The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Reforming VIP policing and security inequity

    Reforming VIP policing and security inequity

    • By Lekan Olayiwola

    Sir: Over the last two decades, VIP policing has evolved beyond an operational task into an informal institution of political reassurance. It is not simply about providing security, but a mechanism for maintaining political cohesion, signalling loyalty, and sustaining coordination networks across government and business sectors.

    In a status-sensitive society, the visible presence of armed protection functions as a marker of office and authority, signalling power to constituents, rivals, and subordinates. For many citizens, the sight of an escort is an implicit confirmation that the officeholder commands respect and commands state resources, reinforcing social hierarchies.

    In Nigeria, escorts serves as a quiet signal of inclusion, assurance, or continuity. Their presence conveys political loyalty, protects against bureaucratic or partisan pressures, and signals that the officeholder is “connected” to influential networks. Their withdrawal, if not clearly explained and applied consistently, may be perceived as a political message rather than an operational adjustment.

    Past directives reveal predictable implementation barriers. Redeploying officers requires coordination across multiple commands, which introduces opportunities for uneven application. During this process, exemptions inevitably accumulate, stemming from legitimate security concerns, official travel schedules, or political events.

    Over time, these exemptions dilute the intent of reform, leaving only partial shifts and creating the appearance of compliance without substantive change. The lack of a robust monitoring framework further exacerbates this dynamic, allowing local commanders to maintain discretionary authority over officer assignments, often in response to informal pressures from powerful figures.

    Governors, judges, legislators, and other officeholders often face genuine risks from criminal gangs, political rivals, or communal conflicts. Their appeals for continued protection are rooted not in privilege but in experience. Without a transparent framework that allocates protection based on verified threat levels, a blanket withdrawal policy naturally encounters friction.

    Moreover, the complex interplay between federal and state security responsibilities in Nigeria where policing authority is shared but unevenly funded complicates enforcement. Reform must therefore contend with decentralised political authority, varying threat environments, and the legacy of informal practices that have become institutionalised over decades.

    The current directive can succeed where others stalled by reshaping the incentives that sustain VIP deployment. Welfare reform is foundational. When officers have stable, predictable compensation, access to health care, pension security, and improved working conditions, the economic case for VIP attachment diminishes. This strengthens the professional appeal of community policing roles, making officers more willing to serve in frontline deployments, including high-risk rural or urban areas. This reorients policing culture toward public service rather than elite accommodation, fostering professionalism, accountability, and equity.

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    A threat-graded protection model would further depoliticise decisions. Kenya applied such a framework after 2017, reducing VIP protection allocation by roughly 40 per cent while maintaining security for high-risk officials. South Africa uses periodic audits to review assignments, ensuring that escorts remain tied to specific events or verified threats.

    These examples demonstrate that rebalancing is possible when risk assessment is transparent, data-driven, and institutionalised. For Nigeria, such a framework would require integrating intelligence analysis, local policing data, and operational planning into a unified decision-making process, ensuring that resources are allocated rationally rather than arbitrarily.

    Centralising and digitising escort approvals would reduce pressure on police leadership and limit discretionary interference. A digital log recording each assignment, including duration, justification, and renewal introduces clarity and accountability. Standardised protocols reduce informal bargaining and patronage, while regular audits ensure deployments remain time-bound. Transparent reporting strengthens public confidence in fairness and impartiality.

    Equally crucial is strengthening community policing: visible patrols, faster response times, and consistent local engagement signal real improvements. Citizens who see tangible police presence are more likely to support reduced VIP-specific deployments, recognising equitable security delivery. Over time, trust in law enforcement grows, political pressure for symbolic protection diminishes, and community policing reinforces legitimacy, allowing officers to prioritise preventive and responsive tasks over status-driven assignments.

    Ending VIP policing does not mean denying legitimate protection. It means allocating safety rationally and transparently, rather than through informal norms, personal connections, or economic necessity. By aligning welfare reform, institutional design, risk-assessment frameworks, and public expectations, Nigeria can build policing where officials and citizens feel genuinely protected.

    Reforms must be phased and closely monitored, blending top-down directives with local accountability and active stakeholder engagement. Though transformation will take time, it is achievable. If implemented with care, the current directive could deliver lasting change. To ensure policing becomes a public good rather than an elite privilege, transparent, evidence-based reforms are essential—rebuilding public trust and shaping a system that serves all Nigerians for generations.

    •Lekan Olayiwola,

    lekanolayiwola@gmail.com

  • Dangote, cartel and national interest

    Dangote, cartel and national interest

    Only those unfamiliar with recent happenings in the midstream and downstream petroleum sector could afford to pretend that they didn’t see the roforofo coming. However, whereas the moment had become somewhat inevitable, yet, even by the so-called Nigerian standard where rules and conventions are more often than not observed in the breach, there is a lot to be said about Sunday’s laser guided missiles hurled at the regulator of the midstream and downstream petroleum sector, and the cartel of fuel importers, by the president of the Dangote Group, that speaks to the extraordinariness of the current time.

    That the gloves are finally off is an understatement. To those who know, the battle has been joined long before the Sunday, December 14 event with the latter date merely being the H-Hour. It was the day chosen by Aliko Dangote to step out, guns-a-blazing, in what became his long-awaited riposte to the sectoral undercurrents that has seen his corporate behemoth spar with the regulator and the cartel of fuel importers over the course of the past few months. 

    Call it bare-knuckle: no ambiguities, no pretences and no attempt sophistries: the Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), he asserted, had become a major source of his headache. Yet, much as he thought little of the institution, he actually thought far less of its helmsman, Farouk Ahmed, whom he accused of compromise, corruption and possibly, sabotage.

    As they say of war, all is deemed to be fair!

