Politics
A path to Ukrainian peace: Beyond exaggerated expectations
The protracted, attritional war that Russia has waged against Ukraine for nearly three years has led analysts and political leaders alike to ponder how to end this war as soon as possible and achieve a lasting peace.
Increasingly, proposals are emerging to apply a model similar to the one implemented in Germany after World War II. Adapting to Ukraine would mean that it would never relinquish the annexed territories, and the West would never recognise these territories as Russian.
However, Ukraine would accept the reality that it cannot reclaim the occupied territories through force and would commit to a non-violent approach.
In exchange, Ukraine would demand concrete, not merely symbolic, security guarantees that Russia would not repeat its aggression against Ukraine.
Just recently, both Czech President Petr Pavel and outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have expressed themselves along a similar vein. So, what is preventing the implementation of such a solution?
I would say that a problem lies in the exaggerated and unrealistic expectations held by Ukrainian citizens and a significant part of the democratic world.
This is a common phenomenon within the political sphere. Unrealistic expectations can be inadvertently cultivated not only by populists but also by well-intentioned politicians who make excessive promises to their constituents.
Such expectations pose a significant risk, not merely to the politicians who propagate them, but more importantly to the communities they represent, as these communities may find themselves on a perilous path with limited options for reversal.
Can we really make Putin kneel?
It appears that Ukraine has experienced precisely this phenomenon. The initial Ukrainian successes, including the defence of Kyiv against a blitzkrieg (a rapid invasion by Russian airborne troops at the outset of the war), the defence of Kharkiv, and the subsequent daring counteroffensive, led both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and parts of the West to experience euphoria and to foster expectations of a Ukrainian victory over Russia, with Western support.
These expectations included the notion of expelling Russian forces from all occupied territories, including Crimea.
Russian soldiers guard a pier where two Ukrainian naval vessels are moored, in Sevastopol, March 2014 AP Photo
The West is also to blame for creating these exaggerated, unrealistic expectations. Some leaders hoped to persuade Putin to back down or at least suspend his operation. In the case of Ukraine, the granting of EU candidate status was considered by many to be something that was not even on the table.
Talk of the West’s vast economic and military superiority also contributed to the illusion that, eventually, Putin will kneel.
However, it seems to me that President Zelensky also made a key mistake by not involving the Ukrainian parliamentary opposition in solving the problem.
On the contrary, there have been reports here and there that Ukrainian border guards have not allowed the leader of the opposition, former President Petro Poroshenko, to leave Ukraine.
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has repeatedly expressed his criticism of the president. There are no known joint negotiations by the wider Ukrainian political leadership to seek a common solution to the key issues of the war.
I believe Zelenskyy should do this
And that’s how misinformation spreads. For example, the idea that these are various nationalist, if not outright fascist, units of Ukrainian fighters who are preventing President Zelenskyy from making any compromises.
In reality, it is the Ukrainian president himself who has manoeuvred himself into a position where the opposition will not proactively help him, and his voters will have a hard time understanding a potential change of approach to ending the war and thus will also have a hard time accepting any compromise.
A faction of Accord Party has held its own governorship primary, where Mr. Clement Bamigbola emerged as the faction’s governorship candidate for the 2026 Osun State election.
This is coming just four days after the emergence of Governor Ademola Adeleke as the party’s flag-bearer.
Recall that the party under the leadership of Maxwell Mgbudem, on Wednesday, held a similar exercise which produced Governor Ademola Adeleke as the party’s candidate.
However, a faction of the party rejected his emergence, insisting that Barrister Maxwell Mgbudem is not the legally recognized national chairman of the Accord Party.
In a fresh development on Sunday, about 300 delegates of the Accord Party from across Osun State elected Bamigbola as the factional candidate during a primary held at Regina Suite, Osogbo.
Bamigbola emerged through a voice vote conducted by the delegates, after which the Chairman of the Primary Committee, Hon. Olufemi Ogundare, declared him the party’s candidate for the 2026 Osun State governorship election.
President Bola Tinubu and leaders of ECOWAS countries are currently meeting in Abuja.
The 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government is taking place at the State House Conference Centre, in Abuja.
Leaders of West African countries at the meeting include President Julius Bio (Sierra Leone, ECOWAS Chair), President Patrice Talon (Benin), José Maria Neves (Cabo Verde) and Alassane Ouattara (Côte d’Ivoire).
Others are Adama Barrow (The Gambia), John Mahama (Ghana), Umaro Embaló (Guinea-Bissau), Joseph Boakai (Liberia), Bassirou Faye (Senegal) and Faure Gnassingbé (Togo).
The meeting is coming against the backdrop of five turbulent years for West Africa, which saw coups in Mali (2020, 2021), Burkina Faso (twice in 2022), and Niger (2023).
The latest incidents include an attempted coup in Benin on December 7, 2025, and renewed instability in Guinea-Bissau.
At the time of filing this report, details of the meeting are yet to be disclosed.
Politics
Breaking: Diri Orders Autopsy on Bayelsa Deputy Governor’s Death, Warns Against Politicisation
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death of the state’s Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.
Governor Diri gave the directive on Saturday while receiving former President Goodluck Jonathan at the Government House in Yenagoa.
Reacting to the incident, the governor condemned what he described as widespread misinformation and speculation on social media, warning against any attempt to politicise the deputy governor’s death.
“I want to make an appeal. I have seen people politicise his death. In Ijaw land, there is no enmity in death. Let nobody politicise the passing of our dearly beloved deputy governor,” Diri said.
“If anyone truly loves him, this is the time to show it. I have directed that an autopsy be carried out to reveal the cause of his death. There is a lot of nonsense going on on social media.”
The governor further urged the public to focus on mourning and honouring the late deputy governor, noting that the state government had declared three working days of mourning in his honour.
“If anyone is issuing statements to eulogise him, let it end there. Let us mourn him because Bayelsa State is in a mourning mood,” he added.
Governor Diri also called for unity and love among the people, reminding them of the inevitability of death.
Speaking during the condolence visit, former President Goodluck Jonathan described the late Ewhrudjakpo as a committed and dedicated individual who played a key role in the activities of his foundation.
“For me, he was someone my foundation and I will never forget. He represented the governor in all our programs,” Jonathan said, adding that Ewhrudjakpo worked tirelessly in that role, even more than when he served as deputy governor.
The man who tackled a gunman to the floor and saved people from getting sh0t at Bondi Beach in Australia has been identified as Ahmed al Ahmed.
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