Fareed Zakaria: The absence of meritocracy in Trump's Nigeria travel ban

CC™ Introspective - By Fareed Zakaria PhD 

A report by Zakaria on the immigrant visa ban imposed on Nigeria by the Donald Trump administration trended recently on social media.

The Trump administration had justified the restriction on the basis of national security concerns, claiming that the affected countries have gaps in their security protocols surrounding travel which exposed the U.S. to terror threats.

A report by Zakaria on the immigrant visa ban imposed on Nigeria by the Donald Trump administration trended yesterday on social media. The presenter of a weekly programme on CNN, "Fareed Zakaria GPS", made a case for Nigeria, saying U.S. authorities justified the ban with national security concerns but data available proved otherwise.

Citing CATO institute, Zakaria said four of the six countries listed in the ban - Nigeria, Myanmar, Tanzania, and Eritrea - had no records on terror-related deaths caused by foreign-born attackers between 1975 and 2017. "The argument does not really make sense”, he said.

He added that Nigerians are the most educated immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa in the U.S. of which 59 per cent aged 25 and older have at least a bachelor's degree, according to migration policy institute, which is nearly doubled the proportion of the Americans born in the U.S. (33 per cent).

Zakaria argued that if the government was truly worried about security from the countries, it would ban all visas, not just immigrant visas. He said the government’s decision to target only permanent visas, leaving the temporary visas, suggests something else is going on. 

According to him, when Trump unveiled the new immigration plan in 2019, he said he wants English speaking immigrants who could assimilate easily and give back to the country.

Zakaria said if that is what Trump wants, Nigerian immigrants who make up the largest group of Sub-Saharan Africans in the U.S. as of 2017 “check all those boxes. They are some of the most educated immigrants in America.

Nigerian immigrants tend to work high skilled jobs, 54 per cent are in largely white-collar positions in business, management, science, and the arts compared to the 39 per cent of people born in the U.S.,” he added.

This, according to Zakaria’s analysis, means that Nigerian immigrants have significant spending power.

The American journalist also cited a new report by the New American Economy, which states that Nigerian immigrants in the U.S. in 2018 made more than $14 billion and paid more than $4 billion in taxes. The report also states that Nigerian diaspora around the world sent back almost $24 billion in remittances, contributing to the Nigerian economy that is “more dynamic than many people, including Trump himself realize”.

According to the journalist, the Centre for Global Development reported that Nigeria is a country where the middle-class is increasing in education and aspiration. It is also America's second-largest trade partner and the U.S. wants to double its investments and trading in Africa.

President Donald Trump had some weeks ago extended the country's controversial travel ban list to impose visa restrictions on six more countries. Nigeria, which happens to be the largest economy in Africa and the most populous nation on the continent, was included in the list.

While the Trump administration included Nigeria on the travel ban list to keep America safe from terrorists, CNN report concluded that the decision was not smart.

Source: CNN

The 21st Century Marriage

By Gbenga Owotoki

From a recent study done in the United States of America, about 49% of all marriages end in divorce and you might think the odds of failure of marriages will be much less for couples heavily involved in the church but I am sorry to shock you, it is not quite so. Ministries today reports the divorce rate up 279% in the last 27 years! This, if anything, is frightening!

Taking a survey of all ministers in all denominations, 50% of their marriages will end in divorce. A recent ABC News broadcast also reported that the divorce rate in the "Bible Belt" is 50% higher than in other areas of the US. The Christian-Based Research Group reported in January 2000, that 21% of atheists and agnostics will or have experienced divorce while 29% denominational Christians and 34% of non-denominational Christians will or have experienced divorce. This is a rebuke to the church! Where are we getting it wrong?

Most marriages are predicated on faulty foundations and marriages with such foundation cannot last. People get into marriage for the wrong reasons for some it is the wealth that will be available at their disposal, others for reasons other than genuine love entrenched in God's approval.

I read a story about Tony Toto, of Allentown, PA. He operated a pizza parlor there. Tony Toto survived at least 5 attempts on his life, all arranged for or carried out by his dear wife, Frances & her lover. Twice she arranged for assailants to beat him over the head with baseball bats. On one occasion she put a tripwire across the basement stairs in their house, hoping that he would trip over it & plummet to his death.

She also arranged for him to be shot, at least on two occasions. The first time she drugged his chicken soup so he would sleep soundly; he was shot in the head, but miraculously survived. The 2nd time he was shot in the chest, but only sustained minor injuries.

Even more miraculous than Tony's survival was his attitude toward his wife once he found out she was responsible for all of this. Tony said that he held his wife blameless.

When she was found guilty and sent to prison for arranging for his murder, he took their 4 children and visited her every week - every single week. Then when she was released from prison, she went back to their red brick home to resume her married life with Tony.