    Yes, Dangote, in a burst of moral outrage, challenged Nigerians to figure out how an individual, who had spent his entire life in public service, somehow managed to shell out a princely $5 million fees for his four wards in Swiss secondary schools over a six-year period without the unseen hands of benevolent patrons.

    The expenditure, in his judgment, ‘raised serious questions about potential conflicts of interest and the integrity of regulatory oversight in the downstream petroleum sector’ and so should matter, not just to the anti-graft agencies, the tax man but to every Nigerian interested in getting the sector sanitised. I couldn’t agree more with him!

    His words: “When you look at his income, his income does not match paying this kind of fee. And even if it’s me paying $5m for six years for my four children, the taxman has to look at my taxes and how much I pay,” he stated. In other words, the industry policeman, rather than serve the public interest, would seem hostage to interests that are at variance with the national interest!

    Yet, much as one is tempted to see the charge, particularly the underlying insinuation, coming at this time, as nothing short of extraordinary, I don’t think Nigerians should suffer the distraction of failing to understand what the real issues are: the governance of the midstream and downstream sector, and the question of whether the current framework could be said to be fair and even-handed at a time of the sector’s transition.  While the anti-graft bodies have taken the hint, and so should not detain us here, Nigerians must be seen to appreciate the need to sift the wheat from the chaff so as not to throw the good away with the bad!

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    Surely, that there is no love lost between Dangote Refinery and NMDPRA is certainly an open secret. Most certainly, I understand why the former will be piqued by what appears to be unhelpful posturing of the latter. Only last year, on July 18, 2024, Farouk Ahmed, had alleged that local refineries, including the Dangote refinery, were producing inferior products compared to imports – a charge that was stoutly denied by the refinery at the time. Trust Nigerians: they let things pass without a firm resolution of that particular issue.

    Again in October, NMDPRA would make another claim: that Dangote Refinery supplies the market far less than it claims. It puts the company’s daily average at 20 million litres as against the 50 million litres requirement of the local market. Expectedly, this was promptly refuted by Dangote Group spokesman, Anthony Chiejina: “the refinery now loads 45 million litres of PMS and 25 million litres of diesel daily, which exceeds Nigeria’s demand”. In fact, he told Bloomberg: “This significant production capacity not only guarantees local supply, but also enhances energy security and reduces dependence on imports”. 

    Still, Nigerians remain at sea for answers. In fact, it remains a national shame that issues of determining how much crude is refined and consumed daily continue to be a source of dispute. In this particular instance, the government apparently considers the NMDPRA figures as more believable; hence it suspended the 15 percent fuel import tax originally proposed to take immediate effect until the first quarter of next year.

    I do appreciate how challenging the refining turf is. Surely, a man who has committed so much of his life and fortune to deliver the national dream should feel entitled to protection by the government. Yet, such expectations, call for a delicate balancing between the corporate’s guarantee of survival and the overall stability of the economy. Surely, Nigerians are not confused about what the issues are: Dangote Refinery deserves every support that the government can give – and this subject to its proven capacity; just as the nation’s best interests must remain a major consideration at all times. That would explain why the government, in its wisdom, came up with the adjustment in the 15 percent tax to, in the words of FIRS chairman Zacch Adedeji, “provide adequate time for stakeholders to complete alignment on technical templates, public communication frameworks, and import scheduling, thereby minimising disruption to the supply chain and ensuring that the reform achieves its intended stabilising impact.” We are talking of something that is only three months away!

    Finally, on the cartels in the downstream arena: the club of international traders and local marketers all of whom, Dangote believes have colluded to undermine local refining; ‘organised cartels’, he claimed, pose a “bigger threat than drug mafias”.

    He recounted multiple sabotage incidents at both his facility and public refineries, a notable example of which was the removal of spare parts from a 400-ton boiler described as the largest ever built!

    “If I tell you the sabotages that we went through, including some of the machine manufacturers that were on the verge of going to court, you will know what I’m saying.

    “Drug mafias are actually smaller than the people who are in oil and gas. They have robbed so many people in this sector,” he was quoted to have said.

    Surely, that is where the main battle ahead lies. My answer: VIGILANCE!  Even here, there can be no underestimating the capacity of the Dangote Group to do battle. Already, we have seen evidence of this at the bully pulpit and at the fuel dispensing pumps. Thanks to the undeclared war, petrol prices are expected to drop to N739 per litre nationwide, beginning today, with initial implementation at MRS stations in Lagos – all things being equal. While the question of whether this is merely a pyrrhic victory or one that will usher in lasting respite for the fuel consumer lies in the womb of time, it is a Nigerian win all the same!

  • FIRS-France DGFIP MoU: Separating facts from fictions

    FIRS-France DGFIP MoU: Separating facts from fictions

    • By Daniel Adaji

    The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP) recently, has triggered intense public debate, not because tax cooperation is unusual, but because taxation sits at the very heart of state power.

    The MoU signed on December 10 is coming nearly six weeks to the formal transition into the Nigeria Revenue Service which would take off in January 2026. The bone of contention here is whether the agreement represents a prudent effort to modernise Nigeria’s tax administration or a strategic misstep that could expose the country’s fiscal architecture to undue foreign influence.

    Understanding the controversy requires dissecting the content of the pact as clarified by the federal government in a document dated December 12, from the deeper structural fears driving public resistance.

    The federal government’s position

    The federal government maintains that the MoU is a standard technical cooperation framework focused strictly on capacity building and institutional learning. According to FIRS, the agreement does not grant France access to Nigerian taxpayer data, digital platforms, enforcement systems, or operational infrastructure. Existing Nigerian laws on data protection, cybersecurity, and national sovereignty remain fully applicable, and the MoU does not override them in any form.

