Bavijas Review

If you would recall, on Monday, December 11, 2023, I wrote a puritanical piece titled: “ Killing a wolf family won’t save the Deer ” that criticized the ongoing zero-sum war in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.   That piece was as controversial as I’d expected it to be. It drew varied perspectives from the conservative clergy, the Evangelicals, the Muslim and Christian laity, as well as from agnostics. However, publishing that opinion was one of the boldest things I did in 2023 and it proved I was no longer taking anybody’s answer for anything where my convictions were called for.  In the last 10 years, I’ve been through an inflection point whereby I’ve learnt a lot including how to speak up whenever and wherever it mattered. No need to pipe low any longer. Perhaps this new me stems from my countless moments of  romanticism  or reflective study of self and individuality, and of course, the man I was gradually becoming.  Let me say this: I am disappointed in most Christians, eva

The US has just vetoed a recent UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza. Out of the Council’s 15 member countries, 13 agreed they wanted the war to end immediately. But the US blocked the deal from seeing the light of the day, while the UK abstained completely from voting.  Many people, including myself, are not happy with Israel’s continued bombardment of civilian enclaves in the Gaza Strip. I wouldn’t care much if Israeli soldiers were killing the Hamas “terrorists” but appalling statistics on the ground reveal the Israeli army has killed way more civilians - in their thousands - than the actual terrorists themselves, triggering a massive humanitarian crisis in the Middle East and raising geopolitical concerns. The Turkish government of President Tayyip Erdogan has called Israel a “terror state”. Jordan has pulled out of a hitherto pending energy-for-water deal with Israel. Iranian delegates boycotted a UN-led climate discussion at CO

This year 2023 is the midpoint between 2016 and 2030, within which the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are supposed to be accomplished.  The 17 SDG commitments are accompanied by a huge number of targets—169, to be exact—and from the look of things, we must admit the world is falling short on nearly all of them.  Here’s the problem:  Many countries and heads of government are unable to meet their promises because of a lack of funds.  Every government of the world makes roughly $10–$15 trillion each year from tax collection, and this is a far cry from the $19 trillion or so needed to meet annual targets, per the FFGI report.  Here's the solution: To stand a fair chance of achieving the SDGs by 2030, governments must do all they can possibly do right now, while donors must double their financial commitments. We are in this together. Let's gear up for more action. Happy Wednesday Victor Bassey 07.06.2023

In your understanding, what is true greatness?  Mind you, true greatness is not as the world sees it or defines it but as Jesus; the greatest Teacher who has ever lived sees it. We should always see things from the angle of Master Jesus. Jesus revealed that worldly standards are often upside down. The world thinks that a great person is someone who has power and authority over others or someone rich and famous One day, a dispute arose among Jesus’ disciples as to which one of them was the greatest. Jesus said to them, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave” (Matthew 20:25-27). Jesus points to us that true greatness doesn't consist of power, military might, or autocratic authority, but of humble service.  To illustrate this truth, Jesus washed his apostles’ feet.  He said,