we receive just about half of that.

‘For me, I think people should focus on the jobs that they have been given. I heard that he (Kalu) wants to run for governorship position in 2027; that is fine. It is his fundamental human right, nobody should stop him.

‘ But again, we must respect the law. If INEC releases the time table and say that, this is the time that campaigns start, if he starts campaigning before then, you put yourself in harm sway. He can even be disqualified before the election.

‘He is campaigning by telling people that they are going to take over the state in 2027 and it is not right. If he wants to campaign, I will plead with him to hold his fire and wait. Once INEC blows the whistle, he can go and pick up the form and begin to campaign.

‘It is for Abia people to decide who will be their Governor. It is also important that the APC that he s talking about which has leadership to know that they are being de-marketed in Abia State. But I will call on our people to still hold their peace and calm. We have managed in the last two years plus to keep the state peaceful and we should continue to maintain the peace.’

It feels just like yesterday, yet 355 days have passed since the peaceful transition of Mrs. Modupe Temitope Dada, beloved wife of Mr Mike Dada, President and Executive Producer of All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).

A one-year memorial service in her honour will be held on Sunday, October 19, 2025, at Grace Assembly Church, Yard 158, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun-Ikeja, Lagos, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.

The event will be a day of reflection, worship, and gratitude, bringing together family, friends, and well-wishers to celebrate the life and legacy of a woman fondly remembered as ‘kindness personified.’ The memorial will capture the bittersweet emotions of loved ones still coming to terms with the loss of a remarkable woman whose warmth, kindness, grace, and quiet strength touched many lives.

In an invitation shared with friends and associates, Mr Dada, who also serves as Managing Director of PRM Africa Marketing and Communications, expressed deep appreciation for the outpouring of love and support his family has received over the past year.

It’s been a year since my beloved wife, Modupe, went to be with the Lord. You are warmly invited as we worship, remember, and give thanks for her inspiring life,’ he wrote.

For many, the memory of that sombre Saturday, October 19, 2024, remains vivid – the day news broke that Mrs Dada had passed on at a private hospital in Lagos after a brief illness. She was aged 48.

Until her passing, Mrs Dada, a committed banking professional, served with distinction at various banks in Nigeria, where she had earned a well-deserved promotion and respect for super performance- a testament to her diligence, excellence, and unwavering commitment to her profession.

The memorial service on Sunday, scheduled to be superintended by Reverend Femi Paul, will not only honour Modupe’s memory but also celebrate her enduring legacy of faith, compassion, friendship and genuine love – virtues that continue to inspire those she left behind.

It was weeping and wailing in Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State yesterday, as family members, friends, colleagues and dignitaries gathered for the burial of Arise News anchor, Somtochukwu Maduagwu, popularly known as Sommie.

The officiating minister and parish priest of St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Rev Fr Peter Ezewuzie, urged the bereaved family to find comfort in the fact that Sommie lived a meaningful life, even if her time on earth was short.

‘The Lord who created us knows the beginning from the end. We may feel her life was cut short, but we cannot see what God sees.

‘The maturity of life is not in its length but in its quality – and Sommie lived a quality life,’ he said.

The late broadcaster was laid to rest at her father’s compound shortly after the Mass around 1:30 pm, in an atmosphere of deep sorrow.

Many mourners wept openly as her casket was lowered into the grave.

The late broadcaster died in September during an armed robbery attack at her residence in Abuja.

Reports said the assailants invaded her home at night and, in the course of the attack, she jumped down from her apartment and sustained serious injuries.

She was later rushed to a nearby hospital but was later confirmed dead.

Speaking on behalf of the family, the elder brother to the deceased’s father, Mr Obi Maduagwu, expressed gratitude to Arise News for standing by the family since the tragedy.

‘We thank the management of Arise News. They have been with us from the beginning. We also thank everyone who journeyed from far and near to console us,’ he said.

Sommie’s sudden death had sent shockwaves across Nigeria’s media community, where she was admired as one of the promising young faces of television journalism.

Tributes have since poured in from colleagues, friends and prominent Nigerians, who described her as intelligent, hardworking and full of life.

The burial brought together journalists, government officials, and community members who paid their last respects to the bright star whose light was cruelly extinguished.

Among the dignitaries who attended the burial was former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, who hails from same Agulu community as the late broadcaster.

Speaking after the funeral Mass at St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Agulu, Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, described Sommie’s death as heartbreaking.

He said: ‘We cannot question God. When I heard of her death, I didn’t even know she was from Agulu before I tweeted about it.