    “The MoU is a standard globally recognized cooperation framework focused sole on technical assistance and capacity building. It does not grant France access to Nigeria taxpayer data, digital systems or any element of our operational infrastructure. All existing Nigerian laws on data protection, cybersecurity and sovereignty remain fully applicable and strictly enforced. The NRS like its predecessor, FIRS, places the highest premium on national security and maintains rigorous standard for the protection of all tax information,” the FIRS stated.

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    From the government’s perspective, the partnership is advisory and non-intrusive. DGFiP is positioned as a source of technical knowledge, drawing on its long institutional experience in digital tax administration, compliance management, governance, and public finance.

    The arrangement, FIRS argues, mirrors similar cooperation agreements signed globally by tax authorities seeking to adopt international best practices, particularly in an era of increasingly complex cross-border financial flows.

    The government also stresses that the MoU does not displace Nigerian technology providers or outsource core functions. Local institutions and fintech firms remain central to Nigeria’s tax ecosystem, while the transition from FIRS to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) is being managed under Nigerian control. In this framing, the agreement is not a surrender of capacity but an attempt to strengthen it.

    Why public concerns persist

    Despite the official clarification, public anxiety has remained intense. This is not merely the result of misunderstanding but reflects deeper concerns about sovereignty, power, and historical experience.

    Nigerians home and abroad have taken to the social media to criticize this new move. On Facebook, Kholawole Prince Adebayor stated “Your FIRS dey sign MoU with France, country other African nations are sending away. Another user, Olalo Ayo Ayo Ajayi noted “Nigeria is walking into a one chance that will shock many generations. Let’s be clear, France is not an innocent country.”

    Ibrahim Rufai Buhari stated “I warned about this situation nine months ago.”

    On X formerly (Twitter), a user posted “The truth is, this data can reveal key financial patterns and give France visibility into our economy. Once it leaves, we can’t get it back, putting our national economic sovereignty at risk.”

    It added “This MoU could compromise our control over our revenue system, expose sensitive economic data, and weaken Nigeria’s fiscal independence. We are big enough to manage our own tax system and employ our own experts. This deal should be paused or renegotiated to protect Nigerian taxpayers and safeguard the sovereignty of our economy.”

    Tax systems are strategic assets. Beyond revenue collection, they reveal the inner structure of an economy: who generates wealth, who avoids obligations, which sectors thrive, and how political and commercial networks intersect. Even limited advisory exposure, if poorly bounded, can create informational advantages over time. This reality explains why tax administration partnerships attract far more scrutiny than other forms of technical cooperation.

    France’s historical role in Africa further complicates perceptions. Its deep involvement in the fiscal, monetary, and administrative systems of Francophone West Africa has left a legacy of distrust. While Nigeria is not part of the CFA zone, the fear is not about formal arrangements alone but about patterns of influence that often begin as technical assistance and evolve into structural dependence.

    Capacity building, not control

    Much of the controversy hinges on the phrase “capacity building,” which critics interpret as coded language for foreign penetration of sensitive state functions. FIRS, however, defines capacity building narrowly and technically: training staff, sharing administrative best practices, improving taxpayer services, and learning from international experience in digital tax administration.

    Crucially, the MoU does not include the provision of software, system design, data hosting, or operational management. It is not a services contract, and it does not displace Nigerian technology providers. FIRS maintains ongoing partnerships with local institutions and fintech firms, a point it raises to counter fears of foreign dominance over Nigeria’s revenue architecture.

    The red line: Data sovereignty

    On the most sensitive issue – data, the federal government draws a firm line. It states unequivocally that the MoU does not permit access to Nigerian taxpayer data or financial intelligence. Without data access, the government argues, claims of economic surveillance or fiscal domination collapse under scrutiny.

    From federal government’s perspective, sovereignty is not compromised by learning from another tax authority; it is compromised when institutions remain weak, opaque, and vulnerable to elite capture. In this framing, modernisation is a defensive strategy, not a surrender.

    Why France?

    The choice of France’s DGFiP is presented as pragmatic rather than political. DGFiP is among the world’s most established tax administrations, with extensive experience in digital systems, governance reform, and public finance management. Similar cooperation agreements, FIRS notes, exist globally among tax authorities seeking to adapt to increasingly complex, digital, and cross-border economies.

    The government rejects the notion that engagement equals subordination, arguing that Nigeria already operates within global tax cooperation frameworks without forfeiting its independence.

    Sovereignty, reframed

    Where critics see a slow erosion of independence through technical agreements, the federal government advances a counter-argument: that a weak tax system poses a greater threat to sovereignty than international cooperation ever could. Capital flight, tax evasion, and informal economic dominance, it argues, are the real forces hollowing out the Nigerian state.

    The MoU, in this context, is framed as preparatory groundwork for the transition from FIRS to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), aimed at strengthening institutional competence before that shift occurs.

    The real test

    Ultimately, the debate is less about the text of the MoU than about trust, trust in institutions, in governance, and in the ability of the Nigerian state to draw firm boundaries in its dealings with foreign partners. Based strictly on the documents, the federal government’s position is clear: no data access, no system control, no foreign fingerprints on Nigeria’s tax backend. Whether that assurance holds will depend not on rhetoric, but on implementation, transparency, and sustained public scrutiny.

    For now, the MoU stands not as evidence of surrendered sovereignty, but as a reminder that in Nigeria, credibility is earned not by declarations, but by conduct.

    •Adaji, a tax expert, writes from Abuja.

  • Can FERMA redeem FESTAC roads?

    Can FERMA redeem FESTAC roads?

    The residence for the participants at the 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, 1977, turned into a major residential hub otherwise known as FESTAC Town, Lagos, after the music, songs and drama had died down. That cultural fiesta, at the National Theatre, Lagos, now known as Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, showcased Nigeria’s pre-eminence as a wealthy black nation. It brought unprecedented pomp and pageantry to lovers of art in Nigeria, Africa, the Caribbean and Americas, as black nations showcased a potpourri of its diverse and rich culture to the world. 