With his arm around her, Tony said, "We're more in love now than ever before.Wow! What a man! This is one very rare case, but how many people can live up to this? I am sure a lot of people would have thrown out the woman at the first attempt or probably kill her in the process. What is happening to our homes and marriages today?

Is your marriage going through a strain? Are you so stressed and worked up and thinking of calling it quits? Divorce should not be an option, you can work this through. During my counseling sessions, I have asked couples 'what attracted them to each other in the first place and if that object of attraction is still present.'

Most marriages get into murky waters when there is a downward shift in the relational disposition of either or both partners. When the gifts stops coming, the communication becomes brief and formal and the romantic sparks becomes extinguished…you had better watch out, you are standing on a divorce time-bomb waiting to explode!

Let me share with you some secrets that I have shared with my audience. It is embedded in the four letter word L.O.V.E. I am not saying love by mouth but this is love from the very depth of your soul, it's a connection you must have with your spouse, if anything comes in between this connection then you are on a dangerous path. Let's look at this together:

L - Living for One Another: Living for one another is one of the strong keys to living together till 'death do you path.' It means your spouse becomes the reason for your living. When you live for another it means you are dead to self, it means you are broken. At this stage, it is not about your qualification nor is it about how much money you earn more than your spouse…the moment you begin to see yourself as the more important part of the relationship then you are digging the grave for your marriage. When you live for one another, then you will grow in each other.

O - Open Up to One Another: Secrecy is a silent and gradual terminator of the peace and joy within the home. Many homes have been destroyed as a result of secrets that were believed to have been kept but later came to the fore. Your spouse has the right to know everything; that is why you are married. You owe each other that obligation. Open to one another and you will enjoy the peace that passes all understanding. Many individuals have held back secrets from their spouses which later inflamed them and their marriage never was the same again.

Openness rides on the wings of a healthy communication within the marriage. Couples, if when together are at lose of what to discuss or say to each other are already exhibiting symptoms of 'communication wilt.' Communication must be fun, informal and sincere. Openness is the first defense against external infiltration into your marriage. Be open about everything. Genesis 2:25 says "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed." There is no shame in being open. These should include our finances, sex, relationships and every other area.

V- Value for One Another: Value means worth. When you value your spouse then he/she is worth more than all the valuables of the world put together. A man that values his wife will not treat her as a slave. Learn to appreciate your wife. Treat her as the queen that she is and let her feel that sense of worth. How do you treat your husband? Do you discuss her with your friends and by extension make him a laughing stock before them. Do you disrespect each other before extended family members? Value means you are sensitive to the needs of your spouse and that you hold each other in high esteem. Do you value your spouse?

E - Encourage One Another: Your spouse should be your first pastor. It is not every problem or misunderstanding you take to the church or your parents. Be the shoulder upon which your spouse can lean on. There is power when you agree on something together. Rather than place curses on each other, make positive declarations of a better life together.

There are women who bathe their husbands with curses and true to their word, the man will never make progress and you cannot expect to have peace in return in such situation, the devil will succeed in turning that home to a battle field. Encourage and pray for another.

The success of one should be the joy and success of another. Don't take your spouse to the threshing floor of the public, since when he/she is ridiculed you will also be humiliated in your home. Make Jesus your focus. 

Face that challenge together and see God come out strong on your behalf. Your family will be beauty to behold and a reference point in the comity of families.

God bless you mightily! 

Gbenga Owotoki, is the founder and Presiding Coordinator Hephzibah Network International Ministries; a Ministry committed to stirring up the 'sleeping giant' in people for end-time exploits. A US trained Business and Change Management Strategist. He is widely known as the 'Change Driver' for his simple but yet unique ways through which he initiates changes that are rejuvenating lives and organizations and helping to restore hope in individuals who had completely given up. A widely travelled international conference speaker and Convener of the annual Giant Conference and Life Summit that have been a blessing to many.

We have lost confidence – UEFA asks Infantino to resign as FIFA president

CC™ News

UEFA are demanding FIFA president Gianni Infantino resign, after he scrapped the “shabby, back-room deal” to sell stakes in the World Cup.

Infantino tried to sell a £3.1 billion stake to a group of private investors led by Josh Kushner, an extended relative of US President Donald Trump.

But his plans collapsed on Friday night and he has since made a u-turn following widespread backlash.

In a statement on Saturday morning, UEFA have declared a loss of confidence in Infantino.

“We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account,” the statement read in part.

“It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again.

“That review should be thorough and fundamental. No option should be off the table. The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”

FIFA member nations could trigger a vote of no confidence to remove Infantino, who is seeking a fourth term in next year’s elections.

The threshold to initiate the process is 46 FIFA member associations; UEFA have 55 members.

The personality, disposition and unquestionable authority of Yahweh

CC™ Divine Ministration

When you understand the personality of God, it will give you a unique insight into how He moves. 