‘Before leaving Birmingham yesterday, I told those around me that I was rushing home for the burial of one of my daughters.

‘Her loss is deeply painful, but we must accept the will of God and continue to remember her and her family in our prayers.’

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has granted Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, permission to serve court processes in his N100 billion defamation suit against former Commissioner for Information, Hon. Eze Chikamnayo, through social media platforms – Facebook and WhatsApp.

Justice J.E. Obanor, in a ruling delivered on October 16, 2025, approved the governor’s application for substituted service, allowing the court bailiff to serve the writ of summons and other processes on Chikamnayo via his Facebook account, ‘Iyierioba Chikamnayo,’ and his registered phone and WhatsApp number.

The case has been adjourned to January 19, 2026, for hearing.

In the motion ex parte filed by Otti’s counsel, Dr Sonny Ajala (SAN), the governor prayed the court to permit substituted service, citing the defendant’s previous use of the same channels to receive a solicitor’s demand letter.

The letter, dated October 2, 2025, had requested a retraction of several allegedly defamatory online publications.

The suit, filed on October 8, 2025 (Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/3921/2025) followed Chikamnayo’s alleged failure to honour the demand for a public apology and retraction of the posts.

Otti, through his counsel, is seeking a declaration that his reputation, goodwill, and standing as a person, husband, father, and political leader were gravely damaged by the defendant’s ‘persistent, false and malicious online publications’ on Facebook.

The court documents referenced several Facebook posts made between July and September 2025, including posts captioned ‘Alex Otthief is a confirmed criminal and disaster’ (September 22, 2025), ‘Fighting Promax’ (September 21, 2025), ‘Old or New Abia?’ (September 14, 2025), ‘Sabbath Message’ (September 13, 2025), ‘Still on the matter’ (September 9, 2025), ‘Alex Otthief is a confirmed criminal and congenital liar = Looting Governor’ (August 15, 2025) and ‘Government of Alex Otthief for Zignature Bank = Ruin Abia” (July 21, 2025).

Otti is seeking N100 billion in general damages for alleged loss of reputation, psychological distress, and emotional trauma caused by the publications. He is also asking the court to compel Chikamnayo to tender an unreserved apology for each of the posts, to be published on his Facebook page and in ThisDay, The Nation, The Punch and National Ambassador newspapers.

In addition, the governor is praying for a perpetual injunction restraining Chikamnayo from ‘writing, authoring, sharing, broadcasting, forwarding, or syndicating any content defamatory of the claimant’ across all media platforms, including social media and traditional media outlets, and is demanding N250 million as the cost of prosecuting the suit.

Justice Obanor ordered that Chikamnayo must enter an appearance within 30 days of being served or risk judgment being entered against him in default.

In the earlier demand letter, Dr.Ajala stated that Governor Otti was ‘the only sitting governor in Nigeria bearing the name Alex Chioma Otti,’ leaving no ambiguity about whom the online posts referred to, and described Chikamnayo’s publications as ‘false, malicious, and calculated to instigate public hatred.’

Ajala, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, noted that Otti’s ‘integrity has remained stainless’ throughout his distinguished banking career, during which he rose to become Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank Plc before joining politics.

The letter accused Chikamnayo’s posts of causing ‘unquantifiable mental torture, depression, denigration, and brutal destruction of reputation built over the decades,’ warning that failure to retract them within seven days would lead to legal action, a warning that has now resulted in court proceedings.

William Shakespeare said a long time ago that there is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. That will be generally speaking. Sometimes, you hear it said: ‘As if he has picked my thoughts.’ Thoughts are generated by the frontal brain, cerebrum, the seat of the intellect with the intellect transmitting them. The mind serves as the window to glance at the generated thoughts. But it is not given that we read them in the mind until they are expressed. Clairvoyants read forms to which thoughts give rise. Those words which tell of other things than the gross material can only arise through unimpaired cooperation of the intuitive faculty of the hind brain, and these come in pictures. In other words, the back brain is the spiritual receptive part of the brains, the prompting of the spirit in pictures passing through the solar plexus to the heart and then to the back brain. Thus, the hind brain was created for reception but the frontal brain for transmission into the earthly world of thoughts, speaking and action. When the back brain is obstructed and hindered in its activities, the man is solely dependent on the frontal brain which gathers from the earthly and the environment and is thus limited, lacking in freshness and newness of vision. Its capacity cannot go beyond time and space. Another consequence is that ‘the abundance of the heart’ from which ‘the mouth speaketh’ is uninfluenced by the perception of the spirit. Unguided, therefore, by the intuitive perception, so very often, there are missteps and we misspeak. Leaders and the led will always act in accordance with the varied degrees of their inner radiance or even lack of it or trammeled and dimmed.