    Nigeria which was swimming in the ocean of unprecedented oil wealth, the black gold, built that beautiful city, arguably reputed to be the finest city in Africa then to house the participants at the cultural event. The purpose built self-sufficient town, with an estimated 5,000 housing units, had underground drainage, electricity, plumbing, telecommunication and waste disposal system, making that one of its major attraction. Its well-designed paved streets named as roads and closes, which was systematically numbered, added to its uniqueness.

    In its early years, the town could be compared to any city in the world. The electricity supply was complemented by automatic giant silent power generators at designated places, which ensured uninterrupted power supply. Telecommunications, inherited from the cultural fiesta was top notch, as with a few coins, one can reach any part of the world. The underground concreate flash water and waste disposal system was a marvel for any first time visitor. Few minutes after any heavy rain fall, the dry roads will crystalize in its scenic beauties.          

    Then, it was unthinkable for anyone to develop any unauthorized building, or shops in the many open spaces, which was a delight for children and young adults. Those open spaces allowed one to walk from one end of the city to the other, in between the houses. Across the first, second, third, fourth and fifth avenues, there were pre-planned open play-fields, shopping malls, with different cadres of buildings, ordered in a such a manner that the flats, the houses, the semi-detached houses, and the duplexes were chorographically intertwined.

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    The houses were designated as T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T9 and T10, referring to one-room flat, two-room flat, two-room house, three-room flats, three-room semi-detached, and two models of four-room fully detached.  All the houses were put up for lottery, for Nigerian civil servants, to ballot, after the music and drama had died down. While the top civil servants won and lived in the bigger houses, the junior ones had opportunities to win and live in the smaller ones. The combination and nearness of the different categories provided an undulating beauty of human, mortar and bricks.

    The town had a buffer zone, between the Badagry expressway and the nearest road, the 2nd avenue, which served as water collection buffer, as well as security for the residence. Then, it was unthinkable for anyone to aspire to buy and build on that buffer. Indeed, the residents who were mainly civil servants had a very strong residents’ association which could take on any administrator, who tried to play game with the orderliness and scenic beauty of the iconic town.

    The first manager of the town, Fortune Ebie, had a no-nonsense reputation, which was as tall as the Izaga. The genial fellow would not countenance any action that could debilitate the beautiful baby entrusted to his care. The public transport system and other infrastructure inherited from the festival of arts and culture, was up and running for many years, and living in FESTAC was beautiful. Those who had houses of their own could not wish for a better town to own a house and live in.

    But not anymore. The glory of FESTAC had since departed. Indeed, many who could afford it have sold their residences and moved to other parts of Lagos to buy new residential accommodation. The level of deterioration is so much that it is now a heavy burden to live in the town. None of the infrastructure has been spared in the devastation that has become the lot of the town. Take the underground water drainage, most of it had collapsed, and now when the rain falls, most of the closes and roads are flooded.

    Sadly, some greedy officials of the Federal Housing Authority which manages the town, sold off the buffer zone and open spaces housing the chambers to access the underground drainage, and those acts have helped the underground drainages to collapse. For lack of maintenance, the underground electricity wiring systems have mostly collapsed. With the electricity company offering variety of bands, overhead wires are now running riot as residents try to outdo each other seeking direct supply lines.

    But the greatest challenge facing the town is the state of the roads, especially in the last few years. Many of the roads have craters and it was a major campaign issue during the last local government election in July. The roads have since given birth to many conspiracy theories. One of such claim was that the roads were abandoned by the local government, because the residents did not vote for the ruling party in the previous local, state and federal government elections.

    But during the campaigns for the last local government election, Prince Lanre Sanusi, explained the limitations of the local council to muster the huge resources needed to rebuild the major roads in the town. He promised that if elected, he will use his goodwill with the state and federal officials of his party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), to attract the relevant federal authorities to repair and rebuild the major roads. Many had dismissed the promise with a wave of hand.

    But last week, this writer was excited to see the rehabilitation of some failed portions of the 4th avenue road. To ensure that there is no doubt about which institution had brought such succour to the long suffering people of FESTAC, the roads had inscription of FERMA project boldly written on them. This writer hopes that FERMA would do more of such rehabilitations to save the residents the misery that bad roads have turned their lives into within the town.

    The gratitude of the residents of FESTAC town would be immeasurable, if FERMA should repair the dilapidated portions of the 1st and 2nd avenues, which are in intolerable states. There have also been promises by the Federal Housing Authority to repair the 2nd avenue road, linking the interchange to the Badagry expressway. That promise should be kept, without any further delay, especially with the unprecedented huge increases in the rates and charges by the Federal Housing Authority.

    With the APC in power at the local council, the state and federal level, there is no better way to promote the party, as caring and responsive, than by taking steps to substantially restore the lost glory of the world famous, FESTAC town.

  • Insecurity: Why are we defeated?

    Insecurity: Why are we defeated?

    • By Ray Ekpan

    In the last few weeks, insecurity has shown its ugly face repeatedly in Nigeria. It is difficult to keep track of the incidents in various parts of the country but a few examples will suffice. At 4am on Monday November 17, 25 school girls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town, Kebbi State were kidnapped and taken away. The school’s vice principal and security guard were shot during the assault. Story confirmed.

    In Kwara State, 35 worshippers were kidnapped from Christ Apostolic Church in Oke-Igan, Eruku Ekiti LGA of Kwara State. The terrorists requested for a ransom of N100million to be paid for each victim. Story confirmed.

    In Niger State, terrorists had in a pre-dawn attack, kidnapped over 100 students and staff of St Mary’s School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area. Story confirmed.

