With President Trump “locked and loaded” and the North Korean leader having a re-think about attacking Guam, the rest of the world can breathe a sigh of relief – at least for now.

Never a week goes by that North Korea doesn’t launch another ICBM taunting America, South Korea and recently Japan.

Previous American administrations have ignored the North Korean’s antics and have gone down the diplomatic way, imposing sanctions and restrictions.
Kim Jung-Un is a nuisance;  an attention seeking miscreant who’s prone to show-off given an audience: Trump has now given him the attention he craves.
For those who think there will be a nuclear war or Armageddon, sooner or later, there won’t be.
To launch a nuclear strike President Trump will need the full backing of the Congress and the Pentagon. This backing will not be forthcoming as the Pentagon will be more in favour of a conventional military strike rather than a nuclear strike. So anybody who thinks this will be a throwback to the stand-off during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, when the world was on the brink of all-out nuclear war, is wrong.
Most important of all if military intervention is required there is China to worry about: In the event that North Korea strikes first at US interests in the region China will remain neutral. But should the US launch a pre-emptive strike, first, China is sure to side with their wayward North Korean neighbour. There are already skirmishes between the Chinese and American navies in the South China Sea and China doesn’t want an increased American presence in the region.
If the order is given to strike its more likely to be a surgical military operation such as the one launched against Iraq in the first Gulf war in 1991.
Cruise missiles will be launched from ships of the US Seventh Fleet currently in the region to knock out key military installations in North Korea. The cruise missiles will probably be complemented by a squadron of  B-2 bombers, flying non-stop from their base in Whiteman Airforce base outside Kansas city in America. They carry in their fuselage the AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile that will primarily be used to disable missile and telecommunication installations. US fighter-bomber planes, consisting mainly of F-16s and A-10 Thunderbolts, will fly out of their South Korean base of Kunsan air base to destroy any mobile missile launching platforms north of the Demilitarized zone. Finally B1 and B52 bombers flying out of  Andersen airforce base in Guam will be used to carpet bomb North Korean barracks and other areas.
Modern air wars normally last a week and if after Kim Jung-Un still refuses to surrender, ground troops, of which there are currently over 500,000 in South Korea, will be moved into position. The border at the 38^thparallel will be breached and it’ll take the troops, backed by massive air support, less than a week to march upon the capital of Pyongyang.
However a military intervention will be counter-productive, as the Americans are fully aware of: “ Dear Leader” Kim Jung-Un is revered as a god by his people and any attempt to topple or assassinate him will be met by great resistance by his fanatical followers; they’ll rather die protecting “dear leader” than surrender. And being a nuclear power there’s no knowing that Kim’s generals won’t unleash their nuclear arsenal upon the world.

The key to solving the North Korean crisis lies with China and not Trump’s gung-ho cowboy antics. Already the Chinese government has hit North Korea with sanctions and trade embargoes, forcing them to survive on the bare basics. More, however, will have to be done to force mad Kim Jung-Un to give up his nuclear missile testing programme.

Tony Ogunlowo blogs at http://www.archangel641. blogspot.co.uk

For lack of time, I have been unable to soak in all the stories out there on rape incidents. The accounts are inhuman, indecent and grossly against the lowest of known morals. I find the stories wrenching my moral self and sincerely call for coordinated action that advances the protection of children and minors from the dastardly misnomer that such actions are. Even for young ladies or the mature, rape remains an aberration unworthy of any form of negotiated interpretation outside evil, and one deserving of the condemnation of sane humanity.

Sex has been a problem for humanity and I often wonder why God just didn’t let us enjoy orgasms after good meals. The motions are overly dramatic and for a business man like myself, daunting. How men wantonly discard their dignity to force sex is a subject that I will remain puzzled about. What is it about sex really? A man who commands an entire organization wiggles and shakes, sometimes begging like a beguiled soul for a 20 minute rendezvous with a girl within his daughter’s age. Because I am a competitive person, I’d rather go through the hard work of winning the assurance and approval of a lady than force her. In my case I don’t even have time for shakara, I am a fast mover. You’re not game for friendship, I’m not game for Okpax. But rape?? Hell No! Rape is corruption, just a worse one. If I could pass the National Common Entrance examinations why can I not woo a lady to the point of consent? I have been in difficult business circumstances and came out breezing so why not masculine dexterity that wins the admiration of a female to the point of consent? I guess the guys do not know it is serious business to get a sound lady. Na project!

