Prof Femi Mimiko gave the 60th edition of the monthly lecture of the Nigerian Army resource center Abuja yesterday. The topic of the lecture is Nigeria's quest for a permanent UN Security Council seat and its implications on national security.
After being severely knocked out by Daniel Dubois in September, Joshua's heavyweight career is in ruins, and he hasn't finalized any plans for a rematch. Joshua is at a crossroads.
Tyson Fury, AJ's fierce rival, announced his retirement from the sport, therefore it looks like the match is no longer possible. After that, he recently confronted Bakole, who posted a video call-out on social media, threatening a massive confrontation in Africa. Ben Shalom, Bakole's promoter, recently declared that a deal was "done," but it's unclear if Joshua has signed.
Putting the previous two-time champion to the test would be difficult. Bakole is a tough nut. Bakole intends to include his native Congo in the conflict, but Joshua has always wanted to fight in Africa.
Bakole recently solidified his reputation as a rising competitor by decisively defeating potential talent Jared Anderson. He could get closer to the world title mix in May when he fights Efe Ajagba in an IBF world title eliminator.
A victory over Joshua might be the greatest blow to his career, elevating his already stellar status to previously unheard-of heights. According to former boxing legend McGuigan, Bakole is a huge talent, the heavyweight division's biggest danger, and a serious problem at 6' 6". He possesses quick hands and a rock-solid chin but isn't a dynamite puncher. "He can take a shot and throw volume." However, it's deflating if you strike someone in the chin and he takes it.
Kash Patel, the FBI director nominee nominated by President Donald Trump, said that the U.S. SEAL Team Six saved a kidnapped American citizen held captive in northern Nigeria in under sixty seconds.
This was said by Mr. Patel on January 30, 2025, at his confirmation hearing before the US Senate. His involvement in the covert operation to free Philip Walton, the 27-year-old son of American missionaries who had been abducted by armed bandits from neighboring Niger and taken to northern Nigeria for ransom, was the subject of intense questioning. On Thursday, Mr. Patel told the U.S. Congress, "The operation lasted for 60 seconds." He was also questioned about his apparent negligence in repeating a fictitious authorization that the SEAL Team Six had received from the Nigerian authorities to operate in Nigerian airspace.
Having gathered knowledge of the area where Mr. Walton was being held, Mr. Patel was the driving force behind the rescue effort. Since the bandits may relocate Mr. Walton, he saw an opening for the Seal Team Six to attack. Senior U.S. authorities discovered that the Nigerian government had not yet given the Navy SEALs permission to enter their airspace, much less land, while the plane was in midair carrying operatives. In his memoir, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper stated that it was one of Mr. Patel's many mistakes and that he was worried about the SEALs, especially if they would be shot down for the unauthorized operation.
Mr. Esper's memoir, which described the operation, said, "I was worried that being crammed into an aircraft burning holes in the sky for an additional hour or so would wear on the special operators, that it might affect their readiness somehow." According to Mr. Esper, the SEALs suspected Mr. Patel of falsifying the clearance that the Nigerian government granted them. Mr. Esper writes, "My team suspected Patel made up the approval story, but they didn't have all the facts." In his book "Government Gangsters," Mr. Patel denied the accusations, saying that some individuals attempted to thwart the president's plans by putting obstacles in the way of counterterrorism operations in the Middle East and Africa.
After the State Department stepped in and moved quickly to secure airspace approval from the Nigerian authorities before the Navy SEALs landing, the operation ultimately proved successful. It's unclear if Mr. Patel's responses to the questions were satisfactory, and he has encountered a lot of resistance in his pursuit of the FBI directorship.
Bukola Saraki, the former president of the Senate, has congratulated his son Seni on winning the 67th Grammy Awards. Seni's work on the Bob Marley: One Love soundtrack, which took home the Best Reggae Album Grammy, earned him his first Grammy. Saraki wrote on X that he is "extremely proud" of his son and that he is thrilled to see his passion acknowledged on a worldwide scale. "Seni, congrats on your first Grammy last night! You worked on the soundtrack to Bob Marley: One Love, which won Best Reggae Album!" he wrote.
It is an unfathomable delight to watch you put your all into your interest and have it acknowledged on a worldwide scale. Excellent work! We are very pleased with you!
Seni responded to the victory by thanking all of the producers and artists who helped make the project a success, including Bloody Civilian and Wizkid from Nigeria.