    Let me not bore you with more documentation of disaster. The truth is that the terrorists are tormenting us daily; the bandits are brutalising us daily; and the herders are harassing us daily. We are at their mercy and they are merciless. This is not a case of Christian genocide. It is simply a case of all round insecurity, insecurity that affects all of us, Christians, Moslems, animists and atheists, men, women, children, northerners, southerners, westerners and easterners.

    Those who think that this is a question of Christian genocide are mistaken, grossly mistaken. The plain truth is that they target who they can get easily. They go for soft targets, targets that have large crowds, crowds that meet on fixed days of the week. Christians meet in churches on Sundays. That is known. Moslems meet in mosques on Fridays. That is known. Students are in session during school seasons. That is known. People go to night clubs at weekends. That is known. So they plan their attacks to meet these crowds at the appropriate places.

    They are not targeting religion. They are targeting people. And the reason that they kill people at these places is to prevent people from running away. Once they kill a few people the rest of the people prefer to wait and be kidnapped than killed. And when they take them away, the next step is obvious: ransom. So in my opinion, this game is largely, basically, about money, not about religion. If it is about religion, why would they attack people at night clubs and supermarkets where the religious identities of those attacked are unknown?

    There are obvious questions we must ask on this insecurity question in our country. Why do the terrorists defeat us? They don’t have an air force but we do. So we can fight them from the sky. They don’t have a navy but we do, so we can fight them from the creeks. Yes, they are on the ground but we have more feet on the ground, feet belonging to thousands of our soldiers, policemen and para-military forces. So the terrorists have no business beating us and making us miserable.

    These people move about in motorcycles but our security personnel have not only motorcycles but also bullet-proof vehicles. So why should they defeat us? These people have no established intelligence structures but we have them in our army, air force, navy, police etc; so why should our intelligence agencies not be ahead of them?

    These people do not control the telecommunication companies but we do and yet we can’t easily locate these terrorists before or after their attacks. These people have sophisticated weapons but the weapons used by our armed forces and police are also sophisticated or even more sophisticated than their own. So why do they defeat us?

    These people may be many, but they are not as many as Nigerians whose population is more than 200 million. So why can’t we overpower them? The reason is, I think, because Nigerians are not drafted into this war. The government has made security, only, largely, a government affair. In America or Canada, every citizen or resident knows that if there is a reason to seek for help they can simply dial 911. In Nigeria, is there such a number that is known to all citizens and residents? I don’t know. If there is, how many Nigerians know it? Probably a few. So Nigerians think that the fight against insecurity is the business of our government especially the federal government since all the security agencies are federal government-owned.

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    The state governors who are the Chief Security Officers of their states are simply Chief Security Officers largely in name. So when terrorists torment their states, they call on the federal government for help. And the federal government is already stretched thin. So why is there no massive publicity about the role that all Nigerians can play in this matter? Why are Nigerians not told what numbers to call in an emergency? Why are there no avenues for providing information to security personnel? Why are there no prizes or national honours for whistle blowers who provide information that have made a major impact on the war against terror?

    In this fight, there have been insinuations that tend to give the impression that some of our security personnel are sabotaging the process for their personal benefits. Some of our security personnel have lost their lives in this fight. Others have shown gallantry and patriotism in this fight. So I do not want to believe that the senior security personnel would do anything to defeat their mandate. But the view is a prevailing view within the public space that some of the senior security personnel want the insecurity imbroglio to continue for their own personal benefit. The security personnel owe themselves a duty of saving their good names by debunking with facts and figures this vile accusation. The other method of debunking the allegation would be the summary defeat of the terrorists.

    When President Bola Tinubu appointed new service chiefs recently, he told them that he wants results, not excuses. That is what Nigerians want too because we are already tired of getting excuses as answers to the problem. Yes, we applaud the efforts of our gallant security forces but we want them to do more, much more, than they have done so far. We learn that the army is recruiting 24, 000 soldiers into its fold. Good. The police is recruiting 50, 000 persons. That is good too. The president has asked that more policemen be recruited and that those policemen serving as security personnel, luggage carriers and house boys and house girls are to be withdrawn. This directive has been given several times in the past and they have been ignored. The reason for its being ignored is that the senior police officers see it as a rich source of stomach infrastructure. But as I have said before on this platform, we need more policemen in all the states. It is the police who are in the local government areas that are close to where the terrorists execute their evil agenda.

    I thought that all the state governors and traditional rulers nationwide had agreed that state police is a desideratum. Yes, they did. So why are we pussy-footing about bringing it on board? State police has immense merits: more boots on the ground; closeness to where the action is; understanding of the culture and customs of the community; more appropriate equipment; proximity to the decision making arena; commitment to save the neighbourhood which is theirs. Why the delay? Anyone who thinks that it is only a monolithic security entity that can save the country from the severe insecurity we are going through is wrong, severely wrong. All the 25 or so federations in the world have two or three police systems manning their security business. If a single security entity could solve the problem, why hasn’t it solved it in Nigeria? It hasn’t solved it because our country is too big and too diverse for a single police system, a system that has even been depleted by big men and women who use about one-third of the policemen and women for menial jobs.

    All the major federations in the world, United States, Canada, Germany, Australia etc. have more than one police system. Why are we bent on staying on the wrong side of the problem? That wrong side has not given us the right answer to the problem. National Assembly please bring state police. President Tinubu, please bring state police. Pussy footing is not the answer.

    Now with some federal and state secondary schools being shut down because of insecurity, it means that insecurity has given education a red card. Since President Bola Tinubu has now declared a security emergency, all hands should be on deck and all boots should be on the ground. There must be more investment in modern security technology. There must be a massive mobilisation of the people. All hands must be on deck for us to win this war.      