With distorted intellect must, therefore, ensue fraud and deception, slavery and force, sensuality and lust, discontent, envy, hatred and murder. There is sole reliance on imagination, most times mistaken for right guidance, but which flows from the combined working of the intellect and physical feeling.

Wholesome guidance can only come from the intuitive perception – what the spirit draws from On High and is mediated in pictures ending with the hind brain.

How do we then enter the minds of our leaders to read from therein for the face? Unfortunately, Mr. Shakespeare states there is no art to find the mind’s construction on the face. King Duncan in Macbeth was reflecting on the human nature, how deceptive it could be. He realized he had been taken in by the false loyalty of the Thane of Cawdor; he had misjudged him. Yet, we must strive to understand our leaders. We must learn their language; where they are coming from. We must be open and alert to read their body language and to sense aright. This is because we are inexorably subject to how their minds work.

I was reflecting on the spate of defections by governors and legislators everywhere. And I was asking myself whether the idea of opposition is no longer about competition, of ideas and beliefs so that the electorate can be presented alternative choices according to their own light. This is the stage of recognition of human beings in our development in the present time. For we would find later as we grow that, as I have stated in multiple times, leaders are born, not made; they are sent, not electable. Following the failure in the era of Divine Right of Kings, human beings discarded the ordinance placed in Creation by the Maker with which man is to be governed, and replaced it with their own devices.

Undergirding the defections is absence of principles. It is pursuit of power for power sake; it is the pursuit of inordinate ambition, visibility and influence, pomp and emptiness. In nearly all cases, when a governor defects, he does so with all his commissioners, the Speaker and members of the House of Assembly in the state. Where in all these is honour, where is wholesomeness for the health of our land? In Edo State, the hero-worshipping has gone overboard, indeed to the depths. There, the permit to attend the state’s executive council meetings is, henceforth, the wearing of Bola Tinubu signature cap. You must flaunt it. The artistic design on it is to depict the breaking of chain which he grappled with in the years of struggle to drive back the military to their barracks. It is his symbol of freedom. Ordering that the passport to state executive meetings must be the possession of Tinubu Cap is carrying fawning to the extreme and to the ridiculous. People will always demonstrate love and loyalty to a leader they admire, but not through compulsion. These were to identify with their leaders. Of course, we had Shagari Cap; to a little extent, Buhari Cap. We had Awo Cap, but not once did anyone find it on Chief Adekunle Ajasin; Chief Bola Ige, Bisi Akande, Olusegun Osoba – all his ardent followers. These were not forced on any followers. People would wear them to copy their leaders, some for certain motives, some to bootlick and curry favours, many in false admiration to put flowers on the head of their leaders and some out of genuine affection.

And closely related to the foregoing, are strikes. Some are justifiable such as the two-week warning dispute by the university lecturers and the strike by resident doctors. The one called by oil industry labour leaders against Dangote Refinery was uncalled for. Now, the nation has not recovered from its consequences. The price of premium motor spirit that shot up during the strike has not come down.

Movement is driven by the Law of Motion. Where there is no motion, there is no life. Motion drives all human activities. Motion itself is triggered by heat. Absence of heat generated by the spirit is absence of movement by the body. Complex chemical substances called Carbohydrates in plant storage organs supplying energy to the body gives impetus for the movement of the body when we eat them. When the body moves it could be by walking or using automobiles. What powers automobiles in the modern world is fuel and gas. Now, through the technological wonders of this age, automobiles are also being powered with electricity. Any disruption, therefore, to fuel production and distribution is disruption to life and living, to daily rounds of activities and duties, to the economy and to political and social lives of a nation.

It was shocking that the labour leaders in the oil industry would not give Dangote Refinery, the only one which has come to the rescue of the country in its most trying period time, to settle. The Yoruba elders would say, ‘Oko s’ero ni alagbede in p’oko ta!’ That is, ‘Oh so, if it were that easy, a blacksmith would not stop at merely fashioning and producing hoes, he would go out there in the bush and till the ground himself.’ Former President Obasanjo issued out 18 licences for the establishment of modular refineries. How many have plucked the courage to utilize the licences? Perhaps only Edo State Government! The public refineries have since Obasanjo era gone comatose even after humongous sums of money have been expended on them. Commonsense ought to have dictated that the unions should give Dangote Refinery time to breathe and settle down properly. Would you collect check-off dues from a non-existent refinery? Dangote, the brave one, plunged into it, giving the country a $19 billion plant. The work force is about 4,000! And he says he pays the least worker in the refinery three times the minimum wage, and what a driver earns is four times a graduate is paid elsewhere even in the private sector. Such is the success that within a year Nigeria is exporting aviation fuel overseas. And that is what union leaders wanted to pull down!!Nigerian history books