Thank them for embracing the songs, reworking them, and putting their spin on them. Artists such as Daniel Caesar, Wizkid, Jessie Reyez, and Bloody Civilian. The reggae legend's life is told in the biographical movie Bob Marley: One Love, which also explores the route that led to his groundbreaking music and how he overcame hardship.
Seni has previously received significant industry recognition. He served as a music consultant on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, which received four Grammy nominations in 2023. Seni is the CEO of The Native, a music magazine located in Lagos that he co-founded in 2016 with Teni "Teezee" Zaccheaus. Seni is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science. The magazine promotes African sounds and culture while celebrating music, fashion, and art.
Afrobeats icon Davido congratulated his colleague Tems on winning the 67th Grammy Awards' Best African Music Performance category on Sunday. Tems won her second Grammy with her popular song "Love Me, Jeje." She had previously won a Grammy for her work on Future's number-one single "Wait For U." The Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles hosted the 67th Grammy Awards.
Chris Brown's Sensational (with Davido & Lojay), Asake's MMS, Burna Boy's Higher, and Yemi Alade's Tomorrow were among the songs vying for the Best African Music Performance title. The South African singer Tyla previously won the category, which was only launched last year, with her hit song "Water." Davido congratulated Tems on her triumph in an Instagram Story post early Monday, writing, "Congrats Queen!" As she accepted the medal, Tems paid homage to her mother.
“Wow, dear God,” remarked an emotional Tems as he took the stage. I sincerely appreciate you introducing me to this team and placing me on stage. This is my mother's first Grammy, and tomorrow is her birthday. Since my mother has done so much for my brother and me, I just wanted to say thank you. Mum, happy birthday. And my staff deserves my gratitude. My gorgeous stylist Wale, Muyiwa, and the kind girls... I cherish you all.
The top 10 grossing films in 2024 Funke Akindele, an actress and filmmaker, has disclosed that she will not receive all of the N1.8 billion made from her most recent film, Everybody Loves Jenifa. Wunmi Toriola and Funke were the highest-grossing lead actresses for 2024. Funke's "Everybody Loves Jenifa" took first place, but Wunmi Toriola's "Queen Lateefah" came in second. Toyin Abraham's film, "Alakada Bad and Boujee," came in third. Eniola Ajao placed fifth for "Beast of Two Worlds: Ajakaju," while Tomike Adeoye secured fourth place for the film "Ajosepo." Adunni Ade secured seventh place for "Lakatabu," while Kehinde Bankole was sixth for "Funmilayo Ransome Kuti."
For the films "Thinline," "Silent Intruder," and "The Betrayed," Uche Nwaefuna ranks sixth. Gbugbemi Ejeye came in tenth place for "Farmer's Bride," while Regina Daniels became the ninth highest-grossing main actress.
A migrant detention facility that may house up to 30,000 people has been ordered to be built in Guantanamo Bay by US President Donald Trump. He said that "the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people" would be housed in the facility at the US Navy base in Cuba, which would be distinct from its high-security military prison. Some human rights organizations have protested the long-standing practice of housing immigrants in Guantanamo Bay. Trump's "border tsar" Tom Homan said later Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would enlarge the current facility there. He claimed that the US Coast Guard might arrest the migrants at sea and then immediately transport them there and that the "highest" detention.
The facility's estimated cost and completion date are unknown. The US was accused of torturing Cubans and holding them illegally on "occupied" territory, and the Cuban government promptly denounced the idea. Trump remarked while signing the so-called Laken Riley Act into law, which mandates that unauthorized immigrants arrested for violent or theft-related offenses be detained pending trial. The administration's first legislative victory came last week when Congress passed the bill, which was named after a Georgia nursing student who was killed by a Venezuelan immigrant last year.
Trump stated at a signing ceremony in the White House's East Room that the new executive order on Guantanamo will direct the Homeland Security and Defense departments to "begin preparing" the 30,000-bed facility. "Some of them are so bad we don't even trust the countries to hold them because we don't want them coming back," he stated of immigrants. "So we're going to send them to Guantanamo... it's a tough place to get out." The facility will increase the United States' ability to house undocumented migrants, Trump claims. For decades and throughout numerous Republican and Democratic administrations, the United States has been operating a facility in Guantanamo called the Guantanamo Migrant Operations Center (GMOC).