  • Travails of Stella Oduah

    Travails of Stella Oduah

    Greed is thy other name PDP. The arraignment of former Minister of Aviation, Senator Stella Oduah by the federal government over an alleged  N5bn fraud committed in 2014 is a sad reminder of PDP years of the locust when vicious  battle over ‘sharing’ of our resources often subtly termed  ‘family quarrel’ threatened the very survival of the nation. 

    Of course, greed over control of resources of a nation is not limited to the ruling class in Nigeria. It is the reason for climate change denial by owners of society in the US despite overwhelming scientific evidence just as it is the source of social dislocations and chaos in Europe.

    Indeed, greed is what sets aside the less than 4% that control the resources of the world from the 96% of humanity who, because of their daily struggle for survival, have questioned claim of some social crusaders who insist ‘we are not the savage, irredeemably greedy, violent and rapacious species we can be led into thinking ourselves to be”. (Stephen Fry on Rutger Bregman’s Humankind: A Hopeful History.

    For many troubled by prospect of our country’s possible  descent into a one party  state because of the current mass movement to the ruling All Progressive Party (APC), the question is what such return portends for the country without expression of remorse even as their renewed greed-driven battle took them straight from their Ibadan controversial convention centre to their Abuja Wadata headquarters, where the two factions and their thugs had to be driven out by police with Kabiru Taimu Turaki-led faction emerging from Obasanjo’s library  rendezvous in Abeokuta last  Saturday.

    But before PDP’s unpredictable fathers and troubled children often described as ‘new-breed politicians’ that breed nothing but corruption, let us first examine the travails of Princess Stella Oduah and the alleged N5b fraud, which will be not a fraction of what she must have spent on her well-advertised philanthropic activities.

    Oduah was before her ministerial appointment, we were told, was a pacesetter who had spent about 25 years in the oil and gas industry, before  resigning in1992 from the services of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to found her ‘Sea Petroleum and Gas Company’ she had nurtured to a multi-billion naira company.

    She was a multi-award winner, starting with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), from President Obasanjo, Distinguished Catholic Professional, Dame International among others. She was an avowed philanthropist who through her JOE life Foundation “launched the Farmers Loan Scheme for peasant and subsistent farmers in Ogbaru LGA of Anambra,  constructed a 19-bed medical centre in Orhionwon LGA in Edo State, weekly feeding of the poor, potable water project at Ogbaru Local Government Area, annual scholarship scheme for 36 indigenes of Ogbaru from primary to university level;  annual award for the Best Female Petroleum Engineering graduating student and  building of an ultra-modern secondary school at Akili, Ogbaru local Govt. Area, Anambra State.

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      Oduah believes that “wealth acquisition is a God-given grace and not necessarily an act of human ingenuity, and that wealth acquisition makes sense only if it is spread to affect the lives of the less privileged around you”.

    When you imagine the princess did all the above before joining Abuja seat of power where politicians struggle  for their constituents’ share of the national cake is to understand why her people immediately rewarded her with a senatorial ticket the moment the scandal first broke out  during Jonathan presidency.

    Now let us examine the baleful legacies of PDP and its pathfinders:

    First, PDP was never a political party, John Campbell, a former US envoy to Nigeria had during a proceeding at the hearing on the topic: Nigeria in Turmoil in the British House of Commons in March 2010 defined PDP as “an elite cartel at the centre of power in Nigeria …essentially a club of elite for sharing of oil rents and political spoils”.

    It’s prevailing ideology was therefore “sharing”, which Doyin Okupe, Obasanjo’s spokesman,  while speaking on the marginalization of Yoruba under the Jonathan administration,  explained as “If things that are not enough, when people sit down to share and take decision, if there is no one to speak for you, there is a problem”.

    In this regard, Ahmadu Ali as chairman of PDP and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), was responsible for increasing fuel importers from about four to over 140 independent petroleum marketers some of who were later tried and indicted for the theft of about N2trillion. And distancing himself from the mess, the late Audu Ogbeh, a former chairman of PDP, had said ‘when I was chairman of PDP, my son never got involved in oil but two PDP national chairmen after me, their sons pocketed over N400billion without supplying a tea cup, of oil”.

    As for President Obasanjo who once publicly tore his PDP card claiming he was no more playing partisan politics, it is on record he set up ADC as a vehicle for any disgruntled group with the party already taken over by a faction of PDP, the second faction going to his house to seek last Saturday while a third faction headed by Nyesom Wike was counting on the court to end the shenanigans of those who put their faith in the hands of those without electoral value.

     Everyone in PDP is tarred with the same brush. As for Obasanjo, PDP leading members swore he spent close to N10b on his failed third term bid, a charge he denied. What he could not deny however was that he corralled serving governors and government contractors to donate about N7.5billion towards his presidential library while the national library he stated has been abandoned for close to 18 years.

    Senator Bukola Saraki, the whistle-blower in the fuel subsidy scam for fuel neither imported nor delivered to Nigeria, was accused by PDP of indirectly benefitting from the scam. Farouk Lawal, whose committee uncovered the scam, was jailed for extorting bribe from Femi Otedola.

    When Bode George who was later pardoned on technical ground after serving a jail term for helping PDP party members as chairman of Nigerian Ports Authority was appointed PDP BOT chairman, Dino Melaye who had just fallen out of favour with PDP said Bode George’s choice was because “everybody in PDP was an ex-convict”.

    Unfortunately, when Oduah found herself among these hawks, she did not learn how to walk the tight rope before launching a crusade against foreign airlines including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic KLM and Lufthansa over excessive ticket charges on international routes. She was to discover later that it was a question of supply and demand as our elected and political appointees insisted on business and first class seats from the airlines.

    Of course with her N500b loan part of which she said would be used to buy new aircrafts for airlines, she was also stepping on the toes of some PDP stalwarts who also doubled as airline operators.  Many of them were only interested in interest- free bailout loans which were often diverted to run other businesses in other West African countries.