That said, I would quickly point out again that we must go back to the archives to leverage some understanding that scholars have shared about the perpetrators and the course of recovery for the victims. Governments should at least pretend to be academic about this to find psychological and social reprieve for victims while attending to the possible mental recession that rapists suffer. We should own a public service that creates an avenue for open discussions about the subject. Even if separated by gender, women who have been abused should have an anonymous grouping that encourages them to publicly share their experiences. People get to know about rape cases over time and so the “social stigma” concern that drives victims to mental isolation becomes unnecessary thereafter.

This closing is for brothers out there. Ladies hold the patent for the most uncanny provocations, that me, I can tell but you have no rights whatsoever to beat a woman. No you do not. You have no rights to lift a finger against any woman whom you begged a family for. It is an abuse that is socially unacceptable and even though I will not cut my friendship with you, I will practically almost have no respect for you. People whom I have no respect for become invisible. In same vein should nobody force a lady to have sex with him. If you cannot force sales that can make you a star salesman or marketer or an Innovator, you’re a major wash. If she says no, let her go. I can tell you that the world will not end at that moment or even much after. Dust yourself up like someone who failed JAMB, and try again!

So everybody wants to go their own separate way? Some Igbos want to re-create the nation of Biafra while others want a Niger-Delta country; Northern youths are calling for the expulsion of all Igbos (- and Southerners) from the North and quietly the Yorubas are calling for the creation of an Oduduwa Republic.

And then what?
As Great Britain is finding out from its preliminary BREXIT talks with Europe it’s not easy to break up a union that has been around for a very long time. It’s a lot of wahala!
As anybody who has been through a divorce will know, no break-up is easy: who gets to keep the dog? (- or cat?) How will assets be divided and what about access to the kids?
For intended break-aways a lot of things need to be considered; creating your own flag and drawing up your geographical borders is just the tip of the iceberg for there’s lots of things to consider.
A new country will need to be self-sufficient, generate its own income, make its own laws and be able to defend itself for instance.
As we can see from the break-up of the old Soviet Union 25 years ago this can prove to be problematic. Some of the old Soviet bloc countries have all the resources whilst others have nothing – reduced to having cabbage and potato economies.
Even the powerful Great Britain will have problems when they finally break with Europe. There will be problems with trade, defence and immigration amongst other things.
If the North wants to go it alone can they survive on an income derived from groundnuts and rice? Will yams and cocoa fund an Oduduwa Republic? Can the oil-rich delta region survive on oil alone?
And how do you divide up the Federal installations and other assets scattered around the country?
People, of all tribes, are scattered around the country and have made these places their homes. So what immigration policy will be put in place? Will there be free movement between the new countries? Will they be allowed to live and work where they are or do they have to return back to their origins? Will I, a Nigerian require a visa to live and work in Biafra?
Those old enough will remember the trouble caused by the expulsion of illegal aliens order signed by then President Shagari that resulted in the infamous ‘Ghana must Go’ in 1983 when people who were not of Nigerian descent were forced to leave.
Fast forward to the present day; there are more than 500,000 British citizens living and working in Europe and have done so for a very long time with a majority of them in Spain. After Britain voted to leave the European Union they have been left in limbo; they don’t know if they will have to leave everything they’ve spent years building up behind and return back to England. Likewise, European nationals in Britain don’t know if they’ll be sent home.
Currently Nigeria is not stable: the economy is a mess, corruption and crime is still rife and there is mass unemployment to mention but a few of the problems.
Forcing people to uproot and return back to their hometowns will lead to mass civilian unrest. Will they be compensated for their assets such as houses and businesses that they will be forced to leave behind? Who will compensate Dangote for all his investments in the South? And what about the people he employs? Who is going to employ them when he closes his businesses and moves everything up North? (- and again who’s going to work for him in the North? Fulani cattle herders? Boko haram?)
International investors will be very wary of where they invest with so much uncertainty. Again where they invest will be determined by such things as minimum wage, taxes and tariffs imposed by the new nations.
More than twenty years after the creation of the new states in Nigeria, some are still struggling to stand on their own two feet! Can any of them even be financially independent? What can they do without continual financial support from the Federal Government? Nothing! So how will a new country survive with no funds from a Federal Government?
And what about sports? When it comes to the Commonwealth Games or the Olympics some of the ‘new nations’ won’t have any competitors to send because all their women will be at home cooking, making babies clad head-to-toe in hijabs!

