There is now more violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt than in the northeast, where Boko Haram continues its operations. Ostensibly, violence in the Middle Belt is driven by conflict between “herders” and “farmers” over land use, ethnic and religious rivalries, and (likely but hard to prove) the agendas of rival politicians.

Within the space of a few months, fifty-five-year-old evangelist Olufunmilayo Adebayo, popularly known as Mummy G.O., has gone from the relative obscurity of downscale Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos, to the most discussed subject in contemporary Nigerian Pentecostalism. The target of a blizzard of savage internet memes and unrelenting mockery, the founder and leader of the self-styled Rapture Proclaimer Evangelical Church of God (RAPEC) has been getting all the attention in a context where the leading—and mostly male—clerical figures dominate the news as a matter of course.

Current Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto is a likely contender for Indonesia's 2024 presidential election. His candidacy could pose a number of challenges to democracy in the country.