    The Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC) first indicted Stella Odua and the Nigerian subsidiary of Chinese construction giant, CCECC, of fraudulent cash transaction of N5billion in 2014. She was sacked by Jonathan on February 12, 2014 as a result of scandal that accompanied over N255m armoured cars which she authorized NCAA to procure for her use.

    On Dec 17, 2022 EFCC filed a total of 25 counts against Oduah and CCECC.

    Princess Oduah has since denied all allegations of corruption levelled against her claiming she had “made a mark in oil and gas and agricultural businesses before joining politics”.

    Not much has been heard about the case which started some 11 years ago.  Now that EFCC has brought the case up again, it must ensure it is brought to a closure if people are not to believe it is a case of witch-hunting against high-achieving professional and a pacesetter by politicians on whose toes she had stepped. Justice delayed as they say, is justice denied.

  • Truckers’ revolt on expressway

    Truckers’ revolt on expressway

    Movement by motorists on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway was grounded for some while last Wednesday when truck drivers blocked both lanes of the major artery at Ogere axis, Ogun State, with their trucks. They acted in solidarity with their colleagues who alleged being extorted by traffic officials.

    Reports said security agents earlier impounded three trucks for wrong parking on the Ogere-Sapade section of the busy highway. One of the truck drivers claimed that traffic officers seized his vehicle battery and, in protest, abandoned his truck right in the centre of the Ibadan-bound side of the highway. In seeming suggestion that the lone tuck disruption of traffic not enough, fellow truck drivers mobilised to further block the lane with articulated vehicles and extend the barricade to the Lagos-bound side of the expressway.

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    The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) deplored bottlenecks often created by truck drivers who park at the roadsides while ignoring provided trailer parks – private and government-owned – resulting in traffic obstructions and gridlocks, avoidable road crashes and narrowing of the road corridor. The agency’s spokesperson, Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed that the Ogere division task force earlier apprehended three trucks for illegal double-parking. He further explained that one of the drivers whose truck was impounded, rather than follow required procedure for securing release of the truck, mobilised other drivers to protest the impoundment.

    According to Akinbiyi, the driver got unruly in his bid to retrieve the impounded truck. “(He) reported back at the task force office by 07:00hours, spitting fire and brimstone in a bid to secure his truck. The said driver exhibited high-handedness, irrational and uncompromising behaviour, threatening to cause chaos if he wasn’t attended to immediately, even though the time for proper documentation and enlightenment before release, which is 08:00hours, had already been communicated to him.” He added: “Unfortunately, he left in annoyance and went on to instigate his fellow truck drivers – a deliberate act intended to cause mayhem, obstruction and delay in travel time, and expose road users to risk and danger along the Ogere-Sapade road, all with the intent of embarrassing the state government.”

    On how matters got resolved, Akinbiyi said: “Orderliness (was) restored through the intervention of the Ogun State Commissioner of Police Lanre Ogunnowo, the Seriki Hausawa of Ogere, and the acting TRACE Commander-General Omonayajo Elias, who also ordered the release of the earlier apprehended trucks that were handed over to the Seriki Hausawa and other transport union representatives to douse the built-up tension along the axis.”

    The manner of resolution suggests the truckers were appeased, which could mean something wrong was done by traffic officials. Still, it was the height of lawlessness for these truckers to have barricaded the public highway to press a personal grouse. They should’ve been brought to justice.

  • Ugo Udezue  decries unending  intrigues in NBBF ahead of  federation’s elections

    Ugo Udezue  decries unending  intrigues in NBBF ahead of  federation’s elections

    A member of the Nigeria Basketball Federation and the CEO of AFA Sports, Ugo Udezue, lamented the chaos surrounding basketball administration in Nigeria, stating that the game will develop greatly in the country if stakeholders unite and conduct themselves professionally, rather than encouraging negativity to gain power.

    He shared his mind in Lagos on Monday.

     “Let us speak plainly, because the future of Nigerian basketball demands courage, not comfort. Everywhere basketball has truly flourished, development has been driven by private enterprise — not federations, not politics, and certainly not ego. The NBA is not owned by USA Basketball; the NCAA is not owned by any federation. AAU basketball does not answer to administrators seeking relevance.

     “Federations only regulate while private enterprise builds. This is a global truth we must stop pretending not to understand. What Nigerian basketball is experiencing today is not a healthy debate — it is desperation masquerading as reform.”

    The former D’Tigers power forward said that those who truly love the game in Nigeria and are honest about development should join hands to build rather than looking for every opportunity to cause failure in the system.

     “We now live in a moment so distorted that a serving member of the federation’s own board reportedly went as far as attempting to engineer the defeat of the Nigerian women’s national team, D’Tigress, at the recent AfroBasket. A custodian of the game allegedly aligned against his own country — engaging the entire Nigerian former coaching crew, including a close family member, in an attempt to stop Nigeria from winning. This is self-serving over the country. D’Tigress rose above politics, rose above betrayal, and once again proved why they are champions. Basketball will always expose the difference between builders and saboteurs.

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     “Unity without integrity is a fraud. You cannot preach unity while actively working against the national team. You cannot call for progress while sponsoring parallel elections.”

    The AFA sports boss explained that his support for Musa Kida as the NBBF President and the board is in defense of the constitution and orderliness.

     “I say this clearly and without apology: I stand firmly and unequivocally with the current President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation, Engineer Musa Kida, and the duly elected board because in moments like this, institutions must be defended. The Constitution is clear, and it will be respected. The board was inaugurated on October 6, 2022. Elections are due on October 6, 2026. Anything else is constitutional vandalism.