Splitting up the country is the equivalent of opening up a Pandora’s Box : you’ll be letting out untold problems that will cause untold misery for many years to come – probably leading to civil wars.

So to all those who are thinking of breaking away its time to go back to the drawing board and think of other ways to help your people to remain part of the country. Helping your people, doing the best for your people and getting the best for them will result in everyone helping everyone to resolve the real problems affecting the nation.

Unification is a lot better than seceding.

Follow me on Twitter: @Archangel641 or visit http://www.archangel641. blogspot.co.uk

I stopped being a fan of exaggerated worship or public display of godliness when I realized that it was possible to be outwardly pristine and internally depraved of morality. Humanity has mastered the art of stripping clothes off the body of another with just the mind so public works are at best a facade. The real treasure of the person to me is therefore the mind from whence actions emanate. So, corporate worship, while excellent and an expression of the unity of the church is adorable, it is however meaningless when so called worshipers promote hate. You cannot serve God and Mammon. You either love or hate. You cannot gather in worship at night and abuse the daylight from Biafra agitators in the day, in same manner that you cannot raise up hands in worship at night and in the day cast aspersions on our Hausa brothers. If the mind is sound, it will love humanity at first line charge, and then other considerations follow. The collective assignment per Christian is first love. Do not assume that it can be anything else. Love must be No. 1.

I was not quite aware of the #HallelujahChallenge but my circle has many who are actively involved in that event. I am delighted that a single event could ramp up tens of thousands of worshippers via live feeds. It is an ingenious use of technology that leaves me satisfied. I have however wondered if the convener of this wonderful challenge would get the same response had he called for a conference where Hausa Christians prayed for Hausa/Fulani Muslims in the North East and in the North West. Would much be achieved if there was a #PrayChallenge organized by Christians in the South East for strictly men and women of Fulani extraction? Could we expect a robust outpouring of “Amens” and excitement were we called to pray for Boko Haram Bombers? Am I treading on impossible grounds already? Wait for this! Can we have a prayer challenge where Yoruba Christians read out the names of every Federal Lawmaker from the North in blessings and supplication to God for their success? Stop squeezing your mind – that is what love is! Love is not convenient; it is not when you feel uplifted ALONE before God. Love is what you give so why will it be such excruciating assignment to wish your Federal Lawmakers success? Why will it be so hard for Christians to rise in prayers for Fulani Herdsmen – afterall they all certainly aren’t the wretched of our earth! We have the peaceful peaceful ones, don’t we? The ones who who had been in Nigeria all the while before the guns proliferation madness should also be subjects of our well wishers, after all they have not yet poisoned our meat as seen in hate broadcasts.

You can’t place a human impression above divine duty. How do you love when in your heart of hearts, you do not want Buhari to return alive? How can you love when you cannot consider ever relocating to Kazaure from Ibadan? When you jump to the controversial conclusions that the major criminals in Nigeria are from a particular region, you sit in judgment. You, yes you with your royal holiness that cannot interpret dreams had in naps. The problem with Nigeria remains to me, the problem of unloving minds and what we have primed it to believe. Forget the big issues and let us, like Tekno in ‘Rara’ talk about the small things. Can you love a person just because the person is human? The descriptions of South East, South West, North East or North West are as artificial as the fake lashes on some sisters. They are only fine for the moment, not when they are beaten by rain and the elements. The call for the unity of Nigeria is better boosted by corporate agreement that love supersedes all things. Distrust is a result of a lack of love. Many marriages break down today because the love ebbed, leaving room for distrust. I can tell that. Why do we have multiple churches yet agitations for hateful breaks exploding exponentially?

I call on religious leaders everywhere to begin to use our opium constructively. Religion is an addiction and it should either be totally discarded or the valuable elements (every religion I believe has its useful parts) put to good use. If religions preach love, why is it concealed by adherents when issues of Nigerian unity prop up? It is not enough to be religious, it is not even enough to have religion. All we need is love, and then Nigeria attains greatness. Forget all the political grammar. The greatness that the likes of Nathaniel Bassey carry has been shown. Let us push this further to quash daylight ethnic hatred, seen or unseen, heard or not.