This column is in sympathy with the university lecturers. We must have a warped sense of equity and fairness as a people to pay a Professor N533, 000 a month and pay his product he taught in the university N29 million a month, as revealed by Professor Itse Sagay. I am also referring to the figure of Senator Shehu Sani which put a Senator’s take-home pay at M14 million after certain deductions have been made. Even then! A former Member of the House of Representatives somehow corroborated the revelation by Professor Itse Sagay that the pay of a Rep is N21 million a month. Vice-chancellors who produce the legislators get about N1.5million a month.

Lecturers cannot maintain their vehicles. Some sleep in their offices. In some cases lecturers stand by the roadside to be picked by their colleagues to the campus, and this is alternated. To be a legislator from most parts of the country, you must have a university degree or equivalent to qualify and even to think of being a legislator. The authority to issue the degree certificates are the professors. For me, that is where we should start. We must make our university lecturers feel worthy and good.

Over the years, the university activities with regards to providing solid education in our land have been disrupted too often. Students stay longer to get their degrees than is scheduled. The children of the rich, not being able to bear this flee to the Western world or India for quality education. Lecturers themselves are fleeing overseas in search of greener pastures. University education has become basic. Even if later a product from there becomes a mechanic, he will be different, he will make a better and an all-rounded mechanic.

From Babangida era when lecturers were accused of teaching what they were not paid to teach and Professor Ben Nwabueze was Minister, Professor Babs Fafunwa was also – to the time of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to Buhari, and now to Bola Tinubu, the story is the same and the posture of the authorities not seeing this as an emergency to rectify the shortcomings is sickening. And there has not been any rethinking.

There has been uproar on the prerogative of mercy President Bola Tinubu exercised recently. The exercise followed the report of a committee set up for the purpose. The committee looked into each case meticulously and with care. The most controversial of the cases, however, is that of the young lady, Maryam Sanda, 37, sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, in a blind rage. The uproar is predictably so as murder is a heinous, first degree crime. The court consequently sentenced her to death. Anyone with human feelings must feel miffed by the show of mercy for her by Tinubu in view of waves of killings sweeping through the land. A great many believed the government was overgenerous to her and that the least should have been to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment. But the committee report thinks otherwise. It says she has shown tremendous remorse and has changed. If she has changed, why would we still keep her within the prison walls which we have rechristened Correctional Centres? The purpose of punishment or imprisonment is to correct, make a person see his or her errors and be a new human being, that is, change for good. President Bola Tinubu did the right thing in setting the young lady free.

Hardly does it occur to us that the lady’s greater punishment is just beginning. How does she face her children and explain to them what happened, what she did to their father? The thought will menace her for several years to come, if not throughout what remains of her life on earth. The husband will appear to her continually in her dreams, perhaps still boiling. He may not have gone far in the beyond and is perhaps seeking an avenue to avenge his murder. Since the departed can pick thoughts, if she is truly remorseful and full of regrets, his rage may begin to give way. If she is open enough, she will feel the change in her husband as well. Sensing he is around she might wish to deepen her atonement by apologizing more profusely and regularly to him and to her children.

There are two classifications of crime commission. A crime could be committed borne out of impulse. The other classification is when a crime is committed from out propensity and is therefore deliberate. Sanda’s case was borne out of impulse from what I read when her trial was on-going which may be why it was easy for her to recognise the enormity of her crime and she was able to quickly become remorseful and come to atonement. The remorsefulness was palpable that the Custodian Authority became impressed by her becoming a new person. The new thinking by administrators of justice in the enlightened world is that in inflicting punishment there should no longer be time-limit to how long a convicted person stays in the confines of a jail house as atonement cannot be determined in advance! It is believed that punishment without time limit offers sufficient guarantee for a complete inner change of a wrong doer for good. The new thinking being mulled is said to be already being put to test in some prisons in the United States.