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) accused the government in a 2024 report of surreptitiously capturing migrants at sea and then holding them there indefinitely in "inhumane" conditions. The American Civil Liberties Union recently filed a Freedom of Information request to obtain documents about the GMOC, which has primarily kept migrants who were picked up at sea. That "is not a detention facility and none of the migrants there are detained" was the Biden Administration's response. However, according to the Trump administration, the larger facility is primarily meant to serve as a detention center.
According to reports, it will include a request for funding from Congress to expand the current detention facility in a spending plan that Republicans are putting together.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem only stated that "reconciliation and appropriations" would be used to distribute the funds when questioned by reporters at the White House. Detainees detained by the United States during the 2001 9/11 attacks have been housed in the Guantanamo military jail for many years. It housed hundreds of inmates during its height, and Barack Obama and other Democratic presidents have promised to close it. At the moment, 15 inmates are housed there. The Cuban government, which has traditionally viewed Guantanamo Bay as "occupied" and has opposed the presence of a US Navy base on the island since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, quickly condemned the facility's development.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X, "The new US government has announced that it will imprison thousands of forcibly expelled migrants at the naval base at Guantanamo, located in illegally occupied Cuban territory. These migrants will be located near known prisons of torture and illegal detention. This is an act of brutality." There was "contempt for the human condition and international law" in the declaration, according to Bruno Rodriguez, the Cuban foreign minister.
Following military takeovers in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has formally suspended the three nations from the regional group. ECOWAS declared that people of the impacted countries would continue to have the freedom to travel around its member states despite the suspensions. ECOWAS's position on the unconstitutional transfers of administration in the region was emphasized by the decision, which was approved during a bloc meeting.
Free mobility guarantees that citizens can continue to travel, live, and trade within the bloc without hindrance, even while the suspension restricts the three nations' ability to participate in ECOWAS activities. ECOWAS has emphasized its commitment to democratic administration and constitutional order by continuously denouncing military takeovers in its member states. While taking steps to lessen the impact of the suspensions on regular residents, the bloc is nevertheless advocating for a restoration to civilian governance in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
The Federal Government is prepared to accept Nigerians who have been deported from the United States of America, according to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission. Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the commission's Director of Media and Corporate Affairs, told Vanguard this on Tuesday night, January 28. He went on to say that such development was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, Balogun stated that FG had already established an interagency committee to deal with the issue of Nigerians being deported from the United States.
"If there is a mass deportation of Nigerians from the United States, the Federal Government has established an inter-agency committee that includes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NiDCOM, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA," he stated. The NiDCOM official emphasized, however, that its agency was unaware of any deportation proceedings involving Nigerians in the United States. As Donald Trump cracks down on illegal immigrants in the United States, 3,690 Nigerians are in danger of being deported.
A notable change in the attitudes of younger Iranians regarding Palestinians has been brought to light by Sadegh Zibakalam, a retired professor of political science from the University of Tehran. Zibakalam noted in a January speech at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha that a growing hostility for Palestinians has grown among many Iranian youth.
According to Zibakalam, there has been a discernible rise in anti-Palestinian sentiment, particularly among the younger population, since the October 7 attacks, which represented a significant shift in Middle Eastern geopolitics. He talked about how he saw this change firsthand during the last 15 months. He pointed out that, in stark contrast to Iran's longstanding support for the Palestinians, which has been a pillar of its foreign policy, many young Iranians have started to view Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a hero.
The retired professor ascribed this change to a backlash against the Iranian government's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause rather than a thorough comprehension of the political complexities surrounding Israel or Palestine. Zibakalam stated that younger Iranians are responding to the Islamic Republic's steadfast support for Palestinians rather than being motivated by a profound understanding of leaders like Netanyahu or organizations like Hamas.
For many young Iranians, the nation's unwavering support for Palestine stands in stark contrast to the political and economic difficulties they encounter at home. The Islamic Republic's long-standing support for Palestinian organizations appears to be at odds with the annoyances of a populace that feels excluded and disenchanted with the government's goals.
The younger generation, which has experienced limited freedoms and economic challenges, is displaying symptoms of growing dissatisfaction with the government's international priorities and alliances as well as its home policies. "You'll be surprised at the number of Iranians who hate Palestinians since the 7th of October last year," the message says. I witnessed firsthand the level of anti-Palestinian sentiment among the younger Iranian generation. And Netanyahu was their idol. Do you believe they had any knowledge of Hamas, Netanyahu, or the Likud party? No, no. Because Islamic leaders back Palestinians, they despise them.