Poverty is not from God, it is from the devil. God does not dry things up. He only nourishes and replenishes.

Numbers 32:10-13….. Divine Inconvenience - When the Lord decides it is time for you to move from your comfort zone to your destiny zone. 

When it is time for a new season, we must have the courage to take the bold step of change and the leap of faith needed, to step into the next dimension.

Obedience to doing the Lord’s will becomes “easy” once you realize it is better to be in the hands of God than at the mercy of the devil.  

There is no sense of direction without a sense of knowledge and understanding. 

That sense of knowledge and understanding only comes  from one source alone, the same God that had and still has a divine purpose for our lives, from the very day our seed of existence was planted. 

© 2026 2CG MEDIA

The gallivanting sycophant and the defanged kingmaker as Peter Obi meets Obasanjo

CC™ Politico

The 2027 Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, recently met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, amid the rising political discussions over the former Nigerian leader’s role ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a brief statement related to the meeting, Umoh wrote, “Earlier today, the presidential candidate of the NDC, Peter Obi, met with former president Olusegun Obasanjo.”

The meeting between Obi and Obasanjo on Wednesday also came days after former Political Adviser to the ex-president, Akin Osuntokun, claimed that Obasanjo was the principal force behind the alliance between Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking during an interview on Arise Television, Osuntokun dismissed suggestions that Obasanjo was secretly supporting President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the former president had instead played a leading role in bringing the opposition leaders together.

It is on record that Peter Obi left the coalition opposition, African Democratic Congress, ADC, alongside his running mate, Rabiu Kwamkwanso for the NDC, citing internal division and court cases. 

What Recent DNA Research Reveals About Ancient Greece

CC™ VideoSpective

South Africa - Vestiges of an ingrate nation…..

CC™ Editor’s Corner

—The Nigerian government must ask the current ANC led government for a full refund (with interest) of its estimated US $61 billion in total cumulative support and economic sacrifices to the anti-apartheid movement between 1960 and 1995. 

This staggering figure by the way, is duly documented by institutions like the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)  and encompasses direct financial grants, governmental relief funds, and extensive revenue lost by enforcing strict boycotts of the apartheid government at the helm of the racist enclave, at the time. 

With regard to the recent surge of Xenophobia (actually Afrophobia) attacks on African migrants in South Africa, while the faces behind these attacks are Black, the ‘meddling’ hands behind them are White, namely AfriForum, with the financial muscle of Elon Musk and the acquiescence of the West.

This is a replacement strategy, that is geared towards increasing the White population in South Africa, as evidenced by what is transpiring in the Western Cape, where the indigenous African population is actively being replaced with immigrants from Western nations, as well as European Jews from Israel (as a result of the wars in Gaza and Iran).  

The lack of visionary and decisive leadership from the ANC is solely responsible for this. The truth is Apartheid never went away. It is still alive and well in South Africa, as the minority White population (roughly 7% of the total population of South Africa) still control over 90% of household wealth and about 75% of individual-owned farmland. 

With such economic disparities still persisting, three plus decades after the supposed death of Apartheid, it is easy to see why the ‘distraction’ was needed and is being actively financed by the usual suspects and their extenders within the local African population. 

Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. individually-held farms and agricultural holdings

China: The organic maximization of efficiency and productivity through institutional discipline and operational cadence

 

CC™ Editor’s Corner

—The most important asset of a nation is its people. The reason why the United States or the West can NEVER outpace or defeat China lies in the inherent ability of the Chinese to scale (organically) at every level of institutional, socio-political, cultural and human capacity. 

The nationalistic fervor of the Chinese is organic, not manufactured. A Chinese person does not need to belt out the national anthem with their hand on their proverbial chest, or worship a piece of cloth called a flag, in order to show their patriotism. 

All it takes for that patriotism to rear its head is a simple call to duty. The Chinese have mastered the art of engagement, both from a micro functional and macro functional standpoint. When the Chinese decide to engage with you, besides the “when”,  they already know the “what”the “why” and the “where” of that engagement, as well as the “how” of it, with the latter being the fulcrum that engenders the desired outcome. 

The singular proof of this is that while the West have historically waged endless genocidal wars, mostly beyond their borders for world dominance, the Chinese have adopted a different approach. 

While this approach has been aptly referred to as “Soft Power” by mostly western observers, it is in fact an “art of war” steeped in the basic tenet of interactive reciprocity. 

China is not going anywhere anytime soon. The Chinese have in fact already won the AI race. How? Because they have scaled organically (as they always do) from the standpoint of cost efficiency maximization (which eliminates greed and avarice) and overall operational cadence. 

Simply put, the Chinese have scaled AI from Concept, to Production, to Testing, to Implementation and Maintenance. 