The advocates of the new thinking are saying a wrong doer should stay in jail forever until he becomes a new person, watched over by psychologists and the like along the field to monitor and test for progress and complete change. The thinking is borne out of experiences and knowledge that some felons complete serving their terms and are released without the slightest remorse and in no time they go back into crimes. All in all, the earthly laws must align with the Creation Laws. The three major Laws of Creation are what unfailingly will bring about reward as well as punishment for the human being. It is then, ‘we shall also understand the real purport of the words of the Old Testament, ‘To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense’ (Deut.32, 35) and ‘An eye for an eye and tooth for tooth’ (Deut. 19:21) whose deeper meaning has so far never been understood.’ (A Gate Opens, by Herbert Vollmann). To set anyone free, it must be borne in mind that the immutable and self-acting Laws of the Creator are operative and awaiting the wrong doers unless the guilt and the attendant burden have completely dropped off him or her through genuine remorsefulness, atonement and change.

It is also being suggested that prisoners should be separated using the Law of Homogeneity as it is automatically done in the ethereal world, the Beyond, so that prisoners will experience themselves. Out of disgust and abhorrence for the experiences there would be a longing to get out of the bind and that it would lead to atonement as the intention of the law and punishment should be to help and reform out of love. It is through total change that the threads connected to a criminal will not receive further nourishment from power centres in the Beyond. Not finding any more anchorage, the threads will simply shrivel and slide off! And the wrong doer is redeemed. There is no ascent to the Light Realm of Paradise until man’s dirty linen is washed clean.

Actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele has opened up on how she earned her first N1 million in 1999 through the breakout role as Bisi in the popular TV series ‘I Need to Know’.

In a video, the Nollywood star recounted her early struggles, the challenges of securing the role and how she spent the life-changing sum.

Akindele said her journey began in 1996, taking on minor ‘waka pass’ roles while enduring repeated rejections at auditions.

‘I made that around 1999. I started my career from like 1996, playing waka pass roles, 1997 going for auditions, getting a lot of nos,’ she recalled.

Her persistence paid off when she landed the role in I Need to Know, which marked a turning point.

‘Then I got one big yes with ‘I need to know’ and that is how I got my first N1 million,’ she said.

She recounted that during the pilot shoot, she was told she was overacting and risked losing the role.

‘I almost lost the role ‘Bisi’ in ‘I need to know’. I shot the pilot of I need to know first and I acted so well and I was waiting for this call back. The call back didn’t come on time. I’m like ah okay.

‘Then he just called me into the office. I’m like okay you’re a fantastic actress you’re doing so well but you’re over acting.They told me to go home and read my script, understand the character very well,’ she said.

She added: ‘I was so worried. I said how am I going to do it now? Then I got home and I was so moody and my younger sister was like sister what’s wrong?

‘I said ‘I need to know’. They said I’m not talking like a teenager.

‘She said ah because I was not a teenager when I was filming ‘I need to know’. She said ah let me see the script and she held the script. She started reading.

‘So I heard mama speak like a teenager and immediately you know I took in the character and I started speaking like mama and that and that was how I got the role.

‘So that was how I made my first one million naira. We were paid for an episode but I will not tell you how much but all together ah I was shocked. I was like me that always jump for bike’.

Speaking of how she spent the money, Akindele stated that she first showed it to her mother, who advised her to pay her tithe.

Following this, she headed to Yaba market to revamp her wardrobe.

She added: ‘What did I do with one million naira? First I showed it to my mom. Of course she knows about it and then mommy advised and said I have to pay my tithe first.

‘I paid my tithe then I entered Yaba because I didn’t have shoes. I didn’t have maybe two or three I had there. I didn’t have good clothes.

‘I changed my wardrobe, shoes, bags, everything. The girl that had no shoes yesterday has today’.

Victor Boniface is having a difficult start at his new club, Werder Bremen, due to excess weight.

The striker, who led Bayer Leverkusen to the league title in 2024, is currently struggling with excess weight.

The club’s sporting director Clemens Fritz confirmed this to BILD.

Boniface was crowned champion last year under successful manager Xabi Alonso, with 21 goals and 10 assists in 34 official matches.

The following season, his numbers dipped somewhat, although he was still important for Leverkusen with 11 goals in 27 matches. A departure in the summer was inevitable, but his transfer was anything but smooth.

The former Union SG striker initially seemed destined for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, but failed his medical.

A few weeks later, a move to AC Milan also fell through. Ultimately, Boniface opted for a loan deal with low-flying Werder Bremen, where he has made only four appearances so far.

According to Fritz, this is due to his physical condition.

‘We’ve clearly identified the issues together with Victor and are supporting him in every way possible,’ said the sporting director.

‘He accepts our support and wants to work on himself, with extra training, physiotherapy, and a modified nutrition plan. We’re working closely with him.’