     “If ambition is allowed to override law, then no administration — present or future — will ever govern in peace again. And once stability is lost, investors leave, sponsors disappear, and the game collapses under its own chaos.

    He pointed the way forward:  “As stakeholders, we owe Nigerian basketball more than noise — we owe it assets such as arenas, academies and Operational excellence.

     “This is why I have consistently championed sustainable private enterprise and equity participation in basketball. Ownership models that attract serious investors. Systems that allow value creation over time.

     “I have seen it done properly — by firms like Webber Engineering, by professionals who understand that real development is not loud, it is competent. Even in organization, presentation, and graphics, excellence signals seriousness. That seriousness attracts sponsors. That attracts capital. Basketball does not grow where chaos lives.

     “Sustainable basketball ecosystems are built on: Private capital and Long-term equity; Professional leagues and Serious infrastructure. They are not built by naming leagues after yourself. They are not built by creating teams as personal monuments. They are not built by short-term projects designed for applause or political positioning. That approach is not development. It is personal promotion disguised as reform — political banditry wearing a basketball jersey.

    If your project cannot survive without your name on it, then it was never about the game.”

  • Joshua explains career ‘reset ahead of Paul’s fight

    Joshua explains career ‘reset ahead of Paul’s fight

    Anthony Joshua has admitted his career needed a “reset” ahead of his return to the ring for a surprise fight against YouTube star Jake Paul.

    Joshua has been absent from the ring since a brutal knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024 and was linked with a string of big-name fights before agreeing to face Paul in Miami this weekend.

    Ahead of the bout, which takes place on Friday evening local time in Miami but in the early hours of Saturday morning in the UK, Joshua has released a video on his YouTube channel featuring several interviews with him from recent weeks.

    Explaining his lengthy absence from the ring, Joshua said: “I always say this, for every time you win, there’s a reason. For every time you lose, there’s a reason.

    “So why I pause is because when you lose, you tend to take a deeper look at yourself and take time to figure out what went wrong.

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    “I had to look at the reasons why I lost, and I said to myself ‘I think I need a bit of time’ because I predicted this moment in like 2018. Not the loss, but the work I was taking on was a lot.

    “I was moving 100 miles an hour, inside training, preparing for fights, working outside of boxing and for any man or any woman, at some stage, they probably need a bit of a reset.

    “So it came to that stage, really, in 2025, where I was at the time and I thought, ‘you know, I probably need a year out of the game.”

    “The question is, should Anthony Joshua fight Jake Paul? Who knows? But we’re going to do it anyway.”

    The 36-year-old revealed that he had been planning on making a surprise return to action in Saudi Arabia, but the chance to take on Paul in a highly lucrative bout saw him change course.

    “The plan was to take a year out of the game, come back with an understated fight, make a low-key entry back into the heavyweight division,” Joshua said.

    “I was actually planning on fighting this weekend in Saudi Arabia. Plan was, go on, no media, no press conference and just walk out, have a fight and everyone like, ‘bro, where did this come from?’

    “So now we’re fighting with Jake Paul in Miami, December 19. That’s why you’ve always got to stay ready because you never know what’s around the corner. Always stay ready.”

    On paper, the fight is a huge mismatch with two-time heavyweight world champion Joshua taking on Paul, who hasn’t faced an opponent anywhere near the Brit’s calibre during his 13 professional bouts.

    Joshua insists his focus is on the finer details of his own performance, rather than the expectation that he will claim a swift knockout victory.

  • Fury confirms  possible  2026 return to fight Anthony Joshua

    Fury confirms  possible  2026 return to fight Anthony Joshua

    Tyson Fury has “indicated” he will return for a fight against Anthony Joshua if it is the “right deal”, his promoter Frank Warren confirmed.

    Warren confirmed negotiations for the long-awaited fight were taking place and that it would happen “sometime in late summer” in 2026.

    Warren told Sky Sports News: “There’s been some talks going on, there’s nothing been signed yet, but Tyson’s indicated if it’s the right deal, he’ll definitely do it.

    “I think it’s going in the right direction and hopefully we’ll get some news pretty soon as to what’s going to happen.”

    Warren added: “I do believe it will happen.”

    A bout between Joshua and Fury – two of the greatest heavyweights of their generation and two of the best British heavyweights of all time – has been mooted for years but has never come to fruition.

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    But The Ring Magazine, owned by head of Riyadh Season, Turki Alalshikh, reported last week that the bout was being lined up for next year.

    The publication also reported that both fighters were slated for separate fights in 2026 as part of Riyadh Season.

    Having not fought since defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, the 36-year-old Joshua returns to action this Friday against Jake Paul in Miami. Fury, 37, announced his latest retirement from boxing at the start of this year after two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024.

    “AJ’s fighting, or whatever you want to call it, this week against Jake Paul and there’s talk of him fighting again early in 2026,” said Warren. “Tyson’s been out for a while now. He may have a warm-up fight but if this fight happens – which I believe it will – it will be sometime in late summer.

    “So that’s another seven months away, so he’ll certainly have a fight in between I think if he comes back.”

    On Fury’s current condition, Warren added: “He has been in the gym full-time training very hard.

    “He’s in great nick, he looks well and he’s said many times himself he would like to come back and fight again.

    “And 2026 I believe, provided the deal’s right, I think you’ll see him back in the ring again.”

    The Queensberry Promotions founder says it is the fight long demanded by fans.

    “The fans have been asking for this, and everybody has been talking about it, for years and years and years,” said Warren.

    “It’s better that if it’s going to happen it happens now rather than these guys come back and talk about doing it in five or six years’ time.

    “Anybody who I talk to about boxing that’s the one thing they always mention – ‘When are these two getting it on? Are they ever going to get it on? We never got to see it.’

    “It will happen. I think it will happen and when it does happen I think it’s going to be massive.”