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2023: Don’t Just Predict Political Future, Speak Truth To Power, Kaigama Charges Clerics

Published

4 years ago

January 30, 2022

Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Grace, Most Revd Ignatius Kaigama, has advised clerics to lend their voices and use their platforms more for social change rather than being what he described as ‘political forecasters’.

He said religious leaders would do better by channelling their creative energies into admonishing those in political leadership to stop rationalising bad governance and corruption by speaking truth to power.

Kaigama, however, challenged leaders to accept rejection and criticism even when they think they are doing their best.

The Archbishop, who stated this on Sunday in his homily at St. James Parish Dawaki Abuja, advised all Nigerians to embrace love by being more sensitive and respectful of one another for peace and prosperity to prevail in the country.

He said, “The story of Jesus’ rejection by His townspeople should challenge leaders to accept rejection and criticism even when they think they are doing their best; after all, their best may not be what the people cherish.

“For us religious leaders we must remain ardent in preaching the truth with courage and not be deterred even by threats to life. We are called to be the Jeremiah of our day: tell truth to power.

“Unfortunately, many religious leaders who are sadly preaching miracles and prosperity are now dabbling into political forecasting in the name of divine prophecy.

“When they claim that party A or B will win elections in a given state, or nation, or a certain strong political personality will win rather than the other, these are mere fruits of political calculations or pure guesswork, and may not be a result of any special supernatural or divine revelation.

“Serious religious leaders must not arrogate to themselves prophetic political certitude by such distracting predictions when they should be only concerned with issues of moral regeneration of lives and the constant call to spiritual decency.

“Prophets should worry rather about people encouraging them to do away with a mentality that rationalizes sin, corruption and calls evil, good.

“True Prophets don’t just glory in predicting the political future; they are rather to serve the people of God and to bring God’s word to them; to be models and witnesses by the edifying words that come from their lips and the courageous witness of their lives.

“Unlike many contemporary ministers who are out to seek a ministry of comfort, affluence and convenience, the priest is called to identify with his flock in their social and existential contexts, and in the words of Pope Francis, ‘to smell like the sheep’.

“Religious leaders must resist the temptation to do influential people’s bidding by prophesying electoral victory or massaging their worldly ego and during public religious gatherings.

“Attributes of love such as being patient, kind, gentle, forgiving, etc., will heal our badly wounded society, making our political, religious or traditional leaders and all Nigerians more sensitive to and respectful of one another.”

VANGUARD

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TikTok Bans 49,512 Live Sessions In Nigeria As Creators Stream Sex Romps

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2025

Editor

For the first time, TikTok has shared data on its enforcement of Live Monetization guidelines, following a surge in users going live during sexual activity. The platform released the figures during its West Africa Safety Summit in Dakar, Senegal, held in partnership with AfricTivistes.

In the second quarter of 2025, TikTok took action, including warnings and demonetization, against 2,321,813 Live sessions and 1,040,356 Live creators for violating its Live Monetization guidelines.

In Nigeria alone, 49,512 Live sessions were banned during the same period.

The Summit brought together senior government officials, policy experts, NGOs, regulators, media representatives, and industry leaders from West African nations, including Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Ethiopia.

Delegates discussed strategies to strengthen user protection and content moderation frameworks tailored to regional challenges.

The event marked a pivotal moment for TikTok’s regional safety efforts and its commitment to upholding global safety standards across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Experts shared insights, examined online safety challenges, and explored collaborative measures under TikTok’s #SaferTogether initiative.

TikTok’s Outreach and Partnerships Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, Duduzile Mkhize, emphasized the platform’s commitment to enhancing user security through stakeholder collaboration.

She stated: “While global, we remain hyper-local in our day-to-day efforts. The dialogue at this Summit is invaluable because only through insights sharing and collaboration with policymakers and local partners across West Africa can we prevent a fragmented and insecure digital environment.

“United action can help us guarantee a safe space for our community to discover, create, and connect responsibly.”

A key partner in this effort is Nigeria’s Dr. Akinola Olojo, expert on preventing and countering violent extremism, and member of TikTok’s Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council.

He said: “The convening of various stakeholders in Dakar, sharing insights for collaborative action, proves that the work we do alongside TikTok is not in vain.

“We must move beyond reactive measures and continue to build proactive systems that empower communities to resist radicalization and leverage online spaces for positive social impact.”

Globally, TikTok removed over 189 million videos in the same quarter, representing just 0.7% of all content uploaded. Of these, 163.9 million were flagged by AI-driven moderation systems.

Notably, 99.1% of removals were detected proactively, and 94.4% were taken down within 24 hours. The platform also removed 76,991,660 fake accounts, alongside 25,904,708 accounts suspected to belong to users under the age of 13.

In Nigeria, TikTok removed 3,780,426 videos between April and June 2025 for violating Community Guidelines. Impressively, 98.7% were removed before being viewed, and 91.9% were taken down within 24 hours.

The data, released in TikTok’s Quarter 2 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, underscores the platform’s ongoing commitment to creating a safe digital space for its users.

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Nnamdi Kanu’s Case Proof Of Religious Persecution In Nigeria – US lawmaker, John James

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

Former chairman of the Africa Subcommittee and now a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative, John James, has claimed that the case of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is proof of religious persecution in Nigeria.

James stated this when the United States House Subcommittee on Africa on Thursday, held a public hearing to review President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

The hearing in Washington, DC included senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.

James claimed that in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal had struck down the charges against him and ordered his release in 2022.

He said: “Religious persecution is tied to political repression and weakening institutions in Nigeria. The detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a clear example.

“In 2022, Nigeria’s Court of Appeals struck down the charges against him and ordered his release.

“The UN Working Group for Arbitrary Detention has also called for his unconditional release, yet he remains in solitary confinement in deteriorating health and recently had to represent himself in court.

“Nigeria has signaled that the law is optional and targeting Christians is fair game. Just hours ago this morning, despite the pleas and cries of Nigerian people and many Nigerian lawmakers, Kanu was convicted on all charges.”

Nnamdi Kanu was on Thursday, sentenced to life imprisonment over terrorism charges.

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Nigerians Don’t Trust Their Govt – US Congressman Riley Moore

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

US Congressman Riley Moore has said that Nigerian people do not trust their government.

Moore stated this on Thursday at US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, CPC.

“The Nigerian people don’t trust their government. ‘How can you trust a government that doesn’t show up when you ask them to?

“The Nigerian government must work with the US in cooperation to address these insecurity issues.

“A case that just happened recently in Plateau state. We had a pastor there who warned the Nigerian government that they were under attack. There’s imminent attack forces here in the next 24 hours. Please come and help us.

“The Nigerian government did not only ignore it but put up a press release that it is fake news,” he said.

Moore would be meeting with a delegation of senior members of the Nigerian government, over the devastating insecurity in Nigeria and the US designation of the country as CPC, DAILY POST reports.