Celebrating Others, Surviving Ourselves
Spain win World Cup, Nigerian farmers sell cheap, choirmaster jailed 25 years, first female NBA president elected.
Good morning,
Spain has done it again. A second World Cup, 16 years after the first, was sealed with a 1-0 extra-time victory over 10-man Argentina in New York. And I have to say, watching Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams lift that trophy brought a smile to my face. Two young men of African descent, products of immigrant families, wearing the red of Spain with such pride. It is a beautiful thing to see and to think that they are champions in both women's and men's football at the same time!
For Nigeria, the tournament was a reminder of how far we have fallen. The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the first time since 2006. But at least SportyTV nearing one billion views across its digital platforms during the tournament, with its YouTube channel alone generating over 70 million views, is something to behold. Nigerians are watching football. Just not our own.
While Spain celebrates, farmers in the Northeast are selling their harvest at rock-bottom prices just to survive. Our feature story talks about how armed militias force them to liquidate their crops immediately after harvest, converting bulky grains into cash they can hide if they must flee. By the time the lean season arrives, these same families buy food back at triple or quadruple the price. It is a poverty trap that policymakers refuse to acknowledge.
A choirmaster in Anambra has been sentenced to 25 years for raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl during a deliverance session. He claimed the Holy Spirit directed him. The court disagreed. The victim delivered a baby in April 2026. She is 16. He is in prison. The message is clear: spiritual authority is not a licence to abuse.
And history was made at the Nigerian Bar Association. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, has been elected NBA president, the first woman in almost four decades to hold the office. She defeated two male candidates with 12,317 votes. “The campaign is over. The work begins now,” she said. The bar is watching.
Spain win. Farmers lose. A rapist is jailed. A woman leads the NBA. And Nigerians watched it all from home – on their phones, not in the stadium. These are not separate stories. They are the same story: a country where we celebrate others’ victories, struggle for our own survival, and occasionally get something right. The question is whether we will build a country that deserves its own champions.
Think about that as you start your day.
Warmly,
Lolade