Fortune may favor the brave but it rewards and establishes the wise. 

To be continued……

The African Renaissance…..

 

CC™ Editor’s Corner

—What Africa has a shortage of, are people who actually know who they are. They know how to build (they are the ones building the West) but unfortunately have no idea about the following:

Again, who they are…., this is the most critical part, as a knowledge of self, births a clear vision that then engenders a directed sense of REAL purpose and ambition. 

This thus allows you to use your capacity to know what to build, as well as when to build and why you must build. 

How can a continent that still bows to a white Jesus (the God of their oppressors and eternal enemies) while killing in the name of another one created by the Turks and the Catholic Church truly build anything?

Look at the nations/entities that have always prospered (and still prospering) all through history, they had/have a sense of who they are - Ancient Kemit (Egypt), Cush, the great West African Empires, the old Western Region (of Nigeria), the Chinese, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore et al. Notice something peculiar about them? Their culture had/has its own spiritual center that forms their core identity and consequently their worldview. 

Africa must wake up. We have the capacity. That is not and has never been the issue. 

My people perish for lack of knowledge….. of self!

More Black Men now in Jail than were in Slavery

By Dick Price


“More African American men are in prison or jail, on probation or parole than were enslaved in 1850, before the Civil War began,” Michelle Alexander told a standing room only house at the Pasadena Main Library this past Wednesday, the first of many jarring points she made in a riveting presentation.

Alexander, currently a law professor at Ohio State, had been brought in to discuss her year-old bestseller, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Interest ran so high beforehand that the organizers had to move the event to a location that could accommodate the eager attendees. 

That evening, more than 200 people braved the pouring rain and inevitable traffic jams to crowd into the library’s main room, with dozens more shuffled into an overflow room, and even more latecomers turned away altogether. Alexander and her topic had struck a nerve.

Growing crime rates over the past 30 years don’t explain the skyrocketing numbers of black — and increasingly brown — men caught in America’s prison system, according to Alexander, who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun after attending Stanford Law. “In fact, crime rates have fluctuated over the years and are now at historical lows.”

“Most of that increase is due to the War on Drugs, a war waged almost exclusively in poor communities of color,” she said, even though studies have shown that whites use and sell illegal drugs at rates equal to or above blacks. In some black inner-city communities, four of five black youth can expect to be caught up in the criminal justice system during their lifetimes.

As a consequence, a great many black men are disenfranchised, said Alexander — prevented because of their felony convictions from voting and from living in public housing, discriminated in hiring, excluded from juries, and denied educational opportunities.

“What do we expect them to do?” she asked, who researched her ground-breaking book while serving as Director of the Racial Justice Project at the ACLU of Northern California. “Well, seventy percent return to prison within two years, that’s what they do.”

Organized by the Pasadena Public Library and the Flintridge Center, with a dozen or more cosponsors, including the ACLU Pasadena/Foothills Chapter and Neighborhood Church, and the LA Progressive as the sole media sponsor, the event drew a crowd of the converted, frankly — more than two-thirds from Pasadena’s well-established black community and others drawn from activists circles. Although Alexander is a polished speaker on a deeply researched topic, little she said stunned the crowd, which, after all, was the choir. So the question is what to do about this glaring injustice.

ACLU Pasadena/Foothills President Michelle White, Author Michelle Alexander, LA Progressive Publisher Sharon Kyle, and ACLU Pasadena Past President Kris Ockershauser.Married to a federal prosecutor, Alexander briefly touched on the differing opinion in the Alexander household. “You can imagine the arguments we have,” Alexander said in relating discussions she has with her husband. “He thinks there are changes we can make within the system,” she said, agreeing that there are good people working on the issues and that improvements can be made. “But I think there has to be a revolution of some kind.”

However change is to come, a big impediment will be the massive prison-industrial system.

“If we were to return prison populations to 1970 levels, before the War on Drugs began,” she said. “More than a million people working in the system would see their jobs disappear.”

So it’s like America’s current war addiction. We have built a massive war machine — one bigger than all the other countries in the world combined — with millions of well-paid defense industry and billions of dollars at stake. With a hammer that big, every foreign policy issue looks like a nail — another bomb to drop, another country to invade, another massive weapons development project to build.

Similarly, with such a well-entrenched prison-industrial complex in place — also with a million jobs and billions of dollars at stake — every criminal justice issue also looks like a nail — another prison sentence to pass down, another third strike to enforce, another prison to build in some job-starved small town, another chance at a better life to deny.

Alexander, who drew her early inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., devotes the last part of “The New Jim Crow” to steps people can take to combat this gross injustice. In particular, she recommended supporting the Drug Policy Alliance. At the book signing afterwards, Dr. Anthony Samad recruited Michelle Alexander to appear this fall at one his Urban Issues Forums, typically at the California African American Museum next to USC.